A Bit About Building Character

So I’ve been reading and writing and constantly comparing where my book draft really is to where it should be going. I’ve got issues with the timing and fictional school calendar in my YA book. I’ve got too much plot and the lens on my characters is nearly all long-shot views. Also, I still haven’t exactly figured out the end. At least I can see where my problems are.

It took me a couple of weeks though to finally figure it out. And I had the realization two ways. One from reading Sara Zarr’s SWEETHEARTS. She has this way of bringing the camera lens so close to the characters that you can practically smell their breath. It was a well-timed read for me. This is why writers HAVE TO be readers.

The other realization came by observing my own daughter, Magnolia. If you’re a regular to the blog then you know that Eleanor stories are frequent. She’s unpredictable, has a worldview unlike other kids her age, and her sense of boundaries are…well, what boundaries? Her character is revealed easily and interestingly by what she does. Magnolia loves structure, panics about doing the “wrong” thing, and waits patiently for people to befriend her, which they always do. Every morning at exactly 7 am, I go in to find her laying on her side facing the door. I kiss her awake, she stretches under the covers, sighs, and rolls up to a kneeling position. The blankets fall away and the cool morning air leaves chill bumps where only a second ago she was warm as toast. She sits there for about 10 seconds and then says, “ok.” That’s my signal to go.

I got to thinking about that. Revealing Magnolia’s character through plot would come off as sloppy writing. I’d show three days in a row of her day going the way, always, and you’d think, “that character is type A. NOT that character is Magnolia. I can achieve showing Magnolia though by describing a different set of details – her morning wakeup.

Weird Things From Work

This sign is not at my work. But there is some weirdness there. There’s weirdness everywhere. The weirdness at my work is in the magic stuff of the Interwebs. Pretty much I’m on the Internet at my job all day. It kind of rules. In fact, I’m getting to know Google so well, I know where her wrinkles, and tickle spots, and pock marks are. You didn’t even know Google is a girl, did you?

So, I thought I would share some of the corners (these are all forums) of the Internet that I’ve discovered so far. I can’t wait to check my stats and see which of the following links get clicked the most–or wait, should I make it a mystery so you don’t know where you are going??? Oh, the choices. I think I want to know how pervy my readers are:

Go here if you like fur.

Try this for the generally weird (cannibalism included).

This site is for the squirrely.

Are you a bitter waitress? Click here.

Can’t leave Weird Al off this list. Enter.

And finally, go here if you’re a foot sniffer.

You’re welcome.

Maybe It’s Not an Issue?

I made a big book revision decision. I’d gotten to 55,000 words and changed course. It’ll probably happen again, too. Sometimes I have to get to the climax to realize, hey, I’m not feeling too sorry for these characters. Something isn’t right. I got to thinking that a book about sunken treasure needs some kind of monetary motivation for the characters. You know, like saving the Goondocks. Seems so obvious now. Why in the world hadn’t I picked up on that before? So I starting thinking about how other contemporary YA books deal with teens and money. It was kind of a stretch to come up with any. In my memory bank of YA books, money is usually explained by summer babysitting. Rarely even, does the main character hold a part-time job. College expenses are normally not an issue either. What I have seen a lot of is a minor character who has a rich/popular arch nemesis. Or, there’s the rich bitch main character who’s going to learn to value something other than social status. But what I’m talking about is why books don’t deal with how teens get their money. Leave comments about books you’ve read that more than mention a main character’s financial situation.

Here’s what I think it is: American teens don’t have much financial autonomy. I think parents are paying for a lot. Any kind of jobs teens have are a practice run. I was always taught to put some money aside for car and college, but I knew a large portion of my college was paid for and all of my necessities. I think that’s probably still the case for most. This is a pretty gross generalization, but maybe that’s why we don’t see financial stress reflected it our contemporary YA characters. There just isn’t much of that for teens. Would you agree? So, it becomes tricky to write about financial strain. If the financial burden is on the teen’s parents, then that’s who needs to suffer, and suffering is the job of the main character, so it must trickle down somehow.

Looking Back

I wanted to take a look back over this first year I’ve been blogging and pick out some highlight posts. I hope it’s interesting to you, and not just me. This will probably read like a Christmas newsletter. If you like that sort of thing, come visit every August 20th or so. We don’t send Christmas greetings.

I started blogging for a few reasons. One, to keep some records of family stories since I don’t scrapbook, rarely take photos, and also have an awful memory. Two, I wanted a place to start writing about writing and reading while my book went on submission. It was partly to distract myself and partly to get my name on the Internet and start building a tiny community of writing friends. Hopefully, it will also someday be place to make announcements about book sales and such. Always hopeful.

Let’s begin with what the girls looked like last August compared to this August (Well, June). And now Maggie’s hair is dark brown. But, you can still the change.

In August and September I got a feel for what I wanted to blog about. I compared some of Josh’s family to movie stars. What ever happened to that game? I’ll have to bring that one back.

In October I did my first installment of Self-Deprecating Sunday. It was also the month I did my first author interview, with Sarah Lewis Holmes. I remember my surprise at finding someone else who wrote a Children’s book with a military theme. I felt honored that she would visit my blog. And, October was the month I recounted the beginning of our family tradition where we eat a chocolate cake for dinner. This is one of my favorite posts.

November saw my first interview with a soldier. I struggled with starting to write my second novel. I predicted a few books that I thought might win the Printz award, and later was completely stoked to see that one of the ones on my list did in fact win!

In December, I recounted the story of Doug the Dog, which is another one of my favorite posts. Also, I got a signed copy of my favorite book from my good friend Berk, took a count of how many books I’d read in 2009 (29), and Eleanor dyed her hair blue.

What I didn’t blog about in December was that it was the month that book rejections started to come in. It sucked. One in particular was pretty painful–only because I admired that publishing house’s body of work and thought mine would fit there nicely. And while no publisher has said negative things about it, come on. It’s rejection. It can be as heartbreaking as being dumped by your boyfriend. I’ve spent a few years crafting that goddamn book. And it’s good.

In with 2010: Josh and I took trips to Pittsburgh and to Albuquerque while he interviewed for residency programs. I remember the nuanced lists we created while we tried to figure out how he should rank the different programs. It seemed both daunting and hilarious that we’d have to pick 10-20 cities to live and then get matched to one of them by some kind of weird algorithm generator. I think they really just use a magic 8 ball.

February is when my friend Berk’s book came out, so we celebrated with Berk doing a guest spot on Self-Deprecating Sunday. And it is my all time favorite post on my blog to date. I dare any YA Author to top his photo. Also, I’d been excited for his book release for months, and it was a fantastic read. I recounted the story of Josh calling our dog on the phone, another highlight post. I continued to struggle with writing the next book and the incoming rejections as well as trying not to stress out about where in the world we were going to live for residency.

In March I reached my 100th post. Yay! Josh got matched to Indiana’s residency program, thank the lord (or whomever). Holy virgin was that a relief! I also did a nice post on why I like writing YA fiction.

April saw more book rejection. They come in slowly. Each one packs a new wallop. I tried to settle myself and my wanting in this post about desire. Desire is difficult thing. Then WordPress came along and surprised me by featuring two of my posts, Something To Do With Garden Gnomes and Why Don’t I Have Issues With Privacy, on their homepage feature, Freshly Pressed, which garnered thousands of visits to my little blog and made me feel famous for a couple days. That was  fun! I had to start saying goodbyes to my Ann Arbor friends at this point, and I begun looking for work in Indianapolis. You really haven’t lived until you’ve received book rejections and employment rejections at the same time. Wow.

In May I finally stopped feeling sorry for myself and my book. I had to pack the house and say goodbye to it. I loved that house. And then Josh graduated. Another HUGE relief.

We finally moved in June. I got that reading chair, Colonel Mustard, that I’d been needing. Whew! I talked a lot about books in June. I also realized the weirdness that was my new job. But was incredibly productive in drafting that new book.

July presented itself with more weirdness at work, and I was becoming exhausted and increasingly heart-broken. So, I had this brilliant idea to get a new dog. HUGE mistake.

Which brings us to this August, where I had a bout with the security system, had my favorite author interview with Erin McCahan, and talked about how residency has changed Josh and my relationship.

Realization: I have a lot to say in a year. I hope this upcoming blog year will keep you all interested and I thank you for all your support and comments. I love the Internet community. Cheers!

Something About Books and the Color Pink

Maybe I’ll organize my books like this. Mostly it will be pink, though. And black. And blue. Looks kind of cool though, right? I don’t know if it’s that I’m attracted to pink (I am) or if it’s that publishers like to jacket YA books in pink, but if there’s one thing I’ve noticed about my books, it’s that my favorite covers are usually pink.

Today I found Half Price Books. Oh, did I. I bought three books that I’d already read. I have a habit of checking out books from the library that I just adore and then wish I’d purchased. So, thank you Half Price Books! I now own a copy of Looking For Alaska, Story of a Girl, and My Heartbeat. I also bought YA authors Rachel Cohn and E. Lockhart — all of those book covers involve the color pink. So how can I go wrong? If nothing else, they’ll look cute in my library. But also, I kind of have high hopes: these are authors I’m slightly ashamed that I’ve missed. So, I’m excited to introduce myself to these acclaimed writers. Hopefully I’ll learn a thing or two.

But first I have to finish The Cardturner. Good LORD, that Louis Sachar can write. He does this thing in The Cardturner where he plays with Melville’s Moby Dick, and it really just cracks me up. Plus there’s old people. I’m soft for old folks right now, true, but I’m really loving how he weaves them into this YA book, vibrantly, not like background setting, which I think is typical of YA Literature. Probably I’m going to need to read about three shitty books after that to feel better about my writing. Unfortunately, I reeeeeeeeeeally don’t think the last handfuls of book purchases I’ve made are going to deliver shittiness. (It’s okay; I’ve got the old standbys) And also I have The Book Thief coming up in my queue. That is going to be humbling for sure. I promise I won’t take my insecurity out on my blog.

Like When We Were In College

Josh’s schedule is so weird that I don’t even try to figure it out. His sleep pattern is also beyond me. And these two things are kind of fantastic. We went out to lunch yesterday, and we behaved like two people who really missed each other: lots of chatter, some hand-holding, those looks at  one another that mean, “I’ve missed you.”

For me, the difference in our relationship since he’s started residency is that I’ve stopped having expectations. I have no idea when dinner will be or when the yard will be mowed or when his next day off will be. He’ll sleep when he needs to and we’ll all leave him alone. When he wakes and finds me reading, he’ll sit quietly until I’ve finished the chapter. I feel like I did when we were dating in college. Josh was faaaaaar more studious than me. He had more classes and more papers and more drive to impress his professors. It was cool. Our relationship found it’s way without anyone being pushy. I didn’t need to know what he was doing, or what his schedule had on it. He didn’t need to know mine. He’d call when he could. I’d call when I could.  We’d skip a class now and then, and we had dates whenever possible (and on a shoestring budget).

And pretty much, we’re back to that. It’s a great time (mostly) when our paths cross and we get to make those small new discoveries about each other’s days. His discoveries in the ER are far weirder and more disgusting than anything in my day, but it makes for great conversation.

Author Interview: Erin McCahan

I am very excited to interview the adorable Erin McCahan, today! We have been pen pals for about a year now, and if you don’t have a few of those, I highly recommend it! I got to know Erin before I got to know her writing; and they are equally delightful. Her wit, and empathy, and eye for the quirks that make people so beautifully flawed come out all over her emails to me, as well as in her debut book, I Now Pronounce You Someone Else, published by Arthur A. Levine Books, a division of Scholastic, and edited by Cheryl Klein.

Now, most of my author interviews have focused on books about the military, so you might think that’s all I’m digging these days, but that’s false. You know what else I love? Romance! I heart it very much. So when you add some romance to all those aforementioned qualities Erin brings to the table, you get a hilarious, tug-at-your-heart, butterflies-in-your-belly book. But it’s not just about falling in love. It’s about Bronwen finding out who she is and where (and to whom) she belongs. This book is definitely my favorite read of the year so far. I’ve read sixteen books if anyone is counting.

Now. On with the interview. And these questions are in no order, have little to do with the actual book in fact; but I still think you’ll love getting to know Erin.

Jody:  What is the last book you read?

Erin: THE GHOST BELONGED TO ME to Me by Richard Peck.  I’ve been invited to the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association’s Trade Show in Dearborn, MI, this October, so I’m reading books by attending authors.   And THE GHOST BELONGED TO ME is wonderful, by the way!

Jody: Why are manhole covers round? (This is an actual job interview question! I’ve been on a few of those recently. Feel my pain.)

Erin: I think the original penis shape offended too many old ladies who swerved to avoid driving over them and caused countless accidents all across the country.

Jody: What’s the most important part of a sandwich?

Erin: The person you’re sharing it with.

This is an interview question from Subway. I didn’t interview there, but in case any of my readers are, the answer they’re looking for is “the smile.” I like Erin’s answer better. And someday I’m going to share a sandwich with her.

Jody: What’s the best or most interesting thing someone has said about your book? (You can’t choose my review, btw.)

Erin (the cheater): It actually is from your review.  “Yes, but other parts were so hilarious I laughed out loud and other parts were so heart-breaking I cried out loud.”  Can I borrow this for another novel someday if I promise to give you a writing credit?  I just love how you wrote that.

oh, alright, if you insist…(giggles in delight).

Second is this from Books and Literature for Teens:  “If I only had one word to describe I Now Pronounce You Someone Else I would say personality. Most books don’t have a personality all to their own, this one does.”

Jody: What was your favorite part of the publishing process?

Erin: I like the whole process, from discussing ideas with my husband before I ever write a word to the fourth-pass notes (editing) before the thing is published, but if I had to pick one part, I think the editing is really interesting.

Jody: What’s/Who’s the most memorable book character you’ve ever met?

Erin: Bessie Glass from FRANNY & ZOOEY  I remember every single thing about this woman, probably because it’s always been so disturbing to me that she’s in the bathroom while her grown son is in the tub.

Jody: Yikes! What’s weird is that now I want to read that. Anyway, how would you describe your teenage self?

Erin: Oh, geez.  Shy, nervous, overlooked, frumpy and desperate to be something more than shy, nervous, overlooked and frumpy.  In other words, miserable within the bounds of normal teenage misery.  I was not the girl who had it all together, but if I were, I wouldn’t be a writer.

Jody: Hm, sounds like a guest post on Self-Deprecating Sunday is possibly in order. Just think about it. Now, as you know, I think your book is hilarious. So, when you’re writing, do you ever laugh at your writing? Then do you laugh at yourself because it seems weird to be laughing alone? I do this, so please say yes.

Erin: Yes, I do laugh, and, yes, it does feel weird, and if I think about it too much, I start to embarrass myself, sitting there, all alone at my desk.

See. She gets me.

Jody: Have you ever seen a stranger reading your book? If yes, what was your reaction?

Erin: No, I haven’t had this happen, but I did have my first fan experience a few weeks ago.  A 13-year-old girl I met at coffee hour after church hugged me when she found out I wrote I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU SOMEONE ELSE.  I believe the hug lasted two or three minutes.  She was adorable!

Jody: I obviously loved the romance in this book! Did you have a big romance in high school? Details please.

Erin: I had zero romance in high school.  A handful of dates.  Really sweet ones, too.  But no big romance, which can come as no surprise now to anyone who read the answer to question #7.

Jody: Thank you so much for answering my questions. You were a wonderful guest. And congratulations on a lovely debut novel.

Erin: These were so much fun.  Thank you for doing this.

Make sure to visit Erin’s blog for more news on her book and see what she’s up to now and then.

Self-Deprecating Sunday (26)

I haven’t self-deprecated in a while. And with school starting, I thought I’d treat my people to a few more school photos! For those of you who may be new to Self-Deprecating Sunday, here’s the story: It’s pretty hilarious, and sometimes touching, to look back on the “flair” we writers for teens gave our own teen years, so that’s what these posts are all about.

My sister helped me dig these photos up and she said of the last one, “You’re like an ode to a John Hughes film.” Possibly that was the best compliment ever. My family and classmates often compared my looks to Molly Ringwald, well, when my hair was dyed red. Which it’s not in these photos, so maybe I shouldn’t have brought it up. Whatever.

So this is me in seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth grade. A couple of these are repeats, but I had to include them again so you could appreciate the progression–or lack thereof. Apparently, the whole collared-shirt-under-a-crew-neck-sweater was my thing. And my crazy awesome hair. Then the whole spray-puff-the-hell-out-of-your-perm fad began to fade, and my love of sweaters did too. (Bonus points for the girls who know which of the sweaters was a United Colors of Benetton brand.) By tenth grade, I was verging on normal. Couldn’t put down the hairspray though. That would wait until eleventh grade.

My oldest daughter starts seventh grade this year. I’ll try to encourage her to wear a sweater and a collar for picture day.

And remember, if you’re a YA Author and would like to appear here on Self-Deprecating Sunday, contact me at jody(dot)mugele(at)gmail(dot)com. You know you want to.

Safety, Safety, Safety

I was writing last night and I had about three new pages of material when the power went out. Of course I hadn’t saved it. So I had that going for me. That’s when the cop strolled up the driveway.

“Your security alarm was going off.”

“Oh, I didn’t think it was activated.”

“It is.”

“Yes, officer. Thank you. Everything is fine. The power went out.”

“Have a good night.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

It was midnight when the power came back on. Josh had gone to work. I turned off the lights and went back to sleep. When I woke up this morning, I let the dog out the back door, and it tripped the security alarm again. I hadn’t had my morning coffee. I don’t know who was shouting louder, me or the security alarm. That’s when the cop showed up again. I answered the door in my jammies.

“Good morning, Sir. Everything is fine. I just can’t seem to deactivate the alarm. I’ll call the security company right away.”

“Oopsie.” He said that because while I was explaining how I would call the security company, Marlowe ran out the front door. Never enough dog drama in this house, after all.

“Son of a bitch.” I really said that in front of the cop. (If Josh had been there, he would have said, “Literally.” But I would not have laughed.) I explained to the cop, “I mean the dog.”

“I know. Have a nice day.”

I knew I wouldn’t be having a nice day.

When I called the security company, they explained to me that I needed a password in order for them to help me. Since I’m a renter and not the person who set up the account, I explained I didn’t have it.

“I can’t help you until you have the password.”

“That’s super-awesome. Thanks.”

When I called the rental agency and got the password, I called back.

“Oh,” said the customer service lady. “Your account is delinquent by two months.”

“I didn’t know the alarms were active.”

“They are.”

“Yes. Thank you. Please put the balance on my card.”

“Great. Now, how can I help you?”

“I need the code to deactivate the alarms.”

I hate safety.

Cletus, the Sequal

A face only Magnolia and I can love, apparently. You guys! This poor dog. After I found him a home and slept in my daughter’s bed for four nights, I wake up in the night to a howl that is eerily familiar, and believe myself to be dreaming. In the morning, I just come into the library for my morning cup of joe to do some blogging and Scrabble, when I hear it again. I look out the window, and there’s Cletus in his crate in the driveway. Probably since 2 a.m. I resisted the urge to call the guy who did this and rip him a new one. Afterall, I kind of understood. It’s not like you can just walk into the humane society these days and say, “Well, this one just didn’t work out.” There’s a waiting list and a surrender fee. Let’s blame it on the economy. Still, this guy was single. It’s not like he had another dog that was in danger or kids to disappoint. *clears throat* He should have dealt with his decision.

Oh, and the dog stunk like death and drank an entire bowl of water. So, I re-list the dog on Craiglist. My heart is breaking. I go to work. (Sorry Josh, I love you.) Josh takes a call. Someone is interested. They come over and explain they want Cletus for a second dog. Josh says, “Uh….the ad clearly states why we’re not keeping him. He’s not good with other dogs,” and they take the dog anyway. Maggie calls me at work to say, “Yay! Cletus has a new home.”

Yay!

An hour later the couple calls. Shockingly, it’s not working out!

They list the dog. People call us to tell on them for “Turning the dog around?” Same people (I presume) create a listing shaming us and the couple for how we are treating this dog. Because really, I don’t feel bad enough.

Sooooooo, I will not be finding a dog via Craigslist again. Also, I’m not convinced there won’t be a part three to this doggie drama, so please stand by.