What a week! There have been new beginnings, a lot of endings, and they finally found the worms from Dune. I knew they were lurking around somewhere...
Did you know Ellen Hopkins was responsible for that whole Miley Cyrus debacle? Who knew!
I really appreciated AF's post the other day about losing the "thrill" of blogging, because it elicited so many responses and so many offline conversations which have struck a chord. There's a lot of conversation going on about the early days of the kidlitosphere community which we enjoyed (remember The Edge of the Forest?), how to up the community, and What It All Means. All good things to talk about, really good things, as some look ahead to getting together in Austin.
A lot of this week's links are writerly - in response to the conversations zinging through our writing group and the blogosphere this week. Some of those beginnings and endings I was mentioning have come from bloggers and writers - some officially throwing in the towel and saying "no more," while others are taking extended hiatuses from cherished books and the dream of being published. I always hate to see that, and yet - autumn's crisping leaves remind us every single year: there's a time for everything.
...including a time for quilts, since I just got a lovely flannel duvet cover, and slept under it happily!! I might've liked this blanket, though. It if came with a storyteller. Via Book Riot's Book Fetish.
If you've spent big time working on a big novel, and it's still not working? it's okay to quit. Really.
The human brain is such a fabulous thing. Give it a little sleep, and all those brain cells your mother yelled at you about killing - and never replacing - might just come back. For your entertainment, here's a little infographic about writing, how it affects the brain, and how the clichés in writing cause our brains to fade out in the paying-attention category. Upshot? Stop using clichés. No, really. It's so very, very, very boring, on multiple levels. Do click to embiggen!
Successful author Julianna Baggot's most excellent invitation on today's Writer Unboxed reminds us that if we've quit... it's also okay to come back and start again.
And, here's a random tech link: if ya wanted it, you probably shouldn't have put a ring on - not if the ring could be stolen, anyway. Nice idea, but probably a leetle ahead of its time?
CBC Diversity announces a little exercise in mirrors and windows, and, starting next Monday will feature Part Four of "It's Complicated", this time pairing a group of writers writing within their cultural perspective with a group of writers writing outside of that. It's going to be a good discussion.
Speaking of diversity, the middle school where author Meg Medina was invited this week has no room for those who use "coarse language, as Meg did, when she wrote YAQUI DELGADO WANTS TO KICK YOUR ASS. Both painful and frustrating to read, via Diversity in YA
November 30th, Sherman Alexie has invited us all to be booksellers. If you blog books, buzz books, talk about books, this should be easy-peasy. And worth it to support indies.Speaking of fun discussions, Charlotte brings up a few book peeves which cracked me up. From bringing in the wash at the wrong time of day to "verbing" nouns - some things just drag you out of a story.
You thought that Oyster was just a ticketing system for the greater London Underground? Not anymore - the U.S. version is about ebooks. All you want (for your iPhone, for now) for a flat fee? Oh, Amazon. We fear your days are numbered...
We're reminded that good writing is good writing, anywhere, even on TV. And, YA authors are writing across genres there. Some of these I knew - we all know about Rob Thomas, duh. But, some surprises.
And, in case you needed the requisite Internet Cat Photos, here ya go. Happy Friday.
4 comments:
Meg Medina said it well:
"I believe that one way we adults can help is to acknowledge the reality of what our kids are experiencing…"
Every time we refuse to acknowledge that reality, we push them further into the corner. And I would ask principals in these situations to think about exactly what message is being sent to young people, when authors are asked not to speak the truth about kids' experiences.
Thanks for the links, and the mention! I think Sherman Alexie is the boss. Are you going to go be a bookseller???
Great links! The crossgenre YA writers article was mind blowing. I didn't know that so many YA writers started by writing for TV.
@Jennifer R. Hubbard~ I am learning to understand that even writing and avoiding the "coarse language" that they hear on a daily basis is, in a minor way, also refusing to acknowledge a reality. That's... something to think about.
@ Charlotte~ I wish. We have just about zero indies around here - the one we had has recently undergone a shift to be B&N Lite. I don't love it.
@LinWash ~ I'm actually trying to read more screenwriting stuff with the idea that maybe incorporating some of what they do will make more visual, appealing novels. It's got to go both ways!
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