Sydney Salter's Blog, page 17

On The Go With Jessica Brody + Giveaway

Please welcome Jessica Brody, author of My Life Undecided. Leave a comment to win a copy!

1. Nice! My dream vacation would be a cruise around the world. I LOVE boats and I've always wanted to live on one. So for me, a cruise would be the ideal way to see the world.

2. What if you could travel to a different time period?
I would love to travel back to visit the court of Henry VIII. I'm obsessed with Tudor history.  I think it'd be fun. All the gossip and intrigue…and dresses! But my big, opinionated mouth would probably land me in the tower for some sort of treason.
3. I can be both. My husband and I travel a ton and we've had trips that have been planned for months and trips we plan the day before we go. I've learned to be very flexible when I travel and to pack light. There's something very exciting about traveling spontaneously, but I also love the build up that comes with a trip that's planned a while in advance.

4. What's the worst thing that's ever happened to you on vacation?
When I was five years old I got pneumonia when my family was on vacation in Lake Tahoe. I don't remember it all that well, but I do remember feeling like total crap! And feeling very left out when everybody was out skiing and I was stuck in the hotel taking ice baths to bring down my fever! Thankfully, nothing that bad has happened since (knock on wood!)
About The Book:
PLEASE READ THIS! MY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!
Okay, maybe that was a bit melodramatic, but I'm sorry, I'm feeling a bit melodramatic at the moment.
Here's the deal. My name is Brooklyn Pierce, I'm fifteen years old, and I am decisionally challenged. Seriously, I can't remember the last good decision I made. I can remember plenty of crappy ones though. Including that party I threw when my parents were out of town that accidentally burned down a model home. Yeah, not my finest moment, for sure.
But see, that's why I started a blog. To enlist readers to make my decisions for me. That's right. I'm gave up. Threw in the towel. I let someone else be the one to decide which book I read for English. Or whether or not I accepted an invitation to join the debate team from that cute-in-a-dorky-sort-of-way guy who gave me the Heimlich Maneuver in the cafeteria. (Note to self: Chew the melon before swallowing it.) I even let them decide who I dated!
Well, it turns out there are some things in life you simply can't choose or have chosen for you—like who you fall in love with. And now everything's more screwed up than ever.
But don't take my word for it, read the book and decide for yourself. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll scream in frustration. Or maybe that's just me. After all, it's my life.
Reviews:"Brooklyn is a sympathetic protagonist with whom teens will identify. Her journey is fun to read, and decision-challenged readers will learn an important lesson about self-acceptance along the way."
--School Library Journal
"Brody taps into a universal human desire...An amusing coming-of-age story with many funny moments...[Brooklyn's] flustered, off-the-cuff narration should keep readers as invested in her actions as her blog followers are."
--Publisher's Weekly


A few fun facts about Jessica Brody's own life undecided:Jessica was born in Los Angeles, moved to Colorado when she was twelve, moved back to California after college and now indecisively splits her time between both states.Jessica graduated from Smith College in Massachusetts with majors in Economics and French because she was convinced she wanted to be an "important business woman." After a brief stint as a strategic analyst for MGM Studios, she abandoned her business background to become a full-time writer. Now she uses her mad spreadsheet skills to build complicated outlines for her books.Appropriately, when writing this book, Jessica couldn't decide on a title. So she polled 50 of her closest friends to finally come up with My Life Undecided.Visit her online at: www.JessicaBrody.com
Coming soon: www.MyLifeUndecided.com, where you can post your own undecided questions, poll the community, and get some answers.
If you'd like to win your own copy, please leave a comment by Wednesday, June 15, 2011! 

Tortoises

Last weekend the weather finally warmed enough for our pet tortoises to play outside.



As I sat outside reading & watching Sunny and Sandy, I thought about my favorite tortoise quote:

"Turtles have everything a writer needs: tough shells to deal with criticism; soft, sensitive insides; the need to stick their necks out if they want to move forward; and the slow-and-steady patience to keep slogging away, day after day." --Martha Beck, Finding Your Own North Star


I've been collecting turtle figurines on my travels for many years, but none are as charming as the real thing!

U2: Creative Longevity

Last Thursday my husband and I went to the U2 concert in Salt Lake City, his eighth, my fifth. Many of our memories together involve U2--like the time we bought the Joshua Tree album, a bag of Doritos, and headed out on our first road trip together through the Mohave desert's Joshua trees (so cool!) on the way to my dad's house. A few years later we had so much fun seeing a U2 show in Tacoma, Washington that we drove to Vancouver, BC the next night to catch it again. Many years later, we caravanned to Denver with young kids-in-tow to see the band.


I'll leave it to my husband and his music-loving friends to debate the quality of U2's recent albums, I'm simply impressed by the band's creative longevity. How has U2 managed to connect with so many fans for so many years? Among the 50,000 of us who watched Thursday's concert were elementary school kids perched on their dads' shoulders, teens swaying with friends, and many of us sporting gray hair.

I think the answer is authenticity. Whether it's "Sunday Bloody Sunday," "Bullet The Blue Sky," or "Walk On," Bono writes about issues that matter to him. And he backs up his words with political action.

As writers we receive a lot of mixed messages: don't follow trends...here are the trends. But I think we should learn a lesson from U2: write what matters to you, means something to you, and you'll connect with others.

And it doesn't hurt if you look good in leather pants!

Contest Winner!

Congratulations!!!!



Gaby is the winner of Elizabeth Scott's new novel Between Here And Forever.

On The Go With Elizabeth Scott + Giveaway

1. You have been given your Dream Vacation. Where are you going & what
are you doing? 


I'm staying home and reading!

2. What if you could travel to a different time period? 


I'm pretty good here, actually :-)

3. Are you a planner or a seat-of-the pants traveler? 


Planner.

4. What's the worst thing that's ever happened to you on vacation?


Lost luggage for nine days of a ten day trip!


To find out more about Elizabeth Scott check out her blog here.






Leave a comment to win a copy of Between Here And Forever!
Giveaway ends, May 30, 2011. 

My Fuzziest Fan:

It's always nice to know that someone is eagerly awaiting to read the latest version of my WIP!

The Benefit of Small Conferences

I spent last weekend speaking and critiquing at the SCBWI Canada East conference in Niagara Falls--and it got me thinking about how much I love small conferences.

I'm standing just above the waterfall. We all slept, ate, workshopped, and socialized (the best part) at the Mount Caramel monastery and retreat center.

My roomie Fran Cannon Slayton and I could hear the waterfall from our room.Before the conference, SCBWI volunteer extraordinaire, Jackie Garlick-Pynaert, took the faculty members on a tour of the falls. We got really close to all that thundering water.

Getting soaked with author Terri Farley.But we also grew close to the attendees. By the end of the weekend, I'd had the chance to talk to nearly everyone. Small events allow the faculty to get to know you as a person--you're not just a face in the crowd or 5 critique pages. You're the person with school-aged kids (like me), or the one who tells hilarious bear stories.

Post-workshop Q&A time. I talked about character development.Small workshops create a cozy, intimate atmosphere. Even a shy writer (and aren't we all a little bit shy) won't feel intimidated about asking questions. I also had the chance to talk to people about their work after my workshops. We chatted about stories, writing, and balancing writing with family over lunch, dinner, and during evening socializing. Only a small conference offers so many of those moments.

During our sight-seeing tour, I wondered if the American Falls, which would be a truly impressive waterfall in any other location, felt like the sidekick to a much more beautiful, impressive friend.

American Falls is downstream from the huge horseshoe-shaped Niagara Falls.I used to feel overwhelmed by all the writers filling the ballroom at big conferences. I'd think, all of these people share my dream? Yikes! And I've never been good at squeezing myself into a group of professional schmoozers to chat with faculty. Small conferences allow me to be my quieter self. And I've made friends who've allowed me to connect with even more friends at bigger conferences. (I'm learning to schmooze.)

Veronica Rossi, Terri Farley, Hilary Breed Van Dusen, Josh Adams, me, and Fran Cannon Slayton.So, if you've been thinking about attending a conference, but aren't sure if you're ready, try a small conference. I know Jackie already has a great lineup for Niagara Falls next year!

Much thanks to Jackie Garlick-Pynaert, Lizann Flatt, and Alma Fullerton for a wonderful weekend.

An Argument Against E-Readers

Yesterday I snuck away with a good book (Stolen by Lucy Christopher) to soak my feet in the lotions and potions my husband gave me for Mother's Day.



I lit a candle, swished my toes in the fragrant bubbles, and read... Until my kitten Minnie joined me. And fell in the tub. Twice.

A much drier, but still embarrassed, Minnie.
(I wasn't going to interrupt my foot bath--or this great story--to take a wet cat photo.)
While I rescued Minnie, my book tipped off my lap into the sudsy water.



My first thought: I'm so glad this isn't an e-reader! Minnie skittered away, trailing her soaked tail, and I kept reading, carefully turning each wet page (it's a seriously compelling story!).



So, between not being able to read in the bathtub (or poolside or at the beach), and not being able to read during airplane take-offs and landings, I think I'll stick with paper books.

Like Minnie, I tend to be a bit klutzy.

Riding The Bus With 5th Graders

Yesterday I squished onto a big yellow school bus with a few dozen 5th graders to chaperone a field trip. The bus smelled like wet socks. The girls across the aisle nibbled bits of neon green paper. The kid behind me kept jamming his knee into my back. One girl wore a cluster of key chains on her eye glasses--and my daughter informed me that the one that said "I *heart* Justin Bieber" was meant to be ironic.

I scribbled notes about all these potential characters in my little notebook.

But my biggest writing lesson happened during the play we went to see: Honest Abe Lincoln. The actors were fun to watch, but I couldn't imagine anyone except a school group watching this message-driven play. Abe was honest. Abe loved to read. Abe was honest. Abe loved to read. Abe was honest. Oh, and he loved to read.



Bam. Bam. Bam. 

The writer hammered the message into almost every bit of dialogue, as well as dumping information into conversation, "As you know, Abe, [insert facts that no one really says in dialogue]."

I watched the sparkly-ballet flat-wearing girls, slumped in their seats, fuchsia-encased iphones resting on their laps. Earlier these girls showed off impressive dialogue skills as they flirted with the boys sitting behind them.

Kids are sophisticated these days. And smart. Even 5th graders deserve our best storytelling skills. Plus, they're at an age when most people talk down to them. And they hate that!

If the play had focused on an interesting anecdote in Abe Lincoln's life, it would've had more impact than constantly telling the audience that he loved to read and that he was *gasp* honest.

Tonight most of those 5th graders will be putting on a production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The kids have embraced the challenge of learning new vocabulary, memorizing lines, puzzling out the meaning of each scene... Because they're smart.

Remember that in your own writing. Your readers are intelligent and sophisticated, even the ones who chew neon green paper on the school bus.

Teen Author Boot Camp

Last Saturday I spent the day with 130 fabulous teen writers at the Teen Author Boot Camp. The teens impressed me with their intelligence and creativity as we busted stereotypes and figured out ways to make believable bad guys and interesting main characters. 


Wanna try it yourself?





• List five stereotypes. How is this character the exact opposite of one of these?• Think of three actions that will make this character sympathetic.• Write this character's history (parents, trauma, etc.). Add the best bits to your story.
Thanks so much to Writers Cubed for organizing a wonderful day!