“Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.” -Miles Davis Last week, I went to Laini Taylor’s book signing at Mysterious Galaxy. She’s one of those rare writers that is both skillful at plot and masterful with language. She started off by sharing her experience of writing Daughter [...]
Covers and Christmas Decorations
December 2, 2010 – 11:55 am
I’ve been thinking a lot about decorations recently. It might have something to do with the fact that stores started decorating for Christmas way back around Halloween. Or maybe it’s cause I’ve been drinking eggnog for 3 weeks already. But yesterday, I took a break from writing and we put up lights and blasted holiday [...]
Outside of Perfect
October 25, 2010 – 6:25 pm
I’ve spent the last month and a half revising my novel and I’m completely and totally in a revision daze. My head is thoroughly stuck inside my own strange fictional world. And I’ve been working hard to make it as real for other people as it is for me, as clear and believable and perfect [...]
Meep Meeeeep!
February 4, 2010 – 1:37 pm
Last week, we got a new puppy! Huzzah! Four-month-old Kitsu is adorable and fox-like and endlessly entertaining. But as I’ve watched her stalking dust bunnies, pouncing on shadows, and chasing her tail, I’ve been forcefully reminded of my own writing process. See, during the past months of revision, I daydreamed about starting a new story. [...]
Kevlar
November 20, 2009 – 4:22 pm
In the TV show Castle, the amazing Nathan Fillion plays a mystery writer, Rick Castle, who works with the police to solve crimes. Believable? No. Amusing? Yes. Anyway, Rick Castle occasionally wears a bullet proof vest, but instead of ‘POLICE,’ his says ‘WRITER.’ My friend, and brilliant writer, Alexandra Amor recently asked me, “What writer [...]
Humming Along
November 11, 2009 – 1:32 pm
What does revision sound like? For some people it might be the clickity-clack of typing. For others it’s the shush of a highlighter against manuscript pages. But for me it sounds like Battlestar Galactica. Yes. My revision, at least for my current book, sounds like an epic battle for humanity. Every morning, I sit down [...]
Missing Piece
October 21, 2009 – 12:00 pm
My family has a tradition of putting together puzzles during the holidays. The wobbly card table comes up from the basement. The furniture’s shuffled around. And in the quiet times between visiting relatives or Christmas shopping, we’ll sneak a cookie and saunter up to the table, idly trying to find a match or two before [...]
Better, stronger, faster.
October 14, 2009 – 4:40 pm
This past summer, my beloved puppy dog passed away, leaving a corgi-shaped hole in my life. My husband and I’d had her for almost as long as we’d been a ‘we.’ Together, we’d moved across the country 3 times and lived in 5 different apartments. We’d been camping up in the mountains and out on [...]
Appendicitis?
July 8, 2009 – 3:15 pm
Recently, I’ve been doing some story soul searching. And I’ve learned an important revision lesson… something simple that every doctor knows well: The symptom of the problem is often different from the problem itself. For example, an upset stomach could just mean you ate too much Chunky Monkey. Or it could mean you have appendicitis, [...]
Eating Paste
March 4, 2009 – 12:57 pm
Okay… maybe not eating it. So I finished my revision… now what? As a way to deal with the dismal No Man’s Land that lurks between revisions and new projects, I’ve been getting crafty. This past September at the SCBWI Working Writers’ Retreat, the creative Julie Williams gave us some unusual ideas about how to [...]
C’est Fini!
February 26, 2009 – 10:25 am
Just a short and celebratory post to declare that I finished my lastest revision. My YA novel, The Harbinger, will no longer be locked away in the dark files of my computer. It is being sent out into the world! Hooray! Up, Up and Away!
Dead Leaves and Surprise Guests
October 1, 2008 – 5:00 am
I’ve never been a gardener, but when I moved 8 months ago, my mom came out for my birthday and helped me plant a gorgeous garden. Purples and blues and pinks rioted in front of my house. I have to say I was a bit perplexed when I saw the result. It was beautiful, but [...]
The Bells! The Bells!
September 22, 2008 – 11:41 am
I just got back from the SCBWI Working Writers Retreat, a particularly cruel event where they entice you with tables of inexpensive YA books and promises of wine and chocolate, then run you ragged with constant critique groups, editor talks, and yoga. Children’s writing is a harsh world and those of you that don’t know [...]
Not, not, not a box!
August 26, 2008 – 3:01 pm
*First off, apologies to Antoinette Portis and her modern classic picture book, Not a Box for leaning on her wonderful pictures and themes. Go buy Not a Box! * A box is a cozy place to be. It’s dark and quiet, with plenty of corners to curl up in. You can touch the walls around [...]
Conference Karma
August 11, 2008 – 6:01 pm
Recently I’ve been really feeling good about my writing. I’ve had quite a few “Aha!” moments and, slowly but surely, my story is transforming into a novel. By this, I don’t mean that I’ve been making it longer or writing the acknowledgements page (don’t worry, you’re totally mentioned). No. What I mean is that before, [...]
The Rules
July 14, 2008 – 1:53 pm
A while ago, I had a friend read the opening chapters to my novel. He was very supportive, but he said that there wasn’t enough momentum to my story. Not enough momentum?! What does he know? He’s an illustrator. He reads picture books and graphic novels. He doesn’t know ANYTHING about young adult books! Okay. [...]
Brainstorming without consequences
October 31, 2007 – 4:51 pm
I’ve had the pleasure this week of looking over a couple of friends’ fantastic picture book manuscripts. Since picture books are my life right now, what I’m reading, what I’m writing, even what I’ve been dreaming about, it’s been a bit of a greedy endeavor. It’s wonderful to be presented with delicious stories and get [...]
Channeling Faye
August 13, 2007 – 1:31 pm
I’m brain deep in character development, right now. Unfortunately it’s for Faye, the main character of a novel I’ve been writing on and off for 4 years. Same novel. From the very beginning, I knew Faye. Who she was. What she wanted. The concept in my head was brilliantly clear. Unfortunately, my writing wasn’t. After [...]
An act of courage
July 6, 2007 – 10:50 am
If writing is an act of faith, then revising is an act of courage. You have to sit down with what you’ve written, look it in the eye, and admit it isn’t everything you hoped it would be. Worse than that, you can’t just walk quickly past your mistakes, holding your nose. You have to [...]
