Anna Staniszewski

I’m away on vacation this week, but here’s an older post you might enjoy.

Okay, I know writing query letters isn’t fun. To be honest, I don’t exactly look back fondly on the time I spent querying agents. But I’ve since come to realize just how valuable queries can be, not just for getting an agent, but for strengthening your writing. So here are my top three reasons why queries aren’t evil:

-They let you showcase your writing. Don’t think of a query as a cover letter whose only purpose is to get an agent to read your work. Instead, think of your query as a way to show an agent how smooth and concise your writing is before s/he even reads your amazing novel.

-They force you to boil down your story. In a query, you need to convey your character, your story’s tone, and what’s at stake. If the conflict doesn’t feel big enough (if the reader is asking “so what?”) then it means you have some more work to do. A query test can be a great way to see if your novel is as strong as possible.

-They get your work out there. If you think of a query as a dreaded obligation, it probably won’t be all that enjoyable to read. But if you think of it as a way to get someone else excited about your story then it can actually be kind of fun. This is your chance to wow someone with what you do: don’t be afraid to let your novel’s unique energy come across.

So yes, queries are a challenge. And they require a lot of practice to get right. But they can also be a great way to strengthen your writing. The fabulous Elana Johnson, for example, has talked about how she’s written a query letter for a project before it was even finished. It’s her way of making sure she’s on the right track.

If you think of query writing as a horrible process, it absolutely will be. So arm yourself with some chocolate, force a smile onto your face, and try to think of a query as an opportunity to get your story out into the world.

I’m away on vacation this week, but here’s an older post you might enjoy.

I don’t know about you, but one of the hardest things for me to do is go from revising and polishing one project to starting a new one from scratch. Jumping from final draft to first draft can be torture. Even if I’m excited about the characters and the concept, the writing just feels so raw and…well, terrible.

It usually takes a little time to get over my hyper-criticism and get into the groove of writing something new. I have to tell myself that it’s okay if the characters feel like cardboard cutouts and the dialogue sounds wooden. I can fix it in revisions. I’ve also learned that sometimes you have to set the bar really low in order to get the hyper critic in your head to shut up, so I tell myself: “This isn’t bad for a first draft.”

But sometimes, that hyper critic won’t shut up, and you have to find a way to keep going anyway. I think the best you can do is remind yourself why you like this story (even if you hate every word of it at the moment) and tell yourself that the next draft will be better.

If that still doesn’t work, come back here and read this: YOUR WRITING IS NOT TERRIBLE!

After all, would this kitten be gazing at you adoringly if you were a terrible writer?

It’s Friday, which means that I’m currently on my way down to sunny Florida where I will spend a day before hopping on a cruise ship. It’s my first cruise, so I’m excited to see how it goes. Mostly, though, I’m looking forward to plenty of sun and lots of reading and relaxing.

Don’t worry, I won’t desert you while I’m away. I’ll post a couple of “oldies but goodies” next week that you might enjoy.

Also, a note that I’m extending my Oct-Dec Debut Giveaway for another few days (since I’ll be out of town during the original end date). The contest will now run until January 16th.

See you in a week!

I’m starting work on the sequel to My Very UnFairy Tale Life, and I thought it would be interesting to document the process.

Yesterday, I sat down to start drafting Book 2. I must admit, it was scary to stare at that blank screen. Of course, I’m thrilled to be able to send Jenny on more adventures, but at the same time, I can’t help thinking of people’s expectations. If they enjoyed the first book, I need to do my best to make sure the second book is just as enjoyable (and maybe even better). No pressure, right?

For a little while, that pressure was paralyzing. But finally I told myself to just write, even if the result was terrible. The first couple pages were painful, but finally I started to get into the swing of things. I finally remembered how fun these characters are to write about, and I remembered how drafting the first book was pure silliness, so I tried to channel that energy again. By the end of the first scene, I started to feel more comfortable.

So where do I go from here? I have a few pages written and I’m hoping to write at least 1,000 words a day until the first draft is done. I have a synopsis of the entire book, so at least I have an overall idea of where the story is going. It will be interesting to see how closely the story sticks to the synopsis as it goes along.

Something I’ve been unsure about is if I should re-read the first book as I’m working on the second one. I know there are certain details I’ll have to go back and check in Book 1, but I’m hesitant to reread the whole thing. I’m sure I’ll find things in it I wish I could change, but it’s a little too late for that! We’ll see how brave I’m feeling.

That’s it for Part I. Stay tuned for more sequel updates!

I hope 2012 is treating you well so far. I have some exciting things planned for the blog this year. Here’s what’s in store:

Writing a Series

Since I’m going to be working on Book 2 in the UnFairy Tale series over the next few months, I thought it would be fun to blog about the experience. I’m also hoping to line up some guest posts from other authors who’ve written series, to get their take on the process.

MG Spotlights

I like to blog about good books that I’ve read, but for some reason I’ve been reading primarily YA recently. So my goal is to focus more on MG (which I love!) and help spread the word about some great reads.

Animal Pictures

Okay, that’s not that different from what I’ve already been doing. I guess I just wanted to reassure you that the cute animal pics will continue.

I’ve been working on revising a tween novel for a while now. I feel like I’m getting really close to getting it right, but the one thing that simply will not come together is the timeline of the story. I’ve made things hard on myself by giving the character a deadline that she’s working towards. She’s always counting down the days, which means that my days need to add up perfectly. Throw in the fact that certain things need to happen on certain days of the week and I’m banging my head against the wall trying to get it to all add up.

My husband, in his eternal attempt to keep me from stressing myself to death, reassured me that he wouldn’t even notice if the timeline was off, and he’s probably right. Readers don’t often pick up on things like that. But I’ll know if a day or two is missing in the story, and I just can’t leave it alone until I fix it. Otherwise, it will always nag at me. I don’t think I’m being a perfectionist. I’m just being a responsible storyteller.

So pardon me while I keep banging my head against the wall, trying to finally figure this thing out!

[If you're interested in an international giveaway of a paperback or e-book copy of My Very UnFairy Tale Life, swing by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer where I talk about what inspired me to become a writer.]

The year is almost over, and it’s time to do one more giveaway celebrating newly-released novels by my fellow Elevensies (i.e. 2011 debut authors). The winner of the giveaway will get to choose one of the Elevensie books released in October, November, or December of this year (listed below). More details on how to enter are at the end of this post.

October Releases

MERCY LILY by Lisa Albert

Dealing with the concepts of quality of life, natural death, and euthanasia are all part of being a veterinary assistant, but when Lily’s duties of caring for animals and being her mom’s caretaker become blurred, she’s faced with the hardest decision of her life—and her mother’s.

THE CIRCLE CAST: THE LOST YEARS OF MORGAN LE FAY by Alex Epstein

How did an exiled girl named Morgan le Fay become the most powerful witch of her generation?

DEARLY, DEPARTED by Lia Habel

A cyber-Victorian/steampunk romance – with zombies.

AUDITION by Stasia Kehoe

What price would you pay to reach your dreams?

VIRTUOSITY by Jessica Martinez

Carmen, a 17-year-old violin prodigy, falls for her biggest rival just two weeks before the biggest competition of her career.

November Releases

DON’T EXPECT MAGIC by Kathy McCullough

A reluctant fairy godmother discovers that it takes more than magic to make wishes come true.

FETCHING by Kiera Stewart

A crew of middle school nobodies secretly use dog training techniques on their classmates to go from eighth-grade underdogs to leaders of the pack, only to discover being top dog isn’t all they expected it to be.

December Releases

FLYAWAY by Helen Landalf

Fifteen-year-old Stevie suspects her mom, who works as a stripper in downtown Seattle, may be doing crystal meth.

To enter this giveaway:

Just leave a comment and tell me: Which 2012 releases are you looking forward to?

For extra entries:

-Be a follower of this site. (Not a follower? Just click “Join this site.”) [+1 entry]

-Link to this contest on Twitter, Facebook, etc. [+1 entry per each link]

Please make sure to list your extra entries in the comments.

The contest is open internationally (anywhere Book Depository delivers) and will end on January 16th at midnight EST.

Good luck and happy reading!

In case you didn’t hear me shouting from the internet rooftops yesterday, I wanted to officially share my good news. UnFairy Tale Life is going to be a trilogy! Here’s the announcement:

Author of MY VERY UNFAIRY TALE LIFE, Anna Staniszewski’s next two in the series, MY WAY TOO FAIRY TALE LIFE and HAPPILY FAIRY AFTER, to Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, by Ammi-Joan Paquette of Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

I’ve been sitting on the news for a few weeks now, so I’m thrilled to finally be able to share it. In terms of how the sequels came to be, here’s a little backstory.

When we first sold UnFairy Tale Life, Sourcebooks expressed interest in potential sequels but (rightfully so) I think they wanted to see how the first book would do. Then, right around the book’s release, my agent contacted me and said: “How soon can you get an outline for the sequels to me?” So I dropped everything and got to work!

I drafted a terrrrible outline for Book 2. It really was awful. I tried reading it to my husband and his eyes glazed over about halfway through. It was much too complicated and had way too many characters. So I went back to the drawing board and tried to really focus on the fairy tale aspect of the story. With a good friend’s help, I finally got the outline to where it needed to be. Luckily, I’ve had the idea for Book 3 in my head for a while, so that summary was a bit easier to write.

Once we submitted the outlines to my editor, my fingers were in a constant crossed state. Finally, my agent called me with the good news. I might have shrieked in her ear. Book 2 is scheduled for a Spring 2013 release which means that I’m going to be busily writing away after the new year. I can’t wait to send Jenny on more adventures!

Thanks so much to everyone who’s been celebrating with me! This is definitely the best Christmas present ever.

As I’ve been revising, I’ve been thinking a lot about making things big enough: making the embarrassing moments really embarrassing, and the horrible moments really horrible. The more heightened the scenes are, the more emotion will be involved for the character and for the reader. And trust me, you have a long way to go before things get too big.

There’s an exercise I do with my students that I think proves this point. I have them write a scene twice. The first time I have them write it normally, and the second time I tell them to exaggerate it as much as they can. Undoubtedly, the second version is always more engaging, and it almost never feels too over-the-top.

I think sometimes we’re afraid to really push things, but to make a story feel real, we need to make it elevated. Fiction is real life dramatized, after all. So make it dramatic!

[Attention teachers: A free curriculum guide for My Very UnFairy Tale Life is now available! You can download it HERE and I'll also put a link to it in the sidebar.]

Since it’s almost the end of the year, it’s time to take a look back at this year’s five most popular posts (i.e. the ones that have gotten the most traffic). Not surprisingly, they’re very craft-focused, and two of them are awesome guest posts. Enjoy!

1. Battling the Stigma of the YA Writer (guest post by Lydia Sharp)

2. 9 Tips for Finishing That Novel

3. Giving Your Characters Choices

4. A Bit on Emotional Structure

5. The Best Advice I Ever Got: Gretchen McNeil and Leah Cypess