Author: beckylevine

Becky Levine is a children's book writer, working hard to strengthen her picture-books skills. She is the author of The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide, a book to help you get started with a critique group, learn to revise from a critique, and strengthen your own critiquing powers. She has also published two nonfiction children's books with Capstone Press. She is currently seeking representation. Becky lives in California's Santa Cruz mountains, where she spends a lot of time sitting on the couch, knitting needles in hand, thinking through the next revision. At her day job, she writes grants for a nonprofit healthcare organization.
Posted in Critique Groups, Critiquing, Guest Blogger, Uncategorized

Guest Interview: PJ Hoover on Critiquing

Posted on by beckylevine

PJ Hoover is the author of The Forgotten Worlds Trilogy, a fun fantasy that takes its characters and readers into the world of Lemuria and Atlantis. The series includes The Emerald Tablet, The Navel of the World, and The Necropolis. (The last book will be released Fall, 2010.)          

PJ is also a wonderful blogger, with a positive energy that always warms and cheers me when I read her posts.

 

I asked PJ a few questions about her experience critiquing and how her critique group works. Read on for some great information. 

BL: Can you give us a brief description of your critique group (online or in person, how many members, what they’re writing, how you found the group, how long you’ve been together)?

PJH: Sure! My current critique group is more a group of online on-demand beta readers. I was previously part of a more formal critique group (20 pages each once a month, 8 members), but a few of us formed a side group to critique extra stuff like full manuscripts. I also contacted a few bloggers whose book reviews I was terribly impressed with to see if they would want to join. They did, and we soon found a nice solid group. Eventually, I dropped from the formal group to focus on the side group. So as for how long we’ve been together, it feels like forever, but in actuality it’s only been a year or so.

BL: Is your group genre-specific or do the members write in various genres? What do you think are the benefits of the kind of group you’re in?

PJH: Our group focuses on MG and YA novels. That’s not to say we wouldn’t read something in a different genre, but thus far the request hasn’t come. The novels are all sorts from fantasy to sci-fi to romantic comedy to historical. The benefits of sticking with MG and YA novels are that we are critiquing the genre we’re all writing in and thus get the added expertise of being familiar with the market while still seeing a variety of work.

BL: What’s the hardest part of being in a critique group, for you? What makes that part worthwhile?

PJH: There’s nothing hard about my current group J I’d say the hardest things in the past groups I’ve been in have ranged from personality conflicts to how long it takes to get through a manuscript. I’m not sure there is anything worthwhile about personality conflicts. I want to have my critique partners for the long haul, so making sure I’m working with people I respect and enjoy talking with is an enormous requirement for me.

BL: If a writer’s goal is publication, do you think participating in a critique group can help the writer toward that goal? How?

PJH: Yes! First off, getting work critiqued really helps us see our work more objectively. It’s so much easier for other people to see what needs to be improved in our work, and their critiques help us see this, too. In addition, critique groups are a fabulous source for networking and support. I consider my critique partners my friends and feel I could count on them for most anything.

BL: What was the biggest surprise for you, about critique groups or the critique process, when you first started participating in a group?

PJH: The biggest surprise to me has been how everyone sees things differently and how getting a variety of opinions can really give us a nice rounded picture of what needs to be improved in our work. Some critiquers may focus on plot while others may focus on character. And seeing as how both are important, getting that variety of opinions becomes essential.

Please answer the next questions quickly, without too much thinking time. 🙂

BL: Do you critique with: Red pen or NOT-red pen?

PJH: Highlighter

BL: Favorite critiquing drink: Tea, coffee, or diet soda?

PJH: COFFEE

BL: Do you prefer: Critiquing or being critiqued?

PJH: Being Critiqued

BL: Who would you rather have run the house while you write/critique? Jeeves or Alice from The Brady Bunch?

PJH: Alice—she did everything,

BL: Name one book that has blown you away in the last year.

PJH: Life As We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer

PJH: Thanks so much, Becky!

BL: Thanks to you, PJ!

Posted in Research, Uncategorized

True Confessions: When Research Gets Scary

Posted on by beckylevine

Remember this photo?

I posted it sometime last year (?) to show how big my stack of research books was getting. Of course, that stack has grown since then, and let’s not even count the books that have come home from and gone back to the libraries.

I find research at once exciting, inspiring, and frustrating. I read so many pages, and–lots of times–I just find myself diving into the world my characters live in. I discover facts that make story connections leap into my brain, read about social and cultural trends that unfold personality layers and conflicts, and find beautiful little details that I can use for setting and atmosphere.

Other times, I can’t find what I want.

That’s what last week was like. I spent way too much time on the Internet, obviously googling all the WRONG terms. I browsed online, trying to find the right books to enlighten me. Can you say dead end? Picture Wile E. Coyote painting the “tunnel” on the rock, the Roadrunner zipping through, and Wile crashing absolutely into the stone. Yep.

So…I’m going to the library on Tuesday. My wonderful bookmobile librarian has helped me figure out that some of the stuff I need is at the San Jose State University library, which I can actually get access to with my San Jose REGULAR library card (they’re connected somehow, by one of those magic, wand-waving library affiliations). And she’s told me, kindly, but firmly, that I need to go there.

Now, I like libraries. I LOVE libraries. When I was little, my sisters and I were just like the kids in Edward Eager’s books, checking out our 10 books from the library, per week, and sharing them around so we’d have (wait, let me do the math) 30 books each to read. My school librarians were always friends, because, you know–they didn’t have to do an ounce of work to get me to read. (Although I do wonder what my 4th-6th grade librarian thought of me checking out Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain multiple times during those years. Secret? I thought it was a fantasy novel, but it was SO big, I never cracked the cover to find out the truth!) Libraries are cozy, warm, and–let’s face it–smell like paper and ink.

But library research? Um, not so much. I’ve done my share. In 10th grade, I wrote my nonfiction research paper about fairies (yes, really), and you can imagine that  took a bit of digging. I did my master’s orals on the Brontës and my thesis on Wuthering Heights. More digging.

I don’t [Insert appropriately whiny tone here.] like it, though. I find it…overwhelming. It’s like trying to solve an Agatha Christie mystery, without any assurance that Poirot will actually tell you what happened at the end. One reference leads to another, leads to another, leads to…you get the point. And even if you DO find the actual document you want, it won’t necessarily be a lovely memoir or well-written history book. It might be…an academic article! Or an original source that’s filled with numbers and statistics and data, all in someone’s charmingly scribbly, totally illegible cursive.

I know, you’re thinking…well, why the heck is she writing historical fiction. Oh, because this silly girl came to me, as I was reading about the 1913 Suffragist march on Washington, DC, and said, “I want to be at that march. I need to be at that march!” And now I’m in love with that girl, totally stuck with the belief that she’s right.

Which means, yes, I need to be at that library. I’m listening to all of you historical-fiction and history writers (Yes, you know who you are–stop looking over your shoulders to see if I’m talking to someone else!), and I’m going to put my worries in the hands of a librarian. I’ve blocked out all of school hours on Tuesday, and I’m driving to downtown San Jose, and I’ll have my notebook and my pencils and my questions and my open mind, and I’m going to put myself in the hands of a kind, supportive, technically-savvy librarian.

And, hopefully…

that painted black spot on the rock face will turn into a real tunnel for me, and I’ll come out the other side, with the details and atmosphere I need.  Wish me luck!

Posted in Critique Groups, Critiquing

D is for Discussion

Posted on by beckylevine

Life’s changing a bit around the old critique group lately. We added a new member lately, someone we’ve all known for years, but who we hadn’t gotten into the “formal” critique relationship with yet. May I just say that it’s going swimmingly.

Something’s happened since she’s joined us. I don’t know if it was just timing, or whether her coming along with her wonderful manuscript has sort of kicked us all in the you-know-what. Whatever the cause, at our last meeting, we all needed a chunk of time for critiquing or brainstorming.

And it was wonderful.

I hear writers worry about what will happen if everyone gets productive at the same time, how they’ll get all the critiquing done, whether they’ll be able to fit their critiques into the normal meeting time. And I don’t want to dismiss these worries. We probably had a total of something close to 100 pages, plus some plotting-thinking time scheduled in. We actually talked emailed ahead of time and agreed to add an extra half hour to the meeting. We also all walked in, got our hot drinks, sat down, and dug in. Because we wanted to fit everyone & everything in. We like this writing productivity, and we want to support it all we can.

Because here’s what happens. One of us starts out and reads our overall critique. The next one follows, and then the third. While each of us is reading, we’re pretty darned good about not interrupting, but if we get a real lightbulb moment, we politely ask for a moment and explain the thought. At the end, when we’ve gone around, the writer asks questions, throws out things she’s been thinking about, and we all chime in. And the individual critiques turn into a full-blown, multi-dimensional discussion. A conversation. A magical mix of back-and-forth interaction that creates its own set of new ideas.

Yes, critique time can cut into writing time. Yes, a group needs to be careful that everybody still feels like they’re making serious progress with their own work. But almost always, I find that the extra energy I put into reading pages and thinking deeply about them more than pays itself back with creativity, imagination, and an extra stimulation to run back & dig into my WIP again.

Try not to put too many limits on submissions in your group. Respect the amount of work everyone can do, but stay flexible and open to what a little extra work will bring you.

Posted in Uncategorized

Quite the Party

Posted on by beckylevine

It came, I showed up, and I had a blast.

Remember the song “Anticipation?” That could be my theme song for the past week. I had very little to do to get ready for the launch party, but I was running on adrenaline all the same, jumping from one tiny task to another, always with that little wave of nerves running along through my brain. I knew the party would be great, but did that stop me from some worrying, some fretting? Of course not. Because, you know, what would be the fun in that?

So, getting to Books Inc yesterday and getting this set up…

 was a big relief. And let me tell you, if you live in the Bay Area and haven’t tried Kara’s Cupcakes yet, consider this a serious recommendation. I tried a couple of other places, and I was overwhelmed by the too-sweetness and underwhelmed by the flavor and texture. Kara’s were incredible…yes, very sweet, but seriously intense on flavor and the cake part was just YUMMY. 🙂

From then on, as people started to show up, and I got hug after hug from friends and family, things just got better and better. The manager at Books Inc, Eric, was incredibly nice and seriously helpful from the time I introduced my self after one of Jennifer Laughran’s NYMBC events, and he made yesterday go so smoothly, I can’ t thank him enough. 

And, yes, I did get up in front of everyone and talk. I told the story of how I got the chance to write the book. And then, after Eric reminded me and my wonderful critique group got things started, I answered a few questions. Here’s the proof:

And I signed.

Okay, I’ll say it–what a rush! I thought I’d be seriously nervous, and there was definitely some of that, but I just kept seeing face after face of friends and writers, and I just kept smiling and writing. No writer’s cramp this time around, but, boy, did my face hurt by the end.  Worth every bit of the ache!

My brother-in-law, who is a phenomenal photographer (and, yes, you’ve heard me talk about him before as my computer guru–I married into a very talented family!), took all the pictures. Including this one that I really, really wanted to get:

There they are. The incredible women I’ve been critiquing with for years. Terri Thayer, Jana McBurney-Lin, Beth Proudfoot, and Cyndy Furze. I’ve know Cyndy since before my son was born, and I’m pretty sure he’s now taller than both of us! These writers are the reason, not only that I wrote The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide, but that I continue learning and growing with all the rest of my writing as well. They more than “rock;” they are my rocks. They’re why I not only believe in the power of a strong critique group, but why I know it with absolute certainty. They’re why I can say to any writer I meet, “This is what you want in your life.”

It was a wonderful day. I know 2010 is going to bring me more incredible moments, and I can’t predict any of them. This party, though, was the best day I could have asked for, to share my happiness and celebration with the people who mean so much to me.

I wish you all a moment like this and the feelings that come along for the ride.

Posted in Uncategorized

Friday Five: Back Online

Posted on by beckylevine

A couple of weeks ago, we Californians had a BIG storm. Definitely not as big as some of you other states, but for us–a doozie. I drove home one day in a mix of lightning, big winds, AND hail. A friend got the top of a redwood tree in her dining room–via the roof. And I heard of another family whose nearby redwood tree took a bolt of lightning, which went through the ground into their house and fried every wire inside every wall.

So, honestly, being without internet or even with wonky in-and-out internet for a bit was not something I was complaining about.

Until it didn’t come back. Then, yes, you started hearing a little whining. Only a lot of you didn’t hear all of it, because…I couldn’t do it ONLINE! 🙂

Two days ago, something got fixed. It could have been my husband going up on the roof and squeezing a bunch of water out of the antenna housing (or something like that), it could have been our provider finally having time to check some place they hadn’t checked yet, but I’m baaack. And happy again. So today, you get the five things I plan to do with my Internet, now that it’s decided to hang around again.

1. Catch up on everybody’s blogs. I’m almost afraid to go and look at my Google reader and see the numbers. But there are books out there being talked about and writing processes being discussed, and I need to check in.

2. Update my website with a couple of new things. I want to put up some downloadable PDFs of articles that people might find handy, and it’s time to get my critique services onto the site again.

3. Get back to posting at my own blog. (I feel so productive, doing this item as we “speak.”)

4. Treat myself to a little Twitter/Facebook time.

5. Absent myself voluntarily from the Internet Saturday at 3:00, since I’ll be interacting LIVE with people at my launch party. Question: Can I sign books with my right hand whilst eating a cupcake with my left? 🙂

Have a great weekend, everybody! Back to our regular programming here next week.

Posted in Point of View, Voice

The Brilliance of Point of View in Jennifer R. Hubbard’s The Secret Year

Posted on by beckylevine

When I was working on the critique book, I did a lot of research. (You didn’t think it all just poured freely out of my head, did you?) One of the many writing books I read was The Power of Point of View by Alicia Rasley. I’ve always loved books with a strong voice, and I already understood the basic technical pieces of the different points of view a writer can use. As I was reading Rasley’s book, though, I think I really saw, for the first time, how much point of view and voice interact–how much point of view can, in fact, direct and drive the voice.

In Jennifer R. Hubbard’s first novel, The Secret Year, the author puts on the page just what Rasley talks about. She’s created a character in Colt Morrissey who has, before the book even opens, proved himself more than capable of keeping secrets. In fact, Colt is a person, I think, who prefers–if not secrecy, definitely privacy, solitude, and other people with whom he can share silence.

And this comes through in his point of view and voice.

Colt’s voice is not one that grabs you on page one and yanks you in. Instead, it’s reserved and quiet. I don’t want to parade any spoilers, but you can read on the jacket cover that, for the past year, Colt has had a secret relationship with Julia Vernon, who dies suddenly early on in the story. As I started reading, I was thinking that Colt wasn’t having the reactions to Julia’s death that I would expect. It didn’t take many more pages before I realized that, no, Colt–the narrator–wasn’t sharing those reactions.

Some authors, some stories, would have Colt erupt somewhere in the book, would show the surface he presents to the world as a tight self-control that had to give. Colt does have his moments of extra pain, and they are intense and tense. He makes mistakes–choices that aren’t so great—based on his continued connection to and confusion about Julia.  Hubbard doesn’t take the easy way out, though. She doesn’t take Colt down the expected path and give him release. Because, really, release is not Colt’s way. And it is very probably not what he needs.

The voice of this narrator is a controlled one, but it’s a control that’s natural, not false. Colt’s point of view of the world is one that stands a bit outside, looking in quietly at all the action and talking, happy to be near it, but not needing to be of it. He acts from this point of view, doing a lot of quiet thinking and choosing people who understand his need for solitude. Yes, Colt can be pushed out of this point of view by seeing a friend hurt, or by needing a bit of extra problem-solving help, but never far out of it.

And, as I’ve said, Colt’s point of view directs his narrative voice. Honestly, there were times when I was frustrated with Cole, when I wanted him to tell me more, to let me–or one of the other characters–in to help. I am someone who talks out her problems, probably more than much of my family & many of my friends would prefer! Before I opened the book, I knew I was feeling a bit skeptical about the idea of this relationship that went on for a year without either partner talking about it. The skepticism didn’t list.

Hubbard has given Julia a journal, letters “to” Colt in a private notebook, that beautifully shows another side of Julia than even Colt saw. And this journal is totally believable, because Julia is not Colt; she needs some outlet, and the journal lets her keep her part of the secret. Colt, though, needs no journal. I love his surprise when he finds out that it exists–it’s not just surprise at the things Julia wrote, but that she wrote them–that she expressed them. Colt can keep the secret easily, it’s simply an extension of who he is.

If you haven’t found Hubbard’s blog, WriterJenn, take a look. She posts some of the most intelligent thoughts about the writing craft that you’ll find on the web. And if you want to see how that thoughtfulness plays out on the page—in story, characterization, and point of view, pick up The Secret Year.

Posted in Critique Groups, Critiquing, Guest Blogger

Guest Post: Dawn Simon on Evolving with a Critique Group

Posted on by beckylevine

This month, I’m starting a new feature at my blog. I’m invited writers to come and post about their critique stories. When I happened to see Dawn Simon mention at her blog, Plotting and Scheming, that she wanted to post sometime about evolving with her critique group, I quickly sent her a note, asking if she’d like to do that here. She very nicely agreed to do so, and to be my first guest poster about critiquing. (If you’d like to share your critique experiences at my blog, or be interviewed about your critique group, send me a note at beckylevine at ymail dot com!)

Read down for Dawn’s post, including a wonderful photo of her critique group! And don’t miss her wonderful reference to a writer’s “bunny trails.”

Dawn Simon swears that no more than five percent of her writing energy comes from the caffeine in Frappuccinos. She is a member of SCBWI and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association, and she has also been actively involved with Field’s End, a local writers’ community. Her manuscript PERFECT VISION was a finalist in the young adult category of the 2009 PNWA Literary Contest. She thinks kids are some of the coolest people, which explains her elementary teaching degree and her undying quest to write for teens. In addition to writing YA, she loves reading it, and she dreams of seeing her own books published someday. Soon.

Becky invited me to do a guest post here because of something I’d said at my blog when I’d touched on my own evolution in my critique group. The idea interested her so she flew me out first class so I could be here with you guys today! Okay, that’s a total lie—everything was done via email. This is my first time doing a guest post, so I’m all excited and acting immature about the whole thing. I’ll settle down now and get to my topic: My Evolution in Critique Group.

I’m fortunate to be in an author-led critique group with author Sheila Roberts at the helm. When we first came together, most of us had recently taken a class taught by Sheila. In the class, she’d given us weekly lessons as well as critiques on the first three chapters of our works in progress. Knowing we had a good thing going, we asked Sheila to take us beyond the first three chapters and lead us in a critique group. Lucky us—she agreed!

(Below–Dawn’s Group. Front Row, L to R: Sheila Roberts, Sarah Shepard. Back Row, L to R: Bev Young, Martha Schoemaker, and Dawn Simon.)

Since I knew everyone from one writing class or another, sharing my work for the first time wasn’t as scary as it could have been. I already had a completed manuscript, and I’d bring one chapter a week. In my mind, this was the “right” way for me to be in a critique group. I knew it might not be the right way for everyone, but it was for me.

When I read Stephen King’s ON WRITING, I totally related to his philosophy about writing the first draft with the door closed. Besides, I needed to know the first draft was all me. I imagined I’d see the novel as less of an accomplishment or that it somehow wouldn’t be as true to what was in my own mind and heart if I received input before I had a completed draft. I was open to revision. I just first needed this draft to exist.

Once I received feedback from Sheila, my other critique group members, and faculty members at conference manuscript consultations, my manuscript became better and tighter. Having Sheila was my biggest asset because she helped me apply what I’d learned in classes to my own work. The continuity was priceless.

It was a little more frightening when I started turning in chapters for a book that wasn’t already written. The other three ladies had been writing this way all along, but it was so new to me. By this point, we’d been together a while, our editing skills had improved, and critique group already felt like the safe place it was. But turning in chapters as I wrote them was different. It made me feel a little more vulnerable, like I was leading people I respected down an unknown path rather than walking them home the safe way.

Once things got rolling, I saw the benefits. I used to be prone to bunny trails: taking off in another direction, getting sidetracked with things I, as a novice writer, thought might be interesting to a reader or add color to my work. Turning in work as I went meant Sheila and the other ladies could cut me off before I wandered. This saved me time and, I think, trained me to focus.

An even bigger benefit was having the opportunity to discuss my ideas on a weekly basis, ideas that were on pages being handed in that week or that maybe hadn’t even been written yet. Another time saver. Plus, I felt less married to my original ideas. My new method was making me a better, more efficient writer.

* * *

Nowadays, I no longer think twice about turning in pages as I go. And since I’ve grown so much as a writer, my weekly chapters are way better than they used to be, even when I handed in pages from a completed manuscript. Trust makes this possible, and I think it’s an essential ingredient for a successful critique group. Also, there’s a comfort that comes with being together so long. It’s kind of like family that way. Knowing that the other people in my critique group are fully aware of my abilities (and vice versa) allows me to take chances. I can stretch myself, attempting to create something better or crash and burn trying without the fear of being judged.

There isn’t one right way to be in a critique group. Different things work for different people. I doubt Stephen King would disagree. I think the goal is to find the best way each of us works and to keep our minds open to ideas that can help us improve individually as writers.

Posted in Celebration

What I Did on Launch Day & Book/Chocolate Winner!

Posted on by beckylevine

Okay, guys, I’ve been waiting over a year to get to put up this post! I love reading launch-day reports from other writers, and half the reason I got myself out from behind my desk and into the real world (okay, the real BOOK world, anyway) was so that I’d have something to write about.

Yes, fantasy can create reality. 🙂

Before I start the report. I want to thank everyone again who has helped and is helping me launch the book. This includes not just the bloggers who are talking about me so kindly, but also local friends and family who are just working to keep me (relatively) calm and sane. Hugs to you all!

There are still a few contests running, chances for you to win a copy of The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide. Check these out:

And I want to announce the winner from my own contest, who gets both a copy of my book and a bar of Lindt’s Intense Pear Dark Chocolate. Drum roll…

  • Susan R. Mills!

Susan, email me at beckylevine at ymail dot com, and I’ll get your prizes out to you!

Okay…back to the day!

I did write. Well, I tried to write. I sat down at my computer for an hour and took notes on an upcoming scene. Okay, it wasn’t until two days later that I got my brain together enough to actually start the scene, but the effort was made. I believe, on launch day, that more than counts!

And then I went out. My first stop, with the simple goal of ordering mini-cupcakes for my launch party, hit CUPCAKE FAIL. My favorite bakery does not make the mini’s. I have to say, as seriously intense as modern cupcakes are, I believe the regular size are overkill. So…back to the drawing board. Let’s skip over the control-freak anguish and just get to the result. Mini-cupcakes will be provided by Kara’s Cupcakes in Palo Alto, where the woman who took my order was kind, patient, and quoted Occam’s Razor at me.You really can’t beat that kind of service!

Okay, then came the big moment. I had tried, a few times earlier in the week, to see if my book was on the shelves of any local bookstores, but no luck. I took this as fate, or at least as a positive indication that I might very possibly show up at one of those stores on launch day and NOT have to push past my shyness/nervousness (yes, really) about approaching a bookseller & offering to actually sign my books. So I strolled casually to the back of the Barnes & Noble in The Pruneyard Shopping Center, pretty sure that I’d just be browsing the writing section for other people’s books. At first glance, I was right–nothing in the craft section. So I browsed and looked for a few other things, when…BOOM!

They’d stocked it among the marketing & getting published books!

Well, probably, being next to a book on getting an agent is not such a bad spot. 🙂

It didn’t matter, though, because after I took my breath and hunted down the incredibly nice salesperson and asked if they’d like me to sign the books, they ended up in an entirely new spot. And, look-proof that I DID ask and that I DID sign!

It felt good, weird, and silly all at the same time. But I do love the stickers!

Finally, thanks to my husband’s back being on the mend and sitting in a chair being not quite so painful, I took him and my son out to dinner to celebrate. We went here and ordered only from the appetizer menu–one of our favorite things to do. Even my son, pretty much a burger guy, was able to find a delicious set of Sliders. Then home to pajamas, Ben & Jerry’s Karamel Sutra ice cream, and a few episodes of Battlestar Galactica. Yes, geekdom reins over glamour in our house!

All in all, a wonderfully happy, exciting day. The perfect way to step briefly out of life’s regular programming. 🙂

Posted in Uncategorized

Thankful Thursday: Friends

Posted on by beckylevine

Tomorrow is my launch day. I’ll post early next week about how it goes & what I did. Hoping husband’s back heals enough so he can sit comfortably in a chair while we go out to dinner to celebrate!

Anyway, I just wanted to take a quick minute to say thank you to everybody. Yes, you. And, you. The wonderful bloggers who have interviewed/will interview me and posted/will post my guest blogs this month. The people who are setting up the contests & encouraging people to enter to win a copy of my book. The people on Facebook & Twitter who I’ve never met physically, but who (whom?!) I count as friends & who are sending me notes about bookstore sightings & online-order deliveries. My local friends–writing & otherwise–who keep telling me congratulations and giving me hugs and even squealing with me. Everyone at Writer’s Digest for working so hard and adding their own brilliance to the book, not to mention really making me feel like one of their team.

Tomorrow, my book will be official. I already have a few stacks of it in my office. And that’s really, really cool. But, you know, I could be celebrating this launch alone. I could be holding the book and patting myself on the back and saying, “Well done.” And it just wouldn’t be as exciting or as intense or as “loud” as it’s been, even so far!

And to any of my blog readers who are just venturing out into this online world of writers, let me tell you what an incredible place it is-more support and encouragement than you’d think possible. Incredible.

So, just…thank you. So, so much!

Posted in First Drafts

Laying Down the Bones

Posted on by beckylevine

I’ve written two scenes so far in this restart of my WIP. Fifteen pages. So far, it’s got all the wonderful qualities listed in this trailer for Miracle on 34th Street:

Yeah, right. I don’t think so. More like the exact opposite.

And you know what? I don’t care. I’m getting the basics down. The characters and settings are on stage. The two scenes have conflicts, and very possibly the right conflicts. I’m getting the tiny seeds of who these characters, or will be, out of my head and into some words. I’m sticking in placeholders for specific details that I’ll need to research.

I’m writing the bones. No, the bones aren’t exciting yet. In fact, they’re pretty darned bland. But they’re on the page, linking the skeleton I need, so that I can add the muscles and blood and skin later on.

And that feels great.

Not to mention I finally figured out how to embed a YouTube video in my blog!