Today’s RTW Question from YA Highway: What are your writing and publishing
superpowers? And what’s your kryptonite?
What a great question—and I love seeing
how writers have so many different strengths and weaknesses. Something I
struggle with might be someone elses strongpoint…and something that is a piece
of cake for me might be what a well-respected published author really has
trouble with. A conversation like this is a great way to put everything in
perspective.
My superpowers:
World-Building: I love creating worlds. I played pretend in my backyard or with
barbies in the basement until I was way too old, because it was a way for me to
create landscapes and rules and wonderfully rich worlds. When I started writing
instead of playing dress up my desire to create worlds was a driving factor.
And I know the world of my WIPs so well—I have street maps of the capital city
of Coracus and can tell you the best way to travel through the crooked streets
from the herbalist’s to the main square; I have demographic maps of the kingdom
of Harren; I have physical maps of the entire continent; I have family trees
that go back ten generations for the royal family, the Cymberlys. All these documents
help inform the world when I’m writing so that it becomes rich, lush, and real.
Having consistent rules for your world is one of the most important factors in
making that world seem real and these documents help me make sure everything is
aligned.
Plotting: I can come up with a plausible
basic plot so quickly and it’s easy for me to outline the major events of my
novel. The sub-plots and sub-sub-plots that add layers to my stories, not so
much…
Reading and Critiquing: I sure hope I’m
good at this, because it’s my job working in the editorial department! Reading
multiple manuscripts a week I’ve learned to quickly tell what the strengths of
the work is, what needs improvement, and offer feedback on the best way to make
it the best book it can be.
Industry Awareness: Again, working in the
publishing industry helps me keep on top of trends and frequently networking
with the best agents and editors out there. This comes in handy during both the
writing process, but even more so, querying and beyond.
My Kryptonite:
Characters: The characters I write are so
vivid in my head—they’re alive, strong, flawed—but I’ve yet to learn how to
make that come out on paper. This is my biggest weakness since most YA novels
nowadays are character-driven, and if the agent/editor/reader doesn’t relate to
the character they’re likely not to read, or like, the novel.
Romance: This relates to the first point;
if I can’t make my characters come alive, it’s really difficult to build a
relationship full of longing, steamy scenes, and heartbreak. Again, 99% of YA
has to have a compelling romance, so this is a really important point I’m
working on.
Sub-plots: Like I said before, the bare
bones plot comes to me easily, but when it comes to adding depth to the novel I
really have to push it. Each major revision I’ve done to my WIP The Rose of Coracus has included adding another
layer to the plot for more depth and richness.
Spelling and grammar: You would think
that someone who was a Creative Writing major and works in the editorial department at a publishing house could
spell. And would know proper grammar. But that’s what spell check and
copyeditors are for! I couldn’t do without them!
What are your writing superpowers? What’s
your downfall?
, Jan.
2012) for giving me feedback on the letter!
,
Prince Henry and Marguerite from 
, Salzburg Castle and the streets of Rouen, France. 
, 
, which inspired me to increase how much the servants’ lives (beyond the
main character) are depicted.
