The Second Week #ChaBooChaLite #ChaBooCha

We've already reached the second week of the Lite challenge. How are you all doing with your stories?

The second week can often be difficult, because the first rush of the idea and your opening scene are done now and you have to start getting from one point in your story to the next. If you've outlined your story ahead of time, you might find this stage easier, but for those of you who, like me, create the story as you write it, you might find the writing comes to you a little bit more slowly now. You'll have to think about the story and where it is going before you write these next scenes.

Feel free to browse through previous posts here in the blog if you need some help or inspiration. ChaBooCha guest authors have covered a lot of topics during past challenges.

Give-away

And now for this week's prize:

Some of you might know that I, occasionally, create book covers: some for books I publish and some for clients. Here, you can see some examples of the covers I have created in the past. I am, by no means, the best at cover creation, but my covers do appeal to readers.

I'm offering, for this week's prize, to create a *book cover for one winner. You need to comment on this post to enter. The winner will be drawn by a random number generator drawn from signed-up members who comment below. The winner will be announced on September 30th.

*I work with photo-manipulation. My style might not be right for the book you are creating, but you are under no obligation, if you are the winner, to use the cover I create. I will do my best to come up with something that reflects the title and theme of your book. 

Teapot Tales: Volume 4 - Now taking submissions #TeapotTales #ChaBooCha

Teapot Tales: A Collection of Extraordinary Fairy Tales (Teapot Tales: Volume 4)

Do you like to write fairy tales?

Every year we bring out a new volume of our Teapot Tales anthologies with proceeds to benefit the Chapter Book Challenge. This will be the third volume and the theme is returning to fairy tales.

The stories are flash fiction (minimum word count 300 words/maximum word count 1,000 words) and are to either be a new take on an old fairy tale (sometimes called twisted fairy tales or fractured fairy tales) or completely new fairy tales.

Submissions are only open to Chapter Book Challenge members (it's free to join and the sign-up sheet is on the ChaBooCha blog). Previous Teapot Tales anthologies are "Teapot Tales: A Collection of Unique Fairy Tales" (Teapot Tales: Volume 1), "Teapot Tales: Pirates, Mermaids and Monsters of the Sea" (Teapot Tales: Volume 2), and Teapot Tales: A Collection of Unusual Fairy Tales (Teapot Tales: Volume 4). The anthologies are sold through Amazon, but will be expanding to other retail outlets. All authors retain the copyrights to their stories to publish in their own collections or on their own websites. Up to three stories may be submitted. Artwork (line drawings) is also accepted.

All work must be your own.

Please include a one-paragraph, third-person author bio with your submission. Website links to your sites are allowed within reason.

Deadline for story submissions (and artwork): August 31st, 2016

Perfection Isn't Necessary: Why Your Story Needs to Be Published #ChaBooChaLite

My daughter's book: Dark Unicorn

I have a confession to make. I have written over six full length novels, but only the first drafts. I have written over 36 picture books, completing the revisions and editing on six of them already, but have never sent any of them out to publishers. I have written three full first drafts of chapter books, but not completed the editing on them (and I'm writing another one now).

Why am I continuing to write without continuing to edit and revise? Why am I not sending out anything to publishers or self-publishing my novels? What is holding me back?

Perfection is what holds me back, or, more accurately, the desire to attain perfection. I am so worried about my stories not being good enough that I play it safe. If I never put my stories out there, no one can ever tell me how badly written they think they are, right? It's a fear that keeps me from finishing them; it keeps me from ever putting my work out there for the world to read and judge.

I admit that I do have short stories out in several anthologies, some published by my own indie publishing company and some by others. But I think what makes it easier is that I know that whether or not someone likes a story is, in part, subjective. And in an anthology, there are a lot of stories written not just by me but by others as well. A reader will like some stories more than others and that's okay. That's normal. So I feel like I'm achieving something with my writing without having to fully put myself out there.

Why am I confessing this now? Because I think, if some of you are finding yourselves doing the same thing, then maybe finding out you are not the only ones might help. Also, I've recently given myself a kick up the pants to FINISH my editing and revising and to get some of my work published - on its own.

The kick up the pants that I needed has to do with the book I published for my nine year old daughter (she's ten now). It's called "Dark Unicorn," and, although it is a sweet story, for those of us who are used to looking at books critically, it is easy to tell that the story was written by a child. But the story is written for children, not for editors or parents or even other writers. And I published her book for her because I wanted her to have confidence in her writing, and I knew it was written well enough, with enough of a story, that children would enjoy it.

And you know what? They do.

Here's a recent post I made to my Facebook profile:

"There's a sweet little girl at Cameron's school who always wants to hold my hand when we're walking to the other children's school. Her grandma picks her up from school.
A couple of days ago, I gave her a copy of Isabella's book "Dark Unicorn." Her first words when she saw it were, "I LOVE unicorns!" 

Today, I ran into her and her grandma again. She immediately said, "I don't know where my book is!" Her grandma said, "Yes, you do. It's at home on the couch." 

Then her grandma told me how much she loves the book. It's become her favourite book and she's read it dozens of times already, carrying it around with her everywhere in the house. 

So this very sweet little girl then said, "It's TEN WHOLE CHAPTERS! And I read it all by myself!" 

I can't wait to tell Isabella. She will be so pleased to hear how much this little six year old loves her book."

My nine year old daughter's book is another child's FAVOURITE book! Even if that is the only child who finds this book the best story ever, that's enough. That's why we write.

Your story doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to touch someone's emotions or even just give them some momentary pleasure while they read it. In all honesty, you can write the world's best book, and it still won't be perfect. Perfection is an illusion. And, as long as you write the best book you are capable of writing, whether or not someone else will love your book is completely subjective; everyone's tastes differ.

But if you never get your story out there, if you keep it hidden in a drawer, unfinished, you will never reach anyone with your story. Somewhere there is one child, a little girl or a little boy, who is waiting for your book, who will love your book and carry it around with them and read it over and over just for the pleasure of it.

So don't just write your book - finish it!

*****

My other daughter's book, "Grabbed by the Shadows"

Today's prize is in keeping with today's topic. Comment on this post and your name will be put into a drawing. If you win, I will create an e-book cover for you. but there's a catch - it has to be an e-book cover for a short story you've written, something over 2,000 words. It doesn't have to be for children; it can be a short story for adults. And you have to be willing to publish your short story to Kindle through KDP. You can use the cover for your story. (If you don't know how to publish through KDP, we can chat and I'll show you how.)

Getting through the middle of your story #ChaBooChaLite

By now, you might be reaching the middle of your book. This is where, if you let it, your story might begin to sag. But there are ways to avoid writing a saggy middle to your story.

1. Use your outline. Not knowing how to get from the beginning of your story to the end can cause many authors to flounder in the middle, but that is why you are supposed to have written an outline, with a synopsis for each chapter. The outline should tell you what you need to achieve in these middle chapters and give you direction.

2. View each chapter as a scene. If this scene were a short story, how would it begin and how would it end? What can you do to keep your readers interest all the way through? Giving your story the same focus on each chapter as you would for a new scene or a short story will help you keep it interesting for your readers.

3. Increase the stakes. If the stakes go up in the middle of the story, your readers interest will remain hooked. Maybe your protagonist now has even more to lose if she doesn't overcome her problem, or something happens to make overcoming the problem less likely.

4. Introduce a new character. This won't work for every storyline, but if the character can fit in within the context of the plot, sometimes this can cause renewed interest by readers, especially if this new person is a mystery, causes a new conflict, increases the conflict in some way or provides some much needed advice for the protagonist. Don't just throw any new character into the story. He has to be integral to the plot and cause a change in some way.

5. Work on your subplot and use it to increase the tension in the main plot. Tie the subplot into the main plot. Spend some time developing it, while subtly increasing the tension of the main plot.

6. Create a setback. Maybe your character has almost overcome the obstacles by now, but you are only half-way through the book. You will need a setback to keep form ending your story early and so that the story can start moving forward again.

7. Use your characters' interactions with each other to move the story forward.Dialogue between characters, even the unspoken body language between them, can create tension and pull the reader in closer.

8. Ask a question. If your story gets to the middle and, instead of answers, your protagonist now has even more questions, readers will continue to read because they want to find out what the answers to those questions are. This also increases the tension in the story.

9. Reveal a secret. Is there something about your protagonist or antagonist that your readers don't know yet? Use the middle of the story to reveal it.

10. Create a twist. Has your story been leading your readers to a false conclusion? Perhaps the middle of the story is a good time to reveal that. As long as it isn't giving away the end of your story, creating a twist can be a good way to keep your story's middle strong.

*****

Every signed-up member who comments on this post will be entered into a prize drawing for a $5 USD gift certificate from Amazon.com. The drawing will be done at the end of this month. Winners of all prizes will be announced in a blog post and will have two weeks from the announcement to claim their prizes.

The Boy Who Didn't Believe in Himself #StoryAdventCalendar

illustration by Robert Fyfe

The Boy Who Didn't Believe in Himself
by Rebecca Fyfe

When Connor's mommy thanked him for helping her take out the garbage and told him he was such a good boy, Connor shook his head.

"I'm not a good boy," he said.

When Connor's teacher praised the poem Connor wrote and told him he was a wonderful writer, Connor shook his head.

"I'm not good at writing," he said.

When Connor's Daddy praised him and called him "smart" because he could read books really fast, Connor shook his head.

"I'm not smart," he said.

Connor lacked confidence.

It was getting closer to Christmas, and Connor received a video message from Santa Claus. Santa Claus, in the video, told Connor that he needed to work on his confidence. Santa also told Connor that he was on the "nice" list.

"I'm not nice," Connor said, "I don't belong on the nice list."

That night, Connor had a dream. In his dream, Santa came to see him and talked to him about his confidence. Santa told Connor that he needed to stop himself whenever he found himself saying something negative about himself. If he heard the words about to come out of his mouth, he needed to stop them and change them into something positive. Instead of saying, "I'm not nice," Connor needed to change the words to say, "I am nice."

Santa promised him that, if he did this regularly, eventually, the positive words would help him change his thinking to be more positive too. It would help him learn to believe in himself. Connor didn't think anything would help, but he promised Santa Claus that he would try.

That morning, and every day leading up to Christmas, Connor would stop the negative words from coming out of his mouth, and instead, he'd only say positive things. He'd say things like, "I'm smart," "I'm nice, " I'm a good boy," and "I'm good at writing."

Eventually, Connor started to feel a change inside himself. He started to feel as though the words he was saying might actually be true. He started to feel good about himself, and most importantly, he started to believe in himself.

By the time Christmas came around, Connor realized that the dream-Santa's plan to help him gain confidence in himself had worked, and Connor looked forward to a very merry Christmas with his family, who he knew loved him - even on the days when he wasn't feeling very confident.


***** This story is part of the 2014 Story Advent Calendar, with stories written by a variety of authors.

Christmas Eve 1978 by Sharon Giltrow #StoryAdventCalendar

Christmas Eve
by Sharon Giltrow

Peeking through the key hole of the old painted wooden door, Joy wondered what the door under all that paint looked like; was it a light wood or a dark wood? It seemed that her Dad painted the door a different colour every year. The door had so many layers it had become difficult to close. But it was only ever closed when one of her older siblings returned to the farm on holiday and she had to sleep on the fold out couch or like now to keep prying eyes out.

Tonight it was closed up tighter than a port hole on a submarine, leaving the perfectly formed key hole the only way to see into the lounge room. Where had the key gone? The thought flashed through Joy’s head as she stood on tip toes to see in. She could see a large present wrapped in red Christmas paper leaning up against the couch. “Could that be it?” she whispered to herself excitedly, “my new bike.”

Joy had been pestering her parents for a new bike all year, a new anything would be great. Being the youngest of eight children, the chances of ever getting anything new were slim. Luckily she loved old things, including her parents. But a new bike was what she wanted more than anything else in the whole world and it looked like Santa had brought it for her. 

Joy squealed with delight, which she quickly quashed; it was the middle of the night she didn't want to wake anyone up. She felt torn; a part of her wanted to turn the handle, creep into the room, and pull back one corner of the wrapping paper and peek inside. But she knew that would take away her parents delight at seeing her look of surprise on Christmas morning. 

With one last look, a big sigh and with her hand covering her mouth to hold back the escaping excitement Joy tip-toed carefully up the hall. She avoided the creaky floor boards. She crept silently past her brothers’ room. Past the antique hall furniture, including the rattly china cabinet, past the newly installed phone on the wall, past her parent’s room with her snoring father and trusting mother, until she finally reached her bedroom. 

Carefully climbing back into bed, she glanced at her older sister and pulled the covers over her head.  Hugged herself tightly and with the biggest smile ever creeping over her face she fell into a deep sleep, filled with dreams of riding her bike on Christmas day.

*****

This story is part of the 2014 Story Advent Calendar, with stories written by a variety of authors.

Dasher Does a Dash by Kristen Schroeder #StoryAdventCalndar

Dasher Does a Dash 

by Kristen Schroeder

Rudolph had a problem.

"Now dash away, dash away, dash away all!" Santa cried.

Unfortunately, one reindeer had taken Santa's words too much to heart. Dasher had done a dash and left an empty harness behind.

They had nearly finished delivering presents to all the Australian boys and girls and were headed to Indonesia next.  Dasher could have "dashed" anywhere between Perth, where Santa last did reindeer roll call, and Darwin.

Rudolph remembered that Dasher had been a bit down in the dumps lately, talking about retirement and leaving the North Pole for someplace warmer.  Had Dasher seized his chance on Christmas Eve?

As captain of the reindeer team, Rudolph was in a pickle. Sure, they could fly without Dasher and still make it around the world if everydeer put in a big effort, but there was the Reindeer Code to consider.  

"Santa! We're going to have to turn this sleigh around," Rudolph called.

Santa obliged with a knowing nod and a wink. There was nothing Santa didn't know.

The team did a 180-degree turn at breakneck speed and swooped toward the coast.  A lovely full moon lit the balmy, summery night.  The reindeer, and Santa, were panting and sweating from the heat.

Rudolph turned his nose up to full power, and using it as a searchlight, the team began checking each and every beach along the coast of Western Australia for their wayward friend. 

"Over there!" shouted Prancer, and they all saw Dasher at once. They flew towards him swiftly and saw his body twisted on the beach in an awkward position.

"Dasher!" Rudolph shouted, his voice full of concern. 

"What happened?" he asked.

Dasher turned his head to look up at his friends.

"It's bloody hot," he said.  His fur glistened with sweat.

"This lying on the beach ain't all it's cracked up to be," he added.

Rudolph just shook his head, relieved.

"Up you get, Dash, we've got a big night ahead of us," he said.

"Why'd you come back for me?" Dasher asked.

"No deer left behind," Rudolph said, quoting the Reindeer Code.

*****

This story is part of the 2014 Story Advent Calendar, with stories written by a variety of authors.

2014 Story Advent Calendar Blog Hop

If you join the blog hop and add a story to the advent calendar, please feel free to use this picture on your post, if you need a picture.

So, here in the UK, it's a tradition to get your children an advent calender so that each day, from the first of December through Christmas, they can open the prize for that day. Most of the advent calendars are chocolate ones, with a differently-shaped chocolate for each day, but some advent calendars are more adventurous.

Last year, Melusine Muse Press published an anthology of short holiday stories a little bit before Christmas, called Jingle Bells: Tales of Holiday Spirit from Around the World." There will be no holiday anthology this year. However, instead of chocolate advent calendars, which only help our children's teeth to rot, we are going to provide kids with a story advent calendar this year.

A bunch of authors are getting together to write stories, a short story for each day of the advent calendar. This means that for your children's advent calendar surprise, they can have something truly wonderful - a completely new story, read to them by you.

Authors can write more than one story. We need 25 stories. When we reach 25 stories, we will be done.

If you are writing a story for the Story Advent Calendar, you will need to post the story to your blog and then link the blog post (the specific post - NOT just the blog itself) to the link-up. You should also copy and paste the "linky" script into your blog at the end of your post so that people can follow on and find the other stories in the calendar.

If you do not have a blog, you may e-mail the story to me, along with your name and the title of the story and I will post it into either this blog or one of my other blogs and link it up for you. (I can be e-mailed at Rebecca (at) Fyfe (dot) net.)

Limit your story's word count to between 300 and 1,000 words.

We will be writing fairy tales. If you want to write holiday-themed fairy tales or non-holiday-themed fairy tales, the choice is yours.

Add the link to your post.

Aim your stories at kids aged 6 to 13.

Have fun with it!