Shining the Light on THE TEXAS SWEETHEARTS

If there’s one thing I learned while writing the trilogy, it’s to take as much time between your revisions as you possibly can. I was fortunate in that I wrote the entire trilogy before the first book came out, so I had plenty of time to let the manuscripts sit. For both NAVEL and NECROPOLIS, there was one point when I waited a year between revisions for each. Coming back to a novel after a year gives the most fresh, objective look at it one can possibly imagine. It’s like the things that need to be cut stand out in bold capital letters whether they are characters or plot lines or even the actual starting point of the novel. So, though waiting is painful at times, waiting is also our friend in revisions.

Jo Whittemore:
Hey guys! I’m Jo Whittemore, and my newest book, Front Page Face-Off, just came out March 9. It’s a change from my favorite genre (fantasy), as FPFO is a contemporary middle grade. In the story, twelve-year-old Delilah James goes from being star reporter for the school paper to second best after a rival journalist swoops in and steals her glory (and potential boyfriend). In order for Delilah to get what she wants, hilarious mayhem must ensue, and such silliness is what drove me to write this story in the first place.

Back in the day, I was all set to write another fantasy novel while my agent was shopping a demon story I’d written. The only problem was, I was stuck in a rut:

Me: How about if I write a demon book?
Agent: You just wrote a demon book.
Me: Yes, but in this one, the demon wears a hat!

Okay, so I didn’t REALLY mention a hat, but my agent had a point. She then went on to suggest that I try to write something contemporary, since I had a good sense of humor and grasp of my characters. I scoffed at first (“Fantasy is my life! I won’t betray the unicorns!”) but then I decided to give it a shot.

And you know what? She was right. I had so much fun writing contemporary and letting the jokes fly. Because cracking wise is what I do in real life. When things get tough, I spew one-liners like machine gun bullets. When people feel glum, I’m always there with a poop joke.

So my advice is to play to your strengths and always strive to write just like YOU. Your unique voice is what will win audiences over, not your imitation of someone else’s.

Jessica Lee Anderson:
PJ and Jo, what you both said resonates with me as I can be impatient when it comes to revising, and I strive to find my voice and play on my strengths. Howdy! I’m Jessica Lee Anderson, and my newest novel is Border Crossing, a story about a bi-racial teen named Manz who is on the border physically and mentally. He’s not sure who he can trust including himself as he’s schizophrenic. Border Crossing is a departure from my first novel, Trudy (2005 Milkweed Prize for Children’s Literature winner), about a girl who must accept her father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. I spent a great deal of time developing and tweaking the characters in Border Crossing (about four years). The biggest challenge was to make sure Manz came across as believable, especially the way he perceives things psychologically. I spent a great deal of time researching schizophrenia so I could better understand him. Given my limited experiences as an Anglo fem
ale, I brought several readers on board to make sure he came across as authentic. Also, in the many drafts of this story, I worked on strengthening the secondary characters so they would seem more three-dimensional. Characters need to be as real as possible to the reader as well as to the writer.