Alex Lidell's Blog

Guest Post By Claire Lawson

For fantasy writers world building is often the most enjoyable and simultaneously the most difficult aspect of writing a fantasy novel or series. The creative freedom that goes into creating your own world or alternative version of this one can be both exhilarating and time consuming – not to mention the tendency to get so carried away crafting your story world that you forget to actually write your story (not that I’m talking from experience or anything…). Creating a fantasy world is imaginative play for grown-ups and if you get it right you will hook your readers for life. In ‘The Cadet of Tildor’ Alex Lidell has created a believable fantasy world for heroine Renee that makes her story instantly relatable to her teenage – and indeed any age – fans. Effective world building is one of the major criteria for fantasy fiction awards such as the Aurealis Award and is essential for any fantasy story to give it depth and context. Many writers feel that you can’t world build too much and yet, sometimes perhaps you need to know when to stop. Teenage readers in particular are immediately critical of any story that loses pace in order to impart pages of background information, however fascinating. The key to world building is to create a setting in which your reader can simply lose herself in the story. Not enough and the story won’t make sense and will seem far-fetched. Too much and you lose the impact of the characters and plot. It’s a delicate balance.

Striking a Balance

There are a lot of components to world building. Not just geography but language, history, politics, the types of creatures that inhabit your world, customs and culture, fashions and social norms. Religion, mythology and the supernatural often have major parts to play in fantasy worlds, as do warfare, dietary customs and seasonal festivals. Then there’s astronomical influences to consider. One moon or two? Your world may be similar to reality in some aspects and completely different in others, or it may evoke a particular historical period or ancient mythology. It really is up to you, and it is precisely this freedom that often makes fantasy writing so appealing to an author. It can also cause a writer to become bogged down in the detail however. It is crucial that you as the writer know everything there is to know about your world, but don’t feel you have to share every aspect of this with your reader. The Lord of the Rings and Tolkiens other works are shining examples of the most detailed world building the literary world has ever seen – he even created his own language, complete with grammatical rules and linguistic roots – but even he didn’t include every bit of Middle Earth history in any one single tale. Fantasy gaming and world building – which starts at grand levels and continues through copy editing - is currently very popular and often reminiscent of Tolkiens attention to detail, but a YA novel is something very different indeed. A good rule of thumb is to think about whether or not the information you’re about to impart is integral to your plot – does it enhance your readers involvement with the story? For example if your heroine is staging a revolution some history of events leading up to that point is necessary and useful. Three pages of the history of every revolution that has ever occurred in your fantasy universe is not.

Knowing When Enough is Enough

So how can you tell if you have overdone the world building in terms of how much information you impart to your reader? Some published fantasy writers such as John Wiswell offer the following hints;

Your main character never does anything without comparing it to some action or event her ancestors experienced, or that she read about in history books.
You have invited a little sister/baby elf/talking rabbit just so your character can regale them with bedtime stories concerning the history and mythology of your world.
You have an alternative name for every flower, tree, animal or item of crockery and use them in your story at every available opportunity.
Even your gods pray to gods
Your story reads like a World of Warcraft novel.

The best way to get a feel for how effective world building for teens is done is to read those who are successful at it. As well as Lidell herself, read Tamora Pierce, Suzanne Collins and your own favorites and see if you can figure out why their world building works.

Guest Post By Claire Lawson

The post Guest Post: World Building for Teens – How Much is Enough? appeared first on Challenge the Odds.

And so THE DAY is here.  THE CADET OF TILDOR is making its debut into the world today and I don’t know what to expect.  Over the past few months as dozens of ARCs made their way into bloggers hands, I’ve had a blast eavesdropping on blog posts, chatting on twitter, and – my personal favorite - getting to exchange emails with readers and geeking out over everything from plot points to philosophy to analysis of which character really is “right”.

What will happen now that CADET will be out in the world in thousands not dozens?  Will you guys still reach out to me to chat, or will it be time to focus on other projects and look at CADET as a kid who’s gone off to college.  A loved, cherished kid – but one who is making his own life without me?  Something in between?

Speaking of the kid analogy, when CADET grows up I really hope to see it in the classroom.  I am working on a Teacher’s Guide (fell behind a little bit on that!) and will go from there.  Here’s hoping some reader teachers and I will find each other.

Meanwhile, HERE GOES.  I’ve inspected CADET’S dorm room, and went shopping for school supplies, and got it a cell phone and made sure it was enrolled in all the right classes and… and now I’m just hopping it will call home and let me know how it’s going out there in the world and come back for the holidays!

Happy Travels, THE CADET OF TILDOR.

 

Meanwhile, some timely logistics:

CADET’s Blog Tour is ongoing until Jan 17th.  Reviews, Interviews, Excerpts - it’s all here.

I am running a giveaway!  Please see below and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

The post Launch! Launch! Launch! THE CADET OF TILDOR is out today. appeared first on Challenge the Odds.

Hi Guys and Happy New Year!

So, I do have book news, but first personal news: I have to gush.  Let me set the stage: my husband dislikes reading. If he does condescend to read something, that something is non-fiction: short “how to” and historical texts, not memoirs, stories or – heaven forbid – books.  So, upon me declaring that he is required to read THE CADET OF TILDOR, a young adult fantasy novel, he sighed deeply and said.  ”Yes, of course.  Umm… how many pages is it?”

Got the picture?  Ok, good.

So, come the holidays and the whole family is over.  And my husband hands me this long (poorly wrapped) box…  Inside the box is the pic on the left.  (on the right, for reference, is CADET’s cover)

(The inscription reads: Alex Lidell  CADET OF TILDOR Class of 2013)

How awesome?!   What did you get and give this season?

Now for book news:

THE CADET OF TILDOR release date is almost here: Jan 10th.  It’s been a long time coming – as most of you know, Penguin acquired CADET back in 2010.  I’m not planning a formal launch (hey, hey, I hear you over there making chicken noises at me) but there are some cool plans.  A blog tour is running Jan 3 – 17, with stops at about 50 blogs.  There will be reviews, interviews, fun posts and a giveaway for a $20 Amazon gift card + CADET copy + SWAG.  Here is the schedule.

Book Signing Jan 12, Hooray for Books, Alexandria, VA:  Hooray for Books, an indie store in Alexandria, VA invited me, Ellen Oh and Jessica Spotswood to do a Feisty Females Panel and book signing on Saturday, Jan 12, 2013 3:30-5:00 pm.  This will be my first book signing and I am supper excited and nervous.  So if you are around the DC area, please stop by.  And drop me a line so I can look for you there!

Panels at Arisia, SF/Fantasy Con, Boston, Weekend of Jan 19th: On Saturday Jan 19th,  I will be on several writing related panels at Arisia - a Sci/Fi Fantasy convention in Boston.  I’ll have a book signing and a reading on Sunday.  I’ve gone to Arisia as a fan several times and it is a really fun time – especially if you come in costume  There is a ton of stuff to do, including gaming, a mascarade, fandom discussions, dealers, writing panels… you name it.  If you will be anywhere around, please let me know.

That’s what I have for you.  Wish me luck with launch and let me know if you will be anywhere around DC or Boston.

-Alex

The post Keeping in Touch – January 2013 appeared first on Challenge the Odds.

The amazing Tildor Herald Cadets have organized a CADET Scavenger Hunt!  Here are the official rules from the Heralds:

Welcome to THE CADET OF TILDOR online scavenger hunt!!

Would you like to learn more about the book and its characters? Would you like to win prizes?

 Your task is to visit each of the online blog stops. Each blogger will have not  only  some  great insider  info about  THE CADET OF TILDOR, but each  will  be featuring a  secret LETTER  on  their post. If you collect all the letters, you can unscramble them to create the password that  will unlock a secret page on Alex Lidell’s website. On this page, you will find a swag giveaway AND the rafflecoptor for the grand prize drawing!! Don’t forget, you have until midnight (eastern standard time) on Mon. Nov. 12, 2012 to enter the grand prize drawing. Good luck!

Password hint: You will collect more letters than you actually need. It is  up to you  to determine  what letters you do not actually need.  The password falls  into this format -  _ _    _ _ _ _ _ (two word phrase, first  word is two letters, second  word is five letters)

PRIZES*

Grand Prize Drawing:

Signed, personalized CADET ARC

AND

STYLIZED A Slightly Obsessive History of Strunk and White’s THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE (by Mark Garvey)

AND

SWAG Pack:  CADET Challenge the Odds silicone bracelet, signed CADET rack card, magnet and 3 bookmarks

 

First 20 to the Finish Line

CADET Challenge the Odds silicone bracelet and 3 bookmarks mailed your way

 

Prizes for all

CADET Cyber SWAG is waiting for you.  Download free, exclusive CADET wallpaper, screensaver, and more.

 

Blog Stop Schedule:

M 11/5 – Marieke @ http://www.mariekenijkamp.com/ - Girl Power post

M 11/5 – Jessica @ http://ireadtorelax.blogspot.com/ - Trailer post w/reaction

T 11/6 – Yiota @ http://splashofourworlds.blogspot.com/ - Annotation

T 11/6 – Ashley @ http://firestarbooks.blogspot.com/ - Trailer post w/reaction

W 11/7 – Candace @ http://www.loveydoveybooks.blogspot.com/ - Annotation

W 11/7 – Lena @ http://ilovebooksclub101.blogspot.com/ - Interview w/Trailer Actors

Th 11/8 – Frankie @ http://frankieblooding.wordpress.com/ - Girl Power post

Th 11/8 – Ntzee @ http://maybethisbook.blogspot.com/ - Interview w/Trailer Actors *giveaway*

F 11/9 – Frankie @ http://frankieblooding.wordpress.com/ - Review

S 11/10 – Jessica @ http://ireadtorelax.blogspot.com/ - Guest review/interview *giveaway*

Su 11/11 – Ashley @ http://firestarbooks.blogspot.com/ - *giveaway*

M 11/12 – JoAnne @ http://www.thefairytalenerd.com/ - Girl Power post

M 11/12 RAFFLECOPTER CLOSES

** fine print: Grand prize mail is for US only.  If winner is international, the prize will be changed to a pre-order or THE CADET OF TILDOR through Book Depository.  At least 100 entries necessary to trigger the giveaway.  First 20 to the finish line prizes are US only.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post Scavenger Hunt appeared first on Challenge the Odds.

It has been about a month since I last reached out with THE CADET OF TILDOR news, so here we go with another update.  Thank you for sharing the journey with me.

ARCs are here! – and I got to hold them.  It’s hard to explain without sounding like a lunatic, but there is a difference between knowing your MS Word file will one day be bound and printed, and actually holding the real book in your hand and admiring everything from the cover to the font choice .  But I digress.  ARCs (advance reader copies) not officially exist and are starting to make their way into the world.  Could there be a free copy in this for you?  Maybe.  Most likely by way of winning a giveaway or, if you are a blogger, participating in the blog tour.  In fact, I got word from my editor that CADET will be available of NetGalley – though I am not sure when it is going up [translation: e-copies of the ARCs will be available for select reviewers with the publisher's approval]  More info on getting ARC here.

Trailer reveal + ARC giveaway on Oct 15.  We are doing a multi-blog reveal of CADET’S trailer on October 15th.  If you are a blogger and would like to join the fun, here is the link.  The trailer is live action and was filmed in Italy.  I am working on getting the kids in the film to answer some interview question about their training and filming in general.  Here is a still from the trailer:

 

Sarah Dessen blurbed CADET.  Sarah Dessen, a best selling YA author, was kind enough to read CADET and called it “A wild, energetic novel that proves girls CAN be warriors while being true to themselves”.  If anyone is wondering, a blurb is a technical term for when you ask a very well established author to read your book and, if they like it, publicly say something nice about.  And then you brag.  This is the bragging part

Tildor Herald Cadets planning Scavenger Hunt:  The Tildor Heralds (CADET’S street team) have been busy with plans for World Domination … err.. I mean, finding fun ways to spread the word about CADET.  In early November, they are running an online scavenger hunt which will lead you to a password protected page full of free goodies, to include an ARC giveaway, free count-downvers, widgets and wall paper, and, probably, some free swag that you can get by mail.  Meanwhile, they made a count-down widget you can download free for your site.  Pretty awesome guys, aren’t they?

That’s all I have for now.  Thoughts? Questions? Comments? As always, I love getting email.  Alex@alexlidell.com.

The post August News Update appeared first on Challenge the Odds.

Street Teams come from the music industry, where groups of enthusiastic fans hand out swag, flyers, and info about their fav band’s upcoming event or cd.  Now, street teams are making a mark in the novel world.  To this end…

If you are excited about THE CADET OF TILDOR (’cause SQUEEEEE, I’m excited), I invite you to become a cadet in the Tildor Heralds, CADET’S very own Street Team!

How it works:

The Tildor Heralds are an inside circle of CADET fans, working together to spread the word while getting exclusive freebies, insider information, and contests.  Herald Cadets:

get a free CADET kit, with a signed rack card, magnet, and website badge
get access to a restricted site, complete with a message forum
get entered into a giveaway for a free signed book copy
earn points to get more freebies or to enter really cool Herald only giveaways – for things like bags, iphone covers, and itune giftgards!

Examples of things Herald Cadets do (everyone only does what they enjoy):

Tweet about CADET
Put up flyers in libraries and schools
Add CADET to booklists
Chose CADET for their book reports
Put up widgets on their blogs, websites or facebook pages
Offer bookmarks to your friends, family, or local booksellers and librarians
Ambassador online discussions
Suggest CADET to book clubs who would enjoy it
Blog about CADET’S characters
Recruit newsletter subscribers

To join, complete the Entrance Exam below – this will also enter you into a giveaway for a free signed copy of THE CADET OF TILDOR.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(First Posted on The Lucky 13s Blog)

Recently, a new writer – we’ll call her Laura – came into a walk-in critique group I was at and wanted to share a story she wrote.  It was a beautiful idea, but the execution of the writing was raw.  After sharing a bit of praise, I pointed out a few basics that didn’t work for me in her story.  An inconsistent POV was one, I believe.

Laura was unhappy with me.  Clearly.  I stopped talking.  Perhaps I was a bit to sharp?  Other writers chimed in with similar comments.  Laura grew unhappier by the word.  Finally, she snapped at us that she likes her story just the way it is.

Blink.

The problem was not Laura’s writing or her story.  It is her story after all, and a good one.  The problem is that she had come to a critique group when she should have gone to a support group or an open mic.  In other words:

Don’t ask questions to which to do not want an answer.  – And don’t ask them of people whose answer you do not want.

The day before your manuscript is due to the editor is not the time to ask a crit partner what she thinks of your changes.   Your first draft does not need to go to your copy-editor-in-the-making neighbor.   You don’t need to sound board your ideas for a new fantasy with a romance writer who dislikes magic.

In other words, know what you want and ask for THAT.

Discuss changes with your crit partner when you still have time to change them. If it’s the day before edits are due and you just need affirmation that you did not destroy your novel, tell your partner you are looking for affirmation, not a crit.  And if she does not know the difference, don’t show the story to her that day.  Take it, instead to that copy-editor-neighbor, to catch some last moment typos.  And once your edits are in, talk to the romance writer about the romantic subplot you are playing around with for your next novel.  Are you getting the pattern?

Knowing what you need is your job.  Just getting a lot of eyes on your WIP is neither helpful to you nor fair to the beta reader. You need to explain what you need from the read and, privately, consider whether this person is capable of giving you that.  If not, skip this reader or give her another task.

My non-writer friends, for example, can tell me when the story feels slow or confusing – they cannot tell me why, and they certainly can’t tell me how to fix it.  Not in a way that’s helpful to me, anyway.  So, I skip the “why” and ask the “where”. Where did you get confused?  Where did you get bored?  Did you remember who this character was when he re-entered the story?

So, the next time you work with a beta, be specific.  Did you feel this chapter moved the plot forward?  Does this character seem intelligent or annoying?  Could you visualize the setting – what did you see?  And remember, above all…

Don’t ask question to which you don’t want an answer!

Your turn.  Do you agree?  Disagree?  What experiences have YOU had working with Betas?

Squeeeeeeee!  Here we go! The CADET of TILDOR Cover!

THE CADET OF TILDOR by Alex Lidell.  Penguin: Jan 10, 2013

Sixteen-year-old Renee struggles to keep up with male cadets at a grueling military academy while confronting a friend’s forbidden magic and her mentor’s shadowy past. 

I LOVE IT, especially the crisp orange sky.  Somehow the wold Tildor has always felt orange to me.

 

THANK YOU

A BIG thank you shout-out to Julie of A Tale of Many Reviews, who organized this cover reveal, and to CADET’S Cover Team – the 60 Bloggers joining together today to for the reveal. Go bloggers!

Now, the GIVEAWAY!

 Giveaway 1: Swag Pack.  Includes dog tag necklace, 9” x 6” zipper pouch with hidden internal compartments, and a 3 port 2.0 usb hub

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now, the GIVEAWAY #2! – For Educators

Giveaway 2: Vocab Pack.

 

75 Laminated & Scratch-Off vocabulary cards plus a Teacher’s Guide for using the cards in higher level thinking classroom activities. 25 each: laminated word cards, laminated definition cards, and scratch cards. 75 cards total.  All words are SAT words that appear in CADET, and include context sentences from the novel.  (Can you tell how excited I am to be working with teachers?)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’m excited!  Monday, June 11th, I get to share THE CADET OF TILDOR’S cover with you guys.  (And by the way, did you notice how I wrote THE Cadet of Tildor?  That’s because I got my wrist slapped recently for dropping those three letters.  Who know it was a big deal?)  Ok, back to the important stuff.  Julie, an amazing organizer at A Tale of Many Review is running the cover reveal – and we are excited to have a lot of blogs participate!  Would your blog like to join the fun?  There will be giveaways and fun and great people.  Here is the link