Category Archives: Writing

Coming Together

Seeing a book come together from nothing over the past 5 weeks is pretty fantastic. I had 3 other works-in-progress when I arrived at grad school, but none of which are as complex and ambitious as what I have before me now. Seeing the themes and richness in this idea really shows how far I’ve come and how much my graduate classes has given me.

One of the speakers we had at the beginning of the 6 weeks was asked the question, “Could you have done what you’ve done without going through an MFA program? (MFA = Masters in Fine Arts) He answered wholeheartedly “No.” He said he grew so much while pursuing his masters here, and he would never have been published if he hadn’t gone through an MFA program.
I don’t think it’s so much that the teachers are showing me how to create a character, or how to outline a plot. You have to do that on your own, and there isn’t any magic formula. What the program is doing for me is exposing me to literature I probably wouldn’t have read on my own, teaching me how to read like a writer, and making me question the words I put on a page. I think I’m developing more of the mentality of a writer by being immersed in it.
Writing isn’t just telling a story and loving your characters. That’s all well and good, but there is a great deal more to think about. I honestly believe that by the end of this I will have a novel I can be proud of, with more layers to it than I would have written on my own. And maybe I’ll earn a little respect and success in the publishing world too… dreaming big 🙂

Awesome Day :)


I am having a fantabulous day, but first let me review Wintergirls and then I’ll tell you all about my day’s loveliness.

Summary
Eighteen year-old Lia battles her eating disorder and tries to come to grips with feeling guilty for her best friend’s death. Mature subject matter includes: eating disorders, depression, self-mutilation, drugs and alcohol, death, and ghosts.
My Review
There are certain topics and subject matter that I try to avoid in books/literature. This book pretty much had every single topic that disturbs me. I had heard buzz about this book before I read it, but then discovered what it was about and said, “I’m not reading that!” Then it was on the reading list for my grad school class, and I couldn’t avoid it. Do I regret reading it? Yeah. I hate the images I now have in my head and it is without a doubt the most depressing and darkest book that I have ever read. HOWEVER, the author is an amazing writer, and the things she does in this book (writing techniques/use of language, etc.) takes the reader on an astounding journey into the mind of a girl with an eating disorder. This is not a book you’ll want to read, but is a book that will change the way you look at eating disorders and mental illness. Is it important that this book got written? Yes. Definitely. But it is a very difficult read.
My Fabulous Day
On a lighter note, I have a had a lovely day! I was expecting to be dead tired and needing a nap about now because I was up until 2:30 am. After finishing my homework about Wintergirls, I was totally creeped out by the ghost scenes in the book and needed to dilute my mind before going to bed. (I have a very active imagination when it comes to creepy stuff and nightmares are pretty much guaranteed when my brain is on that track.) So I pulled out my laptop since I have no TV, and I didn’t bring any DVDs, so I browsed Hulu for recent junky TV, and stumbled across the Bachelorette… And after two hours of ridiculous romance, I was ready to have nice dreams instead of scary ones.
So while I should be exhausted right now, I’m not! After having a lively and engaging discussion in class about Wintergirls, we moved on to writing. My teacher told me she was so mad last night because she read my story and I left her with a cliff-hangar ending. She wanted to know what happened “after the lights went out.” She’s been saying how dark my piece is and told me I needed a hopeful ending. (Though my work is nowhere near as dark as Wintergirls. Not even within the same hemisphere.)
Our assignment today was to decide on a symbol that would reappear throughout our novel, and then write a scene where that symbol appears. I went outside to brainstorm and then was giddy when I came back in, and told her, “I’m going to write a mushy love scene.” Which definitely got her curiosity up because there has not even been the hint of romance. So she let me read first, and it was really fun. I got good feedback, applause, etc. My symbol is the blue color of a boy’s eyes and the blue color changes in meaning for the main character over the course of the book. I love the idea, and it fell into place beautifully.
After class I went to a student reading (grad students reading their work aloud to an audience). My favorite story was one about a genie, hamster, and a plastic pool full of spit. It was hilarious!
Then on my way to Panera, I discovered I had a parking ticket. Which stinks, but I’m going to contest it. I was parked in visitor parking near the library, but there aren’t any signs that say you can’t park there if you have a permit. I had only parked there yesterday because I had to run into the library when is was pouring rain, but I made sure not to park in the 30 minute only spaces. Then I forgot I left my car there and just walked back to my dorm instead of driving back. Grrr… I’ve decided I’m not going to contest it today because I’m in a very good mood and not a fiesty mood. I’ll go by the office tomorrow.
Today, I’m going to work on a PowerPoint on series books for children, or maybe write for a bit. I don’t have a lot of homework for class tomorrow since we’re doing picture books (which is probably a good thing since I’m sure I’ll pass out early tonight after I lose my energy high.

Secret Garden = Adam & Eve?

I made my whole class laugh and giggle today, including my professor. We read The Secret Garden for class today and we were in the middle of discussing it. We’ve been talking about how literary critics can make up bogus connections to literature.

So I started coming up with my own bogus theory about The Secret Garden being a religious metaphor. Mary shows Colin the forbidden garden just as Eve gave Adam the forbidden apple. The robin leads Mary to the garden just like the snake/devil led Eve to the apple. Mr. Craven forbid one garden but said they were free to go in any of the other gardens just like God said they could eat from any tree except that one.
Everyone was giggling because it was pretty silly. My Professor said that’s how bad literary criticism starts.
On my 5 hour drive home, I thought about my sci-fi book, and a character popped into my head fully formed and wove himself into my plot and gave me the book’s ending. I wish I could figure out how/why that happens in my writer brain. How a character fully forms himself like that, like a real person. The subconscious brain is an amazing thing.

I think I’m onto something…

So, in my craft of writing class, we end with people reading aloud from what they’ve been working on. I haven’t gotten to read in awhile, but last class, I handed in three scenes I had written over the weekend. I was really wondering what my teacher would think because she doesn’t strike me as a science fiction person.

Well, she asked me to read first today, and I was really happy because I take that as she wants to hear more! I explained the concept to the class, and then read the scene I wrote during the 30 minute freewriting that class.
And… I got a substantially noisy round of applause! Not one of those polite “that was nice” round of applause, but a real one… like “Wow! That was cool!”
I was concerned before I read aloud because no one else is writing any sort of dark / science fiction type stuff. But they liked the eerie tone and they thought I did a great job of creating suspense. They also said the idea was very original (something that’s never been done before), and they could see how I might have been inspired by The Giver.
A few posts ago, I wrote about how I felt like I was in a dilemma because I have so many projects that I keep hopping around to. I’ve been thinking about this project non-stop (the dystopian sci-fi one I’m working on in class) and I’ve come to a conclusion after a lot of soul searching.
I think a first book is critical for a new author. It can make or break you. I think this book is a more advanced idea than some of my other projects, and I think it has a lot more to say about the world. So to contradict my earlier post, I’m going to switch projects. I am going to focus on this book because I would really like this book to be my first. I think it’s very marketable, fits with what a lot of companies are publishing, and is the kind of thing that would show I’m serious about writing. It’s not just a pretty little fun story.
I’ve also been reading blogs of authors and hearing authors speak. One recurring topic with them is that they say their early writing wasn’t good enough to be published. Some even went on to say that they threw out everything they wrote before the age of 21.
And looking back at my original project, there are some things I’d really have to redo and consider. I’ve developed a lot since I started that project 4-5 years ago. It doesn’t mean that I don’t love the characters or want to finish it. But maybe it’s not the right time for it, and I can come back to it when I have the experience to know HOW to fix it.
I feel like I’m rambling, but I’m happy with where things are going. Today has been a good day. I mean, how often do beginning writers get a round of applause? I’d say today was pretty FANTASTIC. 🙂

Meeting Marly Youmans

Every summer, Hollins arranges for a writer-in-residence to live on campus and meet with students to discuss writing. Last night, Marly Youmans spoke for the first time and then today, I met with her one on one.

Last night, she spoke mostly about her current project which is a book she is writing with her 13 year old son in mind. She is writing a book that has lots of action, plot twists, monsters, etc. BUT NO BORING DESCRIPTIONS OF LANDSCAPE. She read three excerpts from her works-in-progress (they don’t even have a publishing date yet), and I really enjoyed listening to them. The first book has evil robot librarians. Sounds like something my kids would like!
Back in April or May, we were told that if we wanted Marly to read a manuscript, we should send it to her ahead of time. I sent her the first 20 pages of my original ocean-inspired project thinking maybe she could give me some ideas to help me rectify pacing and point-of-view issues.
Her feedback was that she loved the family that I’ve created. She thought they were full of charm and very fresh. She thought my writing was most genuine when I wrote from their perspective. She saw no problems with my pacing, in fact she said mine was better paced than most of the other manuscripts she read.
Her constructive feedback was the villains in the story felt too “cartoony” and typical. One idea we threw around was that the villains felt too contrived when I was telling the story from their point-of-view, but perhaps if we see the villains from the kid’s point-of-view only, then it’s okay for them to be over the top because kids see people that way. I don’t know if that makes sense how I’m explaining it… but it made sense while we were talking and it makes sense in MY head.
If you want to check out Marly Youmans, her website is:
I have so much work to do for tomorrow, and I’m getting drowsy. Might need to go get coffee.

Tiring weekend?

This weekend wore me out more than classes. Halloween Party (I know it’s July. Don’t ask.) I was kind of disappointed in the costumes. I’d heard it was a big deal, and was expecting cool, kid’s lit themed costumes– and it was a let down. There were only 3-4 cool costumes, including my own last minute Harry Potter costume. Oh well.

Then a 4th of July potluck… where there wasn’t any hotdogs or hamburgers. Just salads and dessert. Kind of lame. And then I’d heard you could see the fireworks really well from a hill on campus… not so much. Fireworks also lame.
But both were late nights and both wore me out. And today I had to drag myself out of bed to class. Luckily I love this class.
Semiprecious
Brief Summary
In the early 1960s, two daughters deal with being abandoned by their mother who feels she must pursue her dream of a music career in Nashville before it’s too late.
Thoughts on the Book
This book was written by the woman who was supposed to teach the class. And we didn’t hold back when we were discussing it… because she wasn’t there. The biggest strength of the book, in my opinion, is the conflict with the mother. There are several other subplots, but the core of the book is the protagonist, Garnet, learning to deal with the fact that her mother is not a good mother. This is pretty tough subject matter that I haven’t seen handled frequently in Children’s Lit.
Our criticism was multifaceted. My biggest criticism was that the climax came too early in the novel. Garnet goes to Nashville to confront her mother and learns just how much her mother has been lying and cheating. But after this last big moment with the mother, there is still another 100 pages in the book! Other criticisms were that there was way too much description and unnecessary detail as well as too many subplots without strong meaning. The book didn’t feel as well knit together as some of the others that we’ve read.
However, if for some reason, I had someone looking for a book with a strong mother/daughter conflict, I would recommend this book in a heartbeat. That part of the book was done very well.
Publishing Discussion

We had a discussion in class today where we began by going around the table sharing our dreams about writing. Here’s what I said:
“I read a lot of author’s blogs online, and see that they spend a lot of time traveling and talking about their books, whether at schools, conferences, or book events. I would love to be successful enough at writing that I could quit teaching, but travel the country talking to kids about my books and just reading in general.”
No one else mentioned the traveling aspect or talking to kids about books. But that is the kind of interaction I want to have, and that will be my test that I’ve made it in the publishing industry. If I can draw a crowd–I’ve made it!
Our teacher then went on and shared her own experiences in the publishing industry, which are dream-like and not realistic at all. A friend sent in her manuscript to a publishing house, who forwarded it to an editor who handled that kind of material, who called from New York City, asked my teacher to come up in the next few days to chat, and when she got to NYC they told her they were going to publish her book. A fairy tale, correct? It doesn’t normally work that way.
She went on to explain about query letters, agents, self-publishing, etc. Most of which I knew because I’ve already done a lot of reading up/research on the industry. It surprises me that so many of my peers haven’t done that.
Two big resources where I’ve learned about the publishing industry are:

#2 = the blogs of authors I enjoy.
Pretty much every author has some sort of website, and many of them keep daily blogs. My two favorites are Lois Lowry and Maggie Stiefvater. (Maggie has lots of good writer tips/advice and she’s adorable.) But I have over 20 authors bookmarked in their own folder, and when I’m having a lazy-stay-in-bed-until-noon-with-my-laptop kind of morning, I’ll often go through author websites/blogs for a few hours like I’m reading the newspaper. I highly recommend any aspiring author do the same.
In Class Writing Exercise

Inspired by today’s book discussion, we had to write a scene where our main character is disappointed or betrayed by someone. This was perfect for the story I’m working on! I had no trouble with this prompt and easily scribbled out three pages in half an hour.
Next class, we are going to have to write a scene where the setting has a prominent role in the conflict. That one I’ll have to think about, but I already have some ideas.
Ahhhh! Such a long post! Gotta go do work!

Thoughts on Stephenie Meyer

A lot of people (especially writers) give Stephenie Meyer a hard time. And rightfully so, her books are not terribly well written and Breaking Dawn makes me want to hurl.

HOWEVER

I do think you have to examine any extremely successful person and examine why they were able to stand out among the crowd. She DID get published. She HAS made millions. So she must have done a few things right.

Here are my guesses as to why Meyer had such success:

Timing
I think Harry Potter had a very large female reader population who was left with nothing once that series finished. All these girls/young women were looking for a nice chunky book series to fill a hole. I think Meyer was lucky enough to fill that niche.

First Love
A huge aspect of why Meyer has been so successful is that she was able to recreate what it feels like to fall in love that first time. You can argue with me all you want, but I really do think she did this well. Though, this is also what makes her writing poor because in order to capture this feeling, she did things like describe Edward’s eyes 876,253 times (I made that number up, but you get the point.) All the repetitious descriptions of Edward, while poor writing, do take girls back to when they were teenagers where they would obsess over that one boy. From doodling his name over and over and over. To memorizing where he’d be at different parts of he school day. The repetition of her writing reminds us what it was like to be all-consumed by thoughts of one person.

Love Triangle
I don’t think the series would have been nearly as successful without Jacob. If the books had just been about Bella and Edward, it would have sizzled out much earlier. The smartest choice Meyer ever made was to put Edward on the backburner for book 2 and take the time to develop Jacob’s character. And then, what she did was make two characters that are such polar opposites. I must say that she did a good job in making both characters so different, but still making them both lovable. Edward being uptight, cold, protective, dangerous. Jacob being a fun-loving, warm, honest, comforting. I really do think she did a good job of developing these two characters. They are the ones that drive the stories.

Soooooo… Yeah, Stephenie Meyer is no Shakespeare. Yeah, her last book is a joke and she doesn’t know how to end a series. Yeah, there are better writers out there who deserve to make more money than she does. But the reading population doesn’t buy books based on how well written they are. Meyer is a commercial/popular writer who found a niche, created a brand, and milked it for all its worth. She found a subject with mass appeal.

And so I think a lot of the writers who criticize her have been bitten by jealousy. But if you want to make money off your writing, it’s not just how pretty your words sound, you have to consider your audience. Does this have mass appeal or is it too edgy? You have to think about it. Meyer hit on a idea with mass appeal, and then gave her audience what they wanted most.

And yes, I will admit I saw Eclipse last night. And yes, I enjoyed every minute of it. (Though that will probably be the last Twilight movie I enjoy.)

Project Dilemma

I spent two hours in the library this afternoon and cranked out over two thousand words. (For you math people, that’s 16 words per minute!) I was rollin! It felt really good, and that’s really what I came to Hollins for in the first place.

But here’s the dilemma that I technically already know the answer to. (It’s just not the answer my creative brain likes.)

What writing project do I work on?

I have this newly inspired project that I worked on today. A dark dystopian/sci-fi piece.
Standing at only 3500 words

I have my lovely original project inspired by the ocean which I let my students read the last week of school. (They loved it!)
Standing at 22,000 words

I have an exciting project inspired by Greek Mythology.
Standing at 14,000 words

Then I have a cute little fairy tale.
Standing at 9500 words

As you can see I have a problem with starting new projects. It’s lovely that I have no lack of ideas, but I need to set about finishing something. I know exactly which project I should finish. The original. It’s not that I don’t like working on it.

It’s just that each idea is one of my children and I love them all, though they’re each different and unique. But you’re making me spend time with just one and all the rest are sulking and neglected in a corner. That may be a bit melodramatic but that’s really how I feel.

I can’t hop around and write a little of each when the mood is right or inspiration strikes because I’ll honestly never finish anything that way. So I know I have to buckle down and focus on one.

I just don’t like it.

But I will. Because I’m desperate to get a draft done this summer.

Craft Day 4

After discussing the book Loud Silence of Francine Green we moved on to another writing exercise. I’d been hoping we’d get to read the piece we’d revised as homework because I’d made some pretty big changes and revisions and I was curious what my peers would think. So I was a little disappointed when we didn’t do that.

Instead we wrote something completely new. And the prompt was very difficult for me to apply to my character. My character’s biggest trait is her fearless and fiesty attitude. The prompt was: Have your character confront a challenge and not make the brave decision.

Well, if you have a fearless and fiesty character, that presents a problem. My character is not a coward in the least bit. So I tried to work through my frustration with the prompt by brainstorming things my heroine may be scared of. I came up with three things: getting caught, trusting people, and losing her younger brother.

Then I knew at some point they were going to run away, so I wrote about some hypothetical situation where they were running away and ran into people, and “Jane” made a decision not to trust them. It wasn’t my best writing. It was a very cliche scenario. And so now, after I finish this post, I’ll write for fun without a prompt.

And at some point today… I’ll read Alice in Wonderland.