Resolutions --- The Boring Health Ones

It’s that time of year again when I start reflecting on all the things I didn’t accomplish the year before, and for me, it usually has something to do with my health.

I’ve never been a health nut. I wish I was, but I was raised in a house where there was always junk food and pop (or soda, for other parts of the country) around. I got hooked on pop at a young age. I think I try to quit drinking it at least twice a year. Inevitably I go back and it seems harder now that I’m constantly under deadline. It never seems like the right time to quit!

But that’s a lame excuse, isn’t it? J

I’ve heard over and over again that a writer needs to take care of themselves for their writing’s sake. And you know, I’m starting to believe that.

How can our brains function properly---churning out beautiful prose, relatable characters---when our bodies are running on Cheez-its and a three-day marathon of chair sitting?

So my New Year’s resolution is, YES, predictably, boringly, health-related.

But I think my writing (and in the long run, my readers) will benefit from it. So here, in bold type, for all the world to see, are my resolutions (I can’t believe I’m posting these here, which means I will really really really have to do them unless I want to be a liar and a failure):

1. Quit drinking so much crap (to clarify, I mean my crack, AKA Mountain Dew)

2. Run a 5K (OMGGGG this one is scary, as I’ve never been a runner, but I want to be)

That’s it. Those are the biggest, but the basic-est. Kinda cut and dry. I will have to report in 2013 (provided that whole Mayan thing is a hoax) as to whether or not a) I stuck with my resolutions and b) they helped my writing.

Happy New Year, ya’ll.

Jennifer Rush is the author of ALTERED coming Fall 2012 from Little, Brown. Check out her blog for news and updates.

Top 3 Reads of 2011

One of my favorite Year End posts is a wrap-up of what I've read and loved. So I am excited about our topic this week!

Compared to a lot of other writers, I am a sloooooow reader, so I've only read 36 books so far this year. I wish it was more (and so does my TBR pile, which is getting close to taking over my life), but writing uses a lot of my energy, and sometimes I have none left for other words.

Here are my top 3 reads this year (so far).

So many people were talking about Anna Dressed in Blood, I decided to take a look. I downloaded a sample on my Kindle and was immediately hooked by Cas's voice.

He reminded me a little bit of the Winchester brothers from Supernatural, or Cas from Holly Black's White Cat.

I'm definitely looking forward to the next book in this trilogy.

I had the privilege of reading this book way back in September when I won an ARC in a contest. I'd heard a lot of talk about it, but I was a little burnt out on the dystopian genre, so I didn't have high expectations.

But whoa did I fall for this book. Day and June were distinct enough that I didn't need to read the chapter headings in order to know who was narrating. I loved how infamous Day was in the Republic, but how, beneath all that, he was just a kid taking care of his family.

I highly recommend Legend. Even if you think you've read enough dystopian, read this one. Just one more!

I emailed my agent a week or so ago asking (begging) her for a copy of Shadow & Bone. Last year we sent an ARC of Divergent around and I was hoping (HOPING!) she'd allow us to do the same with S&B. And she obliged!

The day I got this book in the mail, I started reading. And from page one, I was hooked.

Leigh knows how to craft credible relationships in so few pages. Immediately you are invested in Alina's relationship with Mal. You are rooting for them from the first chapter. And don't even get me started on the Darkling. Ladies will be swooning. SWOONING. But he's such a mysterious, complex character, you won't know whether to love him, or fear him.

Unfortunately, Shadow & Bone doesn't release till next year, but trust me when I tell you, it'll be worth the wait. Buy it as soon as you can, clear your schedule, and dive in. You won't be disappointed.

(P.S. I apologize to those who commented on my last post---the ALTERED playlist---for not immediately responding. I am planning to post the full playlist on my own blog tomorrow!)

Jennifer Rush is the author of ALTERED coming Fall 2012 from Little, Brown. Check out her blog for news and updates.

ALTERED Playlist

I love listening to music while I write, especially when it’s a first draft. And while I listened to a variety---lots of different playlists on Spotify, or Pandora if I wanted something random---there were a few tracks that I listened to repeatedly. I can’t NOT think about ALTERED when I hear these songs:

1. The Outsider                                  A Perfect Circle

2. The Humbling River                      Puscifer

3. Running Up That Hill                    Placebo

4. Drumming Song                            Florence + the Machine

5. Painted on my Heart                      The Cult

6. Black Dog                                      Kelli Schaefer

7. The Change                                    Evanescence

8. Rapture                                           Hurt

9. Slow Life                                        Grizzly Bear

10. Danse Russe                                 Hurt

And for those of you on Spotify, here's the full ALTERED playlist. (And if you're not on Spotify, you should be!)

Jennifer Rush is the author of ALTERED coming Fall 2012 from Little, Brown. Check out her blog for news and updates.

ALTERED Character Interview

One of my favorite writing exercises is the character interview.  So when I read this week's topic, I was insanely excited. And since I couldn't pick just one character from ALTERED to interview, I decided to pick two and have one interview the other. 

Nick & Cas are two of the four boys from ALTERED. They're very much a family, albeit a dysfunctional one. 

**

Nick: (peruses list of questions, eyes moderator) This seems like a massive waste of time.

Cas: (smirks, turns to moderator) He has trouble reading. Just give him a minute.

Nick: (scowls at Cas, clears throat) What do you like to do with your time? Besides annoy the hell out of me.

Moderator: Please stick to what’s written on the paper, Nicholas.

Cas: (laughs) Like any growing boy, I like to eat. Chocolate. Cookies. Marshmallows. Doritos. I like to BBQ. Anything is better BBQ’d. You know what I mean?

Nick: Who is most important in your life? (snorts)

Cas: Hmm. Let me see. I would have to say Sweet Baby Jesus. And his dad, for giving me these guns. (flexes biceps)

Nick: That's your answer? Jesus?

Cas: (spreads out arms) Who else am I going to say? You?

Nick: Sam? Anna?

Cas: Well, duh. Anna, yeah. She makes me cookies. And Sam was the obvious answer. I don’t want to disappoint the readers with the obvious answer.

Nick: That’s assuming anyone even reads this shit.

Cas: Next question, babe. (snaps fingers)

Nick: (grumbles) Boxers or briefs?

Cas: Commando.

Nick: Dog or cat?

Cas: Cat. I like kitties. I’d name mine Mr. Fluffy Snuggles. If I had one.

Nick: Jacob or Edward?

Cas: Pfffttt. Emmett. Dude’s got a badass Jeep.  

Nick: Pancakes or French toast?

Cas: Can’t pick between the two. Next.

Nick: Where do you see yourself in five years?

Cas: On a white sandy beach. Hopefully annoying the hell out of you.

Nick: You’re such a fuc—

Moderator: Nicholas, if you could please refrain---

Nick: (throws list of questions) I’m not doing this.

Cas: (watches Nick leave room) Come on! We were on a roll!

**

Jennifer Rush is the author of ALTERED coming Fall 2012 from Little, Brown. Check out her blog for news and updates. 

What Distracts Me

This week we're supposed to talk about writing distractions. I think it would have been easier for me to write about what doesn't distract me. Actually, this post probably would have been empty. Because I can find something interesting in a paperclip if I'm supposed to be writing.

Take this post for instance. I could have simply written a paragraph or two about Twitter and TV, but instead Photoshop distracted me with all the pretty fonts! and pictures! and now this post comes to you with visual aids.

Let's start with the biggest distraction, shall we?

Nothing makes me happier than Twitter. Writing at the same desk everyday in the same house surrounded by the same people can be depressing. Twitter makes me feel less alone.

Plus, it's nice knowing you're not the only crazy writer person out there.

If you know me, you know I am boy crazy. I like my Gosling. My Worthington. My Pitt (it's Michael these days). So this one will certainly not shock you.

I don't have to explain this one.

Or this one. 

I call it imagery research. My husband calls it staring off into space. What does he know?

I really have no excuse for this one. Except that I'm a girl. 

Jennifer Rush is the author of ALTERED coming Fall 2012 from Little, Brown. Check out her blog for news and updates.

When I was in junior high, I devoured Christopher Pike’s The Last Vampire series. I can’t quite remember what YA was like back then, but I do remember thinking there weren’t enough books with kickass female characters like Sita or Alisa. I started working on my first novel—told from the POV of a vampire, naturally—not long after finishing the series.

I don’t even remember what that first book was about, but it was handwritten and kept inside a miniature 3-ring binder and I thought it was amazing. I bought my first publishing reference book around that same time. But then I read the terrible, dream-crushing news that it generally takes people years YEARS to get published and that they don’t make much money doing it. I was a money hungry kid, growing up in a lower income family. I wanted to be rich.

Then I became a teen mom. And I spent a lot of time at home with a baby. Somedays I needed an escape, so I started writing again and never stopped.

Writing for me is still about the fantasy. It’s like living in a virtual reality game. On the outside, it looks like we’re just sitting there typing away, but on the inside, we’re fighting pirates, slaying vampires, kissing hot boys! There is power in the written word, and even more power in having written it.

So that’s why I write now. The boring story is, I started because of a vampire. :D

Jennifer Rush is the author of ALTERED coming Fall 2012 from Little, Brown. Check out her blog for news and updates.

Quitting the Day Job

I recently quit the day job to write full-time. Before I left, I had this vision in my head of what my new, carefree life would be like.

I would rise from bed somewhere around 7:00 a.m. I would write for a few hours and take a mid-morning break for Yoga. After a sensible lunch, I would get online for an hour, then continue writing. After dinner, I would go for a jog. Nights would be used for family time. After 9:00 p.m. I would watch some TV and then snuggle into bed and dream happily about another carefree day ahead. 

But that's not quite how it turned out. 

I crawl from bed somewhere around 11:00. The house is a mess by then because my daughter has been terrorizing the place for a good four hours while my husband does his homework. I check my email. Check Twitter. Check my email. Eat breakfast (lunch?). Watch an episode of Project Runway.

The rest of the afternoon is spent doing what Her Highness (my daughter) demands. I try to fit in a trip to the gym, or a jog in the evening. Breakfast is my only sensible meal of the day and that's because my husband made it and set it in front of me. Mostly I eat pretzels. Somewhere around 8:00 p.m. I look at my to-do list and then shove it beneath a pile of stuff. Then I check my email. Check Twitter. Check my email. Drool over all the pretty things on Tumblr.

Most days I don’t actually start writing till 11:00 p.m. and then work till 4:00ish. It’s worked for me so far (besides the sleeping half a day thing). There are no distractions, but do I really want to spend the rest of my life living half my day in the dark? Probably not.

With any big change or transition, I think you need to set a routine as quickly as possible. And I think that’s important for every writer. Some are better at it than others. I’m still trying to figure out a good schedule for myself. I think it would help if I had my own writing cottage so I could write carefree, distraction-free, throughout the day.

What do you think? Google tells me this is Roald Dahl’s writing cottage. I want it. 

Jennifer Rush is the author of ALTERED coming Fall 2012 from Little, Brown. Check out her blog for news and updates.

Favorite ALTERED Scene

This week we’re supposed to talk about what our favorite scenes are from our books. And not to be lame, but the first chapter of ALTERED is by far my favorite. Trying to put the why into words is harder than I thought it’d be, however.

A large part of ALTERED is spent running from someone, shooting someone, or hiding from someone, so I wanted that first chapter to show the reader how Anna, the main character, has lived her life the last few years. I wanted the reader to know what she was leaving behind when her life finally turned upside down.

But most of all, I wanted to show how much Anna cared for Sam (the love interest), and I wanted the reader to feel how hard it was to care for someone you couldn’t touch. Because the Sam Anna knows has spent the last few years locked on the other side of a glass wall.

There’s something simple and poignant about that first chapter (I hope). Anna wants Sam and she wants Sam to want her, but there’s more than just a glass wall standing between them.

Whenever I talk about the genesis of ALTERED, I can’t help but describe it as a story that started with a boy and a girl. A girl who loved the boy so much, she’d do anything for him. I can't imagine the book opening anywhere else than with those two.

Jennifer Rush is the author of ALTERED coming Fall 2012 from Little, Brown. Check out her blog for news and updates.

The Dreaded Middle

When I’m writing a manuscript, the process is almost always the same, no matter what I’m working on.

My beginnings look like this:  

But my middles?

That inner voice turns into a seven-year-old, like I'm back in elementary school on the playground and my nemesis, Chris Jankowitz, is laughing hysterically because I can't cross the monkey bars without falling on my face. 

That inner voice is strongest in the middle. The Dreaded Middle. Oh yes, I know that place well. I usually hit mine at about 20,000 words. It’s usually the point where I’ve written enough to know that I can make it to the end, but it’s hard to deal with the doubt.

My characters are flat. My plot is all over the place. There isn’t enough tension. And what the hell are they doing on page 73 anyway? What does that have to do with anything?

The thing about the middle is, you’ve been with the project long enough that you’re no longer objective. You know there’s brilliance in those pages, but you can’t see the weaknesses clearly enough. And maybe it’s that muddied vision that makes it so hard to slog through to the end. Am I really going to write another 30,000 words on something I’m unsure about?

YES. This is a normal part of the process! I have to push myself. Keep going. No matter how much I want to quit, or how much I want to work on that other shiny new idea that has all sorts of potential. Because if I quit every time I reached 20,000 words, then I’d never reach The End. 

(Side note: I know this isn't my normal day over here on the BNW blog, but I'm filling in for the fabulous Debra Driza as she finishes her revision. So you get me twice in two weeks!)

Jennifer Rush is the author of ALTERED coming Fall 2012 from Little, Brown. Check out her blog for news and updates.

My Plotting Ways

I think everyone before me this week covered plotting quite well. So when I sat down to think about the angle of my post, I was left with a blank. Jay talked about writing by the seat of his pants! J.A. likened her plotting to old maritime maps. Liz talked about her plotting rituals.

And then I noticed a theme. Everyone talked about his or her plotting ways. So, here, in pictures, is how I tackle plotting.

As you can see, I am all sorts of productive when I'm plotting. 

But to be serious (me? serious?), I've written a novel by outline and by the seat-of-my-pants. I prefer the latter, only because, as Jay said, it's more exciting and it leaves the door open for new scenes, or characters, or subplots. BUT...I have reached 20,000 words on a manuscript only to realize I have no idea what happens next. That's frustrating. I'm like a big yellow lab when it comes to focusing. It takes me all of two seconds to lose interest. If I let that book sit for a few days, by then I have a new idea for a new and better book and then I'm off running again. So an outline keeps me focused and I've found that never, not once, have I followed an outline exactly as it was written. I still find room for spontaneity. So, the best of both worlds, I guess?

Jennifer Rush is the author of ALTERED coming Fall 2012 from Little, Brown. Check out her blog for news and updates. 

Chapter One

Way back before I signed with my agent, ALTERED had a beginning that I’ll call Beginning 2.0. It had already changed quite a bit from 1.0, and I hearted it something fierce. It took place five years before the actual story started and I thought it covered  all the great things about Anna’s story. There was tension and conflict and a little bit of love. I thought it rocked.

But then my beloved beta readers suggested I totally ax that beginning. Start it closer to present day, they said. You need to hook the reader a little deeper, they said.

Everything plus the kitchen sink

I scoffed. My beginning rocked. IT ROCKED. Right? It did…rock?

No. It didn't. But I couldn’t see how bad that beginning was until I wrote another one.

Beginnings---specifically first chapters---need to cover a lot of ground. They need to say something about the characters, the setting, the conflict, but they can’t say too much. 

They have to tell the reader Maggie loves Dan without telling them Maggie loves Dan. They need to tell the reader Maggie hates her mom and writes angsty poetry without listing these things like attributes in a character worksheet.

The progression of ALTERED’s beginning taught me something valuable. It taught me how to write beginnings with the intention of throwing 1.0 and 2.0 straight into the trash so I could eventually reach 3.0.

Now, I allow myself to pour everything into that first chapter. Learn who the characters are. What they’re doing. What they fear. Who they love. Hate. Admire.

Then I paint over it and let just a tiny bit shine through. I know what happens behind the scenes, now it’s my job to show the details as subtly as possible.  

Jennifer Rush is the author of ALTERED coming Fall 2012 from Little, Brown. Check out her blog for news and updates. 

Top Ten Bad Boy Characteristics

Since we’ve already talked in depth about villains, I’m going to take a minor step toward the side of good and talk a little bit about bad boys.

Even bad boys need a magazine

I think bad boys tend to toe the line between good and down right evil. Which is the whole reason we love them. Today they might help your grandma cross the street only because it’s The Right Thing To Do, but tomorrow they’ll bash someone’s face in simply because they questioned Bad Boy’s motives.

And I’ll be the first to admit, bad boys might be a tad cliché. Inherently, I think they’re similar. Because what makes a bad boy? Dark, moody, strong-willed, badass.

But let me say this: I DON’T CARE.

I want my bad boys moody, broody and sexy. And I want them to be badass. So a writer’s biggest challenge is to make a bad boy bad, but give him a characteristic totally unexpected.

Make him a genius. Give him a weird habit, like drinking a seaweed smoothie every morning. Maybe he does Yoga. Maybe he’s religious. Something to twist that cliché a little bit and make it crack.

With that said, let’s go over the Top Ten Things I see often in bad boys in fiction, so you can either a) use them or b) avoid them. Or z) just wing it and see what you come up with. I’m willing to give a nerdy bad boy who knits and smokes a pipe a chance.

Top Ten Bad Boy Characteristics

1. Wears a leather jacket

2. Speaks a foreign language

3. Shows little emotion

4. Has a dark past

5. Drives a classic muscle car

6. Rides a motorcycle

7. Killer abs

8. Night owl

9. Doesn’t say much

10. Powerful (either because he’s a badass magic-wielder or because he knows how to properly fistfight/use a gun)

[Side note: Wanna know which of the Top Ten apply to Sam from ALTERED? 2, 3, 4, 7, 10 --- but you can bet I would have given him a leather jacket if I could have --- they were fresh out of leather in the lab where he was ALTERED J ]

Jennifer Rush is the author of ALTERED coming Fall 2012 from Little, Brown. Check out her blog for news and updates. 

Why I Don't Write Fluffy Kitty Fiction

In Real Life, I'm a mother of two, a wife to one, and a professional bill-payer. So it's not surprising that in my writing life, I like a little more action and grit. Escape crying two-year-olds for a good hand-to-hand fight? Yes please. Put off vacuuming in favor of writing a hot kissing scene? Double yeah.

Writing allows me to escape Real Life, and honestly, it keeps me sane (saner). So...

Why I Don't Write Fluffy Kitty Fiction
(besides the obvious reason that my Real Life is pretty lame)

1. No guns.

2. Less opportunity to punch people in the face.

3. F-bombs not allowed (and I effing love my F-bombs).

4. Instead of car chases --- skipping races

5. Fight scenes end in kumbayas

6. Villains bleed rainbows

[Not to say fluffy kitty fiction doesn't have its place in the world---it certainly does. Just, ya know, not in mine.]