Anna Staniszewski

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of attending a launch party for Kim Harrington’s new book, Perception, a sequel to Clarity.

It was a great event with a large turnout. For me, it was especially fun because the event was held in my hometown of Westborough, Mass. The bookstore, Tatnuck, is where a Star Market used to be. It was an odd sort of deja-vu to be in the same place where I used to go grocery shopping with my family years ago.

Kim started the event by talking about the things that have happened since the first book came out (including having the book optioned for television–how awesome is that?).

Then she did a short reading from Perception and answered some questions.

I was impressed with how articulate she was on the spot. When I do events, I spend most of the time reading and very little time talking and answering questions because I’m afraid I’ll say something really dumb.

Here I am with Kim, getting my book signed.

Afterward, my friend Sarah and I ventured through the bookstore to find a copy of my own book, and they had it. Yay! So of course, we documented the moment (much to the amusement/confusion of nearby shoppers).

I’m about halfway through Perception right now and I’m loving it. Kim sure knows how to write a good mystery! Her main character has such a fantastic voice. There was one passage in particular that I wanted to share with you guys because I think it shows how you can use description to convey a character’s voice and attitude. In this scene, the character has just arrived at a house party:

Kendra’s giant McMansion was set at the end of the dead-end road, up on a hill. It seemed to glower down at the rest of the more modest McMansions with its judgy little window-eyes. The driveway looked like a freeway in one of those apocalyptic movies where everyone’s gone, but their cars are left behind, haphazardly parked this way and that. One even had the door left open.

Isn’t that great? I’m excited to finish reading the book and figure out “whodunit.”

On Friday, I mentioned that I was in the mood for a good comfort read. I specified that I didn’t want anything too intense. So what did I wind up choosing? This:

Partials, a super dark dystopian reminiscent of Children of Men with some “Battlestar Galactica” themes thrown in. Looks like a light read, right? Ha. I guess I’m a bit of a weirdo, but ever since I was about ten, reading dark sci-fi has been comfort reading for me. Maybe it’s because the genre takes me so far out of my real life that it’s a sort of escape.

With dystopian being so trendy recently, I’ve been in heaven, although there’s so much of it out there that I’ve had to take a break every once in a while. Luckily, Partials was a quick, engaging read, and it helped to get me out of my reading funk. Maybe now I’ll actually find something light and fun.

How about you: do you have any odd comfort reading tendencies?

How is it already Friday? And March? I feel totally behind. Anyway, here’s what’s new.

1. If you live in or near Rhode Island, I’d love to see you on March 24th at The Story Emporium in Pawtucket. I’ll be doing a reading at 10am and then there will be crafty and book-signing fun until 1pm. After the event, I’ll be doing a recorded interview–my first ever! I’ll let you guys know when the video is up online.

2. Tomorrow, I’m heading out to see Kim Harrington at her launch party for Perception (sequel to Clarity). I can’t wait to get my hands on the book!

3. Revising revising revising. Need I say more?

4. I’ve officially joined the world of Tumblr with Dogosaurus Rex, a tie-in to my forthcoming picture book and an excuse to take pictures of my dog. I’m not sure I quite understand how Tumblr works yet, but hopefully I’ll figure it out.

5. I’m in a little bit of a reading funk. Can anyone recommend an amazing, must-read book to help get me back in the game? I admit that I’ve been very escapist in my reading choices recently, so nothing too intense!

First, I’m doing one last UnFairy Tale giveaway on Goodreads, so if you’re in the market for a signed copy of the book, here is your chance. (The reason it’s my last giveaway is that Goodreads only allows contests for books that have come out in the past six months.) (Wowza, has it really been almost six months since my book came out? How did that happen?) (Apparently, I really like parentheses today.)

And now on to videos. I need your help!

For a while now I’ve been wanting to do a YouTube video to help promote my book (in addition to the book trailer I did a while back). At first, I was thinking it would be very simple: an image of the book cover with my voice over it. But then Heather rightly pointed out that it would feel pretty static. Then I was thinking it could be me talking about the inspiration for the book, reading the original first page, and then sharing the final first chapter. But the problem with that is the total lack of humor and personality.

So now I’m brainstorming and I’d love to hear your ideas. My goal is to have the video be not only for people who’ve read the book, but for those who might have not heard of it. I’m not trying to make a viral video, just one that’s interesting/funny/wacky enough to reflect the spirit of the book.

Let the ideas flow!

Thanks to everyone who played the First Line game on Friday! It was so much fun reading all your story openings–talk about variety!

There were so many good ones that it was hard to pick my favorites, but I did want to highlight a few of the lines to illustrate what pulls me in when I read a story opening. Of course, everyone’s preferences will be different, but this is what works for me.

“The first time it happens I’m six years old, sitting on the playground next to a severed Barbie doll head.”–Sheri Larson

What I love about this line is the mystery it creates. The first time what happens? And the image of a severed Barbie head is pretty disturbing. Right away we have mystery and mood.

“Aunt Macy had planned out everything she needed for my Uncle Herbert’s funeral–except how best to kill him.”–John Rea-Headrick

This line has the type of dark sense of humor that instantly draws me in. And, again, there’s mystery: why does Aunt Macy want Uncle Herbert dead? No doubt, the story will tell us.

“Norma Cavendish has a terrible secret. I’m not sure I should even tell it to you.”–Mirka Breen

I’m intrigued by this voice. Who is this narrator? And will s/he tell us the secret? I wouldn’t be surprised if the narrator plays games with us throughout the story.

“Once, I had memories.”–Mandy

This is such a simple line, but it packs so much punch. What happened to this character’s memories and will s/he get them back? I also get a sort of hazy feeling from this line, which goes very well with the subject matter.

“The Mayor tiptoed to the end of the diving board, adjusted his tie, and leaped off, landing upside down in a pool of foam.”–Lilia

If there’s one thing I love, it’s wacky humor. And again, I’m left asking questions: Why on earth is the mayor jumping into a pool of foam? The line also gives a lot of great details so that I can already picture this character.

So, to recap:

Mystery! If a line has a sense of mystery, if it leaves me asking questions and wanting to know more, it pulls me in.

Atmosphere! If the line creates atmosphere–either through voice or mood or humor–it makes me feel like I’m already in the story.

That’s what works for me in a first line. What works for you?

If you have a minute, pop over to the Mixed-Up Files where I’m interviewed as part of a post on being a debut middle grade author. If you comment, you’ll be entered to win my book along with four other great MG novels.

Today I’m launching what I hope will be a recurring feature on this blog: First Line Friday. I don’t know about you, but I love coming up with first lines of stories. Even if those lines never turn into anything more, I still like stretching my brain to create them.

Last night on my train ride home, I started jotting down some first lines and I thought it might be fun to share them with you guys. And…

I want to hear your first lines!

So go ahead and put a first line or two in the comments (either from projects you’re working on or just fun ones you came up with). I’ll pick a few of my favorites and highlight them next week.

Okay, ready? Here are mine, in order from normal to dark to bizarre.

1. I could make anything out of clay–anything except the one thing that mattered.

2. It’s surprising how much a human head weighs even after the brain’s been removed.

3. If only Uncle Teddy had stayed dead, this never would have happened.

4. Our motto was simple: “You’re either in or you’re dead.”

5. If crocodiles could buy hats, I’d be a millionaire.

Now it’s your turn. Go!

If you heard angels singing yesterday morning, that was because I finally did it: I went from drafting to revising Book 2. Hooray!

It’s funny. Years ago, before I had any clue what I was doing, drafting was my favorite part of writing. In fact, I hated revising. I was convinced that I’d gotten it right on the first try. Um, yeah…

Now, after many years of working to improve my craft, revision has become my favorite part of writing. Why? Because I’m a control freak, and revising is the ultimate opportunity to put everything in order. The first draft is messy; revising allows me to vacuum and dust and scrub until the story starts to shine.

I was so excited about revising that I literally spent morning until night working on the book yesterday. I’d say that’s a good sign. I know I’ll run into stumbling blocks–I always do–but it feels good to know that every change I make brings me closer to making the story work.

Anyone else loving revision at the moment?

I’m thrilled to continue the “Writing a Series” series with a guest post from Leah Cypess, author of the YA novels Mistwood and Nightspell, on her experiences writing a companion novel:

“Every time I look at my revision letter, my stomach literally hurts.”

 “I think I’ll ask them if I can just write a different book instead.”

 “Are all second books this hard?”

These are a few excerpts from emails I wrote while working on my second book, Nightspell. The last was to my editor, and her response was a simple, “Second books *are* hard.”

I’d heard that before, but I thought I would be different. When I sold my first book, Mistwood, my second book had already been written. It was only a first draft, true; even so, I should have been way ahead of the game. I assumed I would skip the deadline-driven second-book panic entirely.

Apparently not. Because even without deadlines, there’s another problem with second books: many writers find themselves writing them in the middle of a crisis of confidence.

This is no coincidence. I think there are probably two main causes:

[1] As an already-published novelist, you’re probably reading the reviews of your first book while you write the second (although I do hear rumors of authors with iron willpower who avoid reviews entirely). The rave reviews make you fear that your second book can’t possibly be as good as your first. The scathing ones make you fear that you don’t know how to write at all.

[2] By now you know a little bit more about publishing, and about how many opportunities this book will have to get rejected: by editors, by marketing, by the chain stores, by the industry reviewers, by book bloggers, by casual shoppers. When you wrote your first book, you were your main audience. Now you have a dozen shadowy readers hovering at your shoulders.

So did I overcome these problems? I’ll be honest: I’m not sure I did. I reminded myself, frequently, how lucky I was to be publishing even one book, let alone two. And then I just kept writing, kept revising, kept working until the book was done. If anyone has a better way, I would love to hear it.

The only useful advice I have is to make friends with other writers, especially those who are going through the same thing. Commiserate. Write a few self-pitying emails (see above). Hear that they’re going through the same thing. Maybe they’ll have better advice than I do. And even if not, at least you’ll know you’re not the only one struggling with Second Book Blues.

I’m still having headaches, so I’m trying to avoid spending too much time on the computer. That means instead of a writing-related post today, I’m going to give you some funny pictures to get you through the weekend. Enjoy!

I’m still drafting Book 2 but things have been going slower than I’d like, mostly because I’ve been having bad headaches. I just got new glasses, so I’m hoping that will help. If things don’t get better, I might have to try out a voice-to-text program so I won’t have to look at the computer as much. Anyone ever tried one of those?

In terms of figuring out the story, things are getting a bit easier. I’m past the halfway point of the first draft, and I’ve made a list of the scenes I still need to write. I’ve realized that while I’m a pantser at heart, I can usually make an outline for the story once I’ve gotten further into it.

Drafting is such an emotional process. Sometimes I write a scene and feel like this:

And other times, when I read over a scene I just wrote, I feel like this:

I’m trying to just keep going, reminding myself that I’ll make it all better in revisions. Hopefully I’ll be into the revision phase very soon!

How are you doing with your WIP?