Gail Carson Levine's Blog, page 31
April 17, 2013
The beginning of the beginning
On January 2, 2013, Kathryn Briggs wrote, I was wondering if you could write a post on actually 'starting', about what you do as soon as you get an idea, then when you write notes, what notes you write, and how you start off writing with out hitting a big brick wall that stretches for ever.
Starting backwards with the brick wall, the problem may be a matter of perspective. I never expect smooth sailing. I do expect to mess up, find my way, meander, get lost, discover a new path until, eventual...
April 10, 2013
Fairy tale fad
First off, I got an email this week from The Alliance for Independent Authors saying that “you have been nominated to receive a ‘Top Website for Self-Publishers Award’ by our members.” This stamp of approval goes to blogs or websites, and in this case I have to assume that the recognition belongs to the blog (which is part of my website). And lots of the credit goes to you, faithful readers, for your insightful comments and important questions. Kudos all around!
On December 22, 2012, Tiki Arms...
April 3, 2013
On December 19, 2012, Seaspray Wonderlust wrote, Just in ...
On December 19, 2012, Seaspray Wonderlust wrote, Just in case you were wondering:
A BOB:
Someone who tells you you can't do something, someone who you want to think good of you. This person criticizes you and haunts you until you no longer believe in your dream. But, being a BOB, them criticizing you, although they don't know it, and maybe you don't, makes you want your dream more, often making you succeed. In other words,
Do it for BOB!
I noticed you have something in Writing Magic about t...
March 27, 2013
Enough to go on?
Two short answers today. Both questions come from Lark on December 10, 2012. First: Gail (and anyone else), do you ever spend a lot of time writing something or pursuing an idea then just trashing it? I wrote 20,000 words for my NaNo novel but most of it was junk; I just kept saying to myself, "At least it's words. And at least it counts." However, probably only about 20% of it is acceptable writing, and the other 80% would need LOTS AND LOTS of revisions to even make it make sense. Do you ev...
March 20, 2013
Your Ambassador
First off, it was great to meet those of you who came to the Southwest Florida Reading Festival!
On November 22, 2012, Ilsa Eruaistaniel wrote, Gail: could you please do a post on literary agents? I have been submitting queries, but I'm not sure how to find an agent with enough influence to submit my book to the publishers that I'd like, such as HarperCollins or Aladdin Book Publishers. Agents are skipped over and kind of sketchy in all descriptions of them and I'd like to learn just how I can...
March 13, 2013
POV Picking and Popping POVs
Copyright questions come up often on the blog, and I happened to hear this astonishing report on the radio. Click to listen and be amazed: http://www.onthemedia.org/2013/mar/08/happy-birthday/.
The title of this post is a tongue-twister. Try saying it ten times fast.
In November two questions came in about POV. In the first, unsocialized homeschooler wrote, I'm writing a novel with a goal to get it published. It's set in a fantasy land, and it’s in third person. However, each chapter (or half c...
March 5, 2013
Togetherness, writer style
I'm posting a day early because I'm traveling tomorrow and may not have a chance.
On November 7, 2012, Kate Phillips wrote, I love writing, and I have a couple of friends who I email some stories so they can give me feedback. Sometimes my friend will say that something doesn't make sense or is weird, when I disagree. I can't tell if this is because it really is weird, or if it's just their opinion.
Sometimes my friends also want something to be going in a totally different direction. My friend...
February 27, 2013
Idea overload
Before I start the post, I want to let you know I’m going to be at the Southwest Florida Reading Festival on March 16th. Details here: http://www.gailcarsonlevine.com/appears.html. I hope some of you can make it. If you come, please let me know that you read about the event on the blog. I’ll be delighted to meet you!
This is a continuation of questions from Ellie Mayerhofer that were the subject of last week’s post: Is it possible to be working on too many stories? I am working on several thou...
February 20, 2013
Building on the legacy
On November 4, 2012, Ellie Mayerhofer wrote on my website, I was wondering if you had any advice for a story I'm writing. It's a twist on Red Riding Hood, but I'm including at least two other fairy tales in it. I have read several versions of RRH, and seen a few too. I'm trying to write something completely original, but sometimes I feel like the story is too much like other versions of RRH. Is there any way I can be sure that it is completely original and not too much like other versions? It...
February 13, 2013
Smooth
On October 31, 2012, Seawritesforfun wrote, I was wondering how can you make a book fluid? Mine is rather all over the place because I write very sporadically, (started in '10, still not finished but very close now). I plan to do about 20 rewrites to try and fix it, but I’m not sure whether or not that will disrupt the plot.
First off, when we revise our first principle should be, must be: Everything is up for grabs to make the best book we can at this time.
I don’t mean we have to toss the fir...
