Links Galore

Lots of good links:

A Community of Artists

Once is a touching movie about musicians and art and connection. It’s now a stage musical, and recently the touring company invited amateur musicians in to sing “Falling Slowly” with them.

Walt shared the video with me this morning, and it got me kind of teary, seeing all these musicians of all ages and backgrounds and levels of professional status in the same space, sharing their art and making something wonderful together as a little community.

Writing and publishing as a career can be hard. But one thing I’m always grateful for–the people. I’m so grateful to be part of a community of writers and readers and librarians and educators and bloggers and fans. From across the world, from all kinds of backgrounds, from major bestselling authors to first draft-ers, from experienced bloggers to people who have just found YA, it’s uplifting and exciting to share our stories and our experiences, either in person or online.

So no matter where you are in your writing journey or your reading life, thank you for being part of this community. Your voice matters.

The Soul of Wit

A fun look at how stylometry helps prove that Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare’s plays.

I’m always a little baffled when people try to make a big conspiracy theory around Shakespeare. (See also Truman Capote writing To Kill a Mockingbird instead of Harper Lee.) Let the dude have his work!

Also, this is good proof that a writer’s voice is a real thing. Even though Shakespeare wrote sonnets, historical dramas, fantastical comedies, and more, all his works have his particular tone and style.

Maybe you’re not Shakespeare, but you have your own writerly voice. Someone else can be writing about spooky ghosts or family dramas or adventures in space, but your voice is all your own, and that’s part of what makes everything you write unique.

Defending Ellie: Unlikeable Teen Girl Characters

My latest post is up at the Ploughshares blog, and this month I’m talking about judging characters by how likeable or relatable they are.

“Likeablity” is a big issue for YA writers and readers. Teen characters, especially teen girl characters, are easily judged for being ‘annoying’ or ‘bitchy’ or for making bad choices–which is how teens and people in general are in real life. We make bad choices, we complain, we say the wrong thing at the wrong time, and that’s part of what makes us human. Even more importantly, it’s a place from which we can grow and learn from these mistakes. YA is all about growing and learning and becoming the person you’re going to be for the rest of your life. Why should that always be ‘likeable?’

In the post, I include a reference to The Whale and teen character Ellie, one of the most unlikeable and most pained teen characters I’ve seen. Although The Whale is decidedly not YA, when I saw the play and heard audience reaction to how unlikeable and seemingly irredeemable Ellie is, I really wanted to have the opportunity to defend her. She’s a mean person who does/says some awful things, but all of her cruelty comes from a place of sadness and anger and grief and isolation. I hope more readers and viewers can take the opportunity to asses characters like Ellie (again, especially teen girl characters) and understand what makes them mean or annoying or frustrating.

Check out the whole post, and share your thoughts on likeability, relatability, and readability.

Friday Fifteen

Hurray for Friday! And how is it already the last Friday in June? In my mind, it’s still May. Gotta get in these last few June micro-book-reviews while I can.

1. Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina
I find myself still thinking about Piddy and her nuanced world. Feels timeless.

2. Meet Felicity: An American Girl (American Girls: Felicity #1) by Valerie Tripp
Felicity Merriman, cross-dressing animal rights activist.

3. Brave Navigator by David Valdes Greenwood
The play I asked to keep after my grad school playwriting class ended.

4.The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
I have a soft spot for retold fairy tales and this one is way fun.

5. A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
Hilarious and touching and so my heart; my favorite kind of middle grade.

Friday Fifteen

Happy Friday, everyone! The weekend is short, and so are the book reviews! Here are this week’s book reviews in fifteen words or fewer:

1. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
Like listening in on your totally disturbed neighbors, but better.

2. The Queen Geek Social Club by Laura Preble
I think I have a different definition of what it takes to be a geek.

3. Look Up!: Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard by Annette LeBlanc Cate
Lots of dynamic illustrations and fun asides–would have poured over this as a kid.

4. Shannon’s Story (Baby-Sitters Club Special Edition #3) by Ann M. Martin
Whose 8th grade class trip is to Paris? Way to mess it up, Shannon.

5. Looking for Alaska by John Green
Lots of great stuff–boarding school, philosophy, etc. The rap scene made me feel awkward.

Links Galore

Lots of good links for today:

Friday Fifteen

Happy Friday, everyone! It’s starting to feel like fall, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Other things I’m happy about? Book reviews in fifteen words or less. Onto the reviews!

1. Three Junes by Julia Glass
Clear, elegant prose. The second June, from Fenno’s POV, stayed with me most.

2. Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins
Quiet, lovely writing. Expected something different, but would like to reread.

3. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
Beatrice and Benedict might be Shakespeare’s best couple. “Another Hero!” line is a clunker.

4. Felicity Learns a Lesson (American Girls: Felicity #2) by Valerie Tripp
I still think about Felicity when I say no to more coffee/tea.

5. The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
The costs of urbanization as only Burton can tell it. Great illustrations, of course.

Links Galore

Lots of great links to start your week:

Much Ado About Gifs

Things I like: Shakespeare. Joss Whedon. Last night I got to see both combined in the latest Much Ado About Nothing movie. It was so much fun! I went with my friend, Hannah, with whom I also saw Joss Whedon in person. (Needless to say, we were both way excited.) Obviously the only way to share our excitement is through a Joss Whedon-based gif movie review.

Spoiler alerts–but seriously, guys, the play is a few hundred years old.

My feelings about the cast:

The set, aka Joss Whedon’s house:

All the banter:

Everyone after the big party:

Don John setting up Hero:

Beatrice asking Benedick to fight Claudio:

What I want to tell Hero:

And of course Nathan Fillion being hilarious:

How I felt after the movie:

In all seriousness, it was really cool being in a movie theater full of people laughing out loud at one of Shakespeare’s plays. It’s a great example of how stories can transcend time and location. Human drama and romance and comedy touch all of us. And if those stories can costar Nathan Fillion, bonus.