Starting Over

It is never fun to start from the beginning when you thought you were finished with something. But sometimes it is necessary. That is where I am right now. I finished a full draft of my novel Room for Two last year, but there were a few major problems in the plot and it turns out that editing just wasn't cutting it. So I broke down and finally did a full chapter by chapter outline.

And here I am. Staring at a blank file. Ready to rewrite this novel from scratch. 

It is a little nerve wracking. I am, however, looking forward to the challenge. A second write is always refreshing in the fact that I know my characters so much better than I did the first time through. It is amazing how much easier Elle's voice shines through. It is also terrifying because I can't help but think: Is this really the last time I am going to have to rewrite this book?

This is the second time I have chosen to rewrite an entire book from scratch. I claim it is because I am a discovery writer, and in some ways I am, but after outlining this time around I finally see the benefits of nailing down some key points before you start writing with just an idea in mind. Still you gotta do what works for you.

So how about it? Are you an outliner or a write by the seat of your pants type? Whatever gets those words down on paper--best of luck!

Write On!

Sabine

Throw Back Thursday

Things have been a little busy here in Berlinland, but I have not forgotten my blog. Since Throwback Thursday is such a hit on FaceBook I thought I'd give it a try and post an old article I wrote for Eschler Editing. If you like it you can go see more great articles here.

I especially love that this talks about how Caroline should end up with Klaus. Funny how time can change everything. She should totally get together with Stefan! (I'm like 5 episodes behind this season, so if she does--don't spoil it for me!)

Team, Who Cares?

Love Triangles in YA Fiction

by Sabine Berlin

  

Bella had her Edward … and Jacob? Katniss had her Peeta … and Gale? Elana had her Stefan … and Damon? Love triangles are everywhere in YA fiction, but I’ve recently seen tweets and comments that they are done. I’m not sure I completely agree with that. Teenage girls love a good love triangle. They like picking a team and arguing it with their friends at lunch, over Facebook, on the way to soccer practice. Unfortunately, teenage girls are not the ones who will be publishing your book. Agents and editors are tired of “the same old girl can choose between two hot, perfect guys and what will she do?” story. So where does that leave you? Before you cross out one of your characters to avoid a love triangle, take a step back and see what works—and what doesn’t.

The Don’ts

1. Don’t let your protagonist be a tease. Yes, there might be more than one guy who’s right for her. But don’t have her kissing boy A in one scene and then kissing boy B in the next. All this does is make us lose respect for the main character. So she has a crush on two guys. So she needs to spend time with each of them to sort out her feelings. Fine. But there are ways of realizing which is the right guy that don’t involve playing back-to-back games of tonsil hockey.
2. Don’t let her fall for the bad boy just because he’s hot. There isn’t a whole lot better than a hot bad boy. But that doesn’t mean your character should be with a bad boy, no matter how much you want her to. With that being said, if you give your bad boy a great story line, all of a sudden he isn’t just hot—he’s misunderstood. So if you’re determined that your girl needs to fall for the bad biker boy because he’s just too beautiful for words, then at least give him a personality to match.
3. Don’t make it too easy to predict who she’ll be with. Why is it that there’s always a great guy who loves her until super-hot (insert the paranormal creature of your desire here) boy comes along and sweeps her off her feet? And why is it that even though he’s a cocky pain in the neck, he’s so super-hot that of course she’ll pick him? Yeah, don’t do that.
4. Don’t make the plot of the book be about a love triangle. Make sure your book has real conflict in it that isn’t just about who the girl will pick. Give us a plot. Give us real conflict. And then if you can use that conflict to further the intensity of your love triangle, great—but don’t use your love triangle to further the intensity of your plot.

The Do’s

1. Do give your guys decent backstories. If you’re going to have your girl be wishy-washy in trying to decide who to love, make sure that there’s a compelling reason for her to love each guy beyond the fact that one or both of them is super-hot. I can’t think of a single Pride and Prejudice adaptation where I started watching and thought Mr. Darcy was hot, but by the end of each one I am completely smitten—and not just because of the accent! We love Mr. Darcy because he isn’t just pretty and rich. He is human. He makes mistakes, he is proud, he is a little bit of a snob, but in the end he has reasons for why he acts the way he does. Mr. Darcy has personality.
2. Do understand the difference between being in love and being in attraction. Attraction in this case goes even deeper than looks. Your MC (main character) can find herself attracted to more than one guy. Love requires sacrifice; it requires putting the other person ahead of you no matter the cost. Love isn’t romantic getaways and moonlit walks on the beach; it is soul searching, heart giving, for better or worse, never ending. Your teen MC might not know that at the start, but by the end of the book she’d better have it figured out.
3. Do let Guy B find his own set of happiness. If you are going to have a love triangle where two guys are both perfect, the least you can do is make sure they both are happy. Sure, there are other ways you can deal with Guy B. You can kill him off, turn him into a jerk, or worse, turn him into an evil jerk. But if you’re going to spend the series building up both guys, then why not let them both be alive and well at the end?
4. Do let your guys respect one another on some level. Love triangles where the guys hate each other are too cliché. If your MC really respects both guys and they really hate each other, doesn’t that tip her off that one or both of them are really jerks? In that case, she shouldn’t be with either of them. But what if they respect each other—maybe are even friends? All of a sudden the reader isn’t certain which way she wants it to go.

Good, unique love triangles aren’t going anywhere—not any time soon—and that’s fine with me. I love debating every week whether Elena should be with Damon or Stefan. (We all know Caroline should be with Klaus, so there’s really no love triangle there.) If you’re going to write a love triangle, be unique, make us care, and give us a story that would still be completely worth reading—even if there was no love triangle.

Book Review: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

This is the third and final book in the Anna and the French Kiss series. The main characters are Isla and Josh who were both featured in the first book.

Isla and Josh have a lot in common. They both attend The American School in Paris, they both are New Yorkers, they both love comics, and it turns out they both have had a secret crush on each other for the past four years. Unfortunately, Josh has been in a relationship for most of that time and so Isla has had to admire from afar, but when she sees him sitting inside Kismet over summer vacation, finally girlfriendless, she figures this is her chance--or actually the pain meds from having her wisdom teeth pulled make her loopy enough to plop down at his table and strike up a conversation.

And so begins a whirlwind romance that takes us from New York to Paris to Barcelona and back.

I liked this book, but not as much as I liked the other two. One thing Stephanie Perkins is awesome at is description. I could totally picture Cafe Kismet in New York, the treehouse in Paris, and the steets of Barcelona--and I want to go to each of those places now!

The biggest downfall for this book was that there really wasn't much of a plot. Yes, it is a romance and we get that, but the other two books felt like they had real stories, and this one didn't. I liked Josh, but there wasn't nearly enough of him. And yes, this is Isla's story, but to be honest, I didn't really care for her. Not the way I found myself rooting for Anna and Lola in the previous books. When the book ended I really had no idea what Josh saw in her.

Still the other two are must reads, so if you are like me and have to finish the trilogy you will probably read this one and just know while it isn't all that,
it isn't all bad. Hey, it is definitely better than Mockingjay was so at least you won't want to be hitting your head on a brick wall when you finish it!

The Long and Short of It!

Is this the year you are looking to write that short story, novella, or novel? I am usually too long winded to get out a short story. In fact, I have only written a few short stories and one novella and they were for college classes. But this year that is going to change. The shorts are making a comeback and if you want to be part of it then I have a new article up on the Eschler Site that talks about short stories and novellas in the marketplace. It also links to a few really great stories to read so make sure to head on over and check it out.

Write On!

Sabine

Healthy 2015!

Well 2014 came and went. My year pretty much consisted of work, kids, and soccer. A few highlights were getting to teach an editing panel at Write Here in Ephraim, two amazing Critiki Retreatis, taking my 9 year old to Germany, and Thanksgiving in San Diego with the family. The not so great part of the year started about March and finally had its blowup in September with a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia.

I've dealt with chronic pain for a few years now so that was really no big deal. Over the past few years I have been diagnosed with IBS, Restless Leg Syndrome, Chostocondritis, and just general aches and pains with no good reason for them. In March I added Chronic Fatigue to that list. It increased slowly, not to the point that I was too worried until August. By that time I also got hit with what is called brain fog. I couldn't concentrate on anything and was tired all the time. I figured I was just overworked and was super excited to go spend nine days in Germany with my little bear.

The trip started out great. We flew into Munich (by way of Iceland!) and spent a day there, saw Dinkelsbuhl and Rottenburg, then on to Lubben to visit family. We went to Berlin (of course) and shopped, and I visited a bunch of places that I plan to use in the new book I am outlining, which right now just has a working title of Germany With Love (yes, I listen to Alphaville way too much, it was almost going to be titled Summer in Berlin!). The night we got back to Lubben from a full day in Berlin I had this throbbing pain in my chest. Again, I wrote it off as a lot of walking and carrying shopping bags.

The pain persisted the last three days of my trip and the flight home about killed me (I thought it was because my bags were overstuffed with chocolate). The day after I got home I woke up and was sure I was having a heart attack. A trip to the doctors and several blood tests and EKGs later, they said it was just an extreme case of Chostocondritis (inflamed rib cage) and gave me some pain pills. Two weeks later the pain was not getting better, the brain fog came back in full swing, and I just knew I wasn't feeling right. So I got in with my actual doctor and we had a good long talk. He asked a lot of questions, looked over my medical history, and then started poking me in the strangest places. 

These turned out to be Fibromyalgia pressure points, and man did it feel like I was being tortured when he barely touched them. So I got a diagnosis, got a rude awakening that I could no longer keep going at the neck breaking pace I was accustomed to, and got on some meds to help things out. That was in September. Since then I have learned a lot. I got to talk to an old friend from high school who suffers from this and learned a ton from her. (Thanks Jeanette). I have slowly started to overcome my brain fog and fatigue. I have realized that I get every bug there is and am working to build up my immune system to combat that. 

2015 is going to be the year I take my health back. I want to write, I want to edit, I want to read, but none of those are possible if I can't even get out of bed. So those will be my rewards instead of my goals. The more I regain my health with diet, exercise, and knowledge, the more I will be able to do the things I love.

So yeah, I plan to finish Room for Two, I plan to outline and draft Germany with Love, I hope to work on expanding The King's Brother--and I want to do all of these things because that will mean I am healthy enough to do them. 

Here is to a Healthy 2015--for me and for you. I wish you the best and hope to be on here a lot more with writing updates, editing tips, and so much more!

Write On!

Sabine

What’s Your Excuse?

I love to write. I really do. When I am doing it I’m happier. So what happened this week? I could blame it on writer’s block--except last week my writing group gave me some brilliant ideas so that is no good at least until this scene is written. I could blame it on not having time, which would be a lot more realistic. I mean this is my typical day: wake up, make lunches, get the kids going, get myself ready for the day, take kids to school, go to work, lunch is spent going to my class, or running errands, work, pick up kids or take kids to soccer, get home around 7, make dinner, chores, help kids with their homework, get kids to bed, spend some time with my husband, edit, go to sleep around midnight. There, it is therapeutic to write it down (because as you know, I love to write). I am busy, really busy. It's a valid excuse--except it isn't really because lots of writers are busy, and they still write.

And so the question no longer is what’s my excuse? I could come up with those all day long. The question needs to be: How much do you want this? Do I WANT to write? Yes. Do I HATE paying the fee for not writing? Yes. (I owe 2$ to my writer’s group for this week, ouch!) Do I LOVE my story? Yes. Can I get up 30 minutes earlier? Err...okay there it is. This is my excuse. I like my sleep. I like my 8 hours. I want my 8 hours. And so a new question comes into play. Which do I want more? I wish I could say I was willing to set the alarm for 30 minutes earlier each day. Maybe someday I will.

Until that day--15 minutes earlier actually sounds doable. If you think you could wake up 15 minutes earlier to get some writing into your busy day, join me--not really I’ll be in my PJ’s and I won’t have brushed my teeth yet!--but in spirit. It's always easier to do something if you have a friend. So if you need that extra push, know that you are not alone. And hey, when you are ready for that 30 minute push--go ahead and shove me! And Happy Valentine’s Day!

Write On!

38 Things I want to do while I’m 38

Happy Groundhog Day! I’ve always had a special spot in my heart for good old Punxsutawney Phil, myself being an honorary groundhog, although I do wish he’d see his shadow a whole lot less often! I also envy Phil. Did you know that every Summer he gets a sip of a magic potion that extends his life by seven years? Can you imagine how much you could get done in your life if you had an extra seven years for every year you live? No wonder he can hibernate all winter long. I on the other hand don’t have that luxury and only have so much time to cross things off my bucket list. And so in honor of my lovely 38th, here are 38 things that I want to accomplish this year! Some are easy, some are harder, and some may be downright impossible, but maybe a little of Phil’s magic will rub off on me and when I blow out the candles these wishes will come true.

1. A Family Vacation. I don’t care where or how long, even if it is just a three day weekend, but I want a true family vacation. One where Dustin doesn't get a million phone calls from work, and I don’t have an edit project that I just have to get finished, and the only soccer playing involved is if we choose to play it together as a family.

2. Finish Room for Two. I want this book to be all the way done--with edits--and a ready to send off to agents. Sky only took me six years to get to that point (I’m there, right? But what if I just changed this one line? Kidding.) If I finish Room this year it will have taken me three years from first writing down the idea until I finished it. That is half the time. SO does that mean the next book will only take me a year and a half? Heck, at this rate it won’t be long until I’m writing a book a month :).

3. Go to Germany with Bear. He’s going. Oma already has his ticket. I just need to figure out how to arrange work and life so I can go also. I really want to stand at Brandenburger Tor when my little guy gets to see our city (Berlin) for the first time, just like I got to do with the girls. Plus, I’m almost out of Badedas so I sort of have to go restock.

4. Read for Fun. I miss just reading for fun. Not having to tear a book apart to figure out what it did right or wrong. Just curling up on the couch with Hertha lying on my feet and staying up until three in the morning because I couldn’t put it down. This year I am going to allow myself to just read for fun.

5. Reread Son of the Shadows. That is my all time favorite book. I love that book and yet I have not read it for years. Why? Because my to read list on Goodreads keeps growing, and I don’t have time to reread books, but I love this book so so so so so much. So why shouldn’t I reread it?

6. Make Stuffed Mushrooms. I love stuffed mushrooms, and I always think I’m going to make them. I even buy the ingredients and then I never do. But this year, just once, I am going to make myself stuffed mushrooms--and if my kids are nice I may even share with them.

7. Read Stephen King’s On Writing. I know, gasp, shock, horror. How can I even say I’m a writer and not have read THIS book? So I guess this is the year I become a real writer :).

8. Attend the First of hopefully many Critiki Retreati. I have the most awesome writer’s group in the world. And this year I get to spend a whole weekend with them writing, brainstorming, eating, and watching chick flicks. It is going to rock!

9. Say Goodbye to My Dear Friend Dr. Pepper. He’s got me through a lot of tough times, but in the end I have to accept the fact that no matter how much I love him, he’s just no good for me. So this is the end.

10. Get Past Level 12 on Tetris! I have this sick sick addiction to this game, and I swear level 12 is going to kill me faster than Dr. Pepper ever would have, but I am going to do this!

11. Take a Breath Before I Say Anything to My Kids When I Find Myself in Frustrated Mode. Wow, that’s a long and lofty goal for me. During that breath I’m going to remember how much I love them. How little and precious they still are (even if one of them is a teenager). I’m going to take a breath, and then I’m going to tell them I love them.

12. Read to My Kids More. Bear and I have been reading The Phantom Tollbooth and it has been so much fun. I love the time I get to spend with him when we read. I want that time with each of my kids.

13. Go on a lot More Dates with My Husband. I love him. I love being with him. He’s my best friend, and we hang out a lot. But I want to go on real dates. Dinner and a movie, a walk in the park--I love him too much to make him take me dancing--but other there are a billion other places where we can go and just talk and be together. Why is it always so hard to find time to just date?

14. Say Goodbye to 38 Pounds of Me. Saying goodbye to the Dr. should help me with this. I like myself, but right now there is just a little too much to like. I think I’ll like myself better if I let part of me go.

15. Do a Load of Laundry Every Day. I’m not just going to leave it all for one crazy day a week. In essence, I’m going to keep on top of the laundry. There will be socks in the drawers if it is the last thing I do! And I mean it this time, even more than beating level 12 of Tetris!

16. Watch a Sunset. One of my favorite memories was standing on a bridge in Iloilo, Philippines and watching the gigantic sun slowly sink into the ocean. I never get the chance to just sit and watch an entire sun set. I’m alway busy racing here and there, catching only glimpses of them. But this year I’m going to pull out a chair in the backyard and watch the sun sink behind the mountains.

17. Learn a New Word Everyday. Maybe I should get me one of those word of the day calendars, but even without it, by the time I turn 39 I will know 365 more words than I did today.

18. Learn 5 New German Words a Day. I have to do more of them because there are so many more I need to learn.

19. Send out 100 Query Letters. Or as many as I need until I get an agent. I don’t love rejection, and I hate all the work of researching agents just to get told. No. No. No. I sort of gave up on Sky early on in the submission process, and I think my characters must hate me for it. This year I’m not giving up on Room. It deserves a home, and I am going to find it one.

20. Take Time Just For Me. Take time to reflect on the beauty of the world, on all of my blessings, and on all that I can become. I won’t worry about schedules, and work, and dinner, and dishes. I’ll just find myself.

21. Praise Someone Everyday. I have a great family support system, and I don’t tell them enough how awesome they all are. This year I will.

22. Write the First Novel Length Draft of The King’s Brother. Two books in one year? Is that a little lofty for me? Maybe, but I’m not getting any younger (obviously :))

23. Wash my face morning and night. I am so bad about washing my face at night. I know it’s important, but at the end of the day, I’m done. I just want to go to sleep. I’ve been lucky my skin has stayed as nice as it has. But I better kick it in gear now before my age gets a hold of me.

24. Floss. Yep. I’m not great at this either, but why not? I brush my teeth all the time, so why can’t I remember to floss all the time? It should be easy. It hasn’t been, but I’m going to add it to the list just for that reason. It’s now part of the 38. Sounds kind of ominous, like the 4400 or something? Hmmm. Can I write a sci fi story about my daily flossing adventures?

25. Organize My Craft Cupboard. Yeah, that one might take me the entire year to accomplish, but by Feb 2, 2015 maybe I will be able to find a glue stick when I really need it!

26. Paint my front door. Not sure what color I’m going for yet, but something other than the boring white it is now.

27. Make my own pickles. So, the Spreewald in Germany is known to have the best pickles in the world. And I just happen to have the recipe thanks to family connections. My kids won’t eat anything but German pickles, but a jar is now over $5 at the local International Store they sell them at, so this one is really going to be a money saver for me. Plus, it will be fun to learn to do.

28. Make a Bedtime and Stick To It. Those moms that put their kids to bed at 7 every night amaze me. I don’t think I could ever do that, but I do want to be better about a bedtime routine, especially since next year I have to wake the kids up about 45 minutes earlier in order to get Minchkin to school on time.

29. Introduce My Kids to the Original Battlestar Galactica. BSG was the show that turned me into a sci-fi junkie forever. I think it’s time I did the same for my kids.

30. Keep My 20 Dollars. My writer’s group has a twenty dollar fee to belong to it. We pay every week if we skip out on writing or on critiques. When we run out of the 20 dollars we either need to pay more or we are out. It is actually great motivation, and so far this year I still have all 20 of it. The goal is to keep it that way!

31. Have Weekly Meetings With My Kids. They are growing up way too fast. I can barely keep track of it. I need to take time to make sure I don’t miss a single moment.

32. Have a World Cup Final Party. Some people have Super Bowl parties. I’m more of a soccer girl. I’m having a party this year and hopefully I’ll be cheering on the USA, but given the bracket we got in, probably not. Still there will be a party.

33. Watch My 6 Hour Pride and Prejudice. I got this two years ago and it is still in the plastic wrap! I don’t care if no one will watch it with me. I am watching it this year!

34. Teach a Workshop at a Writing Conference. This is a little bit of a cheat because I already know I am going to do this, but it has been a goal of mine and this year it is coming true. I will be teaching an Editing Basics and Beyond class at Write Here in Ephraim this March. I’ll be posting more about it as it gets closer, but if you are in the area come on over!

35. Add Some Signed Books to My Collection. I collect signed books. I have an entire case full of them. I definitely plan on adding a few more to that shelf this year.

36. Hike. I used to go hiking all the time. Zion is one of my favorite places in the entire world, but it seems like once I had kids the hiking stopped. But they are all old enough now to come with me, so this year I plan to hike as much as I can. I mean I live in Utah. I should be hiking nonstop, right?

37. Learn a Song on the Piano. We have a beautiful piano in our front room, and I can’t play it. Well I can play Heart and Soul, but that’s about it. So this year I am going to teach myself a song. Any suggestions?

38. Learn to Manage My Time Better. I’m busy. I have way too much to do, and not enough time to do it all. But I think I could have more time if I learned to be more efficient. So instead of complaining that I can’t do it all, This year I want to figure out how to do it all. I’m not talking about being a super woman, just getting the things that need to be done, done.

Well that’s it. Wow, it was really easy to come up with that list. I could have kept going once I started thinking of everything I wanted to do. But for now these 38 will suffice. Maybe next year I can add 37 more, because once you hit 38 you start counting backwards, right? Or do I have to wait until 40 for that?

So how about you? Do you make birthday goals? Got a special day coming up that you are working on a list for? Good luck! And until next time,

Write On!

Sabine