Character Suffers After Crash

My computer crashed and wiped out my precious writing. I’d used an external hard drive, but it had given error messages and I procrastinated fixing it. Although I'd saved the most important items, I lost a partially written first draft of my third book of a series. I'd quit working on it when I read about not writing sequels to unpublished books. This would have been the second sequel. It was rough and poorly written but the start of something that could’ve been big.

The manuscript began with Ben swimming with his latest squeeze Lucy. Next, his crime family had done their usual No-No maneuvers so he was forbidden to leave the house; but, he'd promised to take his girl to a Leaf Jet 8 concert. My boy disobeyed and snuck out. Right before the computer crashed, Lucy had ditched him for the lead singer of her favorite band and Ben was lost in a deserted neighborhood with someone shooting at him.

Although in the original, he escaped bullet wounds, I’m in the mood to up his angst. Having to rewrite from scratch makes one ready to throw the wrath of God (or the author) at the helpless victims (the characters).

I don’t know what will happen to Ben, but after the crash, I guarantee it won’t be pretty. Maybe this is God’s way of getting authors to abuse characters.

6/26/11

Turns out, I found a copy of the original manuscript and Ben was saved from a severe shaking up! Whew for him.

Why I Read Kid's Books

My daughter often says, “Mom, you’re an adult. Read adult books!”

Sure, I had my days inside the mind of the psycho killers brutally murdering helpless victims. I used to be pasted to the pages of Dean Koontz novels, but I’ve moved on. Usually, we advance to more challenging adventures, but not me. I write for children.

So, I wonder: does it make me immature when I laugh hysterically over Gordon Korman or Louis Sachar? Let’s face it, an adult story will never have Cap Anderson innocently referring to his classmates as Buttwad or Jerkface like in Schooled or the fun antics of kids breaking into a lowlife’s house in Swindle. Furthermore, will we ever see the silliness of Wayside School in the adult section of the library? Yet, Sachar gets deep as well as funny in A Boy in The Girls’ Bathroom.

But if it’s adventure you want, there’s plenty of that in the YA section of your library or bookstore. I’ve found nerve-racking stories such as Margaret Peterson Haddix’s Shadow Children series where third born children must hide or be murdered by an uncaring government; or how about, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins? Young Catniss must fight for survival in a future America. And YES, I love Anthony Horowitz’s, Alex Rider character. This junior James Bond is sure to hold anyone’s interest. Of course if you want to battle monsters in a modern day world, Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson adventures make for a fine read.

Probably being a bit ADD, I love the way a child’s story taps into a scene or character quickly without boring me with too much detail. So next time you're in the library or bookstore, check out the kids’ section. You won’t be disappointed.

Please check my previous post to get a taste of my writing. Thanks!