Jo Knowles's Blog, page 43

Why I haven't turned Google Alerts off yet :-)

Yesterday I had a Google alert for Jumping Off Swings. It took me to YouTube and this video:



This is why I haven't turned those dang alerts off yet. Because every so often, there is such surprising sweetness.

I love love love when teens care enough about a book to go to the trouble of writing a review. And videotaping one? That is over the top amazing. :-)

How I Talk Myself Off the Ledge (Or Tips on Facing Revision Notes)

Revising for an editor is always surprising. The manuscript you thought was perfect enough to submit to him or her is suddenly so full of holes and unanswered questions it looks like a crumpled map to nowhere fit only for making a paper mache pinata for your kid's birthday party. And yes, you will enjoy watching small children beat the tiny remains of life out of it.

How does this happen? And when did I become such an optimist?

I haven't even received my editorial letter but I've already conc...

Can We Talk? Friday 5 in Questions

Here some things I've been wondering lately. :-)

1. What do you think about INCEPTION?

Have you seen it? If so, what did you think? I watched the preview and I'm afraid I'm going to have these weird dreams I used to have about the road suddenly going straight up as I was driving and I had to hang on to the steering wheel or fall out of the car. I know. I have weird dreams. Or maybe not!

2. What do you think of Blogger?

I decided to open an account to mirror this one because I am joining a group ...

Skype visits are pretty dang cool

My big thankful Thursday today is that I survived my very first SKYPE visit! Not only that, I actually enjoyed it!

I had no idea this was happening during my visit, but Diana Tixier Herald, aka "genrelibrarian" on Twitter, was Tweeting my visit! I saw these updates after my talk, while I was sitting in my office wondering if it went OK:

@joknowles is doing Skype program at Mesa Co Library. She is fabulous taking to teens and looks gorgeous, too.

@jo knowles likes to read YA fiction, fantasy and ...

Skype, Beavers and Revision

Today I am participating in my very first Skype event.
This thrills me (yay! love Q & A and talking to teens) and terrifies me (eek! technology always fails me and so do cameras). But mostly, I think it's so incredibly cool that today I am going to talk to a bunch of teens in Colorado without even leaving my house. :-)


The dam beavers are at it again.

Unfortunately, they are not this friendly. Instead, they've decided that the dam that broke should be rebuilt in a new fashion. Their new construc...

Using world building techniques in realistic fiction via Holly Black

This Saturday I attended the Vermont College of Fine Arts Special Day on fantasy. Holly Black ( blackholly ) was the first speaker and I believe had everyone in that room aching to go home the minute she finished to tackle our projects and answer the insightful questions she proposed when creating a magic system.

Hold up.

Magic system?

I know. The theme was fantasy after all. And no, I'm not writing one.

But as I sat there listening to how Holly builds her brilliant plots, I realized all the questi...

Friday Five

Five best things about staying with my sister this week:

1. listening to the loons while we sat on the porch one quiet night
2. swimming in the rain
3. listening to the kids re-live their day at camp on the ride home each night
4. running into old friends at the beach
5. spending time with my sister and her family

:-)

I know I owe lots of people e-mail and phone calls. Will catch up next week!

Tomorrow, Peter and I are going to the Vermont College of Fine Arts Special Day and we can't wait. Are any ...

When the fog rolled in...

Oh rats, I have been forgetting the Monday Morning Warm-Ups!

Or maybe you didn't notice. Does anyone still do these??

At writing camp, we always start the day with some free-writing. After we write, we ask for volunteers to share what they wrote. I thought one of the most interesting ones came from Rick's prompt, "When the fog rolled in..."

Rick and I had been talking about our vacations and how we both collect sea glass. And also, the interesting way people choose names for their pets. And I t...

Friday 5 plus 4

1. Today is the last day of writing camp. I've been working there for two weeks and having a fantastic time getting to know all the young writers and their wonderful work. Today they'll do a final reading for family and friends. And then there will be ice cream! Would it be wrong if I tried to be first in line at the make-your-own sundae buffet?

2. I was hoping to finish the first draft of a new novel I'm working on before edits came to me for See You At Harry's. But since those edits are set ...

The Illusionist

Hello.

I haven't been around here much.

I have ventured back to Twitter and Facebook, places where it is so easy to leave a line or two to remind people of your existence. You can even attempt humor to give the illusion that all is well. But here, this is my honest place. And somehow trying to do that here feels uncomfortable.

I mean, all is well. No worries.

But sometimes, when something big happens—something sad, that is—all this "stuff" about, oh, I don't know, just about everything, feels ins...