Seven years ago I would have been afraid to let people see all of her corrections, but I've worked with Deborah since 2008. When I first met Deborah, my tense was all screwed up and I mixed past and present tense all the time. At a SO CA SCBWI Spring Retreat, Ellen Hopkins--author of Impulse, my favorite contemporary YA verse novel written with three distinct points of view--told me my novel had to be written in present tense. Nine months later I joined a critique group--which is where I met Carol, Maria, and some of the best critique buddies ever. I learned so much from listening the critiques that were given to others in their manuscripts along with my own.
At conferences, I took notes from editors and agents on their pet peeves in the manuscripts they receive. I.E. Don't use a lot of prepositions or words like THAT; how to rewrite sentences to avoid passive tense; to avoid words that take the reader out of deep POV like FEEL, GUESS, THINK; and show don't tell (this took me years to understand, learn, and apply.) I would have been very ashamed of myself if Deborah would have pointed these mistakes to me like she'd done back when I first met her.
Also, I read from blogs like Writing and Illustrating by Kathy Temean and Fiction Notes by Darcy Pattison. I even use one of her plotting charts to plot out my novel which is why this novel is stronger than my last.
And I've read hundreds (I kid you not) over two hundred MG and YA novels. When I read, I study technique; I highlight sentences I love; and get lost in voice. If there is a book I'm reading (it doesn't happen often) and I don't melt into the story's plot and bond with the m/c after the first five chapters I stop reading--even if it is an award winning novel. Sometimes, I feel, some of the books are chosen unfairly like the make-up Academy Award that was given Whoopie Goldberg for Ghost when the year before she was robbed of her recognition for The Color Purple.
I count audio books as books I've read. Most of the time, I read the book and if it's fantastic I buy the audio book and listen to it with my daughter. When a writer listens to an audio book it's a whole different experience. The words seep into our subconscious in a way that reading doesn't.
The Harry Potter series is a good example. It is read by Jim Dale and he is fantastic. It is through the audio books of a good writer (and narrator) that I pick up on dialogue and word choice flow. Other excellent audio books include: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, The Year of Secret Assignments by Jacklyn Moriarty, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, and any audio book written by Karen Cushman (especially Cathrine, Called Birdy and The Midwife's Apprentice.)
Finally, I read books on the Writing Craft. I told everyone about the two books which helped me understand how to make my writing really strong, which are: Rivet Your Readers With Deep POV by Jill Elizabeth Nelson and Thanks, But This Isn't For Us by Jessica Page Morrell. You can see the difference in how I write now compared to years ago. I'm not saying I'm the next NY Best Selling Author or anything, I'm only explaining my journey.
It's been a long haul. I've had lots of rejections, including one today from an agent from Full Circle, and a rejection in March (last month) which I submitted in 2011.
As time goes by, my rejections get more personal and include specific praise. Some can't take on my project because they have something similar on their list. They tell me what book it is and I read it. Other's tell me they didn't bond with the character or to make my story start in the second chapter. But, it is encouraging when, at every conference I've attended over the last three years, my story was chosen as Editor's or Agent's pick and I get to meet personally with an agent. This would not have happened with out patience.
Patience is the number one quality a writer must have. Patience and the ability to be a duck--to not get my feathers ruffled when someone rejects my work or criticizes me. I take this as a compliment and use it in ways to make my writing stronger. I've done over twenty revisions of my first book--Deborah can attest to this. I am not afraid to revise.
I love writing, but because I'm bipolar I think everything I write is fabulous when I'm manic. Thank God for critiques to bring me back down to earth. I'm just grateful I've learned to be patient because it is the law of large numbers game.
The real trick is to never give up.
