Plot or Character - which comes first?

It's like the age old question. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Or, as I said to my kids the other day, "Which came first, the chicken or the horse?" (Yeah, I don't know where that came from either, it was just one of those days). Anyway, when you are starting a story do you start with the plot or the characters?

It almost doesn't matter. In the end you need both.

A great plot without characters to carry it will go nowhere.

Great characters without a plot to propel them forward will not make an interesting story.

I've started stories both ways.

In one work in progress of mine the plot completely came first. I knew I wanted a story about a person who could see evil, as in evil actually manifests itself as something she could see. (And frankly, that's a premise, not a plot). But I didn't know who that character would be. Eventually she became clear in my mind and I was able to write the story.

In another story of mine the character came first. I knew I wanted to write a story about a Princess named Fritzi whose days as a princess might be numbered. I knew she was red headed and feisty and then I had to develop the story to go along with her.

In ALWAYS ALI, which will be coming out this summer,since it is the fourth in the Ali series, I knew who the character was, but I had to find a story to go with her for this book. In this case it has to do with a new girl in school who claims to be her sister.

Whether the plot or the character come first, the two elements need to work together to make a compelling story.

What about you? When you write a story which do you find you come up with first, the character or the plot?

Exciting Days in my Corner of the World

Last month I hinted at some big writing news, but I couldn't quite share it yet. Now I can share that I am now being represented by Steven Chudney of the Chudney Agency, for a MG trilogy about a feisty princess named Fritzi. Hopefully there will be more good news for that series soon!

In the meantime the fourth book of my Ali series will be coming out this Spring. ALWAYS ALI will have Ali questioning herself and what it means to be who she is. I'm excited to share this book with the world, though it's a little sad to be wrapping up the series, Ali and her stories have been a part of my life for a long time.

And finally, in one other bit of news, my daughter has chosen a college for next year. She's going to major in Marketing with a Creative Writing minor and wants to go into some aspect of the publishing business, so I'm guessing that good publishing news will continue to happen in this family.

What good news to you have on this Tax Day?

Release Week!

So, the third book in my series is now available in ebook, and the print versions should be available any day now. This is pretty exciting stuff.

   In the first book, Ali wants to be famous, like her mother, and with the help of a video blog and a viral video she gets what she wants. Only it turns out to not be quite what she thought it would be... isn't that always the case.

In the second book, Ali is ready to leave fame behind her, but notoriety follows her when her young half-brother disappears while she is watching him. Ali has to find her brother while dealing with constant media attention.

So, that's the recap of the first two and, as a special treat, they are both on sale at most e-book outlets for this week, in order to celebrate the arrival of book three.

And now we come to the third (but not yet final) book in the series. This time Ali has to prove her innocence when accused of being part of a cheating ring at school. You just know after the first two books, that things couldn't possibly go without a hitch for her, right?

So, I'm going to hope that this has convinced you to read a bit about Ali, if you haven't already. In the meantime, I'm going to sit back and enjoy my release week!

Reusing Characters

Have you ever had a character you really like in a story that just didn't seem to go anywhere? Ditch the story. Keep the character.

I had a character like that show up in my Ali story. I'd written another story that I liked, but knew it needed a lot of work, and maybe a plot in order to really be something I could get other people to read. But I really liked my main character, Hannah Franklin. The story was that Hannah had grown up on TV along with her brothers and sisters in a family drama, the Flanagans. Her mother played the mother, her father was their base of reality. The show ended when half of her family was killed in a plane crash, effectively ending the show. The thing is that Hannah so identified with being Hannah Flanagan that sometimes it was hard to simply live her life as Hannah Franklin. That was the backstory. The story itself had her going to college and dealing with these things. Like I said, it needed a plot.

Then I was doing a major re-write of my Ali story, changing some of the characters out and freshening it up and realized that Hannah, minus the dead family, could be one of Ali's dormmates at boarding school. The thing is, that a child starting out on TV playing a very small child on a show is most likely to be played by twins. So, Hannah got split into two people, Heather and Lily. They grew up splitting the role of Hannah Flanagan. Heather still wants to be on TV, Lily is done with it. These two characters have added a great dimension to my Ali stories and I'm so glad they didn't just wither away in an unusable story.

What characters from a story stored in a drawer can you bring new life to?

Writing a Series

When I was in high school I started writing a story about a girl named Casey. The story didn't have a particular beginning or end, it just sort of meandered from episode to episode through Casey's four years of high school. I still have those notebooks and the comments my friends made in the margins (my first critique group). And while a lot happened and technically I had it broken down into four books, it wasn't really a true series.

Fast forward many years and the story of Casey has morphed into Reality Ali. It's no longer simply a series of events but a story with a plot and a beginning and a middle and an end.

I'm done. I'm happy.

But then I realize that maybe, I can write more stories about Ali - after all, I had all those notebooks of Casey stories, certainly I can write more about Ali. So I present my idea to the publisher and she agrees. Three more books are contracted for.

This is different than simply writing what happens next in Ali's story, like I used to do for Casey. Each book needs a plot. A beginning, a middle and an end (this is more complicated than it might seem at first glance). And the books have to fit into the whole.

Lights, Camera, Ali came out last year and the third book, Honestly, Ali will be out later this year.

So now I'm on the fourth book, tentatively titled Always, Ali.

There are challenges to writing a series that I didn't anticipate when I started. Things that I want to do now, but can't, because they weren't done that way in the first book. Everything has to fit into the world I've already created. It's a fascinating restriction, because I love the world I've created, it's just hard to remember that even though I created it, I can't simply alter the rules, at least without some explanation.

The great part about writing a series, though, is being able to spend more time with characters I love. The characters of Ali and her brother Mark are two of my favorites and it always feels so comfortable and easy to write scenes for them because I know the characters so well.

Working on this as a series, has been a wonderful experience. I learn more with each book. And am so glad I get to spend more time with these characters.

What challenges and adventures have you faced while writing?

Making Characters Come Alive

There is still so much about writing that I'm learning. I'm always learning, everyone is. But one thing I've been working on lately is making my characters, including the minor characters be more than one dimensional cut outs.

How to do this?

There are a couple of ways. One, for characters who play a significant role in my story I go online and find pictures of what I think that person looks like. Now I have a concrete visual that I can use in description.

Another way is to find out things about the character, even if it does not seem relevant to the story line. What job does the person have? What sports do they like? What things do they carry around in their pockets? What music do they listen to? The more I know about my characters the more real they become and the easier it is to make them come alive on page.

As a very minor example. In my newest book, Honestly, Ali, leaves the headmaster's office and runs past the secretary at her desk. I could have just left it at that. It's a minor point, but I describe it this way.

I hurried out, through the outer office, past Mrs. King who always had a smile for everyone and a big bowl of candy on her desk.

This tells us something, however small about Mrs. King and makes her more real.

A tactic I use with major characters is to have them tell me who they are. I assign them an essay entitled "Who I Am". What the character tells me in that essay doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the story at hand, but it gives me a better feel for who the character is over all. 

For example, the fact that although Ali's mother is a movie-star, Ali is fashion-challenged, is a running joke throughout all the Ali books. In fact the first book starts with Ali realizing that her Mickey Mouse t-shirt may not have been the best choice to wear on that particular day. It's a minor point, but it helps to keep Ali real throughout the books.

What tactics do you use to make your characters come alive?

The Glory and Agony of First Drafts

I love first drafts.

I hate first drafts.

It's a bit of a complicated relationship.

I love being able to have the freedom to go wherever I want with a new story and a new idea. The characters aren't locked into set patterns yet. Anything is possible.

But when anything is possible sometimes it's hard to figure out which way to go, which direction to take the story.

And then, at least for me, I always get to a part in the story - maybe about a third of the way in, where I'm convinced it's the most horrible thing ever written and there really is no point in going on anymore.

Usually I manage to muddle through that part and get back to the fun of inventing new twists and turns. And it is fun to create like that. It's one of the things I love about writing.

I also love the refining part, where I take the rough first draft and turn it into something that I might actually want someone else to read.

Right now I'm working on one story in first draft and it's just a little past the part where I'm convinced it's the most awful thing ever. I've muddled through the rough patch.

I also will be doing final edits shortly, for the third Ali book - Honestly, Ali! I'm so excited to have another Ali book coming out. The fourth Ali book is still in first draft form, waiting for me to turn it into something fun and glamorous. So I've got stories in all phases. Life is good.

First drafts can be the most fun though.

But, sometimes I really hate them.

What is your favorite or least favorite part of writing? First draft, revision, plotting? And why?

Lights, Camera, Ali!

The second book in my Ali series is going to be available sometime this month. I'm so excited to have another Ali book out there to share with the world. And so I'm going to take this opportunity to tell you all a little about her, and why you want to read these books.

Ali Caldwell is the daughter of millionaire Thomas Caldwell, and movie star Margo Schaefer. Her parents divorced when she was small and she lives with her father, who diligently guards the privacy of Ali and her older brother, Mark. He is so careful of their privacy, that no one even knows that Margo Schaefer has children other than the five-year-old triplets that show up everywhere with her and her second husband.

In the first book, REALITY ALI, Ali is starting boarding school, and decides that now is the time to finally try to be famous just like her mother. Without giving too much away, because if you haven't already read it, you're going to want to, and I don't want to spoil the ending for you, let's just say that things don't really go the way she had hoped.

Now we come to book two, LIGHTS, CAMERA, ALI! It's Thanksgiving break and Ali and her brother are heading to their mother's, in California, for the holiday. Ali is not looking forward to it. She has decided that fame is something she wants to stay far away from, and she knows that where her mother is, media attention is never far behind. Determined to make the most of it, however, she and her brother and friends take the triplets on an outing. Things go horribly wrong, when one of the triplets disappears. Ali needs to find her brother, and even eventually learn how to make the media work for her, instead of against her.

I'm currently working on the third book in the series, tentatively titled HONESTLY, ALI. I won't give anything away on that one, because as a work in progress, pretty much everything is subject to change.

So that is my shameless plug for my Ali books. Meet Ali, read her stories, hopefully you'll like her as much as I do.

Lights, Camera, Ali -- Cover Reveal

This is one of those busy times of year, so instead of regaling you with the craziness of the schedule around here, which I'm sure matches the craziness of everyone else's schedule, I'll just take this opportunity to say how excited I am that the second Reality Ali book is coming out this summer. And just so that I know it's really real, I even have cover art. 

Get ready to read more about Ali and her never-boring Thanksgiving break in LIGHTS, CAMERA, ALI.

Creating Characters

One thing a story needs is believable characters.

They don't always have to be lovable, or someone you would want to hang out with, but you have to believe that the character would behave exactly the way the character is behaving or the character loses credibility.

To achieve this you have to know your characters.

The first step is in knowing what your character looks like. I love istockphoto.com for this. I found this picture which I used as my inspiration for my character Ali.

I was lucky that the cover artist was able to use this same picture on the cover, therefore everyone knows just what Ali is supposed to look like. 

But even if you have a picture you should know more than just the character's eye color and hair color. You need to delve a little deeper. One way that I do this is by having my character write an essay entitled "Who Am I". It's a cheesy writing assignment apparently given by every teacher my characters have. 

This allows me to get into the head of my characters and find out what makes them tick, and not just in relation to the story at hand.

Lately I've been revisiting a historical fiction piece I've been working on now and then. I found pictures for all my main players and am now busy trying to find out a little more about them. Of course this is complicated by the fact that my story is set in 1775 and these characters would naturally have different concerns than teens today, or even teens back in the day when I was a teen.

I'm hoping that by getting a good grip on each of the main characters I'll get a firmer idea of exactly where the story is going and how to get it there. As each character becomes more real to me and reveals more of their hidden depth, the story also grows in depth.

It's a win-win.

What do you do to help create believable characters?

Auld Lang Syne

Here we are in that happy holiday period in between Christmas and New Years. The kids are off school, lots of people have off work, the preparation for the holidays are over, but the parties often continue.

It's also a time when people tend to take a step back and look over the past year.

So that's what I'm going to do.

Professionally, the biggest things for me were the publication of REALITY ALI, and signing a contract for three more books in the series.

Personally, the highlight of the year was when my daughter got a clean bill of health after battling a recurring problem for the over a year.

Also I got to Boston this summer. This has been a running joke in our family. Every time we started to think about a trip to Boston something would come up that would sideline it. Not this year. This year I actually got there. 

I also went to my first writer's conference, which was lots of fun and I know I'll have to do that again sometime.

Another highlight was getting to hear my son play his trumpet in the middle school jazz band. His solo starts at about the 2 minute mark.

The must surreal highlight had to be getting our German cuckoo clock fixed at a sushi restaurant. That's something that just might find it's way into a story sometime.

The year hasn't been perfect, there have been horribly tragic stories in the news and our state got hammered by Superstorm Sandy. While our family escaped any property damage, friends of ours were not so lucky. I know it's been a hard year for many in many ways. But when possible I like to focus on the positive.

So, please, share what the happy highlights of your year have been. And here's wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2013.

Another NaNoWriMo Conquered

Another November draws to a close and I can proudly say I am one of the NaNoWriMo winners who has written 50,000 words in a month.

I do it for the motivation and the challenge.

I also did it this year as a way to bang out the first draft of the third book in the Reality Ali series.

This is the fourth time I've reached my goal. One year I did not. That was partly due to getting the flu right at the beginning of the month, which threw off my momentum, and having a story idea I wasn't thrilled with.

So now what. I've written 50,000 words. I have a book, right?

Kind of right.

I haven't reached the end of the story yet - so I'm not really done. Which is fine.

But even when I reach the spot where I feel like I can say "The End" I won't be done. I'll be done with the first draft, which is like being done with the outline in a picture or the skeleton.

The next step is to put it aside and work on another project for awhile. That way when I come back to the manuscript it will be with fresh eyes. At that point I'll see what works and what doesn't work and I'll flesh out the story and the description and pretty much everything that makes a book something interesting to read.

So, it's not done yet.

But I still feel accomplished.

Also a bit humbled, because my fifteen-year-old daughter reached 50,000 words a couple of days before I did.

Reached any goals lately? Doesn't it feel great?

Back to School

Today my kids start back to school.














They are much bigger now than in this picture from several years ago, and maybe not holding hands as they head out the door, but the idea is the same.

Lots of kids have either started the new school year or are about to.

There's always something refreshing about the start of a new school year. The days are getting cooler, the air crisper, there are freshly sharpened pencils lying around... what's not to like?

For many people, more so than New Year's, the beginning of September always feels like the real beginning of the year.

A time to start fresh, to maybe re-invent yourself, a time to take on big ideas.

And that is a nice segue into a bit about my new book, REALITY ALI which is now available to purchase either in ebook or print book format, from Zumaya Publications and at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Ali is starting boarding school. She's not sorry to be there, in fact she's glad to be back with her older brother, Mark, again. But there is one area in her life where she is dissatisfied. Her mother is a famous movie star, but her father has kept her so sheltered that no one even believes them when she tells them. Ali wants to be famous, like her mom. And the start of a new school year, and a new school and new friends, is just the impetus she needs to do something about it.

What she does is get a friends to let her star in a webcast about boarding school. A few minutes every couple of days on YouTube. She hopes that it will lead to bigger and better things.

What it leads to is not what she had in mind. Paparazzi and stalkers were not what she bargained for, but now she has to deal with them, before things get totally out of control.

Ali had a very exciting start to her new school year, hopefully most students will have a slightly more hum-drum experience.

Happy September!

Reality Ali will Debut this Month

Ali Caldwell wants to be famous, like her movie-star mother. Her father, however has always carefully guarded her privacy. But now that she's away at boarding school she and her friends develop a reality show style webcast that provides her with all the fame she was looking for...and more.

It turns out that being famous wasn't exactly how she'd envisioned it.

And now, finally, this month, you can read all about Ali and her friends in the first book of the Reality Ali series.

As soon as the book is available for purchase, at various online sites, I'll post the information.

It's My Time of Year

I always love this time of year. First there's Mother's Day, a day where I am perfectly justified in not doing dishes or cooking dinner.

This year Mother's Day was closely followed by my wedding anniversary. That meant a nice dinner out with just my husband.

And in a couple of weeks I celebrate my birthday and get to be pampered all over again.

Like I said, I love this time of year.

This year there's an even better reason for me to love it.

In a matter of weeks REALITY ALI will be available to buy. I'm so excited about this book. The characters have morphed their way through many stories on their way to this book. Ali herself has gone through several name changes, but always she's the same lovable girl readers will meet next month.

The original Ali, then named Casey, first appeared in a story I wrote in high school. And I'm not going to say exactly how long ago that was, but let's just say that the kids in that story did not have cell phones, or MP3 players, or laptops, or pretty much anything that kids these days have.

My character grew with the times, and now she's a thoroughly modern girl who wants to be famous, just like her movie-star mother. And what better way, than create a web-based reality show with her friends. And, against the odds, she does become famous. But it's not at all what she hoped it would be like.

Only another month and you can find out why!

First Drafts and Other Fun Things

I've been busy plowing through a first draft of book two in my Reality Ali series. (Book one comes out later this spring).

First drafts are very different than the finished product - at least in my case. For me, a first draft is almost an expanded outline. I might know how I want something to end up, but the draft will show me fun ways to get there. And sometimes it will go in a different direction all together.

And generally, first drafts are not something I want anyone else to see. They're messy and filled with mistakes. As I write a first draft I am always convinced it is horrible and can't wait to get through to the end so I can go back and revise and make it better.

So, I finished the first draft and started reading through it. Not revising yet, just kind of seeing what I have there. And here's the other fun thing about first drafts - they are seldom as horrible as I thought they were.

Oh, sure there are sentences that don't make any sense, like "She is trying to stay relative." Pretty sure I meant "relevant." There are grammar mistakes galore. There are subplots that got forgotten and new ones that got picked up. Over all though, the story makes me happy and I'll enjoy fixing it up.

And the 'other fun things' from the title? Allergies. The tree pollen is attacking. Oh, right. That's not a fun thing. So, really the only fun thing going on around here is a completed first draft.

Just Do It

I made a poncho last week. It's right out of the early 1970s. I don't know exactly what I'm going to do with it now that it's made, but the poncho is made.

Why is this at all significant? The kit for this poncho has been around since the early 1970s. That's when my mother paid $9 for a girl scout poncho kit with pattern and wool yarn. Recently she was cleaning out her attic in anticipation of moving and gave me all of her yarn. This kit was included.

I wasn't sure what to do about it. I didn't particularly want a 1970s poncho. But I had the pattern and all the yarn. It is so rare to have everything I need for a project right at my finger tips, that I decided to just go ahead with the project. So now I have a poncho.

And what does this have to do with writing? How about this - it's never too late to recycle that idea or finish that story you started. Go for it. Who knows what you will end up with if you see it through to the end? Maybe nothing worth keeping, but maybe it will be a diamond in the rough that will really turn out to be something great. But if you just let the idea sit in the drawer you end up with nothing at all.

I know this is relevant because many years ago I started a story and revised and changed and revisited that story many times over. The final result of not letting it just sit in a drawer and fester is REALITY ALI which will be available in May. But even better, out of some of the other ideas that kicked around for all those years, I now have a contract for a series of four books, with REALITY ALI being book 1.

So, make that poncho. Write that story. You never know where it might lead!

Introducing Ali

In a couple of months my second book, Reality Ali will be available. I'm in edits with it now, and I thought I'd take a couple of minutes to introduce you to Ali, the main character.

Ali Caldwell is fourteen years old and is starting boarding school. She doesn't mind going away to school at all. Her older brother, Mark, is a junior there, and her dad, who has custody of her and Mark, just left for an extended business trip in Japan. She might as well be at school instead of home with only the staff for company.

But Ali has dreams. Don't most people? And Ali's dreams involve her mother-her movie-star mother, who left when Ali was two to pursue her acting career. Now Margo Schaefer is a household name, starring in a reality show with the precocious triplets from her second marriage. What Ali wants is to be on that show. She wants people to know that Margo Schaefer is her mother. She wants the fame and recognition the triplets get.

That's what Ali wants.

Getting what you want isn't always a good thing.

This spring you'll be able to read Ali's story. I can't wait to share her with the world.

And it's Novel Writing Month Again

I first participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in 2008. I had just signed a contract for my first book, and I was ready to launch into something new. Because I knew I would have both edits for my first book, and our annual Thanksgiving getaway sometime during the month, I really made sure to get lots of words in at the beginning of the month.

In fact, I got so many words in that I finished my 50,000 words in two weeks. A writing feat I have never since duplicated. During that time I wrote the complete first draft for my book Emily's Song, a time travel adventure, which I've just finished revising and am about to start shopping around to agents.

The following year, I was ready to repeat my accomplishment. I had an idea and was excited about starting, and then at the beginning of November I got sick with the dreaded Swine Flu. Being sick for a week knocked my momentum off, I lost interest in my story idea, and I didn't write a novel that month.

But, I'm not one to be discouraged. Last year I knew I'd try again. But, I couldn't start something from scratch. I had a book I was revising. And I needed to finish doing that, I was 30,000 words in on my revisions, and knew I needed to get to at least 80,000, so I let that be my NaNo goal, and I made it. And that book - Reality Ali, will be coming out next spring. So that's a definite NaNoWriMo success story.

And now November has started and it's time to enjoy the craziness of trying to write another novel. I've had an idea percolating, so yesterday I dug in and got started. We'll see what this year will bring (hopefully not the Swine Flu again. Been there/done that).

Do you NaNo?

Introducing Reality Ali

Once upon a time, way too many years ago to admit to, when I was a freshman in high school, I sat down on the orange Colonial-style sofa, in the room with the brown and gold and white shag rug, with re-runs of The Brady Bunch playing on TV, a clipboard with looseleaf paper in my lap and started to write a story about a girl in a boarding school.

Last week, with my daughter now a freshman in high school (and owning all of The Brady Bunch seasons on DVD), I signed a contract to publish REALITY ALI, a story about a girl in a boarding school

Is this the same story?

Well, yes and no.

There are, I think, four elements that have not changed: the boarding school aspect, the girl's last name, the fact that she is rich and the fact that she has at least one older brother. That's about it.

But, I still tend to think of it as a version of the same story. A story that has gone through so many revisions as to be pretty much unrecognizable. But in that time the story has grown and changed and matured. And that's a good thing. After all, I was fourteen when I started the first version - I'd like to think that I've grown and matured over the past years.

What can you take away from this? Keep revising. Keep trying. You never know what might happen.

And in the coming months, I'll let you know more about Ali and her quest to be famous.