Writing Through Writer's Block

We all have those days when the right words don’t seem to want to come. 

During the Teen Author Carnival in NYC in May 2011, I moderated the debut author panel. I asked the panel for their strategies to combat writer’s block, and this post would no doubt be better if I recalled their answers.

What I do remember is sharing a story about how I got through my own bout of writer’s block while writing LEVEL 2.

I had been writing for 12 hours a day for weeks, trying to finish my first draft by deadline and I was mentally exhausted.  I was working on a scene towards the end of the book where the main character (Felicia) is having an argument with another major character (Julian).   But everything I tried to write just seemed wrong. I was stuck.

I share an office with my husband who works as a freelance illustrator, and he was working on some project.  He swore. I asked him what was wrong.  He told me he was stuck too, and then I made a brilliant suggestion:  I would draw something for him and he would write the next paragraph of my manuscript.

So we traded places.  I did an amazingly crappy line drawing, and Daniel dutifully typed up a paragraph.

His paragraph was … interesting.  It was out of character, written in the wrong tense and POV, and didn’t make sense in the context of the characters’ relationship or the scene.

Somehow, reading his oh so wrong paragraph made me see all the things I was doing well in my manuscript and gave me the energy and inspiration to push through and find the right words. 

Lenore Appelhans is the author of LEVEL TWO (Simon & Schuster BFYR/Fall 2012), a dystopian afterlife thriller. Visit her blog and/or follow her on twitter.

Scheduling: Two Points of View

Lenore: I work from home and I set my own schedule. This is usually a mix of advertising copywriting and my creative writing. If I need to concentrate more on writing my novel, for example, I can take less advertising work. If I need to pay the rent, I can take more advertising work.

Lenore’s cats: Lenore spends too much time sitting in front of her computer. She’s either typing or moving around cards on a green background. We think she should either be playing with us or lying in bed so we can lie next to her. That’s why we jump on her keyboard, knock over her books, chew on her photos, and meow incessantly.

Lenore: When I’m drafting, it really helps to promise my critique partner that she’ll be getting a chapter from me at a certain time. I like having the structure of deadlines. Then I’ll sit at my computer until I’m done – sometimes I even have to pull an all-nighter to pull it off.

Lenore’s cats: Play with us! Pet us! Feed us! Let us sleep on you!

Lenore: Sometimes, to get anything done, I have to close the doors of my home office to keep the cats out.

Lenore Appelhans is the author of LEVEL TWO (Simon & Schuster BFYR/Fall 2012), a dystopian afterlife thriller. Visit her blog and/or follow her on twitter.

The Pesky Parent Problem

Why are the pages of children’s literature filled with dead parents? The traditional answer is that heroes need room to explore and make mistakes on their own without pesky parental units interfering.  How is your teen slayer going to kill demons that only come out at night if she has a doting mother and father that expect her home by her curfew of 9 pm?

Parental figures can also be thinly veiled extensions of the author.  I have a friend who was advised to kill of her mother character because the mother acted like her.  Talk about killing your darlings!

But do you always have to kill off your main characters parents if you want your hero to have the freedom to grow?

There are alternatives.

1. Make your parents neglectful or disinterested.

In SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater, Grace’s parents let Grace do whatever she wants.  They are so permissive and uninvolved in Grace’s life, they don’t even notice that her boyfriend is sleeping over.  Every night.

2. Make your parents the antagonist.

In THE RISE OF RENEGADE X by Chelsea M. Campbell, supervillain Damien finds out his father is a superhero.

3. Make your parents an integral part of your hero’s journey.

In PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ by A.S. King, Ken Dietz helps Vera come to terms with the death of her friend Charlie while she helps him get over the loss of her mother.

4. Kill off your hero.

Parents don’t have to be a problem in the afterlife.

Guess which alternative I picked in writing LEVEL TWO?

It was a little of number 4 mixed with a little of number 2 and 3.  My main character has a very close relationship with her father and one of my favorite scenes is a father/daughter trip.  My editor agreed and actually wanted me to put in MORE of the father.  I was pleasantly surprised - but it fact - it does work for my story.

What are some of your tactics for dealing with parents in your stories? Who are some of your favorite parents in children’s literature?

Lenore Appelhans is the author of LEVEL TWO (Simon & Schuster BFYR/Fall 2012), a dystopian afterlife thriller.  Visit her blog and/or follow her on twitter.

The Dystopian/Post Apocalyptic Hero

Considering I'm deeply immersed in Dystopian August, a whole month on my blog dedicated to spotlighting past, present and future dystopian and post-apocalyptic lit (and featuring interviews with many of us Brave New Worders), I have been thinking a lot about what makes a good hero in these types of novels.

Let's make a list, shall we?

1. Questions the status quo
This is especially important in a restrictive dystopian society.  Our heroes want to know why writing by hand is forbidden (MATCHED by Ally Condie), why everyone uses forgetting clinics (MEMENTO NORA by Angie Smibert) and why love needs to be eradicated (DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver).

2. Sacrifices self for a loved one
Like Katniss volunteering to fight THE HUNGER GAMES in Prim's place, our heroes have a higher calling than mere self preservation.

3. Good at finding food
The post apocalypse is all about finding food and of course our heroes share their bounty with others, whether it's a rare can of pears (THE ELEVENTH PLAGUE by Jeff Hirsch), a forgotten can of cherries (ENCLAVE by Ann Aguirre) or a whole underground bunker (THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy).

4. Can run really fast
Especially helpful for surviving zombie-induced apocalypses or the monsters of the glade (THE MAZE RUNNER by James Dashner).

5. Takes the time to get involved in a love triangle
Because dystopias are not only about freeing society and post-apocalypses are not only about survival, they are also about becoming a person who can love and be loved.  And the reader needs a "team" to root for, don't they?  #teampeeta

What would you add to the list?

Lenore Appelhans is the author of LEVEL TWO (Simon & Schuster BFYR/Fall 2012), an dystopian afterlife thriller.  Visit her blog and/or follow her on twitter.

Give me a villain to root for

Just like Emily said in her post yesterday, I like my villains to be layered.  There is nothing more boring to me than a villain who is irredeemably evil and whose sole motivation is power.  I want to be able to root for the villains in books I read.

Now don't get me wrong - I don't want to come to the big showdown in the book and have the villain defeat the protagonist.  No - I want to see something in the villain that makes me root for his or her ultimate redemption. 

One of my favorite villains is Mayor Prentiss in Patrick Ness' Chaos Walking trilogy.  Mayor Prentiss is a nasty guy - a mass murderer and an extreme misogynist - but you understand his motivation.  In a world where men broadcast their "noise" (all internal thoughts) and women don't, women have a huge advantage over men.  Mayor Prentiss wants to live separately from women and learn to control his noise so he can regain his political advantage.  He wants Todd on his side, and so many times (especially in the second and third books), Ness makes both Todd and the reader desperately hope that Mayor Prentiss really is turning over a new leaf.  

Another villain I love is Mr. Octavio Phipps from Paul Bracegirdle's The Joy of Spooking trilogy.  Mr. Phipps wants nothing more than to see Spooking - the terrible town on the hideous hill - razed to the ground.  And we learn during the course of the series that he has very good reasons to wish Spooking ill.  But Joy, our protagonist, is Spooking's biggest fan - which puts her at odds with the devious Mr. Phipps. And although Mr. Phipps performs some despicable acts, his character experiences so much growth over the three book series, that I almost wanted to give the poor guy a hug.  And there aren't many villains you can say that about.

Did you ever find yourself rooting for a villain?