Alice Kuipers's Blog: Book Club, page 27

River. No effects! Can you fill all that empty space with words?...

River. No effects! Can you fill all that empty space with words? Write a story or poem about the water.

Ellen in Pieces

Ellen in Pieces:

I started reading Ellen in Pieces a couple of days ago and I’m enjoying the ebb and flow of the linked stories. There are moments of real beauty in this novel in pieces, strong characterization and great writing.

bookwormboutique:Hi everyone! I just wanted to take this...

bookwormboutique:

Hi everyone! I just wanted to take this opportunity to introduce you to a company that I hope you’ve already heard of and are super interested in because I’m about to talk about them, hooray for my awkward introduction! 

The YA Chronicles is a company run by two bloggers from Sydney, Australia. Their Young Adult bookish box will be sent out monthly and each month will be inspired by a particular theme. Like many people who are living in Australia/New Zealand, shipping can be absolutely horrendous, so *enter TYAC*! (That’s supposed to be a stage direction, but it didn’t really seem like it… More awkwardness, you’re welcome!) Of course, they ship worldwide, so if you’re like me and you often find yourself drooling over subscription boxes then you’re about to need some tissues and a method of payment c; 

Each box will contain one new release YA book, one TYAC bookmark and 2-5 other bookish goodies in an adorable box shipped right to your door. The first box will come out in September with the theme “That Hero Nonsense”, you can pre-order one for yourself today, don’t miss out! 

The lovely bloggers who run the business often have amazing giveaway opportunities and updates on the progress of their boxes, so make sure to follow them on their social media to get involved! 

Spread the word, bookworms, and help out this amazing business! 

Website // Instagram // Twitter // Facebook // Tumblr

Books for YA readers in Australia/New Zealand…

My First Rejection Letter.

My first rejection letter wasn’t my last
rejection letter. It was simply the beginning of a flood of rejection that
began fifteen or so years ago. I remember the wording:

Thank
you for your submission. We’re sorry but…

Worse, and it does get worse, the rejection
letter was accidentally sent to the wrong address, to a different writer who
was also rejected, so she called up to inform my mother of my rejection.

Hi,
I’m calling to let you know that Alice Kuipers’ novel was rejected.

Worse even than that was the gentle, sad
tone of my mother.

I’m
sorry, sweetheart, they rejected your novel.

For a first time rejection, it was a triple
whammy of YOUR BOOK FAILED YOUR BOOK FAILED YOUR BOOK FAILED.

I took a gin and tonic and settled down in
front of bad TV. My book had been humiliated by the agency, the other writer,
my mother. No! I had been humiliated
by them all. Humiliation has a bitter taste, so gin and tonic was perfect to
help me swallow it down. Bitter on bitter. I quit writing forever.

Actually, I quit writing for about a day.
Then I wrote something else. The rejection deluge began.

One afternoon, years later, I gathered
three rejection letters from my mail-slot. They added to the other four I’d
received that week. Seven rejection letters in one week. I slipped on the top
step and the rejection letters and I tumbled to the ground. It was a moment of
humiliation, sure. But also a moment of illumination because I knew, despite my
pathetic situation, I wanted to write a
better book.

One very sore ankle and one very determined
writer were back at my desk the next morning. Writing.

Writing books requires a certain madness. A
delusion that someone else wants your story. A belief that it’s worth doing
even when no-one ever reads it.  A few
days after the seven-rejection-letters-plus-sprained-ankle episode, my first
novel sold. It’s published in lots of countries, it has won lots of awards. The
same with my second and my third novels. Yet, I still get rejection letters. And every letter makes me feel
horrible. And, soon after, it makes me feel like working harder.

Whatever form of response to my books,
whether from a fan or a detractor, I’m still the writer lying on the grass,
rejection letters scattered around me, ankle hurting like crazy. Every single
book I start, I feel the same sense of terror and excitement. The same delusion
and madness. Every single time I know I must put everything I have into the
book. It’s exhausting. It’s exciting.

It’s a risk. A painful, thrilling risk. I’m
totally addicted.

Rejection, bring it on.

20 Writing Tips from Fiction Authors

20 Writing Tips from Fiction Authors:

Tip 11: “Fiction that isn’t an author’s personal adventure into the frightening or the unknown isn’t worth writing for anything but money.” — Jonathan Franzen

This is what I’m thinking about today….

writeworld:Writer’s BlockA picture says a thousand words....

writeworld:

Writer’s Block

A picture says a thousand words. Write them.

Mission: Write a story, a description, a poem, a metaphor, a commentary, or a critique about this picture. Write something about this picture.

Be sure to tag writeworld in your block!

Here’s another writing prompt for today - this blog has terrific prompts for you….

"It was the last time I saw him."

“It was the last time I saw him.”

- Use this ending as a prompt to start a story or piece of creative non-fiction. 

magic-in-every-book:“You see, bookshops are dreams built of...

magic-in-every-book:

“You see, bookshops are dreams built of wood and paper. They are time travel and escape and knowledge and power. They are, simply put, the best of places.”
― Jen Campbell, The Bookshop Book

tilly-and-her-books:CLOSE UP of all my TBR books on my new...

tilly-and-her-books:

CLOSE UP of all my TBR books on my new shelves! 

I love A Tale for the Time Being. It’s truly a wonderful novel.

This writing week has been choppy. I’ve managed to get quite a...

This writing week has been choppy. I’ve managed to get quite a lot done, but it has been interspersed with swimming lessons for all the children and heaps of time spent outdoors. 

I’m working on two main projects right now (I love working on more than one project at a time) - edits for my next YA novel and edits for a picture book. The edits on the YA novel came suddenly into light this week - I was drifting off to sleep and I figured out how to fix some major issues with the text. Sometimes more work gets done when I’m away from a project. I had to do a lot on the page to get to a stage where the insights came, but then I needed to step away. Well, I actually needed to sleep ;-) But then I made a note of everything I’d thought of as soon as I woke up and next week I plan to input a lot of those new ideas. 

The picture book edits are going well too. I was working on it the other day when my middle son climbed on me. Then my oldest two joined in the game. I stopped fiddling around with the words and read the story to them. It reminded me to read the text aloud when editing. I made several important changes after reading the book to my children. 

I also sent off some ideas for new projects to Fiction Express, who are a fantastic online publishing team in the UK. I’m hoping to work with them over the next year. Fingers crossed!

Now, it’s 30 degrees here in Saskatoon and I have the lake to get ready for. I hope you had a good writing week, or a good reading week. As always, I’m open to book suggestions, or questions about writing. I’m planning to start a newsletter soon, which you can subscribe to, with free tips and ideas about writing and reading…

Ali