Yesterday I got a promo copy of Cyn Balog's debut "Fairy Tale" from our system youth services department. And less than 24 hours later, I've already devoured it!
Why it's so good:
It's a humorous fairy story. There is some good old-fashioned brooding and fairy lore, but the thing I like best about this book is how funny it is compared to a lot of the fairy books out there. (And this is coming from someone who counts "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" among her favorites.)
Morgan, the main character, comes across as so very fifteen in this story. Not quite a woman, but not a kid any more either. And I do believe there is a world of difference between fifteen and sixteen, and I feel like the author really captures that time of transition.
The side characters. From Morgan's parents to her best friend Eden to her boyfriend Cam to the strange new kid Pip, I liked everybody in the story.
This is definitely going to be one of my frequently displayed/impromptu booktalk books when I'm on teen room duty from now on. I love it! Thanks for writing such a great book, Cyn, and I look forward to reading your second, and third, and fourth . . . :)
Little-known fact: I created the wikipedia entry for Justine Larbalestier back in 2006.
I also created the entry for Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone, my favorite illustrators from childhood.
For school I wrote an entry on the Library Best Practices wiki about Library services for those in prison.
What odd bits of your writing are floating around on the internets?
A lot of good discussion in the comments too. Scalzi mentions that actors and musicians tend to reach higher levels of achievement earlier on and someone commented that kids are often put into music lessons at a young age, but the same cannot be said for writing.
Scalzi and several others have posted a timeline of their own writing histories. I think it's interesting to see everybody's journey.
Ages in parentheses at the end.
1979-2003: Time spent learning to write well enough to write a novel (24)
Breakdown:
[1988: Started writing short stories and plays (9)]
[1991: Finished first terrible novella-length story (12)]
[1993: Finished second a-little-less-terrible novella-length story (14)]
[1993-1997: Wrote decent short stories and bad poetry (14-18)]
[1997: Began working on what would become my first complete novel (18)]
2003: Finished first complete (adult) novel (24)
2006: Finished second complete (YA) novel (27)
2007: Finished third complete (YA) novel (28)
2008: Finished fourth complete (YA) novel (29)
2009: Got an agent based on my fourth book (30)
I am a little younger than the average age of 35-37 in Scalzi's post. But I also am one of those kids who began taking writing seriously at age 9 and wrote all the time. I have wanted to be a writer since I was a kid, and at age 16 or 17 I formally dedicated myself to it. All I did was start a little earlier on getting my first million terrible words out of my system.
Another thing which factors in I think is finding your voice and your genre. I grew up loving sci-fi and fantasy. In middle school I wanted to be a playwright or write scripts for animated films. As a college English major I fell in love with poetry and with literary authors like Virginia Woolf and A. S. Byatt. When I decided to start writing YA it's like everything started clicking for me (as you can tell, finishing a complete novel a year in 2006, 2007 and 2008).
I think a lot of people who are prodigy writers, getting published in their late teens and early twenties, are often passionately dedicated to one genre or type of writing, and get in lots of practice writing in this genre. If I had continued assiduously writing only sci-fi and fantasy stories like I did in middle school, I may have peaked earlier. But I tried my hand at a lot of different types of writing before I started writing YA in 2004.
What's your timeline?
How do you write?
My character's new name is Claire! Unless I acquire two co-workers with that name, in which case it's back to the drawing board. :)
a co-worker recently left and I have taken over her duties as the order-er and processor of the McNaughtons at our library. (McNaughtons are leased copies of books we get in order to fill temporary high demand on new books, and also to get new books on our shelves asap.) Amidst the craziness of yesterday I got to stick YA stickers and band-aids (what we call the little clear labels that keep the stickers on) on:
"The Demon's Lexicon" by
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sarahtales"Along for the Ride" by
writergrland
"Wings" by Aprilynne Pike
among other things. I really wanted to put post-its on the books that said "please put in Amanda's box once processed" but I couldn't. So often at the library I wait for the frenzy over new books to die down before I read them. I can't bring myself to keep a new book sitting on my desk, out of the hands of my teens.
Our next-closest branch library is closed for expansion right now which means our library is serving double duty. So far two weeks into this summer we have more sign-ups for the summer reading program than we did all last summer. Yesterday I went in the teen room and filled up all the displays and literally a half-hour later, nearly half the books I had put on display were gone and they had to be refilled again. Even though summer always kicks my butt, I love it because suddenly everybody has time for pleasure reading they didn't have during school . . . and you can really tell it by how empty the shelves are.
Anyway, I have resigned myself to the fact that life will never be non-busy ever again and that spare time is vital for writing and for hanging out with friends, or else I will go crazy. Luckily I have awesome friends who understand what I mean when I say I NEED GOOF-OFF TIME STAT who organize things like this:
As much as I would like to go hide and read a book somewhere I know that this way lies madness, and goofing off with friends is what I need to recharge from being totally exhausted by work . . . so it's anime or "Killer Klowns from Outer Space" or "Twilight" Rifftrax and friendship time to the rescue.
At any rate, from here on out, let it be known that if I read your book it's less like going out on a date and more like going steady or getting engaged! A serious commitment here, folks. ;)
I need to change the name of a minor character in my story after acquiring not one but two co-workers with that name and getting back in touch with a childhood friend with that name. On Facebook and Twitter I solicited name suggestions and I have chosen my five favorites. I need you to help me narrow it down!
This character is one of those people who universally gets called "nice." "Oh, so-and-so, she's so NICE." Just as background.
Poll #1419370 Name that character
This poll is closed.
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All
What should my character's name be?
0 (0.0%)(Thanks to Ella, Melissa, Heather and Aramis for suggesting these names.)
It always makes me sad that there are so many awesome people who live not too far away from me yet I only see them once or twice a year at these things. And it's never a situation where we can kid ourselves that we'll find time to hang out--with work, family, friends, writing, etc. we're all scheduled to the hilt. All the reason why these conferences are awesome, because we KNOW we have this time where we can spend all weekend together, not just in the professional capacity but also having dinner and drinks and just hanging out and chatting and catching up.
For all the details we talk about writing, I think it really boils down to a few key things. The details are definitely important: writing a good query letter, having good word choice, not overusing cliches, etc. But I do feel like they are garnish on two simple facts. Aka you either have/do these two things or you don't.
1. You have It. I do think it's possible to hone your craft and work towards having It. But it's always amazing to me how quickly you can tell if somebody has It or not. They may be the most amateurish newb ever who starts their story with their mc looking in the mirror and describing themselves but reading their story, you just know you want to know more about this character and you want to read more when the chapter ends. Doing creative writing with teens is so exciting to me--I am so proud and pleased by how many of them really have It, this amazing command of language and insight into character that makes them stellar writers. The authors who have visited my creative writing group have all commented how genuinely surprised and pleased they are by the quality of writing they hear from my teens, and I know they're not just being nice--because it's true! (Okay, I am insufferably proud of my teens, I know.)
and next, if you have It, then:
2. It's a matter of starting your story in the right place. This ultimately carries over into pacing for the whole book--if your story starts off strong and peters out it's not going to have a chance. But over and over I hear excellent writers starting off their story in a totally uninteresting place. Maybe because we've all read so many classics that do just this, start us out with some relatively boring prelude before getting to the good running-around-on-the-moors stuff. I really think the key is knowing what makes your story different from whatever else is out there and having that on page one. Or if you can't have that on page one, at least hinting at it. It could be a plot point or it could just be the extremely unique voice of your main character. Over and over in critique groups we say "You need to have chapter two as chapter one" or "skip all the backstory and get right to the meat of it" or "get rid of the info dump, weave all that stuff into later pages."
I think that's the glory of critique groups and partners. As writers sometimes we get so hung up on the story we want to tell and we want to make sure our readers know all these important details. But our critiquers really help us pinpoint what is interesting and page-turning about our stories and help us get right to that moment.
I know it's a gross oversimplification to put it this way but I do think there's some truth to it too!
megancrewe. Over the years, we have all stayed close, critiquing each others' manuscripts, talking about writing. After six years of knowing each other online I don't consider them just writerly friends, I consider them friend friends. (And in case you're wondering, I got to know them all via my personal lj, not this one.)Megan and I, not surprisingly, initially connected over a book: "The Changeling" by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. If you've spent time talking about children's books with either of us, chances are we've mentioned this book. It's quite possibly the most perfect middle-grade girl book you will ever read. And it had a significant and similar effect on both of us when we were children.
When Megan shared "In Memory Of" with me in late 2005, I absolutely fell in love with it. I remember telling her I swear it's not just because I'm your friend, I REALLY LOVE this book. Not too long afterwards I was recommending books to a teen patron at my library and I thought, what was the title of that great book I read, the one where the girl can talk to ghosts at her school and uses them to get dirt on the popular kids . . . oh right, it's Megan's book and it isn't published yet, so I can't give it to anybody!
I am so, so proud to be able to say I was there in the beginning and got to watch the whole thing unfold: Megan getting an agent in October of 2006, revising, sharing the cover art for the first time, and now, a Real Live Book. I was there for the whole thing! (And the coolest part of this is that it was all thanks to the internets. How else could two people in South Florida and Toronto keep in touch as well as we do--or even get to know each other in the first place?)
So . . . keep writing, keep connecting with critique partners at conferences and on the internet, keep encouraging others and opening yourself up to be lifted up and encouraged in return. We're all in this together, and while you may feel you are toiling in obscurity--your hard work and dedication can really pay off! Out of the group of five writers I've known since 2003, three of us are agented/agented and published. (
skutir is the other one, hi Kurtis!) I am fully confident that the other two will be one day as well (Amy, sadly gone from LJ, is in my online YA critique group, and somedaysawriter has turned her considerable talents to writing adult fiction)."Give Up the Ghost" comes out on September 15. Go read it. It really is that good. And I'm not just saying that because Megan's my friend. :)
Here are photos from last year.
The first year I wasn't able to make it so I did a bunch of the karaoke songs for Anime Karaoke. But in January of this year I went up to Alabama with my husband and friends and had a blast meeting all kinds of wonderful people and helping run the con. I think I slept a total of 8 hours the whole weekend, ha.
Why do I enjoy doing this?
Because I like stuff that is both cool and free. I think it's awesome (pun intended) that we're in our third year of hosting a free-admission con. I do it for the broke teens and twentysomethings (and thirty-, forty- . . .).
Because my brain requires constant stimulation and this is like the best shiny toy. I <3 projects. I work well under pressure and I am a people person. It is amazing what a bunch of people can do when they get together and decide "Hey, let's do this thing."
Because I love running events. I love writing and library related conferences, but I tend to find other large events kind of boring. But I love running them and knowing other people are enjoying themselves because of my hard work.
Because it's an excuse to take a road trip and spend a great weekend with my husband and friends.
So . . . come to AUSteAM-Con in February! Come say hi! Eat some Pocky, drink some Ramune and enjoy the parade of great costumes.
I always love the unexpected directions stories take me as far as research goes. I never know what I'm getting into until I start writing.
I think having an overly busy life is the best thing for my writing. When I'm writing I usually wake up around 5 or 5:30 a.m. to get in a couple hours before I have to get ready for work at 7. And late days/days off are bliss, I get up at 5 and write for hours and hours while my husband and the pups sleep in . . .
On break at work, thinking longingly of my Macbook back at home. Gotta wait till tomorrow.
I love it because this is why we do it, folks! I love to see our shelves emptying as kids start having more time to read for fun. I love seeing all the great books teachers have put on their summer reading lists, and giving away great books like "Island of the Blue Dolphins" and "Rules" and "The Book Thief" and knowing how much my kids and teens are going to enjoy them. I love doing special programs--this summer we're doing the teen Reading Rocks theme as I mentioned before, and I'm also doing my third poetry recital with tweens, which is ALWAYS so memorable and special for all involved.
At the end of each day I'm totally exhausted but also incredibly happy and eager to return the next day and continue the summer of fun.
Don't let anybody tell you kids don't read any more, nobody uses libraries any more, etc. I can tell you that it's absolutely not true. It is a joy to work in a community that loves its library so much. Thank you all for writing the books that help make this the great place that it is!
1. "Orlando" by Virginia Woolf
2. "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
3. "Howl's Moving Castle" by Diana Wynne Jones
4. "The Changeling" by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
5. "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
6. "The Great Gilly Hopkins" by Katherine Paterson
7. "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak
8. "Octavian Nothing" book 2 by M. T. Anderson
9. "The Arrival" by Shaun Tan
10. "Blankets" by Craig Thompson
11. "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" by Michael Chabon
12. "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
13. "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman
14. "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card
15. "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
janetgurtler's blog.Something I always knew, but these past few months have really brought home for me:
"[W]riting a book is different than being an author. Writing books is fun, being an author is work."
So concise, so true!
My dream about Benjamin Franklin
Past dreams:
Dog Blog
Broken Pot Obligation
Uncle Vincent
The stories I write and want to write are all very different. Everything from contemporary realistic coming-of-age to urban fantasy to horrible things with tentacles. But in every story I tend to have main characters who are dissatisfied with their lives as they are. And I always like to show how they deal with this dissatisfaction. Do they endure it until they can escape for good? Do they agitate for change? Do they learn to cope with the negatives in order to experience the positives?
When you're a teenager it's so easy to feel trapped by your environment--your family, your school, your town. The expectations people have for you currently and in the future. I know many people who struggled against the odds and emerged as their own person. And I know many who succumbed and lost themselves in a sea of expectations. (And it's an especially terrible thing when all expectations point to "You'll never amount to anything," and a teenager believes this.)
I know this struggle is integral to storytelling in general but I hope in my stories in particular, readers will see parallels and be inspired to take ownership of their own lives. I always try to be very honest: it's not easy, and sometimes it's very lonely and frightening to do this. But in the end if you don't live your own life, what's the point? Better to struggle and strive and endure pain than to quietly succumb to numbness.
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- Amanda Coppedge
- Amanda Coppedge, young adult author
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