The Divining Wand

Once again, whether it’s to warm-up, jumpstart, or let their imaginations wander, many of our authors/friends use a writing exercise. Being interested in what works for them, The Divining Wand asked: What have been some of the best writing exercises you’ve used in your writing process?

The following replies lead off with Eleanor Brown, 2011 Class Member of The Debutante Ball:

Eleanor Brown (The Weird Sisters coming February 17, 2011):

“I have a few character interviews, gleaned from books and workshops I’ve taken over time that generally prove useful to me, but the most important question in them is asking my characters, “What do you want?” The follow-up is then, “Well, what’s stopping you?”. With those two questions, I generally get a good idea of who the character is at her core and what kind of plot points are going to come along to disrupt her journey.”

Eileen Cook (Unpredictable, What Would Emma Do? YA, Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood YA, The Education of Hailey Kendrick YA coming January 4, 2011, and Fourth Grade Fairy ages 9 – 11 coming April 19, 2011):

“One of the best exercises I’ve done is to take a book I really liked and for each chapter made a note with information such as:
- what characters are in this scene
- what is the conflict in the scene
- what happens in the scene/ what is the purpose of this chapter

It is interesting to see how another author structures a book, the choices they make and how that shapes the narrative. This also works if you do it with a book you really hated. It helps me sort out what exactly didn’t work for me.”

Jael McHenry (The Kitchen Daughter coming April 12, 2011):

“At last year’s The Muse and the Marketplace conference in Boston, Anita Shreve walked us through a set of exercises that I’ve found very handy ever since. You take a scene you’re not happy with and rewrite it in several different ways. If it’s in the past tense, make it present. If it’s in third person, make it first. If the word choice is flowery and elegant, make it sharp and terse. I find the shift shakes something loose. You may or may not end up with text you can “‘use.’” in the book, but it’s a great way to break a stuck scene open.”

Randy Susan Meyers (The Murderer’s Daughters):

“While I’ve not used writing exercises, when I am in the midst of a novel draft, one of the methods that suits me well for starting each day’s writing is to begin each day by smoothing over the previous days work. While I don’t consider this rewriting in any major way, it’s a method for reintegrating myself back into the world of my story and also a minor tool for revision.”

Wendy Tokunaga (Midori By Moonlight, Love in Translation):

“I like to talk out the storyline/plot of my novel-in-progress to a friend, explaining the motivations of the characters and what happens next. I have her ask questions when things don’t make sense or aren’t clear and I find this very helpful. And sometimes she comes up with suggestions I’ve never thought of. And we usually do this while taking a walk so this exercise also involves exercise. ”

Also there’s Wendy’s Good News – “I’ve been having a blast teaching an online course for the Writer’s Online Studio at Stanford University’s Continuing Studies called, So Not Chick Lit: Writing Novels About Women’s Lives, which filled up quickly. And I just found out that I’ll be teaching this course again in the Spring Quarter, which starts April 4. Since it’s online anyone anywhere in the world can take this class. If you want to plan ahead, start checking this website early next year:

“And if you’re interested, I did a recent blog post on why Mad Men inspires me as a novelist.”

To be continued….

Announcement: The winners of The Love Goddess’ Cooking School by Melissa Senate are Suzanne and Dee. Congratulations!

Please email diviningwand (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address and I’ll pre-order your book, releasing and shipping on Tuesday .

Until recently an author’s description was the only way a reader could visualize a main character or novel’s setting. But — through the talented use of video and high tech graphics — book trailers and even book covers are tempting us with a novel’s storyline. The following are a mere handful of current and forthcoming books worthy of your attention.

Kate Ledger has chosen to “show and tell” more of her debut novel, Remedies, in a lovely, narrated Book Trailer. Please take a look.

Eileen Cook (Unpredictable, What Would Emma Do? YA, Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood YA, The Education of Hailey Kendrick YA coming January 4, 2011, and Fourth Grade Fairy ages 9 – 11 coming April 19, 2011) continues with Lauren Wood’s advice videos the can be viewed here. And who will burst Hailey Kendrick’s bubble on its release date — January 4, 2011?

Kim Stagliano will be the first 2011 class member of The Debutante Ball to be presented to the reading public on November 1, 2010 when her memoir, All I Can Handle: I’m No Mother Teresa: A Life Raising Three Daughters with Autism, debuts.

Melanie Benjamin’s historical fiction debut, Alice I Have Been, will be released in paperback on December 28, 2010.

Debutante Eleanor Brown takes her turn at bowing, then dancing around the ballroom floor with her first novel, The Weird Sisters, debuting on February 17, 2011.

A warm welcome to The Divining Wand’s most recent addition/author-to-be Jael McHenry who debuts with The Kitchen Daughter on April 12, 2011.

Debutante Elise Allen presents her first solo (more about that later) YA novel, Populazzi, in spring/summer 2011.

And yes that’s a mere handful of what’s out there now and what awaits.

Meg Waite Clayton’s The Wednesday Sisters, The Four Ms. Bradwells coming March 22, 2011) announces:

“I’m doing a special giveaway for readers and book bloggers this week: readers can win a copy of Indie Next selection, Barnes & Noble Discover pick, and Library Journal “best books of the year” The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession. Bloggers can win TWO copies: one to read and one to giveaway on their own blog. (Details can be found here).”

Announcement: The winners of Karen McQuestion’s A Scattered Life are Jonita and Suzanne. Congratulations!

Please email diviningwand (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address and your book will be sent out promptly.

With Labor Day only a weekend away, it’s a time for change and new beginnings. During the summer TDW welcomed new authors to the site and, once again, I’m proud to announce the addition of the following four writers soon be seen on these pages:

~Melissa Senate (The Mosts YA, The Secret of Joy, the rest in Bibliography, and The Love Goddess’ Cooking School coming October 26, 2010)

~Stacey Ballis (The Spinster Sisters, Room for Improvement, the rest in Bibliography, and Good Enough to Eat coming September 7, 2010)

~Karen McQuestion (A Scattered Life is the first self-published Kindle book to be optioned for film. Now, in response to reader enthusiasm, the novel has been published in paperback by AmazonEncore, Amazon’s new publishing division.)

~Richard Hine (Russell Wiley Is Out to Lunch coming October 12, 2010)

Also in a state of change is The Debutante Ball with their 2011 Season beginning this Monday, August 30, 2010. In a recent post, “bowing out” Debutante Alicia Bessette (Simply from Scratch that People magazine described as “tasty” in the Great Reads section of 8/14 issue) offered a brief glimpse of the five new Debs:

“Fans of the Debutante Ball are in for a phenomenal treat this upcoming year. Here’s a sneak peek at the awesome books penned by our five new dancin’ queens:

Eleanor Brown is the author of The Weird Sisters, the story of three adult sisters who return home to the small college town where they grew up, partly because their mother is ill, but mostly because their lives are collapsing and they don’t know where to go next.

Elise Allen is the author of a novel for young adults, Populazzi, a coming-of-age comedy of errors about a girl’s quest to become popular.

Kim Stagliano’s memoir, All I Can Handle, takes the reader from her wedding day to the present, chronicling what it was like to have one, then two, then three girls with autism while she and her husband weathered job losses and financial woes.

Sarah Jio’s novel, The Waters of March, takes place in two time periods (present and 1943), and was inspired by her childhood on and near Bainbridge Island, Washington. It’s the story of a disillusioned, divorced writer who discovers a diary that sends her on a journey of healing and discovery.

The first of Tawna Fenske’s three romantic comedies, Making Waves, concerns a revenge-fueled diamond heist in the Caribbean, with a crew more suited to the boardroom than the poop deck, and a quirky blond stowaway who’s got a few big secrets.”

Please join them and take a whirl around the ballroom floor, remember pearls and gloves are not required!

Announcement: The winners of Kate Ledger’s “signed” copies of Remedies are Jennifer Sharp and Mary Quackenbush. Congratulations!

Please email diviningwand (at) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address and Kate will send out your book as soon as possible.