The journey to becoming an author isn’t always a straight path. Melody Dean Dimick has been pushed off course several times by lack of opportunity, tough critiques, and rejection. But she refused to let that deter her from her love of writing and her dreams of creating stories for young adults. She understands and connects with the emotional journey of that age group and harnesses that knowledge to write layered and impassioned stories high school students love. Melody is also a pro at writing in verse. Her newest young adult novel in verse, What Lies Beneath, won First Place in General Catch All for the 2018 Royal Palm Literary Awards. Melody talks teenagers, poetry, and dedication on this week’s RPLA showcase.
Melody’s Writing Journey
Like Odysseus’s journey home from the Trojan War, my quest for publication has been long and full of trials, conflicts, and obstacles. When I began writing, I was more interested in being a literary critic than a creative writer, but I chose Dr. George Abbe’s Creative Writing as my first postgraduate course at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh (SUNY) because it was offered at a time that fit into my work schedule. My stories bored Dr. Abbe because it took weeks for me to grasp the concept of voice. Since creative writing challenged me, I wanted to pick up the gauntlet and master the art of writing short stories.
Unfortunately, few graduate-level creative writing classes were available that did not interfere with my teaching job, and it was obvious I couldn’t make a living writing yet. Thus, my writing career fizzled to an evanescent memory until years later, when the nearby University of Vermont advertised a summer intensive-writing seminar. Daily, for a fortnight, a different writer and illustrator shared secrets. Anne Lindbergh and Barbara Cooney whet my interest in telling stories for children, but I really had no idea how to hone my skills until I moved to Florida and joined both the Florida Writers Association and the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Although I had taught English at Northern Adirondack Central School, a course titled Exploring Educational Issues through Writing at SUNY, and had written articles for Strictly Business, a northern New York magazine aimed at promoting local businesses, my knowledge about writing for young adults was limited. However, I understood the angst of young adults and believed their stories needed to be told. I vowed to improve my writing, even after receiving harsh criticism. Whenever a conference presented an opportunity to improve my writing skills or to surrender a sample for critique, I submitted my work in progress. I hired copy editor Beth Mansbridge, joined writers groups, and entered contests. After bearing criticism and rejection, acceptance came in the form of inclusion in six of the annual FWA collections. My unpublished book, Backpack Blues, captured first place in the Unpublished General category of the RPLA in 2016. Since the novel in verse is still not a genre accepted by the RPLA, I entered What Lies Beneath in the same General category.
The Winning Entry, What Lies Beneath
Logline: In a Central Florida town, a high school senior fears she cannot escape the literal and figurative borders of her survivalist dad’s chain-link fence. She seeks peer acceptance.
Two Florida settings and my former students in both New York and Florida triggered What Lies Beneath, my novel in verse. As a former teacher, I empathize with young people coming of age, facing the challenges of high school relationships. One day, I drove by a trailer with “No Trespassing” painted on its side. Because a chain-link fence surrounded the mobile home, it reminded me of a survivalist compound. The writer in me wondered, What must it be like for a young girl to get on the school bus from that place?
While researching my story seed, I learned that the nation’s largest subterranean bomb shelter, a secret underground facility, was built in Central Florida during the Cold War era, within a few miles of the site of the trailer. The idea of connecting the two settings and sharing the story of a vulnerable female hero, Riley, grew. By telling What Lies Beneath in verse form, I was able to get to the emotional core of Riley’s struggles and growth.
Two Truths and a Lie, Writer’s Edition
Hire an editor to be sure the first fifty pages are stellar and without errors.
Don’t write poetry if you want to get published. Young adults don’t like poetry.
Aim for speed in the opening, middle, and climax of your story.
The lie? Don’t write poetry since young adults don’t like it. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Emotions flow like hormones during the teenage years. Novels in verse, Crank by Ellen Hopkins and Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, both became New York Times best sellers. If poetry captures an authentic voice, teens will read it. Young people love music, don’t they? Music is poetry accompanied by a melody.
Other Works by Melody
My first three books were young adult novels. After publishing Silent Screams with a small publisher and self-publishing Sinister Silence, a serendipitous encounter with Dr. Mary Custureri, owner of Taylor and Seale Publishing, at the Florida Heritage Book Festival in St. Augustine afforded me my break. Dr. Custureri wanted a young adult novel with a male protagonist. I told her about my novel Blame. She asked me to submit it. I did. She liked it and published it.
Although it wasn’t exactly what she was looking for, Dr. Custureri subsequently agreed to publish Backpack Blues if I would add sections about writing and performing poetry. My award-winning Backpack Blues became Backpack Blues: Inspire the Fire Within.
Coming Next from this Author
Hopefully, publication of What Lies Beneath will follow. Additionally, book four of my Silent Series is in the works. I plan to write more poetry and novels in verse and attend more conferences to improve my craft. I presented at the Southwest Florida Writers Conference: Possibilities! The Hudson comes to the Peace at the Charlotte County Cultural Center and plan on doing more presentations this year.
Connect with Melody
Please go to www.MelodyDeanDimick.com to learn more about me. You can also find my books on Amazon. In addition, you can listen to my podcast with FWA president Alison Nissen here.
More about RPLA
The Royal Palm Literary Awards competition is a service of the Florida Writers Association established to recognize excellence in members’ published and unpublished works while providing objective and constructive written assessments for all entrants. Judges include literary agents, publishers, film producers, current or retired professors, teachers, librarians, editors, bestselling and award-winning authors, and journalists from across the nation. Entries are scored against the criteria set by RPLA using rubrics tailored to each genre. Winners are announced at the annual FWA conference during the RPLA awards banquet. To learn more about RPLA, click here for the guidelines.
