further up & further in.: 2013

I found the Go Teen Writers blog by chance on my friend’s blogger dashboard, and I immediately fell in love with the idea. Now I’ve been following the Go Teen Writers blog for about a year, and I’m so glad I found it. GTW is amazing. It’s filled to the brim with helpful advice, all geared toward teen writers, and it’s an amazing support network.

As of this month, Go Teen Writers now has a book, titled Go Teen Writers: How to Turn Your First Draft Into a Published Novel. The authors, Stephanie Morrill & Jill Williamson, are having a blog tour to celebrate, and I’m participating! Today I’m hosting one half of the GTW duo, Jill Williamson (on the left in the picture below). She’s here to discuss how to give a good critique. I found this article extremely helpful, and I hope you do too! Stay tuned for a giveaway at the end of this post.

How to Give a Good Critique

by Jill Williamson

One of the best ways to become a better writer is to learn how to critique the work of others. It can feel strange at first, especially when you can’t seem to find anything negative to say, but do your best. It will get easier.

Ask the author what kind of critique he wants, then do that. Don’t point out every negative thing you can. If you do all the hard work for him, he’ll never learn. Point out things once and suggest he make the change throughout the manuscript.

Here are ten tips for providing a good critique:

1. Read the chapter without marking anything. As you read, ask yourself: Am I confused? Did the beginning hook me? Is this realistic? Am I bored? Do I like the characters? Is there a problem the main character is facing? Do I feel drawn into the story?

Write down your overall thoughts at the end of the chapter. Point out positives first, then negatives. You can be honest without being cruel.

2. Go back and read the chapter again. This time make notes when thoughts come to you. Again, make positive and negative comments. Even if the story is horrible, you can always find something positive to say. We all learn a little at a time, so overwhelming someone with solid red marks isn’t necessary.

3. Consider not using a red pen. Pick a friendlier color like blue or green. If you’re using Track Changes, you can choose a color, but it never seems to show up the same on someone else’s computer.

4. Mark misspellings, grammar errors, and punctuation mistakes, but only if you’re certain you know the correct rule.

5. Word use. Does the writer use too many passive verbs (be, is, are, was, were). Advise him to use action verbs instead. Does he use vague or bland words over the more specific? Ex: “Walked fast” instead of “ran.” Note where the writer’s words stood out, good or bad. If a metaphor confused or impressed you, say so. Point out when you didn’t understand the description or when it hooked you into the story.

6. Dialogue. Does it sound realistic? Do character conversations move the plot forward? Does the author use too many said tags or action tags? Not enough? Is the punctuation correct?

7. Viewpoints. Can you understand the point of view? Are the transitions from one point of view to another smooth and clear?

8. Did the author use the proper manuscript format?

9. When you finish, edit and proofread your critique to make sure it’s clear, kind, and doesn’t contain typos.

10. Remember whose story it is. He doesn’t have to accept your advice. Be careful not to critique personal writing preferences or life beliefs. We are all different. We don’t want to critique each other to the point that we strip the personality from each other’s writing. Our unique way of saying things is part of our budding voice. So don’t squash that out of each other.

I always try to end my critiques with a statement like: “These are my opinions. Use what’s helpful and ignore the rest.”

When you give your critique back to the author, let it go. And don’t be offended if he chooses to ignore some or all of your suggestions. The point of a critique is to give your honest opinions and advice. What the writer does with that information is up to him.

Stephanie Morrill and Jill Williamson have written a combined two dozen speculative and contemporary novels for teens. They also blog obsessively at www.goteenwriters.com. When not writing or blogging, they can be found at the teen table at writer's conferences or wherever chocolate is being given away. Come hang out with Stephanie at www.stephaniemorrill.com and Jill at www.jillwilliamson.com.

_______________________

Stephanie & Jill have generously offered to give away a copy of the Go Teen Writers e-book to a blog reader!

Here are the ways you can enter:

Leave a comment on this blog post. This is mandatory.

There are also additional ways you can enter, such as following the GTW blog, liking Jill and Stephanie's FB pages, and Tweeting about the giveaway. Once you've left a comment, these entries will unlock in the Rafflecopter below.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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5 comments

So. It's been a while since I last blogged.

I'm currently sick, and this is going to be a bit of a rambly post just to get back on the blog again. To break the ice, so to speak.

Be right back. I have to grab my tea.

Too many thoughts started pouring through my head so I grabbed my laptop and brought it to the kitchen so I can type while I wait for the honey to uncrystallize. Is this what they call liveblogging? Live, from the kitchen, Sky reports.

So as I mentioned, I've got a bit of a head cold that materialized last night. Pesky thing, that. It kept me up for quite a while and I generally didn't sleep well. I love being sick.

However, I've found a remedy that I haven't previously had: peppermint tea with honey. It works wonders to soothe my throat.

Speaking of which, I'm going to go finish making it. Be right back... again.

I'm back. With tea.

Everyone deserves tea. - Jane Bennet

So, that seems to be a good transition into my next point: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. It's an online adaptation of Pride and Prejudice--told vlog style. It's creative. Funny. And I'm afraid I've gotten hopelessly, irrevocably attached to the characters. The story is playing out in real time in front of our eyes, so it's almost like these are living, breathing characters. The characters themselves even interact with the fans on social media. It's bringing breaking the fourth wall to a whole new level.

In addition to The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, I've been falling head over heels with The Avengers. Seriously, guys... I think I've got it bad. The other day I was completely unsure how to explain to my mom why I wanted to watch it again after watching it only a few weeks before. And a few weeks before that. I think I'm becoming addicted, and I am wholeheartedly in the Avengers fandom. (I even put a few Marvel comics on hold a couple days ago. THIS IS BIG, PEOPLE.)

The reasons for my love for the Avengers are many, but the main one is Tony Stark. I can't express how much I love him. For one thing, he's sarcastic and funny, but it's not portrayed as a bad thing like it is in so many other stories. It's portrayed as what makes him Tony. Without his sarcasm and sass, he wouldn't be Tony Stark. It's refreshing to see that sarcasm, and snark, and wit can actually enhance who we are, and doesn't necessarily have to be written out of us entirely. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. It's made me feel like having a sense of humor is okay, and I don't have to change who I am.

I have connected with Tony Stark on a deeper level than I've ever connected with any character before, it seems. After watching Iron Man for the first time last year, my dad remarked to me that the reason Stark probably resonated so deeply with us is because he, too, is a wounded warrior. (Both my dad and I struggle with chronic illness and disabilities.) Since then, I've never been able to shake that.

There's a part in The Avengers where Tony is talking to Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk. I can't remember exactly what was said (the dialogue is too brilliant to remain in my head at all times) but I believe that they're discussing how much Bruce dislikes his "the other guy" -- aka the Hulk. He doesn't think it's a good thing, and he honestly hates it.

That's when Tony says this. This thing that really hit me hard. "You know, I've got a cluster of shrapnel, trying every second to crawl its way into my heart." He points at the mini-arc reactor in his chest. "This stops it. This little circle of light. It's part of me now, not just armor. It's a... terrible privilege."

And that's made me tear up more than once. Because this fibromyalgia, this thing I have, the thing I struggle with every day... it's terrible. But it's also a privilege.

A terrible privilege.

I've kept this with me close to my heart. And I just want to say thank you to Tony Stark for expressing something that has touched me so very deeply. Even though he's not real, I wish he could be. And if the opportunity ever presents itself, I desperately want to give him a big hug. Whether it's in this world or the next.

So anyway, I'm in tears now, but in a good way. I think I'll send this off now, and finish my tea, and go to bed.

Not to completely ruin the mood, but down to business--this post will be published using Blogger's post-to-email feature. I'm writing this in Gmail Offline and hopefully this will send tomorrow once the internet turns back on in the morning. Because this is the first time I'm using the post-to-email feature, I hope this works, and I apologise for any technical difficulties or problems. (I love spelling apologize with an s. My Canadian friend has ruined me for the better. Hey, Micah!)

Another thing I wanted to mention, now that I'm not as emotional: I was able to go shopping the other day, and even though it completely wiped me out and I ached for days afterwards, I enjoyed getting out to Wal-Mart. I bought an Avengers poster and Mockingjay earrings. Proof that even outside the house, fandoms (and Tumblr) never die.

And they especially don't die on Blogger.

\\\\///// Live long and prosper, friends. Love and hugs to you all, and thanks for reading this. ♥ Don't forget to be awesome.

(AH, YES! That's another huge fandom thing I forgot to mention: I am now officially a Nerdfighter. I completely love this community and the people behind it. More on that sometime, perhaps.)

Where was I? Ah, yes. \\\\///// Live long and prosper, friends, and I shall see you soon.

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the world is too big to never ask why.

honesty is hard to find in the Christian world as we know it. i’ve noticed this even more lately. oftentimes we rely on appearances only, not daring to dig beneath the surface of things.

why do we do this?

is it because we’re scared? that’s a fair reason, of course, but i don’t think we should let it define us or hold us back from the hard questions. and too often, we do.

is it because we don’t care? sometimes, but not all the time. i think we’re just all so busy, wrapped up in our own lives, tangled in our own emotions. {i know this feeling. i don’t condemn you since i'm there too.}

but honestly i think it’s the first reason: we’re scared. we’re scared to go deep because we don’t know what we’ll find.

in his most shallow and basic form, God is safe. he is familiar to us, he is not scary. he is safe. but i think we’re scared that, if we delve deeper, God won’t be safe. it’s the unknown, and it scares us. {trust me, i’ve been there, too. i am there right now.}

but i think i finally understand what c.s. lewis meant.

“who said anything about safe? ’course he isn’t safe. but he’s good.”

i know it’s scary, dear one. i know you’re scared of what you’ll find. so am i. but let’s go deep together, okay? let’s ask the hard questions, let’s try to understand, let’s admit that there is pain and suffering. let’s try to understand the world and God in a way we never have before. i think that, once we take this jump into the unknown, we’ll realize that our Jesus is much safer than we think.

let’s ask why. why do we believe what we do? why is there pain? let’s confront God with the hard questions; i’ve learned that he’s not afraid of them. i think he welcomes it. the deep questions strengthen our roots, and deep roots are not touched by the frost, as tolkien said.

there’s this quote i read somewhere that says, “there is a certain darkness needed to see the stars.” so in the midst of our quest for why, let’s ask God to show us the stars, too. he made them for us, you know. there are still stars, even in the midst of darkness. life is hard, but i still believe that at the core, life is still good, and more beautiful than you can ever imagine.

in the past year, this has become all the more clear to me: we have to ask why. we have to challenge our beliefs and confront God sometimes, because we can’t get just by living on the surface. it’s not possible.

instead, ask why. because the world’s too big and cruel and deep and beautiful to let such a question go unanswered.

the world is too big to never ask why // the answers don't fall straight out of the sky
i'm fighting to live and feel alive // but i can't feel a thing without you by my side
oh, send me out a lifeline.

- mat kearney

2 comments

forget about logic.

when it comes to writing, don't analyze. don't try to write realistically, because fiction isn't reality. that's why it exists. writing was meant to be an escape, a book full of dreams in the form of black ink and paper. it was meant to be full of things that are almost impossible but not quite. because why else do we dream?

logic inhibits dreams. so why use logic in writing?

yes, there is a time for logic. but that time is the second draft.

until then, go crazy. write your heart out.

one of the things that i did while writing because i'm irish was this: i didn't research. even though i had no clue about ireland and guns, i winged it. if i didn't know something, i skipped it or i just wrote in my best guess. and to this day, i think that was crucial to its success and completion. i rarely finish books, and if i do it take ages. but with because i'm irish, i finished it in less than a year.

was it easy? no.

but it wasn't like slogging through acorn butter.

it was an escape.

i wrote because i'm irish for fun. i was going through a rough time last year in december and around that time i started my infamous novel about getting kidnapped by a boyband. i didn't intend to have a novel, really. i didn't intend it to be anything, really. but it was after that things started looking up. why? because i had something to focus on, something to fangirl over.

and when you're going through this hard thing called life, that means the world.

and someday, when your pages of ink-filled dreams are published, your books will be fangirled over. they will mean the world to someone else too, almost as much as they mean to you.

so don't think about it. don't analyze. just write it out. we were meant to write about the impossible, right?

so write.

dream as far as your mind can dream. write as far and as big and as wide as your mind can write. fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. your dreams. your impossibles. write everything you want your life to be.

please, forget about logic and write.

the world will thank you later.

with the rise of pinterest and tumblr, it's been hard to find the sources to images on the web. unfortunately, i could not find a source for the first picture. if it's yours, please let me know.
however, the second picture actually is an inkwell, which i thought was epic. you can buy it here.

4 comments

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