I had the pleasure of listening to Rebecca Stead talk at the National Book Festival. Her book, When You Reach Me won the 2010 John Newbery Medal.



Rebecca discussed her journey from school (she even had a class with Frank McCourt!) into law and then, almost reluctantly, into writing. I say reluctantly because Rebecca said writing was something she wanted to do for a long time but didn't pursue. She was afraid of failure, worried that if she admitted she wanted to be a writer then all that rejection would become even more personal. Her takeaway was that the rejection you receive regardless of what you admit to yourself does hurt and the longer you keep pretending NOT to want something, the more you're standing in your own way of getting it.


After her son knocked over her laptop onto the hard floor and she lost any previous writing, she decided to start fresh. This time she turned to her local bookstore and bought all the books she remembers as being instrumental to her growing up, trying to pinpoint what it was about the writing, the characters, the storyline that made them successful. She became a student again which is so important and not only a student of writing but of her genre, also studying up on what kinds of books were popular in that genre now.

When You Reach Me, she explains is about Miranda growing up and starting to see the world in a slightly different light; her realizations parallel the categories in the $20,000 Pyramid game that her mother is preparing for. Rebecca drew on her own childhood growing up as an only child in New York City as well as Madeleine L'Engle’s classic A Wrinkle in Time.

Here's a Q & A with the author:



Rebecca's talk about "owning" your writing and admitting what you're up to and what you want was reminiscent of a talk Molly O'Neill, associate editor at Katherine Tegen Books (an imprint of Harper's Collins) gave at this year's WriteOncon called, "Give Yourself Permission." It's wonderful advice and if you're a writer, I strongly urge you to read it. Think of it as the communal Jerry Maguire mission statement.

I'm curious to hear from your personal experiences. What obstacles do you face in your writing? Are you like Rebecca and worried to put all those ideas down on "paper" because once you do, it's out there for the world to critique? On the flip side, how do you stay motivated?

National Book Festival

I was at the 10th anniversary National Book Festival on the National Mall in Washington, DC this weekend and IT. WAS. AWESOME. It was like every bibliophile in a mass radius coalesced to one location to celebrate and encourage our (sometimes obsessive) love of books. Next year I may have to make little buttons that have the rocker symbol but instead say, "Read on." Yeah, I know, *nerd alert.*

The event is sponsored by the Library of Congress and hosted 73 authors and illustrators all giving presentations and signings free of charge. Though the event typically lures out locals, this year I noticed a lot more people travling in from neighboring states for a glimpse at their favorite rock star writers.

This wasn't my first year in attendance but I have to say the enthusiasm is just palpable and seems to grow in spades from year to year--as does the crowd. What was most contagious, however, was the excitement from all the young readers. I've never seen so many but then again Suzanne Collins was there this year. Case in point: (You can't tell but they're all reading Mockingjay.)

The chairs under each tent were so compact that I couldn't help but eavesdropping on their conversations about why they preferred certain authors ("Her characters feel real") and why they gravitate towards certain genres ("I don't have to think about my life; I can just escape"). It was great. There's nothing better for an author than to hear from the intended audience why they like what they like. Since I'm in the midst of editing my YA manuscript, I spent a lot of time in the Teens tent though from time to time I perused others.

There were also Children, Contemporary Life, Fiction and Mystery, History and Biography, and Poetry and Prose Tents.



Here are some pictures to give you an idea of just how packed the event was.





The whole event reminded me what I love so much about books and how interesting it is to hear stories about how authors get their ideas. Unlike a typical bookstore reading, this event encouraged authors to discuss what stories shaped their tastes, how they write, and whether or not books have changed their world view or their world view has shaped their books. For me, I'm draw to contemporary settings with characters that are not only believable but loveable, who have their imperfections but who I cheer for all along and whose story even if it is set in a realistic place, feels a bit fantastical. Join in the conversation, what do you love so much about reading?

To check out videos of the authors visit here. Check back later this week for updates on the sessions I attended and to find out which book I got signed and am giving away right here on my blog!

Ode to Coffee

Some days start at a sprint and continue that way endlessly, breathlessly until completion. Other days, like today, begin with a regretable departure from bed where everything is slow and foggy and glossy-eyed. They begin a little like this:

Re-casting characters

I was thinking about last Monday's post that featured the Beyonce song and dance, "Put a Ring on it" and how instead of Beyonce or a similar representation, we had a young, gay boy (ie. a remake of sorts from Glee).

This got me thinking about casting characters and how even if the storyline remains the same, the "who" is equally as important in how we interpret what's happening. In fact, I was editing a scene this weekend and I kept playing around with the idea of a character walking like she's on a catwalk. If the character that initially came to mind did this then it seems snooty but I re-cast it and suddenly it seemed playful and fun. One character could pull something off where another couldn't.

The best example I've heard of this was a staging of Othello in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately I didn't live here back then but my friend Jonathan was able to catch it. The director had taken liberties in casting but kept the narrative completely in tact. The result was a White Othello and a Black Desdemona. In fact, everyone's race from the book was flipped on it's head. The play sought to ask whether viewers made any different assumptions on the characters. Perhaps to a lesser extent you could compare the 1967 "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" movie with the re-make "Guess Who."

I think this stresses the fact that any information a writer provides about a character is filtered through the eyes of the reader and yet there can be so many different readers from so many different walks of life. It's not like you're giving a rally speech to a bunch of people who already support you. As a writer we may know our characters infinitely, in fact we should. We should know who their favorite band is and what kind of ice cream they like and everything else but we should also remember that the reader doesn't know this, doesn't know anything about these people as of page 1.

So how do we ensure that characters are interpreted as we intend them to be? I think the best advice on this is for the writer to have not only a thorough and complete understanding of all characters, even secondary ones, but to really carve out an identity for that person early on and, most importantly, remain true to that identity.

This later fact is where I've already had some disappointment in some recent fall premieres on television. In a couple season openers I've taken a step back from the juicy drama and thought, "I don't buy it. That person would never to that!" Am I the only person that's felt this way? Have you questioned a character's motivation, felt their actions weren't authentic or read a book where your interpretation was not in the least parallel to other's?

We Have Winners!

The "Super Contest Giveaway" is now closed and winners have been selected. As you'll recall, the first place winner gets to select two books and then we move down the line, each winner selecting a book from what's left.

Here's who won. Note: I'll contact you each directly via email once I know which books remain for you to choose from.

1. Jean Engler
2. Galina
3. Valerie
4. Searcher Gurl
5. Marc
6. Judit
7. Liz Baker

Congratulations to every one who won!!! Thanks also to every one who participated. There were a lot of entries for this contest. I regularly hold these, however, so if you didn't win this time, hopefully you will next. Speaking of contests, I've had so much fun with this one that I'm starting to plot the next but I'm not sure if it should be themed or have a special twist or what? I entered a contest that author Loretta Nyhan held this summer and she selected a book for me based on my personality. I thought that was genius but I want to hear from you? Any thoughts for the next contest?

Blogging

I've been meaning to cover the topic of blogging for a while now. "Blogging" comes from the mash-up of the words "Web" and "log" and is a regularly updated journal featuring photographs, videos, and text in any combination. Blogging encourages dialogue between the author and users. The most common blog sites include: Blogger, WordPress, and Typepad.

To give you a snapshot:
-126 million blogs have been created as of January 2010.
-71% of bloggers report they blog to say what's on their mind and share their expertise.

If you're on my blog then you're probably reading many others so much of this isn't news. You may, however, be considering starting a blog yourself but not knowing where to start. Instead of reinventing the wheel I thought I'd point you in the direction of the amazingly talented author Elana Johnson who just discussed the topic at length on her own blog. She's called it "The Awesome Blogging Trifecta" and she discusses issues such as followers, leaving your mark, and what to blog about.

What I love so much about blogging is that it helps me share what I've learned so far about the publishing world and also share my love of reading with all of you. It's amazing the individuals I've connected with online via blogs and even Twitter. For example, just last week Theo Nestor came by the blog for a visit after seeing her book was featured in my "So Many Titles to Love" post and now Allie Larkin, author of Stay is going to come by for a Q & A later this month.

I feel like the writing and book-worm world have really carved out a niche online and have taken a kind of "pay it forward" mentality via sharing query advice, doing free book giveaways, cross-promoting one another's books, and everything in-between. Individuals you might never consider reaching out to in person are suddenly more accessible. How else could I communicate with Jennifer Weiner or have author Lee Nichols retweet my previous Deception book giveaway?

Whether you're writing blogs or reading blogs or as I do, both, it's a great way to connect to other people with shared interests and to learn from one another. That's also why reaching out to blog writers and asking questions isn't just permissible, it's encouraged. I'm still a bit of a newbie to the blogging community but from what I've found so far, there is a wealth of information and fun out there. The only question I have for all of you is, what kinds of things would you like me to feature more often on this blog?