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Dear Diary (October 2013, Part Two)

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octoberparttwoWhoa.  So October was kinda crazy.  (TOO crazy for this introvert!)

I taught four college classes all about OCD.  Two were biblical counseling classes and two were abnormal psychology classes.  I’m so grateful to the professors at my university for allowing me to share my story!  I also was a part of an OCD Awareness Week event in Minneapolis, where I was invited to read an excerpt from my first novel, Lights All Around.

I took part in a panel on mental illness for a breakout chapel at Northwestern.  OCD, ADHD, Bipolar, and GAD were all represented!  And then, that evening, I was able to get coffee with a very special family. Their sweet 11-year-old daughter developed a sudden onset of OCD a few months ago (PANDAS, you suck), and we’ve been communicating about Exposure and Response Prevention therapy, a journey this brave girl is tackling!  I am so, so impressed with them– with the parents’ drive to do the research to help them understand what their daughter is going through and with their daughter, for her maturity and courage and tenacity (and brio!).

My friend Addie Zierman’s new book came out, and Northwestern hosted a reading and Q&A with her.  (So proud!)  The next evening, Rainbow Rowell did a reading and Q&A in St. Paul.  Friday, I have tickets to see Billy Collins at the Pantages!  (I love how literary the Twin Cities are!)

I got my first rejection from an editor this month.  Truest is still in the hands of five other editors, and I am essentially heartsick with longing for a book deal.  It was so comforting to hear Rainbow Rowell discuss how difficult it was to sell Eleanor and Park, which is a masterpiece.  (A relief because, you know, then maybe that means my book is under-appreciated masterpiece, right?  Faulty logic?  I can’t hear you!)

I’ve been writing one thousand words a day of my new manuscript: mysterious boy, small island, need I say more?

I finished up my fall travel for off-campus recruitment, which included high school visits, college fairs, and presentations (presentations was essentially the theme of my October; I believe I gave ten, all told).  It feels good to have fall travel done so that I can be on campus and in my office for students.

I’m getting antsy to go somewhere: I’d really like to do some sort of writing retreat or conference.  Tossing around the idea of the SCBWI conference next summer, but that feels so far away!

One more thing: I’m working on a new project with Elyse Kallgren of the Inksplotch blog.  We will likely unveil it right around Christmas.

Dear Diary (October 2013)

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oct2013Absolutely no word on the novel yet.  I know that publishing is a “hurry up and wait” game, but it is so hard.  I desperately want an editor to love my story and give me a chance, and it sometimes feels so close and sometimes so far away.

To occupy my waiting time, I have started to work on a new novel— and not the one I’ve thought for the last two years that I was going to write.  I have an idea now that I love and am excited about, but I am not joking: this first draft feels lethal.  It’s like I’ve forgotten how to write a novel.  I keep wondering, “Maybe those first two stories were all you had in you.”  I don’t really believe that, but sometimes it feels that way.

I’ve been traveling for work.  Just around Minnesota and South Dakota, and I’m meeting some wonderful students!

Alison Dotson and I are putting on an event for OCD Awareness Week!  If you live in the Twin Cities, you should come on out to the Loft/Open Book in Minneapolis.  I’ll be reading some fiction I wrote about ERP, and she’ll be reading from her non-fiction book (soon to be released!).  Check out the details here.

I just shared about OCD with two separate biblical counseling undergraduate classes at the University of Northwestern.  It was a great experience, and the students listened well and asked wonderful questions.

My short story will be published soon through Hunger Mountain!  The rights will revert back to me after that, and I’ll share the story with you then– I can’t wait to hear what you guys think of it!  (I’d be lying if I said my eyes weren’t glued to my mailbox, waiting for the check to arrive too.)

Blessings, all!  Thanks for caring about the details!

A Fun Writing Update for My Blog Readers

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My last update on the writing front was on June 5th, when I wrote:

I am in the middle of writing a short story.  It’s about four teenaged wards of the state living in hospice care.  Morbid much?  But I feel very invested in these thirteen pages, very passionate about these four friends who have no one but each other as their time is running out.  My writing group is helping me with the next draft, and I’m hoping to enter it into a contest before the month is over.

Then, on June 19th, I let you in on my writing process, specifically regarding the hospice care story, leaving a tiny P.S. at the end of the post:

P.S. I really did write Mack’s story about living and dying in hospice with other teenagers.  I’m submitting it to a contest this month, where I assume nothing will happen.  Once nothing happens, I’ll probably share it on my blog or over on Crux.

Well, guess what?

That short story– “Covered Up Our Names”– won the contest!  I’m so honored to be the 2013 winner of the Katherine Paterson Prize for Young Adult and Children’s Writing, a contest hosted by Hunger Mountain.

If you click here, you can even see their little write-up about me!  They called it a “powerful” story, and that fills my heart with deep gratitude.  The contest judge was Rebecca Stead, 2010 winner of the Newbery Medal.  I read her book “When You Reach Me” nearly one year ago and reviewed it on my blog, saying:

Brilliant!  I actually shouted aloud the moment that everything finally clicked into place for me– I was that excited.  Absolutely loved it.

writingI am thrilled that my story will be published in Hunger Mountain, and I’m so terribly grateful for the cash prize, but what makes the entire enterprise so special to me is that Rebecca Stead loved my story.

I’m honored and elated.

I want you all to read the story!  I imagine the rights will revert back to me after publication, so I’ll anticipate sharing it with you then.  Or you can purchase a copy of Hunger Mountain 18 for just $12.

 

 

Dear Diary

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I thought I’d share a little bit about my real life as of late for those of you who are interested.

I just went on vacation with my ever-lovely friend Elyse.  A short trip into southern Wisconsin (with a minor accidental crossing into Illinois … stupid detour!) to stay at an old hardware store renovated into a neat little loft.  We made it our home for a few days, and we worked.  Elyse focused on blogging and reading while I did some writing, a little bit of blogging and reading, and a lot of research into my query letter and hook.  Having Elyse there was like having my own personal writing therapist.  SO. GOOD.  In the end, here’s my hook: “Summer romance, small-town secrets– and the darker side of philosophy.”

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We also visited The House on the Rock while we were in Wisconsin.  Sensory overload– but of the best kind possible.  It’s essentially a three-part museum of weird collections: music machines, dollhouses, a few carousels.  An infinity room.  It was like pure fodder for two writers.  Awesome– and a little creepy at times.  So glad we went!

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Ben, the editor I’ve been working with, finished the line edits to my novel!  So after I got back from Wisconsin, I took my manuscript to task, made loads of changes (mostly pretty small things– conservation of words, taking out lots of italics.  I go overboard on italics!).  Then, armed with my revised query letter and revised manuscript, I queried a series of literary agents yesterday.  (I don’t even really like to say so in case querying completely bombs– though one editor [a gal I met at the Big Sur workshop] asked to read the full manuscript already!)

Desiree’s wedding is less than a month away, and I’m so nervous I’m going to be an ugly bridesmaid.  This is causing a fair amount of stress in my life, which I detailed to my new psychiatrist last week before vacation.  It’s weird to have a new psychiatrist, but it’s necessary since my hero Dr. Suck Won Kim retired last September.  The new doctor seems quite brilliant though, and together we are devising a slight change to my medication regime to allow me to sleep better.  (Has anyone had any success with Trazodone?  I’m terribly sensitive to it– the first time I tried it, I slept through four alarms and into the afternoon, oops!)  The new doctor thinks if I dissolve half a pill in four oz. of water, then drink just one oz. that might be my right dosage.  Definitely willing to try!

How I'm hoping my hair looks for the wedding

How I’m hoping my hair looks for the wedding

Now that I’ve queried several agents, it’s time to play the waiting game: YUCK.  Therefore, I’m going to start a new project right away.  Yes, that’s right– you heard it here first.  I’m diving into writing a new novel first draft before grad school starts in January.  Am I insane?

On the roommate front, I met a new girl named Chelsea who is moving into the apartment in September!  She came over to the apartment to check it out and so that we could meet.  It went well, and on her way out the door, she glanced at a bookshelf, and said, “Is that The Last Unicorn?  I love that book!”  It was meant to be.

Hmmm, what else, what else?  Northwestern College successfully made its transition to University of Northwestern!

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That’s all for today, folks!