When I told Nathan I was going to make my summer reading list out of banned books,

he looked at me kind of funny and said, "Band books?" What can I say? He knows me well. We both love music, but we both know books about bands are mainly crap written by superfans and are often subtitled, "The Unauthorized Biography" as in "Thom York Rocks: The Unauthorized Biography." Very meh.



What happened was this: As I was making my summer reading list, I realized that several of the titles I listed had been banned/censored/challenged over the years, so I thought... why not make my summer reading list of banned books? That could be interesting. Just to read and see what someone else might have found offensive or objectionable.



I started with Gone With the Wind, which I've always wanted to read. Which is 3000 pages long. So that was basically the only book I read this summer.



And without giving you any spoilers, I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Until the last fifteen pages. If you've read it and you want to chat about how infuriating and wrong the whole thing is, let me know. We can grab a cup of coffee and chat about how the ending goes down.

Anyway, I've decided to continue this reading of banned books for the year.
Right now I'm reading In Cold Blood and The Handmaid's Tale. Both fantastic so far.

In my searches for books that have been banned and/or challenged over the years, I found quite an extensive list:
The Color Purple
Little Women
Harry Potter (I read the first one years ago, so I think I'll continue with the second.)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
East of Eden
July's People
America
Mockingjay
Flowers in the Attic
A Day No Pigs Would Die
Rabbit, Run
Invisible Man
Steal This Book
Running with Scissors
The Sun Also Rises
Dubliners
Catch-22
Slaughterhouse Five
Stranger in a Strange Land
Olive's Ocean
Speak
A Prayer for Owen Meany
Sophie's Choice
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
How to Eat Fried Worms
100 Years of Solitude
Then Again, Maybe I Won't
The Bean Trees
Cut
Carrie
Go Ask Alice
Pillars of the Earth
Doctor Zhivago
Crank
Harriet the Spy
Beloved
Native Son
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Grapes of Wrath

Have you read any of these titles? Which did you like?

My favorite micro poem

After Weeks of Watching the Roof Leak
by Gary Snyder

After weeks of watching the roof leak
I fixed it tonight
by moving a single board.



***************

I adore this poem because it's how I feel when I put things off. This morning I took care of a task I've been putting off for about month. It took less than twenty minutes. Does this ever happen to you?

Have you seen this?!

This article about Nano will make you want to stand up and cheer.



It was written in response to this other article that will make you want to punch this woman in the ... well, you pick a place.

Nanowrimo: Day 1

I signed up with Nanowrimo again this year. If you haven't heard about it, go here. If you're participating, and you'd like to add me a friend (I heart friends!), go here.



The beautiful thing about Nano is the freedom it gives writers to silence their inner editors. I tend to draft slowly and revise continually, so my inner editor is never silent. For me, this is the very best thing about Nano.

BONUS: The support and community! I ran into my neighbor, Marta, at a Nano write-in a few years ago, and I might never have known that she was such a talented, inspired and inspiring writer if not for Nano! I've also joined up with a bloggy friend, Andrea, who's organized a Nano group here.

I've met a number of writers who pull a face when I mention Nano. Why? I think maybe because lots of folks who participate in Nano may only write during November as opposed to all year long. And the nature of Nano is to focus on quantity, not quality. It may be counterintuitive for many writers, including myself. But it's also quite liberating.

In the spirit of literary liberation, I'd like to post one of my favorite poems by Shel Silverstein.

Off the wagon

About a week ago, Nathan and I had a date at the Alamo Drafthouse. We went to see Inception for the second time, and we basically just took a lovely weekday night out (which we rarely do), so it was wonderful.

I was washing my hands in the bathroom when another girl gave me an unusual look. She said, "SCBWI?" To which I said, "Yeeeahh" in slow recognition. (SCBWI = Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, an amazing group that has a really active local chapter.)

I told her I fell off the wagon. I told her I needed to come back to a meeting. If a stranger had been listening, s/he might have thought I was talking about AA.

Is it fair to compare writing to sobriety? Writing is so much easier. I kid. Writing isn't easy. And I've really, really been chasing the dragon, you guys. OK, I'll stop. Besides, I don't even know what that means.



Why have I stopped writing? After going through the whole vicious cycle of:
writing
revising
having critique partner(s) read it
revising
making it perfect
sending queries to agents
getting requests for partials
submitting
waiting
getting requests for the full manuscript
submitting
waiting
checking the mail daily
waiting
getting kind rejections
posting kind rejections on the wall
(rinse and repeat from first step)
returning to the ms that I started six years ago and thought I finished like three times, and not knowing what else to do to address the problems.

After all that, after reaching a stalemate with my first novel, why can't I just move on to another work-in-progress? Why can't I get going? I have friends who are writers who are committed, who meet weekly to write or critique work. I have friends who have agents, book deals, the good stuff. I even believe that I can join them, you guys. I know my writing is good enough! But I don't make time to work on writing at home, and I don't go out to work on writing at coffee shops the way I used to. In short, I don't know what my problem is, and I'm worried that if I don't start writing again soon, I might not start at all. Basically, I need to check into writer's rehab. Or something.

In a Paris Review interview, William Kennedy says...

Hemingway's line was that everything changes as it moves; and that that is what makes the movement that makes the story. Once you let a character speak or act you now know that he acts this way and no other. You dwell on why this is so and you move forward to the next page. This is my method. I'm not interested in formulating a plot to which characters are added like ribbons on a prize cow. The character is the key and when he does something which is new, something you didn't know about or expect, then the story percolates. If I knew, at the beginning, how the book was going to end, I would probably never finish.

So I asked some friends to help me pick the subject of my next short story.

"Confessions of a Teenage ______" (fill in the blank)

They said...
Kathryn - mutant ninja turtle, bounty hunter, psychic, insomniac
Kendi - mom
Andrew - zombie, librarian, zombie librarian
David - anything but vampires.

Some intriguing ideas... What do you think? This concept could really be the seed for some great stories.
Of course, I can't use "drama queen"



or "baboon." Unfortunately.



Also off the table: martyr,


deadhead



and ....


does that say Jesus Jerk? Huh.

Anyway, if you have any other suggestions for fictional teenage memoirs, please keep 'em coming!

Back in the saddle again.

I'm writing again, friends!
It's been a while, because to make a short story long, my novel and I had to take some time apart, but then we decided to be friends again, but it had been so long that things were really awkward. Everybody's been there, right? It got so bad that I would go to SCBWI meetings and worry that everyone could tell I didn't belong because I wasn't really writing.

So, thankfully, a writing friend told me about this little project that challenges you to write a short story every day in May. So I signed up and even convinced a couple other friends to join with me. We writers have to stick together!

So far, I've written three short stories: one YA, one MG and one picture book.
In case you noticed that today is the fourth not the third and you wondered, "What gives?" I decided to make weekends optional. Hey, I need to be realistic with my goals. Don't want to get saddle-sore, pardner.

Have a lovely weekend.

Just wanted to share with you my favorite shot from Nathan's most recent photoshoot.



This weekend, we're celebrating Nathan's birthday with two outings. The first is a trip to a winebar. (Haven't decided amongst here, here, or here. Suggestions?)
The other trip will be to the Apple store to pick up this little beauty.

I also might be crazy, because I'm starting in on this writing project for the month of May.

What are you up to this weekend?

Luck v. Smarts (or just hard work?)

As I've gotten older, I've realized that people who are successful (say, authors who write full time and live fairly comfortably) may have been equally lucky as talented.
You hear all the time about people who happened to meet the perfect agent, or the market was looking for their exact kind of story/genre, you know, the classic they were "in the right place at the right time."

Add to all this that many people believe you create your own fate through loads of hard work, (which I admit, I believe at least half the time) and you have a fantastic mix of destiny, karma, ability and chance. Who I'm pretty sure were the original members of Destiny's Child.

What do you think about luck v. talent?

One more reason I love Craigslist.

Today I scored this incredible vintage Olivetti studio 44 typewriter.

I found out it was made in Italy in 1952.
I found out that Ralph Ellison and Tennessee Williams wrote on the same model.
I found out that they sell between $200 and $425.

Guess how much I paid for mine? Ten bucks, dahling!
I'm already picturing the fab photoshoots that will feature this little beauty. Stay tuned...


If you crave the sound of a typewriter, but are stuck firmly in 2010, you can download this app that makes your keyboard sound like a typewriter! (Only works for macs.) Luckily, the sound is adjustable so you don't have to annoy your significant other or friends more than necessary.

So it's been a week and two days since the SCBWI conference.

The one here in Austin, mind you. Not that I would've complained at all about making a jaunt up to NYC. But it just so happens that we have a ton of really talented and prolific writers right here, in our own neighborhood.

Since then, I've been thinking through all the information, going back through my furiously-scrawled notes, and most importantly, working on my own writing.
Some of the time I write at the coffee shop, some of the time at the library, and some of the time in my office-- where I can see the infamous wall of rejections any time I want.



I've also been feeling really inspired, and I wish there were a non-cheesy way to say that.

One of the agents who spoke at the conference, Mark McVeigh, said something that I heard as a challenge. He said (along with a bunch of other really helpful things), "Try to write outside your genre-- Rub your Muse the wrong way and potentially free yourself up."
I took that on and decided to write my first children's book. Which sparked the dreaded question, "Did you illustrate it as well?" The answer? "No." But still! It was a pretty big deal. I'm thinking of writing a children's book every week or so, just for fun, while I'm revising my YA novel. Because... well, why not? Apparently my Muse likes to learn new tricks.

I also loved everything Kirby Larson, author of Hattie Big Sky, a 2007 Newbery Honor Book, had to say.


Her session was called "First You Throw Away the Map." I mean, come on-- how great is that?
She talked about her story, her process, how there isn't one right process, and she offered some really practical wisdom as well.
When she began to talk about how writing equals hard work, it's like I felt the NYSE bells go off in my head.
She quoted Madeline l"Engle: "The moment of inspiration isn't a moment. It must be worked for."
and Samuel Goldwyn: "The harder I work, the luckier I get."

That was the second of about 127 things I needed to hear at the SCBWI conference. It made me come back to my computer, and dig back into my writing. It was just what I needed. Like that Cars song that sold its soul to a last-ditch Circuit City ad campaign.



I've got a ton of notes from the conference, WAY too many to include here, but please email me if you'd like my notes from any of the sessions. (Other than the illustrators' session. I did not attend that one-- as I said already, I'm not an illustrator, and the world thanks me.)

P.S. Here's the other thing about my wall of rejections. Even if they were all rejections in the end, quite a lot of them started as requests-- for partial or full manuscripts, so seriously! If that won't motivate me to keep working hard and writing, I don't know what will.

The back of the Reese's Puffs box inspired me to make a list.

I love lists, anyway, so it wasn't that much of a stretch for me.
The box has a list of "18 Things to Do Before You're 18."

The list, verbatim:
1. Ride the world's biggest rollercoaster.

2. Bungee jump.

3. Score the winning goal/basket. (Never happened for me, and never will. It's OK that I suck at sports.)

4. Win an award, trophy, or prize.

5. Learn an instrument. (eh... overrated)

6. Go backstage at a gig. (Just be sure to watch your drink the whole time.)

7. Meet your idol.

8. Play a part in your favorite TV show. (How exactly do they expect the young'uns to manage this one?)

9. Meet someone with your own name. (Lame.)

10. Make a discovery. (See note by #8.)

11. Get away with the perfect practical joke.

12. Own a pointless collection.

13. Invent a word that makes it into the dictionary. (Once again, see note by #8.)

14. Conquer your biggest fear.

15. Raise money for charity.

16. Pass your driving test the first time. (Sort of too late for me on this one.)

17. Complete a road trip coast to coast. (Uh. Really? See notes by #6 and #8.)

18. Reach 18 years of age -- yes!!!
(Under #18, it actually says-- a direct quote: "Embrace old age." WHAT?!)

Since I'm the ripe old age of 32, I decided to make my own list of 40 Things to Do Before I'm 40.
But as I was making the list, I realized, it was way too long.
Let's focus. Let's narrow.
So here are the 4 Things to Do Before I'm 40.

1. Get a literary agent.

2. Publish my novel.

3. Go on a book tour.

4. Get healthy/lower my body mass index.

All of those things are totally possible. Maybe even probable. I think first I'll work simultaneously on the health/BMI thing and the getting an agent thing.

I hope that soon I'll be able to say: Done, and done.

I just read about this cool project

called Where I Write that shows authors in their creative spaces.
The only way this could be better is if it wasn't exclusive to Fantasy/Science Fiction authors.

And, if it had a fab picture of me in MY creative space.

I'm thinking it would be smart to get Nathan to take a picture of me, sitting at my desk with my laptop, just in case they ever ask me for it. I'll work on that this week.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Update: OK. I just realized that Nathan totally already took a picture of me in my creative space, and here it is:

Barbara Kingsolver says,

"Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer."

I needed to hear that. I also needed to clean and organize our spare room so that it's a space I want to write in. So that I'm surrounded by things that inspire me, but also so that the clutter is gone. Maybe fung shui is real. Who am I to argue with the Ming dynasty? The room feels better to be in--that's all I know.

I also posted all my rejection letters from agents on one wall. I could only find eleven of them, and I know I should have at least twenty, but it's a good start. And in my defense, a couple of them aren't rejection letters--they are requests for partials or my entire ms, even though in the end they were rejections. But I digress.

I walk into the room now and I want to do just what Barbara Kingsolver says. Close the door. Write...

I should probably blog.

It's been a while.
But all I'm doing at the moment is working six days a week,
trying to say "yes" to weight training and cardio and "no" to junk food,
going to bed before 10 on a regular basis because of allergies or exhaustion,
and trying to bring myself to face rewriting the end of my book.
Again.
So when you put all that together, it's not so much fun.
And not so much the stuff of great blogs.
I'm sure you understand.

Another rejection in the mail today. And I quote Albert Einstein,

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."

In other news, I only have six more days of school until vacation, and I plan to:
1. Sleep in until a ridiculously late, ungodly hour.
2. Work on my writing at the coffee shop.
3. Watch a marathon of the latest season of Gilmore Girls on DVD. Shut up! I dare you to watch ONE episode and not be totally hooked. They're like crack. With fewer side-effects.
4. Knit a gorgeous scarf.
5. Finish reading Cold Sassy Tree.

In that order.
Well, there's a good chance that I'll knit while watching Gilmore Girls. So combine those.
Oh yeah. I'm almost thirty. How did that happen?

I have a new Getting Published Theme Song.

After yet another rejection from yet another agent, I've decided to change my Getting Published Theme Song.

Previously, my theme song was "Take a Chance on Me" by ABBA.

(shown here in its original glory)


My new Getting Published Theme Song is.....drumrolllllllll......"I'm Gonna Make You Love Me" by Diana Ross and the Supremes!
Fitting, no?

(live performance here with Ms. Ross and Stevie Wonder as a youngin.)

I don't know if any other writers have had luck with theme songs per se, but I really think having one is helpful for me. That way I can play it in my car and sing it to myself when I feel discouraged. I mean, I had a Teacher Survival Theme Song about six years ago, which was "Surviver" by Destiny's Child and it basically kept me from quitting. So, I think theme songs are important. I'd recommend getting one, if you don't already have one.

If you happen to pick the song "When I See You Smile," I'd recommend this version.


Not this one.

Writing news

So, two things are going on in my writing life.

1. I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month which has been really good. I'm only up to 8000 right now, and the big goal is 50,000 words, but I'm writing Young Adult, which is usually shorter. Also, keep in mind that my last book took three and a half years to write. When you look at it that way, I'm doing really well! This is my author's profile page if you want to take a peek at an excerpt, my other writing friends, etc.

2. Since hearing "no thank you" from the last promising agent, I revised my query letter and sent out a batch of ten cold queries. This time I targeted agents who specialize in YA. (The last batch was mainly the agents I met at the writers' conference last summer.) So far, I've heard back from five. Three said, "Not for us." One wanted the first 30 pages. And one wanted the entire ms, which is super-flattering, although at this point, it doesn't guarantee anything. I revised the whole thing (yet again) and dropped it in the mail today.

So far, my total record for ms requests is 4 for 15. Not too shabby.

I've come to a crucial decision.

When I become a best-selling author, and Nathan and I buy the house of our dreams, it's going to have a self-cleaning kitchen.

If self-cleaning kitchens aren't available and/or invented at that time, I may have to personally contact the United States Patent Office. I mean, this is a great idea. And anyway, they had one on the Jetsons.


I think if you have a really good contractor, he/she should be able to modify a kitchen such as this one into a self-cleaning kitchen, no problem. Minus the wicker chairs, obviously.