Voice

You are currently browsing articles tagged Voice.

Review: Castration Celebration

May 21, 2009 in Reviews | 5 comments

by Jake Wizner
Young Adult, 304 pages.
Random House Books for Young Readers (2009)
ISBN: 978-0375852152

Disclosure: I love Jake Wizner. A lot. So when it came time to read CASTRATION CELEBRATION, I was a whole mess of fuzzy/nervous/excited feelings. I will try to leave my obnoxious crush on SPANKING SHAKESPEARE out of this review.

At a Yale summer program for artistic teens, Olivia and Max run into each other and can’t seem to separate again. While Olivia is there to nurse a broken heart and write a ball-busting, dick-shrinking play called, duh, “Castration Celebration,” Max makes it his goal to pursue her and win the girl that doesn’t want to be won. Their story is paralleled by Olivia’s characters, Jane and Dick, who fall in love, fall out of it, sing songs about Edward Cullen drinking Bella’s period blood and then fall back in love again. Much Ado About Nothing is another overarching parallel.

Now. There has been some hullabaloo about this book already (I’m lookin’ at you, New York Post) because of its sexual content. And when I say sexual content, I don’t mean ugly-bumpin’ porn scenes. I mean jokes about sex, penises, periods, vaginas, sheep-molestation, all of it. Some people are up in arms but this is exactly why it doesn’t really bother me… Wizner writes jokes. For a person with my sense of humor, the bawdiest sex joke won’t really make me blush. It’s harmless.

What struck me about CASTRATION CELEBRATION, as a book, though, is that it all seems like one big joke. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes… not. The whole hook/title/play-within-a-book idea feels like Jake Wizner riffing with himself, coming up with a funny concept and thinking “Wouldn’t that be a freaking hilarious book?” Sometimes, these crack-yourself-up moments lead to really awesome, funny stuff. Other times, developing a one-line inside joke into a book and then actually releasing it into the world can’t compare with the freshness and fun of the original idea. While a lot of CASTRATION CELEBRATION is funny, some of it strains to be so. Some of the musical scenes and songs are great, others feel like they’re trying too hard, like Wizner had a fabulous idea but got in a little over his head once he realized he’d have to develop it all the way.

As I think I’ve said before, I love Jake Wizner’s writing. I love it. His sharp characterizations and effortlessly hilarious dialogue in SPANKING SHAKESPEARE won me over. In CASTRATION CELEBRATION, though, I didn’t feel like the characters were as sharp as they could be. Olivia, Max and Zeke, Max’s roommate, are the standouts, while the others, especially Olivia’s gaggle of female roommates, blend into one another. And some of the dialogue — while it was fun and banter-y and random and totally captured the cadence of a group of hormone-drunk teens shooting the shit and trying for laughs — didn’t elevate all that goodness to the realm of interesting and compelling fiction.

That being said, the book really picks up steam after the first 75 or so pages. I think Wizner struggles a little to nail the tone of this book (which, believe me, I admire so much… a farcical, faux musical, bawdy romp comedy is a tough tone to nail) but finds the true voice of it eventually. As a book, CASTRATION CELEBRATION raised some really interesting questions for me. Can a person write the literary equivalent of Superbad or an SNL sketch and expect audiences to react to it the same way in book form? Even though the script-format scenes of the book are written for the stage, they read like they’d be better in a Judd Apatow film.

This is something I’ve noticed a lot in film/TV/advertising lately. It seems like the lowest common denominator has hit rock bottom since Judd Apatow, The Office, Will Ferrell and others soared to new heights of popularity. Now even Madison Avenue admen with bazillion dollar budgets are casting their version of The Office’s Jim and making him say random stuff/do some physical comedy because they think that’s what the public likes (see: those ridiculous Bill Gates/Jerry Seinfeld ads). It’s a really interesting phenomenon to watch, because most producers/advertisers/writers are totally clueless about comedy. Jake Wizner, on the other hand, writes excellent comedy. And there are some really funny parts to CASTRATION CELEBRATION. But did Wizner fit this story with the right medium? My gut says no. It reads more like a sketch or a movie. Though, who knows, that might just be the new synergistic format to reach older teen (and especially boy) readers.

CASTRATION CELEBRATION comes out May 26th, 2009. Order it today or pick it up for your grandma, pastor or therapist at your favorite local indie! (I know I’ve used this joke before, but I’m not nearly as funny as Jake Wizner, so gimmie a break!) Links: Amazon, Shop Indie Bookstores.

For Readers: SEX!!!!! Did I just make you blush? Then you probably shouldn’t read this book. If you can handle a lion’s share of tasteless sex jokes, you’ll be fine. Older readers who are fans of comedy, sex, laughing, sex, smiling, sex, boys, sex, girls, sex, sex, sex and sex will enjoy this book. As with SPANKING SHAKESPEARE, cool kids who hang out with the drama nerds, artists, music geeks and otherwise party on the enlightened fringes of their high school societies will probably find more here than will those who loved PAISLEY HANOVER.

For Writers: I’m still convinced that writers who want to write older teen comedy need to add Jake Wizner books to their curriculum. Another cool thing he does here, as he did in his first book, is intertwine narrative chapters with a character’s “own” writing, in this case, Olivia’s play. This is a popular technique to showcase what a character is thinking, as witnessed by the journaling phenomenon. If you’re looking to add another layer of voice to your character, maybe think about featuring something “they’ve” written in between chapters of narration.

Tags: , , , , ,

Review: Peace, Love & Baby Ducks

May 14, 2009 in Reviews | 3 comments

by Lauren Myracle
Young Adult, 192 pages
Dutton (2009)
ISBN: 978-0525477433

Fifteen year-old Carly is a budding nonconformist, haircut maven and, most of all, older sister extraordinaire. But when she comes back from wilderness camp all tanned and decked out in leather hippie sandals, she realizes her younger sister Anna has, er, developed in all the right places. Now Anna, just an incoming frosh, seems to have it all figured out in the vapid, striated social world of the exclusive Holy Redeemer prep school they go to.

As Mr. Lauderdale worries about his new Jaguar and their equally materialistic mother raves about her mani-pedis, Carly sees Anna straining to join the kind of girls who spend their lunch hours discussing teeth-bleaching and hair extensions. The more Carly rebels and tries to define her own ideals, the more difficult her sisterly relationship becomes. When their parents go out of town and a party mixed with some bad decisions tests their bond once and for all, Carly won’t have any PEACE, she’ll rediscover her LOVE for Anna & maybe even get a couple BABY DUCKS out of the bargain.

Lauren Myracle is extremely talented at portraying the younger teen/older tween mentality in all of its conflicted, contradictory, self-conscious glory. Carly is a masterpiece in this regard. She’s trying to hone her own personality while the rest of her world pushes back on her and challenges her. She even goes too far on several occasions and hurts Anna and her friends. In all things, Carly keeps returning to what it means to be a sister and how to be true to herself in an artificial world. While some things may seem straight out of the Kidlit Canon — like the obligatory parents-out-of-town-rager-that-gets-out-of-control, the evergreen awful-back-to-school-haircut and the old favorite, new-boy-in-school-is-blazingly-hot plotlines — Myracle’s talent is making each internal conflict that arises a deeply-felt and extremely revealing adventure that teaches both her characters, and us, a little something about living authentically in a world that doesn’t feel like home sometimes.

PEACE, LOVE & BABY DUCKS comes out today, so order a copy or pick it up at your nearest indie bookstore. And don’t forget… there’s a huge contest going on through the end of May on Lauren’s website: www.laurenmyracle.com. Here are links to buy the book: Amazon, Shop Indie Bookstores.

For Readers: Fans of Lauren Myracle will not be disappointed. Like a superstar author should, she just keeps growing in her emphatic ability to draw a fleshed-out, complicated character. Some of the other characters in Carly’s world might be stereotypical, but Carly, her friend Roger and Anna are anything but ordinary. That’s the rub… and the eventual glory of the story. Carly narrates a wonderful journey full of the complex considerations I remember from my own prep school days (how old fart does that make me sound?!): how to be different without alienating everyone around you. Carly does both — from going too far to selling out her own beliefs — and it’s an awesome pleasure to read.

For Writers: I’ve mentioned a lot about the characterizations in PEACE, LOVE & BABY DUCKS already, so read for that. There is also an overwhelming study of what it means to be a sibling in this book. As an only child, I know I’ve tried to write siblings before without a lot of success. Myracle proves that sibling relations shouldn’t just be limited to a few scenes here and there. Being an older sister is in the very core of Carly’s character, without ever once being heavyhanded. This is a great sibling book, better than any I’ve read in a long time (save the family dynamic in IF I STAY). You’ll also enjoy how honestly Myracle tackles social dynamics like race and class.

Tags: , , , , ,

The Last Threshold and Writing What You Can’t

May 12, 2009 in Agent, Revision, Writing | 11 comments

Here’s a post written by Mary-the-Writer, not Mary-the-Agent. I’ve written a lot of manuscripts in the pursuit of my craft. Each has been better than the last one and I have no doubt I can tell a story, but there’s a threshold in my way that I’m always grappling with. It’s the hardest, most menacing final hurdle, and I haven’t hopped over it yet, as my work remains unpublished.

My struggle is voice. A voice that’s believable, that changes, that evolves and reeks of humanity. Because that’s what is necessary in today’s market. And my biggest problem is impatience. I want to publish a book and I want to do it right now. But things don’t work that way. In my pursuit of the manuscript “just good enough for someone to publish it already!!!” I’ve been turning out lazy, one-dimensional, generic writing. Some writers, those trained in critique groups and workshops, will automatically move to pat me on the knee and whisper that no, it’s actually very good and that I shouldn’t say that, and that I’m being self-critical, and blah blah blah. But compliments don’t help a person improve. They’re the last things you’ll remember, after you process all the real, honest and challenging advice you get.

In the pursuit of the book that’s good enough, I haven’t written a book that’s alive. Something with a pulse. Something that has the “x factor” to succeed. (Hint: the “x factor” in any manuscript is voice.) Not yet. That’s what I finally have to tackle (in all my “spare” time, ha!). And the painful funny thing is, I’ve known it all along. In my rush to write and revise, I’ve known that these manuscripts haven’t been my absolute best work. A long time ago, in college, I figured out that my lazy try was better than some people’s absolute best writing. That’s the moment when I decided to play it safe. I know I’m not alone in this.

People have a tendency to stop short of doing their best. It’s a self-defense mechanism. If they don’t write the things they really want, if they don’t pour out the real effort, then the failure they’re imagining (and will most likely experience) can’t hurt them that deeply. Criticism slides right off, because they have a dirty little secret: this wasn’t the real try anyway.

Well, I am throwing in the towel on that attitude these days. It’s childish, it’s self-defeatist and it’s the last great threshold in my writing life. Is there anybody out there with me who’ll do the same? Have I hit upon anybody else’s dirty little secret? Good.

Here’s my advice to those writing what’s just good enough:

Write what you can’t. Write what you’ve been afraid to write this entire time.

I’m done with writing safe, bloodless manuscripts that get me nowhere. Just like any writer, I’ve faced a lot of rejection. But I’m grateful for it, so thank you to all the editors who haven’t published me yet. Thanks for not letting me get away with it. I’ll be here until next time, getting over my self-inflicted BS and finally writing the manuscript that’ll make me vulnerable, that’ll seem impossible, that’ll take me over my last threshold.

I want nothing less from the writers who query me.

Tags: , , ,

The Four Horsemen of the Prose-ocalypse

May 1, 2009 in Revision, Writing | 9 comments

Without further ado, here are the Four Horsemen of the Prose-ocalypse:

  1. Eyes
  2. Hearts
  3. Lungs
  4. Stomachs

What do I mean? These four areas of the body are the well-worn favorites of writers everywhere when it comes to describing emotions of any kind. Count how many times you’ve seen the following (or similar) phrases:

She darted a menacing glance over her shoulder.

He cast his eyes to the ground.

My heart clenched in my chest like a giant fist.

His heart knocked against his ribs like a caged bird.

She let go of a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

Timmy gasped for air like a drowning man.

The sound of his raspy breathing was the only noise in the otherwise death-silent room.

A gnawing feeling radiated from her guts.

Acid roiled in my stomach, threatening to make an exit up my esophagus.

And on and on and on. Now, that’s not to say these phrases are inherently bad. They’re not. But as writers, you should always be aware of your descriptions. There aren’t many areas of the human body that act as emotional centers. Eyes, hearts, lungs and stomachs are the four biggies. A lot of stuff happens at these hotspots as a character moves through the emotional arc of a story.

But every time you write something about eyes darting, a heart clenching, breaths catching in throats or guts rumbling, just know that these Four Horsemen appear in almost every manuscript. It is your job to put a fresh twist on these descriptions and to give your readers new images.

Just because you know everyone struggles with this problem and just because you want to easily convey emotion in your work doesn’t mean you can get complacent and fall back on the stuff I’ve outlined above.

I issue you a challenge and throw down the gauntlet! What are some fun ways you outsmart the Four Horsemen in your manuscripts?

Tags: , , ,

Awesome Link: Teens’ Big Life Questions

April 28, 2009 in Advice | No comments

Hey, not to be all like, “descent of the creepy writers” or anything, but there’s an awesome link of teens readers posting questions for Judy Blume over on RandomBuzzers, the Random House teen forum:

http://www.randombuzzers.com/forums/topic/260/91542/

Go over there and take a look at what teens want to know about their lives. Their questions are big and, in many cases, so poignant and evocative. What do your characters think about? What are their three biggest life questions?

Finding this thread got my day off on a very, very inspiring start because my next WIP is finally going to be literary YA and I’m so excited to explore some of these issues with her character.

Tags: , ,

Review: Suite Scarlett

April 24, 2009 in Reviews | No comments

by Maureen Johnson
Young Adult, 368 pages.
Point (2009)
ISBN: 978-0545096324

Scarlett Martin gets a special present for her fifteenth birthday… a key to her very own suite at the boutique Hopewell Hotel in the heart of Manhattan. Only she’s not staying in it. With her suite at the Hopewell, the Martin family business, comes the responsibility of caring for whoever resides there.

This particular summer, as things at the Hopewell take a turn for the economic worse, the Empire Suite guest happens to be Mrs. Amberson, an eccentric, wealthy and flamboyant actress who wants to reconnect with her passion for the theatre… and to inject some drama into Scarlett’s life.

Between trying to bolster her brother Spencer’s acting career, being at Mrs. Amberson’s beck and call and playing the part of Spencer’s hottie castmate crush, Scarlett suddenly has her hands full. When Spencer’s play gets in trouble and Scarlett’s sister’s love life crumbles, Scarlett will have to step in and, with her suite guest’s help, save the day.

SUITE SCARLETT is a fast, laugh-out-loud funny read full of Johnson’s signature hilarious and quirky characters.

This review celebrates the paperback release of the novel, which is technically May 1st, 2009. If you want to get your hands on it sooner, though, you can order Suite Scarlett right now from Amazon!

For Readers: Readers will love Scarlett and her siblings, who manage to make ends meet and scrape by no matter how crazy their situation. They’ll also adore Mrs. Amberson, who is like the theatrical aunt everyone wishes they had. Her money doesn’t hurt things, either. There’s also a romance between Scarlett and Eric, Spencer’s castmate, which has some real depth. If you’re into theatre, fun and great, snappy dialogue, pick up SUITE SCARLETT, now in paperback!

For Writers: Every writer, at one point or another, has dreamed of writing a crazily eccentric character like Mrs. Amberson or Chessy Chestnut, from Lisa Yee’s ABSOLUTELY MAYBE. If you’re into writing humor, you will enjoy studying Johnson’s use of dialogue to this effect. Her interactions between the siblings, especially Scarlett and Spencer, as well as her characterization of Mrs. Amberson are hilarious.

Also, Maureen Johnson is excellent at using social technology. Case in point, she told her Twitter followers yesterday that if they could make SUITE SCARLETT break the 1,000 number of the Amazon Sales Rank, she’d sign up for trapeeze school. Guess what? SUITE SCARLETT topped out at #643. Follow her on Twitter: @maureenjohnson. She’s also got a ning site, which is a cool social networking utility that authors like John Green use. Check out her website for more details. This is stuff that up-and-coming YA and kidlit authors should get very comfortable using, because these social networking tools are going to be key to promotion in a few years, if not already.

Tags: , , , , ,

Kidlit Author Interview With Heather Duffy Stone

April 22, 2009 in Interview | 2 comments


Today, we’ve got a fantastic interview for you from our Kidlit Book Club pick of the month author, Heather Duffy Stone. Since her debut novel, THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO TELL YOU, deals with such intense and honest emotions, I wanted to find out more about what her process was when it came to writing these types of scenes. Enjoy!

Kidlit: All three of your main characters in the book, Noelle, Nadio and Keeley, have intense feelings about sex. From Noelle’s disappointment and Keeley’s experience to Nadio’s complicated inner struggle, how did you go about writing these scenes? What did you want to convey?

Heather Duffy Stone: This is a great question. I have to say these scenes were easy in the sense that I knew that the book was going to be about the intensely complicated nature of first sexual experiences. I felt very strongly where the characters were coming from and I pulled on experience. I mean not just my own.

In fact it was very much the experience of growing up and of hearing friends’ stories and talking friends through different experiences. I wanted to convey the truth of first relationships. I think Keeley and Nadio cared about each other deeply but they were coming from different, and very uncertain places. I think Noelle and Parker did not have a relationship based on love or trust, but it was certainly based on a mutual physical attraction. I wanted to convey that both of these things are very real and valid.

KL: The triangle of relationships between the three main characters makes for a lot of intense emotions: love, hate, jealousy. Does this “threesome” relationship come from something in your own life?

HDS: Wow. Well, yes and no. Everything I write comes from some kind of experience. And I actually have been part of a lot of friendships where two parties end up falling in love. But mostly I wanted to write about the two sides of ourselves that pull us in different directions—hence the twin thing.

KL: Without giving too much away, there is also a breakdown and cry for help in your book, including a time when the character isn’t exactly clear-headed. How did you handle writing this scene? Did you have any concerns about broaching the topic of possible suicide?

HDS: I didn’t have any concerns—this scene had to happen. I felt comfortable and confident writing it and, again, I wanted to convey only truth. I did not want to sugar coat anything. I have a graduate degree in Counseling, so maybe I have added confidence writing about these kinds of scenes—but at the same time I certainly worry. I knew there was not going to be a clear fix or a happy ending to this story. But life is often the same way.

KL: Nadio has a complicated relationship with his role as a man and other males, especially his estranged father. What was it like writing from his perspective? How did you make his experience and his relationship with manhood and with his father so truthful?

HDS: Writing as a teenage boy was so hard. In some ways, Nadio is the character I’m closest to. He is most like me I think and it was very easy to write his inner journey sometimes. But he was definitely way too feminine in the early stages. Some of my readers just kept underlining scenes. “Too girly, too girly”. He is still very sensitive, but I think he is undoubtedly a man now… thanks in huge part to my critique partners!

As far as manhood, I think I was able to convey trying to grow up—to fill expectations and be yourself and protect and take care of people without giving up too much of yourself. I hope I was able to do that. I think we can all relate to that same kind of searching.

KL: Did the book begin with either narrator or was it always going to be two POVs? Which narrator was easier to write? Did you ever find yourself writing more fluidly in one or the other?

HDS: Actually, the book began seven years ago with Lace (the mother). It was a third person adult novel about her. But my perspective and my interest changed gradually. Then it had three narrators—Keeley was actually a narrator. But the story belongs to the twins. I loved writing both of them—it really fed two sides of my story, and my needs as a writer, but I think I could also appeal to different kinds of readers too.

KL: You made the choice not to use any quotes or a lot of dialogue tags. Can you talk to us a little bit about the thought process behind this?

HDS: It’s not very exciting. It just felt completely unnatural to punctuate dialogue in this story. Noelle and Nadio are so overwhelmed, so uncertain about speaking certain truths out loud, and sometimes aren’t even making the distinction themselves between what they’re feeling and what they’re saying. I just wanted the reader, in some way, to feel this with them.

Thank you so so so much for having me, Mary. This was so fun!

THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO TELL YOU is Heather Duffy Stone’s first novel, it came out with Flux in March, 2009. Order it right here or pick it up in your favorite indie store. You can check out Heather’s website here and join the dedicated Kidlit Book Club page we have by clicking here.

Tags: , ,

Review: Wintergirls

April 18, 2009 in Reviews | No comments

by Laurie Halse Anderson
Young Adult, 288 pages.
Viking Juvenile (2009)
ISBN: 978-0670011100

At a recent Not Your Mother’s Book Club event, Laurie Halse Anderson mentioned a yearning that came over her before she sat down to write her latest book. She had to do something different, she said. She had to evolve as a writer because she felt she’d reached a ceiling. WINTERGIRLS is the result of that evolution.

I’m sure Laurie can surprise us and rock the YA landscape yet again but, after putting down this book, I have to wonder: where can a writer possibly go from here?

At the beginning of the book, Lia has just lost her best friend and fellow anorexic, Cassie. Anderson writes:

“Cassie’s at the morgue, I guess. Last night she slept there in a silver drawer, eyes getting used to the dark.”

As Lia navigates a world full of minefields — muffins, suspicious parents, a distant mother who wants to send her back to the eating disorder hospital — she is haunted. Figuratively, by the guilt of not answering the phone when Cassie called on the night of her death. Literally, by Cassie herself, who desperately wants Lia to give in to the anorexia and die so they can be together again.

Most of Anderson’s rich, shockingly inventive writing happens when Lia swirls around inside her disease, locked in a frightening cage of her own mind’s devising. Her brain commands her to starve her body, to cut herself, to tamper with the scale, to run away from home. Anderson has Lia describe herself as:

… a daughter who opens her own skin bag, wanting to let her shell fall to the ground so she can dance.

Already a wonderful, passionate and talented writer, Anderson weaves obsessive thoughts, numbers, pro-ana blog posts, vicious digs and ghostly echoes through Lia’s narration to underscore the torture of anorexia and self-hatred.

The language is poignant, beautiful and haunting. Lia speaks in a tongue all her own. And it is heavy. Dark. WINTERGIRLS is one of the most emotionally affecting books I have read in years. Lia’s world is so real, so honest and so downright horrifying that the reader can’t crawl out of it. Even after the book ends. It has been trailing me for days since I finished.

And after all that, the last few chapters come like an unexpected blue sky. After 250 pages of wanting to choke Lia, to force food down her throat (emotions portrayed by her beautifully human and well characterized parents), to slap her upside the head and scream that life is worth it, there is redemption. Since Lia dragged us through the depths of a frozen-over hell to get there, it is that much more poignant when it happens.

WINTERGIRLS features gripping writing, a vulnerable, absolutely engrossing voice and a story that every girl and woman should read.

For Readers: Everyone will know someone who hates themselves. They’ll recognize the urges they might have to be thinner, prettier, “better.” They’ll remember the echoes of gossip that chase Lia through the halls. This is not another “issue book” that some dowdy counselor will try to force on kids. This is the essential pulse of the self-esteem problems faced by every human being, especially by girls Lia’s age. Entering the world of WINTERGIRLS, “dangerland” as Lia calls it, will make you wince. It’ll make you cry. It will make you want to wrap your arms around yourself to feel your own warmth. There is atrocious self-hatred and self-injury in this book. That’s exactly why this is an important work. The ugliness of the reality in these pages doesn’t make it any less true.

For Writers: WINTERGIRLS will redefine the language YA writers are using. It will re-imagine the way a character talks about their problems. It will stretch the boundaries of first person narration. If you are thinking of writing a character who is obsessive, who is addled by something, who has body issues, who hurts his or herself, read this book. Anderson has absolutely nailed exactly how prevalent and destructive thoughts like Lia’s can be. If you are interested in research, you can see how well and deftly Anderson’s research appears here. Even if you have no interest in any of the above, read WINTERGIRLS anyway. Laurie Halse Anderson is one of the most innovative, brilliant and honest YA writers working today.

L-R: Yours truly, Laurie Halse Anderson, a young reader and Heidi R. Kling… Thanks to @DebbieDuncan for the picture!

Tags: , , , ,

Newer entries »