Guest Post by Author of PAIRING UP, Katie Van Ark: Favorite Books on Writing

If you're reading this post, you've probably at least seen the question before about what three books you'd want to take with you if you were to be stranded on a desert island. Though there are many, many authors I would miss, if I could only take three books I would take these three craft books so I could write myself a lifetime of stories. Egotistical? Perhaps, but these three books are worth it.

For developing great premises, I love Donald Maass's Writing the Breakout Novel. “In one-on-one meetings at writers conferences, I can usually stop a story pitch dead in its tracks by interjecting the following: 'Hold on, your protagonist wants to [insert goal here}.], but let me ask you this, if he is not successful, so what?'” (Maass 60) This book also taught me how to raise the stakes, incorporate psychology of place and social trends, and to develop my themes more fully.

Robert McKee's Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting is the book I wish I had seen in high school. Though I learned to basics of character, setting, and genre in school, McKee explains the relationships between these and other essential elements. “A beautifully told story is a symphonic unity in which structure, setting, character, genre, and idea meld seamlessly. To find their harmony, the writer must study the elements of story as if they were instruments of an orchestra – first separately, then in concert.” (McKee 29) Though the book was written for screenwriters, it is very applicable to novels. This is the book I turn to when developing plot lines and character arcs, the book that taught me about beats, writing a scene, turning points and climax.

Once I've developed a strong premise and have an idea of how the character arcs and plot structure will work, I write the first draft. Then it's time for the last book on my list: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print, by Renni Browne and Dave King. “You can drop your amateurish look and give your writing a professional edge.” (Browne & King 4) This is the book that I use to polish my drafts. With checklists at the end of each chapter, it guides writers to check for showing instead of telling, avoiding backstory dumps and tangents, using the most effective point of view, creating authentic sounding dialogue and much, much more.

Katie Van Ark is the author of Pairing Up. Visit her online at www.katievanark.com or on Twitter:@kvanark. http://www.swoonreads.com/m/pairing-up

Using Song Lyrics in Novels

When I started writing Empath, I knew music was going to be a part of the story right away. Lucy, the main character, is an excellent singer who falls for Anthony, the lead singer in a band. When these characters showed up in my mind, I knew they would want to perform in the story. So, I had to figure out a way to include music in my novel. But first, I did a little research about what’s involved with using real song lyrics and band names in fiction.

First, let me say that very few novels have real song lyrics in them. Want to know why? Because you have to get permission and PAY to use them (unless they’re public domain). Many publishers don’t want to deal with the hassle or expense and frown upon using real lyrics unless they’re pivotal in the story. If you’d like to read more about how complicated it is, here are some useful links:

Jane Friedman’s blog about getting permissions: http://janefriedman.com/2012/01/23/permissions/

Virginia Lloyd’s article on copyright: http://virginialloyd.com/vblog/using-lyrics-or-an-epigraph-in-your-book-curious-about-copyright/

Permission information with actual addresses for record companies: http://www.copyrightkids.org/permissioninformation.htm

Another really important thing to consider when deciding whether or not to include song lyrics in your novel, is the problem with dating your work. If you include a top-forty song on the radio today, will readers be able to appreciate it in five or ten years? This is especially true when writing YA novels, because young people can’t relate to out-of-date music or artists. In my opinion, it’s best to keep music generic so readers can imagine artists they think are cool as they read. This is why a lot of authors who have song lyrics or band names in their novels write the lyrics themselves. If you’re a serious writer, you’ve probably written poetry and it’s really no different. I gave it a shot in Empath, and it wasn’t too difficult to come up with a few lines for Lucy and Anthony to sing.

Lastly, music is a big part of most people’s lives and we associate certain songs with various feelings. If you include a song you have good feelings about, it doesn’t mean your reader will feel the same. You might actually ruin a scene for your reader if you set the tone with a song they hate. Then they might put the book down and that’s the last thing you’d want to happen, right? I think the best way to convey the mood in a scene is to use sensory details and imagery rather than real songs. 

But outside of the fictitious world of novels, please play your favorite songs to set the mood. It's Friday afternoon, so I'm thinking Justin Timberlake sounds good...