Sarah Allen's Blog, page 48

Barnes and Noble is my Prozac

Often for hours at a time, I sit against the wall by the magazine rack reading The New Yorker, Granta, and Alaska Quarterly Review. Sometimes I don't even like what I read, though I respect it, but it all reminds me that this is my goal, my work, and whatever else is going on in my life, that is enough.
I find gold and silver badges on the cover of books with the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Printz, Newberry Award, and a plethora of others. Whether I ever get to where these writers are, they have always felt like my people, and just reading and studying and learning what I can from them is enough to make me feel like I'm doing something worthwhile, to make me happy.
Then there are the successful, New York Times bestselling books that I pick up, flip through and think, I write better than this and this got published. Not only that, but it's hugely successful. I won't give any names (*cough* E.L. James *cough*), but you...inspire me.
Barnes and Nobles feels like an exclusive club, but rather than nobody wanting you there, every author-member is showing you how many different ways there are to get in. You can pick the writers you admire, follow them, don't follow the ones you don't want to, and blend it all in to your own unique way of getting into the club. It's like they're all saying "Look how amazing this is, and if you work hard enough you can get here too. You can."
We can.
That's a happy thought to live with.
Sarah Allen

When is repeating yourself a bad thing?

When I was brainstorming The Keeper, I started out with characters. I knew my MC, knew his situation, knew the third grade teacher in whom he was interested, and had an idea for a couple central scenes. But my outlining and story just seemed so sparse, definitely not something I thought could hold up an entire novel. Then I added a thread of magical realism and all the sudden the holes seemed filled, the story complete. Like magic.

The same thing just happened again. For novel #2. I have my main character, a stubborn 18 year old girl this time instead of a 40 year old man. She's haunting me just as much as George did, not willing to let me go on without her. Even though I've been trying. I've had the same problems. I know her, I know her family, I know where she's going and who's going to be there. Still, though, there just doesn't seem to be enough for a whole novel, and not enough uniqueness or excitement. Then a magical realism thread dropped in, and it all seems to work. And it's not about my teenager falling in love with a fantastical creature, so that's good.

But for some reason part of my brain is fighting this new development. I specifically wanted to keep things in the realm of realism for this one, not do the same thing as last time. This one will be in first person instead of third, a teenage girl instead of a middle-aged man, and a totally different story, but still, I wanted to do realism. But this story isn't letting me, and despite my hesitations I'm excited about just jumping in and going with the flow. Ah you guys, being excited about a new idea is one of the best parts of writing.

I wonder if I'm having a hard time with straight-up realism because I'm young? Maybe I just need to experience more and then I'll feel like I can write a real-life story. I'll keep trying, but for now I'm okay mixing it up with a dash of magic.

Do you find yourself coming back to a set of basic story elements time and time again? How different do you try to be with each story, and is it okay to do some things the same?


Sarah Allen

Writing Competitions and Lizzie Bennet

First of all, I need to apologize for being a bit of a bad bloggy buddy lately. I have not been able to get around to nearly as many blogs as I usually do. I love reading all your blogs and love commenting on them and absolutely live for all your comments here. Just know I'm sorry I've been slacking on that lately. Not just that, but I like to spend time thinking about what I want to say here, what would be most valuable to you all, what I'm learning about writing from my own experience, and my mind has been very distracted and not as helpful for the past little while.

Real life just sometimes feels like an earthquake, and you're just trying to keep balanced. I know I've totally complained enough about all that already. It's just hard to think about normal stuff like blog-upkeep and social media and even writing when I don't know where I'm going to even be living in the next month or so. The GRE went really well, but now I'm just waiting to hear back from the school I applied to and see about this fall or if that doesn't work out then I have my friend in Salt Lake and is that the best option for me right now and if that's what ends up happening what in the world am I going to do for a job but maybe school will work out so I don't have to worry about it anyway but what if it doesn't...anyway, obviously my mind has just been taken up with frustrating and circular worrying that kind of squeezes out other stuff. Things are going great, I'm actually having a super fun summer, and doing my best to keep up with the normal writing stuff. It will just be nice to know whats going on in my life and settle into a schedule and stability. Hopefully soon.

Gah, okay, sorry, enough whining about my personal life. I just can't even bring myself to think about anything else for long enough to write about it. I've even debated cutting back the blogging schedule so I don't inundate you with the same rambling about my personal life over and over again. I'm going to try to just keep moving forward as usual though so the normal writing stuff that I actually care about can keep progressing. Don't worry, I'm going to make sure the posts are actually relevant to you and your writing goals.

And with that in mind, here are two resources for writing competitions that you definitely need to check out. Poets and Writers and FreelanceWriting. Great lists, and sometimes the entrance fee might even be worth it.

Also, if you haven't seen the amazing, wonderful and hilarious video blog adaptation of Pride and Prejudice by Hank Green, check it out. Seriously. Who'd have thought that Pride and Prejudice would lend itself so beautifully to the video blog format?



Anyway, sorry for the randomness and whinyness. Stick around, things will get figured out soon enough. Then we're really going to be ready to rock and roll.

Sarah Allen

From my daddy's diary

There is almost nothing as intriguing as your parents diaries. Not that I've ever sat down and read them, but sometimes my dad will pull out his laptop and read us clips from when we were little. There is so much fodder there for character and story, not to mention understanding of yourself.
Here is an example from Dad (shared with permission):

I just went downstairs to stop Rachel and Sarah from fighting. Sarah only has two barbies and she only wants Rachel to have two. I said she should let people do what they want and not be so bossy. I said, "you can only really play with two barbies at once, cause you can only hold two barbies at a time." So she picked up four barbies and played with them. Then I said, "but only 1 barbie at a time can talk." She said, "not if they all say the same thing."

Um, yeah, so that's the kind of kid I was. The jury's still out on if I've improved. The point is, our parents remember things about us and all our siblings that we, obviously, don't, and there is not much I can think of that gives us more to work with then our own family and personal history.

If you're lucky enough to have parents that kept records, ask if they'd be willing to share some little bits with you.

What kind of a child were you? How has that informed your writing and authorial career?

Sarah Allen

P.S. I'm the one in the plaid jumper, Rachel's in the floral. We no longer fight over barbies. More than once a week.

What are you willing to sacrifice for writing?

This has been on my mind quite a bit lately. The past year or so, especially the last month, has been, shall we say, interesting. The goal of having a writing career, and the thought that everything is pointing towards that, for that cause, has kept me sane more than anything else. Well, that and some freakin awesome friends.

I'm old enough to have some regrets, now. I wish I had been smarter about doing a double-major or even a minor to help support my writing habits. I know a girl who's doing English with a deaf studies minor so she can work as a translator while she writes books. Why wasn't I smart enough to do something like that? Most of all I wish I had worked out graduate school immediately after graduating. This year of not being in school has been in and of itself a very educational experience in and of itself, but it's been difficult. I've learned a lot about life and myself and what I actually want.

Which is why I am registered to take the GRE on Saturday. I'm still probably looking at one more year of not school, and this is where the sacrifice for writing thing comes in. Another year trying to survive financially, trying to keep building a writing career on my own, is terrifying. I used to be such an adventurer, and so fearless. I don't know what changed, but I definitely don't feel fearless anymore. Even the thought of graduate school--moving away to a totally strange place and living with all brand new people--is also terrifying.

But there are certain things we just have to do, despite our terror. I'm finally getting at least a little used to that idea, which ironically makes the terror a little less acute. And the thought that makes it all worth it, is that I'm doing it to move towards a writing career. Neil Gaiman's mountain analogy has given me the mental metaphors and imagery to put things back into perspective.

It has definitely been a roller-coaster, and I definitely don't see smooth sailing for a while, but right now that's okay, and things feel good. Is it strange that having the GRE to study for has made me feel quite a bit better about things? I'm not so sure I'm good at real life just yet, but school I can manage. I know how to be a student. And I love it and miss it.

You guys have been supportive and encouraging through my unstable life for a long time now, and it makes all the difference. We still have a while to go, but not so long, I hope. I feel like I'm pushing at the gates of about twenty different roads, the publishing road, graduate school, all sorts of different jobs, and we'll see which ones let me through, which ones fuse shut, which ones I just have to keep pushing. Something will happen, and soon, and I will try to look at it as an adventure.

And I'll be writing every step.

Sarah Allen

And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street

Or wherever you live. Remember how sometimes we're writers, and that means we sometimes only like to stay in our house behind our computer writing or tweeting or looking up pictures of Benedict Cumberbatch?
[image error] *Gah!! He's so frickin freak adorable I want one!*
Anyway. What I mean is, sometimes its good to get out and meet actual people instead of just making them up or looking them up. And we can even go to fun events to do it, like the writing workshop at the Orem library tomorrow at 11:00, or something cool like that.

How do we find out about these awesome events? Well let me introduce you to a new site I found called CitySpark. Just put in your city or zip code and find all sorts of nearby activities and events going on in a plethora of different categories like literary or visual arts, food and drink, sports (bleh, but whatever floats your boat...). I get a bit stir-crazy, after being cooped up for too long or waiting for submission responses or something for too long, and meeting other people who like to play with or read words too is a good idea.

So maybe give it a whirl, see what's out there. And I'm curious...what is the coolest thing going on in your area right now?


Sarah Allen

Do you have show off books?

I'll admit that I do.

You know, those books you haven't actually read, but want sitting on your shelf when people come over. Moby Dick. War and Peace. A Brief History of Time. Don't they make us look smart?

I'm a book hoarder in the first place. Probably half the books I own I haven't read, but definitely plan to. That's all I ever ask for at Christmas, and I still have all my old books from high school. And then of course when I get bored or depressed the first stop is the local thrift store where I can get like six or seven books for ten bucks. Not bad, right? So I have a pretty large not-read-yet collection anyway.

But those show off books are there. My big pretty leather anthologies of Shakespeare, Lewis Carol and Edgar Alan Poe I got for my birthday two years ago. I've read some from these guys, especially Shakespeare, but those particular books definitely also look pretty on a shelf.

I've come to the conclusion, though, that having show-off books is not a bad thing. I think all of us are booky enough that we really do intend to get around to them some day, even War and Peace. Maybe seeing them on our shelves between Harry Potter and The Help will inspire us. I firmly believe that it is always a good idea to expand our literary horizons, and Captain Ahab will always be there when we're ready.

Maybe we put them on the shelf in our front entry so we look smart. Maybe one day they'll actually make us smarter.

Are you a book show-off too? Which ones do you have prominently displayed in the living room?

Sarah Allen

Pixar Rules

If you haven't scene the Pixar list of story rules on The Kill Zone blog, you need to. Even if you've seen it already, go see it again. Memorize it. Print it and put it above your desk. That's what I plan to do. There's a reason Pixar is so incredible.

And here is possibly the best five minutes of film ever made. Ever.


Have a good weekend :)

Sarah

The Once a Day Submission Rule

There are basically only two things a writer needs to do. Two parts to their career. The creative, writing part, and then the submission, selling, business part.

We hear about the writing schedule or word count daily goal thing all the time. I think that rule is wonderful, and one of the most important for writers. We need to always be writing.

I want to extend that to the other part of a writers career though, and say we always need to be submitting.

So, along with the 1000 words per day or whatever your writing goal may be, I have one more to add to it: submit at least once per day. This seems difficult or extreme until you really look at it. It can seriously be anything. A short story or poem to a magazine, a writing competition, a freelance article query, an agent query, a writing project bid on Elance, anything. You only have to do a small amount of research to see how many options there are out there.

For example, today I submitted a short picture book manuscript I've been working on for a while, and yesterday I submitted entries to the Utah Arts Council's Original Writing contest. Tomorrow I might query Dog Fancy, a magazine I've always been fond of, or finish writing and submit my entry to this pretty cool fantasy fiction competition. There are so many options. And if once a day is too much, then do once a week. Just have a specific goal, like with the actual writing. The point is, if you keep submitting, something good will eventually come.

Check out the contest section of Poets and Writers or FreelanceWriting.com. See if your state's arts department has anything upcoming or find the submission guidelines for your favorite magazines. It's actually been really fun.

What other places can you think to submit writing?

Now I just need a way to support this rather expensive habit...

Sarah Allen

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

It is three o'clock in the morning. I just turned the last pages of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Maybe its too late to try to do a coherent review, but here are some initial thoughts.

Michael Chabon is a very, very trained and talented writer, who obviously did a butt-load of research and knows a hecka lot more than I do. The Pulitzer Prize badge on the cover of the book is not surprising. The sentences are beautifully precise, and the detail and description is absolutely stunning. In other words, the prose is a pleasure to read.

The story is like-wise very interesting. Very intricate and complicated plot, with intricate and complicated characters. The book is divided into sections and spans at least a twelve year period and even spends a good chunk of time in Antarctica. I didn't even know Antarctica was in any way involved in World War II, but apparently it was. Told you Chabon is one smart dude.

It leaves me wondering, though, whether all critically acclaimed/Pulitzer Prize winning books always have to deal with World War II, family secrets and homosexuality. Is it just me or does it seem like most of them do? I'm not saying those are bad things. Actually they're quite intriguing, interesting things to write about. And I'm not saying that the book is formulaic. It does seem a bit like it was perfectly made from some Pulitzer Prize recipe, but not because Chabon was trying to follow certain steps, you can tell that it's just the story he wanted to tell, and he did it brilliantly. Still, though, while I appreciated the epicness of its scope and grandness of its themes and beautiful prose, I did sort of miss my Austenian drawing room.

So yes. I absolutely enjoyed reading it, and thought the story and characters were totally engaging. It made me want to simultaneously know as much as Michael Chabon does while intentionally wanting to go in a simpler direction. A beautiful, epic book, highly recommended.

Anyone else read this or anything else by Michael Chabon?

Sarah Allen