Things Fall Apart

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It’s true. Things fall apart. For instance, I was working away on a nice shinny book, ‘Set You Free’ and then it totally fell apart. It wasn’t that I hadn’t planned it properly or had not considered every angle or I got bored or tired or lazy, it was that I’d been, since page one, writing the thing in 2 very wrong ways (for me).

Wrong way 1. third person. There is nothing wrong with third person. It does many people very well. I am working on a different book now in 3rd person (which is potentially another problem. I work on too many things at once. Focus, Jeff, Focus!)Where was I?
Oh, yes, third person. It’s difficult and far too often unnecessary. But the reason I decided on 3rd rather than 1st is problem 2.
Problem 2) the book is told from a teenage girl’s point of view. Which I can totally do. I think. But i was avoiding all the things that would make this book interesting because I AM NOT AND HAVE NEVER BEEN A TEENAGE GIRL. I can imagine it, but the issue with Set You Free was that the topics were very much the thoughts of a teenage girl and (see above).

Which meant 3) It fell apart. I avoided more than I put in. Luckily there’s this nice boy in the book who is a strong character and has a real voice and who I can totally write. So I will. From page 1 re-write? Sure. Change of everything but the plot? Yes. Changes in plot? Yes, many.
Sigh.

The ferret and Furry book is still kicking around. I still love the characters and the things they do. It has its problems as well. Big problems. But, problems I feel I can fix. Maybe.
In other news… No, actually, that’s about it. A couple of books that didn’t quite work out the way I wanted them to. But we fail and fail again, and these books only get better. Markus Zusak’s been working on that Bridge of Clay for a decade now. A decade! I wonder what it is he’s doing with that book. From a writer’s point of view, that is. Has he written it a dozen times from page one? Is he endlessly changing words then changing them back again? Is he using different characters, mapping out different routes? What?
I fear I might find this out myself as I plow through these books again. I guess, when you feel as if things aren’t working, you’re probably right. Or if you think that something is almost there but there’s something ‘off’ it’s likely right. Trust yourself is the theme of the day.
Ok. Back to writing.
Oh, and I still owe Alex Van Tol a chapter on the book we’re working on together. Though that is just pure fun. Which means I should just do it. But then… Sigh. http://www.alexvantol.com/

 

YALSA list!

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WHAT? WHAT HAPPENED HERE? First Powerslide made the CCBC list and NOW Dawn Patrol has been selected as a 20123 YALSA Best Book for Reluctant Readers! YALSA Best Books for Reluctant Readers list (Insert me doing a happy dance which looks a little like this: Happy Dance )

This makes me immensely happy.
I received the news while I was at the OLA Super conference in Toronto signing books for Orca. I love this event. All the librarians. All these people who believe in books and keep reading and getting others to read and say nice things to me about my books. Librarians are like the gatekeepers to other worlds. Someone should write a book about magical librarians. This someone is likely not me. But someone should do this. Because they are THAT AWESOME.
Where was I? Oh, yeah, YALSA. YALSA rocks too.

In writing news, I have finished a book about a talking ferret and a Furry, have submitted my next Orca Sports books (Above All Else) which is due out Spring 2014, and hope to have another book finished this week  (A mystery about a boy who goes missing, and a girl who refuses to believe her brother had anything to do with the crime, tentatively titled Set You Free). I say I hope to have it finished and by finished I mean a horrible first write which I already know is horrible so will therefore need a lot of fixing but fixing is writing and when else in your life can you scold your previous self? (Seriously, Jeff, you thought that dialogue was good? And what’s with this plot point, does that even make sense? And what’s with this guy’s name? And why can’t you spell restaurnat resteraunt, RESTAURANT?)
So the rewriting phase will begin the next week at which time I will NOT get all depressed and moody and weird and drive my family nuts with my weirdness about how awful a book it is because every first write should be awful. At least that’s what I’m told (and anyone who says they just ‘wrote it’ and the book ‘was pretty much complete when they were done’ is either a liar or has a mind which straightens every curve).

I’ve also been working on a Private Eye novel.
Which should make any sane person ask ‘Why would you do that, Jeff? No one asked you to suddenly write an adult novel. Nor, actually, does anyone want this from you. It isn’t even your genre, or age group, and what do you know about PI’s?’

And I would answer, ‘Well, if you’re going to be like that, I won’t let you read it! Plus, I’ve written tons of adult stuff (short stories which have been published all over the place, novels which have been published nowhere). Plus I think anyone should be able to write whatever they want. Genres and age and everything else be damned. PLUS I have a PI license. Yes, an actual license with my picture on it and everything. I took a PI course! So…. there.)
Though my real answer is I love the plot of this book. I love the characters, and it all just seems to work. So I’m going to write it and hope for the best.

So, that’s new news. Check back next week when I can tell you how horrible my first write is and how I just know I can make it better.

Probably.

 

Next Big Thing

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Brenda Chapman (www.brendachapman.blogspot.ca) invited me to be a part of the Next Big Thing Blog tour.

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:

What is your working title of your book? Freaks

Where did the idea come from for the book? I wanted to look at the difficulties of personal identity in teens with a mix of humor and seriousness. 

What genre does your book fall under?  It’s a stand alone, humor filled upper grade YA.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition? I love it when readers send me their suggestions for who should play different characters in the movie of any of my books. This one is a little difficult as the three main characters, Cole, Ash, and Jes, are 15-17 and each in their own way awkward. I would have to go with Micheal Cera (if he were younger. He is, for my mind, the best ‘teen’ actor we have had in decades), I’m not sure for Ash, and the younger Mila Kunis for Jes (again, these people no longer exist. We are only our younger selves for so long).

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

On the day his grandfather, Harold Fuller, dies, everything changes for Cole Fletcher. Well, not everything. He doesn’t turn into a giant cockroach or learn to fly. But everything that matters changes. And the problem is, he never saw it coming. (I know, not one sentence, but that’s the synopsis).

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency? Agency

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? Maybe three months. It was a bit on and off for awhile as I figured things out. But I would say three months.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre? It’s about a girl who likes to dress up as a blue and red tiger (a Furry) and a guy who thinks his grandfather is speaking to him through his pet ferret. I honestly don’t have any comparisons. I can say that when I was finished writing the book I read Jesse Andrews’ Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and felt a kinship in voice. 

Who or what inspired you to write this book? As a lot of my books happen, this one came out of a totally different idea. I wanted to show the connection between a grandson and his grandfather in a different way. As in, the two really worked together and were inseparable for a number of reasons. Then the grandfather dies and the grandson is at loose ends. But then Jes showed up and the whole book just changed. So that initial idea is still there and really is the base of the story, but there is more involved now.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest? It’s funny. Have I mentioned that? And sad at times. You’ll find you’re laughing then crying. A bit of an emotional roller coaster. Then there’s the whole guy getting dumped, the most boring neighbor in the world, and the Bradenton Florida heat. I hope there’s a lot to love about this one.

Link to Michael J. McCann http://michaeljmccannsblog.blogspot.com
 and
http://brendachapman.blogspot.ca

 

Michael Chabon, It’s not you, it’s me

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One of my earliest influences was Michael Chabon. I picked up The Mysteries of Pittsburgh in hard back then read all his short stories in The New Yorker and Harpers, then  he came out with the brilliant Wonder Boys. I likely have read that book a dozen times, which is rare for me. The movie is amazing as well. Then things started to drift for me. I like Kavalier and Clay. And his genre stuff as well. But now comes Telegraph Avenue and I just cannot get through it. I have tried. Then I’ll hit a page that is so… WRITTEN that I can’t find my way to the next one.

His style has changed, though I think it has more to do with my style changing. I love the simplicity of YA. Not that YA writing is simple by any means. But the straight forwardness of it. The story is on the surface. It’s also beneath the surface if you look. But the thing is you don’t need to wade through sentences to get to the meaning. You can read and re-read a YA novel (not all, but let’s generalize here) for the entertainment value and then delve deeper into the ideas and thoughts of the characters. Whereas I feel that many modern ‘literary’ novels are all the part of the iceberg beneath the water.

I intend to take another go at Telegraph Avenue soon. But I have been enjoying more crime and mystery novels, such as Don Winslow’s Savages, and Kings of Cool. They are direct, written with simpler language, and the story drives everything. There are societal comments here as well. There are deep characters, sometimes despite themselves (I’m thinking of O here). And there is no more or less literary ‘value’ to reading these books simply because they are ‘easier’.

If I have learned anything it is that we should all read what we want to read and never feel ashamed. Whatever you like, whatever entertains you, whatever gives you the feelings you want to feel, those are the good books.

 

Choosing a project pt2

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So Set You Free might not happen just yet. Luckily I had barely begun writing it. As in, I was still planning it out. And in the planning I found a few flaws which I was not certain would ever be anything but flaws. The biggest one was that the lead character was, most of the time, on her own or with an adult. And that kills the YA vibe a lot. Also, it was starting to feel too complicated and I was having difficulty untangling it and making it simple. So I took some photos of my white boards and wiped them clean and started again.

Now, I’m mapping out a different novel. This one set during Prohibition. The protagonist is a boy, the action (I hope) is relentless, and there is violence of  a different variety than I often see in YA.

I liked the Hunger Games but the violence seemed too off camera. As in, these kids were sent to kill one another and the deaths were shown by pictures in the sky. There was a bit of sadness, and it all carried on much as before. But death, an especially violent death, is not like this at all. I think, in some ways, we’re doing a disservice to readers if we play it as such. There are enough games and movies which make death seem less than real, something that happens to bad people, and that’s it. I think if books have any edge over these other mediums it’s the ability to pull true emotions from people, and to approach life, death, love, regret, &c. in a way which is much more difficult in visual mediums.

I teach scriptwriting for video games as well as animation and TV. I’m not putting these other mediums down. TV and movies and games are all awesome and can do some true and honest things with their stories. But I feel as if books can go that one step farther on an emotional level.

So, I have been wanting to examine violence and death on a different. I hope I can do so in this book. I always want to write books which are full of excitement, humor, and sadness. All in equal parts. And when I am unable to do these things, or can’t find my way to all three, books fall apart for me. Which is what happened with Set You Free. Not that that particular book is dead in the water. But it might take a little more time.

In the end, I suppose we must all write the books we truly believe in. So there is every possibility that this project may fall by the wayside as well. I need to find the protagonists voice first. And then populate the cast with real people. And, for me, I need to find the humor in it all. So, we’ll see what happens.

But I am hopeful.

Choosing an Idea

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I recently finished a final draft of Freaks which I’ve been referring to as my ‘ferret book’ but isn’t really, though there is a ferret in it and that ferret talks. But anyway. I edited this  book and edited it again and edited it again to the point where I feel if I edit it anymore I’ll start wrecking what I have created. I know once I sell it I will get an editor who will help me edit some more. In fact I look forward to this. But for the time being it is done.

So I needed a new project. This is always a strange time as I get a LOT of ideas but it’s hard to tell which will pan out. Luckily I have changed my writing method in a way where I can explore a lot of ideas and see which one has the greatest potential.

My first idea was a post apocalyptic trilogy. I know, there are a million of these out there. But I still feel if you can make something new and interesting and the base idea is good then it will be good. I really like the ideas I have but there’s some fine tuning which I am not certain of at the moment. The bigger issue is that committing to a trilogy is like deciding to take a job in some foreign country. You’re there for a long while. Not that I can’t commit to it, it’s just that I have these other ideas floating around and I wanted to make certain they weren’t the most pressing.

So I mapped out the trilogy and then outlined the first book and set it aside. Then I turned to another idea I had and started thinking it through. After about a week I had the basis for a full novel, a kind of thriller. The characters came together fairly completely  the Dramatic Premise and Dramatic Situation came together quickly. But most of all the basic idea was one I’d been considering writing an adult PI novel around and as much as I’d like to write that particular PI novel, the idea was what fascinated me, not so much the form.

So, once I finish the current Orca Sports book (Above All Else) I will get right into this one. And I am excited about it. Excited because I love the idea, but also  because the plotting in this one (and plotting has not always been my strong point) feels tight and possible and the themes and ideas are interesting to me. Right now it’s called Set You Free  (as in the truth shall set you free).

But, again, we’ll see. Writing is a matter of making mistakes and correcting them. And the more you write, the (slightly) easier it becomes to correct mistakes. Though you never stop making them.

A quick note about my method these days. I take the idea, write down everything I can think of about it, sketch out characters I think will work then start putting their interactions together. In this situation, since the basic story is a ‘thriller’ I figure out the suspects, the journey the lead character will take and the different routes the story could go. Once I get enough of this together I write a kind of map of the story. This I work over for quite awhile. While I’m doing this, I write little bits of the narrative to hear what the protagonist’s voice sounds like because the voice always influences the story. If it still all works I write the whole novel as a script. I do this because it is a lot easier to make a mistake in a script and then go back and fix it than it is in a novel. A script for one of my longer books is about 80-100 pages. The books themselves will be 250-300. So if I write myself into a corner, it’s not a problem to back track, delete or even start over. Once I have the script done I check and re-check all the dates and times and ideas to make certain it all moves forward. Then, finally, I start writing the actual book. And as I write, day after day, I tell myself to ‘trust the script’. What is in there works. What is in there makes sense. So I can focus on the characters, the dialogue and the thoughts of the characters.

I love every stage of this, but I have to say that before when I used to write without a real plan at hand, I spent a lot more time pulling my hair out. A lot more time staring at the blank white page. A lot more time wondering what I have done and what I need to do next. And a lot less time writing.

I think the greatest thing I have learned from writing over the past almost 20 years is that you need to combat your weaknesses, whatever they are. Figure out how to get around them. The other thing I’ve learned is that it never stops being fun.

 

Questions I’ve Been Asked; A Round-up

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I get e-mails from readers all the time about my books. I’m going to start answering them on here as well because…. Just because.

Where do you get your ideas?

I am a snowboarder, a skateboarder, and a (bad) surfer (not my fault. I live a long way from any major waves). So, The Drop, Powerslide, and Dawn Patrol all came from things I have done. Not that I trained some Justin Beiber type celebrity in the art of skateboarding, but the basis was there. (I also believe that everything I know about writing came from skateboarding. But that’s another post.) So the basis is there for all my books in things I have done. But then there are the layers on top. My next novel Above All Else which is due out Fall 2013 is about soccer. I have played soccer, but not with the kind of intensity the lead character does. But the book is not really ‘about soccer’ it is about the idea that winning is the most important thing. When I’m teaching Scriptwriting I have a class on the difference between Dramatic Premise and Dramatic Situation. The Dramatic Premise is the ‘idea’ (winning does matter, but it is not everything) and the Dramatic Situation is the specific scenario the characters find themselves in (a kid who is far too intense during a game and people get hurt because of it). So I have the basis for the story there, then the particulars of the characters come into play.

How Do You Write?

One word at a time. I think this question is usually geared toward finding out my process. I’m not certain this is very useful. But I spent a lot of years reading about other people’s processes. It was kind of a starting point for figuring out how to do this writing thing. Michael Chabon, for instance, writes from 10pm – 3am, finding the middle of the night a better time to concentrate. Never worked for me. George Pelecanos sees his office as a place where he hangs his shingle. Haruki Murakami gets up somewhere around 4 in the morning where it still feels like he’s dreaming. I know the writing habits of dozens of writers. How some just sit and write and figure it out. While others plan and plan until they know the whole mess. I had to figure out my own route.
I think I have it now as well.
It goes something like this: I want to write about (A). A bit of research is done. Discoveries are made. Not a word is written. A lead character comes into play. A secondary character or two. A brief outline of the whole thing (maybe two pages) is laid out. Holes need to be filled in. I spend a little time grappling with the endless possibilities available in any book. Which route would be the best to fulfill my Dramatic Premise (which by this time I have a hint of). Eventually a first scene comes to mind and I have to write it. It’s usually a first chapter and I know from the start it likely won’t remain the way it is laid out. But it’s there. The characters are moving around, talking, thinking. Then I get really excited about writing the book. The problem I always have is keeping track of what happens next. I know what I should be writing but it sometimes falls apart and I go off on tangents I shouldn’t. So I have begun writing the book as a script first. I teach scriptwriting at Algonquin College and read hundreds of scripts every year. I also write them. The ‘novel’ scripts I write are a little different than a regular script though. They are, basically, scenes, locations, dates, times, characters, and a bit of dialogue. This helps me flesh out the story and character and, when I’m done with it (normally they come out to the regular 110 page script length) I print it out and start writing ‘the book’. What this saves me is the hours upon hours of trying to figure out whether I have said something already or not without reading through an entire book. I know what I have said or not said because it is in the script which I check a hundred times before I start writing the book. And when I doubt myself, I simply say, ‘trust the script’. So now the book writing, which is very different from scriptwriting happens. I know what happens, where people go, who is there every step of the way, and can focus on getting the writing right.
That’s my process. I have a feeling it wouldn’t work for many people. It’s really just an elaborate outline. But I know my weaknesses (keeping a plot straight, dates and times, &c) and this process keeps me in line.
As for times I write? Whenever. I have two kids who I want to spend as much time with as possible. Luckily they are both in school now so I have that whole day (when I’m not teaching) to get work done. And when I’m finishing a book I become a crazy person who writes at all hours and gets cranky and angry because all I want to do is get back to my computer and finish the thing.

What Happened to Bryce?

Bryce kind of disappears at the end of The Drop. I know. My awesome editor Sarah Harvey and I both missed this. Or, did we? I truly believe that a book is like a contract between a writer and a reader. So when Bryce went off at the end of that novel, having been called out for all he did, and the reasons he did it, it seemed to me that it was not really up to me to decide his fate. His actions caused a lot of problems for a lot of people. He had his reasons, sure. But it seems to me that deciding what happened to him after the last page is more up to the reader than it is up to me. What happens to Casey after Powerslide ends? Or the group on the beach at the end of Dawn Patrol? Who knows. The only book I actually know what happens to the characters is Coming Clean and, as stated in another post, that’s only because the whole thing was an exercise for a larger novel which may or may not ever be written.

I’ll answer more questions in the future. I love getting questions from readers. It makes my day every time someone corresponds with me. I mostly get e-mails, but the odd time an old school letter shows up in my mail. I reply to every question I get. And if you mail me something, I’ll mail back a postcard and a bookmark and a letter.

Happy Birthday, Coming Clean

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Coming Clean came out yesterday and like pretty much every birthday I have any connection to, I forgot it. So Coming Clean gets this online little Happy Birthday, Sorry this is late, facebook-type comment.

I like this book (which is probably good because I wrote the thing). It’s about Djing, which is something I did a lot of for awhile. Something which took a bit of my hearing as well. But, like all good friends, Djing sometimes hurts you just so you remember to appreciate it.

There might be a sequel some day. Rob Solo (star of the book) wants one (I mean the real Rob Solo, Dj/teacher extraordinaire) wants one (of course). The book came into creation by way of my writing a back story for a longer novel I was considering. And then it just kind of took over.

Anyway, here’s the copy for it http://www.orcabook.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=1049&CategoryTile=Orca%20Soundings-Coming%20Soon

Sorry I forgot your birthday. I promise I won’t again.