Jennifer R. Hubbard's Blog, page 138

Bookmarks & flying bricks

I feel like giving away some bookmarks.  If you'd like one (or several for a bookstore, library, or book club), just email me at jennifer[at:]jenniferhubbard[dot:]com.  They have my book cover on them (see today's userpic.)  Must be at least 13 years old.

Writing-wise, it's just one of those butt-in-chair days, where building the story feels like building a house, brick by brick.  Satisfying, but not as exciting as those days when the bricks seem to fly up there by themselves.

The Muse strikes again

Writer: Big scene coming up.  It's kind of scary.

Muse: Why scary?  I think it's fun.

Writer: You think every part of writing is fun.  But I'm not sure if people will understand why the character does what he does in this scene.  He's certainly ashamed of it, and I worry it'll make him unlikable.

Muse: Everyone does things they're ashamed of sometimes.  It's part of what makes people human.

Writer: I know.  I have to resist this urge to protect my characters or make them too perfect.

Muse: Well, w...

A visit with Lindsey Leavitt

Today, I'm hosting Lindsey Leavitt, co-moderator (along with Heidi R. Kling) of the 10_ers , and author of the upcoming PRINCESS FOR HIRE. In this interview, we learn optimistic news on the number of debut books coming out next year, the secret of balancing motherhood and writing (hint: drop the housework), and what we have to look forward to in PRINCESS FOR HIRE and SEAN GRISWOLD'S HEAD.


Q: What is the 10ers, or Tenners, group ?

A: Short answer: The Tenners is an online group of mid grade/yo...

Second Draft

The second draft is more revision than writing, relying heavily on the inner editor rather than on the Muse.

But.

For writers like me, who write short first drafts and then expand the book during revision, there's still a fair amount of subconscious-dredging, Muse-baiting, and creative word-hunting in the second draft.  And a fair amount of gazing out the window.  (What, you didn't know that great ideas are just hanging from the branches of the birch that stands beside my house?)

And so the seco...

If you're feeling sociable

Every Wednesday night at 9 PM Eastern, we have a "YAlitchat" on Twitter. It was started by Georgia McBride, and for about an hour we all chat about topics related to YA literature. There are other writing chats that happen on Twitter, but I just do this one, because 1) I am all about the YA lit scene, of course and 2) I can't do more chats because I also have to, you know, write books. If you're on Twitter, use the #yalitchat hashtag on Wednesday nights. If you're not on Twitter but you w...

Flash Burnout

A couple of items before discussing our latest debut book:

I'll admit it: my favorite moment of World Series Game 1 was our Phillies pitcher catching a baseball behind his back. It was obvious he was having the kind of night where everything's working right, everything's clicking. Sometimes my muse gives me a day at the writing desk like that.  (Hint hint, Muse.)

Doesn't it sometimes seem as if everyone intends to write a book someday? Marina at Pecked by Ducks has this observation: "Just bec...

Different ways to tell the story (or, Direct and indirect discourse)

A nuts and bolts post tonight:

Sometimes we need Character A to describe a lengthy scene or event to Character B.  There are a few ways to do this; e.g., through direct discourse (#1 below) or indirect discourse (#2 and #3).

1. Monologue by Character A.  This may be punctuated by a few interjections from Character B, but it is still mainly a monologue.  In this case, we hear everything A tells B, and only what A tells B, exactly as A says it.  Example: "I walked into the classroom," A said, "an...

The Espressologist

Launching tomorrow: The Espressologist, by Kristina Springer, from Farrar, Straus & Giroux. 

Kristina was kind enough to describe the genesis of this book for me:

"I loooooove coffee drinks and I've always loved sitting in coffee shops. Now I do all of my writing in coffee shops but I used to just hang out in them with my hubby. One day when we were sitting at a table in the local Starbucks I realized I could figure out what drinks people were going to order (like my main character Jane did) ...

The Grammar Rebel, and KidlitCon links

Last night, while writing, I debated whether to put a comma in a sentence that was "supposed" to have one. I believe the rule I'm referring to is the one about compound sentences joined by a conjunction, but I'm better at knowing how to apply a rule than knowing what it's called. Anyway, the pace and emotional tenor of the sentence changed with the comma. The narrator of that sentence was desperate, on the edge, and the comma forced a pause where he really wasn't pausing. I decided to lea...

Saturday snippets of news

In the catching-up department:

Sharon of the Sharon Loves Books and Cats blog interviewed my cat (Scout) and me. In the "catterview," Scout is quoted thusly, describing his role as fearless protector of the house: "If I see a dangerous object, such as a plastic fork lying on the floor in a provocative and aggressive manner, I will pounce and thrash it soundly." He also offers a blurb for my book: "Suspenseful and fascinating, but NEEDS MORE CATS."

Our first 10_ers book launched this week!  B...