Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I hope everyone has lots of treats today and not too many tricks. And super good luck to everyone who is embarking on Nanowrimo tomorrow. I so wish I was joining you, but like last year it looks like I'm doing Nanorevismo again. Le sigh. Maybe next year!

Anyway I shall leave you with the best scenes from my favorite Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus:-)

Becoming Jane Makes You Magic!

Or rather, the movie Becoming Jane can you give you magic...writing magic that is...

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that writers--being the crazy people we are--are chalk full of superstitious beliefs. If writing went well sitting at THAT cafe table, you better believe you'll be back, or if you wrote the most amazing scene while eating only the green M&Ms then you will always keep a bowl of green M&Ms by your side (can you buy just green M&Ms? Like on St. Patrick's Day, or do you have to wait for Christmas and sort out all the red? I seriously don't know these things, I'm vegan....).

Anyway, the point of this post is to tell you about one of my superstitions. Except I'd like to believe it's not a supersition, because both times I attempted this, IT WORKED!

Also...James McAvoy.

So here's the deal, way back in June 2009 I was having a MAJAH Writing Crisis. Something was wrong with my story and I had NO idea what! And it was killing me.

I figured I needed a break, so I called a few friends to come over and watch a movie with me. But...being the obsessive workaholic I am (I'm trying to be better and more zen) I had to watch a writing movie. And what better movie to watch then one about Jane Austen...Jane FREAKING Austen struggling with her writing.

Also....James McAvoy.

"James, you can widen my horizons anytime."

Well... as soon as the movie was over my mind was buzzing and I had a billion ideas--awesome ideas, really fun ideas....ideas that led me to rewrite my story in a brand new way over the course of 6 weeks and become the novel that would land me Agent Laura. Hurray!

Fast forward to Thursday night--I found myself once again in the middle of a MAJAH writing crisis--I knew what was wrong, but I had NO idea how to fix it. So...I popped in Becoming Jane.

And you know what!?!?!

ALL of my problems are solved! ALL of them!

Though this time I also got some amazing help from FNC Donna and Agent Laura.

But...both times, these major epiphanies came after watching Becoming Jane. So now, I'm convinced that movie is magic and will solve all of my revision problems.

And...I get some James McAvoy!

Don't even tell me that this scene doesn't make you swoon 1,000 times over!

What about you guys? What writing superstitions have you tried/do you have? Do they work?

Taking A Step Back

Last night I read in one sitting Gayle Forman's absolutely beautiful sequel to If I Stay---Where She Went--taking place 3 years after Mia's accident and told from Adam's point of view. Getting to be inside Adam's head was everything I dreamed of and more (you know, in a writing/reading way....not a creepy way). But basically the writing was amazing.

But beyond finishin the book with a sense of aaaaaaaaah, I just finished an amazing book, and also OMG how does Gayle manage to write such beautiful and striking characterizations, I felt slightly changed by it.

Adam (hopefully this isn't too spoilery) has made it in this book--he's a full out rock star, his band is famous, he has a celebrity girlfriend, he's won awards, has obsessive fans, he's rich. And he is miserable. Beyond miserable--and yes there are Mia reasons involved....but it's because his love of his craft got bigger than him, and he's no longer feeling in love with music--he is forced to worry about all that other stuff that go with being a star.

And as I was reading, I realized I was relating to Adam on a much deeper level than I normally would, because I've been feeling the same way for awhile--but about writing--I can't make music.

It's funny because a lot of really great things are happening--I'm getting to speak to people about writing, I'm getting the opportunity to teach creative writing at a great university, I have the best critique group, have made amazing friends in the industry, I have a wonderful agent, and the best book I've ever had. But even so, even having all I do, and all of my experiences and all of my years writing, blogging, studying craft....I can still be completely thrown by my own work, I can still feel like I have absolutely NO idea at all what I'm doing, like I know nothing and I never will. And the farther I get into this process, the bigger all of these things feel, and what was previously a mole hill feels like an angry monstrous mountain.

Revising your first draft is not at all the same as going through a second revision with your agent, or with an editor. And I realized, I was letting a lot of these big industry things--who is doing what, what is expected of you, and how much pressure should I put on myself, and why didn't I see this issue in my WIP!?!, kind of get in the way of my feeling happy and excited to just be writing and excited about how far I've come.

I have talked before on this blog about not always being the most balanced person when it comes to writing. It's easy--especially when you're an obsessive perfectionist with a lot of ambition to spend every living breath you have on your craft and your work. And sometimes, this is necessary--when you have a new idea that you've fallen in love, when you're on a deadline, when you just absolutely have to finish so you can move onto the next thing.

But most jobs give you a vacation. And many jobs stay at the work place, they don't come home with you, and seep into your dreams and guide all of your decisions, down to maybe I'll wait to get a latte so I can get one when I settle into writing at the cafe later--lately I consider my lattes rent for office space at these cafes.

So basically, I've realized that I kind of need to step back for my own sanity. Especially when you're on the brink, it becomes so easy to lose sight of the real reason you're here and you started this journey in the first place--Because you love to write. I don't even know how published writers deal with all these different pressures, because I know they only intensify as time goes on and you achieve more. I'm already starting to feel it and believe me I have a loooooooooooong way to go.

I don't really have a purpose to this post, other than to hopefully get some of this weight off my chest. But I've been pondering this issue for awhile and finally had the help of another writer's words to kind of get me to see what it is that's been bothering me. Gayle, you rock in all ways--I hope you know that by now!

Do I still love writing? YES, like oxygen. But that's the thing, I've gotten so far away from it with everything else that my love for the craft has become second to my focus on everything else I have to do and want to do.

I'm trying to be less of a workaholic and be more zen about everything that happens, because if I stay too focused and involved in this world of writing, I think it really could drive my love of the craft into something I don't want. And writing is one thing I'd never want to fall out of love with.

So if I've been a little quiet lately in the blogosphere or super slow responding to an email, know that its because I'm trying to finish 1,001 things and find a little perspective and some fresh air to breathe again.

Your Publishing/Writing Questions Answered

As promised, the answers to your questions! There are some really good ones in here, and I will try to do them justice with my answers and keep them short.

Ok...maybe not ;)

1. Patricia A. Timms asked: Would you recommend hiring a professional editor before starting to query? Why? Why not?

Good question, Patricia. I don't think there's anything wrong with hiring a professional editor--if you REALLY feel like you need it, AND you can afford it, but I don't think it's necessary, therefore I wouldn't say I particularly recommend it.

One thing to keep in mind if you do hire one is to make sure you check their credentials--know they have a good sample of work (hopefully they can share some with you) and make sure you fully understand what service you are getting and why. There is a difference between hiring someone who is going to tell you your manuscript is awesome (which is basically paying for a compliment and useless), and hiring someone  who will really get dirty and deep in your MS and help you with your flaws (worth paying for).

FYI: Hiring an editor to critique your work is not the same as having an editor at a publishing house wanting to buy your book--I know most people know this--we bloggers are savvy-- but there can be some confusion at the beginning of this process, so I thought I'd throw that in there in case anyone was wondering.

Anyway, I'm a big supporter of being as self-sufficient as possible! Study grammar books, take time away from your manuscript to see it with fresh eyes, dig deeper, read books on the revision/editing process.

The only people I really want to rely on for feedback and help are my CPs, agent and editor. I don't really think more is necessary. However, I can totally understand the appeal of a pro editor before you start to query, considering how competitive the industry is--so if you CAN afford a good one, then sure why not, but in lieu of a pro editor, I relied heavily on feedback from my CPs and I think this is what most people do and they are still successful. So it's really a personal choice, but keep in mind that you might feel like you need to pay them each time and wouldn't you rather learn to edit on your own?



2. Anonymous asked: How do you plot and do worldbuilding? Are there any excercises you use, particularly for a Fantasy novel.
 
Wheee! A big question and one I plan to spend the summer answering (fingers crossed) since I recently proposed a new course at Arcadia called Writing Fantasy for Children and it looks like I'll be offering the course this summer--possibly with an online component, but I shall keep you posted. And now I will try and answer the question succintly here.
 
Ok, so for me, the way I begin plotting is always with an idea for the story, and usually a vision of my main character at the start of the story and a vision of my character at the end. I also tend to have a few key scenes in my mind that I sort of can place in different parts of the story, like this scene will happen just before the climax, or this is a turning point kind of scene.
 
Then I basically plot to connect all of the scenes.
 
One thing I also do is write 2 plots or arcs overlapping each other. I plot the emotional arc of the character, because they have to change over the course of the novel and be someone different at the end, even if it's a series, AND I plot the action or physical arc. Sometimes these two will have overlapping scenes and sometimes you'll have an emotional climax followed by the story climax or vice versa.
 
I think I could actually write an entire book on plotting, but in the interest of keeping this post reasonably short (yeah right), I'll move onto the other questions.
 
For world building, the key is RULES! You can get as creative as you want, but you have to make sure any kind of fantasy world you create has firm rules that you as the author never break. For one thing, it helps the reader suspend belief and buy into your world, two it keeps you from throwing in some random way to save the day at the end (which no one appreciates) and three, it forces you to really use your world to guide your plot and create tension. 
 
Good exercises for fantasy writing would definitely include reading Joseph Campbell's Hero With A Thousand Faces. Campbell is known for tracking down a basic pattern found in almost every myth, religious origin story, legend, folktale, fantasy and story today known as The Hero's Journey. I'm a huge fan of this journey and have used it as a guide, but the key here is make it your own, and get creative with it--don't use it like a paint by numbers kind of tool. If you're unsure of what the journey looks like, Star Wars and Harry Potter are both very clear examples. Christopher Vogel recently came out with The Writer's Journey with puts The Hero's Jounrey in more simplistic terms--it's a faster easier read, but I think studying the original is important too. There is also something called The Heroine's Journey which can be used for female characters, but tracks more of the emotional journey of a character. Layering the hero and heroine's journey is one way you can easily start plotting out the emotional and physical arc/plot of your own story.
 
Otherwise read a lot of fantasy, study how the authors set the rules of their world and how they introduce them through their writing.
 
3. Mariah Irvin asked: How do you get started writing with emphasis on WHY you should get into publishing. Also, recommend critique partners/groups!
 
The way I started writing was pretty simple...putting a pen to paper with a bunch of ideas. But how did I start writing to get into publishing? The short answer: By taking it seriously. Treat writing and treat the industry like its your job. Your boss would fire you if you didn't show up to work everyday, and the same goes for writing--although until you're published you might feel like you're on the longest job interview of your life--the thing is, you'll never get that "job" ie. the agent, the contract, the publishing deal, etc unless you keep at it everyday without fail and you stay on top of the trends and how-tos: know how to query an agent properly, know the most effective way to attend conferences, know what works and what doesn't and why.

When people ask what you do, don't say you want to be a writer, say you ARE a writer, because the only way to make it through the crazy amount of queries and submissions is to be serious, knowledgable, and respectful of the process.
 
Why get into publishing? Well there are lots of reasons why to you might want to get into publishing as  a writer: because it's your lifelong dream, because you have a story you absolutely MUST tell, because you want to improve your craft and work with and receive feedback from the best, because you love the challenge, because you believe your story is worth sharing and might offer some joy, comfort, inspiration, or hope to a reader and a lot of other reasons. For me the number one reason to do this is because I LOVE writing to death. I want to write all the time and when I'm not writing I want to read and when I'm not writing or reading I want to talk about writing and reading and write about writing and reading and teach writing and reading and...you get my drift.
 
More importantly here is why you should NOT get into publishing: For fame, for money, to tell your crabby high school teacher I told you so, to compete with your friend, just to see if you can. Getting published is hard and it's work and it takes an immense level of dedication, work, and love to do it. If this isn't what you absolutely love to do, (and I mean love everything, even loving the rejections sometimes and loving that you are about revise for the 100th time) then I really suggest you try something else, or keep writing as a hobby. Everyone who wants to do it should, but I know there are WAAAAY easier and faster ways of becoming famous and making money;) The question is: how much do you really want this, and if your heart and soul answer YES I want this, then go forth and do it!
 
And yes I totally recommend CPs and critique groups! I'm lucky to have the First Novels Club. Not only are they critiquing ninjas and I believe the BEST critique partners in the world--especially when our forces combine--we each have our specialties--but they've become 3 of my best friends in the world, and are amazing at offering support through all the ups and downs of this crazy journey. Beyond the amazing way a CP can help you transform a story into something greater, they can also be your best friends--and when you really get into this process, you will need them!
 
4A. Joanne Fritz asked: How many times did you revise your novel? How do you know when enough is enough?
 
Oh boy! Well, first of all, I wrote and rewrote and rewrote my novel over the course of 2 years, writing it as a middle grade, in 3rd person, in 1st person, back to 3rd person, as an upper MG, as a YA, and then as an upper YA 3rd person--1st person--3rd person--1st person. I moved the opening from PA to NY back to PA, but what really made everything click into place was adding the school story structure to it--my novel takes place at a private boarding school for mages and knights. 
 
The draft of my novel (which recently lost its title and is for the moment titleless) took 6 weeks to write (after 2 years of writing it) and then 8 months to revise before I signed with my agent. I then revised it 2 more times with her. Honestly I've lost count of how many times I've revised--this particular draft...I'd say at least 10 times all the way through, with countless little tweaks and changes here and there. It's really impossible to say for sure--but A LOT!
 
How do I know when I'm done? Well now my agent tells me! :-) Love her! But before then, I just kind of went on instinct. I have very high standards for myself and I would just write and revise and revise until I met those standards. You know how Sexy New Idea Syndrome or SNIS works? The new book idea is amazing because it lives in this pristine place in your head untouched and untampered with--your book is utterly perfect before you start writing it. I try to make my book go past that place, become something better and stronger than I ever dreamed it could be. Which....takes a hell of a lot of work! Also, I need the thumbs up from all of my CPs:-)
 
Keep in mind...you're never really done until that book is sitting on the bookshelf. It's really making it the BEST book you can make it, and when you've reached that point, reaching out to CPs or your agent or editor to help you make it even better.



4B. And do you revise all the way through for one specific reason each time? Like one time, you go through looking for excess adverbs. One time you look at dialogue. That sort of thing? Or would you recommend re-reading the entire mess and then slogging through it a chapter at a time?

I have revised it all the way through with just one reason in my mind--like making sure characterization is tight, or revising for descriptions, or for adverbs. But what is really the best thing to do is to have an editorial letter. I used to think you only got these from your agent or editor, but you can write your own editorial letter.

Here's what you do: Read through your novel and take notes on a separate sheet of paper. Mark down prose that feel off, places where dialogue isn't tight, or characters are acting "out of character" or where you feel the pace slows or tension is off, write down ANYTHING that is bothering you or you feel could be better. Then organize all of those notes as best you can into similar groups. Now you have a checklist so you can approach your revision anyway you want, by section of editorial notes, chapter by chapter, or by tackling the small things you can easily tick off. Everytime you fix something, check it off your list--this also helps you to feel VERY accomplished!

The reason for the editorial letter is it allows you to see the big picture of your novel and revise more effectively in fewer drafts. Then when you're done, put it aside, and read through it again.

4C. How many agents did you query? And what did your successful query include?

I queried 16 agents. Out of those 16 agents, 8 requested my full, and then 3 offered representation. My successful query included a succint introduction to my book, including a QUICK overview of the plot and journey of the main character--this was done in only a few sentences, and there was a short piece of info about me--my blogs and contact info. Perhaps I'll do a post on just my query letter soon? Let me get back to you on that one...



4D. How many conferences did you attend before you found your agent?

Hmmmm, I think I may have attended around 20 conferences at this point. However my agent, Laura Rennert was not someone I ever met at a conference. With Laura, I was purely slush pile--I didn't have anything recommending me to her except my query--which worked out because I worked my butt off on that (with help from C.J. Redwine's query class). But two of my other offers and about half of the agents who requested my full were agents I met at conferences, so that can work too.


Some conference advice...
Don't try and pitch your novel to an agent at a conference unless you are in a specific situation like they ask you about your novel first, or you're getting a critique, or in an actual "pitching" session. Just be friendly and try and meet as many agents as you can and then when it comes time to query, remind them of when you met. It won't guarantee an offer or even a request, but it will help you stand out and either get a tiny bit more consideration, OR a faster response. If you really connected with an agent, they may even be inclined to offer you a critique on why they are passing. So conferences are super helpful and I can't recommend them enough because they definitely played a huge role in my querying process, BUT you can also get pulled from the slush pile as well.

The key to remember here is never to rely on anything as a crutch--don't rely on conferences, your huge blog following, your connection to a NYT bestselling author or the fact that you were born on a lucky date. At the end of the day it will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS be your writing that speaks the loudest.



5A. Melissa asked: At what point do you hand over your novel to your critique partner? Do you give them the whole thing or send a chapter at a time?


When I first started out, I used to send them everything as I was going along--chapter by chapter. Now I'm more likely to send over a huge chunk with specific questions and issues to address. We're definitely evolving in our critique style. I think it's a matter of what feels most comfortable for you and what you feel will be the most beneficial. Previously I needed much more scrutiny over little things because I was trying to find my voice. This is sometimes still the case with some of my new projects, but mostly I have them look at big picture types of things. And we often send emails just discussing points in our novels.

5B. Also, how did you find your CP?

I was SUPER lucky to find 3 amazing CPs in my very first graduate school class, who have not only been amazing at critiques, but consistent (we've been meeting every 3 weeks for almost 3 years now), passionate, supportive, and some of my best friends. BUT I have swapped work and critiqued or beta read with other CPs that I've met at conferences like Joanne Fritz and Kelly Lyman and I've met a few beta readers online. The best thing to do is set your intention to find people and look for them online in critique forums, through a public call on your blog, in a writing class, at a conference or seminar or through your local SCBWI chapter. Of course you'll want to go through a trial run, not every CP is a good match, but if you want to find one, you will!


6. The Red Angel asked: How do you balance between writing and rest of life as well as how do  you avoid procrastination. :D
 
LOL, um....I don't know I'm the best person to answer this question. It's a learning process to find balance. But you HAVE to get out of your house at some point because you will go crazy, or gain too many pounds from just sitting there, or forget how to interact with humans, which if you write about people, you kind of need to have down. I think creating small goals is helpful, like I will edit 2 chapters and then I can go out/watch tv/read a book/grab coffee with a friend/sleep....etc...
 
And how do you avoid procrastination? By eliminating distraction. Turn off the tv, turn off the internet, your cell phone etc...create an environment where the only thing you can possibly do is be productive--and don't worry if being productive looks like you're staring into space, if you're thinking about your novel, you're being productive.
 
 
OK guys! This post ended up becoming a LOT bigger than I imagined. But hopefully you enjoyed reading or found some useful piece of advice in here. I'd love to know what you think or if you'd answer any of these questions differently.
 
What would your answers be? And do you have any more questions?

A REAL Recap of My Talk

Hey Guys, Head over to the First Novels Club today where awesomesauce Donna posted a write up of my Arcadia talk. Unlike me, she actually knows what things I said! She took notes:-) And pictures!

So check it out for my thoughts on the industry, branding, networking, how to get writer's conference advice for FREE and still meet famous authors and other writers in person, and about the importance of having an agent and when revisions actually stop.

Also, there are pictures so you can sort of see the outfit that won in the end.

AND....I'll be doing a post with answers to all the questions you guys gave me, so if you happen to have another or didn't ask yet, go ahead and I will add that question to my post.

My Arcadia Talk: Recap

A day in the life of a writer who actually got asked to talk about writing (instead of write about it) and run a workshop!

7:30 Wake up.

7:31 Realize it's the day of my talk! Hurray!

7:32 Realize it's the day of my talk.... AAAAH!

8:00 Finish drying hair, decide on outfit for talk

8:01 Decide on outfit 1

8:05 Decide on outfit 2

8:15 Decide on neither outfit--pack them up, will decide later

8:30 Breakfast! Bagel place! Chat with friend.

9:00 Continue reading/critiquing workshop submissions

9:30 Latte!

11:00 Feel accomplished and awesome for being totally prepared for my workshop. Yay!

11:01 Feel freaked out that I am totally NOT prepared for my talk. Panic Attack!

11:15 Office hours--even though I'm talking, I must still professor.

12:15 Class!

12:20 Congratulate self for scheduling a research day the same day as my talk. Can work on speech. Yay!

12:21 Students have questions. Cannot write speech. No!

12:25 Decide to write speech anyway.

12:30 Field research questions for students for hour. Speech is NOT written.

1:00 Write speech!

2:00 Finish speech.

2:05 This speech is 17 pages. This speech is 17 pages. This speech is 17 effing pages! Let's Print it!

2:10 Head to office to print speech

2:15 Walk past my face on wall. OMG my picture's on a flyer advertising the talk!

2:16 Walk past my face.
2:17 Walk past my face.

2:18 Question why I ever allowed the university to include my photo when advertising

2:19 FACE!

2:20 Attempt to read speech outloud

2:25 Lose voice from reading speech outloud

2:30 Realize this speech might not be such a good idea

2:31 FML

3:30 Workshop time! Critique!!!!

6:00 Attempt to practice speech again.

6:01 FML!!!!!

6:30 Remember outfit 1 and 2. It's cold inside the castle. Nix both, go forth in jeans!

7:00 Reception! Hug! Smile! Laugh! Small talk! My face on the door! OMG!

7:30 Add more chairs, lots of people came. Wonder what they want from me. Room is packed. OMG!

7:35 Speech. Start using 17 page print out.

7:36 Forget about 17 page print out. Say things.

8:00 Answer questions

8:30 Thank everyone for coming, answer individual questions off to the side. There is a line for me!

9:00 Wonder what exactly I said during my talk.

9:30 Dinner with the FNC, Geoff, and the head of Arcadia's English Department and Creative Writing program.

11:00 Debrief with FNC. Am assured talk was good. Still have no recollection of what was said.

11:30 So relieved the day is over.

11:31 Pass out!

Fin!

THIS!!!!!!!

So yeah, I have THIS tonight!!!!!! And basically it's all I can think about without my brain turning into mush.

Thank you everyone who supplied me with questions. I'll be posting a recap of how tonight goes unless it is a most horribly epic failure---then I'll just pretend it didn't happen, but I will also be answering questions--so if you have something you want to ask, go ahead and I shall answer---you know, writing related.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Dear Battery

What do you MEAN the laptop can't recognize you? I recognize you! You're the same little battery that I have seen and charged since I got the laptop.

Oh you're getting old? I see. You're what! 3! How is that old? That's not old! That's juvenile.

No you can''t compare yourself to dog years.

Because a laptop is NOT a dog!

No, it's different!

For one thing...you can't fetch.

GOOGLE is not the same as playing fetch!

You're tired? Well how about this! I'm tired.

Oh so you wrote 1,000 drafts of my novel?

Ummmmm, the last time I checked I WROTE A THOUSAND DRAFTS OF MY NOVEL while you just laid there.

Yeah, I said it! You lay there. Not even being useful since I have the laptop plugged in.

Of course I relied more on the plug than you. You used to only give me 4 hours. Now I'm even lucky for 1!

Oh, so now I'm lucky to get 1 second!

That's it!

Battery! Me and you....it's OVER!

Ask me Questions!

So now that it's the week of my BIG talk at Arcadia, I'm finally starting to feel nervous! Like really, really nervous. Because I mean...people are coming...on a Friday night...to hear me...TALK! OMG!

Now for the record, I'm one of those freaks of nature who is NOT afraid of public speaking. I've talked in front of hundreds of people. I'm cool with that. I've even read my own work outloud to a bunch of people--hello graduate thesis night!

But this is the first time people are coming specifically to hear just me, and what I have to say. And granted, a lot of this night could turn into me talking about myself--which come on, I can do that--I'm an expert on me. But I don't know how helpful blabbing on about how I wanted to write stories since I was 3, or how I wrote an epic story about polygamy and psychic fish when I was 9 is really going to be informative to anyone.

So tell me this...if you were coming to a talk called "Breaking Into The Biz: Everything I Wish I'd Known About Publishing" what would you want to learn? What questions would you ask? And maybe you guys can ask me some questions now? Because it would help and I can answer them in a practice post. And I will love you and send you virtual hugs and vegan cookies through the interwebs if you have things to ask me.

So...fire away! Anything...writing, revising, querying, agent revisions...whatever I can answer I will!

Anna and the French Kiss!

So a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to get my hands on an arc of Anna and the French Kiss, one of the this year's most anticipated debuts by the lovely Stephanie Perkins. And I am SO glad I did!

I LOVE a lot of books, deeply, passionately and soulfully. But there are very few books where I come to the last page and think, ok, let's start again. This is one of those books that I may have to buy multiple times for fear of wearing it out--it's THAT good!

Also this book will give you a book-gasm! I'm not kidding.

So....Anna starts off her senior year being exiled by her dad--who writes "romance" novels--anyone who knows what Nicholas Sparks thinks his genre is will get a HUGE kick out of Anna's father--at an American boarding school in France.

The way Anna was so scared of France at first perfectly reminded me of the way I felt when I first got to Scotland--though she definitely had it worse since at least everyone in Scotland speaks English. But I could relate to feeling like everyone just looked at you and KNEW you were American, or being unsure of how to buy or pay for something or worried that the minute you talk and people hear your accent.... Anna was just too adorable and relatable, if not a little bit neurotic...which ok I guess I am too.

Another thing I loved about this book was the attention to detail. It really is the little things that complete a project and Anna revels in the little things, details like how Etienne St. Clair--short English love of my life--bites a certain nail, or gets a certain look on his face when she touches him or dances with him (one of my FAVE scenes), or the way a bite of food tastes or crumbles in your mouth, or how the wind is blowing on a particular day. There were so many amazing details that every scene and every character truly came to life. Stephanie is one talented writer, you guys!

And the ROMANCE!! Can you believe I restrained myself enough to wait until now to talk about this? The push-pull relationship between Anna and Etienne was SO perfect! They had the most amazing, and realistic sort of "Does he like me?...He likes me....He doesn't like me....He liked me....He likes me....Does he like me? BUT does he like me....FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DOES HE LIKE ME!!!!!" thing happening. Even though I was kind of screaming at Anna the whole time, "He BLOODY likes you, you idiot!!!!" I knew that when I was 17, even though I'm 27, I still go through the same exact thing. And Etienne St. Clair....WAIT until you meet him! That's all I have to say.

I don't think I could gush enough about this book. It's definitely the newest addition to my favorites shelf--or it will be when I have a hard copy. This is a book to hug and love and enjoy and read over and over again. I can NOT wait to see what Stephanie does next. She's taken contemporary to a whole other level--this is the way a book is supposed to be! Utterly perfect.

Now I'm off to think about short British men who bite their pinky nail and wear knit hats. *Sigh*

Thoughts on Blurbs?

So I was stalking the YA section at the bookstore when I came across this book and picked it up. I didn't have any real interest in the book--the cover didn't appeal to me at all, and I didn't know anything about it or the author.

Honestly, what made me pick it up, was the fact that I somehow knew nothing about it. If you know me, you'll know how rare it is for me to not know at least 3-5 facts about every single book on the YA shelf--if not more.

HOWEVER, I read the back copy, and got kind of interested and then discovered the blurb from Lauren Oliver. Now I was half-sold on this book until I realized that Lauren Oliver, writer-goddess-of-my-dreams (I mean HELLO have you read Before I Fall and Delirium?!?!?) loved it, I was completely sold.

And then I realized, I've just decided on a book purely based on a blurb. I think I've done this in the past--but this was the most extreme case and I realized that blurbs from certain authors will totally make me pick up a book, even if I don't think I want to read the book.

So, has this ever happened to you? Are there certain writers who if you saw they wrote a blurb you'd definitely pick the book up? Do you even read the blurbs? Tell me everything!

Your BEST Writing Exercises

Up until today I've been kind of living under the delusion that it's still summer and a bajillion and a half degrees outside. But it's actually cold--which means fingerless gloves and boots! AND, it also means that this semester is 1/3 of the way over! My students have already turned in their first writing portfolios and papers.

Part of the portfolio I assign includes a written reaction to their writing over the course of the semester so far. And many of my students commented on the fact that I make them write everyday in class.

Being in my class means you are going to write. And so to get everyone writing I usually have them start by writing in a journal--nonstop--for an entire minute without a topic. If they have no idea what to write, I tell them to write, "I have no idea what to write" over and over again until they have something to write. Then I usually follow with a 5-10 minute --nonstop--write that has a topic.

Many of the students thought that though they couldn't understand why in the world I'd ask them to do something so crazy, they thought their writing was improving, because...well, they were writing.

Only one student thought herself such a great writer already that these exercises weren't helping.

Anyway--all of this got me thinking... I responded that to be a great writer, you have to write, you have to practice and sometimes you have to return to basics. Even master writers have to practice their craft on a regular basis, just the same as a ballet dancer has to warm up everyday and a singer has to go through the basic notes before she can hit the high ones. Writing is a craft that deserves every second of practice one can devote to it. And the more you practice something, the better you get at it--no matter where you're starting, if you keep at something you are bound to improve.

BUT, sometimes it's good to shake things up. Especially if you've been writing seriously for the last 5 years. So, what I'm wondering is, what are your favorite writing exercises? What do you guys do to practice your craft or get ideas going?

I'd love to hear and try some new exercises out, or maybe your exercise will give someone else an idea.