Topic: The MG Club!

[xC0000005]

Thanks.  I hope revision land isn't like Disneyland at all.  In my experience, Disneyland is less about the rides and more about the lines.  From the time you get in line to get in the line which will take you to the line for the train, until you form a line to scan a card to let you get out of one line and into another, until that magical time of day when you all form one huge line of people, to get into a huge line of cars to leave.
Even the parade is just a thinly disguised line of characters.

Revision land has got to be better, if only because a soft drink doesn't cost $10 in revisionland.  In fact, I might take the family there next year.

[Venessa Ann Schwarz]

Hee! Hee! I think you've nailed it! Revisionland is the new Disneyland, but better! You've convinced me ... I'm on my way to revisionland right now!

[Pons]

I actually made some progress today. I think I'd lost my MG POV for a while.

[jodyjl]

Pons, I hope you found the POV.

Never fear Revisionland. It's really just a giant, on-going, non-stop roller coaster with days in which you travel up, up, up and days you come down, down, down. Some days you just cruise along in a straight path and cover a huge distance. Some days you hit the dreaded brick wall and have to fight your way through with a pick axe. The only way out of Revisionland is to bail yourself and your manuscript out of the car by submitting, but even then, you will likely be back. Why wouldn't you, though? The company is great, and contrary to what you may think, there are really no lines. The coaster seats hundreds, thousands, really. Come on board!

[lynnek]

I'm sitting down to crack open an MG manuscript that got plenty of requests, yet consistent feedback that there wasn't enough "threat" in the first half.  I'll fix them, says the plotting half of my brain.  "It'll look like the texas chainsaw chicken massacre by the time I'm done."  Sigh. 

That's encouraging that you got all those requests and that they took time to offer feedback. Good luck upping the stakes in revisionland! Really make your readers worry about whether your main character will get what they want or not.

[lynnek]

And look at this article I came across right after I posted-- all about revising to raise the stakes for your character!

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2012/08/guest-author-aimee-salter-revising-to.html

[xC0000005]

And look at this article I came across right after I posted-- all about revising to raise the stakes for your character!

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2012/08/guest-author-aimee-salter-revising-to.html

Great read, and pretty much what I was already doing.  Instead of starting in a nice, safe farm, we'll throw my chickens into the middle of a thorn bush, in the darkness of night, and already bloody and burnt. 


Edited - some weirdness had me lose half my message, then grafted the repost together.

Not enough threat, hah!  I've got enough stakes for an army of vampires, a ballot full of politicians, or both.

[dewsanddamps]

Thanks for posting the link, lynnek.

[Tori]

Pons, I hope you found the POV.

Never fear Revisionland. It's really just a giant, on-going, non-stop roller coaster with days in which you travel up, up, up and days you come down, down, down. Some days you just cruise along in a straight path and cover a huge distance. Some days you hit the dreaded brick wall and have to fight your way through with a pick axe. The only way out of Revisionland is to bail yourself and your manuscript out of the car by submitting, but even then, you will likely be back. Why wouldn't you, though? The company is great, and contrary to what you may think, there are really no lines. The coaster seats hundreds, thousands, really. Come on board!

Well-said, JodyJL! Applause, applause!! 
Aloha,
Tori

[Venessa Ann Schwarz]

I agree! Well said, JodyJL!

Lots of fun in the MG Club!

[PStarz]

Thanks for that link, Lynnek.  I've read that to engage the reader your main character needs to want something important.  But asking what the stakes are if he/she doesn't get it creates a whole new level of concern for the character.  I'm going to add that to the profiles I'm creating for my two main characters. 

[josiecv]

Thanks for the link, Lynne! I constantly struggle with raising the stakes. I clicked through to the 2009 article she referenced & found these questions really helpful, too: http://blog.janicehardy.com/2009/10/whats-at-stake.html

[Venessa Ann Schwarz]

Thank you Lynnek and josiecv! That information was invaluable. Nearly all of the feedback I ever received on a manuscript was that my characters weren't compelling enough. A light just went on in my brain.

[C. Lee McKenzie]

Now that I'm writing MG I'm becoming addicted to those wonderful middle grade characters and having tons of fun with them. Hope you'll let an old --can we make that former?--YA writer join your group. I can use a lot of tips and I'll share what I can.

[Vonna]

Welcome, C. Lee! MG is where the fun is! 

[Venessa Ann Schwarz]

A BIG welcome, C. Lee! Vonna is right ... MG is where it's at! I meet with my critique group this week on my WIP and hope to get some feedback. Until then, I happily twiddle my thumbs waiting. I don't want to look at it too much because I start to make myself crazy, and there comes a point where nothing on the page seems right. Sooooo ... it will be nice to have fresh eyes this week.

  critique group! You are all  the best of the bunch!

[josiecv]

Welcome, C Lee!

Vanessa, hooray for lights going off in the brain. Good luck with the critique group. I hope you'll get lots of helpful feedback!

[Pons]

I finally finished chapter 8 in this round of revisions. For some reason, it was a real struggle. On to chapter 9. Yeah.

[C. Lee McKenzie]

Welcome, C. Lee! MG is where the fun is! 

I'm finding that out! Thanks.

[C. Lee McKenzie]

A BIG welcome, C. Lee! Vonna is right ... MG is where it's at! I meet with my critique group this week on my WIP and hope to get some feedback. Until then, I happily twiddle my thumbs waiting. I don't want to look at it too much because I start to make myself crazy, and there comes a point where nothing on the page seems right. Sooooo ... it will be nice to have fresh eyes this week.

  critique group! You are all  the best of the bunch!

Thanks for the welcome. I'm working alone in the MG area at the moment. My crit group focuses on YA, but I'm hoping they'll cut me some slack and give my MG a read.

[C. Lee McKenzie]

Welcome, C Lee!

Vanessa, hooray for lights going off in the brain. Good luck with the critique group. I hope you'll get lots of helpful feedback!

Appreciate the welcome. I'm looking forward to reading what this group has to say!

[Venessa Ann Schwarz]

C. Lee, although I don't personally know your critique group, I'm positive that they will give your MG a read. Who doesn't love MG? Right? I mean, it's right in the middle. The cream in the Oreo ...

Pons, Yay! for finishing chapter 8 and getting your POV back. My critique group informed me that I had lost my POV too, sporatically throughout. Plus, I kept using that dreaded, "author speak" AND, I also needed to show more and tell less. Wow! They are good. Though now, I'm overwhelmed with revisions. And I feel tired just thinking about it. Wishing you the best with chapter 9!

Thanks josiecv for the encouraging words! 

[Pons]

"author speak"

That is a curse, isn't it?

[Venessa Ann Schwarz]

I so agree, Pons! And what's worse ... I'm drowning in it.

[Pons]

It's insidious. It sneaks in and makes itself right at home with no announcement at all.  I usually don't notice the unwelcome guest until I'm in revisions and notice 12-year-olds sounding like they're 35.  ???

[Venessa Ann Schwarz]

Pons, Hee! Hee! That's excellent!

[lynnek]

Finally made some good progress this weekend! To get myself to focus better and avoid playing around with my friends on the Internet so much, I started using the Pomodoro Technique: http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/book.html
...after hearing about it from Anastasia Suen. (At the bottom of the page there, you can download the free e-book if you'd like). The main thing is to set a timer for 25 minutes and do nothing but work during that time, then take a 5 minute break and start the timer again. It's a long enough time to get a good amount of work done, but it's short enough that any distractions that come up can wait till break time. Yesterday I got three hours' worth of writing done that way; could've done more, being home all day long, but that's a lot more than I've been doing lately! Up to chapter 15 on the new draft.

 

[Vonna]

I think I need to try that, Lynne. I probably won't need it today because yesterday I got a confidence boost on my new wip from my crit group, so I'm eager to get to work. But usually--yeah, a timer is a good idea.

[Venessa Ann Schwarz]

Thanks Lynne for that link and suggestions. I'm going to definitely try that. As of now, I do some revisions, see dust on a table and distract myself by dusting it, which leads me to remember that I have an icecream sandwich saved in the freezer, which leads me to realize that I forgot to pay a bill, which lead me to ... see. Doing it again! 

[elissacruz]

Hi MGers!  Now that school is back in session and my many summer projects are finished (or under control), I've finally been able to get back to the writing.  Hooray!

I'm revising a project, but it's more rewriting than revising.  SIGH. I so wish things would come out right the first time, you know?  I've only revised the first two chapters, but I hope I can revise a chapter a day and get this baby into the hands of my many capable critique partners, and maybe my agent, by the end of the month.  It's hard to tell if I'll be able to keep that pace, since the first few chapters were the most complete to begin with, but I'm going to do my best.

Okay, I'm off to revise Chapter 3 now!  Wish me luck!