Scott Tracey's Blog, page 16

Tuesday Truths: Passing the Buck and Distractions

What do you mean, I haven't posted a blog in over two weeks?

Really?

Wow.  I'm shamed.  You know whose fault this is?  Lisa Roecker. Lisa, as you may or may not know, is personally responsible for shaming me into blogging on a regular, active basis.  And when she doesn't, clearly I don't.  I don't have a co-writer, or Idea Whore files, or that whole maternal day-job.

So I'm fully moved.  I'm not fully UNPACKED yet, but it's a work in progress.  Living with roommates is a strange adjustment again.  There are things you can't do with roommates that you can do by yourself.

(Okay, not that you perverts.  Ew.)

Things like sleep on the couch so that your brain is closer to the computer, and you secretly hope that in the middle of the night you'll wake up typing as your subconscious kicks the crap out of Chapter 17.

Or eating all off the Pringles the same day you buy them, without sharing.  Because we all passed kindergarten, right?

Oh, and since this is Tuesday and I try to confess something on Tuesdays, all I've got for you this week is that I'm a broken Scott.  I swore, repeatedly and heatedly, that I would never listen to another Katy Perry song.  I'm not a fan, and if you are that's cool, but  seriously, it's not my thing.  It's the same reason I would never buy a LaToya Jackson album, I think.  There's something so plastic about it all.

Anyway, I have been OBSESSED with the Glee cover of Teenage Dream.  I've been watching, and rewatching, the video all weekend.  It's rather sad.  Although what's really sad is that when I went to buy the song on iTunes, it's NOT OUT YET.  What is that, Glee?  Honestly, it's like you don't even know me anymore.

 

Who's That Rebel?

This week on the YA Rebels is Impersonation Week, so if you haven't seen it already, you should check out my video that started this whole week off.

Who's That Rebel?

This week on the YA Rebels is Impersonation Week, so if you haven't seen it already, you should check out my video that started this whole week off.

Tuesday Truth: The Packing Edition

Given the choice between save it/clean it/use it, and throw it away, I pick "throw it away" every time.  I've been ransacking my closets, cleaning out underneath my bed, and even going through my bookshelves, and I'm throwing away WAY more than I think even I expected.

Do you do this?  Decide that instead of going through the trouble to save something, clean it off, pack it up, transport it to the new place, unpack it, reclean it, then find a spot for it in your new life..that sometimes it's just easier to toss that thing in the garbage and go back to watching old episodes of Buffy?

Because I certainly do.  (Well, except for the old episodes of Buffy).  That old Super Nintendo that has completely yellowed with age?  Gone.  All those books I got in high school that I will most assuredly never read again (because they were so bad)?  Gone.  The old computers (and old monitors) that I save, even though most of them don't work, but they MIGHT someday?  Gone.  Clothes I haven't worn in 5 years?  Bye bye.

I may be a packrat, but when it comes to packing, I say throw it all away and start fresh.  Plus, now my closet has way more room for new stuff!

Tuesday Truth: The Packing Edition

Given the choice between save it/clean it/use it, and throw it away, I pick "throw it away" every time.  I've been ransacking my closets, cleaning out underneath my bed, and even going through my bookshelves, and I'm throwing away WAY more than I think even I expected.

Do you do this?  Decide that instead of going through the trouble to save something, clean it off, pack it up, transport it to the new place, unpack it, reclean it, then find a spot for it in your new life..that sometimes it's just easier to toss that thing in the garbage and go back to watching old episodes of Buffy?

Because I certainly do.  (Well, except for the old episodes of Buffy).  That old Super Nintendo that has completely yellowed with age?  Gone.  All those books I got in high school that I will most assuredly never read again (because they were so bad)?  Gone.  The old computers (and old monitors) that I save, even though most of them don't work, but they MIGHT someday?  Gone.  Clothes I haven't worn in 5 years?  Bye bye.

I may be a packrat, but when it comes to packing, I say throw it all away and start fresh.  Plus, now my closet has way more room for new stuff!

Malleable Monday

First off, go wish Lisa Roecker a happy birthday (it was yesterday).  I ALMOST posted a copy of the picture that went up on their blog (aww, Disney World!) but I'm feeling particularly generous at the moment.  Plus, she'll probably put something in my drink at our next book club.  She's devious like that.

As you'll see in my video, I'm on the lookout for new music.  Normally I listen to bands like The Birthday Massacre, Madina Lake, The Pretty Reckless, etc.  But I also like me some pop.  As long as it's got a beat (no acoustic or slow stuff).  So if you have some suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments.  I just started listening to VersaEmerge based on a suggestion from someone over the weekend.

This week on the Rebels was a free topic, which basically means I took about twenty minutes of footage and tried to turn it into four minutes of somewhat interesting video.  I'm still not sure if that counts as a success or a failure, but whatever.  I had fun with it.

Not Ever Title Has to Be Witty, Right?

Okay, so I was going to post a short story yesterday, but I wound up not liking the way it ended.  And considering the high standard I've already set for myself, I couldn't just post something sub-standard.  But!  There is a silver lining.  While I was writing this blog post, I had an inspiration!  Okay, so it was only one line, but it is the START of inspiration!

"My parents think I'm a cutter.  I wish it was that simple."

So hopefully that will be up next Wednesday.

Oh, and I was interviewered on the Book Chic Club blog as part of an LGBT-theme week.  I get to talk a little about WITCH EYES, which is always awkward.   There's a lot of great posts this week – interviews with authors like Brent Hartinger (who also has a book coming out with Flux next year), and reviews of books like Scars by Cheryl Rainfield.  You should go check out all the posts!

See you guys next week.  My last full week in my apartment!

Tuesday Truth: The Parent Trap

The usual disclaimer:  No books are mentioned by name.  If you think I'm talking about you, or your book, you are wrong.  Situations are exaggerated for the sake of the point.

(Yes, I know it's Wednesday.  This post didn't spring to mind until late last night.  There will still be a short story posted sometime this afternoon).

Tonight, I went to see My Soul to Take (long story short: interesting ideas, terrible execution and cringing dialogue).  And one of the things that bothered me the most (and immediately made me think of some YA examples) were the way the parents were portrayed in certain scenes.  My reaction was somewhere between me saying, "Really?  Really?!?!"  and the Sassy Gay Friend.  "Look at yourself.  Look at the choices you're making."  Somewhere in the middle.  That was me.

I'm sure most of us can think of an example of a YA novel where the parents are THERE but they don't do anything (basically they pay the bills, provide lunch money, and nothing else), or they play the role of village idiot.  I think this is lame, and sometimes I think it's only done because it made the story easier to write. Parents who are in their kids lives might notice if they start staying out all night, or come home drenched in demon blood.  But one of the most fascinating scenes from the early seasons of Buffy was her confrontation with her mother about what her life was all about.  And I think in some cases, that's lacking a lot of times.

I recently put down a book because in the first ten pages, it introduced us to several horrible "adult" stereotypes.  I hesitate to even call them caricatures, because they were more flat and unbelievable than that.  For a minute, I almost wanted to write to the author and ask if they'd ever met anyone who was even remotely that cliche.  (But I held back – discretion being the better part of valor after all).

Adults in YA (more accurately urban fantasy) fall into a troublesome area: part of the inherent concept in supernatural YA is "teens with powers" or "teens that are special."  And having a strong adult influence limits, restrains, or potentially hobbles that conceit.  And I think the end result is that it is EASIER (or at least more convenient) to have the Ignorant Parent.  Or the Parent Who Is Always Too Busy To Notice Anything.   Or the Invisible Parent.  Or the Parent Who Only Appears To Ruin Their Child's Life.   Or the Dead Parents.

Notice I'm not saying DON'T  kill the parents.  Dead parents are another example of a  horse of a different (rotting) color.  If it works for your story, it works for your story.  But just like everything else, try and make it COUNT.

My point with all this is that I think FORCING the parent to be absent in some way, whether they're "too busy with work" or they're "in a drunken stupor" (you can't see me right now, but I'm totally making air quotes, I swear), it's limiting.  Most families are screwed up in some way.  We've all got skeletons in our closets.  So why don't we see more of that?  Why so many orphans?   Why take the easy way out and make the character an orphan?

And just for the reference, the number of times I resisted making some sort of Lindsay Lohan joke (see the title of this post if you don't understand why): 6.

Caveat:  I write this post, having totally written a book where the main characters are orphans.  In my defense, it was a kind of plot specific situation – the parents had to die.  Remember Party of Five?  Kids raising themselves?  That was the idea.

Caveat #2: And I've also written about dead parents and evil parents and parents who refuse to validate for parking.  I'm working on it, too!

Tuesday Truth: The Parent Trap

The usual disclaimer:  No books are mentioned by name.  If you think I'm talking about you, or your book, you are wrong.  Situations are exaggerated for the sake of the point.

(Yes, I know it's Wednesday.  This post didn't spring to mind until late last night.  There will still be a short story posted sometime this afternoon).

Tonight, I went to see My Soul to Take (long story short: interesting ideas, terrible execution and cringing dialogue).  And one of the things that bothered me the most (and immediately made me think of some YA examples) were the way the parents were portrayed in certain scenes.  My reaction was somewhere between me saying, "Really?  Really?!?!"  and the Sassy Gay Friend.  "Look at yourself.  Look at the choices you're making."  Somewhere in the middle.  That was me.

I'm sure most of us can think of an example of a YA novel where the parents are THERE but they don't do anything (basically they pay the bills, provide lunch money, and nothing else), or they play the role of village idiot.  I think this is lame, and sometimes I think it's only done because it made the story easier to write. Parents who are in their kids lives might notice if they start staying out all night, or come home drenched in demon blood.  But one of the most fascinating scenes from the early seasons of Buffy was her confrontation with her mother about what her life was all about.  And I think in some cases, that's lacking a lot of times.

I recently put down a book because in the first ten pages, it introduced us to several horrible "adult" stereotypes.  I hesitate to even call them caricatures, because they were more flat and unbelievable than that.  For a minute, I almost wanted to write to the author and ask if they'd ever met anyone who was even remotely that cliche.  (But I held back – discretion being the better part of valor after all).

Adults in YA (more accurately urban fantasy) fall into a troublesome area: part of the inherent concept in supernatural YA is "teens with powers" or "teens that are special."  And having a strong adult influence limits, restrains, or potentially hobbles that conceit.  And I think the end result is that it is EASIER (or at least more convenient) to have the Ignorant Parent.  Or the Parent Who Is Always Too Busy To Notice Anything.   Or the Invisible Parent.  Or the Parent Who Only Appears To Ruin Their Child's Life.   Or the Dead Parents.

Notice I'm not saying DON'T  kill the parents.  Dead parents are another example of a  horse of a different (rotting) color.  If it works for your story, it works for your story.  But just like everything else, try and make it COUNT.

My point with all this is that I think FORCING the parent to be absent in some way, whether they're "too busy with work" or they're "in a drunken stupor" (you can't see me right now, but I'm totally making air quotes, I swear), it's limiting.  Most families are screwed up in some way.  We've all got skeletons in our closets.  So why don't we see more of that?  Why so many orphans?   Why take the easy way out and make the character an orphan?

And just for the reference, the number of times I resisted making some sort of Lindsay Lohan joke (see the title of this post if you don't understand why): 6.

Caveat:  I write this post, having totally written a book where the main characters are orphans.  In my defense, it was a kind of plot specific situation – the parents had to die.  Remember Party of Five?  Kids raising themselves?  That was the idea.

Caveat #2: And I've also written about dead parents and evil parents and parents who refuse to validate for parking.  I'm working on it, too!

Monday Randoms

Random fact you never wondered about me:  I have a ton of shit on my walls.  I found this out while in the midst of pre-moving.  There's lots of "taking things down from the walls" and "packing the non-essentials."  All for that great big move by the end of the month.


That also means that my blogging might be more sporadic than it already is.  Although part of THAT blame can be laid at only one place:  Laura Roecker. First off, let's be honest.  If you're reading my blog, you're probably already reading the FAR more entertaining Roecker sisters blog.  Now Lisa's the one who always pushes me to blog more often, to take some of the random ideas I have and turn them into blog posts.  But since she just had a baby, Lisa's been in lockdown.  And that means no way for her to harass me to blog.  So you should probably go to their blog and petition Laura to let Lisa go on Skype.  #letlisaskype Right?  Such a good idea.  (This can't possibly blow up in my face at a later date).


Okay, so you remember the Babysitter Club books from when you were a kid?  Yeah, me too.  Well, Courtney Summers was the one who pointed this out to me.  It's a Tumblr meme/blog and it's called Incredulous Kristy.  Honestly, you just have to see it to understand.  Keep in mind this is a grownup blog, so there's some language that Kristy and the others wouldn't have actually used in any of the books.

But every time new ones get posted, I die.  Quite similarly to the way I die for Rachel Zoe.  (Please tell me the show's not cancelled just because Brad quit RZ, Inc?  I will die without Rachel in my life.)

I have eaten out at so many places in the last week, I think I'm going to be sick just thinking about it.  And even worse, when I went home from Sunday night dinner with my family (which was at The Cheesecake Factory, fitting in with my week), they sent me home with THEIR Chinese leftovers, because apparently they're now allergic to leftovers.
I am dying to go see My Soul to Take this week.  I don't care if the critics, and the general public all hate it.  It's a Wes Craven horror movie.  It features teenagers.  And some parts of it look creepy as hell.  I don't care if it's terrible.  I will love every minute.  Is anyone else like this?  You know a movie's going to be bad, but you love it anyway?