Sarvenaz Tash's Blog, page 15

The Best Question I Ever Got Asked

I did a school visit today and I got asked a lot of amazing questions (because 4th and 5th graders always ask the best questions, no lie)...but there was one that really made me pause. In fact, I think it might be one of the best philosophical questions I've ever gotten asked.

We were talking about reviews, and one student asked me: "If you know you're going to get bad reviews, why would you even show anyone your work?"

Wow. What a perfect question. The funny thing is, when I was her age, I wou...

Books I Love: High and Dry

I've been immersing myself in Veronica Mars for the past month. As a die-hard fan of the original show, of course I jumped at the chance to join the Kickstarter campaign last year to get the film on the big screen. As you likely know, that campaign was a huge success, shattering records left and right and, most importantly, resurrecting my beloved Veronica (and Logan, let's face it).

After I saw the movie in theaters, I rewatched the whole series, then watched the movie again, and then read th...

Write Like Nobody Is Reading

Hi friends,
I just wanted to let you know that I'm still here and still plugging away. Speaking of plugging, I just started recapping Orphan Black, one of my favorite current TV shows, for Tuesday Night Movies. You can find my first recap here. After a brief hiatus next week (I'll be on vacation), I should be recapping them on a weekly basis.

Also, I've made a vow to stop neglecting my blog. My biggest problem over the past year or so has been trying to figure out what to write about. But I thi...

Sarvenaz Tash and the Perfectionist's Stone

Last week, on the very last day of 2013, I was having a discussion with someone about perfectionism. I am--oftentimes to my detriment but sometimes to my credit--a perfectionist. The question that was posed to me was why be a perfectionist when you innately know that nothing is perfect.

I've never had the question put to me like that before and my response actually surprised myself. I said: the thing is that there are things that are perfect to me. And those things are generally works of art:...

TV I Love: 'An Adventure in Space and Time'

So, as you may or may not know, I'm a pretty big Doctor Who fan. (And yes, I've been epically excited for today's 50th anniversary special and no, it did not disappoint!!) But because I am about 20 years younger than the show, and because I did not grow up in the U.K., I have to admit I didn't know much about the history of it or about the doctors before the 2005 incarnation of the show, when I started watching.

David Bradley stars as William Hartnell in 'An Adventure in Space
and Time.'' Photo...

The Thick Skin Conundrum

If you're a writer (or, really, a filmmaker, painter, sculptor...any sort of artist), you have probably heard this before: "You need to have a thick skin."

I hear it all the time but the first time I really had to live it was when I went to film school. That was the first time I had ever put my work on display for anyone to see and critique. And, guess what? I needed a thick skin for that.

But here's the thing: to be a writer--as in just someone who sits and writes--you don't need a thick skin....

#Wordcount Is a Four-Letter (Non)Word

It's NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) which means that my Twitter feed is filled with inspiring posts about people getting 'er done and one very loaded phrase: word count.

Don't get me wrong. I think NaNoWriMo is an amazing concept and I know that it is very successful for a lot of people. But sometimes I see people writing things like: "I wrote 4,000 words today" and I just think, WOW. I don't think I've written 4,000 words in a single day ever in my entire life.

Inevitably, this has l...

When Geeks Wed: The Details

It's been 6 months, but I thought it might be time to share some of the details from the biggest theme party I ever threw, a.k.a. my wedding.

So, without further ado, here are some of the bookish/geeky/silly details from our big day.


I made the bridesmaid bouquets (and part of mine) out of pages from Harry Potter and Pride & Prejudice. I was pretty proud of how they turned out. Cutting up books, however, felt wrong from beginning to end despite it being for a good cause.

Speaking of Harry Po...

Upcoming Event: Journeys to Publication

It's been a little bit since I've had an in-person event so I am most pleased to announce that I have one coming up in NYC and that it involves being on a panel with a group of fantastic authors I admire/respect/adore.

Journeys to Publication (presented by Children's Media Association)
October 7th, 7 PM
The Hartley House
413 W. 46th St., NY, NY

The panel is bringing together 6 new YA/MG authors who are sharing their "tell it like it is" publishing journeys and answering questions about what publis...

Letting Go of a Dream

Hello and long time no see!

So, I know, I know. It's been almost five months since I updated this thing. Which in blogging terms is the equivalent of a paleontological period. (Shout-out to my favorite paleontologist (and yours)--Ross Gellar.)

Quite a few things have happened since then. For one, I got married (hooray!). We had a fantastic day and party. I think I'll post some of my favorite wedding photos here soon.

For another, I've been doing a lot of soul-searching in regards to writing, an...