Teenage Authors
Q&A: How Many Typed Pages = Book Pages?
Roselynne asks, “I’m writing a book on the computer and I wanted to know how many book pages there are per computer page.”
Roselynne,
If you format your manuscript with 1″ margins all around and use 12-point font, double spaced, it’s generally about the same as a novel. So a 300 page manuscript will be roughly a 300-page book.
According to SCWBI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), early readers should be about 20 pages (5,000 words) and chapter books should be from 40-60 pages (10-15,000 words). And most middle grade novels are in the 20,000 to 40,000 range. The Magic Treehouse books are about 5,000 to 12,000 words, depending on which one you pick up.
Also, around 80,000 words is about a 300-page novel. That’s a good target length if you are writing YA novels or adult novels. Replication: The Jason Experiment is 85, 214 words long and the final book is 294 pages.
Michael Hauge’s Story Concept Template
I recently discovered Michael Hauge’s story template. Michael is an author, screenwriter, and script consultant who has worked on projects for Will Smith, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lopez, Kirsten Dunst, Charlize Theron, and Morgan Freeman.
I thought some of you might find this tool helpful. Be sure to check out Michael’s website at: http://www.storymastery.com/.
TITLE is a GENRE about HERO, a ROLE, who EMPATHY/SET UP. When HERO is OPPORTUNITY, s/he decides to NEW SITUATION/PRELIMINARY GOAL. But when CHANGE OF PLANS, s/he now must OUTER MOTIVATION/PRIMARY GOAL by HERO’s PLAN as well as SECOND GOAL in spite of the fact that OUTER CONFLICT.
My example:
By Darkness Hid is an medieval fantasy story, about Achan, a stray boy, who is about to become a man, who lives under the ale casks in the cellar of the kitchens of Sitna Manor because he is owned by Lord Nathak and was raised by Poril, the cook.
When Achan is offered the opportunity to train to be a squire, even though it’s against the law for strays, he decides to train anyway, in hopes of becoming worthy of Gren, the peasant girl he loves. But when Lord Nathak discovers Achan’s training and forces Achan to squire for Prince Gidon, and the prince tries to take Gren for himself, Achan now must help Gren marry another and keep her life safe by pledging to serve the evil prince for life, as well as give up his dreams of freedom, in spite of the fact that he is now hearing voices in his head.
Now you try it:
______________ is a ________________ about __________, a ________________, who ________________________. When ____________ is ___________________, s/he decides to ____________________. But when _______________________, s/he now must ________________________________ by ______________ as well as ____________________ in spite of the fact that _______________________.
How did it work? Is this something you might find useful in the future? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
7 Ways to Add Mystery to Your Plot
Shadowwriter: My problem is that toward the middle of the book, it gets dry and I need something to happen. I’m not sure what.
The strength of a plot depends on how the writer reveals information to the reader. If you have nothing going on in the middle of your book, try some of these mystery tips to see if you can add some intrigue. And if you don’t have enough characters for intrigue, maybe you need to add some minor characters.
1. Know the ending
When writing a strong plot, it’s important to have some idea of how you want the story to end. This usually results in your main character achieving his goal. In a mystery novel, that means figuring out who done it. If your mystery is a subplot, you still need to reveal the answer to that mystery. Once you know your ending, it will be easier for you to plant clues and red herrings for the reader along the way.
2. Avoid luck
Nothing is more frustrating to a reader than a story in which the main character succeeds by a string of good luck. Do not allow luck or other heroic characters to sweep in and steal the spotlight from your main character. Your hero needs to solve the mystery!
3. Backstory
Know the backstory of all your main and minor characters. Do not put all that you know into the book! You need to know it to understand each character’s motivation for doing what they do in the story. Murder requires motive. So does every other action. Once you know each character well, it will be easier to plant clues and red herrings for the reader.
4. Introduce the culprit early on
Make sure the reader gets to see that bad guy/traitor/guilty party early on in the book. It’s frustrating to be reading a story and think you know who may have done it only to discover it was a character who just entered the story in chapter 28! Give the reader a glimpse early on. JK Rowling does a great job with this. If you’ve read or seen the first Harry Potter, remember that we first saw Professor Quirrell at the Leaky Cauldron when Harry was first headed to school.
Keep in mind, the culprit shouldn’t always be the least likely person. Mix it up. Keep your reader guessing.
5. Clues
A clue is: anything that serves to guide or direct in the solution of a problem or mystery.
Plant clues as the story moves along. Things that may seem significant or completely ordinary. Harry Potter’s meeting a new teacher seemed like no big deal at the time.
Clues can be observations. Perhaps your character notices a tattoo on a friend. He doesn’t think much of it until later in the book when he sees a villain with the same tattoo. Then there is a connection that raises suspicion of the friend.
Clues can be relationships: relatives who hate each other, a boyfriends who was cheated on, a couple in love, a mentor…
Clues can be evidence like fingerprints, hair color, footprints, license plate numbers, etc.
Clues can be dialogue. Keri told me she loved snowboarding. Then why did she tell me she hated it?
Depending on the type of writer you are, you might plan these clues before you write the book or write the whole book then go back in and plant clues. Both ways work.
Use clues sparingly. You don’t need them for every character in every scene. You just need a few here and there.
6. Red herrings
A red herring is something intended to divert attention from the real problem or matter at hand; a misleading clue.
Plant red herrings as the story moves along. Things that may seem significant or completely ordinary. Professor Snape’s apparent hatred of Harry seemed like a very big motive for villainy, even though it wasn’t.
Red herrings can be observations, relationships, evidence, and dialogue too. Reveal them in the same manner as you do clues. You goal is to throw your reader off track.
Depending on the type of writer you are, you might plan out these red herrings before you write the book or write the whole book then go back in and plant red herrings. Both ways work. 
Use red herrings sparingly too.
7. Wait as long as possible for the big reveal
If the mystery subplot is integral to the overall plot of your story, don’t reveal your culprit in the middle of the book. Wait until the last possible moment for your main character to figure it all out.
The idea is to create a trail of puzzle pieces for your character to find and put together until it’s time to be revealed. So if your story is stuck, I suggest you plant some more puzzle pieces.
Etymology: Did You Know…
Red herring is smoked herring. They turn red when cured. White herring is fresh herring. Red herring was supposedly used by fugitives to put bloodhounds off their scent, which is where the term “red herring” came to be used as a mystery term for something used to divert attention from the truth: false clues.
Stephanie Morrill’s Checklist for Editing Your Dialogue
Stephanie and me in Chicago.
__ When your characters receive tough news or bad breaks, are they processing the situation and experiencing grief in a realistic way?
__ Have you fallen into a “Q&A” pattern anywhere? Where one character is doing nothing but asking questions and the other character is doing nothing but answering them.
__ Do your characters use different words for the same thing, or are their phrasings too similar? (Grocery store can also be the market, purses can also be handbags)
__ Are you letting character/story information come out naturally, or are you trying to explain too much with your dialogue? (“Gee, Bob, I’m so glad it’s our anniversary today and that we’ve been married for 7 years and have 2 beautiful children!”)
__ Does every character behave and interact as though they believe they are the main character?
__ Are you using contractions?
__ Is your dialogue age-appropriate? Or are your toddlers elegant and your grannies saying words like “peeps.” (*Shudder.* Don’t know why, but I hate that phrase.)
__ Do you have too many “group” conversations? (Conversations with 4 or more.)
__ Is “small talk” bogging down your story? (Hi, how are you? Good, how are you? Good. Nice day we’re having. Sure is. And so on.)
__ Do you have a good balance of internal thoughts and dialogue? Does the reader get a sense of not only what the point-of-view character is saying, but why they are saying it and what they feel about the conversation in general?
__ Have you considered conversations from the perspective of all the characters involved, not just the point-of-view character?
Anyone notice something that should be on the list? Leave a comment below, and I’ll get it to Stephanie.
Tricky Words that are Often Misused: who’s/whose
Most words simply require an apostrophe s on the end of the word to make it possessive.
Ex: The girl’s notebook. Mark’s scarf. The keyboard’s letters have worn off.
But adding an apostrophe s doesn’t work for the word “who” because “who’s” is a contraction.
WHO’S is the contraction of “who is” or “who has.”
Ex: Who’s there? Who’s seen it?
WHOSE is the possessive form of “who.”
Ex: Whose sword am I holding? Whose is this sword?
WHOSE is also the possessive form of “which” (when “which” is used as an adjective).
Ex: A word whose meaning is unknown. A bird whose feathers are black.
And WHOSE also means the one or ones belonging to a person or persons.
Ex: Whose shoes are those?
Interview with 16-Year-Old Zonderkidz author, Rachel Coker
I recently discovered that my Zondervan editor acquired a teenage author! I was so excited I had to know more. Rachel Coker is sixteen years old, and her book, Interrupted, releases in March 2012 from Zondervan, a division of Harper Collins.
How cool is that!
And check out the AMAZING book trailer!
I was so excited about Rachel and her book, I just had to interview her on Teenage Authors so you all could be inspired that, yes, big publishers are willing to publish a book by a teenage author.
So keep at it! Don’t give up.
Welcome, Rachel! What would you say is the best way for a teen to become a traditionally published writer?
Practice. Practice, practice, practice. Write all the time. Read all the time, too, and figure out what kind of writing style you like. Become comfortable in your own voice. Go back over everything you’ve written and edit. Make it even better. Don’t be afraid to listen to the criticisms of people you respect and try to make your book the best it can be.
When the time comes, and you think you’re ready, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and attempt to publish your work! The first thing to do is find a respectable agent that you trust and let him help you to jump into the world of publishing. If your work is good, it will sell itself, to some extent.
That is great advice. Rewriting is so important! Is writing books your “day” job, Rachel, or do you work someplace else?
I would say writing books is my “night job”. I’ve always been doing something or another during the day to earn money, mostly working for myself. I teach piano to about ten kids, so that takes up a lot of my time during the days. And I’m trying to start my own photography business, so I spend a lot of afternoons doing portrait photography and editing the photos. Those are my two main jobs. Writing is just something I’ve always loved to do, more as a hobby than a career. It wasn’t until this last year that I started having editors and agents, and I began viewing writing as an actual job. But it’s definitely not a huge part of my life. I mostly write at night, in my bed, after all my work for the day is finished and my family is all asleep.
Wow! You sure do keep busy. And I’ve seen your pictures. They’re beautiful. Check out some of Rachel’s photography on her blog.
Just for fun, what actors would your choose to star in your book-turned-movie if you could choose them?
I think I would be scared to death if my book ever became a movie! I’m such a Type-A personality and I would definitely want a say in that kind of thing. But if “Interrupted” did become a movie, I think I would want a relatively unknown actress to play Allie, my main character. Someone very fresh and young, with the dark hair and blue eyes and quiet way about her. I think the perfect Sam would be Logan Lerman. He would just fit that role so well.
Ooh, good choice for Sam! 
When you were young—not that you’re “old” now, but—what did you want to be when you grew up?
A Broadway actress. For real. I wanted to live on the stage and wear cool costumes and sing. Then I realized I don’t have the best voice, and decided to take up the piano instead. For a long time, I had plans of going to college and being a concert pianist, but then I got my book contract and everything changed. I’m still a teenager, so I know I have a few more years at least to figure out what I want to do with my life. I love to write, and take pictures, and play the piano, so I’ll probably pursue one or two of those.
You are clearly a gifted artist. I’m so excited to watch your career unfold!
If God told you that you’ll never publish another book, would you still keep writing?
Definitely. I didn’t start out writing just because I thought it would be published, or because I wanted to make money or become famous. Even today, I write simply because I love to write. It’s definitely a mental thing. Writing heals wounds and makes you feel better about even the saddest things. If God led me to the conclusion that writing was in some way harming my faith or family, I would probably give it up. But other than that, I can’t think of too many reasons why I would stop writing altogether. It’s such a part of who I am.
Click to view on Amazon.com
What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
I think my favorite fast food restaurant is probably Taco Bell. I just love Mexican food. But I couldn’t pick a favorite chain restaurant, because I haven’t been to enough. Whenever we go on vacation, my dad has this thing about us eating at “local dives”. So I’m used to rundown bathrooms and waitresses with very Southern accents. I have been to enough “Chicken and BBQ” spots to last a lifetime.
I adore Taco Bell, Rachel. It’s a good thing there isn’t one where I live, or I’d eat it way too much!
Remember those “classics” that you have to read in high school English classes? Which book is your favorite? Which one should no one ever be forced to read?
Well, I’m still in my last year of high school English, so I’m sure there are more that I will read this year and love. But I think the best book I ever read was “Gone with the Wind”. I actually picked it up myself when I wanted to know more about the Civil War and it completely changed my perspective on that period in history. But I hated half of what I read the year I studied Ancient Greece and Rome. I’m still trying to figure out a way to make a modern soap opera out of Oedipus Rex—it was so dramatic and cheesy! And Plato’s Republic should be banned for so many reasons…
You’re invited to a White House function, and you have the chance to give a 10-minute speech to the President and the country watching on TV. What do you talk about?
I’d probably write up a whole speech about what I wanted to say, talking about how our nation needs to get its priorities straight. How young people need to stop relying on the government to provide for them and get out there and make their dreams happen through hard work and perseverance. But then I’d get up there and realize I was on TV and blabber for the whole ten minutes about absolutely nothing. Then I’d go back to my seat and wouldn’t be able to remember anything I said. It would be sad.
Click to visit Rachel's YouTube channel
LOL! I’d probably do something similar. And I totally agree with you about our nation’s young people! One must work hard to achieve one’s dreams. Our nation was build on a lot of hard work. And you are certainly setting a great example of chasing your dreams with hard work. Way to go, Rachel! I’m totally proud of you.
If you could go to any country, where would you go and what would you do?
My girly answer: France, to shop. Or England, to take photos. I would go crazy with all the rainy, romantic weather and gorgeous scenery.
And she was never heard from again…
If your mom wrote the author bio for the back cover of your next book, what would she write?
Ha ha, my mom actually did write the bio for the back of my book! 
Or rather it was a team effort. I felt uncomfortable writing my bio, so I asked her to write me up something that I could use. What she wrote was just a bit too complimentary and mom-like, so I toned it down a little and sent it to Zondervan for my author bio. My mom is a fantastic writer, though, so I trusted her to describe me.
Well, she did a great job! Congratulations again on your new book! And thanks for talking with me!
To support Rachel, follow the link here to Amazon, and click “like” so that her book shows up on your FB page. Then pre-order your copy today at a great pre-order sales price. I can’t wait to read it myself!
National Novel Writing Month is here!
It’s that time of year again!
Have you signed up to participate in National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo?
What is it, you ask? It’s an event where everyone is trying to write a whole book in one month–or at least 50,000 words. NaNoWriMo is a great way to learn to write fast, to get that story out on paper so that you have something to go back and edit. I wrote the book Replication for the 2007 NaNoWriMo, and it’s getting published this December! So you never know what might happen with a NaNo book.
You just never know.
My tips for getting through NaNoWriMo?
–Take a little time to plot out where you’re going. I like to write out a phrase for each planned chapter. That way if I get stuck, I can skip ahead to the next one.
–Don’t edit! Just write, write, write! You can edit later.
–Ignore writer’s block. Don’t worry if there are holes or if something doesn’t make sense. Just keep going. If you get stuck, skip ahead to another scene.
Want to give it a try? Click here to visit the NaNoWriMo’s Young Writers Program and start writing today.
If you do, come and friend me. My NaNo page is here: http://nanowrimo.org/en/participants/jwilliamsonwrites
Another Contest!
Here is a smaller-scale contest you might want to check out that is for short stories and poetry.
Teenage Authors Network Writing Contests
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About Me
My name is Jill.
I'm a believer, wife, mom, youth leader, fiction addict, podcaster, superhero, and writer of really cool, weird books for teens.
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