Category: All things Bookish

Hello friends! Many of you have asked me how young adult and adult novels differ. It is a great question, and today’s blog post is dedicated to answering that question: What is the difference between young adult and adult fiction? 

Historically, the lines between children’s, young adult, and adult novels have been loosely defined. I will attempt to put parameters around them. Emphasis on attempt. Young adult fiction, aka YA, is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years old.

Fun Fact: The YA genre is targeted to adolescents, but many of its readers are adults.

YA genres include the same ones you’d find in adult fiction. Common themes are friendship, family, first love, and relationships. Stories centered around the specific challenges of youth are called coming-of-age novels. Coming-of-age stories feature adolescents growing into adults, and tackling related personal problems along the way.

My forthcoming novel began as an adult novel, however we decided that young adult was the better fit due to it being a coming-of-age story. I’ve made two modifications to facilitate the switch to YA. The first one is starting off with my protagonist at a younger age. The second one is ensuring romance is PG. That’s all. The complexity of writing and length of the book have remained the same as when it was an adult novel.

Now, to add clarity, this was the case for my book, but if you were to research the length of novels, many websites will indicate word counts for adult and young adult. Some that I’ve seen have 50,000-70,000 words for YA, and 60,000-80,000 words for adult. Other websites recommend 50,000-90,000 for adults novels. My book is approximately 65,000 words, though we are editing and that could change. So, while it is safe to say adult novels are usually lengthier than YA, that is not always the case. The lines are close.

Young adult fiction was developed to soften the transition between children’s novels and adult literature. In the 1960s research on adolescents experiences emerged which led to more adolescent focused literature. One of my favorite books in high school was The Catcher In The Rye. It was written for adults in the 1950s, but the themes of adolescent angst have become aligned with young adult literature. In my local bookstore and library, the young adult shelves are next to the adult shelves, separate from the sectioned-off children’s books. And this separation is consistent across the board. YA is essentially its own island, and what an important island it is. YA serves many literary purposes. It provides enjoyable reading for young people, while focusing on real-life experiences and challenges in easier-to-grasp ways.

Hope you found this blog post on the difference between young adult and adult fiction helpful. Do you have any other differences you’d like to share? Any questions I may not have answered?  Do you read YA, adult or both? I’d love to know. 

Wishing you safety and wellness. Blog you soon.

Hello and good morning friends! I wanted to have some fun with my ‘bookish’ blog today and talk about writer myths. Oh come on now. As you read this the myths are forming in your head. While some are true, it really depends on the writer. Wouldn’t you dislike being lumped into a one-size-fits-all group based on your aspirations? Or based on anything really?

Introverts/Hermits

Many people picture writers in hideaway cabins in the woods behind computer screens, coming up for air only after we have written twenty-thousand words. And then, we interact with no one but our cats and nature. Truly, I would love to live in a bug-free cabin (I’m aware of the oxymoron) in the woods with my family, but many writers live in the real world. We have families who need civilization. We often need civilization. And we have careers in addition to writing – See below: Writers are Loaded.

Moody/Angry

Writers are creatives, and often creatives are sensitive. Plus, writers sit behind a computer and crank out thousands of words while alone, which wears us out. So, yes, somedays writers are moody. But don’t all people have their good days and not so good days? I’m thinking this is more human nature than writing nature. 

Caffeine Addicts

I’ll admit I need a cup (or three) of chai before I can start my day. So, I fit this stereotype. Most people I know (outside of those who wake up to drink kale, flax-seed, and organic hemp smoothies-okay made that last ingredient up) need their morning caffeine to wake up and start their day. 

Writers are Procrastinators

All writers can think about is writing, yet it takes everything in us to sit down and actually write. Welp. Tie this into the moodiness one I would guess. But, mostly this will depend on the writer and their lifestyle. There is no wrong or right way. For me, I work through edits on my novel quickly. Similarly, with work and family keeping me busy, I’ve learned to use my free time to write—edits to my novel, blogs, social media posts ect. 

Writers are Loaded

Most writers work full time in careers outside of writing. Does that answer the question?

Writers are Night Owls

I’m sure this is the case for many. But for me, see Writers Are Procrastinators above. I’ve got adorable, little people that wake up at 6:00 am and need me, and then there’s work, so I turn into a pumpkin at about 9:30 PM.

Writers Can Write Anything

I’m not saying everyone believes this myth, but a writer can only write what they know. As with any profession, we need the education and knowledgebase of the subject matter to speak to it, or write to it, as the case may be.

That’s all I have today on writer myths. For a fun take on writer myths watch this video called the Top 10 Myths About Writers by Jenna Moreci.

What are your thoughts on my blog post on writer myths? Do you have any interesting myths you’d like to share in your profession? I’d love to know. Thanks for popping in. Blog you soon!

Hello friends! As I write this, I’m sending you wishes of health and wellness. How are you all faring amid the ongoing pandemic? Today, I wanted to delve into writer’s challenges, specifically, writer’s block, draft revisions, and insecurity and fear.

First, before touching on writer’s challenges with writer’s block, how many of you are hindered in your work, whatever that trade may be, by covid? Or is it smooth sailing? And writers, do you find ideas flowing, stagnant, or the same in the current world’s state? My writing so far has remained consistent, but only with my usual efforts. If your writing is stagnant, below I’m sharing some of my creativity boosters.

The first writer’s block cure is to take a walk. Fresh air, and changing your surroundings really get the creative juices flowing. I noticed a beautiful house while walking, which became a character’s home in a new novel I am working on. On that same walk, a turtle sadly gone road-kill turned into one paragraph in the same story.

A second tactic I use for writer’s block is to start writing or journaling about any topic. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by your content once you put pen to paper. I found this excellent read on writers block, with the perspectives of several talented authors, who share useful ideas in moving past the block and into action. What do you do to maneuver through writer’s block?

The next writer’s challenge is revisions. Dun Dun Dun. You say you are on draft seven or eight, eh? That’s all?! We all dread revisions (sometimes), but have you noticed that once you determine how to improve your draft you are eager to revise? Okay, maybe eager is not the word, but ‘willing’. I know after several revisions, your book might as well be written in gibberish, and you no longer have any idea if it’s good. This is where beta readers and critique partners come in handy. That, and stepping away from the book for a short time, and coming back to it, help me. Nathan Bransford wrote a nice blog post about Revision Fatigue. Also, as you revise here is a helpful blog post I wrote on Keeping a Novel Interesting.

Lastly, we all have insecurities and fears. And that’s okay. As writers, we wonder if we are talented enough, if our ideas are story worthy, and we fear rejection.

But remember, writing is for the strong of mind and broad of heart.

And, on a more practical note, I think it’s key to remember people’s reading tastes are subjective. Most writers are readers, so we understand this, or at least we should. I mean it takes everything in me to read one non-fiction book a year because my tastes veer towards fiction, but after, I’ve usually learned something interesting and important.

Additionally, some may believe they’ve past their peak to achieve a dream or goal. Check this Writer’s Digest article out for a fantastic take on that: Confessions of a late bloomer. And here’s another one by Roxane Gay from The New York Times’ Ask Roxane. Though it sounds cliche, it is never too late to follow your dreams. You must believe in them fiercely.

I’ll leave you with a ‘light’ read on why some people burn their books. Too bad this wouldn’t work in the present day when most people type out their manuscripts on a computer. There’s no way I am throwing my computer into a fire, and it’d be useless since the novel would be backed up on a cloud drive. If your story isn’t good, click ‘select all’ and ‘delete’. But always save a backup copy, because you might regret it.

Thanks for stopping by friends. Hope this blog post on writer’s challenges was helpful to you. Blog ya later!

Hello folks! I’ve been MIA due to being google doc-deep (like my not so subtle swap out of ‘knee’ with ‘google doc’?) in edits to my draft. I’ve turned that document over for review, and wanted to connect with all of you. This blog post will focus on sharing some of my learnings in keeping a novel interesting.

So before I start, I want to give credit where it is deserved. I’ve learned what I’m sharing from my agent, beta reader, an educational platform I am enrolled in, favorite writer blogs, and as a reader. And there is more to keeping a novel interesting than what I am sharing, but these are a few key elements I’ve unsurfaced in my own writing. 

First: TENSION. Dun, dun, dun, duuuuun! My WIP is historical fiction, and finding a balance between keeping the plot moving and adding interesting historical elements has been challenging for me. It is still fiction work, so readers desire that constant plot movement, and excitement. If they wanted a nonfiction history book on my topic, they’d pick one up. This is where an outline is helpful. You really need to manage your main character’s conflicts, and ensure they are substantial—both in their occurrence (two, maybe three conflicts), and in their magnitude (make horrible things happen to your main character!).

The second learning of mine is creating active sentences. Instead of saying “She was eating.” say “She ate.” I was a repeat offender of this in my draft using “I noticed” and “I felt” more than necessary. The same goes for using words like was’ing or were’ing. Instead of ‘We were jumping.” say “We jumped.” And these seem simple enough but when you are in the act of writing, you tend to make these mistakes. This is why rereading your work several times is important. You can self-edit. A well written active scene, may not even need the most intricate complications/plot struggles because the writing is so active, and thereby interesting.

A third learning of mine is using adverbs tacked on to weak verbs in place of stronger verbs. You need to use strong verbs. This one has been challenging for me, because I lean on my tried and true verbs. And quite honestly it is an easy fix by enhancing your vocabulary.

Additionally, make your characters experience inner conflict—thoughts and emotions in their nature, as well as external conflict—growing and changing overtime with life experience. People are multidimensional. How boring would we be otherwise? And people change with time and experience. So wouldn’t characters be the same way? I don’t believe there is an exact science to managing inner and external conflict, but you need to tailor the conflict to what works for your book and characters.

Lastly, remove unnecessary exposition. A key no-no in the publishing industry is too much telling, and I’m guilty of this in my draft. As writers you need to show. Some telling/exposition is necessary, but it should be significantly less in quantity than showing (I’d go as far as saying it should be an 80/20 ratio). You need to add dialogue, body language, stronger active sentences, and trust in your reader to infer from the showing scenes.

That’s all for today, friends. Were these suggestions helpful to you? What are your learnings as you’ve written? Or what are your learnings in your career and aspirations? Do tell, I’d love to know.

See you soon. Thanks for stopping by my blogspot.

Good morning, folks! Hope you had a wonderful holiday. I am back with a new blog post for ya, so here we go. Recently, I read an article about the writing pet peeves of a proofreader through an educational writing platform I am enrolled in. It got me thinking about some of my pet peeves in my own writing or in books I read. I mean, let’s be honest, we all have them. The article I read helped remind me how to hone into strong writing, and I want to share some of my own writing pet peeves. I know, I know, you can’t quiet your excited jitters.

I will be the guilty writer in all of my pet peeves, because—no ‘pots calling the kettle black’ here. This brings me to my first pet peeve: the use of cliches. So, to be clear, I am talking about spoken cliches, and also cliche topics. See: story about the unintelligent jock, or the hero/love interest saving the woman who cannot save herself. Maybe the girl saves herself, and her love interest is alongside her? Or, maybe the jock is a genius? I am guilty of brainstorming cliche topics, and they are only cliche because of their success. So, it’s an easy road to travel down. What are some storylines you believe are overused?

Good writers know when and what punctuation to use…because too much…or too little…can become a trap. A well-placed ellipses is punctuatory excellence. And no, punctuatory isn’t a word, but it should be. In fact, five people signed a petition to legitimize punctuatory in the English language. Case closed. I am careful of overuse of ellipses because too many can seem meandering and lofty in writing. I love them for effect in writing, but have to remind myself to use them sparingly or find a better form of punctuation. What are your thoughts on ellipses?

I use italics for non-English words or occasional emphasis, but too many italics, bolded, or ALL-CAPS words in my writing indicate I need to enhance or tap into my vocabulary. When reading, ALL CAPS scream, and italicized and bolded text decrease ease of reading. I’ve recently subscribed to the ‘word of the day’ emails that come from word genius, and the vocabulary has been so useful in improving my writing. I needed (always will need) that education. What resources do you use to enhance your vocabulary, and writing as a byproduct? 

Additionally, from everything I have read, over wordiness is a big book no-no and complicates the read. If you’re like me and lean on the wordy side, proofreading to find one word to replace two will be worth if for your editor and/or reader. The writing will reflect the hard work.

Lastly, while these words (just, like, so, actually, basically, seriously, and totally) totally make my writing seem conversational and non-pretentious, I just use them sparingly, even for conversational pieces. These words can often be replaced or deleted (see above sentence). Also, I find that limiting the use of these words in my writing makes it sound more intelligent and credible.

That’s all for today, friends. Were these pet peeves interesting or useful to you? What are your writing pet peeves or work pet peeves? Please share!  I’d love to know.

Thanks for stopping by my blogspot.  Have a happy new year!

Happy Friday folks! Today’s blog post is informational, and I hope it will support you in your writing goals. Writing requires a level of pragmatic action and strategic planning. And though it is truly a creative pursuit with no ubiquitous process, most successful writers will agree that pre-work is key. The topic of today’s blog is prewriting. What is prewriting, and how does it add value? 

Prewriting happens before you begin your draft. It includes brainstorming over the what, why, and who of your topic. Oral storytelling is an effective way to brainstorm for a good topic because writers discern whether the topic will be interesting based on listeners’ reactions.

Reading is also effective in sparking ideas for choosing a topic, and researching a topic once you’ve chosen it. While gathering material, often writers pay particular attention to the vocabulary used in discussing the topic.

An additional tool to really hone in on a topic is to free-write. Free-writing is when you write every idea that comes to mind, without regard to grammar. Some writers like to time themselves. Do you engage in free-writing?

Mind Maps are another great prewriting tool once you’ve chosen a topic. What is a mind map you ask? It is a visual strategy to use during the prewriting stage. They resemble the map of a geographical location. Radiating from the center—your main topic—a mind map uses lines, symbols, words, and colors to transform information into a colorful and organized diagram of your writing plan. The ‘roads’ extending from the center reflect your thoughts, and special images or shapes can represent key ideas. Check out this example of a mind map.

Once you’ve brainstormed, free-written and mind mapped, I suggest outlining your story. Typical outlines are organized by chronology, relationships, or by subtopics. Chris Fox shared a helpful video on how he outlines his novels here: Chris Fox Outline 

Though there is no clear-cut process for prewriting, below are the key steps and sequence I recommended above:

• Brainstorming
• Reading
• Free-Writing
• Mind Mapping
• Outlining

Prewriting sequences and necessity can vary depending on your writing project. This said, please don’t accept my above recommendation as written in stone. Fiction requires more imagination, while non-fiction writing requires stronger organization. Persuasive writers convey information, but also focus on how to open a reader’s mind to new ideas. Historical fiction will require research on the time period to understand lifestyle, as well as separating fact from fiction—trust me I know because my current work is historical fiction. Depending on your writing task, a unique combination of prewriting strategies may be utilized in a different order. 

And remember friends, prewriting is recursive, occurring at any time and often returning as you write. As you progress with your drafts you may need to discuss the material with someone, or adjust your outline. 

So now that you understand what prewriting is, how does it benefit writers you ask? Well, most importantly it helps you transfer your thoughts out onto the paper.  Writers develop clear reasoning, organized thought and discover weak parts of a topic. You construct a clear plan to follow while writing, while allowing fluidity for creative influence. Prewriting also supports you in determining your audience.

Do you prewrite and if so do you have a process you follow that you’d like to share? Do tell—I’d love to know. If you don’t prewrite, will you start prewriting after this blog post?

Thanks for checking into my little corner of the webosphere. Blog ya later!