Character Names (Express Yourself)

After doing some blog catch up, I stumbled across the Express Yourself weekly meme. And because it's weekly, there are posts each week to let bloggers get to know you, and your work a bit more. Sounds fun, right?

This week's question is,
Character Names: What was your process for acquiring it?

I've already talked about why Claire is named Claire in After Elizabeth, but I'm not sure I've touched on Allie in My Sister's Memories, so here's that story.

I have bad hat hair. Allie looks awesome.

At work they called her Little Allie, because there was Ali, and Allison, and Allie. We needed a way to get everyone correct because if you said the name, "Allie" you could be referring to one of several. She was the youngest crew member, and though she was young, she was wise beyond her years.

"Big Ali or Little Allie?" people would ask when you said the name.

Then everyone would be on the same page.

I knew of her but I didn't really meet her until I started working more at the store. If she was working on the same level that I was, I would read her chapters/paragraphs of the novel I was working on. "That sounds great!" she'd say, and I'd beam.

One night, she and her best friend, Jenna, came over. "Hey, you write, right?"

"Um, yea..." I answered.

"Would you mind reading our college entrance essays?"

"Sure!" I said, and got to work.

Allie's essay was honest for someone so young. It talked about being straight edge and why that's so important to her. As I read her words, it reminded me a lot of me when I was her age (you know, outstanding kid and all ;) ). I gave her back her edits, and she sent her submission off.

From then on out, Allie, Jenna, and I became friends.

Me, Ana, Jenna, and Allie

She was in attendance when I did an open mic night, I was invited to her open house, I visited her at her college, and she once helped tow me and an idiot boyfriend out of a sand bar.

"Let's be pen pals!" she suggested before she left for college.

"That sounds awesome!" I agreed.

Well, she wrote me a letter, sending me a button saying, Train Wreck, on it...and well...I never wrote back.

When things went downhill, Allie was the first one I freaked out on as she and her sister sat on my couch. Then in a psycho-like fashion, I peer pressured her to come to someone's house where I lost it on him, too. She then sat with me on a beach access in the middle of the night while I bawled my eyes out watching the moon dance on ocean waves.

I felt the stairs shake before she said anything. "You're cold?"

"Do you mind if we leave?" she asked in shorts and a t-shirt in the chilly October night.

I wiped the tears away and stood to drive home.

As I left the island, she and her sister were the last people I saw in the state of North Carolina.

In the following months, Allie was on the phone after something really bad, or something really good happened. I snowboarded on the phone with her, moved across the country on the phone with her. And this year, at long last, we are finally pen pals. (I've actually been writing back this time :) )

I love Little Allie like a sister. She's my BFF. I try to give advice when I can (still reminding her that I'm more of a train wreck than a role model), and watch out for her. Because of this, when I needed a name for the little sister in My Sister's Memories, Allie was the first thing that came to mind, and it fit with her personality pretty well.

So that's why Allie is Allie.

How do you guys come up with your character names?

The Next Big Thing

I'd like to thank Krista McLaughlin for tagging me in this. First of all, because these meme things are always fun, and secondly, because well...I was running out of things to blog about (while still trying to find a damn picture of me, or my sister, with Harry Potter.)

Just to warn you guys, I think next week may be a rather intense week where I'm going to tackle a lot of subjects that working on my memoir (newly updated!) has brought up. Brace yourselves. I'm already expecting to lose followers. Maybe for those of you who stick around, I'll try to figure out another contest, or something. (This is a HUGE maybe, I'm super broke right now.)

Anyways, as stated, Krista tagged me in the Next Big Thing...so here I go!

What is the working title of your book? 
Which one? There's My Sister's Memories, After Elizabeth, and The Right to Live: A Christian Girl's Struggle through Abortion, Losing Her Mind, and Recovery.

Where did the idea come from? 
My Sister's Memories came when I was moving to Maine after North Carolina. I have a lot of issues with my memory, and was crossing a bridge and thought, "What if you saw everyone you love die?"

After Elizabeth was because I was still recovering from everything that caused me to move, and I really wanted to kill someone...so...I do it fictitiously. 

The Right to Live...well...came from my life, as it's my memoir :/
What genre does your book fall under? 
Two Contemporary Young Adults, and one Memoir (with a side of french fries, please :) )

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie? 
I actually hate this question. I hate when the books have the actors on the front cover before I read the book because then I just see the actor, even if the writer tells me the hair was brown, and the actor is blond. Hollywood does their job (casting, auditions, etc), I do my job and let you pick.

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book? 
MSM: On her 18th birthday, Sarah's parents are killed in a car accident, leaving Sarah to become guardian of her younger, and now amnesiac sister.

AE: In the aftermath of her best friend's suicide, Claire turns to cigarettes, neon hair, and anger, rather than dealing with her feelings...until Andrew moves in across the street.

TRTL: Um, the little "A Christian Girl's Struggle.." pretty much sums this one up :)
Will your books be self-published or represented by an agency?

Agency. I don't care how long it takes. I wanna see my effin book in a Barnes and Noble, and get banned from libraries and schools.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? 
It usually takes me three to four weeks to do the first draft. There's a lot of coffee, energy drinks, and alcohol usually involved. 

Who or what inspired you to write this book? 
The need to kill off characters and use writing as therapy really pushed me to write the stories. Is that healthy?

What else about your book would pique the reader's interests?
There are always cute boys in my stories. Even in my memoirs :)

Oh, and um...I'm supposed to pass this on. So...Here we go:

1) One of my lovely Beta Readers for After Elizabeth, Ms. Suzi over at Literary Engineer.

 

2) A woman I met during one of the blog hops and on Twitter, who seems like she has her stuff together, Ms. Rachel Frost over at The Story of Her Life

3) A wonderful blog follower who always has excellent comments, Ms. Elizabeth Seckman at Use Your Words

4) Another great follower with great comments, Ms. Emily R King over at Get Busy Writing.

5) And because this guy also rocks with comments, and the precessors were females and I feel like we gotta try to balance this out, Mr. Andrew Leon over at StrangePegs

 

At Long Last: Girls Just Want To Have Fun

Sorry I'm late, there's been a lot of stuff going on. But without further slacking off, here is my blog for the Girls Just Want to have Fun Blog Hop! The rules are your heroine gets interviewed by another female counterpart. I'm supposed to post a picture of them, but I'm opting out of that, sorry. Instead, I'll repost a picture of real life Claire, who my character is named for. Yay!

I'm on the left. She's on the right :)

So today's interview will be done by Sarah, MC from My Sister's Memories. She'll be asking Claire Downs, from After Elizabeth questions.



Sarah: "So you're smoking?"

Claire, who lets out a steady stream: "No, I'm on the patch."

Sarah, uncomfortably: "Are you even old enough--"

Claire shoots a mean look, Sarah stops.

Sarah: "Alright then. So this question is brought to you by Jaycee DeLorenzo. How would you describe your hero?"

Claire, after a moment of shooting daggers through her eyes: "I don't know. Spiderman? Superman? No, no The Power Rangers. Yea. The Power Rangers."

Sarah: "Why?"

Claire: "Fuck if I know. They had different colors, I guess."

Sarah: "Like your hair? It's blue today Do you dye it regularly?"

Claire: "Only when I'm bored."

Sarah: "Alright, next question. What attracts you to a guy?"

Claire, inhaling a long puff: "Do you expect me to like, say I like long walks on the beach, and a guy who brings a fucking puppy home?"

Sarah: "Umm...."

Claire: "Seriously. That's a bullshit question."

Sarah, avoiding confrontation because Claire looks like she'll lunge over the table and strangle her: "Next question! Favorite thing to do--"

Claire, cutting me off: "Is this shit over yet?" She proceeds to die out her cigarette on the table.

Sarah: "I guess it can be. Thanks for your time...."

Claire: "Fuck off."

Yea, I'd say that's a pretty accurate representation of Claire :) What do you think?

Also, we were asked to post a theme-ish song, so I think this one covers Claire pretty well:

Sorry again that it's late, but I hope you enjoyed it! :)

Meeting Claire

I met Claire Downs, the main character of After Elizabeth, in North Carolina, just before I went crazy (possibly while I was going crazy).

I've always been fascinated with smokers, especially because there are so many song lyrics about them. (On my iTunes, I actually have a cigarette playlist made up.) It's strange because I grew up loathing when my parents smoked, riding like a dog with my head out the window of the car, or leaving the room when they lit up in my presence. It's gotten to the point, when I visit Michigan, my mother knows better than to try to smoke with me in the car or in her house. Personally, I don't smoke...but I do have three unopened packs of cigarettes in the dashboard of my car in case I ever decide to take up the habit.

Yep, had these since North Carolina.
Smoking is gross.

Either way, one day I was sitting there, thinking about how strange it would be to see a girl in a neon pink sports bra running and smoking a cigarette. I started writing about Claire before she even had a name. Instead of being a girl as I wrote, I was a boy checking out a decently hot chick. I remember sitting on the couch and reading aloud to the people I considered friends (like I said, I went crazy), and they agreed that this girl sounded hardcore. I saved the document, and went to sleep with a massive erection. Wait, in real life I'm a girl...and I like boys. Okay, whew.

In the morning, when I checked my computer, the document was gone, and the page worth of stuff I'd written disappeared with it. But the memory of this girl never left me. I didn't care if what I'd written was saved. I just knew she existed, and I loved her, though now, she may never resurface.

Fast forward about six months. My Sister's Memories is on submission, and getting page and manuscript requests (cool! My query letter doesn't suck!). Sadly, each and every one gets rejected (sadface, my writing does). I tell myself that I'm not going to write another novel until My Sister's Memories, Character Defects, Igniting a Firestarter, and my memoir go through a hard round of editing. I only end up editing My Sister's Memories and receive more rejections, some with feedback, and for the first time, I start to hope...maybe...maybe...I have something worthwhile here.

In the meantime, I work my day job and get invited to a middle school to speak. One Wednesday morning, I drive to Fryeburg and talk to kids who ask me about cutting, depression, and coping mechanisms. I am humbled and awestruck with every single student I meet. We take pictures together, I offer candy, and I come back the next week. And the week after that.

They refuse to leave my head. The girl who smokes refuses to leave my head.

My sister and I
Her approval of my writing means a lot to me :)

On May 29, 2012, I sit down at my computer, and see a girl typing with a friend the way Kellie and I used to. I see a girl read a message that says something like, I'm sorry, I can't handle this, the same message I'd received when a good friend tried to kill himself a thousand miles away from me. And then, for the first time since I'd written about a girl smoking a cigarette and running, I saw Claire Downs emerge in the aftermath of her best friend killing herself.

And today (though I'm scheduling this post for tomorrow) on June 19, 2012, I am excited to tell you that After Elizabeth is complete. Even better? Armed with the critiques that I'd received from agents and Callie Kingston, though I wrote quickly, I wrote with showing in mind. When I read the ending to my sister, for the first time she said, "Yea, I can see everything you've just read, it was well written."

For the first time in my writing career, I'm proud of a rough draft, mainly because my sister didn't tell me that it sucked. Although she did tell me she had a beef with my ending. (Psshh, whatever.)

Now I step away for about a week, play, drink, and have fun.

Next week, the real work begins.

Show and Tell II

A million years ago, I posted about Showing vs. Telling. Consider this segment two.

In early February, Callie Kingston made a call for beta readers, and like a hungry lion, I latched on. Thus far, it has been the best writing step I've taken (aside from, you know, getting a Twitter account). When she sent me her first two chapters of critiques on My Sister's Memories, I sat there cringing. You should back down now, she's tearing your crap apart. As I looked at my computer screen, I realized that I needed to step up my game; not only with writing, but also with editing.

This is my "Oh crap, she might know more than I do face"
Worst. Picture. Ever. I hope you got a good laugh :)

While I had those You don't know what you're talking about, don't reject my writing moments (in private! Never to her e-mail face!), I took time away, came back to them, and found that most of the time, what she said was sadly correct. This gave me a profound respect for her, because she wasn't afraid of telling me what sounded weak, and it was what I needed to hear, even if I needed a shot of whiskey afterward.

One of the things she told me was the use of words like, "I saw," "I felt," "I wondered". She taught me ways to manipulate my sentences from telling you that I just saw my dog run across the street, to having my dog just run across the street. (Can you see the difference?)

Let me break it down for you a little more.

If you're writing in first person, you ARE the character. Which means (from my understanding) any time you're saying "I think, I feel, I see," it causes detachment. Try this instead:

Find the points where you use those statements. Delete them. Look at the sentence you have left. Does it still make sense? Chances are, it probably will, and now you're much closer to showing me something, rather than telling me.

I went through My Sister's Memories today and used the FIND tool to search the word "feel". Each sentence I deleted that stupid word (well, most sentences, not all), and replaced it with something better. "I feel his hand brush against my cheek," became, "His hand brushed against my cheek." It's an easy fix and you'd be amazed by how much stronger the writing sounds because you're just allowing things to flow  naturally. You're allowing the reader to be right there, getting goosebumps as his lips graze the soft spot on her shoulder...rather that just telling them what she's feeling.

Just thought I'd pass along some kick ass advice. Hope this helps.

Research

Sometimes, research is fun. Like that time Innova Discs sent me a starter kit to research Disc Golf for My Sister's Memories. Or, harassing companies to see if they'll sponsor me for other research, or bugging friends, or even just hanging out and people watching.

The fun kind of research: sibling dynamics :)
*I'm on the right*

But, sometimes, researching your story...it's gut wrenching work.

I started a new project, potentially called After Elizabeth, a couple of days ago (which is why I've been MIA), and in three days managed to write 13,000 words (Woot! Victory dance!). And then I hit a point where I had to do something I've never done before. Write an obituary. For a girl who committed suicide.

This was hard for a couple of reasons:
1) Senior year of college, a friend killed herself. Her body was never found (to my knowledge, but that knowledge may be outdated now). I'd moved in 8th grade, and she and I had stopped talking. But, I like to live in this world where my friends stay alive forever, and are happy all the time, whether I'm near or far. It's not too much to ask, right? So Laura told me that she'd committed suicide, and I went to the porch and chain smoked until I stopped shaking.
2) I have a million other friends who died of things like; cancer, drunk driving accidents, bad driving accidents, etc
3) I've only read obituaries....Never actually written one
4) This obituary was almost written for me in October

Swallowing all of this, I tried to write around the obituary, but in the end, the story prevailed, and needed this written. I googled Suicide Obituaries, and found THIS website. From there, I literally took the step by step instructions and wrote. I called my mom, read the first couple of versions until she told me I needed to have life-accomplishments. This, then, is my first obituary:

Elizabeth Alexandra Travis, 16 years old, passed away unexpectedly on October 1, 2012. Born in Portland, Maine on April 8^th, 1996, she is survived by her mother, Natalie Wright of Portland, her father, Marc Travis of Gilead, and her best friend, Claire Downs of Portland. The bright junior is remembered as a gifted and accomplished cross country runner, a smart student, a loving daughter, caring teammate, and amazing friend. She is preceded in death by her beloved dog, Baxter. Friends and family wishing to donate are asked to send the proceeds to Hope Hotline, or any other suicide prevention foundation.

I think I'm okay with how it turned out. I especially liked that the best friend was added on there (I definitely feel like the parents would have written that given the girl's relationship). Also, I feel like a dick for killing her dog, but that, too, needed to be done.

So, for you writers. What are some of the hard parts of research for you?

Your Work, Out Loud II

Ever since last summer's PNWA conference, I've been itching to find people to read my work out loud to me. Well, last Wednesday, it happened.

Baxter liked her couch...

Claire (you'll remember her from this blog, this blog, and this blog) had me over to her house after my last day at the school. After a round of shopping so I can now feed myself for MONTHS (Thanks again, Claire), and inheriting a dying plant, we drove back to her place....and I managed to get lost, of course :)


She'd printed some pages off so I could mail them out, and I (as always) was insecure about them. While she shuffled around her house (unloading dishes, cleaning, taking care of dinner, etc), I read the first two chapters out loud to her. This is good for me because I always need practice reading out loud, plus, maybe someday I'll get to read at a conference, or book tour, or...a middle school. (Wait, I've done one of those now!!)

When she finished her chores, she sat on her couch, I sat in other one, and she took over reading.

This was from Week 2
Crazy thunderstorm hit, it was safest to stay

Together, we read 34 of the 50 pages. The amazing part? I didn't cringe. At all! There were a few type-os (but instead of put, when instead of then), small things like that, but overall, I was comfortable with the sentences, the repetition here, the pauses there. I loved when she would pause mid-sentence and say, "What a b*tch!" about the horrible aunt, or when she'd ask, "Wait, where did the money come from for the cabs?" or "Why does it seem like Sarah is in love with Mike?". Most of the time, the questions were answered soon, or later. Or, I was at least evoking a feeling in my reader that I was aiming for.

When you have someone read your work out loud, you truly hear how someone other than yourself reads those words. The type-os are easier to find, and you can truly hear if your narrator is coming through the way you want them to.

I still recommend this exercise if you can find someone to read for you. It's a new kind of terrifying.

Memoir Writing I: The Pitch

Welcome to MEMOIR WEEK!

I'm in the process of writing mine, and it terrifies me. The first day I started, I got about ten pages in, cried hysterically....then...closed my computer and stopped. At AWP, I met a woman writing her memoir about her mother's disappearance when she was 13. It turned out, that her father had murdered her mother, and until there was proof, she was forced to live with him.When she told me this, I stared for a second so I could regain composure. This was an unGodly difficult topic to discuss. I was torn between wanting to hug her, and asking if I could beta for her.

This is me and my sister, in real life. We found a fish head...
And decided to take it home. Weird? Yes. Make sense? No.

Memoir is a hard thing to get into. As I said in a panel question; real life sucks. It's messy, it's complicated, and it rarely makes sense. It's why we're so fascinated with it. Someone else said that Fiction is difficult to write because it has to make sense (inferring that real life does not make sense. Ever.)

The first thing you need to know about memoir, is that it's handle like fiction. That does not mean WRITE fiction and claim it as memoir. That means that:

*Your memoir must be written and polished. That's right; we no longer get to hide in the clouds of fiction. Our beta readers are going to see us at out lowest times in life, and they're going to still tell you that your writing is weak here, and that there is some sentence structure issues. But this time, it's your life they're going to be editing. Cringe now.
*You still send a QUERY letter. That means something like this,
My memoir, INSERT TITLE HERE, is about XXXX.
Or...
Read the backs of any other memoirs to get help with your query. What did you go through? How did it change and affect you? Why are you writing this?
*Oh, and it can't be like everything else out there. So:
Why is your memoir different?

Thus comes your PITCH.
These notes are from PNWA this last summer. Even still, I feel like they'll help. Even if you're a FICTION writer (which I am, also) :)

I was just so excited about the
bag of knowledge :)

1) Be precise about your book and where it fits into the market. "Fans of Sarah Dessen's Lock and Key may enjoy this memoir/novel." It shows that you know the market, and you know the audience you're aiming for.
2) Do NOT tell the story step by step. DO tell the SET UP, CONFLICT, and RESOLUTION.
3) Do NOT talk about your book at arms length. Immerse us in your book, make us feel for your character in that one pitch. Think about what pulls you into a novel, into a memoir. Now do the same with your pitch, pull us in.
4) Write in the voice of the narrative. So, if it's funny, be humorous. If it's sad, be a bit of a debbie downer.
5) Since you CAN'T include plot lines, choose ONE thread and make it sing. What is your novel about, ignore the sub plots, the jealous ex lovers. Who are we focused on; what happens to him/her?
6) What big concepts does your book address? Love, loss, hope?
7) End with concept in an active sentence.


Tomorrow's blog will talk about:
The Memoir First Aid Kit: Things You Need Handy When Writing Memoir