My husband read the new manuscript over the weekend. He was a big help with a lot of things I needed help with.
When he got to the last chapter, the ending of the story, he didn't get it. Not a good sign. He felt bad and kept saying, maybe it's just me - don't change it just because *I* didn't get it. Ha. I kindly explained that this is what writers DO. They write, they get feedback, they rewrite. It's okay. Usually it makes the manuscript much stronger.
So, I'm totally rewriting it. I knew it was risky, the ending I went with. And lying in bed this morning, thinking about it, I decided it was sort of a cop out. Bad Lisa. And good husband for calling me on it!
Now, back to work, hoping I can find the perfect ending.
Have you ever had to totally change the ending of a book? I think beginnings get changed a lot more than endings...
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME on 2 state lists!!!
Yesterday, I drank way too much Diet Pepsi in the afternoon. How do I know this? Because I woke up at 1:30 am wide awake. I tossed and turned for a long time, then finally got up and found the laptop.
So, what happens when you are awake at 3 am and can't go back to sleep?
You go to facebook, click on Cynthea Liu's link about renaissance learning, go to the site and think, wow, how cool she's on here. Then you wonder, hmmm, am I on here? So you stick your name in and holy cow, one of your titles comes up!
You click on it and then, lo and behold, underneath the information about the book it says:
"This quiz is included in the following state lists."
Your brain is a little foggy at 3 am., so you read it again. State lists? State lists!!!
NH Flume Teen Reader's Choice Awards Nominees
and
SD YARP High School
Do you know what NH and SD stand for? New Hampshire and South Dakota!
On the NH list, my book is on there with the likes of THE HUNGER GAMES, GRACELING and 13 REASONS WHY!!! Now, I'm pretty sure Ava is going to get her ass kicked in the ring with Katniss and Katsa. But what an honor to be on the list!!
Wow. I really can't believe it, but thank you teens and librarians in New Hampshire and South Dakota!
I'm so glad I had insomnia!! Although I may feel differently at 2:00 this afternoon when I'm at work and desperately want a nap.
So, what happens when you are awake at 3 am and can't go back to sleep?
You go to facebook, click on Cynthea Liu's link about renaissance learning, go to the site and think, wow, how cool she's on here. Then you wonder, hmmm, am I on here? So you stick your name in and holy cow, one of your titles comes up!
You click on it and then, lo and behold, underneath the information about the book it says:
"This quiz is included in the following state lists."
Your brain is a little foggy at 3 am., so you read it again. State lists? State lists!!!
NH Flume Teen Reader's Choice Awards Nominees
and
SD YARP High School
Do you know what NH and SD stand for? New Hampshire and South Dakota!
On the NH list, my book is on there with the likes of THE HUNGER GAMES, GRACELING and 13 REASONS WHY!!! Now, I'm pretty sure Ava is going to get her ass kicked in the ring with Katniss and Katsa. But what an honor to be on the list!!
Wow. I really can't believe it, but thank you teens and librarians in New Hampshire and South Dakota!
I'm so glad I had insomnia!! Although I may feel differently at 2:00 this afternoon when I'm at work and desperately want a nap.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Why writing a book is like baking a cake
THANK YOU for all the cheers and congrats and just understanding what a huge accomplishment it is to finish a first draft. Part of me really wants to share the one-sentence blurb so you know what the book is about. But I'm afraid if I share, my excitement will dwindle, and I can't let that happen. So I'm keeping it under wraps for now.
I have a list of all the things I need to work on, fix, improve, what have you, and the list grows every day.
It reminds me of baking a cake.
It's like I've just pulled the cake pans out of the oven and set them on the racks to cool.
The cake is done, but it's not ready to serve to anyone yet. I still need to get the cakes out of the pans without them falling apart, make the filling and frosting, put the filling on the top of one cake, put the other cake on top, frost the entire thing, decorate it, etc. etc.
The big thing is done, and that's a relief. But there's so much more to do.
I'm also a little nervous, because I'm trying something different. We all know, different can be good, or it can be very, very bad.
LIke with my cake, sitting over there on the counter? This time, on a whim, I decided to throw some chocolate chips and m&ms into the batter. It sounded good to me at the time. But how will it taste? What will others think when they bite into the cake and find a blue m&m in there? They could be thrilled, or they could want to throw the thing at the wall. I just have to wait and see.
I don't know what's going to happen with this story. It may be too strange. The ending came out of nowhere and was different than anything I'd been imagining for the last six months. And it kind of made my insides tingle as I wrote it.
Writers have to be okay with the unknown. We have to bake up that cake, make it as pretty as possible, and then serve it up and hope for the best.
No matter what happens, I did it.
With each book I write, I hope I get better. That's what it's all about for me.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do. And now I want cake.
I have a list of all the things I need to work on, fix, improve, what have you, and the list grows every day.
It reminds me of baking a cake.
It's like I've just pulled the cake pans out of the oven and set them on the racks to cool.
The cake is done, but it's not ready to serve to anyone yet. I still need to get the cakes out of the pans without them falling apart, make the filling and frosting, put the filling on the top of one cake, put the other cake on top, frost the entire thing, decorate it, etc. etc.
The big thing is done, and that's a relief. But there's so much more to do.
I'm also a little nervous, because I'm trying something different. We all know, different can be good, or it can be very, very bad.
LIke with my cake, sitting over there on the counter? This time, on a whim, I decided to throw some chocolate chips and m&ms into the batter. It sounded good to me at the time. But how will it taste? What will others think when they bite into the cake and find a blue m&m in there? They could be thrilled, or they could want to throw the thing at the wall. I just have to wait and see.
I don't know what's going to happen with this story. It may be too strange. The ending came out of nowhere and was different than anything I'd been imagining for the last six months. And it kind of made my insides tingle as I wrote it.
Writers have to be okay with the unknown. We have to bake up that cake, make it as pretty as possible, and then serve it up and hope for the best.
No matter what happens, I did it.
With each book I write, I hope I get better. That's what it's all about for me.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do. And now I want cake.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Summer, summer, summer
We went to Silver Creek Falls this past weekend. So beautiful! Here - see???
Afterwards, we drove through Silverton, which is this little town that makes you feel like you've gone back to the 1950's. I love it there. And as you drive around town, you see big, beautiful murals on the side of buildings. There is even a sign in town, like a street sign, pointing visitors to the Norman Rockwell murals. Here are two of them.
At NIKE, where my husband works, they have a farmer's market every Tuesday. Look at these beautiful peaches he got for FIVE BUCKS! I couldn't believe it. They are sweet and juicy and perfect, too.
Afterwards, we drove through Silverton, which is this little town that makes you feel like you've gone back to the 1950's. I love it there. And as you drive around town, you see big, beautiful murals on the side of buildings. There is even a sign in town, like a street sign, pointing visitors to the Norman Rockwell murals. Here are two of them.
At NIKE, where my husband works, they have a farmer's market every Tuesday. Look at these beautiful peaches he got for FIVE BUCKS! I couldn't believe it. They are sweet and juicy and perfect, too.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Book Recommendation - THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z.
I love this book!
Description from Indiebound:
"Gianna Z has less than one week to collect, identify, and creatively display 25 leaves for her science project or else she won't be able to compete in the upcoming cross-country race. As the deadline for her project draws near, life keeps getting in the way."
Kate Messner has such a way with characters and details, I felt like I was a part of Gianna's family. One of my favorite scenes in the book is when Gianna, her mom, and Nonna walk the Frost trail. There, Gee and Nonna read Robert Frost poems on little signs and contemplate why the poems are placed in the particular spots. I SO want to go there!! Anyway, then Gianna climbs a tree, and from there, with the help of wonderful Nonna, she's able to see her mother in a little different light.
Here's a little taste:
"And my perfect tree has a perfect view. The shoe box on the root looks tiny from up here. But the mountains, all hazy purple in the distance, still look big and old. And the trees are amazing. My eyes skim the tops of fluffy red and yellow trees still holding on to September, then swoop down into the dark spaces where the leaves have already fallen, where black branches scratch the edges of the hills."
Such beautiful writing, and yet totally accessible for kids too. Gianna is funny and her family is quirky and they all wiggle their way into your heart and stay there.
THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. by Kate Messner releases September 1st. Read it!!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Woooo Hoooo!!
I have a finished first draft!!!
50,244 words! I feel like it's on the short side for YA these days, but I write pretty lean in my first drafts, so I think that number will expand.
This is a story I did for ME, to see if I could do it, and I DID! Of course there is work to be done, and lots of it.
But for now, I'm setting it aside for awhile so I can clean my house, catch up on TV shows, read, read, READ, and just, ahhh, enjoy this feeling of having done it.
Those of you in the middle of a first draft right now, it's hard, I know. Just keep going forward. I wrote 20,000 words and then started completely over with this one, because something just wasn't working.
I'm so happy. I think I'm going to break out a bottle of wine my friend brought me from Sonoma wine country to celebrate!
Cheers!
50,244 words! I feel like it's on the short side for YA these days, but I write pretty lean in my first drafts, so I think that number will expand.
This is a story I did for ME, to see if I could do it, and I DID! Of course there is work to be done, and lots of it.
But for now, I'm setting it aside for awhile so I can clean my house, catch up on TV shows, read, read, READ, and just, ahhh, enjoy this feeling of having done it.
Those of you in the middle of a first draft right now, it's hard, I know. Just keep going forward. I wrote 20,000 words and then started completely over with this one, because something just wasn't working.
I'm so happy. I think I'm going to break out a bottle of wine my friend brought me from Sonoma wine country to celebrate!
Cheers!
Monday, August 17, 2009
I love hearing good news!
Let's take a moment, shall we, and bask in a couple of cool sales that happened last week.
First, Kiersten White, who seems like the nicest person, got a 3-book deal from HarperTeen in a pre-empt that, according to Editorial Ass' blog, "rocked New York publishing this week." Kiersten, in her blog, said they had a lot of interest and were ready to go to auction when Harper swooped in with a pre-empt. Wheeee!! She has a fun little sneak peek about the book on her web site, but hurry, who knows if that will stay up much longer now that it's sold.
Yay Kiersten!
Next, Amanda Ashby, author of YOU HAD ME AT HALO and ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEWBURY HIGH sold a middle grade series to Puffin! Here is the blurb from Publisher's Marketplace on that one: Amanda Ashby's untitled middle-grade series about a girl who accidentally gets turned into a djinn (genie) the day before starting sixth grade and has to learn to deal with her new powers without her mom finding out, to Karen Chaplin at Puffin, in a three-book deal, by Jenny Bent at The Bent Agency (world English).
Yay Amanda!
I say to everyone, don't stop thinking and looking for that big idea that gets your heart racing, don't stop writing, and don't stop believing!
And on that note, I'm signing off for a few weeks to enjoy the last of my beloved summer in the evenings and weekends as I can, while waking early to work on my current project. My goal is to have it finished mid-September, so I can let it rest, then revise, and hopefully send to my agent later this fall. I need to finish it soon because in a couple of months, all of my time and attention will need be focused on the release of CHASING BROOKLYN. Yeah, because...
1-5-10 the chase begins. Are you ready!?
Enjoy the rest of your summer everyone!!
First, Kiersten White, who seems like the nicest person, got a 3-book deal from HarperTeen in a pre-empt that, according to Editorial Ass' blog, "rocked New York publishing this week." Kiersten, in her blog, said they had a lot of interest and were ready to go to auction when Harper swooped in with a pre-empt. Wheeee!! She has a fun little sneak peek about the book on her web site, but hurry, who knows if that will stay up much longer now that it's sold.
Yay Kiersten!
Next, Amanda Ashby, author of YOU HAD ME AT HALO and ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEWBURY HIGH sold a middle grade series to Puffin! Here is the blurb from Publisher's Marketplace on that one: Amanda Ashby's untitled middle-grade series about a girl who accidentally gets turned into a djinn (genie) the day before starting sixth grade and has to learn to deal with her new powers without her mom finding out, to Karen Chaplin at Puffin, in a three-book deal, by Jenny Bent at The Bent Agency (world English).
Yay Amanda!
I say to everyone, don't stop thinking and looking for that big idea that gets your heart racing, don't stop writing, and don't stop believing!
And on that note, I'm signing off for a few weeks to enjoy the last of my beloved summer in the evenings and weekends as I can, while waking early to work on my current project. My goal is to have it finished mid-September, so I can let it rest, then revise, and hopefully send to my agent later this fall. I need to finish it soon because in a couple of months, all of my time and attention will need be focused on the release of CHASING BROOKLYN. Yeah, because...
1-5-10 the chase begins. Are you ready!?
Enjoy the rest of your summer everyone!!
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