Going with the Flow!

 

(Watch this…it’s AWESOMENESS)

 

After reading Shannon Messenger’s post today about Trusting the Path, I felt as if I wasn’t completely alone. This week has been incredible writing-wise. I broke through my writers block YAY. But what happened when I broke through came totally out of left field. My MC defied me. The nerve of her, right?

When I sat down and plotted out my new book, Storybook High (working title) I had a plan. I had three acts mapped out and a game plan. I knew it. This would happen, then this, then this, etc. I was writing fine, hammering out chapter by chapter by chapter and then somewhere around the midway point, my mind went blank. I knew where I wanted to go but I had no clue how to get there.

So after a week of nothing, I sat down and forced myself to break through and let Norah do what she wanted. And BAM writers block gone. But as it happened, what Norah wanted wasn’t what I wanted. She had her old plan, her own feelings and I couldn’t force her feelings in the direction I wanted. I know some people might not get this, they’d say—“Well, you’re the writer, do whatever you want.”—but it SO doesn’t work like that. That’s like saying I can force my husband to like curry because I want him too. Yeah, no.

By time I *really* realized her defiance, it was too late. I ran over to my writing girls and was freaking out…because I didn’t know what to do. I had a plan!!!!! But they all told me to go with it, just see where she takes me. I did. I am. And let me tell you, she is taking me to some really crazy places now and I’ve never been so flipping energized before!! I know there are way too many exclamation points in this post but I’m excited and nervous and biting my nails as I write every word now because I’m no longer in control, she is.

I guess that’s the difference between forcing a character to do something and letting them make their own decisions. I guess what I’m saying now, writers, is this: sometimes we can plan and plan all we want. We can spend hours in outlines but the real decisions come when the characters are in motion. When the stakes are high and choices have to be made and sometimes they make the wrong ones. Sometimes they go down a different path and sometimes…just sometimes…they kiss boys they shouldn’t.
So, now I have a different plan. It’s still rough and in need of tweaking and flushing out, but I think this plan may be better than the last.

I’ll end with this…let your characters defy you. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Ciao~

P.S, leaving you with this funny rap from Chris August.LOVE IT.

The Beautiful Wound

Sometimes holding onto the past is tricky. So many times we want the past to come back and take over the present—at least I know I do. In the past two years my life has changed drastically. From friends to family, the theme of people leaving has taken over.  I found this quote today, “There is an end to all things no matter how much we want to hold on to them.”

Maybe holding on is the problem, because we’re holding on we can’t seem to move on. Because it hurt so bad that we wonder if, by chance, we do find a way to move on, that the pain will go away. Maybe it does or maybe we’re just so good at hiding it and pretending that nothing is wrong that we forget about the pain. At least until it slaps us in the face, reminding us that it’s still there.

That’s what a wound is. Something you think you’ve resolved it. It’s buried deep down—so far that you don’t even realize it until it erupts, and like a volcano, lava spews everywhere and it’s impossible to ignore.  Like a hard punch in the chest, knocking the wind out of you.

Every character has a wound. If you can write a book without one, then that person may not be human—and even the non humans have a weakness—a pain—something. Something that will erupt. They will have to face it. Because you can’t hide from your past and the foundation that built you. Eventually you’ll have to rip the Band-Aid off and let air hit the lesion. It’s how you survive, how you get through, that really makes you who you are. It’s the journey from becoming who you are and who the world sees you as.

So maybe there is an end to all things-maybe a friendship that you thought would last forever or a parent that passed away. Maybe even a relationship or marriage that has crumbled. But with each ending there is a new beginning, opportunities & friendships. So why not take it? Grab the bull by the horns and let it take you away. Because looking at the past and what could have been is only depressing.

Remember when writing those characters, it’s about the journey—it’s about them stepping out of their comfort zone and ripping off the band-aid.

-Angela Francis

The Pros and Cons of Breathing…queries?

I worked for months to write a query for Collide. More months I threw away crappy drafts until I found the perfect formula. Now, I’m doing it again. It’s been so long, I feel like I’ve forgotten how to do it all together!!! I hate queries, lol. But I’m doing it. I have to do it, and it has to be good. Any help?? Any thoughts on what makes the perfect query letter?

Writing to Reach You…

Everyone has a quirk, something they do when they are writing, or when they have writers block.

At night, I lie in bed, close my eyes, and picture what I wrote as if it were a movie. If I’m stuck or I don’t know what to do next, I do the same thing. I close my eyes, and imagine what would happen next. I tend to dream about it as well, and the pieces fall together—for the most part. Late at night, I have a lot of creativity, and dialogue passing through my brain.

 Anyone else have quirks, tips, or traditions they have when writing? I want to hear from you!

QUOTE of the day, courtesy of my newest WIP, The Legion:

“The door flew open, rattling against the metal cabinets. Ashlee’s body was sloppily lying on top of the examination table, her belonging strewed about the floor. My eyes travelled up toward the Nephilim. There were two of them. Their backs hunched over, dragging their clawed feet on the title, clanking with each step.”

 

Ciao,
Angela Francis

Let the good times roll…

Around 11 pm Sunday night, filming wrapped filming for “COLLIDE”. Can I just say, wow. Joe was right when he said, “anything that can go wrong will.” This is a long one, but read it, I promise, it’ll be good—at least to me it is. 

I’m organized, structured, prompt, punctual, and sometimes anal retentive, so needless to say, chaos and I are not good friends. The last 72 hours were pure chaos. I learned a lot in the last month, leading into the past 72 hours. I realized something important about life. If you want something done, you have to do it yourself. You can’t rely on others, unless you have someone extraordinary, and most of the time…you really don’t. People that you think you are close with, when times get rough do they stick up for you, yell at you, or take a Tonka truck up your back instead of defending? Being in charge is lonely, but when the camera rolled, watching everything come together, and the shots at hand, was like magic. I was high. It was almost as good as belting on stage—almost. 

I’m craving more though. 12 hours passed in day one, 10 in day two—at least I think, since time wasn’t on my mind. I stood 95% of the time, I didn’t rest—not once—and yet I never felt tired, or hungry, or thirty. I was stressed out of my mind, but the rush I felt was unlike anything. I could have filmed for days straight, especially if I had a cast that didn’t complain or seem tired all the time. 

My experience was interesting. I learned a lot. What to do, what not to do, who not to work with again, and how to make sure you don’t mix work and pleasure. Most of all, I learned to be tougher. Because there will be a next time. I don’t stop. I never have, I never will. Life is not about reaching the destination, because you never reach it, and if you are satisfied then you are not living. You should always try reaching for more.

 I’m 22 years old. I’ve toured, sang, wrote a book, acted on stage, on camera, written scripts, directed plays, casted shows and much more—now on top of that, I’ve cast, written, directed film. My journey started 13 years ago, when my madness began, but in actuality, my future is now….my journey is beginning in a different direction, and I couldn’t be happier. 

Tomorrow the editing starts.
I love editing, and I can’t wait. 

I saw a quote on a restaurant wall that read, “Here’s to the good times which are happening now.” 

So, lets raise our glass to the good times, the beginning, the future, and the journey ….it’s gonna be a hell of a ride, so buckle your seatbelt.

 Newest ambition….finding a critique partner. Any advice?? 

Ciao~
Angela Francis

Story Starters?

So you’ve completed your manuscript. Now it’s time to perfect an opening.

What advice or tips do you have for story starters? What do you do when writing the opening pages?

We all learn as writers, the first 5-10…even 50 pages of the manuscript is crucial. What tips do you have to make sure it starts with a bang to keep them interested from page one??

Agent on the Threshold…

How to find the right literary agent? 

People think it’s easy to find the right agent.
Pick and agency, and send-off the query. 

Back up.

My cast makes fun of me, and says I love dramatic pauses. I do. Good things take time, don’t they? 

Finding the right agent is like a dramatic pause. First, you have to find an agency. Research the agency. Explore their lists, who they publish, what they are working on now, their recent deals? Has the agency had a deal in a while? 

Finding the right agency in a whole takes time, then on top of that, you have to research the agents. Read what they like, what they don’t like. It’s very important to research s specific agent. Do your homework. Look at their list, who they represent, what they are looking for, what books they enjoy, etc. It also helps to read their blog if they have one. From there, you can tailor your letter to their personality too. They like to see that you aren’t sending them a random query, with no knowledge about them. 

Afterward, I like to research the agency on the water cooler. Read what other writers/authors are saying. Sometimes, there will be a link to a certain agents blog, with up to the minute updates on what they are looking for. 

Twitter is GREAT in the literary world. Agents, editors, writers, authors, assistants, etc. they’re all there. In the past, I’ve seen agents closed to queries open for an hour, or a few days, and only announce it on Twitter. I suggest creating an account. You can jump on mine, I follow a lot of agents and editors, and branching from there.

 More on finding the right literary agent next time…. I must run off to rehearsal today!

Publishing tip on Twitter today:

MarleneStringer New Writers: Srsly, don’t write “the end” on your ms then turn around & submit to agts. It is not READY. #pubtips

Check out the COLLIDE trailer page for updates on the trailer. Pictures should be up soon! 

Ciao~
Angela Francis

Queries

Awesome site!

I spent hours reading good and bad queries. I suggest other writers do the same. You’ll learn a lot!

http://queryshark.blogspot.com/

Inside The Fire

…..Inside the literary world….

Today’s playlist?
Mayday Parade. Erica let me borrow their album, and I love it!! Gainesville natives are the best! Hence, Sister Hazel. 

I asked myself that question way back when. It seems, yet again, that people think they can write a novel, and then voila! You’re rich and famous. No..no…no. 

Now, the hard part starts. The query letter. It would physically be impossible to write about a query letter, so I’ll direct you to other blogs for that. 

Nathan Bransford, http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2008/03/query-letter-mad-lib.html

Mary Kole, http://kidlit.com/category/queries 

Those are great sites. You can also Google,  Query Letters and find a lot of information. Some good, some bad. 

While you are breaking into the literary world, I recommend  joining a few sites. 

Publishers Marketplace
This is an amazing information source for agents, publishers, etc. It give you an insight on everything going on in the world. Everyday, if you subscribe, you will receive a Publishers Lunch

 The site says, “Publishers Lunch is the industry’s “daily essential read,” now shared with more than 40,000 publishing people every day. Each report gathers together stories from all over the web and print of interest to the professional trade book community, along with original reporting, plus a little perspective and the occasional wisecrack added in.” 

Subscribe here:
 http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/lunch/subscribe.html 

Another site you should sign up on ….. 

Absolute Write Water Cooler
This is an awesome forum to chat with authors, writers, and the occasional agent and publisher. Here, you can research agencies/agents, and find up to the moment information. Under the proper section you can discuss everything from what playlists you listen to while writing, to what ideas you have for your manuscript. It is a wonderful information source and support system.

For all you, YA writers…this is a MUST add… 

YA Lit Chat
Everything you need to know is on this site. I am new, and as I begin drudging through it, I find it absolutely amazing.

http://yalitchat.ning.com/ 

Another new site, is…. 

Oasis for YA
This is a collaborative blog for YA.  Here is what their site says, “Founded by aspiring authors, we want to create a relaxing sanctuary among the often dry, harsh reality of writing, editing, and querying.” 

Self explanatory. Definitely check them out. I love reading their blog!
http://oasisforya.blogspot.com/ 

Again, there are a million sites for advice. You have to find what works for you, and try to stick to it. It’s all about finding a routine. 

Next blog…..how do I find the right agent???

COLLIDE quote of the day:

“You have to keep going no matter how many mistakes you make, once the curtains have opened there’s no turning back. To me, being on stage is the best form of magic.”

Trailer update:
rehearsal tonight. It’s going really well. The funny parts are funny, and the serious moments are just as I hoped they would be. I have amazing actors. Wait till you see how awesome this will be!

Have a great Tuesday!!
Ciao~
Angela Francis

 

I’m Ready….

So you completed your manuscript, now what?

Today’s Playlist:
I’m Ready, by Jack’s Mannequin
Butterflies and Hurricanes, by Muse
Failure by Design, by Brand New
Bruised and Scarred, by Mayday Parade
Dance Sucka, by Radiohead
Carissa’s Weird, by Iron and Wine

 

It always makes me laugh when people say, the quickest way to become rich and/or famous to write a book. There’s something in that sentence that irks me. One, they obviously don’t realize how much hard work it takes to write a full length novel, let alone the steps it takes to publish it. Nothing is “easy”, there’s never a “easy in” or everyone would be famous. And if we all were, then it wouldn’t be special, or a “dream”.

 So, you’ve completed a mass of pages, compiled into a story. In your mind, if you’re new, the hardest part is over, right? Wrong. You are just getting started. First, you need to have your manuscript polished. Not only completed, and well written, but you should have someone read through it. Make sure you pick someone who knows grammar, punctuation, etc. That person should read through and critic the story. Should something be changed? Does it all make sense? It there anything pointless written? 

It’s easy to think your writing is flawless, and the story makes perfect sense, and nothing is dull within it. But that isn’t the case. After I completed COLLIDE, my mother read it. Afterward, we sat down and discussed the story, what made sense, what didn’t, etc. From there, I went through and edited my work. I added scenes, deleted some, and all around made changes. From there I asked someone else to read it, then another person, until I felt I had enough opinions to really creating something deeper. 

I turned COLLIDE, at that time it was named something else, from a 500 (word doc) page manuscript, into four novels, and 90,000 words. At that point, I found Laura, with Flying Pig Communications. I am horrible when it comes to grammar. Seriously, I must have missed that in school, because my grammar and punctuation stink. Anyways, Laura edited and polished my manuscript. But despite everything, whenever I pull up my manuscript, I change something. It’s pretty horrible, lol. But that proves, once again, that even though you finally finish, until the book is on the shelf, published, it’s never really complete. 

In this series, we’ll talk about completing your manuscript, writing query letters, and the steps to take, to find the right agents to query. 

Next…..well, you’ll just have to come back and see. 

In COLLIDE news, first full practice with Madison and Lucas is tonight. be prepared to be amazed with these two. 

Have a great weekend and happy mothers day! 

Ciao~
Angela