Writers on Wednesday: Laurie J. Edwards

Today, my guest is Laurie J. Edwards.  This lifelong reader has a lot of great advice, so sit back, relax, and enjoy!

1. When did you start writing?

Year ago when my five children were all under eight years old, I began writing for sanity’s sake. I signed up for the Institute of Children’s Literature course. It was the best thing I could have done. I learned so much about writing and marketing my work. The first article I sent out was a class assignment, and I was thrilled when Highlights accepted it. I didn’t realize at the time how unusual it was to have your first submission accepted by the first publisher you sent it to. I soon learned that rejection letters are the norm.
2. Are you a pantser or a planner?

A bit of both. I prefer to know the beginning and ending before I start. Most of the time I usually know a few key scenes in the middle. Then I write to find out the rest. I love going in unexpected directions as I draft.
3. Can you give us an idea of your writing process?

It varies a lot depending on what I’m writing and what deadlines I have. When I’m on a tight deadline, it isn’t unusual for me to write 12 hours (or more) a day. When I’m not facing a deadline, I sometimes have trouble motivating myself. The only thing that remains consistent, deadline or not, is that I prefer to write late at night. I do my best writing between 11 pm and 4 am.

Because I write everything from picture books to adult novels as well as nonfiction books and educational articles, my actual process varies a lot. For nonfiction, I usually research until I find at least one fun or key fact that I can use to surprise readers. Once I have that, I try to work my other information around that so the article builds to that point.

For picture books and easy readers, I often write words on slips of paper—a few animals, favorite kid topics (sports, cars, princesses, dinosaurs), and some problems/fears young kids face. Then I stir up the slips, select 3 or 4, and use those to make up a story.

For middle grade and YA, I often hear a voice speaking to me. I write down what the character says, and the story proceeds from there. I have a few of those conversations that I still don’t know the rest of the story. Those sit and wait until the character is ready to tell me more. For my YA set in Ming China, I was in Beijing in the Forbidden City when I heard a young girl say, “You must tell our story. Not all of us wished to come here.” That launched my tale of a concubine who didn’t want to be taken to the emperor.

Most of my adult novels to date have been inspirational novels. The ideas for those come from situations I see that bother me. Often the stories are allegorical, although many people only see the surface layer, which is usually a romance.
4. Which authors have influenced your work?

From the time I learned to read, I was never without a book in my hand. Until I was published and had too many deadlines to allow it, I read 20-30 books a week. So I would say over the years I’ve been influenced by thousands and thousands of writers.
5. What are you plans/future projects/new releases that we should be aware of?

Recent releases include the 5-vol. Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes and a YA story in the anthology A Community of Writers. I just finished a series of 90 educational articles on children’s authors; they were a lot of fun and very inspiring. Presently I’m ghostwriting a celebrity biography and a YA historical series set in the Wild West. And I’ve been asked to write some picture books on bullying. I also have several novels in progress or almost completed.
6. Any tips for new writers?

Trust your characters. I consider every story idea as a gift and see each main character as the narrator. It isn’t my story, it’s the protagonist’s. I try to step back and let her or him do the telling. Sometimes this takes a while, but in the end, if I don’t rush them, my characters reveal a more interesting tale than I would have made up without their help. As long as I can hear their voices, I know I’m on the right track. Sometimes  I have to stop and wait because a narrator isn’t ready to tell the whole story. Some people call this writer’s block, but I don’t see it that way. I strongly believe that when the character goes silent, she’s drawing strength to tell a difficult part of her story. If I’m patient, the events that emerge next are often the saddest or most moving ones in the whole book.

The other piece of advice I’d offer is to make friends with other writers. No one will understand your strange inclination to put words on paper and walk around talking to nonexistent characters better than someone else who has the same affliction. The best thing I ever did was join SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) and RWA (Romance Writers of America). Go to every conference they offer. Learn about the craft, meet editors and agents, and learn what they’re looking for. But most of all, find writers who will critique your work. If you’re serious about getting published, getting to know other writers—published and unpublished—is the best thing you can do for your career.

I got my first writing and editing jobs through a member of my SCBWI critique group. And every manuscript I write goes to my critique group (often multiple times) before I submit it. I’ve learned so much from other writers. Without them, I’d never be where I am today. Every writer from my original critique has now been multi-published. One is even a New York Times Bestselling author.
7. Any tips for old writers?

You mean old in age? You’re never too old to start (or too young). Scott O’Dell and William Steig didn’t begin writing for children until they were in their 60s. Both managed to write about 30 children’s books before they died, and many of those books won major awards.

I suspect you probably meant tips for writers who have been writing awhile. If you’re a seasoned writer and you’ve been published, look around for a writer you can mentor. Pass on all the knowledge you have gleaned. New writers everywhere are eager to learn what you can teach.

If you’ve been writing for years, but haven’t been published yet, most people will tell you to be persistent. That’s good advice; it isn’t always easy to break in. But I also think many people send out their manuscripts way too soon. I strongly believe that everyone’s first 3 manuscripts should never see the light of day. Let those be your practice manuscripts. Wait until you’ve written 4 or 5 manuscripts before you send one out. If you do, you won’t ask why I’ve given this advice. You’ll know. By the time you’ve written your 5th manuscript, you’ll be embarrassed to think that you actually considered sending out that first one. Believe me. I’ve seen it hold true for almost every writer I know. And many of those who found someone to publish their early manuscripts wish they hadn’t.

You’d be better served by studying everything on craft you can find, attending workshops, and networking. Give yourself time to grow as a writer. Five to ten years isn’t unusual to put in studying the craft before you’re published. The old rule that you should devote 10,000 hours to practice is a good one to follow. Become a master first, then submit.

Laurie J. Edwards Biography

Laurie juggles a freelance editing career as well as writing for both children and adults under several pseudonyms. In addition to more than 2000 magazine and educational articles in print, her most recent books include Rihanna (People in the News) (Lucent, 2009), Pirates through the Ages (Cengage, 2011), and the 5-vol. UXL Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes (Gale, 2012) as well as stories in two anthologies, Summer Lovin’ and A Community of Writers. She is also ghostwriting a celebrity biography and a YA historical fiction series and has several books coming out on cyberbullying. She is also hard at work on several adult romances under a pseudonym. You can visit Laurie at her website, her blogs (Susquehanna Writers and Downtown YA), friend her on Facebook at Laurie J. Edwards, or on  Twitter @LaurieJEdwards.

website – http://lje1.wordpress.com

blogs – http://thesusquehannawriters.blogspot.com

http://downtownya.blogspot.com/

 

Facebook – Laurie J. Edwards

 

 Twitter – LaurieJEdwards

 

 

 

 

Blog Tour: PRETTY DARK NOTHING by Heather L. Reid

Today, I am so excited to bring you a special guest post from my pub sister, Heather L. Reid.  Her YA debut, Pretty Dark Nothing, is out now!  Heather joined me today to talk about her long, winding road to publication.  She’s proof that perseverance pays off!

My Journey To Publication

“We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter’s evening. Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nurse them through bad days till they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true.”
Woodrow Wilson

Am I Really Going to Be a Published Author?

*pinch*

Yes, I really am.

*pinch*

Like the Woodrow Wilson quote, I have nourished and protected this dream, nursed it through bad days and after 26 years of dreaming, it’s finally come true. The dream sparked to life when I was ten. I was sitting in my 7^th Grade English class. Instead of working on my spelling assignment like I was supposed to, I spent the class writing the first chapter of my first novel. I wanted to be a real writer with a real book on a real book store shelf. I imagined the smell of the freshly printed pages, and what it would feel like to hold my book in my hands. I wanted it. I spent months working and writing in my notepad. No, you can’t read it, I’ve buried the manuscript in the middle of the desert and it’s guarded by a three headed dingo. Yeah, it was that awful.

The years flew by. When you’re that young, it’s hard to hold onto a dream, hard not to get distracted. Life got in the way. So did middle school bullies, hormones, boys, and surviving high school. I channelled my angst in poetry and short stories that never saw the light of day. The idea of being a published writer became overshadowed by other goals. But no matter how much I pursued other things, writing never left my soul, it haunted me, tapped me on the shoulder every now and then to remind me that was my gift and I shouldn’t waste it.

At the age of twenty-one, I was working as a receptionist for an IT company, unhappy and lost in my life. A magazine had been left on my desk by my boss on her way into her office. Bored, I started flipping through it. I’ll never forget seeing that ad for The Institute of Children’s Literature. It spoke to me. It dared me to take a chance.  I tore out the page and decided it was time to get serious. It was the first step to get myself back on the write path, of really learning the craft, learning discipline, connecting with other writers, and developing confidence so that I could achieve the goal I had set when I was a child.

That was nearly fifteen years ago. In that time I’ve written picture books, short stories, poetry, and magazine articles. Some came close to publication, but ultimately, none found a home. Then I had an idea for a YA paranormal novel which would become my debut, Pretty Dark Nothing. Writing a full length novel scared the crap out of me. I had never ventured to write anything that long before, but they story, the characters nagged at me, urged me to write. Something clicked. I knew I had finally found my voice. The words poured from me. Euphoric. I was in love with my characters. I worked hard for two years. I wrote draft after draft, polishing and working it until I thought it shined. Then I crossed my fingers and sent it out into the world. After several rejections, an editor with one of the big six asked for the full. I could hardly contain myself. This was it. It had to be. I waited nine months for a decision only to be disappointed when they ultimately passed.

I felt discouraged. I wanted to cry and scream in frustration. There had been days when I wanted to give up before, but this rejection hurt more than all the others put together. It took me awhile to pick myself up again. But I had a fire in my belly. I couldn’t let go of my dream. I started several other books, but none of them excited me as much as my first one. Pretty Dark Nothing wouldn’t let me go.

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” ~Confucious

After three years resting in a virtual drawer, I took it out and started reworking it. It had potential, but I knew it could be better. I spent eight months rewriting the entire manuscript. I expected that rejections would come, just as they had before. And then something amazing happened.

On March 2^nd 2012, all the dreaming, the rewrites, the determination paid off.  I opened my e-mail to an offer. Pretty Dark Nothing, had sold in a two book deal. I couldn’t believe it. I read the e-mail over and over, pinching myself each time. Me? A two book deal?  I felt like the luckiest girl on the planet. I thanked the ten year old me for setting that goal twenty-six years ago. Wow! That’s a long time to carry a dream with you. But I’m here to tell you that it can happen. If you’re willing to work at it, if you’ve got the vision, the passion, the fire in your soul for something, if you can’t imagine doing anything else in the world, your dream will come true.  When you least expect it. When you feel like it’s never going to happen, just remember to pick yourself up, keep striving for your dream every single day, and don’t let anyone tell you you’ll never get there.

So in the words of Henry David Thoreau – ‘’Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined. If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavours to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

-Heather L. Reid,  Author

YA Debut Novel Pretty Dark Nothing releasing April 23^rd 2013 by Month 9 Books

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6448958.Heather_L_Reid

http://www.heatherlreid.com/

http://hugs-and-chocolate.com/

http://www.month9books.com/

 

Witches and Witchcraft Reading Challenge 2013: Initiate Level, books 3 and 4

I signed up for this reading challenge (after my successful attempt last year of reading 100 books in 2012) and I thought it would be a fun way to kick off the New Year! Here are my next two witchy titles for 2013:

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

I love finding Wiccan characters in fiction, and the mother of the protagonist in this wonderful novel is another great addition.  Cas, the main character, hunts restless ghosts and sends them on their way, and after each hunt, his mom waits at home with a jar of salt to cleanse his blade and a handful of other protective charms.  But when Cas faces off with something far worse than he’s ever encountered before, he will need all the magical support his mom can offer…but will it be enough?

Make Magic of Your Life by T. Thorn Coyle

I had the chance to read this elegant nonfiction text for the Patheos Book Club, and I am so thankful I did.  Coyle presents very real ways to infuse magic into your day-to-day life, and working through the four powers of the sphinx (To Know, To Will, To Dare, and To Keep Silence) helped me make some inner shifts and realize that now is the time to take a chance I’ve been dreaming of for a long time.  This is a great magical read for anyone whose life feels slow or stagnant.

What magical reads have you discovered lately?  I haven’t set a goal yet for this challenge, but I’m so close to the next level, and it’s only May; plenty of time to keep reading!  Any good witchy suggestions?