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Random Bits

Posted on by Beth Hull

No energy – sick with a cold. So let’s do a Friday Five.

  1. Z’s Great Grey Owl costume turned out really well! Husband did the feathers for the mask, I did hours of sewing for the cape o’ feathers, and she absolutely loved it. I absolutely loved sneaking chocolate from her Halloween bag. Will post a how-to-make-an-owl-costume some other time.
  2. I’ve got a Fabulous Support Network re-reading le manuscript, but already I’ve found Flaws In The Middle. I really shouldn’t read books on craft when I’m trying to finish a project. One of the chapters in Donald Maass’s The Fire in Fiction covers what he calls the “saggy middle.” No, he better not be talking about my tummy. The problem with middle scenes is that the main character tends to go through the story, and these middle scenes, especially, without a clear goal or inner or outer turning points. Now angry at the world and frantically revising.
  3. I need a really good book to read. Fiction, nonfiction, YA, adult – doesn’t matter. But I need something to suck me in, and fiction usually does the job better than non, for me. Preferably something short. Recommendations?
  4. Have I mentioned I’m sick? Murphy’s Law must govern preschool schedules, because the week I get sick is the week Z has two days off of school. So now I’ve got to keep her busy all day long. We’ve been doing special art projects. We made a paper chain for Thanksgiving, and I got her a bunch of fall-themed foam stickers so she’s making more Thanksgiving decorations. Also, at her school they give them those perler beads that the child puts on a plastic peg board, and then the theory is that the adult will unearth her iron and iron the plastic beads so they stick together to make a fun, bright shape for everyone to enjoy.
  5. Finally, on the subject of school. Z really wants to go for the full day. She’s been going for half-days, so we promised to talk to her teacher about it at the parent-teacher conference, which was today. Her teacher recommended starting on Monday! As in, three days from now. I’d thought there would be hemming and hawing, and we’d start her full-time maybe in January, giving us all a lot of time to get used to the idea. But Z wants to go now, and her teacher sees no reason not to. Plus in the coming weeks there will be lots of breaks for the holidays, and supposedly this will make the transition easier. Part of me is overjoyed at the prospect of so much time to myself before the baby comes, and a part of me is weeping, “She’s growing up so fast!” But that second part is mostly quiet, especially when I have a headache and a cold and all I want to do is take a nap that lasts until March.

That’s all! Happy Friday!

Writerly Rambles (Obsession Styles of the Poor & Obscure)

Posted on by Beth Hull

Now that I’ve tightened le manuscript (as in, deleted roughly 5,000 words simply from eliminating needless dialogue tags and instances where one character “looks,” “glances,” or “sees” another), and I’ve read it over and don’t know what the heck else to do with it, I’ve got to get another pair of eyes on it…again.

For some reason I’m finding this harder the second time around.

So I’m reading it again. Taking out more words. And worrying about the following things:

  • Will anyone actually like this main character?
  • How’s the pacing? I’m bored in places, but I’ve read them dozens of times, so is it just me, or my lackluster plot?
  • Does my main character have enough interiority? (for some excellent posts on this, go to Katherine Longshore’s post at the YA Muses, and Mary Kole’s on Kidlit)
  • Is the leading dude enough of a heart-throb?
  • Does the “woe is me I’m so hopeless about everything” section drag on too long?
  • Am I ever going to convince certain members of my critique group that dropping the prologue is in the story’s best interest?
  • Will anyone who read it the first time like the changes I made? Or will they grumpily say, “Why didn’t you change X? Why did you change Y? Why did I bother giving you advice last time when you followed it in such a shoddy way?”
  • Is this story anything anyone will ever want to read?
  • Maybe I should go tinker with software to make a book trailer, even though I don’t have a book yet.
  • Is it time for me to just get a job already? Possibly creating book trailers for the successful writers out there?

Here We Go Again

Posted on by Beth Hull

I have, once again, joined the Sisterhood of the Maternity Pants.

While I think it’s pretty evident to everyone who has glimpsed, even out of their peripheral vision, the protrusion of gut-stuffed-with-child swelling my middle, I feel that I should just come clear. It’s either this, or I gripe about how drivers using turn signals in traffic seems to be going the way of bows and curtsies.

So. Here it is. I’m pregnant.

Frequently-asked Questions of Pregnant Women, Which I Shall Answer Here

  • When is the baby due? May 2nd.
  • Will you find out if it’s a girl or a boy? Yes. The appointment for that ultrasound is in December.
  • Does Z know? How does she feel about it? She knows, and she’s super-excited. She’d been asking for a little brother or sister, since most of her friends have them. She might be viewing siblings as noisy accessories. I forgot to tell her there’s no return policy.
  • Do you want a boy or a girl? Since I have a girl, I think I’d like a boy, although it really doesn’t matter.
  • Do you have a name picked out already? Nope.
  • How are you feeling? Pretty crappy for the most part, and tired. But I think the nausea is lessening.
  • Any cravings/aversions? Usually I’m a sugar-fiend, but I don’t want that so much – I’d rather have salty things. Like french fries. Every day. Most of my fun/allowance money is supporting the fast food industry right now. Way to help that growing brain! Also, I don’t want to look at a zucchini right now. Or ever again.
  • You’re huge. Are you having twins? No.

If there’s anything I missed, feel free to ask.

So, we’re very happy, although I’d be lying if I said there were no mixed feelings on my part. Finally I’ve gotten my free mornings for writing, and that’s all going to end in a few months. But I managed to write two novel-length manuscripts in the three years before Z started preschool, so I’m sure I’ll adapt to whatever insane writing schedule I need after the baby comes. And besides! Soft little person to get to know! Sweet milky baby breath! Adorable tiny shoes!

The Monster, Part 3 (and The End!)

Posted on by Beth Hull

For Part 1, click here. For Part 2, click here.

The Monster

Kimberly heard someone behind her. She turned around quickly, just in time to see the sorceress pointing her wand at James and chanting in a foreign language.1 Kimberly had no time to think. “Noooooo!” she wailed, then took up a handful of dirt from the hard-packed earth,2 hurling it at the twisted face of the sorceress.

  1. Wow, this is so much easier than the entire theory of magic I created for my current manuscript. Wand, foreign language, boom. Sorcery.
  2. I’d imagine it would be rather difficult to pick up an entire handful of dirt from hard-packed earth. Just sayin’.

By an invisible and powerfully strong force, Kimberly was pushed to the ground. There she lay, unconscious and still.

Kimberly awoke, startled to see James’1 handsome face directly above her own. A cold wash cloth was being pressed against her forehead.2 “Kimberly, are you all right?” James asked tenderly,3 brushing her hair away from her face.4

  1. I think we already discussed the James’/James’s issue.
  2. We haven’t, however, talked about passive voice. “Was being pressed” is totally awkward, and leaves out any agent doing the pressing. Of course, we can guess it’s James pressing the wash cloth, but why not just say so?
  3. And I KNOW we’ve talked about adverbs.
  4. Also, we’re missing the entire, huge problem with this story. The old “Oh, I got knocked out, WTF happened while I was in my Victorian swoon?” (As much as I loved The Hunger Games, Katniss does this a few too many times in the third book.)

“James, I – I didn’t think you could come,” she said dramatically.1 “I knew you were mad; I thought I was doomed.”

“I would never leave you to die. I’ll never be that angry.”

“So what happened?”

“You distracted the witch for me, then I had the chance to kill the monster, then I fought the witch and killed her too. But when you threw the sand in her eyes, she aimed her wand at you instead. That’s why you got hurt.”2

“Thanks, James, for saving me.” Kimberly reached forward and kissed him gratefully on the cheek.

“No, Kimberly, I couldn’t have done it without you.”3

James cradled Kimberly in his arms for a moment, then picked her up and carried her away from the woods and the evil memories that remained there. They would make up. They always did.4

  1. Dramatically. Seriously.
  2. This entire recount seems to be out of order.
  3. Despite the cheesy dialogue, I must congratulate my teen self on how I did not overuse dialogue tags in this section. We know who’s talking, so why add “he said, she said”? Something I should have kept in mind for my current manuscript.
  4. I thought they already made up? Or is this referring to their big college argument that never got resolved? That must be it. Well, luckily I don’t think anybody cares how they solve that problem.

And thus ends our journey into this endearingly short romance. (Indeed, its brevity may be the only thing in its favor.)

The Subtle Art of Hyperbole

Posted on by Beth Hull

Other parents have corroborated this phenomenon: they make a simple request of their child and BOOM! They get a dramatic, hysterical reaction, usually accompanied by whining and/or tears, along with a wildly distorted rephrasal of the request. I think we need examples.

1.

Ever-Suffering Mother: Hey Z, would you please pick up your puzzle before taking out your medical kit?

Z: [stomps feet, throws self on ground] But you don’t want me to play with anything!

ESM: Hmm. Not what I said.

2.

ESM: Z, you need to use both hands to hold your cup.

Z: You don’t want me to drink any milk!

ESM: Hmm. Not what I said.

3.

ESM: Darling, sweet daughter, who listens so well, let’s wear pants today instead of shorts because it’s cold.

Z: You said I can’t have any clothes!

ESM: Hmm. Not what I said.

4.

ESM: Please, little angel, I’m begging you, would you mind very much NOT throwing my manuscript on the floor?

Z: You don’t want to share your things!

ESM: Hmm. Not what I said.

5.

ESM: For the last time, stop talking to me during Quiet Play Time! I’m trying to work! [under breath: and win another game of solitaire]

Z: You just don’t want me to talk at all!

ESM: You got that right.

I don’t know where she got it, her tendency to overreact to things.

Shut up.