Author: Amy Spitzfaden

Okay!

Again, sorry for being a date late with this. But better one day late than two, right? And at this rate, next week I’ll be right on time. And the week after I might even be early. Who knows?

While I’m struggling terribly with motivation and word count for NaNoWriMo I’m actually getting pretty geared up and excited to get back to work on my other novel. I guess the break is working! For years, actually years, I’ve been wondering what to do with a certain character to make her story line more compelling. She as a character is lovely; I know her very well and can see both her strength and her struggles. But her plot has staunchly refused to work with me. It’s been lazy and lax, doing only a half-baked job (which is a pun that you’ll understand once the book comes out). No matter how many times I’ve yelled, “Do something with your life!” it just gives me a baleful look and goes back to sleep. Really. It’s terrible.

Alright, I’m starting to lose track of this metaphor, so let’s just say that it can make an author feel pretty helpless to encounter a plot line that just seems dead. Especially when it’s a plot line for a character you love. Then last night as I was dozing off, an idea hit me. This was an idea that actually had nothing to do with the character in question. It was instead a way to revamp an adjacent character, and breathe some life into his story line. And I think this was the answer I was looking for.

Fortunately I had the presence of mind to blurt out a few key words for my husband to repeat to me when I was more awake, and it only took me about a minute to decode this morning. In the light of day, it’s still looking good. Of course, this new idea comes with the caveat that chunks and chunks of my current draft will have to be changed, removed, reworked, and added, but that was unavoidable anyway. And I still have a couple weeks before I have to get my hands dirty again. Vacation time.

It’s pretty interesting to me that the solution to an ancient problem is with a different character entirely. It reminds me of how when you have one physical ailment, chances are there’s something deeper going on with a different part of your body. Nausea can be from muscle tension. Touching a certain point on my eye can make me sneeze.

What about you guys? Have any of you ever completely revamped  a work by focusing on an entirely different area than your perceived problem? It doesn’t have to be just with writing: art, life, business, you name it. Let me know in the comments.

— Amy

Penny

Hi all!

First of all, sorry I’m late with this one. An extreme mixture of business and laziness caused me to put this off for not one, but two days.  I really try to get these up regularly, but better late than never, right?

Ideas for this blog post came at me like pretty much everything in my life right now: in crazy, disconnected multitudes. Topic after topic presented itself to me, but not one excited or motivated me enough to sit down and write a whole post on it. NaNoWriMo? That was last week, and besides a 7k word deficit there isn’t much to report. My recent adventures? As awesome as it was to learn how and attempt to trap a live hawk, I’m not sure how I could justify relaying that story in an author blog. Plus, I might want to save it for a scene in a future novel. Learning Dutch? I’m saving that one for when I’m in Holland in December/January.

While I was mulling all of these possibilities over, I saw that I had a new comment on one of my blog posts. Turns out, one of my readers had recently come across my post on advice for preparing for a signing and wanted to share it with friends of hers, who are authors themselves. That got me thinking: what kind of posts are most valuable to you? I have plenty of fun coming up with a new subject to mull over each week. I love sharing everything that’s been going on with those of you that want to know. But what kind of posts do you enjoy the most?

I want to hear if you like news, advice, musings, or other kinds of posts the best. What most motivates you to join in the discussion? What do you look for out of author blogs?

I’ve also lately been toying with a new idea. What if I do some blog posts that are kind of behind-the-scenes for Untold? I already occasionally do this on my author page with little bits of trivia, but I’m starting to think it might be fun to do more extended posts. Talk a bit about the process, maybe some secret facts about the characters, that kind of thing? What do you think?

Sound off in the comments, and I’ll get right to work crafting next week’s post.

— Amy

Our hawk bait. His name is Inspector Nibs.

I am pleased to announce that I have finished the most recent draft of my next novel! I have mixed feelings about it. It’s a lovely starting point for where I want to go in terms of plot and characters, but it’s just that: a starting point. When you’ve written a whole draft of a novel and the end result is “okay, I can start from here”, it makes an author want to scream. Although it’s really nothing new. Paragraphs, perhaps even pages of what I’ve written this time around is very close to what I’m looking for, but I suspect chapters upon chapters will have to be ditched next time around. It’s the natural progression, but that doesn’t mean it can make a writer want to give up. So I’m going to. For a month.

NaNoWriMo is upon us! So I’ve shoved aside my most recent hastily written novel in a favor for a new one. I’ve actually had this plot idea for quite a few months, and I’m happy that I have an excuse to force it into fruition. I won’t tell you much about it here, but if you want to get a quick idea of it, you can look at my NaNoWriMo profile. The title is far from solidified, but I needed to write something down so I did. If you want to keep up with my word count, add me as a writing buddy. I’m always looking for more!

Breaks are important. When undertaking something as monumental as writing a novel from conception to publication you need to make sure to factor in time to step back and reflect. If I were to scroll all the way back to page one right now and try to find ways to make the book into what I want it to be, I think I might drown. But during this month I’m going to focus on a different story, and let this novel percolate. Some ideas are going to feel comfortable solidifying while I’m looking elsewhere, but a fair amount of them are going to stay stubbornly where they are. But we’ll address that in December.

In the meantime, how are everyone’s projects going? I’ve been keeping up with a few of you, but I’d love to hear more. Are you excited about these books? Have you been planning them for a while, or did you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) without any road map at all? Let me know!

— Amy

Stay cool

Lately I’ve been having a hard time getting into “the zone”.  I think a big part of this is that I’m in a bit of a murky area plot-wise where I don’t feel confident enough to surge forward, or even how much longer the draft should be. Logically I know that none of this matters right now and I can fix any pacing issues in the (many) rewrites I’m in for, but even so, it’s scary to sit down to write climactic scenes in your novel without a map. So what have I been doing to get myself in a writing state of mind? I’ve been listening to music.

I can’t listen to music with lyrics while I’m actually writing. I usually end up typing out the lyrics or getting so excited about what I’m listening to that I end up dancing and singing along. Not ideal for getting work done. But when I find the right music I can sit down, listen, and then emerge in my characters’ states of mind. Is the scene happy and sassy? Glamorous and modern? Nuanced and heartbreaking? Or just plain angry? Frequently I won’t plan my playlist ahead of time and I’ll just put my playlist on shuffle and spend time with the mini-stories that catch  my interest.

I’m a big fan of listening to lyrics because right there you can have a whole tale beginning, middle, and end in just about three minutes. If the song is good, there will be enough emotional depth that you can get fully immersed in the emotions and mindset behind it without having too many details of the transgression clogging up your own story-crafting abilities. There can, however, be problems with songs that hit exactly the spot you’re looking for. I remember getting into writing mode for Untold by listening to Taylor Swift’s album Red. At a certain point while listening to the title track I remember thinking, “Why am I writing a novel when she says exactly what I mean in one song?” Another time when trying to write my annotation I found myself typing out “Remembering him comes in flashbacks, and echoes…” before I realized what I was doing. (For those of you who don’t know, those are lyrics from Red. If you haven’t, go listen to it. You’ll hear a lot of Katie and Robin’s story in there.)

Another thing I enjoy about listening to music creatively is that it can help me go back to a part of my life that I may have forgotten. When I listen to music popular when I was in high school I’m taken back to driving alone in my car, singing along loudly after a bad day, or a particularly good one. This is useful for characters younger than me, as it’s always easiest to come up with a protagonist at the same stage of life as I am. If it’s hard to remember what it was like to be sixteen, just turn on your favorite tunes from that year, close your eyes, and remember why you related.

Today is a very important day for all of this. Taylor Swift’s new album 1989 is out today, and just as soon as I can I’m darting over to Target to grab a copy. Then I will, of course, listen to it obsessively and get to know the stories that emerge. Taylor’s grown up with me, first coming into my awareness when I was sixteen and moving through life with me since then. What artist, musical or otherwise, has done that for you? Let me know in the comments.

— Amy

What I’ll be buying today. Thank you, Taylor!

Last night I returned from NYC with a signed copy of the latest Shopaholic book and an item crossed off my bucket list. I spent Sunday night in the company of one of my very favorite authors: Sophie Kinsella. For the release of her latest book Shopaholic to the Stars Sophie’s decided to do a tour of the US, meeting, greeting, signing, and getting to know her fans. The first stop on the US tour involved a girl’s night out, with makeovers, snacks, and goody bags.  As soon as I heard about this, I had no choice but to buy a ticket and trundle five hours south to New York City. The event was held at The Red Door Salon and Spa and drinks were courtesy of Skinny Girl Wine. We got there right at six, and found out that we had half an hour to mingle before Sophie’s arrival. I opted for a complementary makeover and had an excellent time being instructed on the right way to apply eye shadow (thank you, Lisa!), and having my lips made crimson. After that we wandered for a bit, looking at the products and enjoying the food.

You can’t read it here, but the perfume is called “Untold”!

Soon, we saw people wandering by with the most delicious looking cupcakes we had ever seen. “They’re downstairs,” someone told us. So down we scampered in search of cupcakes and instead, we found Sophie. I recognized her instantly and froze right there at the bottom of the stairs. It took her a second to see me, but when she did she smiled, and the people around her explained that they were just moving upstairs. I moved aside and let them walk up, and then quickly grabbed a cupcake before following them for the Q&A session.

Sophie was brilliant.  She was warm, poised, gracious, and reminded me just a bit of her protagonist Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood). I gathered the courage to ask her what her favorite Shopaholic book was (she said it was hard, like choosing a favorite child, and then said probably the first) and then made my way into line for a more personal encounter once the Q&A was over. My mom and I had originally been planning to bring my little sister Haley along, but last week she came down with pneumonia and as a result was unable to join us. Once I reached the front of the line I explained this to Sophie, along with the fact that she’s been spending her recovery time reading the Shopaholic books. Sophie happily agreed to record a quick message for her, so that night after the event I was able to surprise Haley with a clip of Sophie Kinsella wishing her well. Needless to say, she was thrilled. (I’ll try to get that video up on my Facebook page as soon as I can!)

I finally managed to stammer out how much of an inspiration Sophie is to me, and how, as I new author, I’ve been following religiously everything she’s doing. For all of the makeovers and fun of the evening, I’d have to say that that was my favorite part. Getting the opportunity to tell someone who has had such an amazing impact on your life what their work has done for you is an opportunity that we don’t often get. I’m not sure how eloquent I was at the time, with my nerves doing most of the talking, so I will say it again here:

Thank you so much, Sophie, for all of your work. You make me laugh, you get me inspired, and you’ve created a best friend for me that’s been at my side since early high school. Thank you for creating Becky, thank you for sharing her, and thank you for this latest installment of her exciting adventures. You’ve done amazing things, and continue to be a role model to me, and to so many others. Thank you.

— Amy

I’ll never forget this moment.

A friend of mine just came back from a year in Thailand. Upon returning she was, of course, asked by everyone she encountered, “How was it?”

“That’s so hard to answer,” she told me. It was, after all, a whole year full of change and transformation. How are you supposed to describe all of that in one word? The default reply is obviously, “It was good!” Or even, “It was really good!” But imagine if a whole year of your life was “really good”. Has it ever been as simple as that?

As an author, I run into a similar problem. What is your book about? I’ve heard again and again that you need to know the answer to this question, because otherwise the honest answer might be “nothing”. But I am inclined to disagree. Story starts from characters, and exploring these characters will frequently be what brings you your plot. When you’re in the early stages of a novel and people hear that you’re writing a book, feeling like you should know the answer to this question can be damaging. To be entirely honest, I didn’t have a good explanation for “Untold” until I wrote my query letter and sent it off to the contest.

Coming up with a synopsis took most of the afternoon. Condensing my plot was strangely satisfying, and the end result amazed me. The book I had written sounded like something I’d actually want o read! I had finally made it past stammering, “Oh, well, it’s, um, well, I don’t want to give anything away…” and had instead a smooth summary to share with people. Since then, I’ve been collecting a list of different length blurbs I can use to describe my book. The longest is still the query letter, the shortest, added only recently, is a tweet. Don’t feel bad about being proud of your story summary; people would much rather hear an intriguing description than a vague overview or overly long rant detailing every part of the book.

Once you feel comfortable with your story line, sit down and think it over. What are you going to say? What is your book about? What information can you give to pique the reader’s interest without giving anything away? I’ve found a helpful way to do this is to choose an excerpt from your novel, one you’d be happy to share, and see what plot lines and themes are running through that segment. Not only will that help you get an idea of what overtones are important to mention, but it may also help give you a solid place to start. Explain the scene, explain how the character got to that scene, and take it from there. When you do that, let me know. I’d love to hear what your novel is about.

— Amy

The hook is a perfect segment to put on a business card. Mine came in yesterday!

Hats, bags, coffee mugs… Who doesn’t like some good merch? I’m currently going door-to-door (or profile-to-profile as the case may be), to get some ideas for what you guys want to see on Untold merchandise. Right now I’m planning on keeping it pretty simple. I’m looking for your favorite quotes from the books so you can wear/carry/drink out of them as you please. My current top three are:

1) “My chocolate is so smooth that it stole your chocolate’s trophy wife!”

2) “Tonight is a night for fairy tales.”

3) “I thought you didn’t paint.”

If you have a favorite of these quotes or a different one that you absolutely love, comment below and tell me what it is. I’m trying to get some real interest going here, so I’d love to hear all of your thoughts. Other ideas I have for a later date include a mug with Beatrice’s logo, and making a design that reflects all the things painted under the bridge.

It’s funny how creativity doesn’t always flow evenly. While I’m having a blast sitting down and thinking of ways to market Untold my other writing feels like I’m walking through concrete. I’ve been good and managing to get at least some writing in every day, but I’m at a point where it’s feeling staggeringly difficult. I’ve been following a lot of writers on Twitter, and it’s been super helpful to read their inspirational words and own struggles with productivity. Of course, being on Twitter doesn’t really help me get anything written, but it does make me feel included.

I think the main problem that I’m running into is that I’m in the third quarter of this draft, and that’s put me in a bit of an awkward situation. I’m solidly done with setup and with getting the plot rolling, and I know where everyone is going to end up, but I haven’t yet figured out how to get them there. I’m very against filler, especially in a first draft, so my higher brain is telling me to just push forward with the story, and to stop worrying about pacing right now. First, because I’ve found pacing tends to largely sort itself out and second, because whatever isn’t self-sorted can be dealt with during the inevitable plethora of re-writes coming my way. I have to admit, I’m a little excited for that. Unfortunately, my lower brain is still squeaking, “but they’re not ready!” How can I plunge my characters into these climactic situations without the proper build up? They’ll be traumatized!

Still, I guess the only thing to do is keep pushing forward. There will be another book, I promise. It’s just being difficult right now. But I have a deadline, so even if it means I start putting in 20-hour work days during the last week of October to meet it, then that’s what I’ll do. Then, once this draft is done, I’ll be clear for NaNoWriMo! Nothing like a little vacation from writing with more writing.

— Amy

As some of you may have seen on my author page, I spent a good chunk of time earlier this week researching dresses. That’s right, I got to browse through all of my favorite clothing sites in search of evening gowns all in the name of my story. The result was my characters ended up impeccably well-dressed and in exactly the right clothes for the opera they are now attending. Which opera is it? That’s what I’m researching today…

Let’s glaze over the time lapse between choosing their dresses and choosing the opera and skip right to the point: research can be awesome. We all have those things that we love to search for online: fashion, food, tech, celebrity gossip, you name it. And when you’re browsing these things for a cause, it feels even more rewarding. Instead of pinning a vacation location you want to visit some day, you can pin the actual places your characters have been. I have boards of books my Untold cast have read, actors and actresses I could see portraying them, the places they spent their time, and even the clothes we can find in their closets. Keeping up with visual representations of the world you’re creating definitely helps make the whole thing more 3-dimensional, but it’s important not to get so caught up in the details and prep that you don’t actually end up writing.

And what about the research that you don’t want to do? I’ll admit, it’s hard to look up the things that don’t come naturally to me. While creating the EA I was taken out of my comfort zone time and time again as I searched for details that would bring the environmental group to life. Their missions, attitudes, and even locations around the world changed time and time again. At first, I would resist each change, thinking that what I had was good enough, and not wanting to swim out of my depth into the water of the unknown again. But as time progressed, I found myself becoming more and more interested in the group, and began to get my legs for the kind of work they were doing.

I remember reading a book last year that featured a character who spent his time drawing birds. The details of this man’s work were incredible. I heard about the way that a certain species’ wings would spread, which kind of birds I could find at a specific beach in Wales, and even about what their skeletons looked like. I was impressed with the author’s precision, so when I came to the interview in the back, I looked for the question that I was certain someone would ask: How do you know so much about drawing birds? Her answer: I took a class.

If you want your characters to be convincing, you have to put in the legwork. Do the research on what part of Canada is working to extract minerals in a clean and sustainable way, and pay attention to exactly how it’s done. Take classes on birds, talk to people who work in different industries, browse the internet for blogs that you would have never otherwise read. Do this even if it’s something that your protagonist doesn’t entirely understand. Knowledge is power, and I think every writer hopes that his or her story will make an impact. So go and develop your world, but be sure to include everything, not just the outfits that are the most fun to research. And remember, while it’s excellent to stockpile books and folders full of notes, you do, at some point, have to start writing.

— Amy

Katie’s Halloween Costume. Lots of fun finding this one 🙂

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what it will be like when my full-time job is writing. When I wake up in the morning and structure my day around making sure I get the plotting, drafting, and editing that that day requires down on the page. I can’t help but fantasize about that luxury; walks outside will be to help my creativity, and a change of scene (read: cozy local cafe) will give me color and characters for whatever scene I’m writing. Vacations will be research. Of course, in this fantasy world I’ve managed a perfect balance between work and all of my other life demands. So we won’t worry about that.

But in the meantime, let’s talk the world of The Day Job. And how pretty fantastic that is.

I like working with people. I like people.  I have fun calling up my boss and telling her what I accomplished that day, something you can’t do when writing. Even if I have a day where I absolutely love everything I’ve written, I still have to bite my tongue for at least a couple of months until I’m ready to show someone my draft. There isn’t the constant interplay between work created and feedback, and I miss that. My day job keeps my projects lively and fresh, as well as offering me new challenges and unusual ways to get out of my comfort zone.

In college I worked in customer service, a job which many wish could be mandatory for everyone. I’m inclined to agree, not only because it teaches you that the person that you’re talking to about your problem is likely not the one who caused it, but also because it subjects you to a constant and fascinating stream of people. I’ve sold sugar and flour to prize-winning bakers, ice cream to an ill-fated couple on a first date, already-eaten tomatoes to a bewildered mother with a sticky toddler, and a million other things part of the minutiae of daily life. Through my job, I got to hear a woman confess that she wasn’t going to tell her husband how much her new hair color had cost, a girl complain that an awkward social situation she was dealing with would never happen in Bali, and a police officer asked me who had last used the phone, because someone had just reported an arm sticking out of someone’s trunk. So, yes. If you get the chance to work in customer service, take it. At least for a bit. Go ahead and see where it takes you.

The expansion I am experiencing now is of a totally different sort. I’m down-and-dirty in the business world, learning the importance of internet security measures such as single sign-on, and the fact that there’s a whole industry of railcar leasing. I’m learning how to market, promote, and go to bat not only for our clients, but for myself as well. I’m looking, I’m listening, I’m taking notes, and maybe someday a little of it will come through in one of my books.

It may be a while before I “only write”, but I’m starting to think that that’s okay. For now, I’m happy to out in the real world so that the worlds I create can be full of just a little more color. Even if that color is a couple of young cashiers so desperate for fresh croissants that they’ll eat them right off the floor.

— Amy

My market days were pretty cool.

Wow. Things are really starting to happen!

My signing at The Toadstool Bookshop in Peterborough was over a week ago at this point (sorry for the missed week!), and since then I’ve been struggling to find time to tell you all how it was.

It was wonderful. I’d like to extend a HUGE thank-you to everyone who showed up, and especially to Exceptional Women in Publishing, who sponsored the event. You guys were attentive, engaging, and pretty much the best audience a girl could hope for. I loved sharing Untold with you, and hearing your comments and questions. One of the funnest parts of my job is being able to talk about my book with readers, both potential and otherwise. I love telling you about how Pandy is my favorite character, and although the book is largely a work of pure fiction there are scenes here and there where real life may have crept in. I love telling  you about my next couple book ideas, and I love knowing that at the end of these events there will be a few more people that will take Katie’s journey with her. So thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

For those who missed this one, my next signing is going to be at Barnes & Noble in Manchester on October 25th. I’ll be advertising the heck out of that pretty soon, so I won’t use up too much space on it  in this blog post. For those of you interested in events, I’d encourage you to like my author page. Not only will I keep you informed there of all the goings ons, but I’ll also be posting full albums of pictures from the events, and other treats and goodies throughout the week. I’m hoping to get a gallery up here soon, but things have been a bit too chaotic so far. I’m also working on a mailing list to keep all of you in the loop. I’m currently thinking of sending it once a month – if you’re interested, let me know if that sounds good! It will give me a chance to build up some content and you a chance to breathe in between updates.

I came away from the signing with a bunch of exciting new ideas to promote Untold, all of which I will be sharing in time, but right now I’m trying to get back into regular work on my next novel. Guys, I’ve been totally shameful with working on that. I know that “I’m too busy” is never an excuse when it comes to getting writing done, but lately it’s certainly felt that way. I did manage to get over 1,200 words written this weekend, which is good, but not nearly what I am aiming for. So I’ve set a deadline for myself: I need to finish this draft by November 1st. Deadlines are perfect for forcing me into gear. I’m also going to need a break in-between finishing this draft and starting the next, so if I finish in time for NaNoWriMo, I can use November as a break, and write up the first draft of another book that could, someday, go somewhere. I like stockpiling my ideas in the forms of first drafts. I’m not sure how many I’ll use, but I feel comforted knowing that they’re there.

Sorry for the update-heavy blog posts. I think I prefer the introspective ones myself, but sometimes life is more outward-facing than inward. I’m loving every  minute of it, and am having a blast with all of you who are with me for the ride.

— Amy