Scott Tracey's Blog, page 25

A Medley of Random

You know what really grinds my gears?  When you're at the grocery store, and you run into the laggers.  Y'know, those people behind a cart who take their time walking the aisles, or those REALLY annoying people who stop to talk to someone coming the other way – thereby blocking all aisle traffic.  My favorite yesterday was the person who kept stopping and staring around for his wife (who was one aisle over) and kept getting irritated when I kept needing to grab things that he was currently...

Things I'm Thankful For

Well, everyone else is doing one!

I've got a lot to be thankful for, even though some days I forget that or take it for granted.

Let's see.  There's my family, who's always been there for me when I needed it.  My friends, both in person and online, who have supported me and my writing.  Leah, who's been my best friend since we both slacked off in Psych class in college.  My mom, who can barely remember my name sometimes. To my mother's house, which I plan to nap in because its oh so...

Things That Inspire Me – Were the World Mine

I just scrolled back through my blog and was SHOCKED that I hadn't written a post about this before.  WERE THE WORLD MINE is this amazing, award-winning musical/movie I saw over the summer, and promptly told everyone I'd ever met about.

Tanner Cohen, Nathaniel David Becker

This is on the short list of my favorite movies.  Well I mean I actually have a LOT of favorite movies.  And now that I'm starting to think about it, I don't know if they still count as 'favorites' if they're all my...

The New Adults Debate

There's been a lot of buzz on Twitter, and especially during the #yalitchat conversations about the new St. Martin's "New Adult" contest.  See the link here with the summary of the contest, and definitely read the interview with JJ, editorial assistant over at St. Martin's here.

They're putting a name and a concept behind the space between YA books and Adult books.  They're not creating a new genre necessarily – they're just opening a call to a specific type of book.  It's a kindof blend of...

The Week Without Twitter

What I've learned in the week since I've been Twittering:

No matter how much of a distraction Twitter is or is not, if need be, I'll find a substitute distraction with the quickness if I need to.  Case in point – I'm talking to you, Mr. Obsessive Urge to clean out drawers and boxes.  Or you, Miss "The Kitchen Floors need scrubbed by hand."  Or even you, Father "OH!  There's a Criminal Minds marathon on in two hours.  I should make a complicated dinner that will eat up most of that time so I...

At least the bones are right?

I use the strangest comparisons when I try to explain why I think the revisions to Spirit Games are so intensive.  The other day, I said "well, all the bones are in the right place.  It's like Frankenstein's monster.  The bones are right, but all the meat and potatoes need to be replaced."  I wasn't sure if I was comparing myself to a mad scientist or a cannibal planning People Stew.

Essentially though, that's where my problem's lied.  I had to step back and reconsider how my the rules of my...

Happy Halloween!

I've been a bit disappointed in the Halloween programming this year.  I feel like once October 1st hits, all stations should start playing 24/7 Halloween programming.  Is that too much to ask?

One of my favorite creepy things.  It's Michael Emerson, who plays Ben on Lost, reading nursery rhymes.

 

 

Now I'm off to go watch a really scary movie:  Bring It On!

 

 

Looking Back: the Agent Phone Call

Just a random collection of questions I wished I would have asked once upon a time.  In hindsight, I think they might have illuminated a lot about prospective agents.

1.  Are you pro-snow, or do you secretly make voodoo dolls for snow and torture them in your closet? I wouldn't say I have a hatred of snow.  I don't think that fairly covers exactly how I feel about snow.  I think the closest way to explain it is to pretend that Snow is equal parts Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow, I am Kevin...

How to Create Your Own Fake Town

So one of the things I'm a fan of in novels is the "fake town."  Also known as the "fictional city," the "imaginary inlet," or the "hypothetical hot spot."  Or maybe I'm the only one who thinks of them like that?  Ahem.  Okay, moving on.

So what's the point of crafting your own town to set the story in, versus using an established city.   I think the main benefit is the ease with which you can write.  If you use an established city, then you're expected to do more research.  But if you create...

What I'm Up To

I keep meaning to work up a real blog post, but despite all the best intentions, I haven't actually finished one just yet.  But at some point in the near future, I'll do a whole post on Creating Your Own Fake Town.

And there will be pictures.  I can't promise there will be spider monkeys, but there will definitely be pictures.

For the moment, I'm really just focusing on getting Spirit Games as close to done as I can.  I set myself a deadline of Halloween – but major changes to the first half...