Jean Oram: Profiled

Hey, I got profiled!–in a good way. There were no hunky men at a police station trying to figure out the motivations and psychological rumblings behind the woman makes up the enigma Jean Oram. Nope, not this time.

Aspiring author and blogger, J. Lea Lopez of the blog Jello World asked me to fill out her writer’s questionnaire. Every month she shows off an aspiring darling, and as it happens, December is my month. Yes, you heard right. I am sharing words of wisdom, insider trading tips (okay, not really), what makes me tick (or write), as well as spilling the beans on my library boyfriend over on J. Lea’s blog. So pop on over, there’s free hot chocolate with marshmallows and maybe a little light entertainment.

P.S. Here’s a strange fact, speaking of Jello, I really suck at making Jello. Yes, it’s true. I don’t know why. I can make layered cakes and brownies and nanaimo bars (For my American readers, these are a three layer bar with chocolate, coconut and graham wafer crumbs for the bottom layer, thick pudding for middle, and chocolate for the top.) from scratch, but don’t ask me to make Jello (or Rice Krispie squares). There’s some weird force field around me and simple treats that most 5-year-olds can master.

See this? Yeah, I can’t do that. Now you know my deepest, darkest secrets and must share yours.

Like Phone Tag, Only More Fun

There’s something going around the Internet tubes. And no, it’s not a virus… it’s a game called (wait for it) Blog Tag! Yes! You can now play tag while sitting, and you won’t even spill your coffee. Does it get any better? (The correct answer is ‘no.’)

I have to admit, I was blindsided. Calista Taylor snuck up on me while I was drinking a chai latte with friends and tagged me. I just about spilled my chai, I was so surprised. I didn’t even know I was playing! (Aren’t those the best kind of games?)

So, having been tagged, I get to answer some writing questions that you didn’t even realize you wanted answers to. There are a lot of them, you might want to take a bathroom break first.

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1)What’s the last thing you wrote? What’s the first thing you wrote that you still have?

Well, I just wrote this. Oh! You mean… Okay, um, the last thing I wrote was part of a work in progress–that was

yesterday. The first thing I wrote that I still have is probably some stories in my grade one notebook.

2) Write poetry?

On occasion, if a poem comes to me.

3) Angsty poetry?

When I was a teenager, but I haven’t been one in awhile, so, no.

4) Favourite genre of writing?

Romance is fun because you get to toy with character’s emotions and bring them down and then ‘wham,’ give them the greastest gift of all–love. Aw. I dapple with other genres, but romance is high-speed fun with the top rolled down.

5) Most annoying character you’ve ever created?

Well, there’s a guy character who always wore his shoes in the house and left mud on his friend’s coffee table. That annoyed the character. I’m not sure about reader’s though. I try not to annoy the reader.

6) Best plot you’ve ever created?

I think I might be creating it in my work in progress, but I’m not sure. It’s too soon to tell.

7) Coolest plot twist you’ve ever created?

Uh… huh. Hmmm… ummmm. I dunno. It’s hard to answer these questions because it’s hard to pull it out of your own writing, because it just is. Either that, or I’ve never written a cool plot twist, in which case, that’s just sad and depressing and I thank you for bringing me down.

8 ) How often do you get writer’s block?

Never. There are times when I have to step back, go for a walk and let the next scene or move come to me.

9) Write fan fiction?

Nope. I’m not avid about a show or series enough to feel the desire to pen myself some fan fiction.

10) Do you type or write by hand?

I can type faster than I can write now, so brainstorming and here-and-there notes are by hand, the rest is a la computer.

11) Do you save everything you write?

Yeah, pretty much. I’m a natural packrat.

12) Do you ever go back to an idea after you’ve abandoned it?

Define abandon. These are my kids, they might get neglected, but never truly abandoned.

13) What’s your favourite thing you’ve ever written?

That would be The 15 Date Rule. Not because it is the best, but because it was the most fun to write.

14) What’s everyone else’s favourite story you’ve written?

What? It isn’t The 15 Date Rule? Come on! Seriously though, people seem to love Caviar and Lemon Drops. It is pretty good, but it wasn’t quite as much fun to write as 15DR. (It came after 15DR and plotting it, etc, wasn’t as ridden with challenges to keep me on my toes.)

15) Ever written romance or angsty teen drama?

Romance, yes. Teen drama, no.

16) What’s your favourite setting for your characters?

Honestly, I forget about setting a lot of the time. I’m more concerned with the mood, emotion, motivations, etc. I have to remind myself to add setting into each scene.

17) How many writing projects are you working on right now?

Of my own–just one. It’s a first draft, so everything else of mine gets to hang back for a bit. I am doing some editing work for other people’s projects. (You can contract me to edit, coach, critique, and more! I do queries, synopses, manuscripts, and proposals.)

18) Have you ever won an award for your writing?

Nope. I placed in a contest, but I’m not much of a contest hound. I won first in a province-wide art contest once, does
that count? No, no it doesn’t. I just wanted to feel special.

19) What are your five favourite words?

Leave me alone, I’m writing.

Not really–I don’t think I’ve ever said that. How about ‘pristine’. That’s a good word. Now, I need four more…

20) What character have you created that is most like yourself?

They all have pieces of me.

21) Where do you get your ideas for your characters?

They just show up, ready to kick a$$ (or whatever they are there to do).

22) Do you ever write based on your dreams?

Nope.

23) Do you favour happy endings?

Sure. If it fits the story. It has to be satisfying for the audience, that’s the number one requirement.

24) Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?

Sorta. I’ll backtrack to fix spelling. Mostly, it’s full steam ahead in the first draft. My first concern is the get the idea down before it disappears. I can make it flow or grammatically correct on the second pass.

25) Does music help you write?

It depends. Sometimes music interrupts, which is really annoying.

26) Quote something you’ve written. Whatever pops in your head.

“Cynthia tossed her wavy hair, leaving it tousled, sexy, and perfect in a way that made Beth think of champagne and movie stars.” I wrote that line in one of my edits of Caviar and Lemon Drops and then forgot about it. I reread it months later and got all pissed off. I thought someone had been messing with my manuscript. But the worst part was that they were better than I was. It was an interesting moment when I figured out I wrote it.

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That’s it. You made it to the end. I hope I didn’t bore you too much.

Now… I get to tag another three writers!

I’m going to chase after Yvonne Osborne, snag TK Richardson, and grab J. Lea. Lopez because she posted an interview the other day with moi and some of these questions weren’t covered in her interview with herself back in June.

Hmmm… I’m noticing a trend here… I’ve been a guest on all three of these blogs! It’s tag nepotism at its best. Love it!

A Book Discussion About ‘The Giver’

A few days ago, Yvonne Osborne (aspiring writer) posed a list of questions to Jemi Fraser (aspiring writer and teacher) and me about Lois Lowry’s young adult book The Giver. Yvonne has posted our replies to her thought-provoking questions on her blog, The Organic Writer. I recommend you stop by her blog to read the discussion, say hello, and weigh in on what you think about The Giver. If you haven’t read The Giver, our discussion just might prod you to do so.

A bit of background on The Giver (taken from my book review):

This is a soft science fiction young adult novel that has been challenged and/or banned in schools due to some of its content. Jonas, a 12-year-old living in a Utopian society, is chosen to become a receiver of memories. In the past, Jonas’ community decided to go to ’sameness’ and to remove emotion and emotional memories from their lives in order to live pain-free. Naturally, that comes at a cost. As Jonas learns more about his new job (he accepts the memories of the past that include war, hunger, and much, much more in order to serve as an adviser to the community) the more the illusion of innocence slips from the way he views his world, separating him from his friends.

Fleshing Out the Skeleton

Last week was a decent week of writing. I got the first draft done on my work in progress. Although, in reality, it is more of a skeleton than a true first draft. Somehow, I reached ‘the end’ at 30,000 words when usually my first draft ends up at around 110,000 words and I have to go back and tighten like crazy. However, this story has demanded to be written in a different way, with only the bones showing up to be put down in the first draft. Therefore, I must now go back and flesh it all out. I need to add tendons, then layer in some muscle. Then fat and flesh as well as a few veins. I think a lot of the story’s arteries are already in there, even though I only have a skeleton!

What I’m going to be doing in my next draft is layering in character motivations, making connections between my characters as well as ensuring they all have their own little plot arcs and conflicts. (Just the major guys get plot arcs though.)

Here are some questions I will be asking myself as I plan out the next attack:

* What does this character want? What stands in their way? What helps them?

* How does this character’s desires get in the way or help other characters with what they want?

* What kind of relationship between character X and character Y will result in the most interesting events, the most conflict, or the most conflict resolution? i.e. How will these secondary characters cause things to happen in the story?

* How can minor characters assist in developing plot points to help further the story question? How can these character’s help reveal the story’s theme or emotional message?

I’ve got some big questions for the next round of story layering and some major brainstorming to do. Now if I can just find a few hours of head space, I’ll be set.

Do you need quiet time to brainstorm? Or are interruptions okay?

A Writers Chit-Chat…Tonight!

Hey, are you a writer? Do you want to chat with other writers about writing, life, while enjoying some virtual eggnog and rum?

You do? Excellent. Join me tonight on AgentQuery.com in the open chatroom. I’ll be bringing eggnog and rum, a few munchies, and we’ll be discussing backstory and show vs. tell for about an hour and a half. (Or until people get too tired and sneak off to bed.)

Who: You and other writers.

What: We will discuss backstory and showing vs. telling. I can also guarantee that there will be general schmoozing and goofball antics to keep you entertained.

Where: In the open chat room on AgentQuery.com.

When: At 9:30 pm Eastern. On the left coast, that would be 6:30 pm. Tonight. (It’s okay to drop in late. We’ll save you some eggnog.)

Why: Because sometimes writing can be lonely and there is nothing like a real-time discussion to figure things out, share advice and tips and general support.

How: You will need to be an AQ member (that’s free) and log in and follow this chat room link. Once inside the chat room, click in your text box and begin typing. To send a message, hit ‘enter’ on your keyboard. Or, you can lurk, too. We don’t mind. BigBlackCat has agreed to create and post some of the transcripts from the chat on AQ by tomorrow, so if you miss out, you can check those out (you don’t need to be a member to view those). There is more discussion about the chat here.

I’ll be serving as tonight’s moderator. So, if you have any questions, let me know!