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[If you have a minute, swing by Jennifer Nielsen's blog where I answer the very important question: Fruit or chocolate? (I bet you can't guess what my answer was.) And if you'd like to win copies of both of my books, check out this awesome giveaway.]

Last week, one of my students and I were talking about a project she’s been struggling with for a few years now. She’s brought the manuscript to several workshops and critique groups, tried starting it in various places, and has found herself consistently stuck.

When I asked her if she’d been able to get through a first draft, she admitted that she’s been so focused on getting the beginning “right” that it’s kept her from getting very far into the story.

Essentially, she’s in what I call “workshop purgatory,” which is when you keep getting feedback on your story opening, revising based on that feedback, only to get more feedback, etc. I think most of us have been there. You spend so much energy on perfecting your opening that you never actually get to the end of the story, thus trapping yourself in revision limbo forever.

My advice? Pretend the beginning is perfect and just keep going until the end. There are two reasons for this:

1. If you never get to the end of the story then it doesn’t matter how perfect your beginning is.

2. What if you find by the end of the story might completely change what happens at the beginning.

I think it can be immensely helpful to get feedback from fellow writers on how to make your beginnings stronger while you’re still figuring the story out. The more solid your opening, the easier the rest of the story will be to write. But, like everything else, it’s about balance. You can’t keep tinkering with an opening and never move beyond it.

That’s why, even though I like to revise as I’m drafting, I make sure that I keep writing new scenes along with revising the old. Otherwise, it’s far too easy to get stuck on making the book perfect…and never actually write it. That’s how I wound up with dozens of unfinished manuscripts before I finally learned how to get to The End.

Have you ever found yourself in Revision Limbo?

If you have a minute, swing by Walk the Ridgepole where I stopped by to talk sequels, secrets, and picture books.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a very nice review of Epic Fail in the April issue of the Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books. Here’s an excerpt:

“A light-hearted romp through fairy-tale tropes, this will be a hit among youngsters past the Disney-princess stage who still secretly cling to the hope that mermaids and fairies exist.” (See the full review here.)

Of course, I’m not sure why they’d imply that mermaids and fairies don’t exist, but I guess I can forgive that.

I also have some exciting things in the works:

-Three super-personalized Epic Fail ARCS will soon be up for grabs. More details to come!

-It turns out that ARCs of THE DIRT DIARY will be available at BEA at the end of May, so I’ll be doing a big cover reveal sometime before then. The cover is adorable–I can’t wait to share it with you guys!

And now back to line edits for MY SORT OF FAIRY TALE ENDING. I have less than two weeks to get the book nice and shiny before it’s out of my hands. I can’t believe the series is almost over, but I think Jenny will appreciate it when I finally stop messing up her life!

Have a great weekend!

Writing deadlines haven’t left me much time for reading recently, but I’ve managed to squeeze in a few titles. Here’s what I’ve been reading. (Perhaps in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I’ve found myself drawn to green covers recently.)

Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

I was really looking forward to this final installment in the Across the Universe series, and this book didn’t disappoint. In fact, I read it in pretty much one sitting!

Adaptation by Malinda Lo

A fascinating and creepy story about…well, I won’t spoil it for you. But I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel.

The Runaway King by Jennifer Nielsen

I was so excited to learn that Jen (my agent-mate) was a NYT best-seller! After reading this follow-up to The False Prince, I can see why. This was one of those stories that stuck in my head long after I was done reading it.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

I have to admit that when I first tried to read this book, I had a hard time getting into it. But I decided to give it another try as an audio book, and now I’m totally sucked in. The world-building in particular is fantastic. I’m excited to listen to the rest.

That’s it for me. What have you been reading?

More and more I’ve found myself describing the UnFairy Tale series as “Tween” even though it technically falls into the category of middle grade. And my next series, The Dirt Diary, seems to fit the Tween label even more.

So what exactly is Tween, you ask? Definitions will vary, but for me, Tween is made up of two factors:

Age

Tween tends to be about pre-teens or young teens. In my UnFairy Tale series, Jenny is 12-13 during the three books. She fits more firmly into the middle grade genre based on her age. In The Dirt Diary, Rachel is 14 and is just about to finish eighth grade. She’s more concerned with boys than Jenny is, but her story is still very light and G-rated.

Tone

For me, tween is more about tone than age. Both of my series have a light, funny tone that keeps them from getting too serious (while still infusing the story with emotion). When I think of a book being a fun, quick read about a character who’s a young teen or an almost-teenager, I would put that into the Tween category.

I think another way of labeling Tween is “Young YA” which isn’t really a category you hear about. But when I think about The Dirt Diary, that’s exactly how I would classify it. Rachel’s concerns are still rooted in middle school, but she’s about to enter into high school in a few months, so she’s starting to have more of a teenage mentality.

Here are a couple examples (off the top of my head) of other books that I consider to be Tween:

Honestly, there are so many different definitions of Tween out there that I could do a whole series of posts about it. Ultimately, though, I think Tween is hard to pin down because it’s very much an in-between genre. It’s MG that could appeal to slightly older readers or YA that could work for slightly younger ones. It’s fluid and adaptable and full of possibilities, which is probably why I enjoy it so much.

What do you think of when you hear the term “Tween”?

[Some fun news: I discovered that THE DIRT DIARY popped up on Goodreads and Amazon yesterday! It's a real book! I can't wait to share the adorable cover with you soon!]

So a while back, I was taking to my father about how the older you get, the more things you have to do and the less time you have to do them. His advice? To accept the fact that you’ll always feel this way and just accomplish what you can. Very zen, right?

As I find myself in the midst of a dozen different things that are demanding my attention, I’m trying to keep breathing and remind myself that certain things will have to slide. Maybe something will get done late. Maybe something less important won’t get done at all.

For someone as Type A as I am, this approach can be painful. What do you mean something won’t get done? Or that it’ll only get done at 50 percent? But I have to do ALL THE THINGS PERFECTLY!

I guess it comes down to priorities. Which things do I have to accomplish on time and well? Which things have a little more leeway? And which might not be as urgent as they seem?

And the most important thing? Be forgiving. If you don’t accomplish everything on your list, it’s okay. Just do the best you can. I think that’s going to be my new mantra.

I’m knee-deep in revision right now, so here’s an older craft post that seems fitting.

I’ve been having great luck with books recently, but for a while I was in a serious reading dry spell. I’d pick up book after book and not get more than a few chapters in. After reflecting on all those books I couldn’t get through, I’ve come up with a list of things that make me stop reading – and how to avoid them.

1. I can’t connect to the character. No matter how important the conflict feels to the character, if I don’t care what happens to her, I won’t care if the conflict is resolved. That’s why when a story starts with action, it needs to clue us into the character very quickly, otherwise we’re watching things happen to a person we have no reason to care about.

Solution: Make us connect with the character right away; we don’t necessarily need to like her but we need to care enough about her that we’ll be upset if she’s crushed by an asteroid.

2. Nothing has really happened, and it doesn’t feel like anything is going to happen anytime soon. If I’m on chapter five and I’m still not sure what the story is going to be about, chances are I’ll give up on it.

Solution: Story is about conflict, and that conflict should at least be hinted at in the first chapter. Beautiful writing or a great voice will only get you so far; ultimately, your story needs to be about someone struggling.

3. The telling doesn’t do the story justice. I was excited to read a particular book because of the premise, but it was structured as a series of reports that were supposed to recount the events of the story. This approach kept me so far away from the characters that I just couldn’t get invested in the story, no matter how interesting the premise was.

Solution: Experimentation is great, but you still want to draw in your reader. If you want to keep some distance between your reader and your characters, for example, give us some other compelling reason to keep reading.

4. The story doesn’t make me care. Sometimes there’s a general “So what?” that I feel when I’m reading; why should I care what happens in this story? Often this is because the stakes aren’t high enough or the characters’ motivations aren’t believable. I want to care about these people and what happens to them, but if it feels like their struggles aren’t genuine or necessary, then I probably won’t keep reading.

Solution: Make the stakes high but also make them believable. If the character is taking big risks for something she doesn’t care about and that doesn’t really affect her, chances are we won’t care about her struggle.

5. The story is too derivative. Of course all stories are inspired by others stories, but if I start reading a book that is trying too hard to be like something else (Twilight, perhaps?), I usually find that distracting. Often I get the feeling that I’ve read this book before, and it was better the first time.

Solution: If you’re writing a story that’s been told many times before, you have to find a way to make it your own – find that special twist that makes your story unique.

6. It’s just not my personal taste. This isn’t a fault as much as it is a reminder. Your story will not be for everyone. My husband absolutely loved a book and encouraged me to read it; I got about halfway through and had to put it aside because it was just too gory for me.

Solution: Keep your ideal reader in mind and write for him. Of course, you want your story to have a broad appeal, but it’s impossible to cater to everyone.

So that’s my list of “deal-breakers” and some possible solutions. Now it’s time for yours. What makes you stop reading a book? What are some possible solutions to those problems?

If you have a minute, pop over to the Cabinet of Curiosities where I talk about lots of things, including my biggest hair wish.

Remember way back in 2011 when I released a book trailer for My Very UnFairy Tale Life? And it was so amazing that it totally changed your life? And you sat in front of your computer for MONTHS waiting for the book trailer for My Epic Fairy Tale Fail to come out? Well, the wait is finally over. Here it is. Get ready to have your life changed all over again.

It’s been a busy week!

I’m over at the Crooked Book talking about lots of things, including my favorite word. Hint: It waddles.

Aaaand, the first review of My Epic Fairy Tale Fail is in. And it’s a good one! Kirkus says:

“Staniszewski again keeps her tone light and frothy with plenty of wry humor…Middle school friendships offer a nice theme, as does Jenny’s casual acceptance of her fantasy life. The humor is balanced with a poignant subplot when Jenny learns that her long-lost parents disappeared from this very place, leading her to believe that she might be able to find them…Flippant fantasy fun.”

Hooray! Getting this review was a much-needed boost of confidence since I just found out that my deadline for the first Dirt Diary book has been bumped up. I’m a little nervous about getting everything done on time, but I’m sure it’ll all work out. (Fingers, toes, and eyes crossed, as Rachel from The Dirt Diary would say.)

What’s new with you?

I was so excited yesterday to see that My Very UnFairy Tale Life is only $1.99 for Kindle and Nook. I know it might seem strange that I’m happy about my book being so inexpensive, but I’m hoping the sale will help get it out to new readers. And just in time for the second installment in the series.

Speaking of series, I’m entering the land of crazy deadlines at the moment, trying to keep up with the publishing schedules for the UnFairy and Dirt Diary books, so I’m going to be adjusting my blogging schedule. I’ll be here on Tuesdays and Fridays–with an occasional other day, I’m sure.

And if you see me wasting time on FB and Twitter in the coming weeks, please yell at me and tell me to get back to work!

1. Oh boy. Now that UnFairy 3 is out of my hair for a bit, I’ve been trying to catch up on my To Do list. It’s amazing how many things slide right out of your brain when you’re busy, even if they’re important things. Slowly slowly slowly getting caught up.

2. The spring semester starts next week. I have NO idea how that happened. I guess time flies when you’re having…revision fun?

3. I’m over on Alison Formento’s blog today for a Book Splash interview, where I talk sea anemones and Star Wars sand castles. Can you say NERD?

4. Husband Ray and I are going away this weekend for a much-needed change of scenery. I’m looking forward to not being glued to my laptop for a couple of days.

5. I just started reading The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson, the sequel The Girl of Fire and Thorns. I loved the first book in the series, and I’m really looking forward to diving into the sequel.

Have a great weekend!