If you want to be a big goldfish, you can't swim in a small pond. My coach liked to apply this saying to the skating world as well. Look at Olympic gold ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White - they train with the silver medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. There's a lot to be said for surrounding yourself with talent, and I like to think about writing the same way. It's part of why I'm studying at VCFA. Fortunately for writing, you can surround yourself with talent without freezing your butt off. Just curl up in your favorite chair with a good book. If you're looking for a book to up the size of your pond, here are a couple of suggestions...
Something Real, by Heather Demetrios
For an example of a great premise:
So often we see the story of the adopted child who doesn't feel like he or she fits in, but this book flipped that premise by taking the perspective of a couple's one biological child among twelve adopted children. Heightening the already amplified teenage angst of this situation, Bonnie(TM) gets to have her worst moments carefully edited into an hour of prime time television – her family is the cast of the reality show Baker's Dozen. An interesting cast as well as the inclusion of e-mails, web sites, tabloid articles, and TV scripts makes this book really something.
So often we see the story of the adopted child who doesn't feel like he or she fits in, but this book flipped that premise by taking the perspective of a couple's one biological child among twelve adopted children. Heightening the already amplified teenage angst of this situation, Bonnie(TM) gets to have her worst moments carefully edited into an hour of prime time television – her family is the cast of the reality show Baker's Dozen. An interesting cast as well as the inclusion of e-mails, web sites, tabloid articles, and TV scripts makes this book really something.
Reality Boy, By A.S.King
For an example of an excellent hook:
Breaking the rules, this book begins with a back story prologue. And, to use language of the main character, Gerald, it's so damn interesting readers won't give a shit. Lesson learned: although everyone poops, even young adults (and adults!) are fascinated by it.
You could win a copy of Something Real - enter the Pairing Up trivia contest! By entering the trivia contest, you are certifying that you are at least 13 years old. One entry per e-mail address. Winner will be contacted via e-mail to arrange prize delivery. Please note that I can only mail prizes to US addresses. To win, you must be the first to guess the original names of Gabe and Maddy in Pairing Up. If no one has guessed both correctly by my next Technique Tuesday post, then the first person to have guessed Gabe's name correctly is the winner. Fortunately, I'm not Rumpelstiltskin so I'm giving you multiple choice options. :-) CONTEST CLOSED - CONGRATULATIONS TO WENDY!
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