Tag: the writing life

ARCs, Feminism, Thin Mints, and Librarian Friends: a Weekend at ALA Midwinter

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collage-2016-01-12 (1)This weekend I got to go to ALA Midwinter–aka where librarians, educators, authors, publishers, bloggers, readers, and general fans of books and media come to learn and engage and share Girl Scout cookies. (Seriously, bringing Girl Scout cookies to a conference is a way to ensure people love you.) I’d never been to an ALA event before, and I only got an exhibit hall pass, but it was such a fantastic weekend. Some highlights:

  • Meeting librarian and writer and blogger friends from the Internet in real life–you get to hug them in real life!–and seeing lovely librarian and writer friends from the Boston area.
  • Seeing adorable baby pictures of aforementioned friends. (Or adorable pictures of their babies or their nieces/nephews.)
  • Having writer friends in from out of town meant an awesome panel at Brookline Booksmith, one of my favorite places to both meet readers and buy books. Awesome questions, thoughtful/hilarious discussion, fantastic audience.
  • Saying hi and the Candlewick booth and snagging an ARC of A Tyranny of Petticoats: 15 Stories of Belles, Bank Robbers & Other Badass Girls.
  • Listening to thoughtful discussions at the We Need Diverse Books panel and the Class of 2K16 Debuts panel.
  • Seeing ARCs for friends books and getting excited about all the future readers who will love these books.
  • Sharing Thin Mints with friends old and new.
  • Talking about reading, writing, publishing, teen readers, feminism, graphic novels and more with people who get it.

collage-2016-01-12This is the kind of weekend that reminds me why I love being part of the book community. People are so enthusiastic and smart and talented and kind and thoughtful and funny. They’re pushing the boundaries in all sorts of fields and making a difference for readers everywhere. I cheered along with the webcast of the ALA Youth Media Awards this morning, and was so proud to be part of this larger community.

Thanks to all who helped make this such a fun and inspiring weekend. Here’s to another awesome year of our bookish community!

Real Teen Lives Panel This Friday!

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I’m so excited for ALA Midwinter this weekend–so many awesome librarians and writers in town? Aw yeah! And what better way to kick off the weekend than with a great YA panel featuring some wonderful contemp YA authors? The details39e45766-c4c3-41b0-b7e1-4eefd92fcb2d

Real Teen Lives Young Adult Panel
Friday, January 8th, 7pm at Brookline Booksmith
YA authors who are keeping it real–Marieke Nijkamp, Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, Emily Martin, Jen Malone, and I talk about crafting real stories for teen readers. Also book signing and hilarity.

Come say hi and chat with us about writing, books, and being real. Looking forward to an awesome start to a bookish weekend!

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Bookish Resolutions for 2016

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I love reading the Top Ten Tuesday series around the blogs, but I don’t often take part. What better way to kick off the year in blogging than with a set of reading and writing resolutions for 2016? I’m not a real resolution person, but I like the idea of focusing in on book-related plans for the here.

So here we go–my reading and writing resolutions for 2016!

Reading Resolutions

  1. Finish book series I’ve started: I’m the worst at series. Even when I love the first book, I have such a hard time finishing the second and the third. Usually it’s because I finish the first and want a book with a different feel (eg, contemp vs. fantasy, historical vs. sci-fi) immediately after. but then I feel like I can’t remember everything about the first one and I put the second off and start a new one and the cycle continues. This year I want to finish all the series I’m enjoying but just having finished yet before starting any new ones.
  2. Read a few books for grown-ups: YA is my thing. I love YA. But sometimes you gotta see what the adults are reading, right?
  3. Add some non-fiction to the list: I tend to read fiction, but straying toward non-fiction has been great in the past. I want to keep that up in 2016.
  4. Pick from books already on my shelves: I know, it’s hard to go to the library and not get a book or two or five. But there are already so many great books at home I haven’t read yet, and several of them could also help with resolution #1.
  5. Read more, tech less: it’s easy to get caught in the laptop/phone futzing cycle. Any time I spend at home, looking at a screen is time I could be reading.

Writing Resolutions

  1. Finish my current WIP: I wrote a full draft last year and am diving back into revisions now. I’d love to get it in a solid enough place to send it out on submission within the next few months.
  2. Complete a new first draft: I dipped my toe into another WIP at the end of last year, and want to have a complete draft finished by the end of the year. This one is still very much in the early phases, so we’ll see how it actually goes.
  3. Write when I think I don’t have enough time: even if it’s half an hour, I can get something done. You don’t need a huge chunk of time; little blocks of time add up.
  4. Start outlining new projects: because it’s easier to write the first page when you already have an idea of where things are going.
  5. Have fun: because writing is hard, but it should also be joyful. No matter what happens with publishing, it’s a joy to spend time with characters and stories.

Thanks to the Broke and the Bookish for putting together the Top Ten Tuesday series! Have bookish resolutions of your own? Share yours in the comments or in a blog post!

Real Teen Lives YA Panel – January 8!

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After last winter and 100+ inches of snow in the Boston area, there are only two things that could have me looking forward to January: ALA Midwinter and a panel with delightful fellow YA authors at the wonderful Brookline Booksmith! Details for the event:

Real Teen Lives Young Adult Panel
Friday, January 8th, 7pm at Brookline Booksmith
YA authors who are keeping it real. Come see Marieke Nijkamp, Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, Emily Martin, Jen Malone, and me, as we talk about crafting real stories for teen readers.

Librarians in town for ALA, please join us and share some high fives for contemp goodness!

A Community of Artists

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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.

A Writer’s Thanksgiving

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Since almost Thanksgiving, so it seems like a good time to reflect on what I’m thankful for in the writing/publishing/reading world. As difficult as writing can be, as frustrating and uncertain as the publishing path can be, there are a lot of things I’m so glad to have in my life as an author. And because it’s me, I need to include gifs to accurately illustrate my gratitude. So without further ado, here are some things I’ve grateful for this year:

Coffee: let’s be honest–nothing would happen without you.

My writing group: for giving me the feedback I need, for loving my WIPs, and for being the most supportive group ever.

Twitter: where I procrastinate and talk about feminism.

My fellow YA writers: because they write awesome stuff, and they’re my people.

Sweatpants: I am so glad the writing office dress code is casual.

My agent: for her enthusiasm about my projects and for always being in my corner.

Librarian friends: because I brag about you to my non-librarian friends.

Wine: for making retreats and conferences that much better, and for when it’s been a hard day.

My family: especially my parents, who show up to pretty much every reading/panel I do in the New England area, and my husband, with whom I’m so glad to share the writing life.

Corgis: you keep being you.

My readers and blog followers: without you guys, I’d be shouting into the void; thank you for your likes and comments, and for your general awesomeness.

What things are you thankful for in your writing life? Share your thoughts in the comments, and happy almost Thanksgiving!

Quote of the Day

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Since we’re in Jewish Book Month, it feels right to share another great poem from The Dream of the Poem: Hebrew Poetry from Muslim and Christian Spain, 950-1492 by Peter Cole (translator). This one is by Meshullam DePiera, who was writing in the thirteenth century.

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I love the intensity here–it makes me feel both cautious and powerful. Words matter, people.

NaNoWriMo Highs and Lows

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Last year I took part in National Novel Writing Month, aka NaNoWriMo and wrote 50,000 words of a new project. It was a lot of fun and a lot of work, and I’m so glad I joined the challenge.

The beginning of the month brings a lot of enthusiasm, but sometimes the expectations of NaNo don’t match up with the realities. But the tough days don’t have to get you down! Take a look at this video I made about the NaNo highs and lows:

If you’re tackling NaNo this year, don’t worry about the bad days. Keep going, take breaks as needed, don’t worry about editing and let your creativity fly. You got this!

Awards and Hoverboards: Expectations of Your Writing Future

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It’s October 21, 2015. Welcome to the future, everyone!

Okay, so no hoverboards for the masses yet, and our 80s-inspired clothes look a little different. But today’s Back to the Future festivities did get me thinking about the future and expectations.

As writers, it’s easy to build up expectations and ideas of success. You put a lot of time and effort into a given project, and you hope that time and effort will be rewarded by a agent offering representation, or a book deal, or an award, or a movie, or a place at the top of the best-seller list. You set deadlines for yourself–finish a draft by X date, query by Y, get an agent by Z. Surely in twenty years, you’ll be at ALA, accepting your Printz award from atop your hoverboard, right?

At last year’s retreat in Tennessee, someone (I think it was Tessa Gratton) mentioned that “at some point, everything in publishing will happen to you.” From getting a book deal to getting a book pushed back to getting a book cancelled; from rejections to sales at auctions; from tons of marketing support and movie deals to seeing a book just like yours make a huge splash while yours falls flat–the good and the bad all happens at some point. No matter what you do or how hard you work, you can’t control the whole process.

So what does that mean for the future of your writing career? Don’t focus on the hoverboard. Forget the movie deals, the sales at auction, the awards ceremonies. Focus on the part you can control–writing the best work you can. Even if you can’t predict the future, you’ll know that you made the very best book you could.

As Doc Brown said: “Your future is whatever you make it. So make it a good one.”