Somewhere near 3:30 that afternoon, we landed in Memphis.

Yesterday, we talked about the value of short forms in learning techniques you can call on when the story you want to tell calls for that technique. Today the conversation is about the novel. How do authors do it? Once they’ve mastered technique, how do they settle on a particular structure or form to suit the story they want to tell?

It’s not always an easy thing to break down, separating the weave of story from how the story is told. But I asked three fabulous debut authors what structural or stylistic devices they used in writing their new novels, and how these devices tie in with the theme or story arc of their books. Their insights into process are as unique and compelling as the stories they tell.

Here’s how Jeanne Dutton, author of Freaked (HarperTeen, 2009); Sydney Salter author of Jungle Crossing, (Harcourt, 2009); and Lauren Bjorkman, author of My Invented Life (Henry Holt, 2009), approached the structural challenges of writing their novels, and how these challenges have informed their next books.

“Freaked is the story of one boy’s road trip to the most unforgettable show of his life,” says author Jen Dutton. I made the stylistic choice in Freaked not to include “white space” or gaps in the time line (except between one chapter break). This means that the action of the novel is compressed into a 48 hour period and the narrator dwells on small, internal details rather than large, external ones.

“I also chose to use very little dialogue. I opted for this approach for two reasons: I have listened to a lot of Deadheads tell their stories and when it came to relating their favorite show, everything was important, from the breakfast they ate that morning, to how close they were to the stage.

“Second: I wanted to reveal a sense of Scotty’s feelings of restlessness, isolation, and his small private sadnesses and joys. When I drafted Stranded, my second novel (due out in June 2010), I opted for snappier pacing, action that was much more external, and lots of sharp banter.

“I made my decision because the main character and narrator Kelly Louise Sorenson, is much more of an extrovert, more likely to tease the world with her words and engage with other people. Even when Kelly Louise is alone, she still has imaginary conversations with others. I guess that’s a little like me.”

--Jeanne Dutton

“In my middle-grade novel Jungle Crossing, says author Sydney Salter, “I wrote two intertwining stories. One takes place in contemporary Mexico, the other in an ancient Mayan kingdom. My modern Mayan character tells the ancient story to my 13-year-old protagonist, who is an American tourist.

“To differentiate between the two stories, I wrote the contemporary story in first person, while the ancient Mayan story is in limited 3rd person. I worked hard to create conversational transitions between the two stories, since the 3rd person telling isn’t really in my contemporary Mayan boy’s voice—it’s written from the ancient teen girl’s perspective.

“The themes in both stories also echo each other. The biggest challenge, however, was making the two stories equally compelling—something that took quite a bit of revision. While I have written another (unsold) story using this technique, I find that each new novel demands its own unique structure. But I always learn a lot from my previous work’s challenges.”

--Sydney Salter

“In My Invented Life,” author Lauren Bjorkman says, “Roz experiences flights of fancy so real that the reader cannot distinguish them from “reality.” After a while, Roz cues in the reader by breaking from the fantasy with a statement such as, ‘I'm so lying. This is what really happens.’

“I also use the present tense to give the story immediacy. Roz evolves so much by the end of the story, she couldn't possibly portray herself as clueless as necessary if she told the story in the past tense.

“I love using devices, and made up entirely different ones for my new novel, Miss Fortune Cookie. My main character, Erin, wants to make independent movies. I start each chapter with a header like those used in screenplays. Some of the flashbacks are in screenplay format, too.”

(note: check out Lauren’s website for her amazing real life adventure of growing up while sailing around the world!)

--Lauren Bjorkman

Jeanne, Sydney and Lauren are all part of the Classof2K9. Congratulations to each of the debut novelists in 2K9!

Tomorrow, another 2K9 novelist, Suzanne Morgan Williams, comes to Tollbooth for an in depth discussion of her stunning debut novel, Bull Rider. Williams is a pro who brings years of experience to her insights into writing and the writing life. Don’t miss her discussion on writing about topical issues versus creating a timeless story!

--z.v.

The year: 2001

I was 19 and just days away from getting married.

This Christmas was spent at my parents’ house.

This was a Christmas that was both exciting and bittersweet. It was exciting because four days after Christmas, Chriss and I got married, bittersweet because I was moving to NY a week and a half later and had no idea when I’d see my parents again and also because it was our first Christmas after Grandpa had died, four months earlier.

A few days before Christmas, it was either the day before my dad’s birthday or the day of, Chriss and my grandma flew into the Tri-Cities airport. Chriss had a connecting flight in SLC so he met up with Grandma and shared the flight to WA. That whole day I was beside myself with excitement and couldn’t sit still the entire time we waited at the airport. I hadn’t seen Chriss since May and couldn’t wait for him to arrive.

Thanks to all the changes that came about after 9/11, I couldn’t wait at the terminal and run to him the instant he stepped off the plane. Incredibly disappointing, but at least it was a small airport and the terminal was just behind a set of glass doors. Although, I’ll admit it was a cruel kind of torture to see him through the doors and still have to wait until I could be with him again. But at last, we were reunited.

The days between that and Christmas were mostly a blur of final holiday and wedding preparations. Chriss and I went Christmas shopping for my family. He had the genius idea of buying them a new sound card for their computer. Little did he know, their machine hated him and he’d spent his entire holiday trying to fix it and buying more hardware for it.

Two days before Christmas, Chriss lost a filling in his tooth and as he was out of state and it was the holidays, he had to wait to get it fixed. So instead, we bought some temporary filling and had to repack it in his tooth every other day. Around that same time (I can’t remember the exact day), my brother, who was twelve, was playing basketball in the church gym and smashed into a wall, breaking his front tooth in half. I promise there were no more dental emergencies after that, although I did have my first asthma attack (brought on by a sinus infection) the night before my wedding and almost had to go to the hospital.

In spite of the comedy of errors, it was a wonderful Christmas. We had our traditional Christmas Eve dinner with the Hartmans and Chriss and I got to help Mom and Dad play Santa. Christmas morning I woke at 6:45 to find both my brother and Chriss in my room wanting to know if it was time to wake Mom and Dad so we could open presents.

We laughed, reminisced, played with our new gifts, Chriss fought with my parents’ computer, Grandma and I helped Mom make dinner, and we enjoyed our time as a family. The next day it was back to getting ready for the wedding which wasn’t without its own comedy of errors, but, like Christmas, was a wonderful, unforgettable time.

I woke up at 5:00 this morning, not for any reason that I’m aware of. It just happened as it does sometimes. I really wasn’t ready to forgo the rest of my sleep – five hours isn’t enough for me – but half an hour later, I decided to get up. Now normally, I will lie in bed to try and get that rest, but not this time. I started thinking about my WIP, about how I’ve written almost 5,000 words in two days, how I hoped to get in at least 2,000 words today, what my MCs needed to do to reach their immediate goal ... and I had no choice but to get up and turn on the computer. Which I did, promptly wrote 179 words, knew the ideas weren’t coming, went back to bed, fell asleep again (yay!) and woke up knowing where most of those 179 words went wrong. (The he saids and she saids still work.)

And I write this because I had to laugh. When I talk at schools, I tell the kids how I do my best writing when I’m halfway between sleep and awake. Apparently, there exists a lack-of-sleep corollary.

(If you're interested, I've been posting my daily progress on Facebook ... not necessarily because anyone cares; just to motivate me to reach lofty goals.)

Rhuday-Perkovich delivers a masterful debut, telling a layered middle-school tale filled with characters who are delightfully flawed and, more importantly, striving to overcome those flaws. ... Rhuday-Perkovich doesn’t take shortcuts, forcing Reggie to deal with a world in which he doesn’t always get the answers or successes he wants, and the book shines as a result. Messages of social justice—whether through church projects, parental discussions, or recognition of racial biases among his friends—complement the story and characters, rather than upstage them.