How to Write a Fairy Tale in 3 Steps

Step 1: Invent a character
This character needs to be pathetic on the outside, and relatively perfect on the inside. Honest, kind, and dirt poor.Also gorgeous.

Step 2: Put said character where she can demonstrate how obnoxiously selfless she is.
It helps if she's really hungry, dirty, or extra-poor at the time.

Step 3: Reward her for acting in a way you would never act yourself.
Then pretend like you actually would act that way and give yourself a pat on the back.

Things I Never Said Before I Was a Mom

A few quick notes: The book cover design contest ends this weekend. I have some fantastic entries, but would always like to see more. Just so you know, the winning entry WILL be the official cover of THE FAIRY TALE TRAP ebook which comes out December 20th!

Also, I'm working on some bonus material for the ebook. What would you like to see? (I've come up with some ideas for the poll in the sidebar, but if you want to see something else, please leave it in the comments!)

That said...

I've started a new blog, called Things I Never Said Before I Was a Mom. I think it's pretty self-explanatory, but the website address is based on something my mom said to me when I was two: "Stop standing on the bread."

http://stopstandingonthebread.blogspot.com/

Anyway, I thought I'd share the first few posts with my readers on this blog, in case you want a quick laugh.

"We don't rub our tushy with necklaces!"

"Get your foot out of the Crock Pot."

"Get the bath toys out of the toilet!"

Fairy Tale Survival 101

by Ivy Thorn

Fairy Tales are so predictable. But they're not. You think you know what happens next. You think you know all the patterns and archetypes. But the thing about fairy tales is: you never know when some fairy is going to change things up because he's bored. Or you might change the story without meaning to. There's no rule that says Snow White has to take a bite from a poisoned apple. You can pick all the apples in kingdom, but that's not going to stop the queen from going after Snow White.

Believe me. I've tried.

I had a friend who got stuck in The Clever Little Tailor. And things went horribly wrong because he broke into the town's cheese shop. But that's another post.

The point is: anything you change can come back and bite you.

So the first rule of fairy tale survival is: Don't touch a thing. I don't care if it's pretty or sparkly or if it looks delicious. It's probably cursed anyway and you don't want it.

The second rule completely contradicts the first one. You have to change something. If you're being trapped in a fairy tale, it's most likely because a fairy is bored and wants to watch something entertaining. So you have to change something or the fairy will change things for you. And believe me, you don't want that.

So start small. Start by talking to characters. Get them to think about their situation differently. You want the character to make the big changes, not you. For example, one of my better ideas was when I jumped into Snow White this latest time. (Yes, I get trapped in the same tale more than once occasionally.) I told the queen she'd be better off leaving Snow White alive. Of course, she didn't listen to me. Until I suggested that she make Snow White ugly. Not dead, just ugly.

My third and best tip for surviving a fairy tale is to make friends. I know it sounds cheesy, but it works. You'll get past all those witches and enchantresses trying to test you. Friends are allies and can help you be in more than one place at the same time. One of the best friends you can make? The kitchen staff. Everything revolves around food, just like in our world, and if you can make friends with the cook, you've got a leg up on all the big parties, balls, royal dinners, family suppers, even that basket of poisoned apples...

So there you go. You're ready for a fairy invasion. If you ever wake up in front of a castle, you know what to do.

RePost: Revising and Editing Part 3

Great advice on editing your novel (more or less) from people who know what they're talking about:

I try to leave out the parts that people skip. ~Elmore Leonard

To get the right word in the right place is a rare achievement. To condense the diffused light of a page of thought into the luminous flash of a single sentence, is worthy to rank as a prize composition just by itself...Anybody can have ideas--the difficulty is to express them without squandering a quire of paper on an idea that ought to be reduced to one glittering paragraph. ~Mark Twain

The personages in a tale, both dead and alive, shall exhibit a sufficient excuse for being there. ~Mark Twain

An author should
... Say what he is proposing to say, not merely come near it
... Use the right word, not its second cousin.
~Mark Twain

Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. ~Anton Chekhov

Substitute “d***” every time you’re inclined to write “very;” your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. ~Mark Twain

Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you’re doomed. ~Ray Bradbury

You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance. ~Ray Bradbury

Vigorous writing is concise. ~William Strunk Jr.


Parts 1 and 2 on Revising and Editing have more practical resources, if you're interested.

Funny Break!

Stolen from WillWorkforChocolate:

Extra Post: Just for Laughs

Here's something to keep you smiling. Happy writing!

Most Productive Day. Ever.

Sometimes, the Muse sings. Sometimes, you have a really good work day and you get a lot done. Sometimes they both happen at once and you get a massive amount of genius. Yeah, I don't mean to brag, but today was a massive amount of genius.

As I edited my first draft today, I found that a few scenes were missing. So I added those. I typed up the pages I had marked from my hard copy pass, too. Overall, I edited 36 pages of manuscript and added nearly 4,200 words to the original work!
Thanks to Liquid Story Binder, I know that it took me all of six hours of actual work to do it.

I have never written that many words in one day before. Ever. Not in first drafts, not during NaNoWriMo. 4,200 words is a lot. To put it in perspective, if I wrote this many words every day, I could finish a novel in 12 days.

So, bear with me as I bask in my own glory. **sigh** ;)


**Just a side note, I'm not that into myself. It's supposed to be funny

Great Place to Revise: Bookstores

Revising is exciting. I keep telling myself that anyway. The first thirty minutes or so are enjoyable, but then I get bogged down in a character issue or weak dialog. I can't seem to keep myself editing for more than an hour and a half straight.

Yesterday I went to Barnes & Noble in the mall to do my revisions. The change of scenery was just what I needed! I browsed some books to get myself in the right place mentally, then sat down at a little table and spread my work out in front of me. I worked for an hour and a half straight. There are a couple of fun little things about doing my work in the bookstore, rather than at home:

1) I'm surrounded by people who love books. I love hearing people comment on what they see on the shelves, or watch how they move from subject to subject. This lady came to collect her husband, telling him she was done and they could go, but when she saw the bookshelf next to him, she became interested in some craft books.

2) The music can be inspiring. When I first arrived, some teeny-pop songs I had never heard before were playing. This is great, since I'm writing young adult.
Then, it gradually changed to some very old-fashioned music. An older gentleman who sat nearby hummed quietly along with "You Are My Sunshine". It was so cute! What's particularly wonderful about this is that the guy was right around the age of a couple of characters I was editing. (Talk about coincidence.) I added "You Are My Sunshine" to my book because of this. I think it adds nice detail to the characters.

3) I can test the markets while I work. A girl (maybe 15 years old) came in with her mom and began sifting through some books on display. She said, "I'm so tired of vampire novels."
Seriously. She said that.

Now, I do my share of research. Not a lot of marketing, but I get bits and pieces. Vampires are still (surprisingly) very popular. I've been under the impression that they'll soon be on the decline. (There are SO many vampire books out right now, the market is flooded.) But, hearing it from a potential future customer was so cool! Think of all the things I might pick up on if I go there regularly. I'll definitely hang out in the teen section more often.

By the way, according to my sources, zombies are going to be the next big thing in teen fiction. (Who knew?) I'll probably shy away from this trend, but it's good to know.

Other conveniences:
It's close, there's food and hot chocolate if I need a break but I'm not ready to go home, I have the whole mall at my disposal, and I can pick up a book if I feel so inclined. (That last one may be a little dangerous to my pocketbook.) :)

Links for Writers: from Funny to Informative

As I was catching up after the fourth of July weekend, I stumbled across some new writing-related sites:

Many of you have heard of National Novel Writing Month in November (NaNoWriMo), but what about the other 11 months of the year? (Yes, I'm aware of NaNoFiMo and NaPlWriMo, but still...)

If you need motivation, you may like The 500 Word-A-Day Challenge. Easier, more achievable goals is the key. (I won't be posting their banner yet, since I'm done with my first draft and won't actually be getting word counts this month. :( But for the record, I was averaging about 630 WPD. )

There's a cute comic called Will Write For Chocolate that has some great writer humor. It makes my day.

I found a great article by Margaret Fisk. (It's actually a free workshop, since she gives an assignment.) It's called All the Way to the End. She addresses a common problem for writers : not knowing how to end your story.

And finally, Chip MacGregor's blog had two informative posts: Basic, Basic, Basic Questions and More on the Basic Basics. In the first, he explains a few terms used in the publishing world. The second is more about querying and agents.

I'm a Book Junkie

Hi. My name is Emily and I'm a book junkie.

I don't think I ever really had a fighting chance. You see, my mom read when she was pregnant with me.

I started at a young age. I think when I got really hooked though is when my elementary school teachers started pushing book fairs and scholastic order forms. Books were so available to me. I'd go to the library for my next hit. They were always well-stocked. It got to the point where I would read for any reason. I read when I was bored, I read when I wanted a high, I read when I needed a good cry.

Now I'm off the easy readers and go straight for the good stuff--novels!
I didn't think I'd be peddling it myself though. Now I have a list of regulars that I send all my best stuff to. And most of them come back for more.

Now my daughter is hooked. It's an endless spiral.