Trying out this YouTube thing... because sometimes it's nice to see a face with the blog. And because sometimes you want something that feels a little more like conversation.
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Things I Learned at the Illuminae Book Tour in NYC
On Saturday I went to an author panel at Books of Wonder with Kendall Kulper (Drift and Dagger), Mackenzi Lee (This Monstrous Thing), Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (Illuminae), and Jon Skovron (This Broken Wondrous World). I was mostly there to see Amie & Jay – it was the last stop of their Illuminae tour, and I have a thing about Aussie authors, and I also have a thing about Illuminae, so how could I resist?
If I were a more diligent person, I would have taken notes and pictures and written down all the questions that were asked, but alas we can't all be Jo from Wear the Old Coat, so instead I've just searched the recesses of my brain to cobble together the most interesting bits from this event.
There were maybe fifty people in attendance, mostly teens, which was good (I always feel kinda squicky when I see pictures from YA book events and the front row seats are filled by adults). There was also a moderator with a very laissez-faire attitude toward moderating (in other words, the best kind of moderator!), which made the panel a lot more interactive... kind of like Twitter, but with more face time and no character limits.
Anyway GOD I'M SO SORRY – I'm really sucking at highlighting the "interesting bits." Let's just jump right in.
Friday, September 11, 2015
Shop Talk: Notes from the Teen Author Carnival (2014 ed.)
Here it is. My write-up from the Time after Time panel at the Teen Author Carnival way back in 2014. This is still a mess of words but let it be known that it was in even worse shape before it turned into what you will see below…
On time as a way to structure your novel: Time can be a way to bracket the story, provide a framework, and allow you to focus your intensity – whether it is 5 summers or 24 hours or 365 days.
On time and plot development: When you're a teenager certain people can come in at the right moment and spark a big change – so huge shifts can happen in a very short period of time.
On plotting: Jennifer E. Smith and Gayle Forman are pantsers – they write pars to remember for later but in general like to explore as they write: "Keep it open so you can be surprised by your characters and not box yourself in." Tiffany Schmidt writes her endings first so that she knows what she's writing toward; she writes out of order and uses Scrivner to put together. She writes dialogue and goes back and adds description later, and she uses initials as placeholders in dialogue because dialogue rolls fast for her.
On research: Research = weird Google searches. Asking people about their experiences. Telling people you are an author doing research makes people want to tell you things. Road trips and travels. Riding an elevator up and down a bunch of times, sitting on the elevator floor to feel the proportions.
Gayle Forman on characters: What starts a novel is when a character comes alive, becomes real – they are within you but they still surprise you. When you don't have to craft them. They start to come alive on their own.
Lauren Morrill on characters: "I am the puppet master and you will dance for me." A lot of my first drafts of characters are too much like me. Sometimes you just have to let them out of the box.
When you are developing a character (or when they are developing themselves), how do you decide what to keep and what parts of them fall by the wayside?
Jennifer E. Smith: Revision, towards the end. Sometimes you have to write details that help you keep things moving. And then revision comes around.
Gayle Forman: Sometimes you have to read your book aloud. You can't hide from the parts that aren't working when you read it aloud.
Tiffany Schmidt: Have a folder that says Things You Can't Let Go Of. It's easier to leave it out of your book when you acknowledge that it's important.
On time as a way to structure your novel: Time can be a way to bracket the story, provide a framework, and allow you to focus your intensity – whether it is 5 summers or 24 hours or 365 days.
On time and plot development: When you're a teenager certain people can come in at the right moment and spark a big change – so huge shifts can happen in a very short period of time.
On plotting: Jennifer E. Smith and Gayle Forman are pantsers – they write pars to remember for later but in general like to explore as they write: "Keep it open so you can be surprised by your characters and not box yourself in." Tiffany Schmidt writes her endings first so that she knows what she's writing toward; she writes out of order and uses Scrivner to put together. She writes dialogue and goes back and adds description later, and she uses initials as placeholders in dialogue because dialogue rolls fast for her.
On research: Research = weird Google searches. Asking people about their experiences. Telling people you are an author doing research makes people want to tell you things. Road trips and travels. Riding an elevator up and down a bunch of times, sitting on the elevator floor to feel the proportions.
Gayle Forman on characters: What starts a novel is when a character comes alive, becomes real – they are within you but they still surprise you. When you don't have to craft them. They start to come alive on their own.
Lauren Morrill on characters: "I am the puppet master and you will dance for me." A lot of my first drafts of characters are too much like me. Sometimes you just have to let them out of the box.
When you are developing a character (or when they are developing themselves), how do you decide what to keep and what parts of them fall by the wayside?
Jennifer E. Smith: Revision, towards the end. Sometimes you have to write details that help you keep things moving. And then revision comes around.
Gayle Forman: Sometimes you have to read your book aloud. You can't hide from the parts that aren't working when you read it aloud.
Tiffany Schmidt: Have a folder that says Things You Can't Let Go Of. It's easier to leave it out of your book when you acknowledge that it's important.
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