Extra Credit: 5 Tips for Writing GREAT Deleted Scenes

So, have you heard? I have a new book out! It’s called Detention of the Living Dead and it’s my third full-length YA paranormal novel for Decadent Publishing/Bono Books. (Those guys rock, by the way!) Detention of the Living Dead is about four kids sitting in detention when a zombie walks in, bites and turns them all; boom, it’s Breakfast Club meets Zombieland!

But this isn’t about that. Well, it is and it isn’t. The thing is, for some reason this time around nearly everyone I did a guest post for to announce the book chose a “deleted scene.” It was weird. I’d done a couple before, and they’re always fun, but this was intense. I think, at last count, I wrote nearly a dozen deleted scenes from Detention of the Living Dead.

It seemed like a daunting task at first, writing all that extra content, but once I got into it, it was really, really fun. And it was kind of a welcome change from the usual guest posts I do about writing YA or zombies or zombie YA. It was basically like writing a short story for each blog, but tied around the same central plot line.

So when you’re looking to do something unique and original for a guest post, why not try a deleted scene from your new release? If you’re thinking about doing so, here are five simple tips to follow:

1.)  Stick to the fringes:With this batch of “deleted scenes,” I got to explore a lot of stuff I would never even have considered putting in the book. The reason for that, I guess, is I didn’t want to be too spoiler-y and write a ton about the main characters, so I wound up writing things about other folks who didn’t quite make the cut the first time around: the principal, other students, a cafeteria lady, etc. And the one time I did write about the main character, Max, I wrote a kind of “prequel” scene where she shares a tender moment with her father before she heads off to school… for the very last time. So stick to the fringes. Write about minor characters, or folks not even mentioned in the book, to help bring some perspective, chills, thrills or even laughs the reader might not be expecting.

2.)  Make it worth their time:There’s nothing worse than writing, or reading, a deleted scene that adds nothing to the readers’ understanding of the book. While I used a lot of peripheral characters for this batch of deleted scenes, I tried to make them all interesting and have the action going on in the background so, if you had read the book, it would be kind of like an inside joke. And yet, if you hadn’t read the book, or never intended to, the scenes would still be fun and worth your while. For instance, I wrote a scene from the perspective of the school’s principal, and how he was the first one to get attacked. I wrote a scene about a student who skipped school to go see a new zombie movie, and so survived the outbreak by simply… not being there. I wrote a story about a cafeteria worker who survived by sharpening a cookie sheet and using it like a machete!

3.)  Use the blogger as a character:A lot of the bloggers I wrote for are, by now, online “friends” I felt comfortable including as an actual character in the story. Take Ashley, of the Bookish Brunette blog, for instance. She has this awesome alter ego, “The Zombie Queen,” who I’ve dropped into several deleted scenes by now, so it was really fun to include her this time around as well. Even if the blogger you’re guest posting for doesn’t have an alter ego like this, merely using their name in the story can help personalize the scene for them, and their readers. Everyone likes to see their name in print, even if they wind up a zombie -- or in a zombie!

4.)  Keep them wanting more:While my deleted scenes did have a beginning, middle and an end just like a regular story, they weren’t really “stories”. You want anyone who reads your deleted scenes to want more; to enjoy the scene so much they want to actually read the book the scene never made it into. So even if the “story” you write seems complete, always keep them wanting just a little more!

5.)  Don’t phone it in:It’s easy when you’re having to do a dozen or more guest posts to be tempted to “wing it” and just send in any old thing, but remember that the blogger is doing you a favor by hosting you for this post and their readers will be expecting something worthy of their time (see above) as well. So, give it your best. I really tried to write great deleted scenes for each blogger, long enough to tell a complete story arc, even if it was for a VERY minor character, but short enough to read like a regular post. I wanted both the blogger and the reader to feel like they’d gotten something valuable for their time, a complete little “story/scene” that could make them smile, frown, sad, scared, funny or all of the above. Just like you wouldn’t phone in a post to your own blog, never phone in a guest post!

 

So, I hope these five simple tips help. I had a lot of fun with these deleted scenes and, if you choose to go this route, I think you -- and your readers -- will, too! I’d love to hear your thoughts on deleted scenes; you know where to put them -- the comment boxes are always open!

Yours in YA,

Rusty