Category: ME

On Being the Exception (Or Not)

This video has been making the rounds on lots of agent/writer blogs and by now, you’ve probably seen it. It’s funny for many reasons, especially to those of us who’ve spent huge chunks of our lives writing, researching (for our books & the publishing industry in general), honing our craft and absorbing every little tidbit we can about plotting, world/character building, story structure, query letters, literary agencies, publishing houses, etc.

I’m assuming this video has given many agents a laugh, mostly because it centers around an aspiring author attitude that, unfortunately, they’re forced to deal with all the time: I AM THE EXCEPTION.  

And that’s why it’s funny to me. Embarrassingly enough, I can relate to some of the grandiose declarations of the video’s “novelist.” Long before I got serious about publishing, when I was writing blindly and hoping for the best, I too, believed I could be the exception. That’s dangerous, people. Very dangerous, and it leads to disheartened writers and crushed dreams. I’m wiser now, much more informed and eager to learn more, and now I reside comfortably in the I’ll Never Be The Exception camp.  

Still, I can embrace my formerly flawed outlook. Please tell me I’m not the only aspiring writer who’s had one or more of the following misguided thoughts:

1) My book is going to be a best seller.
2) I’ll  quit my job and live of my writing money.
3) I’ve already written the first page (it’s really awesome).
4) My book will be pushed to the front of the publishing line because it’s just that fabulous.
5) Nothing like MY book has ever been done before.
6) I don’t need a literary agent; I can manage my “career” on my own, OR
7) Literary agents  will be fighting over my book.
8 ) Soon I’ll be on a glamorous book tour.
9) I don’t need to brush up on craft–I already know how to spell and punctuate.
10) It’s only a matter of time before I see my book represented on the big screen.
11) I’m a story-teller–it will all work out.
12) I’m a student of the human condition–of course my characters will be amazing.
13) I’ll work on several projects at once and complete them all in a reasonable amount of time.

HA! What about you? What rule of publishing/writing/querying did you believe you might be the exception to?

RTW: The Story of Me (In 6 Words!)

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Road Trip Wednesday is a “Blog Carnival,” where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on their own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

This week’s topic: Your six-word memoir. Literally, your life story in six words.

Whew! This was way hard!  Mine ended up being more of a statement of who I am today. Honestly, my first effort was this: Loving mother, wife, writer, music fan. I tried to snazz it up a bit. Seven words would have been *so* much easier. 🙂 Regardless, here’s what I ended up with:

Matriarch, lover of literature, Nashville harmonies.

Can’t wait to read all the others!

WSU and more…

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So, this weekend my husband and I are traveling five hours east to one of my favorite small towns in the country:

PULLMAN, WASHINGTON, home of Washington State University. I spent four of my very best years at WSU, and also met my husband there freshman year. We haven’t been back since we graduated in 2003 (gasp! forever ago, I know!) and we’re so excited visit. We’ll be watching the Apple Cup, which is one of the biggest college football rivalry games in the country.

For the record, I’ll be shamelessly behaving as if I am still in college, and I’m completely okay with that. 🙂

In other news, I’ll be laying off blog posts a bit this month. I’m in the middle of a heavy revision of my WIP, plus the holidays are quickly approaching and I have way too many family commitments to even organize in my head. I’ll still be posting, just not multiple times a week. Looking forward to getting back to my more regular schedule in January.

Friday Five: Harry Potter Edition

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In honor and celebration of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows release today, I find it only appropriate to share five of the billions of reasons I adore the Harry franchise. First, a little background… I started reading the Harry Potter series when I was 21, a junior in college. I was taking a children’s lit class (which was fabulous) and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was required reading. Honestly, I was reluctant–I’m not big into fantasy or magic, nor was I interested in reading a book told from the perspective of a ten-year-old boy. How on earth would Harry’s silly adventures hold my attention?  

Boy, was I stupid. I devoured that first book, then moved quickly to Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, and The Goblet of Fire. Sadly, that was it at the time. I had to wait for the subsequent novels like the rest of the world, but they sure were worth the wait. Never once was I disappointed in one of JK Rowling’s books. And JK herself… wow. I only dream of moving people the way she has with her series.

So, without further ramblings, here are my Friday Five reasons that Harry Potter is awesome…   

1) JK Rowling is a master world builder. From the foods that Harry and friends eat (butter beer and chocolate frogs? yes, please!), right down to the magical contents of their wands (a unicorn hair? a phoenix feather? so cool!), JK painted an alternate universe accessible only from Platform 9 3/4 that is full and colorful and complete. Her settings are amazing and play a part all their own in the books and movies. Plus, an entire THEME PARK is modeled off her world!

2) Harry Potter got kids (and everyone else!) reading. It’s cool to be a tiny part of a literary movement that’s such a worldwide phenomenon. I feel the same way about The Hunger Games trilogy and the Twilight series. Anything that unites people over books is good for publishing and great for literacy. The sheer numbers of Harry Potter books and movie tickets sold blows me away.

  
3) Characters, characters, characters. JK Rowling incorporated scores of them in her books, and each is unique and magical in his or her own way. There’s a Harry character everyone can relate to, whether it’s bumbling and good-hearted Neville Longbottom or hard-nosed but still sort of funny Minerva McGonagall. My favorite Harry Potter character? Hermione Granger, of course. Who doesn’t love a smart, strong girl who’s still capable of being one of the guys?

4) The Harry Potter movie stars are a class act. In a world of Disney Channel loons, seventeen-year-old rehabers and general bad behavior among many young actors, Daniel Radcliff, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint seem to have it all together. They’re diversely talented, smart and seemingly appreciative of their fame. Hopefully they continue on their journey of relative positivity because I, for one, find it very refreshing.

5) The Harry Potter series is moving. JK Rowling isn’t afraid to make you feel, to make you sad, or to kill off your favorite characters. She isn’t scared to force her characters into making hard decisions, and she doesn’t seem to be afraid of criticism or lynch mob book banners. She puts it all out there, and her series is amazing because of that. It takes a lot to move me, but when I saw this poster at the movie theater a few weeks ago…

 
…I looked at my husband and said, “Oh my God! That almost makes me a little teary!” He kind of rolled his eyes and looked at me like I was hormonal (don’t worry, he does that a lot), but I got the impression he might have felt it too. He’s not a super emotional person, but he’s more than down with taking me to see Deathly Hallows this weekend, so that says something. 🙂

What about you? Have you read Harry? Seen the movies? What do you love about the series?

RTW: Blame It On The Wildwinds…

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Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing or reading-related question and answer it on their own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

This Week’s Topic: “The winds in Washokey make people go crazy.”

That’s the first line of Kirsten Hubbard’s LIKE MANDARIN. You can read the rest a few months early if you win our ARC giveaway! Post on your own blog about a time you did something completely crazy and be sure you marked “yes” on the entry form for an extra chance to win!
 
Love this topic, and I’m excited about the chance to win a copy of LIKE MANDARIN! I’m not the craziest of girls, and sadly, most of the crazy I’ve taken part in occurred in college and is far from fit for online posting. But, here are a few crazy things I’ve done over the years: taught elementary school (fifth graders–yikes!), para-sailed, married a soldier (crazy, but the BEST decision), ridden in a NASCAR, joined a sorority (lots of crazy ensued during those years), and took a stab at writing books.
 
But the craziest and absolute weirdest thing I’ve ever done took place in high school. Let me preface by saying that I was (am) a fairly straight and narrow kind of person. I have brown hair. I shop at The GAP. I eat Eggo waffles every day for breakfast. That being said, in 1999 I attended a Korn concert. In a lavender button down shirt. With an equally straight and narrow friend. Rob Zombie opened, a performance which was less than entertaining in my eighteen-year-old eyes. Said friend and I wandered the Tacoma Dome, sort of bored.
 
While wandering, we were approached by a gnarly looking man who invited us to dance in the Korn Kage. You might be wondering what a Korn Kage is. Well, it was a literal sort of cage set up toward the back of the stage where fans (a term I use loosely since, you know, I was involved) got to dance during the performance for all to see. We blindly agreed and were herded backstage with about thirty other people who seemed to know exactly what they were getting into and were WAY excited.
 
Long story short, my friend and I danced on stage at the Tacoma Dome in our pastel GAP shirts for the duration of the concert. I’m pretty sure we would have been invited to the after show party if we would have  looked a little… um, wilder, but the whole experience was  tons of fun, and will live down as one of the most bizarre things I’ve ever done.
 
So, that’s my crazy in a nutshell. What about you? What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?