Loretta Nyhan's Blog, page 2

Sunset for Woody

A few weeks ago, I walked out of Midnight in Paris and said something I never thought I'd say after watching a Woody Allen film: "Well, that was cute."


And it was, in a literary geek/celeb spotting kind of way. Oh, there's Hemingway. And Gertrude Stein. And Omigod, Adrien Brody makes the best Salvador Dali!


Yeah.

In Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen revisits the magical elements that made The Purple Rose of Cairo such an interesting, compelling film. But in Cairo he seemed to know this: the realis...

Happy 20th Birthday, Kody Keplinger!

(Kody Keplinger, the author of THE DUFF and the upcoming SHUT OUT, is an agent sister, friend, and occasional writing challenge buddy. This is for her.)





I know, I know...in some ways it does suck to say adios to your teens. You're stressing. I could feel your anxiety over the Internet.



At first, I couldn't understand it. You published a novel at 18. You have another coming out in a couple of weeks. You've accomplished more than people twice your age. You're independent and lovely and focus...

Back to the Past

The book I'm working on now is set in WWII-era Iowa City. Yep, Iowa.

I have a good grasp of 20th C. history, but I nearly googled myself to death trying to get the setting right. There's not a lot out there, but, I thought, what I found was enough. Through the University of Iowa photo archives I saw where my character might live, where she'd do her grocery shopping, and where she'd stop for a cup of tea or a beer, depending on her preference. Their collection is wonderful.

Still, I had to make...

Depraved YA: An English Teacher-y Response

It's been a few weeks since Meghan Cox Gurdon's infamous article in the Wall Street Journal decried the current crop of YA novels as pits of depravity, luring our youth into lives as cutters, bulimics, and drug abusers.

The response ranged from ad hominem attacks (Gurdon is clueless, an idiot, stupid, old, out-of-touch, etc.) to thoughtful personal essays (Libba Bray, Sherman Alexie), to a tidal wave of tweets including the hashtag #YASAVES.

Do books have the power to save teens? Well, this has...

Happy Birthday, Bobby D!

Today is Bob Dylan's 70th birthday. Second only to the Beatles on the list of my all-time greatest influences, I can't go too long without listening to his music. When I was a teen I studied his lyrics, so much so that I copied Tangled Up in Blue onto my history folder, with the seriousness and accuracy of a surgeon. When the teacher's droning got to be too much, I'd run my fingers over the words, again and again, hoping their perfection would seep into me somehow. I learned a lot about dicti...

I'm a Winner!

So...


Writer/Fellow Blogger Diane Lebow (Check out her blog, About Writing) gave me this award:





In accepting it, I've agreed to write seven intriguing things about myself (um...no problem there--I know very few writers who would pass up an opportunity to talk about themselves) and to pass it along. As far as the latter goes, I'll pass it along to any interested blogger--go for it! Here are my seven:

1. My husband and I met when we were nine years old. Seriously. At fifteen, we went on one date....

Thoughts on Twitter from the Hippie Emily Post

Twitter is hard on writers. Especially those of the unpublished variety (Does anyone use the term "pre-published" anymore or has it been banished after general agreement that it's freaking obnoxious?). This is me : @LorettaNyhan. Make a pie chart of who I follow and you'll get a big old wedge of other writers, followed by a diverse group of publishing professionals: editors, publishing companies, agents, etc. A tiny sliver would represent people outside of publishing.

So most of my communicati...

Friday Five: Happy Writer Edition

Hey, everyone! I'm starting a new project, which basically means I can't think of anything other than my shiny new story. When first drafting, I get a little wacko about my writing ritual, so for my list this week, I thought I'd share the five things I absolutely need in order to write. Here goes:

1. Silence: I can listen to music while I edit, but lyrics distract me when I'm writing a first draft.

2. Green tea: Absolutely necessary. Every day. Couldn't live without it.

3. Chocolate: Dark. Bitte...