Structure Part 1–Anatomy of a Best-Selling Novel–Structure Matters « Kristen Lamb's Blog

Like most of you, I have been working a very long time on this novel. My first, a picture book, was written in the car as a story for my grandson. Everyone in the car was saying, "write that one down." So, I did and I have worked on it over the years and, as an artist played with illustrating it. I still thinks it stands the test of submission but other things came up.

My second, a mystery, went quickly. I did research at the library, both on writing and on the things needed for the story. I had index cards and binders up the wazoo. I felt I had a pretty good product, went to Of Dark and Stormy Nights, had an author critique, she gave me the name of her agent and stupidly, I sent it out. Looking back now, it was not ready and my query letter was FARRRR from ready. Someday, I will maybe get to working on it. I need a much better Protagonist, I know that.

This time, the internet is here, and research is at the tips of my fingers. My notes are in computer files and folders. I have still spent five years writing and researching and I still sit here and wonder if I have dotted all the 'i's' and crossed all the 't's?' Last night, in one of my "this isn't good enough" moments. I turned to Google and found a great blog.

Structure Part 1–Anatomy of a Best-Selling Novel–Structure Matters « Kristen Lamb's Blog

Besides having a great teaching overview for what you need to have a best-selling novel, she is also having a critiquing contest. So, check her out and tomorrow I'll share my insecurities with you.

Betch can't wait!!!

Native American peace and harmony in Nature

I enjoy research and thought I would share some of the Native American mythology sites I have found in writing the Moon Tree Brothers.

Native American Myths, legends & stories; African-American folklore; French-Canadian folktales;Spanish-American folklore; and...

This is a great site which lists Native American Myths and Legends, as well as African, Cajun, French-Canadian, Dutch, Scandinavian and Spanish-American.


The thing I really like about it is the ease of use. Since I am still on dial-up, I avoid sites where I have to click on each item for even a hint of what it is about. This site lists the title and a sentence that gives you a good idea of what you will find in each story. How else would you know that "Coyote and Wishpoosh" was a story about How the Northwest coastal tribes were formed?


Native American Lore Index is an up and coming site for Native American Indian Lore and has a large listing of stories from many different tribe.

Myths and Legends for American Indian Youth has titles and short descriptions. You can find "Why Fart Man is more Powerful than Caribou Master," which sounds like the next possible super hero movie. My only problem here is that the red print on purple letters is very tough on the eyes.

I would like to finish with the Indian Legends site. Given that Moon Tree Brothers has its basis in the Native culture's message of "peace and harmony with nature," I love this site and would like to leave you with a quote from their index page.

• "While Native American culture has struggled to survive through centuries of displacement and assimilation, the stories and legends passed on from generation to generation refuse to die; this is perhaps due to their common, timeless message of peace and harmony with nature, which is now more relevant with each passing year."

Well said, "Indian Legends." Well said!

Two days of research equals a page this time.

Sorry, yet again, for the long absence, but the book has to take precedence over the blog at this point. It is one of those things you can taste; the joy of when you are actually ready to send your book out into the world, to survive on its own

Master’s Daughter is really busy right now, so I think she may have a plot to slow me down. She keeps finding neat things I need to do with the book.

As a sixth grade teacher, who is writing a teacher’s companion for my book, she has been a great source of inspiration. This time, it was all about the phases of the moon. I did not really think about children having a problem with this concept. Apparently, younger children seem to view the phases of the moon as if the moon could change its shape.

The world in my book is greatly influenced by nature. They do not live in little square wooden boxes, as we tend to do and so they must learn to live and survive in nature. This means they need to understand the natural world and so I have again spent two days researching a way to say something in one page. That amount of research generally results in one sentence. Good thing I love research.

So, now I shall pay Master’s Daughter back and shoot my new page off to her for more corrections. This is a discussion of the phases of the moon. I am afraid it might be too long or unclear, but she will let me know.

A quick Part 3 Website Building-Disability access continued

This is just quick, a bit redundant from yesterday, but with some new stuff. The reason is that I spent the day in the hospital with my mother who has pneumonia. Excuse me if I do not post for a few days. Hopefully, she will only be in there a day or two but she has a lot of heart problems so everything can be scary.

Much of today’s information came from a PDF file downloadable from www.terpsys.com

Your web site building should involve a good deal of research to make it the best you can. I have spent a lot of time working on a website only to find there was a better way to do it. I have always been one to jump into a project, but the advice to lay out your web design, before jumping into it, is sound advice. Get out a tablet and draw your site out on paper, second. First, is to check out a lot of similar web sites and what they offer and what you feel works; all the while noting what does not work so that you can avoid it.

I spent most of yesterday researching the disability issue for my web site. It is estimated that twenty percent of your audience has some type of disability. Me? I’m getting cataracts and this little print is hard on my eyes. I also have arthritis in my fingers. Other disabilities include blindness, deafness, color blindness, and even just the confusion that comes with aging. And, losing twenty percent of your readers is a large loss.

Then, you have the disability that those of us on low-speed dial-up have. I do not watch any movies. I do not even stay on a page with movies, usually. Images are a similar problem, and I do not have time to wait around for them to load. Sound is just a personal thing. I like quiet. A hint though, a lot of people in their cubicles are cheating a wee bit by viewing “non-work related” web pages and if your music blares out, they are going to click that “X” and turn you off and may never come back. So, think music through before you add it. You need to have a mute, in plain sight and/or make it so they have to click the music on.

The other problem is that assistive technologies, those that convert non-text information have their own requirements. Text is converted using speech synthesizers or Braille displays. So, what do you do to make your website fully accessible?

First, what I mentioned in the last post, always use the alternative text descriptions; for everything: maps, bullets in lists, graphical buttons, spacers, links, etc. One bit of advice is to pretend you are reading the document aloud over the telephone. How would you explain the need for and use of this image on your web page?

Second, do not rely on color for understanding. Print your page out in black and white to see if all the text and images are still visible. Check for color contrast, also. There are many people who have difficulty with contrast and colors. Again, printing the page out will help you see what works and what does not. Don’t forget to show it to grandma and get her advice.

My next research is about the use of tables. I like tables but it seems to be turning out they are not always good for disability access. More on that next time.

What Constitutes Offensive Blogging?

I have been struggling all morning, trying to write something on my new blog for writers. This used to be easier, but I have been lead astray by the likes of BrainDebris and Pollyanna.

I originally entered the world of Blogging because I am a writer and I want to be an author (meaning someone actually pays me for writing one of my books), not just once in a while for an article. Since I am at the nearing completion of my twenty billionth edit of my current work-in-progress, I am doing research on agents, editors and marketing. I am an optimistic person.

I have found that writers are supposed to have Web Pages and Blogs. The Web Page I have is to sell my artwork. It’s sorely in need of maintenance anyway, as I have barely touched it in three years. So, I’m working on a total update, to reflect my writing. The Blog is a whole other world.

March of this year is the first time I even read a Blog, let alone posted to one. Never one to shrink from progress, I opened my Blog and I Blogged. Some days, I blogged and then edited twelve times. I began getting the hang it, relaxed and began to enjoy Blogging.

Four months pass and I read that you cannot have things on your blog that an editor/agent might take offense to. Whoops!!!

“Offense” is a very general term. A word may be offensive to one person and not to another. An opinion on a news story may cause an agent or editor to take pause. In this great journey, I hope that I can find an agent and editor who believe in my work and my vision and know that if I do write something they disagree with, it is just my opinion and I am not stupid enough to insult my agent at lunch. Editorial Ass: How Important Is Your Book, or, Top Ten Ways to Blow a Book Deal #4.

July 14, 2008
Today, I read a post on, http://shrinkingvioletpromotions.blogspot.com/ . In it she states that you should not say anything in your blog that you would not say at a podium. I think that straightens it out for me. It makes sense also. Especially when your work is for a young adult market.

If a seer told me I would never succeed---

Nathan Bransford -Nathan Bransford - Literary Agent - asked a question on his blog recently. To paraphrase: He wanted to know, if a seer told you that you would never be published, would you still write?

I always begin to respond to Nathan's blogs, but then notice there are 271 responses and there isn't much point. No matter what I respond, it must have already been said. After reading through a number of responses, however, I think perhaps I do have my answer.

If a seer had told me that my Young Adult Fantasy novel would never, ever, ever be published, would I actually spend twelve hours a day, seven days a week, for two and a half years writing it?

"Heck NO! I gotta earn a living man. "

This is my third book. Well, two novels and a picture book. I have never put the picture book out there. The Mystery was written as I was going stir crazy after flipping a house. Flipping a house can make you stir crazy in and of itself, but waiting for a flipped house to sell is insane. So, after reading a bazzilion Mysteries, I did the logical thing and began research and I wrote a Mystery. And, I loved doing it.

You see, my name is Sheryl Adair VanVleck, and I am a resesarch addict. I really am. Now, with the internet, it's even better. I'm like a kid in a candy store when I type in those Google search terms.

I'm an artist, so I wrote about an artist, but she is weak and I want a strong protagonist; who is funny and likeable, so even though a published author critiqued it highly and gave me the name of her editor, it's not right, and it also needs work on it's plot.

Maybe, what I should have answered to Nathan, was that an artist is never finished, no matter what anyone else thinks. There is always another painting to be created. A sculpture to be sculpted and a novel to be written.

If my current Young Adult Fantasy Novel is never accepted, and I am currently editing line by line to try to ensure that it will be. I will be happy to know that I have completed it. I have learned a lot in the commission of this work. And, yes, Great Seer, I guess I will keep writing.

I can always work in the evening.