Alisa M. Libby's Blog, page 19

how does your character learn stuff?

In a story – especially one with mystery elements – how does a character discover information? She can't find it all from one source, be it a person, a book, a newspaper clipping. There has to be a variety of sources involved. It makes me think of Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling's invention of the pensieve, and I simultaneously curse and bless her again for her genius. With a pensieve, Harry could drop himself directly into someone else's memory and watch it as if it were taking place in the...

thoughts on time

Writing is a slow process for me. I'm sharing this for the benefit of other writers out there (I can NOT be the only one) who often bemoan how long you spend on your work in progress…and it's still not quite right.

Even when I get time to write, it doesn't necessarily alter the snail's pace of some of my projects. Sometimes I end up using the time off just to figure out some important details about the character or the plot that will inform my next draft. This figuring out is absolutely...

thoughts on revision. and omelets.

A week ago, this draft was an egg. It had a beginning, middle and end. It had a structure and rising action. It had character description and setting. It had these things, but I knew that I could make it better. There were things that could be revised, other things to be cut entirely.

The first step to revising a full draft is to break that egg. Yes, it's messy. I have to tear down the structure to discover its weaknesses, figure out a way to fix them. Along the way, bits that I really liked –...

'Callooh! Callay!'

Today my sister and I went to see the Alice in Wonderland movie. I actually had somewhat low expectations (as I generally do when a movie is made of a book that I love) so I actually enjoyed it. But it makes me want to reread the original.

The King's Rose blog tour continues!

http://inbedwithbooks.blogspot.com/2010/03/alisa-libby-researching-those-crazy.html

http://www.capriciousreader.com/?p=4029

And now, for some Jabberwocky…(http://www.jabberwocky.com/carroll/jabber/jabberwocky.html)

JABBERWOC...

revising

This week I'm revising a work-in-progress, attempting to make the main character a little bit older and revamp the plot to make it more definitively young adult. There are a lot of plot issues I need to deal with, but in some ways it's liberating to cut a lot of stuff and refresh the entire thing.

That said, I alternate between being sucked into the book vortex and dangling out of it feeling at a loss, not sure if I'm on the right path. But I've decided to forge ahead. The uncertainty is...

authors, books, interviews…oh, and boots.

On Thursday night I went to the Brookline Booksmith to see an YA author panel: Kelly Link, Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. It was a great event and for a worthy cause – proceeds benefited the Franciscan Hospital for Children. Also, the Booksmith is a wonderful bookstore. I bought the first book in The Spiderwick Chronicles and introduced myself to Holly Black. I'll be seeing her again this May, at the Teen Book Festival in Rochester, NY.

My "Revisionitis" post is live on the NaNoEdMo...

birthday. and bad girls.

I had some pretty great birthday parties as a kid. (Why do I bring this up today? No reason.) My Dad dressed up as a clown and did magic tricks. Rest assured, he was a hobo clown and not the terrifying frizzy-orange-haired kind. I'm sure these tricks were very clever, but I was a kid so my memory is skewed: I recall bursts of fire and flying streamers and candy all over the place.

I've been trying to work on these "craft of writing" posts but I'm finding it hugely challenging. I plan to post s...

gift in the mail!!

I love getting gifts in the mail! And what better gift than a book?

JonArno Lawson sent me a copy of his new book, Think Again. This is a collection of poetry about the heightened emotions of the teen years, including first love. What I've read thus far is absolutely beautiful; the words are delicate and spare, complimented perfectly by the drawings. I'm really excited to read this. It looks like a thoughtful summer vacation pressed between two covers…and I think we could all use a little...

Olympians

I've been watching the Olympics like crazy – it's really affected my productivity. This Olympics has really hit home for me just how dangerous these sports are. These athletes are so conditioned, focus, trained–but there is also a thrill-seeking element, here. This is probably what makes it so invigorating to watch. Watching these competitors dazzle and impress and win medals is all amazing and irresistably glamorous (I got choked up, more than once) but what they do isn't all glamour, if...

Poe at the BPL

This past Sunday Tom and I went to see the exhibit of Edgar Allan Poe documents at the Boston Public Library. They have a display of letters between Poe and other writers from his days as a literary critic, and we got a tour of the exhibit and learned about Poe's feud with other writers of the time – especially Longfellow. It was really interesting, and included a collection of Poe-inspired buttons, bobble-head dolls, and comics of his bloodier stories.

Check out my recent guest blog post...