So I made a promise to myself a long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away) (okay, not really on that last part) that I would not grow up too much.
I mean, I’d be responsible and pay my bills and hold down a steady job, but all that stuff would never get into my head all the way.
I still wanted my imagination.
My sense of wonder.
My ridiculously happy-go-lucky-i-love-everyone attitude.
(When I was a kid, my mom used to beg me to stop talking to the strangers at the grocery store. I was crazy about people. seriously.)
But it hasn’t been so easy. There are a lot of dark people, places, events that are hard not to get overwhelmed by.
Also, I underestimated the entirely draining power of a desk job.
I used to cry because this was not how I pictured my grown-up self, stuck at a desk, not painting or drawing or writing or making jewlery or exploring parks or hanging out with my family. And I would tell myself, “write yourself out of it, girl.”
So I did. I wrote and wrote and wrote. Not all of it was good. But I suddenly had a fresh wind on the embers of my heart and my passion flared up and no one knew what to do with me anymore because I was like a hyper-active kid once again.
beautiful, no?
But sometimes my writing can be really weird. Like really weird. I’m half tempted to cut some of it out of my novel. Where did this come from??? I ask myself.
Lady LovelyLocks
And then yesterday,
an image popped into my head and I knew.
LADY LOVELYLOCKS. Suddenly, I could see her beautiful, multicolored, rodent-ridden hair.
How had I forgotten how she had fascinated me???
And I loved Duchess Ravenwaves because she was beautiful (evil, but beautiful).
Duchess Ravenwaves
Grown ups are scared of chipmunks and birds scampering through their tresses, but Lady LovelyLocks embraced it! Whoever thought her up must have known it was a really weird idea, but they used it anyways, building and shaping and elaborating until there was a whole amazing world full of beautiful puppies and ponies and princesses for little girls to fall in love with.
What about Teddy Ruxpin?? (yes, I know I’m dating myself here) HE FLEW IN AN AIRSHIP. His best friend, Grubby, looked like a weird BUG. There were purple and orange and green mushrooms everywhere. GENIUS!
And David the Gnome. HE RODE ON A FOX. THERE WERE TROLLS. magical magical magical. I remember waking up really early to watch it on the Spanish channel because they canceled it on Nick jr. My dad would always ask me if I knew what they were saying. NO. BUT YOU COULD TELL FROM THE PICTURES.
THE REALLY COOL PICTURES.
Can you see where the seeds of my weird ideas were planted?
Fraggle rock. Grownups don’t like the idea of small, furry puppets burrowing tunnels under their homes and linking to other dimensions and sharing dreams. BUT WHEN I WAS A KID IT WAS AMAZING!!!
The worst part is that adult-me had forgotten all about these cool stories until that weird spark of remembrance yesterday when it all came flooding back.
So you know what? I think I’ll let my inner kid have some fun and I’ll keep working on my weird and crazy, fantastical ideas.
They were in tears.
They are going through a situation and they feel like they can’t talk to anyone about it
because no one will understand
because no one else has
gone through it.
This issue has made them feel completely alone in the universe.
And then I was like, “Yeah, I’ve been through it too. That sucks.”
And they were like, “REALLY???”
And then I had an epiphany. This is exactly the reason books are so powerful. I mean, I think I already knew this, but this was the first time I’d ever felt it. Like deep-down felt it.
Have you ever had a story get you through a rough time when you thought you were flying solo through the cold cosmos?
Where the characters became good friends.
Where you felt more at home between the pages then in your own mind.
Where you knew you weren’t crazy because the main character felt the same feelings you were going through.
And you suddenly felt like it wouldn’t be impossible to smile again.
Yeah. I love that about stories.
The books I hold dear…well, mine are pretty darn cheesy.
I can’t help it. These are the books that got me through the
social terror/
peer pressure/
nightmare that is
adolescence.
And they’re still the good friends I turn to on dark and stormy nights (along with a cup of earl grey and some candles). Or when I’m not feeling motivated and just turning the pages feels like an effort. Or when I’m sick. Or when I’m lonely. These are the books that got me through.
And all I can hope is that my books (that will be published someday, right?) will impact someone else positively. I want to help someone else get through the crap that makes you feel like you’re all by yourself out there.
Seriously, I pray that my nonsense fantasy stories can help someone else out.
Just writing them has changed my life.
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So technically I saw the movie first and I still watch it everytime I feel sick. But then I read the book and loved it just as much.
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Anyways, I’d love to hear which stories got you through
Apparently, this is an old prototype of the typewriter, the writing ball.
So I’m out of excuses. My new laptop is finally up and running with all of the documents from my old computer loaded onto its hard drive. I’ve got my favorite word-editor uploaded. I’ve found my place where I left off in my revisions.
Time to get back to work!
I stayed up until midnight working on my revisions.
I have to admit it.
I’ve missed this.
IBM Selectric. Just a step above my laptop. ha.
Sure, it was fun acting like a normal person for a few days. I played some really mind-numbing games and read some mind-blowing books.
Kissy-face and I gave up TV for a week and ate dinner listening to audio books. It was fantabulous.
But–Life feels kind of meaningless if you aren’t striving towards a dream. I know it for sure now; I write because I have to, because I love to, because I’m driven to.
I don’t care if it ever makes me money or proves that I have talent. (although, that would be nice, right?) I just love writing.
OMG this is the coolest looking thing ever. I want. My birthday is June 4th. Pleeeeeezzzeee.
So my mom sent me some pictures. Maybe you’ve seen them, but I hadn’t. I was shocked.
as my co-worker said,
“OMG, THAT’S SO BAD!”
IT ACTUALLY MADE ME A LITTLE SAD. But that’s beside the point. WOW, our mindset as a culture has changed so much in so many ways over one single century. The meanings of words have changed, what’s considered acceptable has changed. The way people look has changed. Cars have changed (Actually they were invented and then they changed). Advertising has changed.
These ads are so dated. Please see below. Feel free to laugh (or cry).
Beer is nourishing for baby, right?
Don’t do this to your story!!
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Oooo I'm so weak. I can't even open up ketchup bottles. I hate being female.
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If you put cheesy cliches and buzzwords in your narrative and dialogue…
Mommy, why don't you smoke to take the edge off being a mom??
Papa says it won't hurt us. REALLY?????
Right.
Sugar's got what it takes. make it stop.
mmm...just swallow tape worms and you will be skinny!!
I'm a man, I wear ties, get me my breakfast, little woman. You don't know it, but there is arsenic in his coffee.
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your readers are going to think it sounds really lame ten years from now.
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You might even make them want to cry or punch you.
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Think of original phrases. Like a spirited writer who yearns to be tamed.
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If you eat lots of sugar, you will have the energy to come up with creative phrasings.
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So don’t be too groovy man or your book will become a #datedfail.
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Twitter hashtags will probably be #datedfails in a couple years.
Today we are fortunate enough to peek inside the genius brain of Jacqueline West, author of the BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE series.
As soon as I saw the cover of THE SHADOWS I knew I would love the story, but it wasn’t until I read about the book that I was smitten. Roald Dahl meets Neil Gaiman?? A creepy Victorian mansion?? Paintings you can travel through??
Where have you been all my life?!!!???
Definitely sounds like it will be my new fav. I had to meet the author. So I stalked her and asked for an interview. She was gracious enough to oblige. As you’ll see below, she’s quite awesome. Please check out her Livejournal and visit her website to find out more. Also, her book trailer is below the interview.
here goes:
1. What’s your revision method? (Do you use critique groups and/or beta
readers? How many revisions do you average before you feel that your work is ready?)
JW: I revise as I write, so it’s hard to keep track of how many times I go through a manuscript before it actually goes off to my editor – and then, of course, there’s more revising. Once a manuscript feels fairly polished, I usually have a small selection of people read it and give me feedback. (Often it’s just my husband, who reads it aloud to me. The dog sometimes listens, too, but he has very little to contribute.)
I don’t currently have a writing group, because we’ve moved around a lot in the last few years, and I prefer critique groups that meet in person. But I have found them to be very supportive and inspiring in the past…so, if any writers in western Minnesota are searching for group members, look me up!
One thing has stayed consistent for me: No matter how much I revise, I’m never sure that my work is “ready.” Letting someone else read it for the first time or sending it to my agent or editor often feels like tearing open a cocoon: you’re not sure if you’ll find a finished moth, or a surprised pupa with stumpy little wing-nubs.
2. When you begin a manuscript, do you favor an outline, or do you tend to fly by the seat of your pants?
JW: I’m somewhere in between. Often, in the first flush of inspiration, I’ll make a whole bunch of notes about the potential plot, working out a chain of events. When I actually begin the writing, the notes give me a general framework, but I toss out as many ideas as I keep. I find if I’ve outlined in too much detail, I write merely to advance the plot, and the tone, style, and humor of the writing get lost. Instead, it sounds like an eight-year-old describing a movie he just saw. (‘And then…and then…and then he says…’.) No one wants to read that.
3. What’s the weirdest source of inspiration you’ve ever experienced?
(Gardening? People watching? Cleaning the bathroom?)
JW: Inspiration seems to have no pattern for me, so I just try to keep my eyes and ears open, and to carry a pen wherever I go. I’ve found it in so many odd places that it’s impossible to name just one – in hospital waiting rooms, in my grandparents’ bathroom, in lots and lots of cemeteries, and of course in crumbling old houses (although I’m not sure that’s very weird).
These days, when I’m waiting for a messy knot of ideas to work themselves into something I can use, I play fetch with the dog, down in our big, bare basement exercise/martial arts room (a.k.a. The Training Chamber of Doom.). Something about the repetitive action and the empty space helps me to step back from the problem, and I’ll suddenly see solutions that were hidden before.
4. When did you first realize you were destined to write?
JW: I’m not really sure how to answer. If you mean “destined to write” as in to write as a career, I’m not sure that was destiny –it was more of a long, strange struggle, full of failed attempts and experiments (and lots of really embarrassing teenage poems). If destiny was really in charge, she sure could have made it easier.
I write because I can’t help it. I’d be writing if no one else ever saw my work, if I never got paid for it, and if I never even attempted to get published. And I’ve been filling journals and typing poems for so long that there was never a moment of realization. It’s just become part of my identity. Writing is the lens through which I look at the world.
On the other hand, I was reluctant to call myself “a writer” – even in my own mind – until I was making real money by doing it. I realize how hypocritical and silly this is, but it’s the truth. I’m in a long-term, love/hate relationship with external validation.
5. If you could go back in time to the point when you decided to try this writing thing as a career, what is the one piece of advice you would give your past self?
JW: Hmm. This has the Back to the Future conundrum all tangled up in it. If I advised my past self to do something differently, then my present self might not be where I am. And I’m happy where I am. I appreciate the experiences I’ve had, even the difficult ones, and I couldn’t have found better people to work with: my agent, my editor, my publisher. I’d probably just pat past-Jacqueline on the shoulder and tell her not to be quite so hard on herself. But even that might be dangerous.
6. How do you fight the am-I-crazy times when you doubt yourself or your work?
JW: Ugh. Those times come much too frequently. Realizing that they come to everyone – even writers I really respect – is very soothing. Talking to other writers or reading other writers’ blogs and journals helps me feel less alone. Books like Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird are therapy for distraught writers. And sometimes crying to my most patient and loving family members (people who are obligated to be nice to me, even when I’m at my most self-pitying and whiny) is a relief. I remind myself of all the encouraging things that have happened to me and the kind things people have told me about my work. If nothing else helps, sometimes I simply need to take a break from writing for a day or two, so that I can come back to it more objectively.
Bonus!!! If you could choose one single meal to eat three times a day, every day, for the rest of your life, what would it be?
JW: Bread, fresh fruit, and coffee with milk. The bread should be sourdough – fresh and dense and squishy. The fruit should include raspberries, strawberries, and pineapple. (And no kiwi. Sorry, kiwi.) The coffee should be French roast, with plenty of skim milk. In other words: BREAKFAST. All the time.
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See? Told you she sounded quite awesome. I immediately wanted to purchase THE SHADOWS, but it doesn’t come out until June 15th. Luckily my birthday is June 4th, so I will be preordering it as a gift to moi. Check out the trailer::
Long before Lewis Carroll tried to interpret Alyss’s story, a little girl from another reality became irreversibly immersed in the struggle between white and black imagination.
The Looking Glass Wars
book 1
by Frank Beddor
review by me
I actually listened to this book on CD. Obviously it’s a different experience than seeing the actual words on paper, but I find myself picturing the images of the narrative and getting emotionally involved in the story just as much when I listen as when I read. There are several covers for the first book. I included them all so you could get a sense of the cool atmosphere this book creates.
This book is the most imaginative and entrancing spin off of Carroll’s story that I’ve read. I personally love anything to do with Wonderland, but I’m usually pretty disappointed in the movies and books that try to capture and reinterpret the magic of the original.
Beddor’s book plays with the names of Carroll’s characters and creates an entirely unique story line built around the premise that Alyss told her story to Lewis Carroll and he butchered it. These books tell her real history.
Part scifi and part fantasy, the first book takes you on an epic sweep of 20 years in Alyss’s life. Wonderland (basically its own planet) was once peaceful, but throughout most of the book it is ruled by the evil Redd and her mutant creatures produced by black imagination. Killing machines, card cuts and all seeing eyes are equally dangerous as Jabberwockies. There is a very cool continuum built on a system of mirrors that you can travel through. Imagination rules the world, and there is a constant struggle between those who want to use it for devastation and those who want to use it for edification.
Alyss is also sent to Earth as a last minute attempt to protect her. This was the slowest part of the book. Obviously it’s necessary for her to meet Carroll and tell her story, and we also get a bit more of Alyss’s personality, but I thought it could have been shortened just a smidge. I would not call it boring, the entire time you’re rooting for Alyss and the fight back home in Wonderland.
This book is not a zany light-hearted romp down the rabbit hole. There is dry humor throughout, but there are also some pretty dark characters and black imagination is deadly. Seriously, people die! Beddor’s vivid imagination and deft descriptions make it an entertaining story that sticks with you. I’m anxious to see how he handles the next book in the series.
I feel like this UK cover most accurately captures the setting of Wonderland.
I loved how this book broke away from many of the guidelines we are trained to follow (however Beddor does it with a smooth sense of craft). Sometimes the narrator tells us the internal feelings and motivations for multiple characters within the same scene! We watch Alyss grow up into her 20s! Basically it’s not your typical MG or YA read and that made me enjoy it even more. I loved getting caught up in the story and I recommend checking it out for yourself.
4 and 8/9ths hearts out of 5
♥♥♥♥♥
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Stop by Wednesday for my interview with author Jacqueline West!!
First off, I have to let you know that I briefly met this author. I also took one of her classes at the DFW conference. I also bought her book. I also had her sign it.
This did not in any way influence my opinion.
Well, maybe a little, but I tried to be pretty straightforward with myself as I read the book.
The main character, Maggie Quinn, is a cynical senior in high school who suddenly finds herself surrounded by strange, dangerous, possibly (probably) (well–okay, definitely) supernatural events. She has to either trust her gut and try to save the world at the risk of looking crazy, or leave the snobs of the senior class to their fate. *cue scary music*
Oh, and there are hott guys. Yes, guys as in plural.
There are swimming pools, demons, witches, elitist clicks, hazings, quirky chemistry teachers, creepy dreams, plot twists, and a Jeep, all in whirled into a mystery that propels you along to the final (formal attired) showdown.
I loved the pacing of the book–I was able to read it in about a day and a half over a hectic weekend. The MC’s perspective of high school is one many of us non-all-stars can relate to. The mystery was well woven and kept you guessing. I loved the voice and there were lots of funny descriptions and witty bits of dialogue. I may have even laughed aloud.
When I purchased this book, a lady standing at next to me at the merch table asked me if I thought it would be appropriate for her 9 year old daughter with a high reading level. Since at that point in time I hadn’t read the book yet, I admitted I had no idea. Now having read the book, all I can say is–as with many YA reads, there are a couple comments on religion and politics here, there’s also a bit of blood, cursing, and some characters with serious life issues, so parents might want to skim it first to make sure they’re okay with it, but for readers that are able to use books to strengthen their perspectives rather than weaken them, this is a fun rollercoaster ride.
Just keep the salt handy. (that’s an inside joke. You won’t get it until you read the book, so read it and then we can laugh together. mwahh ha haaa.)
Soooo I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but my laptop has gone AWOL. Of course you haven’t noticed. Right now it’s sitting in a laptop shop supposedly being worked on, but it’s taking a long time! Also, my revisions are on my laptop. So I’ve had to take…how long has it been now? …one…two…hmm…wow, it’s been SIX days since my laptop decided to stop turning on. RIDICULOUSSSSS.
BUT I’VE MADE THIS A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE and read every book I could get my grubby little hands on. (They aren’t really grubby. Just feeling expressive this morning.)
So, drumroll please. DUM DUM dah DUH…bOOk reVIEWs!!!!
(check for another on Friday)
THE NAME OF THIS BOOK IS SECRET
by Pseudonymous Bosch review by me.
Don’t read this book. It’s much too dangerous.
At least that’s what the author would lead you to believe.
I was looking through the MG section at Borders with some friends. Please show me something fresh and new and funny, I begged the display table as I flipped through the first three pages of several books and…blah…nothing…no sparkle...wasn’t feeling hooked. Then I thumbed open this book. I was hooked.*
Besides a fun design and lovely typesetting, there are word games and codes. A bit of Egyptian mythology. A narrator who’s a pushover for chocolate. Lies, mystery, even death.
I also loved the two protagonists. They were both misfits, but in great, fresh ways. I’ve definitely known many boys like Max-Ernest, and I may be part Cassandra.
Two voices in my head kept chiming in as I read this book (scarrrry, I know)– Ten-year-old me and Twenty-four-and-three-quarters-year-old me. Both loved this story. But I could feel my inner ten-year-old flipping with delight at some of the jokes and puzzles that my 24 3/4 self tried to read straight-faced.
In summary, Great Fun. I will have to read the rest of the series next time my laptop waves the white flag.
I give this book 4 3/4 hearts out of 5.
♥♥♥♥♥
Peace♥
*I handed it to my house-cleaning hubby and said, “Pleeeease.” We weren’t supposed to spend any money at Borders. It was more of a window shopping trip. We used grocery money for this book. And I’m glad we did.
I want to start asking the writers I interview when they first knew they were a writer (This great question is via Kari).
I started to wonder the same about myself.
When I was little, the library was one of the most magical places in the world.
I remember my mom taking me there and letting me loose in the picture book section. So many colors and images. The smell of paste and book binding.The bright colored carpet.Pages flipping through my stubby fingers.
I remember bringing the books home and looking at them with my dog on the floor next to me. I remember bringing library books to school for read-aloud-day and my classmates telling me I always brought the best stories (and sometimes the weirdest).
I remember my mom helping me pick out a big pile, bringing them home, and having each one read to me. I remember talking about the pictures. I remember one about a “drawer” drawing in a “drawer” (you know, like a dresser drawer) and my mom explained what a play on words was. I remember books about spaceships and lakes and monsters and sunflowers.
So thanks, Mom, for taking the time to take me to the library and look through the books with me. I credit my passion for art and writing to those experiences.
Where did you first get the inspiration?
original image source:http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Library_Pengo.jpg
At the DFW conference, Jodi Thomas gave an awesome keynote speech about her writing journey. People made her feel like she should give up. Her writing was rejected. She never won any contests. Her writing teacher avoided her. She gave up. Almost. She couldn’t stop writing. She had an amazing passion for it. So she kept it up. Now the number of her published books is greater than the number of my age.
Anyone can write a book. I really believe this.
However, most people don’t. And of the people who do, only a small fraction can get published by a major publisher.
That doesn’t discourage me one bit.
It encourages me. Here’s what I adore about the writing world:
We love to help each other.
We’re driven to write, so lots of aspiring authors share their learning experiences.
Editors and agents write books and blogs and articles about ways to be the cream of the slush.
If you’re bad at grammar, there are books to read that will help with that.
If you’re bad at writing, practice makes perfect.
If the publishing industry is daunting, there are books and blogs and articles that break it down into understandable bits.
There are conferences where you can meet inspiring people.
There are critique groups where you can get your work ripped to shreds so that it grows stronger with each revision.
There if a treasure trove of delicious fiction to read read read and learn from.
In my opinion, the odds are against us UNLESS we go all out and improve and stretch in every way possible. If you’re willing to grow and you’ve got the stamina to keep writing until something works and shove it in a drawer if it doesn’t, then I know you can get published.
I read the most inspiring quote that I’ve come across in my journey as a writer on Kate Lacy’s blog:
Courage doesn’t always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”
So I made a promise to myself a long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away) (okay, not really on that last part) that I would not grow up too much.
But it hasn’t been so easy. There are a lot of dark people, places, events that are hard not to get overwhelmed by.
GENIUS!
Fraggle rock. Grownups don’t like the idea of small, furry puppets burrowing tunnels under their homes and linking to other dimensions and sharing dreams. BUT WHEN I WAS A KID IT WAS AMAZING!!!
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