KidPub Book Recommendations

I’ve decided to recommend KidPub books that deserve to be read more. These books are amazing, and it’s hard to believe they are written by kids and young teens.

Dictionary of Themes: Ami

Written by Claire

Link to first chapter: http://www.kidpub.com/book-page-or-chapter/dictionary-thieves-ami-prologue-2144124901

The original idea was to create a short story about thieves, one for each letter of the alphabet, and compile them in a short story collection. However, Claire decided to forgo the short stories and make a series of twenty six novels based on each story. We wish her good luck in her ambitious endeavor. If the rest of the Ami is as brilliant as the first several chapters, then I will sure to read each and every book.

Stealing a scroll landed Ami in more trouble than she could have ever imagined. Struggling to keep her and her brother alive in a world ruled by a cruel, monstrous entity called IT; Ami is thrown into a horrible prison. In her cell, she meets a terrified young girl, the daughter of the leaders of a failed resistance. She and Drya decide to band together as their execution draws near.
In a stunning twist of fate, seconds from the chopping block, Ami, her brother and Drya manage to make a run for it, leaving all they have ever known. Or, perhaps death might have been the better choice.

Persephone

Written by Veritas

Link to first chapter: http://www.kidpub.com/book-page-or-chapter/persephone-ch-1-rated-m-mature-997125402

Warning: Persephone isn’t for the faint hearted. Viewer discretion in this haunting, beautiful, tragic tale is advised.

Alana refused to take the knife to her heart when she was captured and forced into modern day slavery. The sixteen year old girl from California was helpless to stop her best friend’s death before Alana herself was kidnapped and taken across the Pacific to Russia, as a modern day slave.

Her mother hails from the Philippines, her father from Haiti, resulting in Alana’s beautiful complexion- her downfall. As she adjusts to the life as a slave, she wonders if she should’ve have ended it. Or maybe, just maybe, Alana might see the bonds of her captivity lift one day, just as Persephone saw the meadows once more.

“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord. ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.’” Jeremiah 29:11, the inspiration for Persephone.

I encourage you to check out Ami and Persephone. Both are amazing tales with a gift with words.

Happy writing and reading!

~Reine~

Plot Writers and Character Writers

In general, there two different kinds of writers: plot writers and character writers. For plot writers, you first come up with a story, and then make a main character. For character writers, you come up with the character first, and develop a plot for the character.

Character writers (CW) develop the plot around their main character, or MC. Plot writers (PW) develop characters for their plots. Both sides have their pros and cons. Both CWs and PWs have their strengths and weaknesses.

I’m a plot writer.

Imagine playing a game of hide and seek. Or manhunt. Pretty much the same thing, but hide and seek is babyish. Anyways, you’re IT and the rest of the players are divided into two teams: Plots and Characters.

When I open my eyes, I find the Plots first because they hide in the places I’d hide. The Characters think different than I do. They hide in spots I’d never expect. When I’m not looking their way, they make a dash for the base. Sometimes, they beat me by a longshot. Other times, I’m within a fingertip’s length of yelling, “Gotcha!”

And as the Characters are safe, they taunt me. “Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me!” And if it’s a hot dude and I try, they push me away easily and think I’m insane. That is, crazier than I actually am.

It’s vice versa for CWs out there.

It doesn’t matter if you have the best of the best plot out there. It doesn’t matter if you have the most complex character out there. You need to be able to take the best of both worlds. I think that most writers can be divided into those two basic categories. I also believe that no writer is born with the BOTH the abilities of writing page turning plots or crafting the most believable character. It’s something you have to learn.

For me, characters don’t really come alive and jump off the page and try to take over the real world. They become dummies for a plot. Think of Link in the Legend of Zelda. Epic games, but Link is just an avatar for the players to save Hyrule through. They do what I want, not what they want.

Advice for Plot Writers:

Crafting the MC to make him/her believable is important, but don’t forget the others! I guess it’s possible to make the character the last human/animal/ghost/alien/etcetera left, and so you only have to develop your MC, but what’s the point of having him/her survive? It’s impossible, or else you won’t have a story.

Put your MC and other characters through situations that aren’t in the plot. Ask them questions, even if it is an epic fantasy, about real life situations. And write them. Great writing AND character exercise. Pick and choose several from below.

1)      Would the character accept the answers from a friend for a major test coming up?

2)      Would the character text in class?

3)      Would the character stand up to a mugging by three masked, huge men? Or would he/she help the robbers?

4)      Would the character make up rumors to get revenge?

5)      What would the character do if he/she was forced to take ballet?

6)      Would the character make friends with the new kid, or ridicule him?

7)      What would the character do if someone insulted him/her to his/her face?

8)      Would the character throw a party (if he/she is old enough) if his/her parents left for the weekend?

9)      Would the character have a secret boyfriend/girlfriend if his/her parents didn’t approve of him/her dating?

10)   Would the character ever pretend to like/be friends/love someone to blackmail them later?

11)  Would the character ever consider committing suicide if he/she was charged with a crime he/she didn’t commit and sentenced to life?

Another thing you can do is write the character’s past. You don’t have to include it in your story, but it can help you gain a better understanding of the character.

Advice for Character Writers:

You need to find out what your character wants the most. Maybe he/she wants to save the world. Maybe he/she wants to bring back his dead parents. Maybe he/she wants a special someone to notice him/her.

Choose one, and that’s the basic story. Let’s say Bob is five, and he really, really wants a candy bar. If his parents just handed him the chocolate, there wouldn’t be a story. There needs to be obstacles.

Maybe Bob is overweight. To get that candy bar, he must lose weight. Maybe Bob’s parents are super strict. Maybe Bob must convince them that he MUST have that candy bar.

For a more ‘mature’ example, let’s say Ellie wants to become a YouTube star, because her mom’s dream was to be an actress, and she has terminal cancer. Ellie is far more complex than Bob is. She will be balancing school, friends and her mother’s illness. Now, you need to make it extremely hard for her to fulfill her dream.

Both sections are good for every writer. If you are a CW, but want to know a character better, look through the advice for PWs. If you are a PW but stuck on a plot, look through the CW section. Every writer can benefit from advice from all areas.

Happy writing!

~Reine~

Challenge: Can YOU write a short story detailing Bob's candy bar journey? Post the link and I'd love to read it.

The Soul Story Myth

Have you ever heard a writer say: “I’ve found my soul story”? Maybe you’ve even been the one saying that. Nonetheless, on writing websites everywhere, people refer to one of their manuscripts as the mystical ‘soul story’.

A soul story is your story. The story you’re destined to tell. It’s the tale you’ve been assigned to spin by the forces that be.

I don’t believe in soul stories.

Stop gasping and close your mouth already, before I stick dynamite into it.

The soul story myth is popular among writers who have never been published. Because, when you dig a bit deeper in a writing career, there are no soul stories.

Reasons why having a ‘soul story’ can negatively affect your writing:

1)      You think of it as a part of you.

All stories we write are a part of us. However, you tend to treat a so called soul story like a child. And, every parent grows defensive when someone criticizes your little angel. Your baby is absolutely perfect!

Yeah, right. Every human has their flaws. And humans write stories. No one can make a perfect story. For many writers, including myself, it is a hard discipline to separate criticism for your story from criticizing you, the writer.  

To many, a soul story is the best story they have ever written. They think it’s amazing. It’s their special little gem. And the hammer of reality knocks them in the head. Knives and scalpels probe at all the imperfections.

It is harder to separate rejection of your soul story from rejection of yourself. A soul story is, well, part of your soul. In writing for a career, you have to be able to understand that rejection or criticisms of your stories aren’t personal.

2)      You think it doesn’t need revising or rewriting.

“My manuscript is perfect as it is. I don’t need to rewrite it or do a lot of plot revisions. Sure, I might have used the wrong ‘there’, but hey, my editor will catch it.”

Perfect rough draft= Soul story. This is one of the reasons why no professional writers really believe in this definition of soul stories. I’m willing my hand to go and slap some sense into you.

3)      You’re going to get depressed when you don’t get picked up instantly.

This is something every writer struggles with. Rejections from agents and publishers. But, with a soul story, you get angry. You want to go hire a hit team to slap some sense into them. This is your soul story. It’s so special. This is your story.

It’s normal to get angry with rejections, especially at first. But if you get it with a soul story, it drives you to the brink. You will refuse to consider the possibility that it may need a lot more work before an agent will be interested.

My definition of a soul story:

A real soul story is a journey. It is the first work you are committed to finishing. It teaches you so much about writing along the way. At the end, you are a better writer.

My soul story taught me so much about writing. It taught me how to develop characters, plot twists, set goals and, most importantly, how to revise.

This is what a soul story is. Mine is sitting on a computer file, untouched, with no plans for it. It is a trek into a treacherous land, not mapped or plotted (no pun intended), and you will barely be able to get out alive.

Face it. There are thousands upon thousands of finished manuscripts looking for publication. You aren’t very different at all from your fellow writers sending in queries to every agency they can find.

Once you take the journey of a real soul story, though, you are a step above the pack. You have learned how to travel across raging rapids. You can build a shelter to weather the strongest of storms. And it is time to face the jungle again.

The more times you complete this journey, the more skills you will learn; the more paths you will discover. Use these journeys of novel and storydom as experience. And you will be ready when the time is right to craft a novel worthy of the best seller list.

Happy writing!

~Reine~

How to Write Constructive Critiscim

This is basically copied and pasted from my KidPub guide, so yeah...

I’ve been looking at the comments given on my work, others’ work, and the critiques I’ve given on stories. We all need to improve on CC. Emphasis on we. Yes, I plead guilty to giving ‘bad’ constructive criticism.
We’ve all committed an act of giving bad reviews at one time or another. Some of us may not have realized it. Giving advice and praise on a story is an art in itself. Here, I’ve compiled a basic guide to giving helpful CC.




I will be using an old short story of mine from years ago as an example, because there are plenty of things you can critique about it. Translation: It’s horrible. No judgie. It’s from 2007. I was nine. And I didn’t change a thing, as much as it pained me.

An Elfa female wolf:

A elfa female wolf, Kana and her pack silently stalked an elk. She gave the cue to attack the elk. She and her mate, Conner, ran in front, while Kana’s eldest daughter, Marina, closes the exit from the back and the 15 other pack members surrounded the side escape routes.
They attacked, having one of Kana’s daughters, Sheila, attack from the rear. Kana, Conner and Marina attacked the elk from the front and the other pack members attack from the sides.
The pack came home and soon they gulping down the fresh meat. The firsts to eat were Kana and Conner, then Marina, next Sheila, the adult members, and finally the little leftovers for the pups, Sarah, Mike and Cheryl. When the pack had eaten their fill, there was only bones left because it is a winter where food is scarce. This was the packs’ third meal in a few months. This pack is new and was forced to leave a huge pack, 70 strong but it was impossible to feed the gigantic pack so it split up and divided the territory into small little sections. Most packs in this area are 7 members to 30.
As winter draw to the end the pack started hunting more in the rise of prey and warmth. But the packs’ luxury territory was about to be challenged.
Kana, Conner and Marina and the pack were happily eating a rare moose, a treat, were suddenly interrupted by a eerie howl. As the enemy drew closer, it became clear that it was a large wolf pack was charging. Sheila nervously gathered up Sarah, Mike and Cheryl and hid them. Right after Sheila hid the pups, something shot through a thicket of dew covered pines. A large gray wolf started to growl followed by 23 other members. A small, thin white wolf smelled the pups and started to follow their scent. Suddenly, a black blur covered the white wolf. Kana was not going to let a wolf kill her pups. And a battle started. Conner was facing the big gray wolf, the elfa male of that group, and the white wolf was the elfa female and was destroyed in a instant by Kana. Sheila and Marina tackled a huge brown wolf and soon the other pack was driven off, but the elfa male was still there and had killed Conner. No male in Kana’s group could mate with her, but what about the big gray wolf, Dawson?
Kana’s pack let’s Dawson join but at a cost. Dawson goes and kills the pups, like gray wolves always do. But he does not kill the runt, Cheryl. Why?
Cheryl was lonely at first without her playmates, then she found some one when the pack adopts a wolf pup from another group.
But five years passed when a unknown illness hits Kana, and she dies a slow death, but Cheryl becomes leader.

That’s the end! It makes me cringe. Horribly. But, someone could be really proud of this piece of work. Remember that.

Rule I: Treat others the way YOU want to be treated.

Sounds like the poster on your kindergarten teacher’s wall, eh? It applies to everything- whether it’s your opinion on Billy Bob Joe’s new sneakers or reviewing someone’s writing.

This is obvious, but still. “This is worse than cleaning your bedroom. You’re a failure.” We, as writers, already THINK that. No need to do that for another writer. We all got that beast in our head. Did you know that clinical depression is higher in writers than in the rest of the population?

Rule II: Always say at least one thing nice at the beginning of your comment.

At school, we use the 3/3 rule: three things we liked, three suggestions. But, that’s too hard, because we’re allowed to go over with the compliments and we can’t have more than three suggestions. Usually, I want to put NO compliments and FIFTEEN suggestions. However, this is a common courtesy. It can be something as simple as: “The plot is good.” Or even: “I like the character’s names.”
That’s the one I’m going to use in my example critique of my story.

NOTE:Make it specific. “Good story” doesn’t count. Of course, if there’s more you liked, add it. “The characters are so complex.” Say everything you liked about
TIP:Even better, do something even more specific, regarding a particular event. This example was taken from a comment from Lizzie on my story:
Heh. I love Kira's character - "I hate you." "I know you do, sweetie. Have a good time!" xDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD That cracked me up.

Rule III: You can say anything you want as long as you phrase it nicely.

Instead of: “This is horrible”…
Write: “The characters and events need to be fleshed out more.”
So, for my story, here’s what I’m going to say to my third grade self so far:
“I like the plot. It’s interesting. But, the characters and events need to be fleshed out more.
Words like however, but or though work good for the first line of CC. Add more if necessary. You can add more here, especially dealing with ‘line critiques’ like misspellings and grammar mistakes. Italicize or bold the typos to emphasize them. Lists are great for multiple line CCs as well. When you copy and paste the text, change the color, font or italicize/bold it.
“I like the plot. It’s interesting. But,the characters and events need to be fleshed out more. The ending also needs to be more satisfying. There are also several typos:

1. Cheryl was lonely at first without her playmates, thenshe found some onewhen the pack adopts a wolf pup from another group. There should be a semicolon before then and after playmates. Some one is one word.
2. Elfa is spelled ‘alpha’.
3. …destroyed in a instant by Kana… Before a noun starting with a vowel, the ‘a’ is changed to an ‘an’.
4. Most packs in this area are 7 members to 30. Write numbers up to 100 in word form.”

NOTE:Some authors don’t like line by line grammar edits. Some also don’t seem to change them. I don’t change the typos on my  stories- I do it on the actual document. So, don’t be discouraged if your CC seems to go unnoticed.

Rule IV: Wrap it up with fancy wrapping paper and a big bow.
Metaphorically, of course. Say something encouraging: “Keep writing” or “Happy writing” are my personal favorites.



I hoped this guide to CC helped everyone in the community. At least, I hoped my very old work made you either pee your pants laughing so hard or made you nearly have a heart attack at how horrible An Elfa Female Wolf is.


Happy writing!
~Reine~

Hi

Hi, people of Earth! I am a magical unicorn from outerspace set on making your planet filled with unicorns excreting rainbows!

Just kidding. I'm not (very) insane.


I doubt anyone will ever be reading this. The point of this blog is so I can compile all of my writing advice and remind me that I am epical. But, in case someone other than myself is reading this, cool. That's epic!

My name is Reine. Pronounced rainy as in rainy day. Yes, I am an American through and through. It's a 'family name'. A maiden name of my great grandmother. I am thirteen going on fourteen (In one month). And I've been writing since I was eight. Now, I may not be good at math, but heck, I've  been writing for five years. Almost six.

Am I published? No. Will I be published? Yes.

Simple.

What do I write? Fantasy. No romance or chick lit. Sure, I am throwing in a romantic subplot in my novel, but I cannot stand romance as the main plot. I couldn't even get through Twilight.

Currently, my project sits at 70,000 words. I finally broke through a month's bout of writer's block. Ah, the horror.

That's not the horror to my mother, at least. It's the horror that her teenage daughter wants to stay in the house all summer. And doesn't even have a Facebook. Or text often. Name one other parent who actually tells her middle school daughter to get on social networking and text more. That's me, Reine the Recluse.

If you want to the first 80ish pages of my novel, check out this linkie: http://www.kidpub.com/book-page-or-chapter/hope-and-fear-prologue-2044118517 If you don't have an account, a critique would be greatly appreciated and expected, if you want to live past the eleventh hour. MUAHAHAHAHA!

I'll be posting writing advice and such. Why should you listen to me? You don't. I'm a nobody. But, sometimes you want to pull out your hair and run up to the highest floor in the Empire State Building and throw your laptop out a window, and watch it smash against the head of a poor, unfortunate soul below.
After you do that, though, you probably want to make a run for it- to get a new laptop and before you get charged with murder.

Happy writing!

~Reine~