On Book Trailers

I was thinking a lot about book trailers recently. A lot of books that come out have them now, and this is a relatively new thing--I can't remember any books having trailers back when I was a teenager. And there's a range of trailers. Some are more simple--text and pictures with music, and then some are much more sophisticated with actors and everything else. So after researching trailers a little, I came up with a list of my favorites.

Best quality goes to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. It's practically a movie trailer and it's definitely got the creepy vibe going for it.

The trailer for Harbinger by Sara Wilson Etienne gave me chills at the end.

The Fault in Our Stars and The Disenchantments are both short and intriguing, and they feel a little like trailers for an indie teen movie or music video.

And of course Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall is one I simply love. The characters, the voice over, the way it's shot, everything reflects the tone of the book.

What trailers did I miss? What are some of your favorites?

So the reason for all this book trailer thoughts? Several weeks ago I got to weigh in on the script and casting for my own book trailer for Unraveling. And TOMORROW, will be the release! More news to come soon.

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Liz Norris briefly taught high school English and history before trading the southern California beaches and sunshine for Manhattan's recent snowpocalyptic winter. She harbors dangerous addictions to guacamole, red velvet cupcakes, sushi, and Argo Tea, fortunately not all together. Her first novel, UNRAVELING (Balzer+Bray April 2012), is the story of one girl’s fight to save her family, her world, and the one boy she never saw coming.

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All About Romance

 I'm a romantic at heart, which means I love any excuse to celebrate romance and watch romantic movies. Valentine's Day, and the whole month of February really, is a perfect excuse.

So in honor of Valentine's Day and because each of these scenes inspired me when I was writing Unraveling, here are my top five best romantic scenes.

5. The Stadium Serenade in 10 Things I Hate About You

Adapted from Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" this teen movie came out when I was in high school and was one of my absolute favorites.

Heath Ledger's character, Patrick Verona, serenades Kat Stratford (Julie Stiles), singing "I Love You Baby" on the steps of their high school's stadium while she and the girls' soccer team are on the field.

He risks getting in trouble and he embarrasses himself, which make this romantic gestures all that more swoonworthy.

4. On the prow of the Titanic

I can't lie. I was one of those people that saw this movie more than once in theaters. I actually saw it 6 times and then I bought the DVD when it came out. (I also owned the soundtrack and listened to it constantly).

And my favorite scene is when Leo and Kate, I mean Jack and Rose share their passionate kiss on the prow of the ship with the world flowing by under their feet.

It's of course, even more romantic, because as an audience we know their romance is doomed because the boat is going to sink, but for that moment, it's like they're the only two people in the world and nothing else matters. And I can't help swoon at that.

3. That Scene in the Library in Atonement

I'll watch just about anything with James McAvoy in it, but when his character, Robbie Turner kisses Cecila Tallis (Keira Knightley) in the library after a lot of angst over the letter he sent to her by accident, it's amazing.

(He meant to write something sweet and he did, but in his frustration when trying to think of the right words, he also wrote something pretty crass and of course that's the one that made it into her hands. It's also that letter that got him in a lot of trouble.)


2. Starcrossed Lovers Reunite in Casablanca

This is, in my opinion, one of the most romantic and heartbreaking scenes ever captured on film.

Set during World War II, Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman play star crossed lovers who reunite, only she's married! And they still can't be together.

This is one of those movies that is so perfect in black and white, and the ending makes me cry every time.

Anyone who hasn't seen this one, should.


1. Love at First Sight in Romeo + Juliet

This was another one of my favorite movies from when I was younger. When I was in the theater and Leo first came on screen as the tortured and love sick Romeo, the audience let out a collective sigh.

Romeo first spies Juliet (Claire Danes) at the party her parents are throwing, which of course Romeo and his friends are crashing. They see each other through the tropical fish tank and fall madly in love.

One of the best things about this scene is that there are no words, just Romeo, Juliet, the fish, and Des'ree singing "I'm Kissing You."

I don't love the whole movie. Some of the Shakespearean dialogue mixed with the modern day time period doesn't totally work for me now. But this scene is amazing.

Those are my top five. Which good ones did I miss? What are some of yours?

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Liz Norris briefly taught high school English and history before trading the southern California beaches and sunshine for Manhattan's recent snowpocalyptic winter. She harbors dangerous addictions to guacamole, red velvet cupcakes, sushi, and Argo Tea, fortunately not all together. Her first novel, UNRAVELING (Balzer+Bray April 2012), is the story of one girl’s fight to save her family, her world, and the one boy she never saw coming.

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2012 Resolutions

1. Write More

And by more, I mean more consistently. I always do my best writing when I'm on some kind of streak--when I've been writing ever day for a week straight. When I take days off because of TV, life, or whatever else comes up, it's harder for me to get back into it. If I can make time every day, even if it's just for an hour, a half hour, or even 15 minutes, I'll feel better.

2. Drink More Tea and Less Coffee

I've been a little heavy on the caffeine this year, and I know I won't be able to cut it out completely--I'm just not that strong, but I'm thinking that if I cut it down a little, maybe a passion tea instead of a mocha latte, I'm be a little less wired.

3. Get Eight Hours of Sleep

I'm not going to make the resolution that says to "go to bed early" because I know that will never last. I am going to admit to myself that I need a solid eight hours of sleep to avoid getting sick or sitting at my desk and fighting to stay awake in the middle of the day.

I'm also determined to stress less. I'm not going to say I won't stress at all (that would be a total lie), and I'm not even going to say that I won't stress about things not in my control (also a total lie), but every time I'm feeling tense, I'm going to try to take deep breaths and remember this too shall pass.

***

Liz Norris briefly taught high school English and history before trading the southern California beaches and sunshine for Manhattan's recent snowpocalyptic winter. She harbors dangerous addictions to guacamole, red velvet cupcakes, sushi, and Argo Tea, fortunately not all together. Her first novel, UNRAVELING (Balzer+Bray April 2012), is the story of one girl’s fight to save her family, her world, and the one boy she never saw coming.

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Thanks!

This year, I sat around a Thanksgiving table and couldn't help but think about what a strange and rollercoaster of a year this has been.

A year ago, I worked days as an administrative assistant, and wrote nights and weekends. I barely made ends meet, I didn't have health insurance, I was falling in love with someone who lived over half the country away from me, and I thought I had given up the idea of ever being published.

This year I got an agent, was diagnosed with cancer, sold UNRAVELING, had surgery, quit my job, helped my amazing roommate move back to California, went into remission, and spent Thanksgiving with with my boyfriend and his family. There's been more--but those are the highlights.

When I first read I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings back in tenth grade, I was struck by a line at the end of chapter 28, after Maya is thinking about a teacher who made a huge impact on her. And I've never forgotten it. She says,

The allegiances I owed at this time in my life would have made very strange bedfellows: Momma with her solemn determination, Mrs. Flowers and her books, Bailey with his love, my mother and her gaiety, Miss Kirwin and her information, my evening classes of drama and dance.


This year, I owe my allegiance to a number of amazing and wonderful people. People who made me strong enough to get through some of the tough times, people who recognized things in me I didn't see myself, people who were there every step of the way no matter what time it was and no matter what they were doing themselves.

My wonderful friends, my amazing boyfriend, my patient loving mother, my brilliant sister, my fierce and sharkly agent--UNRAVELING owes them its allegiance. It wouldn't be a book without them. But I owe them my allegiance as well. It could have been a very different year without them in my life.

***

Liz Norris briefly taught high school English and history before trading the southern California beaches and sunshine for Manhattan's recent snowpocalyptic winter. She harbors dangerous addictions to guacamole, red velvet cupcakes, sushi, and Argo Tea, fortunately not all together. Her first novel, UNRAVELING (Balzer+Bray April 2012), is the story of one girl’s fight to save her family, her world, and the one boy she never saw coming.

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My Love Hate Relationship with Edits

I'm a perfectionist. I can't open a document on my laptop and do a read through without making some kind of revision. Every time I read something, I want to tinker with the words or the sentence structure, or I think of something else that should be happening in the scene.

And it's not just with things I've written myself. I'm that person that is always making edits to other people's writing too. At one point, I was a teacher, and I always turned back papers covered in green ink (green, because red ink apparently can hurt people's self esteem according to our principal).

I was sure that when the time came, I would rock at edits.

This is embarrassing but true: I didn't. Like at all.

My first reaction whenever I read anyone's revisions notes was that I couldn't possibly do what they were asking. Whether it was because "it would change the entire dynamic of the book!" or just because I had no idea how to implement them, my knee jerk reaction was that I couldn't do it.

Which was weird, because I've never been an "I can't" person.

So I did a couple weird things to get through edits.

1. I waited at least two full days after reading the edit letter before opening the manuscript on my computer. I wanted to really let those edit notes sink in and be committed to them before working on it.

2. I talked (and maybe whined a little) about them a lot. Writer friends and publishing industry friends had to hear me discuss edits and why I didn't think they'd work--or maybe they would--many times. Thankfully I had a good support system of people who knew when to tell me to shut up and just get it done.

3. I made a playlist of music which I blasted during revisions--the kind of music that just isn't about to let a person fail. Like this.

4. I took things one step at a time--and I rewarded myself with every step that I accomplished. And I reminded myself when I got frustrated that writing a book is never really a one person job.

And

5. I realized the trick for me was to print the manuscript out and edit on paper. It was a lot of work, a lot of writing in long hand (in green ink), and then a lot of typing everything back into the document. But it allowed me to distance myself from my own words, to view them more objectively, and it guaranteed that I going over everything at least twice (once on paper and once when I typed it in), which (hopefully) meant I wasn't going to miss things.

But of course the best thing about edits, is when they're done, and you can read the first pass pages and see the words laid out like a real book.

Liz Norris briefly taught high school English and history before trading the southern California beaches and sunshine for Manhattan's recent snowpocalyptic winter. She harbors dangerous addictions to guacamole, red velvet cupcakes, sushi, and Argo Tea, fortunately not all together. Her first novel, UNRAVELING (Balzer+Bray April 2012), is the story of one girl’s fight to save her family, her world, and the one boy she never saw coming.

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How I Ended up a "Writer"

When I was a kid, my goal never was to become a writer. I liked to write stories and especially draw accompanying pictures in elementary school, but I didn't ever say writer when someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.

I wanted to be a surgeon, even though the sight of blood made me faint. I wanted to be a veterinarian at a zoo, even though, again, there was that whole blood problem, not to mention all the schooling. I wanted to be a flight attendant so I could travel the world for free. I even wanted to be a singer, never mind that I was tone deaf.

But I came from an abusive home. The environment creates a certain need for escapism. As a kid I was constantly daydreaming and envisioning my life as something different than it was. I watched movies and read books and imagined myself in that world as the heroine of my own adventure.

I also created a persona for who I was outside my house. Which means, I lied a lot. Like a lot. Before I even knew how awful it was. And my lies were elaborate with intricate details and safeguards. I told my kindergarten teacher my cat had eight kittens. (My family had a dog who was spayed). I described each kitten in major detail, gave each of them names, drew pictures of them for weeks, and when a parent of a fellow student asked if they could buy one of the kittens from my family, I told them we'd already promised them to people in our family.

Then of course, I grew up and got caught in a few lies and suffered the punishments, and realized that maybe wasn't the best way to go about life.

And I had an English teacher who saved me. Her name was Mrs. Hall, and she loved books with a ferocity that couldn't be anything but contagious. Every time she spoke, in class, in the hallway, to me or to someone else, I was captivated by how passionate she was. I wanted to be just like her.

So I read everything she recommended. I showed up at her classroom every day after school, even when she wasn't my teacher anymore. We discussed hundreds of books--the characters, the worlds, the language, the authors. Everything. 

She asked to read my stories, so I wrote them down. 

And she listened.

That encouragement drove me through high school, and writing itself became a staple in my life, something I did every time I had a free moment whether it was on my computer, in a notebook, on the back of a receipt or on a napkin. 

I tried to write the Great American Novel for a while, and then I read Elizabeth Haydon's Symphony of Ages series. The characters and world became so alive and so inspiring that I realized I had it all wrong. Most of the stories I loved most (excluding Gatsby) were all fantasy or science fiction.

So I changed my focus, and I embraced the inner science fiction/fantasy geek inside me and somewhere along the line, I wrote Unraveling. Then Brooks Sherman and Janet Reid and a lot of other people helped make things happen.

***

Liz Norris briefly taught high school English and history before trading the southern California beaches and sunshine for Manhattan's recent snowpocalyptic winter. She harbors dangerous addictions to guacamole, red velvet cupcakes, sushi, and Argo Tea, fortunately not all together. Her first novel, UNRAVELING (Balzer+Bray April 2012), is the story of one girl’s fight to save her family, her world, and the one boy she never saw coming.

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The Trials and Tribulations of Plotting

Some writers just sit down and write--fly by the seat of their pants--and the story unfolds itself for them.

I'm not like that. At all.

I actually like to know exactly what I want to happen from the first to the last scene before I start writing.

So once I have a vague idea of something (usually a character or two and a situation), my writing/plotting rituals are:

1. Angsty Teen TV Shows
I specifically love the ones from the 80s and 90s that are up on the Netflix. I'll watch a string of episodes all back to back.

2. Specialized Playlist

I have playlists for certain projects, playlists for certain characters, and even playlists for certain scenes. I'll sit down with iTunes for a few hours and go through my music looking for the right songs for my characters and their relationships. And then hopefully those songs all together will inspire me.

3. The Long Walk

Before I lived in NYC, this would have been called The Long Drive, but now that I'm carless, I love grabbing my ipod and just setting out for a walk. The scenery of a park or even just the city and people watching can give me some great ideas, and sometimes when I'm thinking of nothing in particular, a plot point will come to me.

4. Brainstorming Sessions
I have a couple really talented and creative friends who thankfully don't mind helping me sort out plot details. We'll sometimes meet for coffee, and I'll tell them what I've got and we'll throw ideas back and forth. Other times, we'll brainstorm via text message or even email.

5. Research
io9 is the one website I follow religiously. I love their links, the articles, the sense of humor--all of it. And every time I've plotted myself into a corner, I'll click their links and something, even if it's just a word or a phrase, will sent me off on inspired research.

Each of my projects have started with the characters and then the plot has developed from there. UNRAVELING was conceived because of a guy I found pretty swoonworthy, a marathon of Roswell season one, "We Are Broken" by Paramore, walks through the financial district in Manhattan, late night emails, and a couple well worn copies of Scientifican American magazines.

After I had one lined journal, almost full with character descriptions, worldbuilding notes, scene ideas, and snippets of dialogue, I typed up a synopsis and went to work turning those ideas into an actual manuscript.

***

Liz Norris briefly taught high school English and history before trading the southern California beaches and sunshine for Manhattan's recent snowpocalyptic winter. She harbors dangerous addictions to guacamole, red velvet cupcakes, sushi, and Argo Tea, fortunately not all together. Her first novel, UNRAVELING (Balzer+Bray April 2012), is the story of one girl’s fight to save her family, her world, and the one boy she never saw coming.

Complex Characters (or where I fangirl George RR Martin)

I've decided my favorite characters--heroes or villains--are the ones that I'm not really sure about.

In the last few months, I read all five of the books in George R. R. Martin's series A Song of Fire and Ice. One of the main plotlines revolves around The Game of Thrones because 15-20 years before the book opens, there's a rebellion, the former ruling family is overthrown and most of them killed off, and the leader of the rebellion makes himself king. Only he was a better solider than he is a king.

I could say I devoted a lot of sleepless nights to the several thousand pages in the series so far because I love the worldbuilding. (I do, it's the closest thing to Middle Earth I've ever read). I could say it's because I love the fact that no one is safe that I know GRRM won't pull any punches. (Sometimes, I don't love that, though.) Or I could say that I love the twists, the gasp inducing scenes that always convince me I have to read just one more chapter. (There are some big ones).

But really, it's the complexity and moral ambiguity of all the characters. Because for each character, everything happening in the books relates to that rebellion, to what happened to them in their past. They remember events differently and their actions are based on those memories. When I first started reading book one I was convinced who the good and bad guys where, only when I got to book two and started reading from some of those "bad" guys' points of view, I realized they weren't all that bad. In fact, in some instances, my opinion was completely turned on its head.

There are other great examples of really complex morally ambiguous characters that I've loved. When I was reading Harry Potter my opinion of Snape and whether he was good or bad changed with each book. And it took me most of The Hunger Games to figure Haymitch out. And that's why I found them so interesting.

***

Liz Norris briefly taught high school English and history before trading the southern California beaches and sunshine for Manhattan's recent snowpocalyptic winter. She harbors dangerous addictions to guacamole, red velvet cupcakes, sushi, and Argo Tea, fortunately not all together. Her first novel, UNRAVELING (Balzer+Bray April 2012), features a 17 year old girl who mysteriously comes back to life after dying in a car crash. She sets out to avenge her father’s murder, solve the case he was working on, and stop the rapidly approaching apocalypse. And unravel the mystery of the boy responsible for bringing her back to life.

Agent Story #6

Well, there was this guy...

Actually let me backtrack, because this is a pretty unconventional agent story and it requires some backstory.

When I was in high school, I fancied I was writing the Next Great American Novel. It was about three wealthy families with intertwined lives and the careless way they moved through life and left people and things broken behind them. It's was F Scott Fitzgerald inspired (poor guy he probably rolled over in his grave a few times) and it was unfinished at the time I went to a writing conference. Since I knew nothing about the industry, I went to this writing conference and signed up to pitch agents.

It did not go well.

At all.

For a lot of reasons. I was a painfully shy teenager (I swear I made it through sophomore year of high school and uttered under 10 words). I didn't know how to pitch a book. I was overwhelmed and unprepared and overly sensitive.

I'm also relatively sure the agent I sat down with was having a really bad day.

I left the pitch appointment in tears, left the conference without going to anything else, and went home. And in a way, I quit. I decided I would write for me because I loved it, and the publishing industry--and agents--just wasn't for me. (did I already explain I was overly sensitive and more than a little melodramatic?) There were plenty of other things I loved do

Fast forward 10 years and there was this guy...

This guy specifically.

The insanely talented Brooks Sherman is a friend of mine, and he'd just moved from working for a theater company to a literary agency. And (shockingly!) he really seemed to like his agency, enough that he was hoping to somehow weasel his way from intern to assistant there.

He was also part of a writing workshop of six people who got together once every two Thursdays and critiqued each other's work. When we were Christmas shopping last year, he mentioned someone was leaving the workshop and they were looking for another member. Because he knew I dabbled in writing sometimes, he encouraged me to join.

Because I don't easily say NO (it's harder than I think it should be) I said "of course I'll do it" (and then later I tried to think of ways to back out and failed).

At this point I had abandoned my attempts at copying F Scott. I'd written fantasy, paranormal romance, urban fantasy and was currently writing thrillers. But I never let anyone read anything. I saved manuscripts in different folders on my laptop and revised them sometimes when I was inspired or bored. I wrote a lot, but then I did the equivalent of shoving that writing into a drawer and just moving on to something else.

Which meant before the first workshop meeting, I was terrified. I emailed the first twenty pages of my current thriller to the group, felt a little like I might throw up, and then I tried to forget about it.

The first meeting and even subsequent ones were nerve wracking. I hadn't had anyone look at my writing since high school for a reason. Writing is extremely personal, it's something much bigger than just words on a page. I didn't know how to talk about it or how to listen to other people talk about it. But after the first meeting, I was beyond glad that I decided to do it. Writing might be solitary when it comes to first drafts, but it takes a lot of other people to make a manuscript take shape into a book.

Brooks and the people in the workshop were able to give me two huge things I needed. 1. Insight and fresh eyes that could spot plot holes and character flaws and 2. Confidence.

Because after a few workshop sessions, Brooks sang my manuscript's praises and swore it was something he would pick out of the slush pile. I took his edits (which were INVALUABLE) and thought about rethinking my attitude towards my own writing.

But then he talked about the manuscript at FinePrint's office and one of the agents said "tell her I want to see it."

Which is how I found myself emailing Janet Reid.

From there it was a whirlwind. Janet is as amazing, knowledgeable, funny, and as all around spectacular as Brooks said--and as she appears online. (Though I didn't know anything about her online presence before I met her). She reads fast and she talks even faster. She's so charming on the phone she manages to make me feel less awkward.

So far she's made me laugh a lot. And she's only made me cry once and that was later when she told me we had an offer on my book, so good tears.

And Brooks, the guy I owe a big thank you...he is an assistant at FinePrint now, and I think he might be looking for his own projects soon.

Liz Norris briefly taught high school English and history before trading the San Diego beaches and sunshine for Manhattan's recent snowpocalyptic winter. She harbors dangerous addictions to guacamole, red velvet cupcakes, sushi, and Argo Tea, fortunately not all together. UNRAVELING is her first novel.