Sarah Skilton's Blog, page 10

Off to RWA

So this week got all cattywampus. I usually update my blog on Thursdays, but with my book announcement on Monday and work and packing and other life stuff, I kind of forgot, and now it's Friday and I'm heading to the East Coast to see some college friends and attend the RWA conference, wheee.

I'm meeting my agent for the first time (!!), as well as a bunch of agency mates, new writing friends, and my editor.

I'll be back here on July 7th with lots of scoop from the conference, but if you'd like...

Book Deal!

Guess what: My wonderful agent Sara Megibow sold my debut YA novel, Bruised, to the fabulous Maggie Lehrman at Amulet Books.
Now here's the same info in a different format, because Publishers Marketplace makes it look so pretty and official:

Children's:
Young Adult Sarah Skilton's debut BRUISED, about a 16-year-old girl with a black belt in martial arts who freezes up at an armed robbery and is left wondering if martial arts failed her or if she failed it, to Maggie Lehrman at Amulet, in a...

Recommend Read: "Chiggers" by Hope Larson

I'm a little embarrassed to admit I haven't read many graphic novels. I mean, I've read the ones everyone reads (Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis , Art Spiegelman's Maus , and Alison Bechdel's Fun Home ...) but otherwise my repertoire is sadly limited.

Which is strange, because I used to love comics. When I visited my grandma in England as a kid during the 1980s*, I'd devour Asterix and Obelix stories, and I had monthly subscriptions to Heathcliff and The Get-Along Gang comics (if anyone else rememb...

Recommended Viewing: "Somewhere" Written & Directed by Sofia Coppola

Lost in Translation is one of my favorite films. I think it perfectly captures not only the bewilderment and beauty of visiting a foreign country, but also the ennui that comes from mid-life crises and post-college crises, when you either regret how you've spent your life so far, or you can't figure out who you're supposed to be.

This line never ceases to make me laugh:

Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson): "I tried being a writer but I hate what I write. I tried taking pictures, but they were so...

New Twists on Old Classics

Don't worry, I'm not randomly launching a screed against New Coke twenty-five years after the fact. I'm talking about the FX show Sons of Anarchy, aka "Hamlet on a Harley." Series creator Kurt Sutter took the basic premise of Hamlet and set it in a biker gang. How brilliant is that?


Current leader Clay (Ron Perlman) is Claudius; his wife Gemma (Katey Sagal) is a modern-day Gertrude; and her son Jax (Charlie Hunnam) is the "prince" and would-be heir who wavers in his committment to the club a...

How do you jumpstart a scene?

In regard to plot stagnation, Raymond Chandler famously said, "When in doubt, have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand."

TV Tropes has a lot of fun discussing what they've dubbed "Chandler's Law," and comparing it to parallel plot devices in TV, comics, films and video games.  I've heard that NaNoWriMo participants often run out of steam during the second week, and have to rely on quick, sometimes outrageous plot devises to keep their "writer's high" (and word count) going. The on...

When it Comes to First Drafts, What Kind of Writer Are You?

If you haven't already seen it, I highly recommend you check out Jennifer Wolf's recent blog post on Pantsers vs Outliners (i.e. the difference between people who write by the seat of their pants, and those who prefer to outline). It reminded me of a conversation I had this past weekend with the lovely Kristen Kittscher, who recently sold her middle-grade mystery. We were discussing the different ways one can write a first draft.

I also polled some of my Writing Night pals (thanks, Amy, Hope a...

Pitch the Book You'd Want to Read

A couple weeks ago a friend asked me what my new project was about, and before I realized what I was doing, I'd typed up a paragraph synopsis that sounded pretty awesome.

Too awesome, in fact. It wasn't accurate! Some of the elements I'd mentioned weren't even part of the story, or at least not yet. I didn't do it on purpose. By wanting the story to sound as intriguing as possible, I'd overshot. That's when I realized I hadn't pitched my project. I'd pitched the project I wanted to be writing....

7 Random Facts and 7 Wondrous Bloggers

My new blogging buddy Sophia the Writer has kindly dubbed me a Versatile Blogger. What does this mean? It means, among other things, I get a purty award to display!



It also means I have a mission to fulfill.

The rules for this award are:
Thank and link to the person who nominated me.Share seven random facts about myself.Pass the award along to 15 new-found blogging buddies.Contact those buddies to congratulate them.Seven Random Facts About Me:


1. My mom's side of the family is British, and my mom...

Soccer & Writing: When Supporting Players Take Over the Field

When I saw the team lineup for Sunday's L.A. Galaxy game, I was worried and, to be honest, kind of annoyed. I got into soccer last summer because I wanted to follow the further adventures of Galaxy team captain Landon Donovan after his excellent showing at the World Cup.

Impossible as this may seem, I'd forgotten at the time that David Beckham was also with the Galaxy, partially because I'd shunned from my mind the "Posh & Becks" reality show Coming to America, and partially because he was inj...