More HUBs

Readers,

I'm still on the HUB path.  Feel free to visit hubpages.com/profile/scotthbooks to read some of my articles.  Here's what's been published in the past few days.

I:  Interview With an Illustrator:  Vin Libassi

N:  N.P.O. Your Writing:  Giving Back

O:  One: An Interview With Amy Cook

P:  Pterylosis and Other Words We Often Misspell

Q:  Q-bert:  When Professional Edits Make You Want to Shout "@!#?@!"

S:  Student Writing:  Voices of Real Fifth-Graders

T:  Tator Tots and Technique

~Scott 

"Live, Learn, Teach"

www.scotthbooks.com

First to Third Person

"Hello, editor.  I've completed a series of changes to my 165 page, first-person novel.  I'd like to get your feedback."

"Change it to third person."

"Change what to third person?"

"All of it."

This is my editing challenge.  Remove more than the "he's, she's, and they's" to replace them with "I's."  Transform a manuscript told through the eyes of a young boy to a manuscript told through the eyes of a narrator focused on that young boy.  This means removal of assumptions by the main character, a broadening of the action around that character, and the substitution of more dialogue where inner monologue once ruled.

To give you an example of this task, here is a before and after picture of a portion of the manuscript.

Before:

What can I say about Tinkle Troy?  T.T. for short.  Troy has what he calls an “overactive bladder.”  What it really means is he can’t hold his pee.  Every year he flashes his official doctor’s note letting him leave class every twenty minutes or so.  I have a feeling the punches to the kidneys he gets at recess from some of Bridgeton’s perpetual grade-schoolers contribute to his control problem.  Somehow we end up in the same class every year. 

In second grade, Troy peed his pants thirty-two consecutive days in a row, thus his nickname.  The pants-peeing doesn’t happen anymore, but “Tinkle Troy” stuck.  Since we matured, we shortened it to T.T.  Even though Troy and I are classmates each year, I avoided sitting near him—until now.  I decided to keep my feet completely under my desk in case he sprung a leak.

Jackson arrived a few minutes, and we skipped the excited reunion seen between other friends in the room.  We saw each other all summer.  When he passed by, he nuggied my freshly buzzed head.  “I see T.T. will be joining us,” he said as he dropped his bag on his desk.  “Good thing I brought my umbrella.”

Seats filled quickly after that.  Talks of summer trips and sixth-grade hopes began.  We all scanned the room, linking the puzzle pieces of students to uncover what the picture of our class would look like.  Sasha Barnett and Cindy Cohen, Paris Hilton wannabes, both toted purses big enough to nest a Chihuahua.  A couple members of the Two-First-Names Crew, John Michael and Eric Scott.   Two newer Bridgeton students I recognized but never met because they spent every spare moment of their lives playing Yu-Gi-Oh together.  The forming picture looked more like a Picasso than a Van Gogh.

After:

Jackson strode in with the sound of the morning bell and nuggied Drew’s buzzed head.  “I see T.T. will be joining us,” he said as he dropped his bag on the floor.  “Feet under desks at all times, in case he springs a leak.”

Drew swung his feet beneath his desk and smiled.  “Yeah, remember back in second grade when Troy peed his pants thirty-two days in a row?” he asked.

“The punches in the kidneys all these years on the playground can’t be helping T.T.’s bladder issues,” Jackson said.

Troy stood behind Jackson, an uneasy smile on his face.  “No more Tinkle Troy?” he asked. 

“What can I say?  We’ve matured,” Jackson said.

Troy unpacked in silence while Drew and Jackson continued their conversation.  “Did you see Sasha and Cindy are in the class, too?” Drew asked.

 “Purse-toting snobs,” Jackson said.  He followed them with his eyes.  After snapping out of it, he said, “Sitting next to Kim I see,” and motioned to Kim’s empty desk.

“Yeah, but she’s cool.  At least she doesn’t rub her popularity in your face like those two,” Drew said.

“Speak of the Devil,” Jackson said watching Kim approach the group.

Drew turned to look.  Kim smiled. “Hi, Drew.  Hey, Jackson.”

“You’re stuck with us,” Jackson said.

“Hey, Kim.”  Drew looked Kim up and down.  “Boy, you’re really tan.  Your skin’s nearly as dark as your hair,” he said.

Kim glanced down at her bare arm.  “Yeah, I just got back from vacation in the Bahamas.”

“Bahamas to Bridgeton.  Your dream, huh?” Jackson said.

“Doesn’t bother me.”  Kim dropped supplies on her desk and walked to her locker. 

John Michael and Eric Scott, a pair from the two-first-names crew walked by Jackson’s desk.  “Scott,” Jackson said, nodding.

“I’m John!” John Michael said.

“Michael,” Jackson said, nodding at the other.

“I’m Eric!” Eric Scott said.

Jackson cackled and slapped his desktop.  The two walked away in a huff.  “Who are those two?” Jackson asked, pointing to the back corner of the room at a pair of boys trading Yu-Gi-Oh cards.

“Don’t know.  I’ve seen them around, usually joined at the hip doing what they’re doing now, but never caught their names,” Drew said.

“Cute couple,” Jackson said.  “Anyway, can you believe Mr. Cross didn’t split us up?”

And so the editing process continues.  But as Lester Laminack says, "Revision is the journey of the writer."  I've found it an arduous but irreplaceable exercise.  It will all prove worth it when the final product hits the presses.

~Scott Heydt

"Live, Learn, Teach"

Google Alerts

Google alerts.  One of life's guilty pleasures.  Enjoy eating macaroni and cheese?  Set a Google Alert to inform you every time a website is updated with the hottest mac and cheese info. Interested in tracking Stephanie Meyer of Twilight fame?  (Notice I said tracking...not stalking) Create a Google Alert and keep up with all the Bella blogs and Cullen capers--along with all the other Stephanie Meyers out there in Internet land.

Or, if you're like me, you use Google Alerts to track your writing genre.  CROSS is a middle-grade fiction novel, so a year ago I created an alert with the keywords "middle grade fiction." Each day I received a digest of appearances of those words on the Web, some of which sparked my attention and others of which I deleted.  One day a digest appeared in my Inbox with information about a contest sponsored by PM Moon Publishers, LLC open to up and coming authors.  First prize--a publishing contract and a cash award.

With CROSS revised but rejected by a few agents already, I decided to submit, not knowing my chances.   I forwarded the manuscript via e-mail and, to be honest, forgot about it.  As they say, "a watched pot never boils."  But boil it did.  In March of this year, I received an e-mail from PM Moon stating I'd been awarded "Honorable Mention."

After all the cells highlighted blood red on my Excel spreadsheet to indicate an agents who passed on CROSS, someone finally believed in what I'd written.  Gosh, Google.  Is there anything you can't do? :)

~Scott

"Live, Learn, Teach"

The Revision Begins

"Editing is housekeeping.  Revision is where the writer's journey truly takes place."  These words were spoken by Rafe Martin, beloved children's author and speaker, at an institute I attended for student writers in the North Penn School District (Lansdale, Pennsylvania).  His point is, the capitalization, punctuation, and grammatical corrections are the dusting and vacuuming of a house. Revision is when you take the two bedroom, 1 bathroom house and turn it into a mansion.  It's why writers put words to page.

With the first draft of CROSS complete in September '08, I submitted it to a respected colleague and experienced writer, Kathryn Craft.  Kathryn conducts her own business, Writing-Partner (http://www.writing-partner.com), providing manuscript evaluation services.  Not only did she provide me with line-by-line commentary, but she also included a detailed, 8-page overview of potential alterations to the manuscript.  The journey of revising had begun.

Included with Kathryn's evaluation was this review, something she told me she rarely provides with any of her evaluations.

“This project is a gift to all of those who will read it.  Scott Heydt writes with a command born of unobstructed vision and crystalline voice.  Cross radiates with clarity.  It is my kind of book:  many laugh-out-louds, a few tears, and story arcs that ease the young reader beyond the threshold of the concrete into the realm of metaphoric thinking.  Drew is an instantly lovable protagonist who learns how to keep his anger from turning in on himself out of a burgeoning, multi-faceted respect: for a beloved teacher, for nature as represented by the classroom’s reptiles, for a sweet first romance, and for the type of buddy bonding we all yearn for.  People will remember reading it for years.”                 

~Mrs. Kathryn Craft, writing-partner.com 

Humbling review, huh?  Here's the important message.  Every piece of writing needs revision.  Mine was certainly no different.  But Kathryn saw something special in CROSS.  Something resonating beyond the page.  This is the fuel I use each day to make the appropriate revisions so that readers can share in Drew's journey.

~Scott

"Live, Learn, Teach"

Cups to Chapters

I'm a habitual writer.  Vary my environment for brainstorming?  Sure.  How else will I fill my writer's notebook with the variety of seed ideas necessary for a strong story?  Vary my environment for writing, though?  Not unless I have to.

When I made the decision in Summer '08 to put fingers to keyboard in pursuit of bringing CROSS to life, I needed a stable environment to concentrate.  I chose a Starbucks only one mile away from my home as my writing haven.  It provided the seclusion and liquid invigoration I needed to spend hours each day toiling over the manuscript.

Over the course of many months, I exchanged drained cups of java for filled chapters of dialogue.  At various points, Drew, Jackson, Kim, Troy, Mr. Cross, and even Joe sat across the table.  Their characters spoke to me.  Drew and Jackson talked about the bonds of friendship between them and what it felt like for those bonds to be pierced, then re-mended.  Joe spewed his contempt for Drew in a way that exposed pent up rage from a troubled past.  Kim cooed over Drew but also held Troy's hand as he confessed the difficulties of growing up with a name like Tinkle Troy.  Finally, Mr. Cross shared his knowledge of his classroom critters while he petted Prometheus draped around his neck.

Okay...so maybe the coffee went to my head.  In all seriousness, though, writers must engage in dialogue with their characters.  A comfortable, reliable place to write allows those characters to visit frequently and chat over a warm cup of coffee.  Who will you sit down with today?

~Scott

"Live, Learn, Teach"

Tator Tots, Technique, and Inspiration

As a member of the Greater Lehigh Valley Writer's Group (GLVWG for short), I have the opportunity to gather with writing colleagues on a monthly basis for workshops.  On February 23, 2008, I attended a workshop entitled "Tator Tots, Technique, and Inspiration" presented by Ann Russek.  

"If you made it through elementary, middle, and high school, you have enough stories to last you a lifetime," Ann told us.  

Below are a few exercises conducted that day.  Each one played an integral part in the development of CROSS.  Sit down with your Writer's Notebook and try them out for yourself!

Exercise #1:  Going from Known to Unknown

1.  Create a brainstorming web with a grade from your school years in the center.  

2.  Extend the web with details you remember from that year.

3.  Continue extending the initial "sprouts" by delving deeper into that memory.

Here's an example of a chain of though extending from a web I created for "fifth-grade."

5th grade--Rope--Gym class--220 yd. dash--Rich P.

4.  To transition from known to unknown, take one of the items or names from the end of a sprout to begin a whole new web where you will delve deeper into that subject.  In my example, I took Rich P. and placed that name in the center of another web.

This allows you to dig into the unknown to find possible characters for stories you may initially have overlooked.  I used this method in CROSS to create the characters of Joe Riaz and Kim Etter.

Exercise #2:  Studying setting

1.  Imagine a setting from your school days.  Cafeteria is often a popular choice.  Instead of discussing trivial elements like the tables, chairs, lines, etc., try to dig deep to memories from your time in that setting.  Free write for five or ten minutes about that setting and your place in it.  

This exercise created the lunchroom scene in CROSS when Drew self-destructs from paranoia, fearing his best friend Jackson will crush his beloved chocolate-glazed miniature donuts.

Exercise #3:  Place your characters in extraordinary situations

1.  Brainstorm a list of 10-20 people (living or dead) you don't know but would like to know.

2.  Brainstorm a list of 5-10 names from your childhood.

3.  Circle one name on each list.

4.  Free write a scene in which these two people meet in a mini-mart.

This exercise allows you to discover qualities in real people you can transfer into your own characters.  It also aids in dialogue development for character interaction.

I really needed to play around with this kind exercise to develop Ryan's character in the novel.

What stories from school are hiding in your mind?  If you're brave and willing enough, feel free to post some of your results here.  Have fun!

~Scott

"Live, Learn, Teach"

Will the Real Mr. Cross Please Stand Up?

CROSS is a novel sixteen years in the making.  Percolating.  Ripening.  Until now.

Sixteen years ago I sat behind a student desk rather than standing in front of one.  My sixth-grade teacher, Glenn Crossley, dreamed of one day working in the San Diego Zoo's Reptile House.  Our classroom included reptiles tame and wild.  From Ozzie the tempermental Nile Monitor to Prometheus, the 13-foot Burmese python, our growth as young adults came not only from the careful tutelage of our teacher, but from the raw realities of the natural world. Feeding a cowering white rat to a starving snake or cleaning up the droppings of a lazy lizard is not something you learn in a textbook.

Sure, I remember the classroom fondly, but I remember the man behind the magic more.  Mr. Crossley is the reason I avidly read aloud to my students each day.  He's the reason I believe strongly in a male influence for young adults in elementary school.  He's a big reason I pursue my passions with such devotion.  Because, do you know where he is now?  In California.  Living near San Diego.  I'm not certain if his childhood dream became reality, but in my mind, it did.  

This fictional account of a year in the life of Drew Harrington, his best friend Jackson Harris, and the legend of Bridgeton Elementary, Mr. Cross, is an homage to the teacher I had and strive to emulate.  The greatest day for me will be placing a published copy of CROSS in his hands and saying, "Thank you."

~Scott Heydt

"Live, Learn, Teach"