T is for Twilight, et al (also, HNtWaQ 4 breakdown)

Sometime in 2006 (or early 2007), my sister-in-law, Paula, who knew I loved reading, mentioned that she had a cousin who was being touted as the next J.K. Rowling. I reacted about how you'd expect: with congratulatory skepticism. Still, I Googled her cousin's name and read the book description. And the glowing reviews. And marveled over the cover, with two white hands holding a red apple on a black background. Huh, I thought. Might actually be worth reading.

My library provided me with a copy very quickly and I got to reading. I have never been so sucked into a book. By the time I was finished, I couldn't imagine a world in which Bella and Edward weren't real, living, breathing people. They haunted me. I immediately put NEW MOON on hold... but there was a really long waiting list. The librarian I appealed to estimated that I might get a copy in about a month. A MONTH! (I've never had the cash for all the books I want to buy.) I was devastated. I re-read TWILIGHT to soothe my anxiety... and got an email from the library the next day. NEW MOON was mine! I read it. Then read them both again.

To this day, those two books are the only books I've ever re-read immediately upon finishing them. (Well, that I can remember. I've been reading a long time.)

That year, for my anniversary, I got my own copies. Then purchased and devoured ECLIPSE as soon as it came out. I went with a group of 30-something friends to the midnight release of BREAKING DAWN--teh only midnight release I've ever attended. I watched the Twilight movie with a group of Stephenie's cousins (jealous?). I was sort of disappointed by the ending of BD (little-miss-happy-thoughts ruined what could have been a wonderful battle scene), but, overall, loved the series. I still love the series.

One of the miraculous things the Twilight Saga did for me was make it seem possible to write amazing stories. Some authors (ahemBrandonSandersonahem) write so well, young writers despair of ever being that good. Others write so poorly (ahemyouknowwhoI'mtalkingaboutahem), they make it look too easy to get published (in an "I can write better than that!" sort of way). Stephenie Meyer made quality seem possible. She is a large part of the reason I finally started to take my half-formed ambition seriously.

She blew me away, though, with THE HOST. I think it's the best thing she's written so far, and I can't wait to see the movie. And sequels.

On April 19th, I presented a bastardized version of the very nice official blurb for THE HOST. I even made it exactly 190 words long, like the official blurb is. Here they both are together:

Official (Good) Blurb

My (Bad) Blurb

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed. When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind. Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves—Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.

Have you ever felt trapped in your own body? Unable to choose how you will talk or move? Can you imagine how it would feel to be taken over by a parasitic host that can control your every move? What if that parasite is better at being you than you are? Would you welcome an invader that could eradicate poverty? Cure any disease? Drop the crime rate to zero? Melanie doesn't care how good the invaders are at being human. She just wants to be left alone with her boyfriend Jared and her brother Jamie, to try to survive as three of the last remaining free humans. She doesn't get her wish. Instead, she is captured and taken over by Wanderer, a "soul" whose most important job is to help find the very humans Melanie would give her life for. But Melanie is different: she refuses to fade away. Instead, her love for Jared and Jamie helps her hang around, fighting back in the only way she knows how: by concealing their location from Wanderer, who can read every thought in her head and examine every memory she’s ever made.

Part of the learning process, for me, is figuring out what is wrong by seeing what makes it right. Since it's impossible to know for sure if my own book's query is right before I have an agent tell me, I find that intentionally writing blurbs wrong and then comparing them to the official blurbs can help.

So what did I do wrong this time?

Don't Open with a Question
If the agent you want hasn't ever actually felt trapped in his/her own body, they will read the first line and answer No. The last thing you want an agent saying while reading your query is "No."

Worse, most questions are transparently designed to force the reader to imagine themselves in the roll of the protagonist. If you've ever been in a training where the teacher told you to close your eyes and imagine [insert any number of things you don't want to imagine, thank you], you know how that feels. Don't make your dream agent feel like you're forcing your world on them.

Finally, questions are condescending. They subtly imply that you can't possibly figure out how the protagonist feels unless it is spelled out for you. My questions, especially, attempt to force you to examine two sides of an issue, suggesting that you wouldn't examine both sides without my questions.

The official blurb does the two-issues thing more organically: by describing both Melanie and Wanderer. By making them both seem like real people. Whenever a reader has two opposing people to like, they will naturally start to see both sides. Spelling-out not required.

Describe the Real Conflict
Reading my blurb, a reader would likely come away with the impression that Melanie is the protagonist, Wanderer is the antagonist, and that the conflict centers on Melanie trying to hide Jared and Jamie from Wanderer. If you've read the book--or even just the official blurb--you know that's not true. If anything, Wanderer is the protagonist, not Melanie. Also, as the official blurb states, the two become allies on a joint quest for Jared. Though the first part of the book is about Melanie keeping things from Wanderer, most of the book has them working together.

This, by the way, is a great blurb to emulate if your plot takes a directional change after the first act. (Though, really, if you're not already established, you should probably stick to making your main conflict apparent in the first few chapters.)

Keep it Simple, Stupid
If you'll notice, the official blurb does not mention Jamie at all, even though, in point of fact, Wanderer is well aware before they set out that Jamie will probably be with Jared. Why doesn't the official blurb mention him?  Because he's unnecessary. Not to the plot, of course, but to the blurb. All the blurb has to do is tell us what the protagonist(s) want. What Melanie/Wanderer want is to reunite with the one(s) they love. This desire begins a quest, which fuels the rest of the book (even when they find them, they don't get their reunion--that takes the rest of the book).

I'll stop there, but feel free to add on. What else makes the official blurb superior to mine?

Things To Know Before It's Too Late

Deadline #1: You have until 11:59 PM on April 30 MARCH 31 to enter the A-Z Blogfest Challenge. You know you want to. All the cool kids are doing it! I'm spending the month talking all about... myself. What, you're surprised? I might also mention a word or two about all the people and books that have made me the wonderful person I am today. Maybe.

Deadline #2: Right now, the YA Scavenger Hunt is going on. There are 60 books up for the grand prize and countless side contests with jewelry, swag, ARCs, books, and other loveliness to be won. Hop along one or all of three colored trails, collect the letters, unscramble the secret messages, [tell them to Robin, who cannot unscramble secret messages to save her life], and enter it into the grand prize drawing by noon on April 1.

Deadline #3: One year from yesterday, I'll have a 12-year-old son.

I hope he'll feel mature enough to go to a movie with his mother for his birthday.



I just couldn't let you go one more day without joining me in the agony of waiting.

100 Posts! Recommendations for Everyone!

This is my 100^thblog post!!!! Party!!! Confetti!! Cookies for everyone!

I haven’t posted for a week, because I just couldn’t think of anything cool enough to put in my 100^thpost. How does one manage to choose such things?

I wanted to do a give-away, but, dang it, I’m poor, and can’t finance anything big enough. Maybe for my upcoming blog-i-versary.

So I decided to give you all a list of my 100 favorite books from the last three years. The ones I’d love to recommend to you—and frequently do recommend to those who ask. I’ve been logging my reading since April of 2008, so I had over 500 books to choose from. I went through and weeded out the ones I didn’t feel good about recommending. Those I couldn’t remember, or wasn’t all that impressed by. I also weeded out many that I really do love, but knew would get easily cut from the top 100. I was left with over 200. *Sigh*

Of the over 200 finalists, most were part of a series. If I were to list each series as a single entry instead of multiple entries, I’d be under 100. Bother.

So we’re left with the following categorized list of books I would like to recommend to you, depending on your tastes. There are many more amazing books out there that I’ve read in my life, including classics and more modern novels. These are just my favorites from the last three years—since I decided to become a novelist myself. Some I’ve broken down into series, and some I’ve listed by author. This is a long post, so feel free to skip forward to your favorite genre—or the genre you’d like to try out—and see what I’m recommending there. To help you decide where to start, I’ve listed my top choice first in each category. UPDATED to add pictures, so you know the cover to look for. :)

General disclaimer: not all of these books are PG-rated. If you prefer PG-rated books, proceed with caution, and feel free to contact me for specifics on each book. Everyone’s tastes and sensibilities are different: I promise not to judge you if you promise not to judge me. :)

Also, I was going to link to each author, but that’s too much work, so I’m linking to my top author in each category and trusting that you can get Google to help you find the rest.

YA Low / Urban Fantasy

These books take our world and add magic. This is my favorite category, so I’ve read a lot of books in it. Harry Potter isn’t listed only because I haven’t read him recently.

Top Recommendation: Everneath by Brodi Ashton –it comes out in January 2012, but I read an ARC a few weeks ago. You’re going to want it. Pre-Order it now. You’ll thank me later. My full-ish review will be up here on October 26^th.

Other amazing books I’ve read recently in this category:

1. Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer (yes, I still love the books)
2. Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, beginning with City of Bones—and don’t forget the spin-off prequel series: The Infernal Devices
3. Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead
4. Wings series by Aprilynne Pike
5. My Fair Godmother series by Janette Rallison (with another UF series to come under the pen-name CJ Hill)
6. The Dark Divine series by Bree Despain
7. Artemis Fowl (thanks, Shelly) series by Eoin Colfer (I’ve only read the first, but it was very fun)
8. Need series by Carrie Jones
9. Faeriewalker series by Jenna Black, beginning with Glimmerglass
10. Darkest Powers series by Kelley Armstrong, beginning with The Summoning
11. Paranormalcy series by Kiersten White
12. Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr
13. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

YA / MG High Fantasy

These books are about a different world than ours, with magic and mystery.

Top recommendation: The Books of Bayern by Shannon Hale, beginning with The Goose Girl. While you’re at it, read her other fine, award-winning YA books (and her adult books). I love Shannon’s lyrical writing, and the way her characters lean on their friends to succeed. Also the romance. J

Other amazing books I’ve read recently in this category:

1. Anything by Jessica Day George, especially Princess of the Midnight Ball (which is really about a boy)
2. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
3. The Glasswrights' Apprentice series by Mindy Klasky (though I haven’t finished it yet)
4. Far World Series by J. Scott Savage, beginning with Water Keep
5. The Shifter series by Janice Hardy
6. The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan, beginning with The Magician’s Guild

YA Dystopian      

Everybody’s utopia is someone else’s dystopia. I like to diss this category, but there are still lots of books I like in it.

Top Recommendation: Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. I’m not sure I’ll ever be brave enough read it again (or see the movie), but it’s a brutal, dazzling, and haunting ride. Definitely a must-read.

Other amazing books I’ve read recently in this category:

1. The Maze Runner series by James Dashner (final book due out in 10 days!)
2. Matched Ally Condie (book #2 is due out November 1)
3. Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld (excluding Extras—I just couldn’t finish it)

YA Contemporary Romance

Our world, with romance and no magic. What’s not to love?

Top Recommendation: Any number of books by Janette Rallison. Especially try My Double Life and Just One Wish. Normal teenagers with mostly normal problems. Janette is quirky, profound, hilarious, and an all-around treat to read. (And she’s starting a new YA UF series under the pen name of CJ Hill!)

Other amazing books I’ve read recently in this category:

1. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (sooo looking forward to reading Lola, too!)
2. Back When You Were Easier to Love by Emily Wing Smith
3. The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot
4. Sweethearts by Sara Zarr

Adult Low / Urban Fantasy

Our world, magic, few teenagers. “Adult” doesn’t mean X-rated, but some of them are a bit graphic—in blood and / or in sex. Know your sensibilities and choose wisely.

Top Recommendation: I have to go with Patricia Briggs. I’m so in love with her Mercy Thompsonseries (starting with Moon Called), I went back and read everything she’s ever written. You should, too. (Some of it is high fantasy.) Mercy Thompson also has a great spin-off series called Alpha and Omega. Read that, too.

Can’t-help-it Runner-up: Ilona Andrews, especially her Kate Daniels series, beginning with Magic Bites. There’s a bit of post-apocalyptic in this one, but it’s an amazing world and a wonderful what-if. Ilona (who is really a wife-husband writing team) also has a great UF series called The Edge—starting with On the Edge.

Other amazing books I’ve read recently in this category (and, really, I keep re-arranging the first 4):

1. The Hallows series by Kim Harrison, beginning with Dead Witch Walking
2. Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong, beginning with Bitten.
3. Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter, beginning with Skinwalker
4. The Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost, beginning with Halfway to the Grave
5. Sookie Stackhouse series (the inspiration for TruBlood on HBO) by Charlaine Harris, beginning with Dead Until Dark
6. Harper Connelley series by Charlaine Harris, beginning with Grave Sight
7. Allie Beckstrom Series by Devon Monk, beginning with Magic to the Bone
8. Undead series by MaryJanice Davidson, starting with Undead and Unwed (vampire chick-lit)
9. The Walker Papers series by C.E. Murphy, beginning with Urban Shaman
10. The Negotiator series by C.E. Murphy, beginning with Heart of Stone
11. Broken Heart series by Michele Bardsley, beginning with I'm the Vampire, That's Why
12. Girl's Guide to Witchcraft series by Mindy Klasky
13. Stormwalker series by Allyson James

Adult High Fantasy

Think Lord of the Rings—which isn’t on the list only because I haven’t read it in the last three years

Top Recommendation: Anythingby Brandon Sanderson. The Mistborn series, Elantris, Warbreaker, The Way of Kings—all excellent, mind-blowing, and depressingly discouraging to a wanna-be like me. (One of my wanna-be friends threw Elantris across the room when he finished it because it was so good. How can we hope to measure up to that?) I’m even tempted to wade through the whole Wheel of Time series because Brandon is writing the end of it! (Also, Brandon is coming to Authors’ Advisory on October 5 to talk about Magic Systems!!)

Other amazing books I’ve read recently in this category:

1. Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss, beginning with The Name of the Wind (though, honestly, I’m waiting until the series is complete before I read past #1—three year lag times are a bit much for me)      
2. Rogue Mage series by Faith Hunter, beginning with Bloodring
3. The Tide Lords series by Jennifer Fallon, beginning with The Immortal Prince (sadly, I haven’t yet read the last book)
4. Mad Kestral by Misty Massey

Steampunk (YA and Adult)

Take historical times and pretend they were as smart about science as they thought they were. Steam-powered gadgetry a must.

Top Recommendation: the Alexia Tarabotti series by Gail Carriger, beginning with Soulless. This is actually Victorian Fantasy Steampunk with a healthy dose of romance. Ever wonder how tiny little England took over the world? They had werewolves in their military, of course. And those strange Victorian fashions? Vampires. Absolutely hilarious books, with a YA spinoff in the works.

Close Runner-Up: Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan series. A commoner girl pretending to be a boy falls in love with a royal boy who doesn’t know she’s a girl, while they ride around on a flying whale fighting elaborate machines in a rewritten version of World War I. The third book, Goliath, just came out, and I’m so excited to read it!!

Horror

Stephen King is the master at this. Take one relatable, mostly ordinary hero, pit him against something terrifying, and raise your reader’s pulse.

Top Recommendation: I Am Not a Serial Killer series by Dan Wells. #2 is Mr. Monster. #3 is I Don’t Want to Kill You. If the titles don’t convince you, they’re about John Wayne Cleaver, a 15-year-old diagnosed sociopath who is obsessed with serial killers… but doesn’t want to become one. He has rules to keep him from going down that path (i.e. No Stalking People)—and they’re working just fine until a serial killer comes to town. John decides he can stop him… he’ll just have to break some of his rules.

Other amazing books I’ve read recently in this category:

1. The Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz
2. The Frankenstein series by Dean Koontz, beginning with Prodigal Son         
3. By the Light of the Moon by Dean Koontz
4. The Meridians (Ebook) by Michaelbrent Collings (who writes a lot like Dean Koontz) :)

           

Sci-Fi (Adult and YA) 

Playing with possibilities in scientific advancement, space travel, and alien life forms.

Top Recommendation: The Host by Stephenie Meyer. It’s simply amazing. The body-snatcher “Souls” are wonderfully kind and utterly perplexed about why these few “wild” humans are still resisting. The Souls unquestionably improve the societal structure on every planet they conquer. They eliminate poverty, sickness… and human consciousness—at least, until the Soul Wanderer takes over Melanie’s body. This heart-wrenching love story is told from Wanderer’s perspective, but is intimately woven with the perspective of the woman still hanging onto her mind—and her memories of a lost love.

Other amazing books I’ve read recently in this category:

1. Across the Universe by Beth Revis (book two coming soon)
2. Sirantha Jax series by Ann Aguirre, beginning with Grimspace

Adult Contemporary Romance

If you need an endorphin fix, a Happily-Ever-After, or just a reason to believe that things really can work out in the end, this is the genre for you. Unless you’re under 18 or squeamish about sex in novels. Then ask your parents first.

Top Recommendation: Anything by Robyn Carr. And not just because she’s my mentor. Her recent Grace Valley and Virgin River series about tiny towns nestled in gigantic mountains are the ultimate in comfort food. Beautiful women, manly men (mostly ex-marines), and (fictional) tight-knit communities so real you’ll be calling your realtor.

Other amazing books I’ve read recently in this category:

1. Anything by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, especially What I Did For Love
2. Anything by Jennifer Crusie, especially Bet Me, where the overweight girl still gets the hotty guy—and you’ll actually believe it!
3. Almost anything by Loretta Chase, especially Lord of Scoundrels
4. Traitor series by Sandra "my first-cousin Noreen" Grey (Though I haven’t read past the first book yet. Bad cousin. No cookie.)

           

Adult Contemporary

Present day. Not romance, not fantasy, not horror.

Top Recommendation: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series by Stieg Larsson. They can be disturbingly graphic, but if you’re not turned off by that sort of thing, the books are heart-pounding, gut-wrenching, and leave you rooting for the girl with weird hair, piercings, and tats. Who just happens to be a genius. And a hacker. And not half as incompetent as she’s been declared. And the toughest waif you’ll ever meet. It’s no wonder us Americans wanted our own set of films.

Other amazing books I’ve read recently in this category:

1. Nadia Stafford series by Kelley Armstrong, beginning with Exit Strategy—female ex-cop hit-man… er woman
2. Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde, though I’ve only read the first one: The Eyre Affair

           

Writing Craft Books

Yeah, I really should read more of these. Most of my writing education lately has been from blogs, though, and blogs (as everybody knows) have excellent information on them. Still, these books are great, too. Even though I can’t pick a favorite.

On Writing (A Memoir of the Craft) by Stephen King—this is sort of a must-read for a genre writer. See King’s journey from dirt-poor scribbler to world-renowned author. Also, lots of solid (and some take-it-or-leave-it) advice on how to follow in his footsteps.

The Key: How to Write Damn Good Fiction Using the Power of Myth by James N. Frey—a wonderful description of the Hero’s Journey, the various characters, the steps along the way, and why readers love this structure again and again and again.

-------------------------

Whew! You’re still here? You skipped, didn’t you? That’s okay. Come back whenever you’re wondering what to read next. :) I've specifically mentioned 77 books and/or series, so you should have enough to keep you busy for a while. 

So do our tastes match? Is your favorite missing? (If so, keep in mind that I might have read it over 3 years ago.) See any you want to try next? 

Finally, thanks so much to all my followers / readers / friends / family. Blogging wouldn't be half as much fun without you!

A Winning Team

In April, I did a blog-swap with Michelle Davidson and posted (on her blog) about how great it was to have writer friends. I used Shannon Hale and Stephenie Meyer as an example of a great writer-friendship.

I'm so smart.

Shannon announced today that Austenland will be made into a movie! Shannon co-wrote the screenplay, so we know it'll be awesome! Keri Russell will star as Jane, and JJ Field will play an-actor-playing-Mr. Darcy!  Filming begins this week in the UK.

Stephenie Meyer is producing it, through her production company, Fickle Fish Films (others are also involved).

I stole this picture from the Twilight Lexicon site:
http://www.twilightlexicon.com/2007/09/09/shannon-hale-interviews-stephenie/

I, for one, am excited. This is amazing news.

Awards (for me) and the One I REALLY Want

If you're a writer, you know the importance of maintaining some healthy delusions. Odds say publishing a book is about as likely as winning the lottery? Pshaw. That doesn't apply to me! First book never sells? Stephenie Meyer's did! Why not mine? Most published writers can't support themselves (much less their families) on their writing? Well, some of them do! Why not me?

If we believed the odds, we'd never try.

I don't buy lottery tickets because the odds of winning are so minuscule that it's not worth my money--but I've spent thousands of hours creating my own, custom, lottery-ticket novel (no, it's not about lottery tickets). And I believe in it. I do. I think it's a winner.

This is my first full-length novel (though I wrote the first 5 chapters of a few others--do they count?), but I'm still going to query it. In a few more months, when I get it perfect. And I'm going to cross my fingers, send up a prayer, hit send... and then start refreshing my email inbox. Because, you never know, my dream agents might be so enchanted by it, they'll immediately want the full. And I wouldn't want them to wait more than five minutes before they get it, would I? Of course not.

I want to sell it for a lot of money. Because, see, I have this dream life in my head. Free of debt. Living in a house without threadbare carpet. On a ranch, where my husband can raise cows and my sons can ride horses. With an office just for me, where I can continue to write books people will love. Occasionally leaving to attend conferences and to go on tour. To England. To meet my father's family. Perhaps with a baby daughter (or two) in tow. Doesn't that sound good? Would you give that up just because the odds say it'll never happen?

So I say it's okay to dream. Hard cold reality doesn't have any place in my world. Even if this book doesn't sell, the next one will. Or the one after that. Because I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and gol-darn it, people like me!

Don't believe me? I present Exhibits 1, 2, and 3:

From Anita


From Deirdra


From Jenny

I received these three awesome blog awards within the last week. See? I told you people like me! :) Anita and Deirdra custom-made theirs, which make them doubly awesome, but I have to like Anita's best because she only awarded hers to five people--and guess who was #1? ME! :D Are you jealous? 

Of course you are!

You know who I'm jealous of? I've mentioned her before (once or twice): Brodi Ashton. Brodi I-had-to-choose-between-five-awesome-agents Ashton. Brodi I-waited-24-hours-before-I-got-a-preemptive-three-novel-deal-on-my-debut Ashton. Brodi, who is awesome for reasons I can't even tell you about because I promised not to!!! (Yes, you want to be me. No, I can't tell you why.)

Brodi, who, this time last year, won the LDStorymakers First Chapter Contest.

I was in that contest, yo. I sat through the awards ceremony, watched some dude win first and third in my category, and then watched them announce Brodi's name as the Grand Prize winner. And she wasn't even there! Valynne had to go up and accept her laptop for her. I texted her, though. Yeah. Me. 'Cause I'd had dinner with her the night before, and had her cell number. (You want to touch me now, don't you?)

Anyway, I wasn't at all upset, because I'd already read the first page of Brodi's book and she totally deserved it, but it didn't stop me from rejoicing in the fact that she'd likely sell her book before the next contest and would therefore be ineligible for the 2011 contest. (Really, I'm just too good at this predicting stuff.)

So Wednesday, I'm driving down to Utah. Wednesday night, I'm pushing shiny buttons for another Farland's Authors' Advisory Conference Call--this time with Laura Ann Gilman, who's giving VERY timely advice on professionalism, including how to talk to editors (like at conferences and stuff), so you should totally call in with all your questions. Then, on Thursday, I'm picking up Susan Jensen at the airport and attending the Bootcamp at LDStorymakers, where the first fifteen pages of my book will be torn to bloody shreds (if all goes well).  Friday and Saturday are for the conference, where I will network, hob-nob, hand out business cards, meet cool writers, learn some stuff, and hunt down a few future guests for Authors' Advisory. Lunchtime Saturday, they announce the First Chapter Contest Winners. Not that I'm paying any attention to things like that.

So who's gonna be there? If you're going to be there, I'll tell you a secret: I get a text every time someone @'s me on Twitter. Just sayin'. My Twitter ID is @Robin_Weeks. Don't forget the space. I'd love to get together with you. Meet in person. You know, for meals. Really cool classes. (I sit at the front. Always. That's what elbows are FOR.) Or just for pal-ing around in the hall. I'm the one with the obnoxious rolling briefcase. If you trip over something, it's probably me.

Oh, and only the Blog on Fire Award requires me to pass it on. Since I love so many of your blogs, please let me know if you want it--I'll give it to the first five takers whose blogs are over in my blogroll on the left. :)

See you in a few days?

Dreary Deneoument (or, how to stop Falling Action from falling flat)

When I was finishing the first draft of my WIP, I was on a deadline (self-imposed)--I wanted to finish it by the end of the month. Thus, predictably, the ending got a bit... scrunched.

The second draft, I was trying to finish it by the end of that month so I could submit it to my writer's group for March. Thus (oh! a pattern!) the ending remained scrunched.

It wasn't horrible (well, it was: not burn-the-book horrible--just throw-it-across-the-room horrible), but it sure wasn't GOOD.

For draft #3, I'm starting at the end (yay! watch me learn!). I'm paying attention to what my group was confused by, what they thought made no sense, and I'm inserting a whole scene that explains a few things my characters were too busy running around to explain before.

And now I'm wondering if it's a bit anticlimactic.

I'm sending it to my group in a day or so to get their semi-professional opinions (one of my group members --Jenn Johansson--just got an agent, so now we're all semi-professional), but in the meantime, I'm looking at published books I love to see if they have any "let's talk about this" stuff--and how much--after the main conflict is over. Join me?

**Spoiler Warnings--I'm talking about the endings, here, folks. If you haven't read these books (and you want to!) stop reading now.***

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

 By page 364, the sword fight is over, the main bad guys are dead, Ani has her identity back, and most of the good guys are triumphant. Yay! They discuss the carnage.

By the end of page 369, Conrad has appeared with the treacherous lady-in-waiting in tow and she has been dispatched. Now we just have to wrap up the romance and the war.

On page 372, Ani attends the "war" counsel and has an animated discussion with the prime minister, who really, REALLY wants to go kill something already. No one dies, but this probably counts as conflict. Plus, I love her speech: "It would be suicide for Kildenree to war on Bayern and butchery for Bayern to attack Kildenree."

Between page 375 and 380, Ani and Geric work things out between them, sitting on the stairs in the kitchen. Love this part, too, because I love romance. Wrapping up the romantic subplot is a Good Thing.

Page 380-383 are probably the true denoument. The forest-born get their own 100-band, javelins, and shields; Ani meets some of her subjects as their future queen; and everything wraps up nicely.

Stats:
Action falls for 19 pages
Lots of non-conflict stuff (sleeping, getting dressed, chatting casually)
In my opinion: I never got bored. Love it all.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
By the end of 295, the conflict is over, Quirrell/Voldemort is gone, and Harry has been saved. He wakes up in the hospital and has a chat with Dumbledore. Their chat continues while Dumbledore explains many of the perplexing mysteries of the book (through page 301).

301-304: Harry recaps things with his friends, still in the hospital.

304-307: End of term feast, with house championship announced--the conflict with the Slytherins wraps up nicely.

307-309: (The denoument) exam marks come in, they travel home.

Stats:
Action falls for 14 pages.
Lots of chatting, resting, and eating of earwax-flavored jelly beans
In my opinion, even the conversation with Dumbledore didn't feel like an infodump because, let's face it, Dumbledore is an awesome character. I could listen to him talk all day.

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
(My copy of Twilight went home with a teenie bopper and never came back.)

The violence ends and the Volturi leave on page 579--but this book is really about Bella's choice between Edward and Jacob (such as it was--Jacob never had a chance) and that is finally settled when she figures out she loves them both, still chooses Edward, and leaves Jacob's broken self behind on page 604.

605-620: Bella cries in Edward's arms, they tell Alice she can plan the wedding, Bella decides not to sleep with Edward before the wedding. Depending on where you count the loose ends as tied up, all of this could be denouement--or only the last page, after Bella gets out the bucket of cold water

621-629: Jacob's epilogue. I'm not counting epilogues--this one is clearly a set-up for Breaking Dawn.

Stats:
Action falls for 15 pages (from the breaking of Jacob's heart through the end of Bella's POV)
Bella mourns, sleeps, chats with her dad, Edward, etc, makes decisions about her established relationship with Edward.
I enjoy everything Stephenie writes, so I'm biased, but I think this went well for the story. I would have been upset if the sex issue was left hanging, so it was nice to have it resolved like that. Ditto on letting Alice plan the wedding. Bella needed time to mourn, too, so that time wasn't wasted, and she needed time to reassure Edward that he was really better for her. Not bored.

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
The last bad guy dies on page 608. The good guys get healed, Sarene and Raoden get married (during which the groom ponders on the various magical systems in the world). The romantic subplot is all done by 612.

613-615: they bury those who died in the final battle. Love the final line: "Let it be said that after all else, Hrathen, gyorn of Shu-Dereth, was not our enemy. He was our savior." Lovely circular reference. This is the denoument.

Stats:
Action falls for 7 pages (but the text is awfully tight--I have the small paperback version)
Enough doesn't happen that Raoden has time to get bored and ponder on things. There's a lot of getting dressed, assembling, and climbing out of carriages.
My opinion: well, of course I love it. This is Brandon Sanderson. He can make a grocery list interesting. Still, the business wasn't horrible, and helped wrap up the book very nicely. Sarene and Raoden had to get married--and what else is he supposed to think about? Also, nice set up for what will hopefully be another few books in this world.

Now let's compare my own:
Draft 1: (don't ask)
Draft 2: Action fell for 2.2 pages. Romance got resolved with a snap of my fingers, and the loose ends were largely ignored.
Draft 3: Action is now falling for 13 pages. During that time, my characters get in an argument about whether important information will be shared, and the love interest is able to demonstrate his, um, interest. Maybe I'll take another two pages and let the two talk to each other.

Conclusions:

• Endings don't have to end immediately--they can take a chapter or two after the last hurrah to wrap up loose ends and provide a sense of closure.
• Falling action is a good place to resolve some of the more minor subplots (like romance, provided you're not writing a Romance)
• Falling action doesn't mean no conflict--just that the conflict isn't going to get bigger than the climax. Ani stopped a war during falling action, Harry triumphed over Slytherine, and Bella made lots of tough life choices.

Have I missed anything? What do you do to make sure your falling action doesn't fall flat?