Virtual Book Tour + #Giveaway: The Young Adult Writer's Journey by Elizabeth Fortin-Hinds & Janet Schrader-Post @GoddessFish

The Young Adult Writer's Journey

by Elizabeth Fortin-Hinds & Janet Schrader-Post

GENRE: Non-Fiction

BLURB:

Finally, an all-inclusive book on young adult fiction must-do, don’t do and how-to. If you want to write a young adult novel, you need to read this book first. Coauthored by an award-winning YA author and an acquisitions editor, both experts on kids and what they like to read, this encyclopedia contains all you need to start or improve a career as a YA fiction author.

From an examination of the market, genre and its sub-genres, to mechanics and the business, everything is at your fingertips. This amazing writer’s resource is written in a relaxed and interesting style, with plenty of contemporary references and examples for clear understanding and easier application.

Excerpt:

Joseph Campbell was a professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College, where he worked in comparative mythology and religious studies. He was strongly influenced by Carl Jung's view of myth. In his 1949 work The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell described the basic mythic structure as follows:

A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered, and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man. (Campbell, Joseph (1949). The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 23.)

His iconic classic deconstructs universal story patterns. In his study of the myth of the hero, Campbell posits the existence of a Monomyth (a word he borrowed from James Joyce), a universal pattern, structure, found in heroic tales in every culture. While outlining the basic stages of this mythic cycle, he also explores common variations in the hero’s journey, which, he argues, is an operative metaphor, not only for an individual, but for a culture as well. Although the stories may vary to suit the needs and beliefs of a specific culture, the underlying universal archetypes remain.

Christopher Vogler used this hero’s journey to write, The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. He simplified Campbell’s 17 steps into 12, handy in today’s 12-step minded society. What he did that was fantastic is make it more accessible for modern writers, who are not always scholars. There are several similar editions, including one for screenwriters. Women like Maureen Murdock have written books specifically about The Heroine’s Journey. Although the steps may vary, the universal pattern, used in a novel or screenplay, creates a story with themes that resonate across cultures. It is so powerful, creating hit after hit, that it was required reading for Disney executives, a company that knows the importance of creating a hero’s journey to appeal to mass audiences. Using this pattern to construct books in Young Adult novels provides the reader with a satisfying experience.

To illustrate the hero’s journey, it’s easier to understand in the context of a classic young adult book/movie, such as Harry Potter, already used to illustrate points throughout this book. It will be broken down for you according to the different stages in The Hero’s Journey, with particular attention to how the journey relates to a YA hero/heroine, the focus of this entire book. Following are some things you need to think of before you sit down to write your first scene.

 Book Trailer:

Interview with Author Elizabeth Fortin-Hinds

Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you have planned for the future?

Janet and I are finishing the edits of a YA Dystopian Fantasy novel titled Annabelle and the Jackal, book 1 in a Beauties and Their Beasts series.

How long would you say it takes you to write a book?

I’m all over the place with that. It took me 45 exhausting days to write a 110,000 page book once, because the story was in my head, happening faster than I could type. Editing. Now that’s another story altogether. The second book in that series though…I’ve been working on for over a year as I never have time for it. Always working on someone else’s work. Janet is a great coauthor. We brainstorm, she’s prolific and cranks out a few hours of work every single day (retired journalist habit). I throw her scenes and edit after she tucks it into an appropriate place. Then she edits back. It’s a pretty good system and enables me to actually do some writing, since she keeps it going and feeds me daily inspiration. We brainstorm very well together and it’s something I’ve always loved to do.

What is your favorite childhood book?

Gosh, I don’t know. I was a veracious reader. I read everything from fairy tales to Nancy Drew to Barbara Cartland and Georgette Heyer romances, to anything by the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe. I loved it all. I still have very eclectic taste, though I enjoy fantasy and paranormal the most.

What made you want to become a writer?

That’s easy: reading.

How long have you been writing?

I had a poem published in the newspaper when I was like 5.

How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?

Reading so many bad submissions and so many good published YA novels.

For those interested in exploring the subject or theme of your book, where should they start?

Read YA bestselling novels as a writer. See if you understand why they are bestselling novels.

Just for fun

(a Favorite song: Classic Rock from the 70s and 80s.

(b Favorite book: Wuthering Heights

(c Favorite movie: Right this second, it’s Aquaman in 3D Wow.

(d Favorite tv show: Game of Thrones

(e Favorite Food: Crab Legs

(f Favorite drink: vodka cranberry martini or Seabreeze

(g Favorite website: www.tell-talepublishing.com

Thanks so much for visiting with us today!

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Daughter of a Colonel, Janet Schrader-Post lived the military life until she got out of high school. She lived in Hawaii and worked as a polo groom for fifteen years, then moved to Florida where she became a reporter. For ten years she covered kids in high school and middle school. Kids as athletes, kids doing amazing things no matter how hard their circumstances. It impressed her, and it awed her. “How wonderful teens are. They have spirit and courage in the face of the roughest time of their lives. High school is a war zone. Between dodging bullies, school work and after school activities, teens nowadays have a lot on their plate. I wrote stories about them and I photographed them. My goal was to see every kid in their local newspaper before they graduated.”

Janet love kids and horses, and she paints and writes. Now she lives in the swampland of Florida with too many dogs and her fifteen-year-old granddaughter. She started to write young adult fiction with the help of her son, Gabe Thompson, who teaches middle school. Together they have written a number of award-winning YA novels in both science fiction and fantasy.

Elizabeth Fortin-Hinds knows kids well. She spent decades teaching teens and adults to write and improve their reading skills. As a literacy expert and certified coach, she helped both teachers from elementary to secondary and preservice graduate students learn to improve reading and writing instruction. She has taught at both the secondary and graduate level, everything from rhetoric, essays, and thesis statements, to poetry, short stories, and how to write a novel. She has learned to use both sides of her brain simultaneously, but enjoys the creative side the most, learning to play piano, draw and paint, and find time for her own writing since retiring from her “day” jobs. 

A “true believer” in Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, mythic structures, she uses that lens when considering manuscripts for Tell-Tale Publishing Group, a company she founded with some friends from her critique group a decade ago.

Wise Words Publishing, an Affiliate of Tell-Tale Publishing Group, LLC

We are a small press, a traditional publishing company bringing you the best in E-books, print and audio books to feed your body, mind and spirit.  Our cutting-edge fiction includes old favorites and edgy speculative fiction for today's eclectic readers.  Our stories will grab your attention and take you on a fast, exciting ride that will leave you breathless. WW, our affiliate, publishes select literature under our Cosmos Imprint and nonfiction titles under our Ivy Tower Imprint. www.wisewordspublshing.com

Founded in 2009, in Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Our company motto of "excellence in creative entertainment and learning, " informs our artwork, manuscript selection, editing and publishing. 

www.tell-talepublishing.com

The book will be $0.99 during the tour

Buy Links:

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble

Giveaway:

$25 Amazon/BN GC

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.