GENREALITY

If you’ve been on any book related blogs this week, you know it’s Banned Books Week, the ALA sponsored event that celebrates books and raises awareness of censorship.

Because this is a multi-genre blog, I’m not sure how much this topic comes up with the average writer. I’m sure the supernatural people and the hot romance authors get individuals who let them know what they find offensive in their books, but when you’re primary audience is under eighteen (at least theoretically), getting past the “gatekeepers” for kid’s reading material is a constant concern.

Call it gatekeeping, challenges, bans or censorship, grown ups are going to have their say about the access kids will have to your books.

Now, I’m not talking about parents deciding what their own kid is allowed to read. Not every book is right for every kid. I’m talking about people removing your books from the hands of their target audience based on some objectionable element or subject matter.

Let’s skip over the whole ‘censorship is bad’ discussion, and why removing books from libraries is a bad thing. Since this is a blog about writing, let’s talk about what this means to you, the writer.

There are no rules for what you can put in a YA book. Drugs, sex, alcohol, violence… It’s a myth that you can’t write about those things. It’s all about how you handle it and why it’s there.

In some books, the objectionable content serve as pits in the dungeon of the hero’s journey. From broken families and teen pregnancy to drugs, self-harm, sexual abuse and violence, these are realistic depictions for kids who may be dealing with these things in real life–or who may never be touched by them, but can learn from a fictional experience.

At the other end of the scale, you’ve got some very popular books (made into a very popular TV show) where there is a lot of drinking and sex with little or no consequence, for the purpose of a salacious storyline. There’s a certain realism in that, too. Drinking and sex are a part of a lot of kids lives… Or it’s not, and they are indulging the lifestyle vicariously. I would never want to date a vampire, but I admit it makes a good story.

I fall somewhere in the middle, like a lot of genre YA. There are references to drugs, alcohol, or sex, but it’s not what the story is about. In my case, the story is about the supernatural (which can also get you banned). For me, I just want to tell an adventurous, mysterious, romantic story. Well-written escapism.

But every time I have a reference to alcohol, or a sexy scene, or a curse word, I have to decide whether I want that to potentially keep my book out of a reader’s hands. Will it impact the story I want to tell? Will it water down the story if I take it out? Does it serve a purpose, or I’m I just being gratuitous to generate buzz.

Sometimes it’s a marketing decision. I took the f-bomb out of my first book, because I was going for a 12+ rating that would make it easier to get into middle schools. As it turned out, “Hell” in all my titles was a bigger problem than what was inside the book. Now, when the first two books (Prom Dates from Hell and Hell Week) are re-released next year in a compilation, they’re getting a new title.

But sometimes it’s artistic. On a panel recently in Austin, award-winning author Paolo Gacigalupi was saying that he tamed the language in Ship Breaker, despite the fact that there are some brutal things that happen in that post apocalyptic word. He had to decide why he wanted to be banned–for language, or for the important story he wanted to tell.

These, however, are all second draft decisions. When you write your book, your only concern should be the story you want to tell. In the end, you can worry all day about what people will object to in your books. I’ve discovered that there’s no getting around it. There are too many readers I the world to never offend anyone.

So as you’re writing–as you’re envisioning your unique story–write it the way you envision it. That way, no matter who objects to what, not matter what they say about you on the internet, you can always stand by what you wrote.

Two weekends ago I taught an all day writing workshop for the Space Coast Authors. (I love those people!) One of the classes I taught was Fast Draft, which I’m also currently teaching online. I came home from Florida fired up and ready to write.

Then life happened. My father-in-law suddenly became ill on Sunday and a few days later he passed. The whole family was in shock. They live a few hours away so there was much rushing around and taking care of business here and there. Then there’s the emotional toll it takes on everyone. Every moment is, “what’s the next thing we have to do?” And you’re doing for other people, so there isn’t a great deal of free time.

But still, I found time to work on my book. I didn’t sit down and write 20 pages a day, but I did use any free moment to think about the book. There were scenes that came up, emotional ones that fed off of what was going on in my real life. I made notes, whenever I could. Sometimes those were on sticky notes that I keep in my purse. Today, I’m sitting down to compile all of those notes and figure out what was what. It’s funny how many there are.

My point, and I do have one, is life is always going to get in the way of writing. Sometimes there may be more extreme things happening, like this last week for me. Those are times when you should give yourself a little grace. But you can still choose to work.

There aren’t many jobs, even in times of bereavement, where you can take off for two or three weeks and it’s okay. The same goes for writing. You may not feel like doing it. But it’s best to throw yourself back into it as soon as possible.

Use all those emotions in your work. Use your writing as therapy. Use it as a way to express yourself. That’s what writing is all about. Yes, we are telling stories, but it’s also a form of expression.

When both of my grandmothers died, writing was my solace. If you go back and look at my first book “Charmed & Dangerous” you’ll see a B story about an older gentleman who has Alzheimers. Bronwyn, my main character, thinks she can help him remember his past. It’s a temporary solution, but a gift he welcomes. My Grandma Clark had Alzheimers and it took her so fast that I wished I could have had a few clear moments with her. She was such an amazing woman and had everything to do with my passion for art.

My Grandma Irby shows up as Helen in that book. She was still alive back then, but the idea of losing her was enough to help me create this fun character. A woman who lived life to the fullest, and my Grandma did that for many years. She was never afraid of a new adventure and she loved to travel. She was also a flirt. I get my sense of adventure from her and it’s the reason Candy Havens (yes, I’m talking about myself in the third person) seldom says ‘no’ to any challenge. Even if it scares the hell out her.

There is never a good time to write. Life always gets in the way. I’d rather be on the sofa watching movies, as much as the next person. But that doesn’t get it done.

If you have a long commute and you have to drive, get yourself a digital recorder or use one of the apps on your phone to take notes. Keep some kind of paper with you at all times. How many times are you stuck in a line waiting at Starbucks, or at the doctors office? How many hours do you spend watching television, going out to eat or reading books? How much time do you spend playing games online or on your phone?

You would be amazed at what you could accomplish in 15 minutes if you really put your mind to it.

What tricks do you use to get yourself to do stuff you don’t want to?

Excerpt from Write It Forward: From Writer to Successful Author
“In war everything is simple, but even the simple is difficult.”  Carl von Clausewitz.

If you aren’t where you want to be, then you must CHANGE. How many people do you know who have really changed? Your answer will ultimately depend on what you think change is.

I can tell you what change isn’t. CHANGE is not simply thinking differently. Thinking doesn’t change anything in the world outside of your mind. Here comes my next paradox, though—the first step of change is to think differently. Note, I say it is the first step.

An official definition of change is to make or become different. There’s a big difference between the verbs make and become. It’s the difference between being ordinary and successful.

Make it externally imposed.

Become is internally motivated.

The successful become.

Can people change? If the answer to that is no, then there is no purpose to this and we all might as well quit now. There’s good news, though, since history has proven that people CAN change.  However, change is very difficult and very few people can manage to achieve great change in their life and sustain it. These people are the successful.

Do you have confidence that you know how to CHANGE?

Special Forces Assessment and Selection Thought: To become is hard; to be is even harder.

The Three Steps of Change

1. You have a moment of enlightenment
2. You make a decision to take a different course of action from what you have been doing
3. Commitment to your decision leads to sustained action, which brings about permanent change

EXERCISE: Which of the three parts of change do you think you have the greatest difficulty with?

Most people tend to say Sustained Action.  However, if you really examine yourself, you might find that isn’t your real problem.  For example, I have a hard time making a decision.  Once I make a decision, I’m very good at sustained action.  Here is the key: you must not only figure out what step of change you have the most difficulty with, you also have to determine why that step is your problem.  The reason I have problems making decisions is because I’m afraid of making a mistake.  So do you see how the underlying fear is the thing you must uncover?  We’ll discuss fear more under the next TOOL: COURAGE.

But next week, more on change.

A couple weeks ago I posted about my health challenges, and there was such a great response, I thought I’d share some things I’ve picked up lately.

Tips to help you be more productive and stay healthy when working a desk job.

- Keep healthy snacks handy. Protein bars and almonds can keep you away from the junk food cupboard

-Keep your body in alignment while sitting in an office chair and while standing. Sit up straight and imagine aligning your ears, shoulders, and hips in one vertical line. Remember that any single position, even a good one, will be tiring on the muscles; so continue to change positions frequently. You can lean forward with a straight back alternated with sitting back in your chair, using the back support of the office chair to ease the work of back muscles. Avoid unbalanced postures like crossing legs unevenly while sitting, leaning to one side, hunching the shoulders forward or tilting the head as these can irritate the muscle by placing an uneven stress on them.

- To battle the mid-late afternoon urge to snooze Fruit is an ideal snack. Crackers, hummus, vegetables, popcorn, and nuts are good too. Most of all, avoid the 100-calorie snack packs that are so prevalent as they are the biggest ripoff, ever. They just make you crave more…(Or at least thats what they do to me)

-Fatigue can be a sign of simple dehydration. Reach for H2O when you need an energy boost, not coffee of soda. Better yet, get up and move for 2 minutes. Do 10 sit-ups and 10 pushups. It really does help wake up the brain, and can help with general health and weight loss efforts.

Check this out (found at Tips on Healthy Living website. )
Two minutes of sit-ups? 20 calories
Two minutes of push-ups? 20 calories
Two minutes of step-ups? 20 calories
Two minutes of fast stairs? 20 calories
Two minutes of jumping rope? 20 calories
Two minutes of shadow boxing? 20 calories
Two minutes of plyometrics? 20 calories
Two minutes of jogging in place? 20 calories

And if you’re wondering what else you can do during a 2 minute break, check out these 5 Exercises To Do At Your Desk from Fitness Magazine.com

I spent some time a couple of weeks ago thinking about word counts, which got me thinking about the purpose of daydreaming.  What’s the connection?

Recently, I was asked if I was able to write a lot more after I quit my day job.  And the answer, shockingly, was no.  I seem to write pretty much the same amount now as I did before I became a full-time writer.  In the couple of years after I sold my first book and before I quit my day job, I wrote about two novels and a handful of short stories per year.  After I quit working — about two novels and a handful of short stories per year.  I explained that my output doesn’t necessarily depend on the amount of time I have to write, but on the number of stories my subconscious can deal with.  What I think happened:  my low-intensity administrative day job meant I spent quite a bit of time on the job daydreaming and woolgathering.  I’d make notes, and when I came home from work, my writing for the day would come out of those notes.

Over the last couple of years I’ve learned that I still need that time to daydream.  I still need to sit around, make notes, churn through ideas — woolgather — to have anything worth writing.  I probably only spend a couple of hours a day actually writing.  The rest of it’s a muddle, building up to writing.  But the muddle has to happen, one way or another.

On my personal blog, I wrote about word count, in response to Jay Lake’s post about word count.  Namely, many writers post their daily writing output in terms of word count on their blogs, twitter feeds, whatever.  The numbers are often astonishingly impressive (at least to me):  two, three, four or more thousand words per day.

I always feel deeply inadequate reading these.  My average daily word count?  800-1000 words.  Maybe 1200 if I’m on a roll.  2000 words is a fantastic day for me.  (This is one of the reasons I’ve never attempted NaNoWriMo — I know my average daily word count isn’t up to the challenge and I have no desire to push myself in that kind of marathon.)

It turns out, 800 words a day is enough.  It’s more than enough.  It’s two novels and a handful of short stories a year.  I have no reason to feel inadequate.  In fact, I sometimes wonder if writers who don’t post daily word counts are like me — in the three figures and embarrassed to admit it.  Well, if you are like me — don’t worry about it!  There’s a club for us!  If you finish your book — if you’ve finished multiple books — it really doesn’t matter how you got there, just that you did.

What does this have to do with daydreaming?  I’ve started to wonder if people who write a lot of words at a time do their woolgathering before they start writing.  They’ve got it all in their heads and it just has to get out.  On the other hand, those of us who don’t write more than a thousand or so words at a time do our woolgathering while we write.  I know I have to stop a lot while I’m writing and think about what I’m doing, and that a bulk of my writing time is spent in this thoughtful muddle.  I don’t think this is the same as the “panster/plotter” divide.  Because I do outline.  But an outline doesn’t put words on the page.  For that, I need to daydream a little.

This actually makes me feel a little better about all the time I spend staring at the screen, or out the window, or shuffling through old files and blog entries for no reason at all.  I may not look like I’m working, but my subconscious is churning away the whole time.