Operation: Help the Elf!

I'm Pete the Elf

You may have noticed this little guy in the column to the left. The wonderful gals over at The Bookshelf Muse (and who are authors of the wonderfully helpful Emotion Thesaurus) are at it again.

When they released ET, they did a Random Act of Kindness event that was so fun to take part in. I'm a firm believer that our perception controls our reality, so I'm all about looking for what's right in the world.

Well, Angela and Becca are doing something along that happy vein--with a fun holiday twist. Poor Pete the Elf messed up, and he needs our help to put things right.

Please head over to The Bookshelf Muse and check out the details. 

Consider signing up to help Pete. I think you'll find you want to.

Let's shout this to the world . . . and save Christmas!

Guest Post - Angela Ackerman - Favorite Characters

I've got a special guest today: Angela Ackerman. You should  know her from the awesome (and award winning) The Bookshelf Muse and as the coauthor of The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Character Expression. If you follow my blog you know how much I love this thesaurus! It's a fabulous resource for writers in general and this writer in particular. Angela is a Canadian who writes on the darker side of Middle Grade and Young Adult and is is represented by Jill Corcoran of The Herman Agency.

Donna, thank you so much for the invitation to visit your blog! I love this topic, because the characters we fall in love with is ultimately why a book becomes a ‘favorite.’ I really struggled with only picking five. But, after much hand-wringing, I narrowed it down, trying not to give too many story spoilers away in the process!

Doug Swieteck - Okay for Now (Gary D. Schmidt) YA Coming of Age
This is one of those books that I wish every person would read--adult and child alike. Doug is an amazing character, living in an abusive and impoverished environment where everyone judges him by his father and brother’s reputations instead of who he could become with some encouragement and support. This is a beautiful story of a boy who chooses to not follow in his thuggish brother’s footsteps, nor adopt the uncaring and entitled, ‘the world is against me so screw them’ attitude his father lays down. Instead Doug discovers who he really is by showing understanding and kindness, finds redemption and friendship, and in turn leads other characters into a redemption of their own, including his own family. Doug is a powerful, true underdog character. He represents the struggle in all of us to move past our baggage, and as a child who suffered terrible bullying, I connected with him on a deep level.

Mat Cauthon - The Wheel of Time Series (Robert Jordan) Adult Fantasy

I love, love, love Matrim Cauthon. He’s a total troublemaker, a rake, and incredibly loyal. Bull-headed, he does what he thinks is right no matter what the danger or cost. There is this constant war in him to put himself first, enjoy the fruits of his labor, but his conscience won’t let him. For me, this creates a delightful, complex and realistic character. Aren’t we all selfish on some level, and we’re torn between doing what’s best for us and what is right? This is Mat’s battle on each page.
And I have to pipe in that I also love Mat's character. It's fun to see his growth over the course of the books, especially when he fights against his destiny. If a scene needs a laugh, you can count on Mat to provide it.

Nya - The Healing Wars Trilogy (Janice Hardy) Middle Grade Fantasy
Nya is an orphan living by the skin of her teeth in a war-torn city. Born with the ability to pull pain out of people, she is viewed as magically useless as her gift doesn’t contain the secondary component needed--the ability to push it into a rare metal that is a great source of power and wealth. It turns out her gift is more complex and deadly however, as she is able to shift pain from person to person, making her attractive to those wanting to use her as a weapon. Nya is loyal and a risk taker, and has a strong sense of right and wrong. She becomes a leader through her actions, all the while trying to come to terms with her own self worth and the destructive power she possesses. A reluctant heroine, she’s feisty and her dealing with moral and ethical dilemmas are realistic.

Kestrel Hath - The Wind on Fire Trilogy (William Nicholson) YA Fantasy
Kess is one of those headstrong characters that makes you cheer. She always does what she thinks is right, and refuses to be dissuaded. She has unusual intuitive qualities for a ten year old (and she ages throughout the series) and places loyalty first, but her determined nature leads her into lots of trouble as she reacts rather than thinks it through. Her world is all about repression and control, so her character traits create explosive conflict as she fights against it. She sees the big picture of her world and is determined to change it for her family and her people, and sacrifices herself for the greater good. This series is one that will stay with you long after you finish it!

Lyra Belacqua, His Dark Materials (Phillip Pullman) YA Fantasy
Lyra is a complete tomboy, wild and untamed by the adults around her. Growing up without parents, she lies to get what she wants and avoids anything that holds her back. This is a delightful contrast to her growing up with scholars in Jordan College, Oxford, the seat of knowledge and science in Lyra’s world. Discovering her mother is a villain propels Lyra into a role of opposing her and all she stands for, and she embarks on a dangerous journey to bring down the organization her mother works for that is kidnapping and torturing children. Lyra’s independent nature and fierce loyalty to her friend Roger make her a heroine to cheer for and empathize with.

And...that’s my five! Reading through my list, I seem to be attracted to characters who are wild cards, underdogs, loyal and fiercely determined to do the right thing. How about you? Who are some of your favorite characters, and what is it about them that wins your heart? Please share some of your favorite books/characters so we all have a great reading list for our summer reading!

Who are some of your favorite characters?

Oh, and on a side note, my awesome friend, Donna Hosie, has an agent. You ought to drop by and congratulate her!

My Epiphany

Ever have one of those days? You've been plugging along, learning new things and trying to find ways to apply what you've learned with your writing. I had one last week, and it made me want to leap out of my seat. I don't know about you, but one of the things I struggle with is the whole Show, Don't Tell thing.

When I first heard about it, it was hard to get people to spell it out, define it for me. They'd quote me Anton Chekov's "Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass." And that's lovely. But as a new writer--who sucks at description--getting my hands around that imagery so I could apply it to my own little scenes was like expecting me to suddenly be able to handle the women's uneven parallel bars.

Um, no. 

Aware of my shortcoming, I've been diligently seeking to understand it, so I can use it. I talked about the Show, Don't Tell class taught by author/editor Annette Lyon at the 2011 Storymakers conference in my blog post here.

The R&R input has shown me some kinds of telling I hadn't recognized as such. I pulled out Annette's PowerPoint, and printed out some key slides to remind me of things--like senses. For example, she suggests that each page should have include at least one other sense besides sight.

So, last week I'm plugging away, evaluating the comments provided by the small publisher while going through my copy of The Emotion Thesaurus, published by the awesome ladies over at The Bookshelf Muse. 

Smack!

It was like someone had whacked me up side the head. I connected some dots! 

One of the things Annette says is to trust your audience, that when we "tell" them what to feel, we're insulting the reader's intelligence. Instead, let the reader experience it with the character.

Emotions. Duh. 

Sitting in front of me was a single paragraph that identified three emotions. Three! In one paragraph. Where I told the reader how to feel.

You guys are probably sitting there and thinking, "I already knew that."

Shut up. Because I didn't. 

So, I sought out a list of emotions and printed it out, adding it to those nifty slides. I've been busily evaluating each time I've used one. I ask myself if there's a way I can show it with body language. Since this project is in first person, I can show internally or externally.

I'm not necessarily good at the showing yet, but at least now I'm better armed at identifying the places that need attention. This is huge for me.

What about you? What's the hardest thing for you with the showing thing?

Random Acts of Kindness BLITZ

Kindness ROCKS!
Each day people interact with us, help, and make our day a bit brighter and full. This is especially true in the Writing Community.

Take a second to think about writers you know, like the critique partner who works with you to improve your manuscript. The writing friend who listens, supports and keeps you strong when times are tough. The author who generously offers council, advice and inspiration when asked.

So many people take the time to make us feel special, don't they? They comment on our blogs, retweet our posts, chat with us on forums and wish us Happy Birthday on Facebook.

To commemorate the release of their book The Emotion Thesaurus, Becca and Angela at The Bookshelf Muse are hosting a TITANIC Random Act Of Kindness BLITZ. And because I think KINDNESS is contagious, I'm participating too!

I'm selecting two amazing authors today who went out of their way to help me out with my current book that's in submission.

One is Dianne Salerni, author of We Hear the Dead and Caged Graves. When I was struggling with conflicting advice for my query, Dianne emailed me with some suggestions that really helped me see what I needed to do with it and be confident about it.

The other is Laura Josephson, author of  Confessions from the Realm of the Underworld (Also Known as High School) and Rising, Book 1. Laura was also kind enough as she watched me struggle with my query to offer help. She also voluntarily critiqued my full manuscript.


My gift to each of these awesome ladies if an amazon gift card. If you have a minute, please stop by their blogs and tell them how awesome they are.

If you know someone special you'd like to randomly acknowledge, please don't be shy--come join us and celebrate! Send an email, give a shout out, or show your appreciation in another way.

Kindness makes the world go round. 



I know Becca and Angela over at The Bookshelf Muse don't want any attention on themselves during the Blitz, but I need to thank them, too. Because their Emotional Thesaurus blog--now a book as of today--has been a fabulous resource for me. I can't tell you how many times I've run to them to trigger my old lady gray matter. Kudos to you both!

They have a special RAOK gift waiting for you as well, so hop on over to to pick it up.

Have you ever participated in or been the recipient of a Random Act of Kindness?

Do tell!