All posts by Amber

I choke up every time I read MIRETTE ON THE HIGH WIRE

My Reads, , ,

It’s Caldecott season.  Chris Raschka won the medal for A BALL FOR DAISY.  I loved his acceptance speech in the most recent Horn Book.  Actually, the awards issue of that mag is my favorite one because you get an inside peek into the minds of incredibly creative people AND the super talented (also creative) people that helped them make the book happen.  It’s a great reminder of how diverse the creative process is and how many hands/minds/hearts it takes to make a great book.

All this Caldecott talk made me think of one of my favorites: MIRETTE ON THE HIGH WIRE by Emily Arnold McCully.  It’s one of those books that I never get tired of reading.  And every time I read it, such emotion rises in me that I stumble over the words.  The beauty and depth of the feeling behind those words catch in my throat.  I want to “be” in those stunning paintings with my feet on the wire, walking through space, reaching out a hand to pull another through.

Read it.

You’ll be glad you did.

Graph Your Novel (Seriously!) – Guest Post by Me @wilwrite

Events, Writing, ,

I’m excited to be on the faculty at the Willamette Writers Conference  in early August.  I’ll be talking about using critique to enhance your writing life, and I’m bringing my Angel Punk manpack to talk about transmedia.

If you want to join me (which would be amazing and cooler than cupcakes), click here to register.

And you can follow the conference blog to get more from all the faculty in advance.  My guest blog — Graph Your Novel (Seriously!) — appears on here and a teaser below…

If writing a first draft is like trying to out-run an avalanche, revision resembles digging out with a shovel.  Any tool that can cut through the details and provide a panoramic view of the shape of our story is useful.  Try a graph—seriously!

Pick 1-3 things that you want to focus on and that you can rate on a 1-10 scale.  Some examples include voice, pace, likeability of a character, emotional intensity, conflict, fluidity of language, narrative coherency, moving plot forward, or a character’s transition from one state to another.  If a critique partner is doing this for you, asking if s/he’s “lost” will help analyze backstory components.  One of my critique group members analyzed the “turn the page factor” on a scale from 1, completely uninterested, to 10, can’t stop to pee.  Read more…

Matt de la Pena,the NYT, darkness in YA, Clive Cussler, and why I read

Antics, My Reads

Forgive my refusal to engage in complete sentences today.  Scattershot list of things inspiring today’s post:

1.  Kerfuffle on Twitter and Blogosphere about darkness in YA (I’m not even going to link to it) and a call for ratings on books (again… google yourself if you want such silliness).

2.  Being too tired to read much after writing so hard.

3.  Fifty Shades of Grey and a recent Clive Cussler novel dominate the NYT bestseller lists this week.

4.  Great essay in the New York Times by YA author Matt de la Pena (follow the links!) about reading solely for escape.  And while I insist you read the whole essay, this quote knocked me on my ass:

If there’s such a thing as emotional gravity, it’s the invisible force that continually pulls humans back down to their natural resting state of melancholy. Life is sad, man.

5.  A friend’s recent comment that she reads for “hope.”

6. Kristen Stewart’s recent rant about Twilight, criticism, and fame in Vanity Fair.

If you are wondering where I am going with all of this… so am I.  If I were Chuck Wendig, I’d thrown in a lot of expletives here.  But I’m not so I’ll go for a few semi-coherent thoughts.

The YA that I read (and write) is both weighty and hopeful.  I don’t read much wish-fulfillment YA (like Twilight) because it makes me feel yucky the way glossy fashion mags make me feel yucky.  It makes me feel that I am insufficient and my life is not worth much.  I don’t read much literary adult fiction because there’s so much soul-breaking and so little hope.  I don’t read mass market adult fiction because it’s dumb.

I don’t throw stones at reading for escape.  I do that too, but I insist that the world I escape to be fully-realized, compelling, and touch me in some meaningful way.  I don’t mind if it is brutal or “dark” (gasp), but I like it best when there’s hope.  I want to emerge thinking that I am sufficient to the challenges of life.

So there you go… ramble on!

 

 

Flash fiction – Vicks VapoRub

Antics, Writing, ,

Recently, I was on the faculty at the South Coast Writers Conference in Gold Beach, Oregon.  I had a wonderful time teaching and connecting with many talented writers.  I also was lucky enough to get to attend a workshop taught by the poet, Drew Myron.  Each participant received a clear vial of something.  We smelled and then we wrote.  It was a blast.  Here’s the piece of flash fiction that came out of that writing prompt.

VICKS VAPORUB

I know we’re in love—the real kind—because you kiss me even though I’m sick.  I’m talking funny, nose-plugged, nestled in warren of blankets.  Laptop balanced between us, we’re cruising YouTube for TED talks and snowboarding clips and the Beanie Baby parody of The Hunger Games.

Every few minutes you lean through a mentholated halo of Vicks VapoRub and nuzzle my neck.  The smear of it under my nose drives you back into the pillows with watering eyes.  Laughing and wiping tears on your sleeve, you tell me a story.

There was this guy in my dorm in college.  Edgar.  We played ultimate frisbee on the quad every Thursday.  And he had the world’s worst smelling feet.  Anyway, in sophomore year, he started dating this girl.  I don’t remember her name just that she was in our ecology class and had dimples and she didn’t last long with Edgar.  Here’s why.  

It was late.  The rest of us were partying in the room next door.  But Edgar and Dimple Girl were having sex.  And she was kinda loud, so those of us near the wall between the rooms got full-audio.  They’d been going at it for a while when the moans turned to screams.  

Screams?  You pause, grin wicked, and stare at me until I can’t help blushing.

You wanna know what happened?

I nod and dodge as you dive-bomb my neck.  Mission accomplished, you flop back against the headboard.

That douche, Edgar—I found out later—reached for the lube and got the Vicks by mistake.

Oh my god!  I snort into the comforter.  Tiny bits of down tickle my cheeks.  Vicks!  Not Vicks!  I nuzzle your shoulder with the bite of it in my nose.  It ropes us in, sharp as barbed wire, but we are all tangled limbs, new love, and the scent—thank god only the scent—of Vicks.

Going back to my dog-earred copy of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

Writing,

It’s been nearly three weeks since I turned my manuscript into my editor.  Honestly, I still feel very unsettled.  Creatively, I’m tapped out.  No projects are jumping up and down waiting to be loved on.  I don’t want to read the paper or books or watch TV or movies or even have serious conversations.  I don’t want to do anything that requires much mental effort.

Under normal working circumstances, I think I lead a balanced artistic life.  I’m enough in tune with my own rhythms to know that when I’m “on,” I put my shoulder to it and usually accomplish a great deal.  I also know that when I’m not in the flow of the work, it’s better for me to stop, go running, do something else.  I trust the ebb and flow of my productivity.  Listening to what I need and responding appropriately always leads to good, solid work.

Deadlines completely screwed with that plan.  Instead of stepping back, I pushed through.  Instead of taking a break, I plowed forward.  And that’s fine.  Books need to get finished on time, and I can do just about anything for six weeks.  However, I’m coming to realize how depleted I am.

I was talking about this with another writer friend, and she asked if I was doing morning pages a la Julia Cameron.  No, I wasn’t.  The thought of writing three pages a day made me a little squirmy, but when my friend left, I pulled out my tattered copy of The Artist’s Way and started reading from the beginning.  In addition to morning pages, Cameron recommends a weekly date with your inner artist.  She suggests going by yourself to some place or activity to fills you with fun or inspiration.  For Cameron, this is a way to “fill the creative well.”

Aha!

Just the answer I was looking for.  It’s time to focus on filling the well.

…  and doing morning pages!

 

Do you write kidlit? See what joining SCBWI-National can do for you!

Antics, ,

This past weekend I was lucky enough to meet Lin Oliver and Steve Mooser, the founders of the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, at a regional SCBWI conference.

SCBWI is a very unusual professional organization because it serves both amateur/new writers and illustrators as well as established professionals, which means SCBWI wears a lot of hats.

In one session, Lin Oliver talked about all the things that SCBWI does for writers and illustrators.  The list was incredible–especially if you consider that membership is only $70 a year.  FYI this is a blatant (albeit unsolicited) promotional blog that urges, insists, and shoves you toward joining SCBWI if you haven’t already.

Why you ask?  Well…

1.  You’ll have access to a bunch of publications that demystify the publishing process, detail what various publishing houses and editors are looking for, guide you to book fairs, agents, and educational publishers, and articles about every aspect of the business.

2.  You can network through discussion boards, newsletters, conferences, and critique groups.

3.  Published authors and illustrators can participate in book launch parties, blog tours, speakers bureaus, and marketing collectives.

4.  There is a dedicated staff committed to your success as a creative person.

5.  You’ll find your people both regionally and around the world.  That’s priceless!

So get to it!  Join the fun!

From a child’s world–love, Maurice Sendak, & adults who think they’re all that

Antics

I took my car through DEQ to get the tags renewed today.  After exchanging pleasantries with the attendant about the weather, I told him he sounded like a true Oregonian because he seemed so accepting of the crazy lamb-lion weather we’ve been having.  He bristled.  No way.  I’m a Californian but I’ve lived here twenty miserable years.  Now, he was under my skin.  I asked him why he was still here.  Money.  Is there any other reason to do anything?  I suggested love.  Then he really laughed.  It hasn’t worked out for me.  My last wife told me I was too nice.  Now I’m to old for love.  Is it working for you?

Speechless, I nodded.  Yeah, love has been working for me. 

The conversation got me thinking about an interview with Maurice Sendak that was rebroadcast after his death a few days ago.  His books riled up a lot of people because instead of depicting the sanitized life of “good” children, his stories were full of monsters, fears, and even danger.  In the interview, he said that he wrote and drew from his own remembered child’s-eye view.

Were parents then (and maybe now) so afraid of a child’s world that they would deny its existence?  Is adulthood so amazing that we think kids should bypass those messy years and get right to it?  Ew.  My skin crawls.  The “adult world” of that guy at DEQ is one I do not want to visit.  I guess that’s why I spend my days writing through the eyes of kids and teens.  In a child’s world, love works.

Calling all lovers of “Choose Your Own Adventure” books!

My Reads

I adored Choose Your Own Adventure books when I was a kid, so I jumped at the chance for my son and I to test drive THE WORST-CASE SCENARIO: AMAZON (An Ultimate Adventure Novel) by Hena Khan and David Borgenicht, illustrated by Yancey Labat.

Here’s my test driver:

Here’s the book blurb from Chronicle:

A new thrill ride begins in the Amazon rainforest with the latest novel in the Worst-Case Scenario Ultimate Adventure series! Join an expedition of students exploring the Amazon jungle and face real dangers and decisions. Your choices will determine your fate. Will you survive your encounters with piranhas, tarantulas, mosquitoes, monkeys, and jaguars? Or will you be forced to return home early? Only you can decide how to survive. There are twenty-two possible endings to this adventure, but only ONE leads to ultimate success! Featuring dynamic comic book–style illustrations, and based on real, true-life facts about the Amazon, this story will be a surefire hit with anyone craving a fun, highly visual reading experience.

Our chat:

Me:  So what do you think of the cover?
Boy:  Oooh!  Interesting.

Me:  How did you feel about the intro with the team bios.
Boy:  Important but kinda boring.  Glad you read it to me.  I could relate to the characters though.

Me:  How did you feel about the 2nd person?
Boy:  I didn’t like it.  Kind of annoying but I guess I got used to it.

Me:  Did you like it?
Boy:  Yeah!  I’d totally read more of them.

Me:  Why did you like?
Boy:  Cool that there was lots of action.  Especially that you could die.  Most books don’t put in the dying part.  Or anacondas.

Me:  How did you feel about the choices you had to make?
Boy:  It was kinda obvious which ones would kill you.

In summary, we both got into this book.  We loved the design and ample graphics, especially when the choice points were related to the graphics (like where on a map we should go).  It was fun to read together, and once the Boy got hooked, he was really into it and didn’t want to stop reading.  As a writer myself, I wonder if Choose Your Own Adventure style books could work in third person because I’m with the Boy–2nd person is weird.

Favorite spread:

 

 

I don’t know anything about writing. Or do I?

Writing, ,

I’ve been pretty silent on the blog and on twitter lately.  I like to think I can tweet helpful nuggets for writers as well as the occasional spattering of encouragement, but I’ve been coming up empty.  I find myself staring at the screen thinking, “I don’t know anything about writing.”

This is kind of dumb because I’ve been writing full time now for a couple of years.  I’ve got four books out and the Angel Punk novel is under contract.  I should know a thing or two, right?

Nicole Marie Schreiber recently posted on how to reconnect with your WIP after a long absence from it.  She spoke about nurturing the love affair with your book.  It strikes me that I’m anticipating the break-up with my WIP and that’s why I feel so clueless about writing.

Things I know about myself: I’m all-or-nothing. I don’t know how to hold back.  I’m a believer, and I fall in love hard–very hard.  Last July, when I signed on to write the novel for Angel Punk, I committed, immersing myself in the project and the team.  When I’m writing, each character is real.  Everything that happens to them, happens to me.  Mara bleeds, and I hurt.  Lovers kiss and I swoon.  I have lived and breathed Angel Punk.  It has been my world.

And we’re going to break up…

I’m doing one more set of revisions before I send the manuscript to my editor.  I’ll have a little bit of time on my hands then I’ll do another set of revisions and…  we’ll be done.  I’ll have to say good-bye.

In a recent interview (her first in 35 years), Anne Tyler said:

“When I finish a book, I send the book to New York to be read by my agent. I picture them on a train, and my heart is broken. I mean, I’m thinking of how they’re sort of limited people or shy people, and they’re just so brave to be going up there on their own. It’s really anthropomorphic. But then, after they get accepted, so to speak, and they’re a book on their own, I’m like a mother cat with kittens. I never think about them again. They’re gone.”

Knowing what I know about myself, I doubt I’d make a very good mother cat.  I like to gnaw on things.  I don’t like to let go.  So while I may know a thing or two about writing, I suck at breaking up.

*sigh*

We can still be friends, right?