The Letters She Left Behind PLAYLIST

BOOK PLAYLIST

This Spotify playlist is a labor of love for two characters I’m so excited to share with you: Adam and Alexandra in The Letters She Left Behind (Available on Amazon May 7, 2019).

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Each of the songs selected is a part of the journey of rewriting this story to share with you. The order of the Spotify playlist tells Adam’s and Alex’s story like a soundtrack, and as I wrote supported the emotional connection to their experience. I sincerely hope listening to this soundtrack will help you fall in love with them like I have; I adore this love story. All the feels. I hope the music will enhance your reading of the novel when you do.

  1. Motion by Khalid

  2. Bed by SYML

  3. Naive by RKCB

  4. Gravity by Sara Bareilles

  5. Forgiven by Vancouver Sleep Clinic

  6. 1000 Times by Sara Bareilles

  7. Josephine by RITUAL

  8. Under You by Nick Jonas

  9. This Ain’t Love by Andy Grammer

  10. Breathe Again by Sara Bareilles

  11. Better by Khalid

  12. Hurt Somebody by Noah Kahn & Julia Michaels

  13. Fuel on Fire by Bear’s Den

  14. Hurt Nobody by Andrew Belle

  15. Closure by Vancouver Sleep Clinic

  16. Far Out Dust by Talos

  17. Can’t Help Falling In Love with You by Kina Grannis

  18. Crystalline by Jome

  19. I Choose You by Sara Bareilles

  20. As Long as I have You I’m Home by Imaginary Future

YA Author Series Launch: CL Walters

Over the next seven weeks, this blog will feature seven different authors who write Young Adult Stories.

Each Monday in April (and into May), a new author (published and unpublished) will be featured along with a 500-1000 words selection of her work (sorry, guys - no men submitted! What the heck!?!? Your assignment is to go read any or all of these authors: Marcus Zusak, Jeff Zentner and John Green).

Today, I will launch the format using my own work so you’ll get a sense of what to look for in the coming weeks. I hope this series is beneficial for you as readers (maybe you’ll find your next favorite author in the coming weeks), as well as for the author as a growth opportunity to share their voices.

FEEDBACK WANTED!

Be sure to provide the guest authors some CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK! Either in the comments section or in some capacity on their social media platforms. As writers - constructive feedback fuels us.

Drum roll please . . .

CL Walters

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Tell us three things about who you are and why you write . . . I write because I can’t not write (please forgive the double negative). When I don’t, I turn into a bitch and that isn’t healthy for my family or my marriage. Writing is like breathing, so without it, I’m not living. Second, I adore stories - reading them, studying them, writing them - it all blends together. Finally, I write stories which I categorize as “young adult” but I hope they are just human stories that anyone at any age can enjoy.

Tell us about the story we’re going to read (your elevator pitch). . . Gabe is faced with a choice between life and death; the question is, what will he discover about himself to help him make the decision.

What are three things you want us to know as we read? This story is the third act of a trilogy. The first two books explore Abby’s and Seth’s stories in Swimming Sideways and The Ugly Truth. Gabe’s story The Bones of Who We Are has been challenging to write but not only because of the writing, but because of the content which swirls around bullying, victimization and depression.

Where can we find this story? Where can we find you (IG, Twitter, FB, website). The Bones of Who We Are is slated to be published this coming October (2019). In the meantime, you can catch up with Swimming Sideways and The Ugly Truth which are on Amazon (Kindle and Print). I can be found on IG (@cl.walters) and Twitter (@peeledandcored), my website (www.clwalters.net) and FB (CLWalters).

From… The Bones of Who We Are:

(YA Contemporary - Language Warning…)

I hate walking through the Quad. It’s a necessity twice a day unless I want to take the long way around the outside of the school. The deciding factor is always which one has the potential for more problems. Outside, I run the risk of an actual fight. In the Quad, I run the risk of mocking, maybe shit thrown at me, or something else to make me feel less than human. The first one means physical harm. The second one emotional and mental, but I can usually block it out with my headphones.

When I turn the corner from the stairwell into the opening of the Quad, it’s full. This time of the school day - lunch - it usually is. People are either in the cafeteria or there, especially as the weather turns rainy and cold. They sit on or around a myriad of red and black tables, congregate by the vending machines in red and black metal cages, and flirt with someone they crush on moving like honey bees from table to table. Some industrious students use the space to study, but not very often at lunch. It’s a space with very little adult supervision. This is for several reasons. First, the school office is across the way which adults must assume is a deterrent for teen bullshit (it isn’t) and, second, it’s lunch time. Teachers are either in the cafeteria, eating lunch with their work friends, or in their classrooms making space for those industrious students needing a place to escape the teen bullshit in the Quad.

I hesitate for a moment, consider walking around the outside or cutting through the offices, but then am annoyed for even thinking about it. I have every right to walk through the Quad. I shouldn’t have to feel worried to do it. But then that’s the problem of positivity, of allowing in layers of hope. It crumbles without a proper foundation, and just like I’d told Doc it would happen, the mouth of the escape route collapses burying me inside. It was, after all, only a matter of time.

I’m halfway across the space when I’m yanked backward. I keep my feet, but my hoodie cuts into my throat choking me. I rock backward and then forward.

Laughter.

“What the fuck!” I turn.

Tommy Pilner, his hands raised in mock surrender and smiling like he’s just caught a mouse, says, “Yo. Daniels. You don’t have to go all HAM, dude.”

I’ve known Tommy since coming to Cantos and he’s always been the same; he loves the Freak Challenge. He’s taken full advantage of the fact I don’t throw hands. Seth used to say his dad described Tommy as a younger version of his old man. I think: aren’t we all, which doesn’t bode well for any of us. “Fuck off,” I tell him, and turn away.

He grabs my hood again, but this time pulls with so much force I’m yanked off my feet. I slam against the floor on my back.

Laughter.

“Jesus, Daniels. What the fuck? You really should be more careful. You could get hurt.” Tommy laughs looking at his friends. “You all see him slip?”

They are laughing.

I’m on my feet.

Here’s another thing about hope - besides the risk of losing it - it begins to warm the cold and melt away the perceptions of what you’ve come to think you deserve into something more golden. You look outside the clear window, feel that sunshine, and think: Yeah. I could go out there and play. When the storm comes in, you remember what that sun felt like, and you want the fucking sun.

So, maybe I wouldn’t have a few weeks ago, but I take a step toward Tommy.

His smile falters.

The Bones of Who We Are… Coming October 2019

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Book Mash-Up Fun

You know how on Glee, they would mash-up songs to create a new song. Well, I was thinking about my books and wondered if they were a mash-up of books, what would their mash-up be?

Here are my book mash ups . . .

Swimming Sideways would be:

Have you read any of these books?

The first is Sarah Dessen’s Along for the Ride (2009). It’s about a girl who’s struggling with perfectionism and the divorce of her parents. A good read for anyone interested . . .And Dessen is coming out with a new book this year, I think.

The second is Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. This book is about Melinda who starts her freshman year an outcast because of calling the cops at the end of summer party. There’s more than meets the eye, however. THIS is one of my FAVORITE YA novels of all time. And Laurie Halse Andrerson just published a book TODAY called SHOUT.

Whalerider by Witi Ihimaera is a beautiful story that explores a Maori girl facing the struggle between the patriarchal stance of the old world tradition her grandfather holds and the ushering in of a new era of cultural strength with the beauty of the youth. It is so beautifully written and grapples with themes of culture, gender and identity.

John Green’s Looking for Alaska (which is being adapted into a Hulu show) is a book that explores not only personal identity but what it truly means to live which I also explored recently on my IG for my review on Five Feet Apart.


The Ugly Truth would be

Gayle Foreman’s If I Stay forces a young woman caught in between life and death to examine her reasons for living as she determines if she should live or not after a fatal car accident carrying her and her family through the Oregon countryside.

The Lovely Bones of Alice Sebold is the unflinching revelation of a teen girl’s murder, and its aftermath on the family left behind told through the lenses of the murdered girl.

It might be a bit obvious that I am an admirer of Laurie Halse Anderson’s work. Twisted is her novel about a young man struggling not only with his own identity as a young man, but with his father ideas (and struggles) related to manhood.

Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelson is the story of a young man named Cole who’s dealing with a lot of anger. After perpetrating a horrific crime against another young man - nearly killing him - Cole is offered the opportunity to face his punishment through Native American Circle Justice. What he doesn’t realize, however when he accepts this challenge instead of prison, is just how much it will change him.

What do you think? What would your mash-up for Swimming Sideways and/or The Ugly Truth be? Comment below.

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Pacing the Narrative: A New Tool

Look up “pacing your novel” on the internet, and you’ll hit a list of links page after page. It’s a topic about which writers are curious and hopeful of answers. The conundrum is, however, there isn’t a quick and true “fix” to pace. A range of techniques from developing conflict and tension to literary devices like dialogue, imagery, and syntax (personal usage of language) are presented as means to achieve the elixir for pace. There’s a plethora of information out there.

Every writer has a toolbox built over the years of developing craft. Again, Stephen King talks about this extensively.

Every writer has a toolbox built over the years of developing craft. Again, Stephen King talks about this extensively.

So, instead of write about pacing from the same lens of what’s already been offered, I thought I’d draw from my writer’s toolbox and cover a technique I learned and have used directly related to pacing.

First and foremost, as Stephen King has impressed upon us in his On Writing: a Memoir of the Craft, read, read and read some more. There is no better way to become a better writer (other than to write). Studying authors you like, different genres, “listening” to the beats of writing with a writer’s ear is the first and best way to develop your own style which includes pacing. This is not an easy fix, just a necessary truth.

That said, here’s a tool from my own TOOLBOX: Compression and Expansion

Several years ago, I attended a workshop called Write Your Life by Mark W. Travis (Hollywood Director; see his books about directing, writing, and writing structure). The purpose of the workshop was to explore autobiographical storytelling, and while it was geared toward oral storytelling it supported the art of writing the story. Two terms Mr. Travis taught were the ideas of Compression and Expansion both of which I have found useful in the art of pacing.

Compression does exactly what it sounds like: compress or press together in the case of story time.  Consider in a movie the idea of a montage (i.e., a training montage in an action film, or the makeover trope in a romance film) and the way the visuals are pieced together to showcase the passage of time. Compression does this in a written form, highlighting key moments to compress the passage of time into something small and powerful.

Expansion is the opposite. It takes a key moment and expands it, highlighting its importance for the character, conflict, and theme. Visually, in a film, this might be a slow motion moment or a flashback. Expansion as a technique of writing follows a similar pattern as compression, highlighting key words and ideas to expand the idea into something meaningful.

The ideas in practice using work I’ve written would look like the following excerpts from my novels Swimming Sideways and The Ugly Truth. First determine a scene which you feel would benefit from either technique and determine if you want to highlight the passage of time - compress it - or the importance of a moment - expand it.

Compression (from The Ugly Truth):

In the following scene, Seth, the protagonist, has become aware of himself and the fact his consciousness is outside of his physical body. The compression used in this scene was meant to compress an unknown amount of time for him because time has stopped making logical sense:

 The wail of the siren.  

Words: “Stay with us, Seth.”

The wail of a woman (I think she is my mother).

Bright lights.

Beeps and blips of equipment speaking.

Drip.

“Swelling.”

“Induced coma.”

Doctors.

Whir.

Now.

I don’t think it has been very long. If I use the emotion of the woman I think is my mother’s gusts of grief as a measure, this seems recent.

Expansion (from Swimming Sideways):

The following scene is the moment the audience learns what happens to Abby in her past as she attends a party with her friend, Seth. Though the moment explores a party she attended in her past and the subsequent trauma of it, instead of glossing over the idea in a few sentences or a paragraph to tell what happened, I expanded it to heighten the drama of the whole scene.


 I close my eyes and slip backwards in time:

Have another drink.

Feeling loose.

Kanoa is staring at me.

Giddy with his attention.

Another drink. He brings it to me.

Laughter.

Kanoa is all-encompassing. I’ve seen him at school. He’s older.

He asks me to dance.

Pressed up against me, the dance is slow. I feel his body. The ache of want.

A kiss and my heart dances too.

Here, have another drink.

Drown the pain and grief of losing Poppa.

I return to the dance with Seth and shudder. He leans back, lifts my face to look at him. He’s smiling, until he realizes I’m crying. “What’s wrong?” he says.

I shake my head, unable to speak and bury my head against his chest as I return to the past:

Another dance. Another drink. I feel loose.

I feel dizzy. Where are my friends?

Here’s another drink. Kanoa. He’s there.

Have another. Drink up.

Where are my friends?

Inhibition dissipates like steam from a boiling pot.

Fast song.

Kanoa dancing with me.

“Dance for me,” he says.

People encircle us.

The crowd chants my name but they slip away as I move; a show for Kanoa.

Kanoa pulls at my shirt. I help him take it off.

His hands all over my now bare skin.

His undivided attention. His smile.

I dance. He helps me, his hands guiding my hips.

The crowd cheers.

I didn't know there were cameras.

A show for everyone.

It was too late.

Where are my friends?

In a viral moment, I became the resident slut of my high school.

Writing is about making choices to propel our goal as writers of telling the best story we can. My goals for using these techniques were to:

  1. pace the content,

  2. highlight the importance of the moment in the narrative,

  3. add to and build tension, and

  4. finally to continue developing characters.

Is it directly related to pacing? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

Practice Point:  Choose a moment in your current WIP to expand or compress. Reread the section with the addition. What does it do for pacing and flow?

NEXT UP: Dialogue

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Character and Conflict Part2: Motivation

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Having read - a lot - a definite way for me to want to throw a book at the wall is when the narrative either loses sight of the conflict or an author struggles to develop one. As a reader, a lack of or an unclear conflict can feel like sitting in a staff meeting without a purpose. Whether you’re a writer who wants to write a more cohesive story, or a reader who’s developing their critique technique, one thing to look for in respect to believable and developed conflict is the main character’s motivation.

Characters - if developed as a round, dynamic, fleshed out character - are motivated to act. Their movements don’t just spontaneously combust into forward movement for the sake of moving plot. If they do, there is a problem with author insertion and adding to a reader’s awareness of a plot feeling contrived. If you aren’t sure why a character makes a choice in the action or dialogue, or feel confused by it, chances are the character’s motivation isn’t clearly defined or the author is intruding.

With respect to characterization and conflict: do you ask your protagonist, antagonist these questions?

With respect to characterization and conflict: do you ask your protagonist, antagonist these questions?

Motivation for a character, just like in our own lives outside of the pages, can be intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is the internal means of propelling a character based on internal desires. Harry Potter, for example, in The Sorcerer and the Stone (J.K. Rowling) was motivated to understand who he was outside the Dursleys. He wanted to know more about his past which propelled him on a journey toward personal enlightenment. Intrinsic motivation. Frodo Baggins, in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (JRR Tolkien), however, was motivated to get the one ring out of the Shire in order to keep his home safe from an external danger. Extrinsic motivation. While the stories begin with a specific sort of motivation - internal or external - this doesn’t mean the motivation won’t change. We see both Harry and Frodo undergo changes along the journey to change what motivates their choices, just as that occurs in our own lives.

I took a wonderful class many years ago that helped me as a creative writer. The class was called The 90-Day Novel by Alan Watt. Character motivation was one idea which really stuck with me. A simple tool Mr. Watt presented which I have used over and over in my own writing is the following sentence:


If (Main Character) can (fill in the blank) then s/he can (fill in the blank).

Here’s an example from Star Wars: A New Hope:


If Luke Skywalker can get off Tatooine then he can be happy.


This is Luke’s reality in the opening of the movie. A clear motivation which propels his curiosity. The longer we follow his journey, however, his initial motivation shifts as the he moves forward in the hero’s journey. When his family is murdered, his motivation shifts. This is a mirror to reality; our motivation is constantly shifting based on attained goals, redefined wants, and personal desires.

So to mirror Luke’s shift in motivation:

If Luke Skywalker can help the rebellion he can avenge his family’s death.

It is important to follow the motivation to the root, however. As the above example shows there are still questions: Why does Luke want to avenge his family?

If Luke can avenge his family then he can clear his conscious for leaving them.

A round and dynamic character’s motivation will always modify and shift as the journey shapes her; that is what makes her more relatable to readers. These changes in motivation whether intrinsic or extrinsic are often rooted in the journey (which if you aren’t familiar with Chris Vogler’s work on the Joseph Campbell monomyth be sure to look it up). As the story moves forward, the motivation serves as a guide for interaction with other characters, propels the main character’s choices, and determines forward action which is believable rather than contrived.

Think about your favorite novel or your current work in progress. Can you create an If/can, then/can statement?

Up Next: Pacing your story . . .





The Ugly Truth: Cover Reveal and Playlist

It’s here! The follow up to Abbys story in Swimming Sideways with Seth’s story in The Ugly Truth.

The Spotify Playlist for The Ugly Truth:

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  1. I Was Wrong (Robin Schulz Remix) - A R I Z O N A

  2. Heartbeat - Haux

  3. Forever Lost - God is an Astronaut

  4. Always - Tyson Motsenbocker

  5. Ayahuasca - Vancouver Sleep Clinic

  6. On the Train Ride Home - The Paper Kites

  7. Mass (Re-Imagined) - Phoria

  8. Body - SMYL

  9. All Time Low - Jon Bellion

  10. You Deserve Better - James Arthur

  11. Luna - Ebb & Flod

  12. Cold Desert - Kings of Leon

  13. Waves - Dean Lewis

This Writer Reads

Stephen King wrote that “books are a uniquely portable magic,” and he also said, “If you don’t have time read, you don’t have time (or the tools) to write.” This wisdom speaks to me on so many levels, therefore I have always made time to read. So far this year, I’ve read thirty-eight books (I’m proud of that number since I surpassed my Good Reads goal by 20 books already. I may have undershot it a bit when making my goal). Right now, stacked on my nightstand are Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi of which I am about 25 pages into, and then Markus Zusak’s Bridge of Clay which is next. I will definitely hit at least forty reads by the end of the year (and prove I need to increase my Good Reads goal next year).

To give you a sense of my reading choices:

I’ve read both of Rupi Kapur’s books of poetry as well as The Darkness Between Stars by Atticus Poetry. I’ve delved into The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert and was entertained by both Tehereh Mafi’s Shatter Me and Somaiya Daud’s Mirage. I’ve read four duologies, trilogies, series from Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy to Sabaa Tahir’s A Reaper at the Gates (An Ember in the Ashes #3) Veronica Roth’s Carve the Mark duology. Then I’ve read some older Lavyrle Spencer romance novels and some dark who-done-its by Ruth Ware and Jo Nesbo. The point I’m hopefully making is that I read a lot of different kinds of genres by a variety of authors. Maybe that will help frame my perspective when giving you my top books I’ve read so far this year (in no particular order).

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green - while not my favorite John Green book (Looking For Alaska is my favorite btw) - was a wonderful story that really put into perspective the struggles of someone with anxiety and compulsive disorder. This was very eye opening for me and one of the reasons I read. I want my world to increase. Turtles All the Way Down did that in wonderful John Green fashion.

A poignant story that explores struggle.

A poignant story that explores struggle.

Sleeping Beauties by Owen and Stephen King was a really interesting look at gender roles. The timeliness in conjunction of the #metoo movement really made this book relevant in the best King fashion. The coincidence of reading this book while I was working with students on a unit about perspective as it relates to themes of social injustice, specifically with race and gender, felt a bit like the universe was speaking to me. The book is too long to use in the classroom setting, but we did talk about it (because I’m always talking to my students about what I’m reading).

Coincides nicely with the #metoo movement and gender studies.

Coincides nicely with the #metoo movement and gender studies.

Confession: I am embarrassed to say that I had never read The Great Gatsby by  F. Scott Fitzgerald until this year. As I was working on my own novel Swimming Sideways, Abby’s English Teacher was making her read it (weird it was a book I hadn’t read, but it HAD to be that book for some reason). I thought: I better read it, and OMG, it rocked my world! The themes are on point. I’m so glad I added this classic to my “read it” pile.

A wonderful classic and a quick read.

A wonderful classic and a quick read.

I worked with a teacher many years ago who suggested I read Carolyn Mackler’s The Earth My Butt and Other Big Round Things. I never got to that one (though it is on my shelf waiting to be read) but I did read Infinite In Between. It was good. While I might have given it one less than five stars because the ending felt a bit rushed to me, overall, this was such a creative and interesting take on four characters. Mackler’s development of them was excellent, and I ended up sucking this book dry so quickly I got brain freeze!

Loved this coming of age story with heart.

Loved this coming of age story with heart.

Leigh Bardugo is my writing hero on so many levels. I devoured the Grisha Verse series (and it is excellent and creative) but it is nothing next to the Six of Crows series and Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2) is fantastic. It is like Bardugo took Six of Crows #1 and shot it with steroids to create Crooked Kingdom. These characters walk from the page and asked me to be a part of their troop Character development, which Bardugo does so well, is one of my BIGGEST turn ons as a writer. One of my favorite series ever - hands down.

Kissing in America by Margo Rabb was one of those books that I didn’t know anything about and hadn’t heard anything about so I just randomly selected it based on the cover. It sounded cute; I opened it up and started reading. Here’s the thing, I didn’t expect the exploration of grief and the heartfelt coming-of-age story. This story hit me where it mattered, in all the right places of my heart. Granted, I was going rounds with very fresh grief of my own when I read it, so that might have skewed my perspective. Another Confession: I’m a crier. It isn’t difficult to get me to cry when the moment is poignant, but this novel got me to sob. The character development was fantastic. I LOVED it!

LOVED this story: coming of age with adventure, heartbreak and love.

LOVED this story: coming of age with adventure, heartbreak and love.

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah was a recommendation from a friend. I picked it up and am so glad I did. This is an excellent story and I texted every one of my English Teacher friends and said: We have to teach this book! It’s funny, it’s relevant, it’s heartfelt (yes, I cried) and it’s necessary. One of my top books this year.

This book made me laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time so I had snot bubble out of my nose.

This book made me laugh and cry, sometimes at the same time so I had snot bubble out of my nose.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates was another recommendation. On the cover of the book, Toni Morrison is quoted with “This is required reading.” So I walked into the book initially with a deer in the headlights feeling that this was going to be way over my head. Ten pages in, as Coates writes this letter to his son, I was sure I wasn’t smart enough to read it, but I kept going, and I’m so glad that I did; I’m better for it, I hope. Coates wrote: “A writer and that is what I was becoming, must be wary of every Dream and every nation, even his own nation. Perhaps his own nation more than any other, precisely because it is his own.” This book made me sob and I haven’t stopped thinking about it. In the push to open my eyes and increase my world, this book did that tenfold. I agree that as Americans we should read this book.

This book opened my eyes in a way they hadn’t seen before.

This book opened my eyes in a way they hadn’t seen before.

The premise of I am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall intrigued me. I purchased the book not knowing what to expect. As I began reading, I really liked the way in which she used time as a function of the story because it was about time. Our lives are boiled down to the essence of time and how we use it on so many levels. Initially, I didn’t like the protagonist because she was such a “victim,” but then Marshall flipped the script on me - surprising me -  and I loved her. This is one of my favorites this year!

I enjoyed this book so much. It surprised me.

I enjoyed this book so much. It surprised me.

Jeff Zentner is coming out with a new novel in February of 2019 which I am looking forward to reading, and The Serpent King is actually a couple of years old. I finally had some time to read it this year, and I was blown away. First, his teenagers were on point. Second, the prose was perfect. Third, it made me laugh out loud, but then I also sobbed my heart out. A talented writer, I think, is one who is able to make characters come alive in a way that makes a reader think they’ve made new friends. I find myself wondering how these characters are doing long after I finished the book. It’s an excellent examination of that question about parental influence on personal perspective of not only the world but of self. Read this one.