Writer-Writer Chit Chat with Sydney Salter

I recently finished reading my 2K9 buddy Sydney Salter's latest novel SWOON AT YOUR OWN RISK. It was a delicious experience. Even though it rained for five straight days in Ohio and the kids were running through house pulling down the curtains, I felt like I was on a lawn chair beside a crystal clear ocean all by myself. Polly Martin's humor and emotional confusion kept the pages turning and her lightheartedness drew the summer into my early summer reading.

Polly has to navigate difficult family territory in order to make a choice about how she wants to see herself.

Sydney and I sat down to discuss how SWOON AT YOUR OWN RISK came together.

Here is our conversation:

JT:
I laughed out loud almost every page, Sydney. Do you have tips for writing comedy, suggestions you'd like to pass on? (I'm taking notes!)

SS:
Thank you! I’ve tried for years to figure out what makes something funny, and I guess it comes down to giving readers an unexpected twist. I think humor also comes through when a character doesn’t take herself too seriously—maybe the ability to laugh at one’s own foibles gives the reader permission to laugh as well.

JT:
How important do you think humor is to telling a serious story, because it soon becomes apparent that Polly's life is not all fun and games. Did you feel like you have to balance the light with the heavy?


SS:
In my own personal experience, life is much easier when I laugh through the tough times, and I guess that carries through to my writing. I think combining humor with serious topics often makes a book easier to swallow; I have some wonderful books on my shelves that I’m mentally preparing myself to read—just because I know they’ll break my heart. Adding humor eases overwhelming emotions—in life and fiction. I think that’s why I tend to watch funny movies again and again; whereas, some of those amazing, but hard-hitting, films get one tearful viewing.

JT:
Where did Polly come from? Do you think she emerged from a small piece of your psyche, or was she inspired by someone you know. Or, did it feel like she popped into your head out of thin air?

SS:
I’ve watched more than a few female friends morph their interests to match the guys in their lives—to the point where they lose themselves in a string of relationships. Most of my characters come from observing human behavior, but all of them contain bits of me as well.

JT:
Swoon includes three generations of women living under one roof, which is becoming a more typical family dynamic but not one I've often seen in novels. What inspired your choice to tell the story this way? Do you think this feminine connection is important? Part of our times?


SS:
I do think it’s becoming more and more common, especially in tough economic times. And it’s often a good thing for girls. My own mother lived with me for about six months, inspiring that aspect of the story. While we had more than a few rumbles over household matters, I appreciated the influence she had on my own daughters. Growing up, I also had a very close, dynamic, relationship with my own grandmother— and I’ve always been grateful that I had her perspective in addition to my mother’s. When it comes to raising my own daughters, my mother, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law, give them emotional strength, wisdom, and experiences that I could not provide on my own. A variety of female role models gives girls a chance to figure out their authentic selves.

JT:
Xander is incredibly sexy. Were there any challenges to writing a "good" boy? Do you think well behaved boys get less attention?


SS:
I believe in nice guys! And I want my readers to know that good guys exist, and while “bad boys” may possess glamour, they’re not necessarily the best ones with whom to form lasting relationships. All girls deserve supportive, loving boyfriends who want them to flourish and succeed. As for writing “good” boys—I look to the many wonderful men I know and give those qualities to my characters.

JT:
One of my favorite male characters from Swoon is also Sawyer whose habit of malapropisms cracked me up. Even though he is one of Polly's ex's, he doesn't come across as too bad a guy. I know I'm a little old for him, but do you think he would date me?

SS:
I think his vocabulary would definitely improve if he dated you! Sawyer is a nice guy, he just wasn’t the right guy for Polly. That happens! Plus, I wanted to show that a lot of Polly’s relationship problems stemmed from her own fears of intimacy.

JT:
I loved how each chapter ended with either one of Sonnet's blog entries, one of Miss Swoon's columns or Xander's poems. In a way, these things added a kind of story within the story. How did you come up with this structure, was it something you included in early drafts, or did it come later?

SS:
I included Miss Swoon’s letters in the first draft, wanting to use them to echo the themes in each chapter. My editor suggested that I try writing Sonnet’s blogs—which initially scared me a little, but ended up being quite fun. Having done that, I decided to include Xander’s writing, too. I like the way the letters, blog posts, and journal entries allow me to flesh out secondary characters even though I’m writing from Polly’s point-of-view.

JT:
Finally, I happen to know that you are incredibly prolific and that you have published three books this past year. How do you do it all? Are there two of you?

SS:
Just one of me! But I do have an incredibly supportive family, and no one really cares if there are dishes in the sink, unfolded laundry, or stacks of books everywhere. I truly love to write and make time for it in my life; plus, I’m pretty sure that I’ll never regret having had a messy house, but I would regret not following my writing dreams.

JT:
I don't regret your (or my) messy house either. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts today. I really look up to you and I loved SWOON AT YOUR OWN RISK. I also realized I forgot to ask a very very important question. What is your next project and when can I read it????

Revision Is A Bear! Or Is It?

As I new writer, I approached revision like this:


The mere thought of all the potential mistakes in my novel made me feel as if I were, well, being eaten alive by a bear. Where do you start when there are SO many problems with a story? I chose to ignore the big, structural problems, choosing instead to focus on small, safe things like word choice, punctuation...

And it wasn't too effective. My manuscripts gathered a stacks of rejection form letters from publishers. Eventually, I learned the importance of revision, but I still didn't have many effective tools for approaching it. I simply read through my manuscripts over and over again, looking for things to fix. And sometimes I couldn't see the problems through the, um, car windshield.


Earlier this month I had the opportunity to attend Darcy Pattison's novel revision retreat. Aha! Using Darcy's workbook, Novel Metamorphosis, we learned how to tackle revision issues one at a time. First we created a novel inventory, noting the plot action and emotion in each chapter. So helpful! At a glance, I noticed a potentially weak chapter and places where I could strengthen emotional resonance.

Another incredibly useful revision technique is the shrunken manuscript. Darcy showed us how examining our novel in 6 point font, single spaced, can show us the overall patterns in our stories. One attendee realized that her story lacked conflict for several chapters in a row. That's exactly the kind of comment I used to ignore (my critique partners just didn't get it, I'd tell myself). But it's hard to argue with bright, bold highlighting. To learn more about the shrunken manuscript process, check out Darcy's blog.

All weekend we worked on small sections of our stories, which made the process seem quite do-able--and not quite so scary or overwhelming. Because revision really isn't a bear, it's simply a series of small tasks. Think of them as cuddly little bear cubs!

Happy revising! (We couldn't resist stopping at Bear World on our way home from the retreat.)

Posted by Sydney Salter

Why I Write Middle Grade Novels

I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy Spring Break with my 8th grader, I'm just saying that if I could've made her wear a burkha in the hotel pool, I would have. I've also learned that last summer's bikini top should always be tried on before this year's vacation. Okay, enough about my daughter picking up a sophomore in the hot tub...

My point is this: I spent many moments feeling wistful about my 10-year-old as she skipped down hiking trails, fell in love with stuffed animals in gift shops, and relished every new experience with exuberance. Every now and then she'd stop to bump pinkie fingers with me.

I know it won't be long until she learns to roll her eyes, scoff with disdain, and attract the attention of boys at the hotel pool. Fortunately this came in the mail while I was gone:

A package of letters from 4th graders in Overland Park, Kansas! Dozens of adorable thank you notes with pictures. Several kids felt inspired to become writers, others loved Jungle Crossing, some "might" read it now that they've met me, a few can't wait to get older so they can read my teen novels. I learned about their pets, their families, the imaginative stories they love to write. One girl told me about her favorite books, but confessed that she occasionally checks out Captain Underpants so she won't look "weird." Aw!

I almost cried with relief at the realization that because I write middle grade novels, I will always be able to hang out with sweet, spunky, spontaneous 10 year olds! --Sydney Salter

Cross posted at www.mybignose.blogspot.com

Book Birthday (and Giveaway!)

Today I'm celebrating the official birthday of Swoon At Your Own Risk!

Here's what Booklist says:

Boy crazy in a house full of women, Polly is facing a summer nightmare of working a crummy water park job being supervised by an ex—and in a bathing suit no less! Hoping to learn from her advice-columnist grandmother, Polly swears off guys and tries to improve herself by following “Miss Swoon’s” affirmations and attempting to mend a rift with her best friend, Jane. Unfortunately, skater/poet (and formerly weird neighbor kid) Xander keeps showing up at the park to babysit relatives and catches Polly’s eye. Polly uses humor to deflect most real conversations, which makes her the life of the party but leaves her lacking in the serious-relationship department. What appears to be a frothy summer confection delves into some heftier emotions as the underlying issues motivating Polly’s actions, as well as those of her mom and grandma, are uncovered. Each chapter ends with snippets from Miss Swoon’s advice columns, Xander’s poetic observations about Polly, or entries from a coworker’s gossip blog.— Heather Booth (Booklist)

You can find Swoon At Your Own Risk at your favorite bookstore or online at Amazon.com, B&N.com, or Indibound. But what fun are birthday parties without presents?

Leave a comment by midnight, April 18, 2010, to enter to win a signed copy!

Open to anyone in the world.

Thanks for celebrating with me! --Sydney Salter