Hi!

I was tagged by Eva Ridenhour, another young author, in The Writing Process: Blog Tour. Basically, when you're tagged, you answer a few questions and then tag someone else and it goes on. So here are my answers to the questions:

What am I working on? 

I am working on the third book in The Matt and Teresa Mystery series. I don't have a title yet, although I've finished the first draft and have begun editing. It's set at a summer camp. While Matt faces a bully, Teresa tries to make friends with her bunk-mate. She accidentally catches a glimpse of some mysterious words in the girl's journal which sends the kids into another adventure.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

While a lot of mysteries just focus on the problem, I have tried to add a family layer to my books. The family dog, Rusty, who is a mischievous Golden Retriever, always plays a big role. Also, the main characters are homeschooled.

Why do I write what I do?

Before I began working on my books, I always loved mysteries. Although there were so many mysteries, there were only certain ones that I liked. Those were typically books that had more of a family angle to them and/or books that pets were involved with and I really wanted to write a book like that.

How does my writing process work?

I brainstorm a lot before I begin writing. Even though I always change something as I'm writing, I try to know where I'm going. I make notecards for every chapter and write a little bit about what will happen on each card. Then, I'll start writing. And I'll write, write, write until I finish my first draft. Then, I'll begin the editing. I will read through it a few times to myself; read it aloud to my writing group and I'll ask a couple people including my mom to read and make suggestions. That's basically my writing process.

Who’s Up NEXT Week (or so)?

Lauren-Kate Stewart

I hope you enjoyed this blog post.

Sydney

Hi!

I've had a couple people who have asked me to write about a topic on my blog. I can always use more ideas so if there's something you'd like to hear about, fill out the form in the blog post below this one or contact me. Today, I'm going to give some tips on beginning a book - basically where to start.

Before starting a book, you'll need to have thought out the following things.
 - What books do you like to read? 
 - Characters
 - Where the story takes place
 - What person do you want this story in? 1st person? 2nd person? Or 3rd person?
 - Plot

Before beginning the brainstorming process, you have to think about a few things. What books do you like to read? What are the characteristics of a great book? What types of books do you like reading? Whatever you just answered above is probably the type of book you want to write about. 

Now, think about characters. "Ask” your main character the following questions.

What is your name?
How old are you?
What do you look like? (Describe your hair, eyes, freckles? etc.)
Where do you live?
Who are your parents?
Do you have any siblings?
Where do you go to school?
Are you funny, serious etc.?
Are you big or small for your age?
Any unusual habits?
Are you shy or outgoing?
Do you have any special hobbies/activities/sports that you enjoy?
Who are your friends? How did you meet?
What are your interests and favorite things?
Do you have any hopes or dreams?
What would be a general description of yourself?
What’s your biggest secret?

Of course, you can ask any more questions that would help you but that is a list that will get you started if you are beginning the process of writing a book. I used Learn to Write the Novel Way when I first began my series and it was very helpful.

Where will your story take place? Some books have multiple settings and others just have one. The setting is always important to know about because of descriptions. Descriptions will bring readers into the story. So, think about the following questions for the setting of your book.

Where are the characters (at home, at the park, at the mall, at a friend’s house etc.)?
What do the characters see to the left of them? The right? Behind them? In front of them?
What stands out to them about where they are?
What do they feel? (Cold, hot, nervous, happy, sad etc.)
What do they hear? (the clock ticking, a car horn, etc.)
What do they smell? (cookies baking, the scent of tree bark, flowers, a garbage dump, smoke, etc.)
Any other descriptions.

What person will your story be in? It could be in first, second or third. First is good if you want to get inside a character's mind. You is used for books in second person and third person is from a narrator’s point of view. Choose whichever fits your story best.

The last thing is probably the largest. It’s the plot. I’m not going to go into it that much though because I did a blog post on it a few weeks ago called The Process of Writing a Book. But, you’ll need to know what type of book you want your story to be (an adventure novel, a fantasy, a mystery, a biography etc.) And you’ll also need to figure out what you want to happen. My tip for figuring that out is to use all the information you just got from your main character and apply it to the plot. If the main character really loves to play soccer, maybe the book could have some soccer scenes it it. If the main character loves pizza, there could be a restaurant scene, etc. Or if your main character really doesn't like traveling via airplane, the main character might have to go overseas.

If you start to have a brain freeze (it always happens) when you’re working on your plot, it’s good to talk it out. Find someone who’s interested in your writing and tell them about it. Even if they don’t give you a direct suggestion that you like, it might stimulate other ideas.

I would love to hear if anyone is working on a book or if you need someone to bounce your ideas off of, you can email me at writersydney@gmail.com or contact me through this website.

Sydney

Hi!

I haven't given a update on my writing recently so I thought I'd do that. Although I've been busy with schoolwork and other activities, I have had a little bit of time to work on editing my book. I'm about one third of the way through the first edit. After I finish that edit, I hope to work on my plot edit. Speaking of writing, my mom who's also my writing teacher is having a book launch on April 26th. She'll be reading from her new book, Motherhood: Lost and Found. There will also be a Visual Guide - a slideshow that I helped her with:-). 

I've been wondering if anyone has a topic or idea they'd like me to write about on this blog. It's hard to keep thinking of interesting things that everyone likes to read about. If you have an idea, please comment or fill out the form below.

I look forward to your comments and feedback.

Sydney

Hi!

Today I'm going to share a few of my top ten lists. 


The first is: Top ten things that go through my mind before I finish my first draft:

10. I like writing more than editing.

9. Just keep writing.

8. Why won't the printer work?

7. What should I write next?

6. Was this really what I was going to write about?

5. ______________ more chapters to go before editing.

4. I really like this chapter, but not that one.

3. What do I want to happen in this chapter?

2. I need to crank out another chapter today.

1. When will I  ever finish this?


The second is: Top ten things that I love about the whole writing process:

10. There's different stages to look forward to (brainstorming, writing, editing and marketing.)

9. I can use my dog (and cats) as models.

8. It's fun to share my writing in class with my friends and receive their feedback.