I've been reading a lot lately. I'm always reading, but recently I've found myself entrenched in friends' manuscripts, great middle grade novels, and even some YA fantasy (rereading The Order of Odd-Fish). The first time I read Odd-Fish I was not in the right state of mind for the story. Not fair to James Kennedy and the four hundred plus pages he created.
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Ever since finishing up BIRD NERD, I've been tossing around ideas for a new story. I have a few ideas, and I've even started working on a manuscript (LETTERS FROM COOPERSTOWN), but I'm not feeling it. It's just not speaking to me. I think it's time for another setlist: a list of ideas that are splashed down in one or two words. (notice how my setlist back then was titled Bird-Man Street. That was a working title for BIRD NERD. The story changed dramatically once I started writing it; therefore, the title changed.)
When I get a winning idea, I can always envision the opening sentence. Why? Because I begin my stories with established conflict, which immediately connects the reader to the main character's problem or goal. These are the opening lines to my first two middle grade novels:
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BIRD NERD:
I'm looking for a bird, but not any old bird. I'm looking for Dad's golden eagle.
CROSSING CHALK:
The first time I ever thought about crossing the line happened the same day I came face to face with The Girl.
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This method works for me. If I can form the opening sentence, I know I have a conflict and character strong enough to start a story. Whether that story survives past page 100 depends on other things, but that's for another post on another day.
Write on!
Good luck! I think this is a fun time for you in the process. And it's such a big decision. I think PMM ran ideas by people on his blog one time. That might be EXCITING! :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'll have to organize my ideas and make them concise enough to digest.
ReplyDeleteI did, and I took the advice and now the book is done.
ReplyDelete