weekly workout

Road Trip Book Tour: Part Two

April 4, 2016 by Danika Leave a Comment

WINNER of the ROAD TRIP book contest is DEBBY DODDS (how in the world could I resist a book about John Waters hitchhiking?).

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The first Road Trip Book Tour post was more about the Road Trip, this post is more about the Book Tour itself. Even if you never plan to go on a book tour in your life, the information may be helpful in other ways.

I’ve been book touring for six years. And for many years before I started, I led workshops in schools, conferences, and festivals, performed live spokenword, and produced literary arts events. I was used to organizing events, traveling around, and speaking in front of others. But doing these things may scare the pants off of you.

It doesn’t have to.

My tours are set up in collaboration with my publisher in terms of ordering and shipping books, but I arrange almost all the events myself. And the truth of the matter is I prefer it this way.

I’m the one who can “sell” myself best. I’m the one who knows what kind of programming I can deliver. I can answer any questions and share my enthusiasm for what I do. It is in my best interest to speak to the venues myself.

Calling prospective venues or speaking to someone in person has a much higher success rate than simply sending cold emails.

Tip #1 – give your event booking the personal touch. Make connections

WHY GO ON A TOUR?

In this age of information overload, it’s challenging for a new author to be heard. I believe that the old fashioned way of meeting people is the best: face to face. When we feel connected to someone, we are more invested in them. I think you have a much greater impact when you show up and share yourself with others.

Setting up an indie tour is not easy. It takes tenacity, creativity, and patience. That’s why I also advise you make your tour fun. *See someone you haven’t seen in a while. Take a side trip. On this year’s tour I’m meeting my 2-year-old niece for the first time and spending a weekend with five women I’ve known for 40 years (hilarity ensues!).

Here are some other tips from my The Authorpreneurial Booktour workshop:

Assess your talents, knowledge, experience, and expertise
Think about who you know
Think outside the (bookstore) box
Keep trying (persistence pays)

ASSESS YOUR TALENTS, KNOWLEDGE,
EXPERIENCE, and EXPERTISE

How comfortable would you be performing in front of 300 elementary students? My response is, Bring It On! But many people would run screaming in the opposite direction.

If you are uncomfortable speaking to large groups of people, then don’t. Find a more comfortable number and go from there. After a few small author events, challenge yourself with larger and larger audiences.

Start small. Develop one talk/presentation and one workshop. Create a program around what you already know. Everyone has something to share and teach. Do you play an instrument? I had an introverted YA fantasy writer in one of my workshops who played the harp! I suggested she bring her harp into the schools and teach the students how to write fantasy ballads.

Does your book feature origami? Skateboarding? Juggling? Ballroom dancing? I know an author who learned how to escape a straight jacket for one of his presentations. How does what you already know relate to your book? Offer a talk or workshop around a niche topic that will help you stand out.

How might your life experiences dove tail into a book tour? I love to perform, so I wrote a bunch of songs around my stories. And that’s how I entertain 300 elementary school kids.

WHO DO YOU KNOW?

Where should you go on tour? I start with places where I know people. I sofa-surf a lot when I tour. Not only do I get to visit with people I haven’t seen for a while (see *why go on tour), friends have kids or friends or friends with kids. This helps build an audience. Friends know the area and can connect you with others.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Friends and family want to help you. And it’s easier to book something when you’ve been referred by someone else.

Do be sure not to expect your friends to wait on you or attend all your events, though. Be gracious and kind (and bring bottles of wine).

THINK OUTSIDE THE (bookstore) BOX

I hate to be the disturber of debut author dreams, but bookstore readings are not the be-all and end-all of the book tour. Unless you’re reading in your hometown or someplace you already have a fan base, you might find yourself reading for 2 people. Think about it – – how many times have you been to a book store reading for an author you’d never heard of?

I can say from experience, it’s a bit humbling.

If you REALLY insist on setting up bookstore readings out of town, two things that have helped me to get an audience are: 1) Pair up with a local author or two for a joint reading/launch or 2) do some other local events prior to the reading to generate interest.

Better than bookstore readings, where your audience members might have to drive across town in traffic after work just to see you, think of places to visit where your audience is built in: schools (from elementary to university), book clubs, book fairs, conferences, festivals, etc.

I like to book tours around “anchor gigs.” These are gigs organized by someone else with inflexible schedules (like conferences or festivals or literary center events). Once I’ve decided where my anchor gig is, I make a contact list for all the schools in the area and start calling. I also search for any literary or youth centers. Then, only when I’ve got a few gigs in place, do I find an indie bookstore.

For instance, on my first tour I started at a book fair and conference. I purchased a book booth at the fair and taught two workshops at the conference. I then booked two gigs in an after school arts program, four in elementary schools, and one bookstore. The bookstore was small, which made it feel “packed” with 22 people. The bookstore reading came AFTER most of the events, allowing people to get to know me in a town where they hadn’t before.

I have led workshops, performed, and given talks in cabins, in the forest, at parent-child book groups, at schools, libraries, festivals, conferences, youth centers, art centers, detention centers, late-night programs, cafés, wineries, churches, and living rooms.

TENACITY TENACITY TENACITY

On my first tour, I made 47 cold calls in order to book 9 gigs. And I didn’t just call once and leave it at that. People are busy. I called, sent a follow up email, and called again. If that didn’t pique any interest, I moved on.

Have patience. Gigs will fall through. Keep at it. I literally just added an event TODAY for next week. Promote like the wind. Make a facebook page, announce gigs (even the private ones, so people know where you’ll be) through social media, tell the papers, offer interviews, ask if the venue has a newsletter, distribute flyers, email friends with said flyers.

And again… be gracious and kind.

If your first event flops: analyze, adjust, and try again. Before you know it you’ll have a file full of talks, workshops, and contacts and calendar full of bookings. It’s taken me years to figure out the best venues for my work and style, the most effective approaches for booking gigs, and the most successful curriculum for my readers.

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YOUR WORKOUT

If you don’t put your characters into situations that push their comfort zones, you’re missing an important element of fiction writing: tension. You’re also missing out on an opportunity for them to grow. You know the cliché saying “No pain, no gain”? Well, it’s pretty much true.

TIMED WRITING GUIDELINES

Set your timer for 5 -10 minutes per start line
(I increase the time with each start line: 5 min, 7 min, 10 min …)
When timer starts: write, don’t stop, don’t edit, don’t cross out.

What my character avoids doing more than anything is . . .

My character freezes up when . . .

My character faces his/her fear when . . .

On the other side of this fear, my character discovers . . .

Happy writing!

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The Art of Uplift (aka – Be a Star Among Stars)

May 7, 2015 by Danika 2 Comments

up*lift

verb
1. to lift up; raise; elevate.

2. to improve socially, morally, or the like.

3. to exalt emotionally or spiritually.
4. to become uplifted.

noun

5. an act of raising; elevation.

6. the process or work of improving, as socially, intellectually, or morally.

7. emotional or spiritual exaltation.

For the past few months I’ve been thinking about the ideas of UP and DOWN in terms of language, emotion, and physicality. When we are UP we are high, exalted (“closer to the heavens”), floating, light, standing tall, open. We love looking up – – to the sky, birds, clouds, sun, moon, future. When feeling liberated, joyous, elated we throw our arms up. We want to “reach for the stars” not “dig ourselves” anywhere.

When we are DOWN we are de-pressed (I picture a giant thumb pressing into me, squishing me like a bug), hiding, covered, bent, small. You’ve heard of the lowly worm.*

After my recent bout with depression (the extreme side of down), I decided that I didn’t want a giant thumb pressing into me and squishing me like a bug. I wanted a really powerful antidote for myself instead. I wanted to be uplifted.

The opposite of DOWN is UP!

I began to think about the small ways (especially habitual or subconscious) I sometimes de-pressed myself. And then I began to see that sometimes I de-pressed the people around me. Not because I’m mean, not because I’m malicious or vengeful, but because I’m human and sometimes I can’t see the light and sometimes I am afraid.

But what if, in the moment before I said something spiteful or petty or threw a piece of my pain back at someone, I practiced using uplifting words instead? What if I paused and thought of them as bright stars waiting to be released into the sky? And what if I kept coaxing those stars, inspiring those stars, championing those stars so that more and more and more were released and we lit up the entire sky?

I decided to try a little experiment. A few months ago, I inked the word UPLIFT on the inside of my cell phone cover, so that every time I opened the cover to make a call, text, email, tweet, or to use facebook it was a reminder to be impeccable with my word and to use language as a means of raising the spirits of the people around me.

It always makes me proud to love the world somehow –
hate’s so easy compared.

~Jack Kerouac

I made it a rule (the cell cover a constant reminder) that I had to always act or speak from this idea of being uplifting. And as I did, it started to dissolve my own self-negativity. The act of consciously UPLIFTING others on a regular basis helped me to get out of my own ego. It helped me to choose being happy over the need to be right. It created a new kind of momentum that fed on itself (in a good way).

And if someone else was not in a space to be uplifted (as I wasn’t at the end of last year), I didn’t take it personally. It wasn’t my job to fix them. Being uplifting isn’t about providing the answer or giving advice.

Being uplifting isn’t just about saying nice things to people either. It’s about paying attention to others and their own fears, wants, and needs. It’s about being conscious in and of the world. It’s about giving people space and taking care of each other and being of service. It’s about affirmation. It’s about intention.

Now, as I go about my day, when I catch myself in a small moment of pettiness or jealousy, I envision myself being an agent of UPLIFT. I envision our communal star-ness, together in the bright sky.

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*in defence of “lowly worms” – I love worms. I help them across the sidewalk. I relocate them when I’m weeding. I mourn them when they are squished.

YOUR WORKOUT

In our fiction, it’s necessary to be mean to our protagonists. I always tell my students, Don’t be nice to your characters! Turn up the heat! Give them painful challenges! Make life hard! Pile it on!

I rarely talk about the moments that shine a little light on them. But, at some point in the story, I think a little uplift is in order.

By uplift I don’t mean everything solved in a grand deus ex machina moment, but something beautiful and meaningful and a bit more subtle.

When your character is at their lowest, when they’ve failed and failed and failed some more, when they have been beaten by the blows of life (or even the physical blows of bullies) it’s time to allow something to give. And if done well, it will break your reader’s hearts just a little.

It could be a memory. It could be a small act of kindness. It could be embodied in an invaluable object they take with them along their journey. Imaging in the movie version of it, the music turns melancholy, and a sense of hope or determination pierces the gloom.

Write without too much thinking, without stopping, and without rereading & editing

Start with any of the lines below (or all!) and keep writing for 7-10 minutes.

The most precious object in my protagonist’s life is . . .

The voice in my protagonist’s head that gives him/her hope sounds like . . .

The kind gesture that comes when my protagonist least expects it happens when . . .

The Fears That Bind Us (aka You’re Gonna Die)

April 2, 2015 by Danika 9 Comments

A wise friend of mine once observed:
Every action we take or don’t take is driven by one of two things:
Fear or Love.

I’ve been sifting through this idea for a few years now, wondering if this were actually true (being the “inward bound” workshop/personal development/human potential geek-junkie that I am – and yes, I am the kind of person satirized on shows like Portlandia). But I’ve discovered that whenever I break my actions or inactions down to the basic essence, my wise friend is right. I just have to be brave enough to tell the truth about it once in a while, especially when it comes to the fear end of things. I’m quite good at justifying my fears.

I also think that there are levels of fear, and I can always tell when I get to the fear behind the fear behind the fear (to that essence), because it just goes THUNK when it finally gets to that simple statement of belief I hold. You know, the one that isn’t really serving me.

For example: Even though I say I love to write and share and talk story and writing practice is INVALUABLE, I haven’t blogged for almost two months. I could easily tell myself I just haven’t had time. And I could list all the stuff that’s been going on in my life to enroll everyone in that story.

However, I didn’t really have to watch 3 episodes of Scott and Bailey in a row and then stay up until 2 AM playing Angry Birds feeling guilty and telling myself, Pulitzer Prize author Michael Chabon doesn’t stay up all night playing Angry Birds. (Although I certainly invite him to tell me otherwise.) He’s a real writer. He writes.

And I didn’t have to start at least 8 posts when an idea inspired me, only to finish none of them.

I know procrastination when I see it. And I know procrastination stems from fear. So when I finally broke it down, it went like this:

Why didn’t you finish those posts?
I was afraid I’d lost my momentum on the ideas and they wouldn’t be as good as I thought when I was inspired to start them. (first level of fear, logical enough that I could just brush it away)

But so what if they’re “not as good” as you thought they would be?
I’m afraid that if they’re not very good people will figure out that I’m really a fraud and I’ll lose readers.

First, you’re not a fraud. Second, so what if you lose readers?
I’m afraid if I lose readers I’ll look stupid and people will judge me for that.

So?
Then no one will like me. (I am now 9 years old)

THUNK!

Completely unannounced, Byron Katie’s voice barged in on my thought process and asked me: And WHO would you BE without that?

Who would I be without the fear of people not liking me? If that fear were simply gone from my life, what could I accomplish?

And what is the price to myself if I hold myself back because of this fear?

A few years ago at a SCBWI conference, author Laurie Halse Anderson said that one time when she’d been whining and complaining about some niggling thing to do with her writing, her husband told her: “You know what? You’re gonna die.”

He didn’t say it to be mean. She got it. The things that were holding her back weren’t worth paying attention to in this limited time on the planet we all have. Her fear of not doing those things became greater than her fear of doing them. And sometimes, that’s the place I also need to go to get my motivation back.

On the flip side, the love I feel for what I do when I’m actually doing it, and not trying to be too perfect or precious about it, is also life-fulfilling motivation. And even though fear (and anger) can be incredibly useful procrastination busters, I think “doing” from a space of love is where I’d much rather be.

YOUR WRITING WORKOUT

What is the fear (big or small) that holds your protagonist back? If you look deep enough, what is the essence of the fear? How does she justify her actions/inactions around this fear?

What price to herself for inaction? What will she lose if she does not act? Her freedom? A friendship? A position? A lover? Her self-worth?

And is there a moment when her fear of not having/doing something becomes greater than her fear of doing/having this thing?

TIMED WRITING GUIDELINES
Set your timer for 5 -10 minutes per start line
When timer starts: write, don’t stop, don’t edit, don’t cross out.
(just do it!)

Start lines:

The excuse my character gives him/herself looks like . . .
The fear behind all of my character’s fears tells her . . .
The price of my character’s inaction is . . .
The scene where my character breaks the bonds of this fear happens when . . .

Now write your next scene . . . 🙂

Getting to the Story

December 19, 2014 by Danika Leave a Comment

I am developing an online course called Getting to the Story to begin in February 2015. This blog post features a sample from the coursework. If interested in taking the class, contact me HERE.

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According to NaNoWriMo stats, about 23% of their participants finished their 50,000 words by the end of Nov. If you were one of them, congratulations. You have a big pile of words to play with!

And if you were one of the 77% (hi there!) who didn’t finish, whatever you wrote you still have, and whatever you learned you’ve still got on your tool belt.

The joke around here is that my NaNoWriMo became a DecNoWriMo, and now I’ve succumb to the fact that it’s really a JaNoWriMo. But that’s fine by me, because when I started my NaNo this year, I realized I didn’t know this story at all. During NaNo month, I didn’t have the time to figure it out, so I just started telling my story, rambling down a long summary.

In the end, I have to start somewhere, and it’s always new.

After NaNoWriMo was over, I took a look at what I had and went, “Ugh.” It was the literary equivalent of waking up to a pot of crusty half-cooked noodles I’d left in the sink the night before.

I know from experience that I couldn’t just think my way out of my lumpy noodly mess. If one thinks and thinks and thinks about the mess, it doesn’t magically become a story. I believe the only way the story gets written is to write it.

And so, I set the mess aside and pretty much started at the beginning again.

First thing, I had to get to the story…

GETTING to the STORY WORKOUT
Part One

I teach an outline style called Sequence and Beat. I teach my students to write out the major sequences of their stories and then divide those up into “scenes” or “beats.” But how do I figure out what those sequences and beats are? Usually by writing exercises where I discover it on the page. (NOT AT THE COMPUTER — these exercises should be hand-written)

Think in terms of Big Action

In the following exercise, you’ll divide your story into three parts (Beginning, Middle, End). In each of these parts, there will be a BIG ACTION that crucially changes the status quo (some call this a reversal). There will be other minor reversals and complications. The Big Ones are the set up of the story (conflict) and the journey (trials and tribulations) that result in achieving (or not) the over-arching goal. If you keep these Big Actions in mind, it will help you move your story forward cohesively.

For instance, if the over-arching goal of the entire story is for a man and woman to be together, there will be things that drive them apart. Maybe small things at first, but then something that seems insurmountable to them both happens. Maybe the Big Action by the end of the first section is the woman marries someone she doesn’t love. Bummer. Boo.

In Book Four of my White Forest series, the over-arching goal is for Narine to “reset” the world’s balance. Before she can do that, she has to find the one character who knows her destiny. That character is in mortal danger and Narine has to save her. The Big Action in part one is saving this character, but there’s a lot of things that stand in her way.

All the sequences that lead up to the Big Action make sense

The sequences that lead up to this point – the woman marrying someone she doesn’t love, for example – need to make logical sense and/or force the character into this position. What things get in her way and redirect her into doing something she would not have done at the beginning of the story? Did her kingdom become enemies with her lover’s and another kingdom demand her hand for their prince for their allegiance? Or was it more subtle – neither party recognized what the other felt and the man took a job in another country out of heartbreak?

EXERCISES

Please write without too much thinking, without stopping, and without rereading & editing

1) Start with the line below and keep writing for 5-7 minutes OR until you think you’ve covered all the events leading up to the Big Action.

The first section of my story all leads up to __(Big Action)___. This event is inevitable because . . .

2) Repeat the exercise for parts Two and Three using the following start lines:

After the events of Part One, my protagonist is left to . . .

In Part Two, the Big Event that propels/ignites my protagonist into taking action is . . .

In Part Three of my story, the over-arching goal is achieved after . . .

NaNo – – No

November 27, 2014 by Danika Leave a Comment

(scroll down to skip straight to the Weekly Workout )

I came to the realization last Friday that I’m not going to be finishing my NaNo this year. Of course, a tiny piece of me keeps saying, “You can do it! Wake up at 3 am! Power through!” but that’s just because I’m stubborn like that. I really hate to lose, especially when it’s just to myself.

My hope had hung in there for a while, because last year I managed to pump out 30,000 words in one week… but I was on a porch swing in Hawaii at the time. Right now I’m working full-time on a movie, house-hunting for an upcoming move, and involved in a major protest on Burnaby Mountain.

So, life has been a bit cray-cray (wait, are women over 40 even allowed to use that term?). And in the cray-crayness of it all, I’ve done my best to take care of myself. To not exist on 5 hours of sleep per night. To watch what I eat and find some quiet mind each day.

Truthfully, my heart just hasn’t been on my NaNo, but up on the mountain with the other protectors. My blog posts suffered, because that was all I could think about in my spare time, and I have purposely steered away from posting political issues on this blog. Not that I don’t want you to know my politics (TRUST me, I will happily tell you), but because I want to feed other parts of myself and express other parts of myself. I could never be 100% political activist 24/7. I think I’d burn out and/or get cynical after a while (or both). I need to step away from all that once in a while in order to take care of myself.

Part of taking care of myself was supposed to be feeding the writerly side of myself, but that got pushed to the way-side, so here I am with four days left of NaNo month and 39,000 words left to go. (on the positive side, that’s 11,000 more words than I had Oct 31!)

The NaNo is not happening, I keep telling myself. I need to be okay with that.

0a158e7218c093e72a91111646190792 — by Gizem Vural

Have you ever had that sinking feeling that something you really wanted to accomplish just wasn’t going to happen? You weren’t going to finish that marathon? Complete that degree? Climb that mountain?

Did you ever kick yourself later and say, “If I had only pushed harder…” I don’t think it’s really healthy for us to stay in that place of “I should have done better.” Sometimes we just aren’t up to it for whatever mental, emotional, physical, or environmental reason. But perhaps remembering what it’s like in that precarious space of “I can do this” and “I can’t do this” you can have sympathy for your characters and an idea of how to bring them to the breaking point and push them over the edge.

* * * *

YOUR WORKOUT

In your current story, where is the place when your character is so exhausted she doesn’t know if she can continue or seriously questions whether she will be successful at reaching her goal? HOW do you give her that last push to get her through SPLAT and to the other side where redemption lies? How are you pushing her to the edge, and have you really pushed her far enough?

Remember:
write without stopping, crossing out, rereading, or editing.

1) SET YOUR TIMER for 5-7 minutes.

Start with this line: In this scene, my character wants nothing more than to…

See where this takes you.

2) SET YOUR TIMER for 7-10 minutes.

Start with the line: In this scene, my character is up against…

Again… Write without stopping, crossing out, rereading, or editing.

3) SET YOUR TIMER for 10-12 minutes.

Start with the line: In this scene, my character is pushed to her limits when…

Write without stopping, crossing out, rereading, or editing

4) SET YOUR TIMER for 12-15 minutes.

Start with the line: In this scene, my character breaks the bonds of what’s holding her back by…

Write without stopping, crossing out, rereading, or editing.

Now, go write the scene in which your character is up against this obstacle, is pushed to the limit, and makes it out to the other side. And have a great rest of your week!

Starting From Scratch: The Clown Challenge

October 9, 2014 by Danika Leave a Comment

NEWSFLASH: This weekend I will be at Geek Girl Con in Seattle. My publisher (Hydra House) has a booth (#309) and I will be presenting “Imaginary Worlds for Kids” in Rm LL3 Sat at 11 AM & Sun at 3 PM and doing a signing Sat at noon wherever signings are. Probably by the book tables.

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Up for the Clown Challenge? Where do I Start?

I love a good challenge. Especially a writing challenge. I’ve completed NaNoWriMo twice, dozens of “10 day challenges” (writing a short screenplay, short story, or poem each day for 10 days), or doing themed challenges. It’s how I wrote my first (and only) literary zombie story. I saw a challenge. I saw a way to push myself in a new and unexpected direction.

While I was ~~procrastinating~~ researching today, I found a journal I was unfamiliar with:

This speculative fiction journal focuses on some odd and interesting topics/themes: entomology, cryptography, and a rotating 3rd theme. For the next issue: Coulrophobia.

Coulrophobia is the abnormal fear of clowns. Which instantly reminds me of Poltergeist, a movie I loved as a kid.

I know many people dislike clowns, who find them sad or creepy, but I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone with true coulrophobia. I immediately decided I needed to jump on this one. Why? It gives me an excuse to do something I wouldn’t have done otherwise.

According to the Unlikely guidelines:

… open to anything involving clowns in some significant way … think Sacred Clowns and Holy Fools. Horror, humor, existential angst, and tears of, we’re open to all that and more, in any combination. Heck, why not see how many different genres you can fit into a piece of flash fiction?

As if that didn’t sound like challenge enough, a recent tweet from the magazine mentioned that ALL submissions so far had been from men. They need more women to submit. How could I pass that up?

It’s a flash fiction issue (1038 words max) and the deadline is Nov 1.

So, how does one go about facing such a challenge? Here’s ONE way:

Your Workout:

Even if you’re not interested in writing about clowns, you can still use this workout to begin a story, any story. I’ve used it at least three times and each time come away with an interesting short story, and ideas for a dozen more.

1) Write 50 opening lines.

Write them in one sitting as fast as possible. Put the image of a clown (or any other image if clowns don’t interest you) in your mind and then just GO. Don’t think too much about each first line. Just jot them down. Don’t judge them or edit them. These are potential first lines for a story. (in this case, a flash fiction story)

If you can’t get 50 first lines down, do as many as you can until your brain stalls or melts. I do recommend pushing through to the end if you can. If nothing else, you’ll have 50 first lines to possible stories.

2) Pick your top 5 first lines and write 5 opening paragraphs.

If you can’t decide, share with your writing group if you have one (or friend, spouse, kids) and let them pick their faves. Just whittle the list down to the 5 most inspiring lines, then write 5 opening paragraphs from those 5 first lines. Again, without thinking too much, and certainly without editing. Do this as fast as you can, whatever flows from the pen (or keyboard)

3) Pick your top paragraph and go from there…

It’s that simple. From 50 first lines to the idea for a story to the story itself. It’s a numbers game, really. With 50 first lines to choose from, one of them is bound to inspire you and send you in a new and unexpected direction.

Surprise yourself! And feel free to share your five first lines below.

Have a great weekend and perhaps I’ll see you at Geek Girl Con!

How Being a Children’s Author Helps Tackle Global Climate Destabilization (Plus a Workout)

September 26, 2014 by Danika 1 Comment

Congratulations to Miriam for winning the $25 Gift Card

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Last weekend marked the largest collaborative Climate March in our world’s history. Over 2,500 events in 162 countries during which citizens marched in solidarity a few days before the UN Climate Summit.

And I wasn’t there.

To be fair, my household was represented by other members of my tribe. But, I still felt a bit guilty for not going. This is a huge deal and it was a great historical event.

I have attended rallies and marches in the past. Sometimes they simply overwhelm me. Other times I get inspired, and then the immediacy of life takes over and I get caught up in my daily to-do.

I was left at home wondering what more I could do. I’m not a scientist, but I can support those developing solutions for our climate problems. I’m not a politician, but I can support those making ethical decisions regarding our communities and planet. I don’t work for any non-profits (although I want to start a foundation some day), but I can support those doing the hard canvassing and clean-up work.

I am a children’s author. I write and perform and teach Imaginary Worlds classes to kids of all ages.

What does that bring to the table?

In the past few years I’ve read about several studies linking reading with empathy. These studies show there is a direct correlation between children who read frequently and their level of empathy for others. An article in Scientific American said that, in particular, reading fiction that focuses on “the psychology of characters and their relationships” teaches kids “values about social behavior, such as the importance of understanding those who are different from ourselves.”

Reading novels as a child — implying literary engagement with life’s social, cultural and psychological complexities — can have a positive impact on personality development and social skills. ~Why Everyone Should Read Harry Potter

An article in Psychology Today suggests that the “simplest, easiest, cheapest thing we can do to build connection between people is to read to every child.” Because reading fiction opens us up to multiple perspectives, it improves our ability to navigate relationships.

Reading allows children to conceptualize a world beyond the world of “self.” ~Raising a Reader, Learning Empathy

These studies make complete sense to me, because I believe reading a wide variety of literature as a child helps us to realize how connected we all are, but still how unique each individual is. They can also inspire by demonstrating the resiliency of the human (or faerie) spirit.

This is what I was thinking about last Sunday, when I decided to stay home and write and prepare bulk meals for the week (I am dealing with an auto-immune disorder and must cook all of my own food from scratch) while the rest of my family attended the march:

No matter what we do for a living, there is always a way for us to make the world a better place through our vocation.

~ ~ ~

We’ve got a tough road ahead of us as world citizens, and addressing these serious challenges will take a lot of empathy, a lot of creativity, and a lot of cooperation.

It sounds cliche to say that the children are our future, but THE CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE! What part am I playing in creating the future of our planet? Through my writing, teaching, and performing I’m doing the best I can to leave the next generation with the tools to work together harmoniously, to inspire ingenuity and creative thinking, to expand curiosity, to encourage compassion and inclusivity, to support a world of love and possibility rather than fear and divisiveness.

And through the empathy, innovation, and willingness of our future generations will the problems compounding today be approached with more cooperation and a collaborative spirit.

~ ~ ~

YOUR WRITING WORKOUT

Actions have consequences and ripple effects, some make major ripples and some affect only a handful of people.

How do your character’s actions create consequences not only for her, but for the people around her?

We can create empathy for a character whose small action sets off a chain of disastrous events beyond her control. We can also root for a character who redeems herself with a good deed that has a positive karmic ripple effect.

1) SET YOUR TIMER for 7-10 minutes.

Start with the line: Out of spite, my character decides to … and it causes …

While you’re writing, think of every single person this action could affect.

Write without stopping, crossing out, rereading, or editing.

2) SET YOUR TIMER for 10-12 minutes.

Start with the line: In response to my characters actions, CHARACTER B …

Now think of all the responses / reactions that could possibly happen. GET BIG about it.

Write without stopping, crossing out, rereading, or editing.

3) SET YOUR TIMER for 12-15 minutes.

Start with the line: My character’s redeeming action happens when . ..

Now think about the ripple effect in the positive direction

Write without stopping, crossing out, rereading, or editing.

And have a great weekend!

Minor Appearances (and a Weekly Workout)

June 24, 2014 by Danika 9 Comments

There’s a Japanese man in my neighborhood whom I have been running into every few weeks for the past four years. I always run into him in the morning as he’s walking through the alleyways. He moves slowly, his right side recovering from what I would guess was a stroke, and my assumption is that these walks are part of his daily routine to strengthen his body again. He drags his right foot a bit and holds his right arm in a way that indicates it has little strength and mobility.

He’s probably in his late 50’s. I don’t know his name. I don’t know where he lives. And over the past four years, his recovery has been noticeably slow. But every time I see him he always grins wide and booms, “Good morning!”

I’ve never heard more than those two words from him, but I get them every time. I can even see him preparing to say them, to belt the words out and watch them being received. He looks me in the face, grins, and shares his two words.

It’s a full, clear, wonderful sound that holds so much: resilience, good nature, gratitude, joy, promise. Every time I hear those words from him I give thanks for the day and for my mobile body (that hasn’t always been (and isn’t always) mobile).

This man has become a “minor character” in my life. When I do my metta yoga meditation and I get to “someone who embodies loving-kindness” I often think of him. Even though all I know of him is his warm, “Good morning” as he moves slowly along, taking in the day, he represents so much to me about human kindness and perseverance.

The minor characters in our lives have histories we can read in their actions, expressions, and words. Some people are pure background: blurs, maybe a glance, exit. Some we meet once on a bus and they stick in our minds. I recall an inebriated man who stumbled out the bus doors, fell to the ground, and then became belligerent when folks stopped to help him even though he was obviously injured. I wanted to know how he had gotten to that point in his life on that day.

The minor characters in our stories should have histories, too. Obviously we don’t spend as much time developing those histories as we do for our major characters, but our fictional worlds will have more dimension if the minor characters do as well. We don’t have to know everything about them, but we can hand them some fear, some loss, some hope, some love. We can give them quirky behaviours, use them for comic relief, or paint them as a reflection of our setting or our theme.

In my current WIP I have a minor character, a nameless man who the protagonist sees walking his mini poodle sometimes. His quirk is that his sweaters match his dog’s. I let the reader think he’s background until one scene, very early in the morning, when the protagonist has snuck out of her house, he helps her finish a detailed chalk scene she’s drawing on the sidewalk. Instead of him calling her parents, or chastising her, he wordlessly picks up some chalk and helps her finish the drawing. That act made me fall in love with him.

YOUR WORKOUT

Pick any minor character in your story and set your timer for 5 minutes. Try any of the exercises below with them and see if it brings some new dimension. Don’t stop writing. Don’t edit. Just see what appears.

1) When MINOR CHARACTER steps out into the world each day, her biggest hope/fear is that . . .

2) When MINOR CHARACTER gets dressed each morning, she’s hoping that . . .

3) One of MINOR CHARACTER’s distinguishing behaviours is . . . which stems from . . .

Now that you know this character a little, perhaps you can discover something new about your protagonist through this minor character’s eyes? Set your timer for 5-7 minutes and, again without stopping, write:

When MINOR CHARACTER sees my protagonist, she assumes . . .

Have a great rest of your week!

Weekly Workout (First in our New Home – Huzzah) – Creating Suspense

April 8, 2014 by Danika 1 Comment

(artwork by Gizem Vural)

I didn’t think I had a weekly workout this week because I have so many book launch things going on (yay), but then a friend of mine asked if I had an exercise she could use for middle school students that involved CREATING SUSPENSE.

I realized I hadn’t done much work on suspense, with middle school or adult students, so I decided to include the exercise I came up with here.

Yes, this is geared towards 7th graders, but I think the lesson works for adult-types, too.

suspense is all about tension and about what you do know vs. what you don’t know

Suppose a girl wrote a hideously embarrassing love note to a boy, with no intention of ever giving it to him. But her best friend, thinking she’s being super helpful, sticks it in his mailbox late one night. The next day, when the girl finds out, she realizes she MUST GET THAT LETTER BACK!

Which one of these creates the most suspense:

1) She calls up the boy’s parents, tells them of the mistake, and asks if they can tear up the letter.
2) She fakes being sick so she can stay home from school, then after her parents leave for work, she sneaks over to the boys house to steal the letter back from his mailbox.

Obviously, #2, but why? Because the tension is drawn out, the stakes get higher, and there’s more “waiting to see what happens.” We know less, but our minds fill in what could happen, which is both embarrassment and trouble. (Embarrassment is probably one of the things readers will sympathize the most. God how we hate to be embarrassed.)

We know the girl’s parents can call home any minute, but we don’t know if and when they will. We know the girl could get caught rifling through the mailbox and have to explain herself. But we don’t even know if anyone will be home at the boy’s house. There’s suspense around the question of Will She Get Caught?

Let’s suppose she chooses #2, fakes an illness, and sneaks over to the boys house, but JUST as she gets there, his mother takes in the mail. The girl sneaks up to a window and sees his Mom place it on the kitchen table and GO UPSTAIRS. She notices the window is open. Not knowing how much time she has, she decides to sneak in the window and get that letter back!

If the girl rushes in, grabs the letter, and runs home with no problem, the potential suspense is completely deflated. We didn’t feel the danger in our bones, which is where we want it to reach. Let’s see if we can really draw out the tension…

What does the girl hear, see, smell, feel/physically experience, or even taste, if it comes up, that will assist in building the tension in this scene? How can you, as a writer, TURN IT UP A NOTCH?

Examples:

The window squeaks as she opens it
The girl gets stuck in the window
The girl drops the letter behind the piano, it’s dusty, and it makes her sneeze
The girl smells fresh bakes cookies, and can’t resist grabbing one, only to pull the entire batch onto the floor
The doorbell rings and the mom comes downstairs to get it while the girl is in the kitchen
The girl hides behind the sofa while the mom chats at the door

YOUR WORKOUT

Pick a scene in which your character must do something illicit or sneaky or just needs to get away with something. A scene in which you want to create tension (could be humorous or frightening). Something she doesn’t want anyone else to know about. Could be anything from having a secret cigarette in the garage to stealing the enemies secret plans. It just needs to have something with stakes. Maybe the mother promised her daughter she’d quit smoking after her grandmother died of lung cancer.

1) SET YOUR TIMER for 7-10 minutes.

Write a series/list of WHAT IF statements of ways to either surprise your protagonist, get in her way, up the stakes, or otherwise threaten to expose her.

What if she drops the cigarette and lights something on fire in the garage?
What if she hears the daughter call her name from inside the house?
What if she gets a tickle in her throat and starts to cough?
Etc.

Just keep adding things that may even PILE UP later on. She could accidentally light something on fire and THEN hear her daughter’s voice. Or vice versa.

Write without stopping, crossing out, rereading, or editing.

Circle the ones that you really like.

2) SET YOUR TIMER for 10-12 minutes.

Start with the line: In this scene, what my character doesn’t know is…

See where this idea takes you. Write without stopping, crossing out, rereading, or editing.

3) SET YOUR TIMER for 12-15 minutes.

Now write the scene! Using a combination of idea from part one and two.

Write without stopping, crossing out, rereading, or editing.

And have a great week!

Weekly Writing Workout: Get Your Purpose Straight

March 18, 2014 by openchannel 1 Comment

How many times have you heard the phrase “I have to get my priorities straight”?

I worked off of that idea for years without consistent success. I had trouble discerning through the daze of “to do” what exactly my priorities should be, especially when it came to social media. I thought maybe if I only had more discipline I would be able to prioritize action items more effectively. I was the QUEEN of To Do Lists, but every action swam in front of me with no clear purpose attached.

I eventually realized that I can’t get my priorities straight if I don’t have my purpose straight first. How can I even make priorities without purpose? I learned that getting my purpose straight practically wrote my priorities for me, and that it was perfectly fine to drop actions that didn’t serve this purpose.

For instance, this idea of “rethinking social media” came from going back to what my purpose is around social media. If my purpose is to build an audience, then I need to think of actions to build that audience. Should I hang out in online forums? Many forums are great places to exchange information, but not really audience builders. Perhaps I should limit how much time I spend in them.

If my time is really limited, it would serve me better to simply find the one thing I can do that best serves this purpose and focus my energy on that one thing rather than using a scattershot approach.

76574c90c8ac850e29883802086e7fb8 — by Gizem Vural

On a grander scale, I can create purpose for my entire life. My purpose on that scale might be: to be joyful in my creative endeavors or to share my creative expression with others. If that’s the case, perhaps I decide to spend less time on social media in general and more time expressing myself creatively, since that brings more joy into my life. Or, simply become more creative in my expression thru social media.

It doesn’t matter if my purpose is to “sell books” or “have fun.” It’s MY purpose. It’s just that my actions will look different accordingly, and I can prioritize by asking myself if that action serves my purpose. Whenever I go to a conference now, for instance, I create a purpose around it. I might decide my purpose is to have fun. I might decide it’s to have meaningful dialogue. I might decide it’s simply to sit back, listen, and learn.

In the book The One Thing by Gary Keller (with Jay Papasan) “The most productive people start with purpose and use it like a compass. They allow purpose to be the guiding force in determining the priority that drives their actions . . . The prescription for extraordinary results is knowing what matters to you and taking daily doses of actions in alignment with it.”

“Purpose provides the ultimate glue that can help you stick to the path you’ve set.” ~Gary Keller, The One Thing

Note that doing something because you think it will make you happy is different than doing something because it serves your purpose, which, ironically, will help you find happiness.

YOUR WORKOUT

Several weeks ago I wrote about what a character “needs” vs. what a character “wants.” On the other side of need is where the “better self” lies. I think the same thing goes for purpose.

When your character’s purpose becomes clear, it becomes a driving force. Through the trials and tribulations of your character doing what she “must” and going after what she “wants” her purpose eventually becomes clear.

At the beginning of your story, your character might think a specific thing will make her happy. But what she thinks will make her happy might not be what she needs to actually live a more fulfilled life. If along the way she finds purpose, this will lead to what she needs. It will also drive her actions. As her actions are thwarted and things get in her way, she reacts in order to stay on purpose.

And presto, your story moves forward.

1) SET YOUR TIMER for 7-10 minutes.

Start with the line: At the beginning of my story, My Character thinks she’ll only be happy once…

Write without stopping, crossing out, rereading, or editing.

2) SET YOUR TIMER for 10-12 minutes.

Start with the line: My Character realizes her purpose on her life journey is really…

3) SET YOUR TIMER for 12-15 minutes.

Start with the line: Driven by this purpose, she can now confront…

Write without stopping, crossing out, rereading, or editing.

And have a great week!

weekly workout

up*lift

Up for the Clown Challenge? Where do I Start?

(artwork by Gizem Vural)

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