Category Archives: Ramblings
Has It Really Been 10 Years?
9/11: The 25 Most Powerful Pictures
I wrapped up the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer’s Gold Conference today (say that three times fast), and I have so much great writing information to share out. However, I didn’t think I could let the 10th anniversay of 9/11 pass without acknowleding the tragedy.
This morning, as I got ready for another round of workshops and mingling, I caught snippets of the new memorial for the Twin Towers. And I have to say it’s beautiful. The inverted tower of water is a perfect reprsentation of the empty void that tragedy left in the heart of our country.
It’s interesting because, for me as a high school teacher, I’m surrounded by people who can’t even remember 9/11/01. They were five or six years old. Crazy. I’m one of those old people who says, “I remember when…” But I do. And now, even after ten years, I still get teary-eyed when I reflect on the day.
My heart continues to go out to those who were affected by this tragedy, and I hope someday we’ll find a way to unite the world.
Most Important Rule When Writing YA
Daphne (aka Kate Kate Schafer Testerman, literary agent extraordinaire) posted a list of her inbox today on her blog–‘Peek at the Queary Box’. Of the 25 letters in her inbox, 17 of them were YA (and 4 more were MG). Some people probably really love writing from a teen’s perspective. After all, adults might complain about teens, but when else in our lives are we so utterly optimistic and ready to take on the world?
Writing from YA also has a certain freedom to it. Teens, for the most part, don’t have the same limitations when it comes to genre types and rules. But whether we write YA because we love the possibilities or because we hope it might make us a small fortune, Andrew Karre cautions us (in his article, “The YA Perspective” in Writing for Kids & YA) to beware of the most important rule when writing for teens: perspective.
According to Karre, many adults look back on their teen years like this…
However, he warns us that we need to approach the YA perspective like this…
Instead of the nostalgic tone of the first video, the adult telling the kids to hold on to the “good ole days,” we need to write the gritty, “in the moment” perspective.
Gold Conference 2011
The Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Gold Conference (wow, that’s a mouthful) is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I’ve signed up to participate in two critique workshops Friday.
The morning session is with Jennifer Unter. Ms. Unter sounds like an amazing agent, with a full range of experience, including a legal degree to help us poor hapless writers navigate those daunting contracts. She does represent YA, but hasn’t found any sci-fi/horror stories as of yet.–Full interview courtesy of Absolute Write, HERE. I’m a little concerned because my story is YA, but it is also very much sci-fi, so I’m not sure it will be a good fit for her. Still, it will be good to hear her feedback.
The afternoon session is with Brian Farrey, currently the acquiring editor for Flux (working with authors like Maggie Stiefvater), who also sounds amazing. He even has his own book out–Chasers.
I was a bit sneaky when I set up my sessions. Since my novel is told from alternating POV, I gave one agent my first chapter (as requested), but I gave the other agent chapter two. I wanted to make sure chapter two is equally as good as an introduction to my second character. What do you all think–good or bad idea?
Actually if it’s a bad idea, you probably shouldn’t tell me. I’ll only stress out about it. 
Deweeding Your Adverbs
I was rereading one of my favorite writing books, Stephen King’s On Writing, and I came across a great analogy for adverbs. I had to share it with you all…
I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops. To put it another way, they’re like dandelions. If you have one on your lawn, it looks pretty and unique. If you fail to root it out, however, you find five the next day… fifty the day after that…and then, my brothers and sisters, your lawn is totally, completely, and profligately covered with dandelions. By then you see them for the weeds they really are, but by then it’s–GASP!!–too late.
Ever since I read The First Five Pages, by Noah Lukeman, I’ve tried to nab those weeds whenever they sprout, but it’s always good to go back and double check the garden every now and again.
Happy gardening!
Another School Year
Today is the official start of another school year. In a few minutes I’ll have hordes of teens running through my room. I’ll get to learn hundreds of names in a few days and my brain will fill like an overripe tomato. But it’s fun. I like teenagers. They have such a postive way of looking at the world.
I do wonder what happens to that positivity as we get older. So here is my thought for this new week–I will be positive. I will get some writing done even though I have a million other things to work on this week. I will get my novel published. And most of all, I will take the time to appreciate those around me.
I might even smile more. Okay maybe not too much. Students think it’s creepy when their teachers smile too much.
‘Flawless’
The first week of school is well underway. Yesterday, I had the brilliant idea of riding my bike. I wanted to be healthy. I wanted to get some exercise. Obviously, I didn’t want to walk the rest of the day. I’m so sadly out of shape I could hardly move my legs last night. But, I must be a glutton for punishment because I plan on doing it again this morning. If I don’t write again tomorrow, y’all will know why.
But enough about me. I wanted to share a book I finished last night, Flawless, by Lara Chapman. Lara was one of the fabulous ladies who attended the Immersion class with me last week. In her novel, Lara takes the classic story of Cyrano de Bergerac and transforms our main character into that of a high school girl. Sarah is beautiful: gorgeous blue eyes and killer blonde hair. She has one major flaw: her overly large nose. When her best friend, Kristen, begs her to snag the new guy, Sarah turns to Facebook and email. Unfortunately, she has to sign all those deep messages with Kristen’s name. Of course mayhem ensues. But it was a fabulous read. It was fun to think about what Cyrano would be like in today’s world.
If you have the chance to read this book, do it. Then rent Steve Martin’s Roxanne, another modern telling of Cyrano. And then let me know who you think suffers more from their physical imperfections: boys or girls.
Sarah Dessen Contest
I’ve been out of town the last few days, but I wanted to post a quick note about the winner of the signed copy of Sarah Dessen’s ‘What Happened to Goodbye.’
And the winner is–Monica!
Thank you to all of those who participated. Later this month, I’ll be hosting contests featuring books from authors Ally Carter and Anne Brashares. So stay tuned!
Writing Maniac
Because I feel like a writing maniac, this will be a short post. I wanted to check in and say–yippeee! I’m almost to my halfway point. Over this past weekend I had to spend some time in the car by myself (a truly rare occurence) and the writing faeries blessed me with all kinds of gold nuggets. One mighty fine idea was spawned from Lady Gaga’s Poker Face–please no questions; you’ll have to wait for the book.
I guess I should get back to writing.
Writer’s Block: Cause or Symptom?
It seems that I’ve been suffering from a common writing affliction recently. With my first novel, I churned out well over 100,000 words in about a month. The ideas flowed. I loved working on the story. Then something awful happened–
I learned there are rules to writing.
Since I wanted to get my story published, I read every bit of agent advice I could get my hands on. I read writing books and attended writing conferences. And in the end, I learned I have a lot to learn.
When I sat back down to write though, the rules all piled up in my head. I wanted to create the perfect book, one people (specifically agents) would just lap up. It had to be about a boy (boy protagonists are “in” right now). And it had to be different, but not too different. It needed to be urban fantasy, not sci fi, or was it supposed to be sci fi, not fantasy.
Recently, I read that writer’s block isn’t a cause. It’s a symptom. I had to figure out what was really causing the block. In my case, I think it was the pressure of being perfect, in combination with telling the story from the wrong point of view. Top it all off with a lack of goals= no writing.
So, I went back and added in another pov to my story. I’ve also given myself a deadline–June 4. And presto, I’ve managed to write more in the last three days than I have in months. I see the little status bar on my WIP moving and I’m excited, truly excited about my story again.
It may not be perfect, but at least I’m having fun. 
Teen Art Show
Tonight I had the opportunity to attend my school’s AP art show and it gave me another look at some truly talented people. Everyone’s heard jokes about how unreliable teens are, how impulsive or egocentric they can be. But, sometimes we forget that many of these young people are full of more promise, intelligence and hope than many adults will ever be.
Sure there will always be those stereotypical teens, but many of today’s young people work jobs, play sports, and/or participate in after school activities, while still earning an A in all their advanced classes. They work twice as hard as many adults I know, yet they still find time for a social life. They amaze me and inspire me to work harder. It is for these people I love to write. So, I’d like to take the time to say thank you to all those spectacular teens. You are awesome!!!
**Images are taken from the TVHS portfolio site. All copyrights belong to the individual artists.**
