Meredith McCardle

Friday Faves — February 10

Meredith — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:58:17 +0000

Favorite blog posts of the week: Sophia Richardson continued her Sex in YA series this week by talking about how strong female characters do not equal masculine characters. It’s a great read, here. And I really liked this post from POSSESSION author Elana Johnson on how to write better.

Favorite tubmlr of the week: My Daguerreotype Boyfriend

Favorite picture of the week (aka Project 365 entry): I’m cheating. This is not from this week. It’s from … a few weeks ago? I don’t even remember. I forgot I even took it. But I downloaded it from my camera yesterday, so it totally counts for this week. It’s a tree stump.

Favorite moment of the week: So my husband and I do this thing where we try to figure out what the dog is thinking. We give him a voice and talk for him. I snapped this (IMO) totally hilarious picture of my dog lounging in the backyard and sent it to my husband.

And then the following email exchange took place.

Husband: I guess you don’t understand how a hunter works. You lay motionless and wait for squirrel to violate the perimeter, then it’s pouncing time!

Me: He hasn’t moved in 40 minutes.

Husband: Dedication to my craft. Just call me Gale, or Katniss since I don’t have any balls!

Me: This is why I married you.

And that’s the story of why we’ve been calling my dog Katniss for the past few days.

Least favorite moment of the week: I accidentally opened a rusty metal door right over my foot, and let me just tell you. Short of childbirth, this is the most painful thing I’ve endured in the past few years. The dumping of alcohol on top of the wound didn’t help. The aftermath is not so pretty. It look like someone took a cheese grater to the top of my toes. Motherbleeping ouch.

Favorite stuff from the internet this week:

And finally, a plea to my local new stations. Can one of y’all please hire this dude? Please and thank you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLEDZmRaOMY

(Video is here in case it doesn’t post. WordPress has been totally wonky with videos for me lately).

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Friday Faves — February 3

Meredith — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:49:47 +0000

Holy blink of an eye. Has it been two weeks since I last dusted off this here ‘ole blog? Wow. I know saying I’m busy sounds like a cop out, but seriously? So busy. It seems like every waking second that doesn’t involve a toddler involves revision and more revision and even more revision. So … yeah. That’s where I’ve been. On to a very condensed version of the faves!

Favorite blog posts I read this week (and last week): This post from Adventures in YA and Children’s Publishing on using visual details to strengthen your writing. And I also really liked this post from writer Sophia Richardson on sex in YA and double standards. And finally, this post by author Stasia Ward Kehoe points out something mighty interesting about the covers of the ALA-award winning books. No wait, one more! I found this post from writer Karen Strong about the writer’s dream to be incredibly inspiring.

Favorite other blog post I read this week that has nothing to do with writing: So this is old. By over a year. But it’s so powerful that the date doesn’t really matter. Here’s one mom’s open letter to her son, about bullying, about how WE can stop it, about how there’s nothing wrong with being yourself. I cried. I’ll be honest.

Favorite picture of the week: My husband is teaching my two-year-old daughter to golf. ‘Nuf said.

Favorite thing that made me laugh this week: Also self-explanatory.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Friday Faves — January 20

Meredith — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:21:12 +0000

Aaah, Friday Faves! It’s been a few weeks since I did one of these because I’ve been so incredibly lazy busy. Yeah, busy, that’s it. Totally. *clears throat and looks away nervously* Onward, shall we?

Favorite blog posts I read over the past few weeks: This post from K.M. Weiland on how she learned to write (with great tips on what all writers should do to improve). Next up is this post from Lisa Gail Green on mixing inner dialogue with action sequences (which is something I struggle with for sure). And finally, two posts from Adventures in YA and Children’s Publishing. There’s this post that says so much in such a short space—don’t be afraid to rewrite, get your story structure down, don’t give up. Great advice. And then this checklist of 40 questions to answer before you can call your manuscript done.

Favorite picture of the week (aka Project 365 entry): Last weekend I took part in a photo essay project proposed by a friend. The goal was to take a picture every hour on the hour to document your entire day. I was the subject, so my husband took the pictures, but I managed to steal the camera away from him for a few minutes while the whole family was out in the backyard to snap this one. It makes me so happy.

Favorite thing I’ve read that you should totally enter to read TODAY before it’s too late: So one Ms. Holly Dodson came up with a genius idea to spearhead an ARC tour for Susan Dennard’s SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY. Contest ends today so head over to Holly’s blog to bone up on the details and see how to enter so you can read it for yourself. (Trust me, I’ve read this book and it’s awesome)!

Favorite moment(s) of the week: Friends, I am not a great cook. By any stretch of the imagination. But I’m trying to learn, and this week I cooked not one, not two, but THREE things that were actually really good. It’s the small accomplishments.

Favorite video of the week: Meet (somebody’s) Aunt Carol and watch her jam out to Usher in her kitchen. I hope I’m just like Aunt Carol when I grow up.

(Edit: Due to technical difficulties, I’m no longer posting the video here but rather linking to it. It’s here.)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Read This: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Meredith — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:20:21 +0000

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs… for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

I know I’ve said before on here how LOOKING FOR ALASKA is one of my favorite YA novels of all time. I loved that book. I devoured that book and then ran out and bought everything else John Green had written … and … if I’m being totally honest, none of those books had the same magic for me that ALASKA did. I mean, they were John Green, so they were laugh-out-loud funny, incredibly well written and highly entertaining, but I think maybe I was holding ALASKA on a pedestal and believing nothing could ever top it.

And then THE FAULT IN OUR STARS went and did just that. This book sucker punched me the same way Green’s debut did. The two main characters, Hazel and Augustus, leap off the page. You pity them (and then feel bad for pitying them because the last thing either of them want is your pity). You laugh at their witty repartee (and then ignore the fact that no one actually talks like that because you just don’t care). And in the end, you cry at the unfairness of this fictional situation (and then maybe cry at the unfairness of life in general). And finally you realize that this is the kind of book that will change you and you recommend it to everyone you know. Or … at least I did.

Have you read THE FAULT IN OUR STARS yet? What did you think?

One Quick and Easy Way to Beef Up Your Manuscript

Meredith — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:35:29 +0000

A few days ago, I shared with you my writing resolutions. The first thing on that list was to stop using the same physical descriptions over and over again. Well, friends, after much thought, I’ve decided to amend this to resolve to stop using them altogether. You see, my writing seems rife with descriptions like “My heart flies into my throat” or “My stomach sinks” or something equally horrible. And, let’s be honest, I’m not exaggerating when I say that those descriptions really are horrible. They’re unimaginative and uninspired and they make for boring writing.

I’m going back through my latest manuscript and cutting them like I’m Simon Cowell.

I’m slicing and dicing and showing no mercy. And in their place, I’m adding a heaping spoonful of interior monologue. I’ve talked before on here about how agents and editors complain that a lack of interior monologue is the number one thing missing from many manuscripts they read. And now here I am, saying it again because it’s fresh in my mind.

Don’t tell us what your characters (and their organs) are doing. Show us what they’re feeling.

Here’s a concrete example from my current MSS. In this scene, my main character asks someone she considers to be a friend for information, and he refuses to give it.

BEFORE

“You’ll figure it out.”

I sigh and drop my head into my hands.

AFTER

“You’ll figure it out.”

Everyone seems so sure of that, except for me. I’m having some serious problems in the comprehension department. I sigh and push my chair back to stand. I hate being shot down. It makes me feel like such an ass for asking in the first place.

That original exchange is totally boring, right? But in the rewrite, you get a better feel for who the character is and what makes her tick. (At least I think you do. You can be the final judge.) And really, making the reader understand (and hopefully cheer for) your character is what it’s all about, isn’t it? So get rid of those boring old descriptions and dive into your character’s heads. Your reader will thank you for it.

What do you think? Are you a big interior monologue fan? What are your favorite tips for drawing it out of your mind and onto paper?

2012 Writing Resolutions

Meredith — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:48:39 +0000

In 2012, I resolve to …

1. Stop relying on the same physical reactions over and over (and over again). My characters are forever glaring at each other or popping a hand on a hip or wringing their hands in frustration. It’s starting to get old.

2. Continue working on characterization. I’m a plot kind of girl. Plotting has always come pretty easy for me. But crafting believable characters? SO EFFING DIFFICULT. It’s one of those things that I’m going to have to keep working on, and eventually it will get easier (at least that’s what I’m telling myself).

3. Be more consistent with blogging. I’m never going to be an every-day-of-the-week blogger. Ever. I’m so envious of those of you who come up with brilliant material day after day, while I can barely type in the correct WordPress admin password on the first try. I’m aiming to post twice a week, but we shall see.

4. Write down every book I read this year. Yep, that’s it. Not to read 100 books or even 50, but only to keep track of the books I do read. You think this would be an easy task, but nope. It gets me every year.

5. Take bigger chances. Push myself outside of my comfort zone. Write about a subject that scares me. Grow.

What about you? What are your writing resolutions for this year?

2011: A writing retrospective

Meredith — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 13:40:29 +0000

January: Attended my first conference ever. Had a capital disastrous first page critique but walked away with a full request for FOUR STONES from a very well respected agent.

February: Continued to query FOUR STONES. Got rejections, got a few requests, you know the drill. Heard a song on the radio and couldn’t get the title out of my head. Dreamed up an entire book in my head from a title. Started writing it.

March: Blackberry buzzed. Email from the agent who requested my full at the conference. Opened it. Saw something about wanting to represent me. Blinked. Blinked again. Shot off a reply that was something like “I know you said you wanted to represent me, but I just wanted to make sure you actually meant you wanted to represent me.” Not kidding. I really did that. Talked with said agent, notified others and signed a contract.

April: Dove into revisions on FOUR STONES and put the new book on the back burner. Went out on submission. Tried to refrain from emailing my agent every.single.day.

May: Tried to focus on the new book but couldn’t deny that something felt off. Tried not to refresh my inbox eleven thousand times a day.

June: Realized I was going to have to start over on the new book. The mood was all wrong. It was light when it needed to be dark, fluffy where it needed depth. Opened a brand new Word document and started anew.

July: 30,000 words into a new draft, and something still felt off. The story wasn’t working. My main character didn’t really have a motivation, and I didn’t feel like I knew her at all.

August: Stopped writing. Stepped away from the computer. Spent weeks writing outlines, doing character studies, really diving into the world I wanted to create.

September: Started from scratch one more time. Completely changed the main character and the plot. Wrote like a mad woman. Finished the entire book in a month. Realized I loved this book. A lot. Made the decision to focus on the new one and let FOUR STONES go, at least for the time being.

October: Let the new book rest. Went to Europe.

November: Started revisions on the new book, which included completely rewriting the last third to up the stakes and adding about 20,000 new words.

December: Sent book to critique partners. Spent three long, miserable weeks being too sick to function. Made minor tweaks to book based on feedback. Got book ready to send out. Felt truly very grateful for all I’ve learned this year, for the friendships I’ve made, for the hurdles I’ve leapt over and … well … for you. For caring enough to come on this writing journey with me. Thank you.

And that’s (a relatively simplified/edited version of) that. 2011 was good to me. Very good. Whatcha got, 2012? I’m ready!

How about you? How was your 2011? What are you looking forward to in 2012?

Read This Now: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Meredith — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:30:57 +0000

In 1940, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin invaded the Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and annexed them into the USSR. Shortly thereafter, he began a systematic ethnic cleansing of the Baltic people. BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY begins when Soviet officers barge into 15-year-old Lina’s house and deport her along with her mother and younger brother. Her father has gone missing. She is herded onto a train in the middle of the night with no idea where she’s headed, and thus begins a multi-year struggle to survive, to live and to find her father.

Wow.

What can I say about this book that will do it justice? This book was … hard. It would have been difficult to read five years ago, before I had children. Reading it now was gut-wrenchingly difficult at times, but I wouldn’t take it back. Not for a second. It’s rare to find a book that is so powerful, so haunting. This is the kind of book that sticks with you long after you’ve closed its pages. The kind of book that makes you hug your loved ones tight and realize just how lucky you really are. The kind of book that should be required reading for everyone, both for the history and to serve as a reminder of what people are really capable of.

If you were to ask me what my top book of 2011 is, this is it. For sure. You can find it at Amazon, B&N or Indiebound.

Have you read BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY? What did you think?

Christmas Cookie Recipe: Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

Meredith — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:01:13 +0000

No worries, this isn’t turning into a cooking blog or anything (because, really, my cooking skills are limited to like two dishes, so that would be a mighty boring blog). BUT I do love to bake, and these are my absolute favorite cookies. I’ve had a few requests for the recipe, so I’m just going to post it here. K?

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

(Chocolate + chili powder = cookie gold)

There are several recipes for these cookies out there. Most are of the Martha Stewart variety— thin, flat, fairly hard cookies that, while no doubt delicious, don’t quite do it for me. I like my cookies thick and mushy because otherwise what’s the point? I found these in the holiday issue of Cuisine at Home and tweaked them a little to my own personal taste.

You will need:

1 stick of melted butter*

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 1/4 tsp. espresso powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

heaping 1 tsp. ground cinnamon**

heaping 1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup of powdered sugar to be placed in a small bowl and set aside for later

* A word about butter. As a general rule, 95% of the time when I’m baking, I use melted butter. There are some baking purists out there who are horrified by this, and I’m sorry, but using melted butter just makes everything stick together better. If you don’t want to melt your butter, then at least soften it for this recipe.

** A word about cinnamon. I’m kind of a cinnamon snob. I know, it’s a weird thing to be snobbish about, but certain brands of grocery store cinnamons are … not very good. Bland and boring, that’s a nice way of putting it. It’s really worth it to spend a smidge more on a good cinnamon because it makes all the difference. My favorite is Penzeys. It’s fragrant and flavorful and really pops in these cookies.

Directions:

1. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, cinnamon, chili powder and salt in a medium bowl.

2. Using a stand mixer or a hand mixer, beat together the butter and the granulated sugar on low. When fully combined, add the eggs and vanilla, continue beating until combined.

3. SLOWLY (cannot emphasize that word enough), add in 1/3 of the dry ingredient mix. Beat on low until fully combined, then add another 1/3 of the dry mix. Continue beating on low until fully combined, then add the final 1/3 of dry mix and beat until all combined.

4. Cover dough and refrigerate for at least an hour.

NOTE: Dough will be very thick and fudgy, like this.

5. Preheat oven to 350 (or 325 if you’re using a convection oven). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

6. Shape dough into balls roughly an inch-and-a-half in diameter. Roll balls in powdered sugar, then arrange on baking sheet. Leave about two inches between them.

7. Bake 10 minutes.

8. Enjoy the gooey deliciousness and try not to eat like 12 at once.

Character Interview with Psyche

Meredith — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:31:51 +0000

Today we’re joined by Psyche, who’s currently telling the story of her (super complicated) relationship with Eros, the god of love, in DESTINED (with a little help from author Jessie Harrell).

When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear.

As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she’s come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined.

Thanks so much for joining us, Psyche! Meredith, thank you so much for inviting me here for an interview. I have to admit, after reading Eros’ fun interview, I was a little bit jealous I didn’t have my own. But now I do. ((HUGS))

So tell me, girl to girl, what was your honest first impression of Eros? Well, he was hot. Obviously. But it certainly wasn’t love at first sight, especially when he started talking. Poor guy. If only I’d know how badly he’d been hurt before, maybe I wouldn’t been so hard on him.

Yeah, we all have our baggage, don’t we? Speaking of baggage, Eros’s mom, Aphrodite, has quite a bit, namely reputation for jealousy. Were you ever worried in your early interactions with her that you might get on her bad side? Heck yeah. Especially when she started coming to visit more and more. I was pretty convinced she was just waiting for me to screw up somehow.

That’s a bit of an understatement, huh? You and Eros got off to a rocky start. If you had it to do all over again, would you change anything? I can’t really answer that, you know? I mean, I guess it would’ve been nice if we hadn’t had to go through our doubts and animosity at first, but then our relationship wouldn’t be what it is now. And I’m not sure Eros ever would have been so incredibly romantic if he hadn’t really been forced to work at it. *wink, wink*

You’ve been called the most beautiful human being alive. Talk about pressure, huh? Do you consider yourself to be beautiful? *blushes* Most days, yeah, I do. But I still have to look in the mirror and like what’s underneath my skin too. Like that day I doubted Eros… that was not a “pretty” day for me.

Great answer! Outward beauty only goes so far, right? How do you define true beauty? If Eros proved anything to me, it’s that true beauty comes from within. I sort of always knew that, even back when I had admirers. It seemed so odd that they wanted to look at me but knew nothing about me as a person. I mean, what’s the point? You can stand and stare at a pretty sculpture if surface looks are all you care about.

What is your worst trait? What about your best? Oh, tough question. *nibbles on cheek while thinking* I guess my worst trait is that I rush into decisions. Making hasty choices has gotten me into some bad places. As for my best trait… you’d have to ask Eros. Most days I don’t know what he sees in me, other than that I love him with all my heart. He makes me my best.

One thing I really admire about you is that you seem to have a good relationship with your mom. Has it always been that way? How important is your family in your life? My mom is great. I’m her “baby,” so she and I have always been close. I don’t always like her advice, but she’s usually right, so I’ve learned to listen (even if I act like I’m not).

My family was everything to me before Eros came along. What kills me the most is the way my relationship with my sister has fractured. I don’t want to give anything away from the book, so I’ll leave it at that. I swear I’ll make it up to her someday though. And if she’s reading this, I want her to know that I forgive her too.

I hope she’s reading this too. I suspect she might be.

Friendships wind up being an important part of your journey. Before you met Eros and Aphrodite, would you have rather had a large number of sort-of friends or a small number of super-tight friends? How about now? The answer’s the same for both. I’d take one really close friend over a bunch of pseudo-friends any day. As a princess, particularly a famous one, I was generally limited to just being friends with my sister. And we were really close. *sighs* I mean, that’s why everything that’s happened just kills me. And then she and I grew apart, but Alexa came along and I can’t imagine a better best friend. I wouldn’t trade her for anything.

That’s awesome. True friends are priceless. So let’s say you just won an all-expenses paid vacation anywhere in the world for you and a guest. Where would you go and who would you take? Well, no question I’d take Eros. Who else would I want to travel with? As for a destination… how about visiting each of the Seven Wonders. I’d love to go to Egypt to see the lighthouse and great pyramid, and the hanging gardens sounds amazingly beautiful.

That sounds gorgeous! I’d love to visit Greece some day. Quick, I’m a tourist in Ancient Greece and you’re my tour guide. What places can’t I miss, and what food do I absolutely have to try? Well, I can tell you the cheesecake is pretty awesome. And I’d recommend visiting my home City of Sikyon. We’re the leader in the arts. We have the best plays and the most talented artists in all of ancient Greece. It’s just a wonderful place to bask in culture.

Being in the center of the arts sounds pretty sweet. What’s the best thing about living in Ancient Greece? How about the worst? Well, I think ancient times are much simpler than the world you live in now. That’s great for things like relationships, because there’s not all that technology to get in the way. But when it comes to traveling … let’s just say I love my horse, but for traversing the country, I’d much rather have a car.

Amen. Riding on a horse for hours a day HAS to be tiring. Anything else you want to add before I let you go? Not that I can think of. I just really appreciate you having me here today. You’re welcome to come visit on Olympus anytime! Alexa and I would love to show you around.

Thank you so much, Psyche! If you want to read more about her journey, you can do that on Amazon, Goodreads, B&N or Indiebound.