Obligatory I'm-still-alive Post

So yeah. I've been woefully absent from Bloggerland. Also, I wish I had something cool to say or some sweet blog series to introduce to you wonderful few who still take a peek at my blog now and again.

Buuuuut I don't. I do have some fun reading stats and recommendations, though! Here, I'll show you:

I've read:
28 novels so far this year,
8 of which were YA,
19 of which were MG, and
1 of which was a classic steampunk novel (Jules Verne, anyone?)

I've also read:
30 picture books and
1 chapter book

Favorite YA thus far?
Definitely ICE by Sarah Beth Durst. Beautiful. Everyone should read it.

Favorite MG?
THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. Neil Gaiman is a god among writers.

Favorite PB?
Uuugh. Just one? Because I have like ten from my childhood alone, including ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY. Neil Gaiman also gave THE GRAVEYARD BOOK a run for its money with INSTRUCTIONS, and I absolutely adored THE SECRET LIVES OF PRINCESSES.

But you want one. Okay. I'll give you one. It's teenie and tiny and gory and Gorey. It's awesome. Edward Gorey's GASHLYCRUMB TINIES. I love how macabre Gorey renders an innocent abecedarium. Pure literary heaven.

ALSO. I've been writing. You know, that thing we writers do. I'm usually open with my progress and word count--even though pretty much everyone can live happily without that information--but this project...I don't know.

This project is secret. I don't want to jinx it. I don't want to kick the hive or stir the cauldron or even breathe too loudly around it.

And that's kind of exciting. That's kind of cool. That's kind of how writing used to be, when I was a kid-writer and had no idea what I was doing. Sometimes it's invigorating to be a little scared.

What about you? Working on projects? Reading good books? If there's anyone still out there, let me know what you're up to! ;)

The List

Part of my graduate work at VCFA involves lots and lots [and lots and lots and lots] of reading. Which is awesome! But as I enter the realm of mid-semester, I realize that I've read twenty-one picture and chapter books and eighteen MG/YA novels. These numbers grow daily.

And I'm losing track.

So I made two spreadsheets, one for each cluster of age groups. It's a great thing to do, especially if you're doing a reading challenge this year. My personal goal is to read at least one hundred novel-length titles this year. And, if you'll take a gander to the right of the screen, you'll see I've added a new feature: What I've Read This Year. (I'm pretty much a genius when it comes to naming things, as you can tell.)

Here, I'll continue to list all the books I've read, most recent at the top. As of this post, WITHER's perched on that top spot. Allow me to trip over myself as I can't recommend this book enough. Haunting, creepy, beautiful. Terrifying. Completely dashed my early bedtime plans--I stayed up until three because I had to finish it.

So. If for some reason, you're interested in seeing what I've been reading, check the sidebar. AND, if you're doing some crazy-awesome reading challenge this year, tell me about it! I want to see what you're reading.

Why Do You Write?

I read an interview with Garth Nix years ago where he was asked why he wrote for young adults (this was in regards to SABRIEL). He said he didn't; he simply wrote the story that spoke to him. How it was categorized by the industry was circumstantial. He wrote what he wanted, and that stuck with me.

I identify myself as a children's and young adult writer, but I don't feel beholden to children or young adults to create something specifically for them. Rather, literature that speaks to children and young adults speaks to me, too. 

It boils down to this: I want honesty. There is nothing more honest than a masterful children's or young adult book--or picture book, for that matter. When the writer is generous and the prose is open--no matter what style or tone or mood the book is written in--the literature just envelopes me.

I write for this. I write for honesty and immersion. I write what speaks to me. I write children's and young adult literature.

What about you? Why do you write? Do you identify yourself as a certain kind of writer?

Getting Noticed in the Slushpile

After many weeks of trudging through the slushpile, I've gotten really good at recognizing the mechanics of what an agent is looking for when they're reading your query.

They're looking for:

1) A solid, concise query. 200-250 words. Maaaaybe a bit more. If it's totally necessary and engaging. But certainly no trimmings or trappings, or personal anecdotes. Personal anecdotes scream amateur. It's wonderful if you wrote your manuscript for your daughter, or parent, or what have you, but keep it to yourself. It's helpful to keep in mind that this is a business letter.

2) They want to see that you've followed their submission guidelines. Don't make it easy for an agent to reject you; you deserve their full consideration. If they ask for sample pages and you don't put the sample pages, chances are, unless they're completely enthralled by your query, that's a form rejection.

3) They want immediate reassurance that you know what you're doing in your sample pages. This can be broken down as follows:

• Voice. A good one. One that gives the pages life and texture and compels the reader to keep reading.
• Fresh writing. I've seen many sample pages where the writing is technically and mechanically proficient, but so stale and lusterless, I don't want to keep reading. This has a lot to do with voice. It also has a lot to do with
• Avoiding cliches. This goes back to "jet-black hair" and the like. Purge your manuscript of cliched words, phrases, situations, characters, etc. Not only are cliches, well, cliche; they also send the reader the message that your prose as a whole, even outside of this project, isn't mature enough yet for publication.
• No clutter. You know what I'm talking about. And we're all guilty of it--adverbs, darlings, sentence beginnings such as "I thought..." and "I felt...", when the sentence is just as strong (if not stronger) without them. This is a matter of purging. Of telling your story the most elegant, efficient way possible. You may think you need that darling adverb, but you don't.

Basically, present yourself like the awesomesauce you are. And having said that, if you've entered the realm of Query Hell, consider this: if you're getting requests for material, you're doing something right. Something brilliantly right. You may have bumps along the way--maybe your first 30 pages shine but the rest of your MS needs a little tough love, or something similar--but you deserve a serious pat on the back. And chocolate. And various feel-good things.

And sometimes, you can do everything right and still get a rejection. It's hard to know when this is happening, but if it is, don't take it personally. Your work is just not a good fit for that agent. But never fear; you'll find your literary soulmate!

Good luck to everyone! If you have any questions you'd like me to address regarding queries (that are in my realm of knowledge and jurisdiction), feel free to leave them in the comments or email me!

In Defense of Bella

At risk of trodding on toes, I admit I’m not a TWILIGHT fan. I borrowed them from my mom, and after a battle with the first book (a stylist Ms. Meyer is NOT), finished the whole series. (For the record, I liked the birth scene. Finally, SOME BLOOD in a vampire novel.)

Writing and plot aside, the biggest complaint I see about these novels is as follows:

BELLA.

Common complaints:
-She’s spineless
-She has no personality
-Her life revolves around boys
-She lets Edward (and Jacob) control her
-SHE’S NOT A GOOD ROLE MODEL

Now, before I delve into the meat, I’m going to break off a bit on a tangent:

I was a precocious reader. Because I was a precocious reader, I went straight from THE ANIMORPHS to THE WHEEL OF TIME series. I totally skipped YA literature during my YA years. And, as most folks know, adult commercial fiction is, well, adult. Sexy, indulgent. Violent. Sometimes lurid and badly written. So, from the age of ten and through my teenage years, I was reading about all different kinds of folks doing all different kinds of things.

For example, I read Tanya Huff’s CHILD OF THE GROVE when I was about thirteen. Heroine: Crystal. Rockin’ hot bod. Princess. All-powerful.

Not really. She was irritating and reactionary. She never made anything happen. The closest thing to some proaction from Crystal was during dream-delirium induced by her nemesis Kraydak, where she nearly sleeps with the guy because he’s hawt. The novel is resolved via deus ex machina in which Crystal is only a conduit for a power that uses her.

Things like that.

An example I DON'T despise: One of my favorite novels, GONE WITH THE WIND (which I first read at age eleven), features one of the most brilliant unlikable female characters ever: Scarlett O’Hara. (Tangentially, I fangirl about her here.) Strong? Yes. Gorgeous? Yes.

Total conniving bitch? Hells YES. She is ruthless. She marries men she doesn’t love out of spite and for money. Her friends are disposable. She wishes Melanie—her sweet, brave, pure-hearted sister-in-law—were dead because Melanie is married to the man she wants to be with. She also revels in the ravishing a drunken Rhett gives her one bleak, effed-up night. In short, Scarlett is human--and far from the heroine people seem to want young girls to read about.

Any role models amongst these characters? Not really. "Age appropriate" for a teen reader? Probably not. But—and I’ll tip my hat towards Nora’s awesome post about sex in YA literature—my parents never censored what I read. And I’d like to think my psyche is marvelously intact (and, dare I say, enhanced?) after such a childhood.

Which brings me to my point: I read for story and character. Not for “role models”. A role model is a teaching tool, a crowbar in the thread of human experience. Nothing smacks of pedagogy to a young reader like a Role Model.

Hermione Granger is often brought up at this point in the argument. Let me be the first to say that I love Hermione. LOVE. HER. And yes, she’s a “good role model.” But she’s a character first and foremost. The fact that she’s brave and loyal and good and a freaking awesome genius are part of HER, not some didactic ploy to get twelve-year-old girls to do the Right Thing or approach life situations the Right Way. The fact that she’s someone we all admire is completely incidental.

So back to Bella. Yes, she’s spineless. Yes, she’s about as interesting as a crumb. Yes, she has no life because she’s dedicated her entire brain (not that there was much to begin with) and heart and soul to Edward. And yes, she arguably lets herself be controlled by said boys.

But that’s just who she is.

TWILIGHT isn’t trying to preach about how young girls should act around first loves, nor respond to controlling partners. It’s not trying to preach Mormonism or teen marriage or subsequent pregnancy.

TWILIGHT is just conveying a story. With characters. Maybe they’re stupid and useless; maybe they’re great. But whatever they are, they remain CHARACTERS.

Is Bella a great role model for young women? No. But she doesn’t have to be. And if there’s one thing I admire about Stephenie Meyer, it’s for sticking to her guns and letting her characters be who she knew them to be, rather than letting others dictate who they wanted them to be.

While I may not be fond of the series, I’m even less fond of this strange, insidious form of censorship we’ve got going on. Not every main female character has to be a role model. I think that’s vastly underestimating our readership; kids are smart. And I think reading about characters like Bella (or Scarlett, or Crystal) informs their humanness. They’re exposed to different types of women, women they can talk about amongst each other. Women they can puzzle out for themselves, and decide if they want to emulate her or not.

It’s not our job to pump out that Role Model character for kids to emulate; we’re writers. We’re about words and story and character, about intuition and studying the human condition. We’re about honesty and being generous to the reader, letting them draw their own conclusions about our stories and our characters.

So I think, when it comes to Bella, she deserves a little credit.

I HAVE RETURNED.

It's been a long while. Awesomeness at VCFA, then mad scrambling to get that first packet completed. I've started a new project, am trying to write a picture book (so hard!), and I've started an internship with Agent Made-of-Win.

Now, I won't be sharing details about the agent, but I will definitely share random and sundry querying advice with you folks. Like so:

(1) I don't care how awesome a descriptor it is; "jet-black hair" is out. Do not use.

(2) If an agent doesn't represent picture books (or fantasy, or adult projects, or nonfiction, or whatever), they probably don't want to see a picture book query. Just a hunch.

(3) "Dear Agent" is the kiss of death.

(4) Grammar. Know it. Use it.

(5) I'm going to assume that you're querying your first novel. There are rare and notable exceptions, but usually it's your first. You're wasting space by including this line, and you don't even need to tell me. In fact, I don't want to know. La la la *ears plugged*.

(6) Be professional.

(7) Be brief.

(8) Best email subject heading: "Query: PROJECT".

Nothing earth-shattering, obviously. Just some food for thought. In other news, here's a challenge for you this week:

WRITE A PICTURE BOOK. 

(I dare you.)

Inspiration versus Butt-in-Chair

Everyone, please get thee to Nora's blog and check out this awesome post she's got on being a writer--even when inspiration eludes you.