Boys in Books are Better

I wish.

I wish.

Allow me to demonstrate.

“Oh, I wouldn’t mind, Hazel Grace. It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you.”
Augustus Waters of The Fault in Our Stars

“He stops and looks at me. ‘I’m here because of you. You’re my priority. Your happiness, in some fucked way, is tuned in to mine. Get that through your thick skull. Would I like it any other way? Hell, yes, but I don’t think that will be happening in my lifetime.”
Jonah Griggs of Jellicoe Road

“I say, ‘I will not be your weakness, Sean Kendrick.’
Now he looks at me. He says, very softly, ‘It’s late for that, Puck.”
Sean Kendrick of The Scorpio Races

“Come here,” she says.
“No, you come here.”
“I said it first.”
“Rock paper scissors.”
“No. Because you’ll do nerdy calculations and work out what I chose the last six times and then you’ll win.”
Will pushes away from the table and his hand snakes out and he pulls her toward him and Tom figures that Will was always going to go to her first.” 
Will Trombal of Saving Francesca and The Piper’s Son

“I have a dream,” he said slowly. “I persist in dreaming it, although it has often seemed to me that it could never come true. I dream of a home with a hearth-fire in it, a cat and dog, the footsteps of friends — and YOU!”
Gilbert Blythe of the Anne of Green Gables series

“Do you remember all of your audiences?”
“Not all of them. But I remember the people who look at me the way you do.”
“What way might that be?”
“As though they cannot decide if they are if they are afraid of me or they want to kiss me.”
“I am not afraid of you.”
Marco Alisdair of The Night Circus

Just saying.

Writing Process Blog Tour

I’ve been tagged for this blog hop by Sandra Waugh, whose debut book Lark Rising will be published by Random House this September. Lark Rising is a high fantasy novel, and you can read a description of it here. Check out Sandra’s website and follow her on Twitter!

lifeguard chair1. What am I working on?
Right now, I am revising my debut novel Truest, a contemporary YA novel about Westlin Beck, a pastor’s daughter in a small town whose relationship with the new boy is complicated by his twin sister’s mental disorder. I am dreaming about my next novel (yet untitled), another contemporary YA story about childhood enemies reunited six years later on the small island where they grew up. I’m terrifically excited about both these novels and desperately hope that my characters, who mean so much to me, will matter to the world.

2. How does my work differ from others in its genre?
Since there is so much amazing contemporary YA out there right now (Melina Marchetta and Jandy Nelson are two favorites), I actually hope that my writing is similar. I do tend to lean heavily into philosophy and ideas more than many others!

3. Why do I write what I do?
There is this quote by George R.R. Martin that I completely and utterly disagree with:

Fantasy is silver and scarlet, indigo and azure, obsidian veined with gold and lapis lazuli. Reality is plywood and plastic, done up in mud brown and olive drab. Fantasy tastes of habaneros and honey, cinnamon and cloves, rare red meat and wines as sweet as summer. Reality is beans and tofu, and ashes at the end. Reality is the strip malls of Burbank, the smokestacks of Cleveland, a parking garage in Newark. Fantasy is the towers of Minas Tirith, the ancient stones of Gormenghast, the halls of Camelot. Fantasy flies on the wings of Icarus, reality on Southwest Airlines. Why do our dreams become so much smaller when they finally come true?

I am sorry that Mr. Martin’s reality is so dreary. I believe that reality has its own magic. That is why I write contemporary realism– to show the beauty and charm of the real world.

4. How does my writing process work?
I start with characters. I create characters that fascinate me, characters who are complicated, ones I know that I can spend the next two years or so with and still not have them completely figured out, ones whose company I will still covet after all that time. After that, I toss them into a room together and see what happens.

I write my stories in layers, each draft focusing in on a specific area: first, characters/dialogue; next, plot; then, setting/description; and finally, language (refining it, adding in imagery, choosing better words for what I mean to say). This does not mean that I write four drafts and am done (that idea makes me smile), but after I have a solid draft, I have to seek critical feedback in order to improve.

And now, I tag Elyse and Mary! Your turn to answer these questions, my dears!

 

Image credit: unknown

Thoughts from Places: Duluth

Silver Sea #narnia

Silver Sea #narnia

Sigh. It’s Thursday evening, and I have to go home tomorrow. In some ways, I’m glad: I’ve gone a little loopy and have hit a wall. On the other hand, if I had all day tomorrow to write, I think I could still hammer out a lot of work.

I didn’t get as much done as I wanted, but I did get a lot accomplished. I feel simultaneously proud of my work and also terrified of just how much more effort needs to go into this manuscript before it’s ready to show the world.

Space. It’s so nice. I don’t only mean physical space, but also head and heart space– it’s just that physical space can sure lend to that, eh?

Being alone with a manuscript can make you go crazy. Back in December of 2012, I spent a week in a small town working on (believe it or not) this same novel, and here is what I had to say about it:

When it’s just you and your manuscript in a tiny house for a week, both truth and lies are going to ricochet like crazy off those old walls and you know some barbs are going to get stuck in you.  You’ll go from imagining your impending wild success to realizing that you’re a complete fraud.  The only reassurances you can find are electronic—Facebook, texts.  You drink them like water, but even then, you think what do these people know anyway?

This has been happening a lot lately, you think. This up and down, this rollercoaster.  You’ve tried to tell yourself it’s just the writing life, the way things are.  And to some extent, this really has to be true.

Here I am, 18 months later, and that book is being published, and I still lived on that rollercoaster all week. I wonder if– for me– writing will always be a rollercoaster of emotions. Yesterday I hit a low low where I couldn’t fathom how Truest would matter to anyone. Yet, by that evening, I was re-writing a scene that I could not stop laughing over. I was honestly losing it laughing in my condo over things my characters did and said.

Tonight I feel stress creeping back in as I face returning to civilization tomorrow. (Honestly, it’s been so nice this week: no make-up, pajamas all day, I don’t even leave my condo.) I feel time biting back down on me; I feel the pressure of my contract all over again. I wish I could stay another week. I wish I could somehow have more space.

Interesting thing about this resort where I’m staying: I started writing my second draft of Truest at this place, two whole years ago. And now (please, Lord) I am writing my second-to-last draft (I hope I hope I hope). I have learned about a million things about fiction and the writing life and young adult literature and about the industry since then, and my book– my gosh, my book!— has grown and changed so tremendously that it’s nearly unrecognizable (in a good way!). But I am still the insecure writer who is trying to fake it till she makes it.

Some people would say I have made it. It doesn’t feel that way to me.

Time for more revisions. I really hope you’ll love my book.

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Secondary Characters Who Deserve Their Own Books

My friend Tara over at The Librarian Who Doesn’t Say Shhh recently shared her Top Ten Characters Who Need Their Own Novels.  Her list was brilliant and definitely got me thinking!

Here’s my own list:

1. Chaz Santangelo from Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
I so desperately want to spend more time with the Jellicoe gang, and I think it would be awesome to follow up with Chaz maybe four or five years down the road, find out what he (and the rest of the gang) have been up to.  It would definitely need to involve a romance with Raffy.

2. Jimmy Hailer from Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
His absence is definitely felt in The Piper’s Son (though I think it was the right choice), but Marchetta has mentioned that Jimmy is stewing in her mind and that she still might tell his story.  Highlight between the brackets for a mini-spoiler: [She wrote, “Jimmy’s not going anywhere, but it’s just not his time yet. All I know about him is that he is the first of Frankie gang to start breeding (accidently).” OH MY GOSH. JIMMY IS A BABY DADDY.].

3. Drew Leighton from The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay
Drew was a fascinating character to me: a womanizing bastard with a heart of gold.  I’d love to learn more about his story.

scorose4. Rose Weasley from Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows (epilogue) by J.K. Rowling
When Ron encourages his daughter not to get too friendly with Scorpius Malfoy since Granddad Weasley would never forgive her for marrying a pureblood … well, that set up a companion novel (and lots and lots of fan fiction) right there.

5. Hanna from Fire by Kristin Cashore
I’d love to revisit Hanna, Prince Brigan’s daughter, ten years after Fire and see what sort of 16-year-old she’d be!

6. Rhiannon from Every Day by David Levithan
Post-Every Day.

7. Poppet Murphy from The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Must. Have. More.

Your turn!  Leave a comment telling me what characters you think deserve their own books.

Image credit: Viria

Fairy Tales & Tears

I.

Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Jackie Lea who loved to tell and write stories.  She made a short list of her life’s goals, and one of the items on the list was to publish a book.

Jackie Lea worked tirelessly toward this goal: she wrote all through high school and college.  She wrote after college too, and she created a writing group, and she spent her precious money on workshops and conferences and readings to help her become a better writer.

She was very, very tired.  But still very determined.

“If I can just get a book deal, I’ll have met my goal, and then just think how happy I’ll be!  I’ll be a professional.  I’ll be thrilled.  I’ll be validated,” she told herself.

Then one lovely November day, she got incredible news: an editor loved her story and was going to publish her!  Jackie Lea had worked hard, and all her dreams had finally come true.

II.

fairy tale4Except that the book deal added so much stress to Jackie Lea’s life that she felt overwhelmed and panicked, jealous of other writers, nervous about her revisions, terrified to give up control, and generally quite fearful.

And she would cry about it.

And that felt wrong too, because who cries in a fairy tale when her dream is coming true?

 

Image credit: Gabriela Camerotti

 

Books & Happiness [or Books ARE Happiness]


buying books2

I pre-ordered:
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Life by Committee by Corey Ann Haydu

I bought:
Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick
She is not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick
Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira
The Place of the Lion by Charles Williams
The Cuckoo’s Calling by J.K. Rowling
Stories in an Almost Classical Mode by Harold Brodkey
Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor
Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick
This Side of Salvation by Jeri Smith-Ready
What I Thought Was True by Huntley Fitzpatrick
The Last Forever by Deb Caletti
Sorta Like a Rockstar by Matthew Quick
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Open Road Summer by Emery Lord
Adverbs by Daniel Handler

I won:
How to Promote Your Children’s Book by Katie Davis (thanks, Kathy Ellen!)
Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith (thanks, Anna!)

I also have 8 books in my “save for later” cart on the B&N website.

P.S. I got three B&N gift cards this month. I sure do love B&N gift cards. 🙂

YA Junkie [& proud of it]

A few odds and ends from the Land of YA Lit …

I joined Oblong Insider because I EVEN WANT BOOKS I DON’T KNOW THAT I WANT.  Yes, it’s true.  I signed up for a YA book subscription where someone else chooses books for me because WHY NOT.  I filled out a form that asked for my favorite books and authors so they could get a feel for what I liked, and then– voila!— the other day, I got my first package!

Look at this stuff!  I got Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens (a book for which I’ve read great reviews!), an awesome “I read YA” book bag, and a matching button.  Too cute!

ya swag

Yes, of course I love buying and choosing books on my own, but this is so fun and exciting, like unwrapping a birthday present!

Also, someone muttered some fightin’ words online:

fighting back

Seriously??!  What is wrong with people?

Also, thought Teen Librarian’s Toolbox posted an interesting article about how we guide teens into a safe discussion about sex in literature.  You can read it here.

Also, my friend Mary has got me thinking and dreaming about what the cover of Truest will look like.  (Note: I will likely have no say in this.)  But an author can dream, right?

Also, Maggie Stiefvater is going to be at the SCBWI summer conference.  I thought about going, but in the end, I think I’ve decided to stay put.

Also, Buzzfeed’s 19 True Struggles of Being Addicted to YA Books as an Adult.

Also, also, also … !

I love YA lit.

Surprises on the Journey to Publication

First, some truths as the groundwork:

* I love being a writer.  Sometimes I feel that I have no choice– I simply must write– but even if I did have the choice, I’d want to be a writer.

* I have an amazing agent and the sweetest, loveliest, most brilliant editor ever, and I feel like I won the jackpot.

* My contract is with HarperCollins, the publishing house of my dreams, the publishing home of C.S. Lewis and Melina Marchetta.  I am utterly humbled and full of deep gratitude.

writerAnd now, some things that are surprising me on my journey toward publication:

* It’s still really hard.  I think I’ve been laboring under the idea that the hard part was getting the book deal, and after that, smooth sailing.  Nope.  My edits come fast and furious, and I don’t think I’ve ever been stretched as much as a writer as I have been since I got my book deal.

* My skin is not as thick as I thought it was.  I’ve prided myself on being a writer with a pretty thick skin– I welcome criticism and can (usually) take it in stride.  I’m learning that maybe I’m more tender than I imagined.

* I have a lot of self-doubt. I once thought that getting a book deal would be like an eternal validation stamp: OFFICIAL WRITER.  I would be someone who Knows What I Am Doing.  Nope.  If anything, I feel even more doubt than ever.

* It’s a true partnership.  I was ready to take orders from my editor– aye, aye, captain, that sort of thing– but she asks more questions than she gives answers.  She raises the questions and then lets me answer them in my own way in what I write.  There’s more freedom than I imagined, and she is a great listener.

* One last thing: it took a long time to finalize the deal. It was offered in November, and I signed my contract in February.

I know that some of you blog readers are on your own writing journeys and are interested to hear how mine goes, so I thought I’d share these things with you.  Now I want to hear from you: what expectations do you have for after you get that first book contract?  Were any of my surprises also surprises to you?

 

Image credit: Laura Makabresku

My Hunger Mountain Story

Hunger Mountain 18 is finally out, and it includes my short story “Covered Up Our Names.”

HMcollage

 

(You may recall that I had this crazy idea about teenaged wards of the state living in hospice care, wrote the story and submitted it to Hunger Mountain with no expectations, and then won the 2013 Katherine Paterson Prize for it!)

Now that it’s been published, the rights have reverted back to me, so I have posted it over at Crux Literary Journal, the online arts project I curate.  I hope you’ll take ten minutes or so to read it and tell me what you think!