Annie Cardi's Blog, page 119

It's Alive!

Over at A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy, Liz shares her reactions reading on Frankenstein. I just read this classic novel last November and shared a lot of Liz's thoughts. (Just not as funny.) It's a fascinating book, and a great example of Romantic literature, but totally hilarious in parts as well. (Victor, could you pass out once or twice and also never tell anyone anything helpful?)

Make sure to check out Liz's post, even if you haven't read the book before. One part I loved:

"The dissecting room and the slaughter-house furnished many of my materials."

Ew, ew, ew. And also, at this point I'm going to assume that the unshared details include what Victor did so that his rooms (and himself) didn't smell like rotten corpses. Otherwise, the neighbors hated him! And you thought the people next door smoking was bad!

Now I'm wondering what my neighbors are up to. Looking forward to seeing what else she has to say about Frankenstein!

 

Links Galore

No groundhogs in these links, but they're entertaining nonetheless.

The story of Amanda Hocking self-publishing success. The future of reading or an exception in literary fame?
When was the last time you wrote a letter?
I'm guilty of several of these grammar crimes.
Are you ready for the Battle of the Books? Don't worry–you have until March to read any contenders you may have missed
Getting ready for NESCBWI in Springfield! Anyone else going?
What is it about those girls in crumbling estates?

 

 

Love-ly Reading

The Horn Book has some fantastic suggestions for YA novels to get you in the Valentine's Day mood. They're not "romance" novels, but they all deal with love or heartbreak. A few suggestions of my own:

Dangerous Angels by Francesca Lia Block

When I was in high school, Weetzie Bat had one of my favorite descriptions of a kiss: "A kiss about apple pie a la mode with the vanilla creaminess melting in the pie heat. A kiss about chocolate, when you haven't eaten chocolate in a year. A kiss about palm trees speeding by, trailing pink clouds when you drive down the Strip sizzling with champagne. A kiss about spotlights fanning the sky and the swollen sea spilling like tears all over your legs." Swoon! The whole series is fantastic, too, especially in how it looks at love.

Searching for Dragons by Patricia Wrede

The whole Enchanted Forest Chronicles series is fantastic, but this one is a compelling take on the Prince (ahem, King) meets Princess (ahem, (Chief Cook and Librarian to the King of the Dragons) story.

Feeling Sorry for Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty

Mostly a book about friendships, but Moriarty also handles budding romance and heartbreak really well. Elizabeth Clarry gets letters from imaginary organizations like the Young Romance Association telling her she needs to stop being such an embarrassment and get a boyfriend already. Probably one of the most hilarious and relatable novels for teens without a lot of relationship experience.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Technically not a YA novel, but it's about teens at a kind of boarding school, so I think it counts. A great example of a love triangle, with a creepy dystopian backdrop and gorgeous writing.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Also technically not a YA novel, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a reason not to put it on a teen reading list. It's got a dashing pirate, a beautiful princess, a giant, a fencing expert, miracles, an evil prince, an evil-er count, and Rodents of Unusual Size. What more could you want than true love and high adventure?

What are your favorite novels about love?

In 1996, I Was Still a Middle-Grade Reader

Found on the free table at work:

Needless to say, there's no information about establishing an author's online presence. Also no references to Harry Potter. But they do have an interview with Chris Crutcher, who talks about why teens need to read about 'hard' subjects. Glad some things don't change!

The Secret Life of Bankers

Yesterday I posted about how most writers need employment that's not based on their poetry/plays/novels. For those of us not doing the freelance thing, having a desk job doesn't mean the death of creativity. Check out this article about how T.S. Eliot, author of The Waste Land, worked in a bank. Not surprising trivia for most English majors, but Eliot actually enjoyed his job.

I know. The guy who wrote, "A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many, / I had not thought death had undone so many," was totally cool working at a bank.

Still, it's a relief to know that such a wonderful poet didn't need to spend his days working at a famous literary journal or writing scandalous news articles to inspire his poetry. It provided a sense of security for him so he didn't have to stress about money instead of writing:

"Not only was Eliot at the bank, but as the letter above demonstrates, he was happy to be there. A certain pride creeps in to his accounting of his accounting: the salary, the hours, the filing cabinet which is "my province." To read Eliot's letters is to get a full picture of the routine demands of this job, which he clung to despite rigorous efforts from his friends and supporters to free him from the shackles of international finance.

Eliot resists the characterization of a writer as willing to forgo the niceties of daily life in order to make art. What he wants are not luxuries—the early letters testify over and over to the Eliots' impoverishment despite Tom's bank wages, with thank-you letters to his American relatives for sending checks that fill in the financial gaps so he can have new underwear and pajamas, not brandy and cigars. Rather, Eliot craves security. He writes again and again of trying to free himself from worry, for his own but even more for the nervous and unhealthy Vivien's sake. Has any writer (Stevens excepted) ever had so much anxious correspondence about life insurance? Eliot is prostrate over what will happen to Vivien if anything should happen to him."

A lot of writers have to cobble together work–writing articles, teaching intro to writing, etc.–but I think there's something to be said for the unrelated, secure job. Even though getting paid to write full time would be amazing, it's also nice not to worry about health benefits at this point. It means you have to balance two careers, but as long as your regular day job isn't taking away from your ability to write, it might be a good thing to hold onto.

At least until we can all move into JK Rowling's castle of awesomeness.

(image via The New York Times)

Social Butterflies

At SCBWI, there was a lot of talk about how writers can/should engage in social media and marketing. At one point, I was talking with a couple of women who balked at the idea of having to tweet/blog/be on Facebook. One of them said she saw it as a fad and didn't want to waste that much time on something that would be worthless eventually. At the time I didn't say anything because I didn't want to argue, but I actually enjoy the social media aspect of being a writer. I was blogging/tweeting/tumbling before I thought about it as a "tool." It's a fun way to connect with readers, other writers, editors, librarians, and book-enthusiasts. And even if the next big thing comes along in ten years, it doesn't mean that what you do now is useless. Maybe everyone you used to be friends with on MySpace (flashbacks?) is now friends with you on Facebook and will follow you to the next online forum.

My advice for writers leery of of social media:

Assuming that having an online presence is a necessity for writers, it's important to make sure you're doing what works for you. Don't start a blog if you hate writing posts. Maybe Twitter would be a better option since it's only 140 characters.
Don't worry about posting brilliant and astoundingly original content, or having to share all the intimate details of your life. (In fact, you probably shouldn't share the intimate details of your life.) A lot of the internet is just about sharing and getting in touch with people who have similar interests.
Don't feel like you need to have a million followers or commenters at once. It's like writing fiction–sure, you could assume that maybe no one will ever read your work or you won't win any major awards, so you might as well stop. But if it's something you care about, you'll do it anyway.

For more advice from actual professionals, make sure to check out the blog posts from the SCBWI Marketing Intensive:

Marketing Intensive for Professional Writers
Marketing Intensive for Illustrators – Opening Remarks
Highlights from the Writers' Marketing Intensive
Part II: Marketing Intensive for Professional Writers

Also check out this interview with Laura Barnes, MG writer and marketing consultant. Some of Laura's tips for effective blogging/author sites:

1. Have your name in your title. Even better, have it in your address. Next best would be to have it in your subtitle.

2. Include your contact information. You'd be surprised how many people have blogs with no means of contacting the owner.

3. Have a message or a mission statement. I don't mean to post this for people to see, but know what you're blog is about. Are you giving authors writing advice? Are you sharing your love of books through interviews and reviews? Are you rambling your way through life? All of those are okay as long as you are consistent. This can be a confusing concept to grasp because it doesn't mean that your writer advice blog can't contain an anecdote about your Thanksgiving Dinner. It just means that a new visitor should be able to read one or two posts and be able to get what you are about.

#3 is very good to think about in particular. I like to think my blog is focused on writing/reading YA lit (or fiction in general), with a little random fun thrown in there.

What are your favorite social media tools? Least favorite? Suggestions for newbie bloggers?

Not Everyone Is a Member of Your Fan Club

Part of writing is wanting other people to read your work. And when other people read your work, you're probably going to get some feedback–good and bad. At Babble, Alice Bradley asks: Should you read reviews? Bradley cautions writers:

"So: someone's going to disike you. It's a fact. An unpleasant, painful fact. And the wider an audience your book (or article, blog, etc.) reaches, the more people are going to read it who don't get you at all. Or who begrudge you your popularity, or who think you might be anti-Irish because you said the color green doesn't work with your skin tone. Sometimes people are just unhappy, or having a bad day, or nuts. You can't control who reads your work, or how they'll react."

This is particular good to remember in light of the recent YA author/review clash. Not everyone is going to love your work, or even be nice about it. Fortunately, I think most reviewers would rather write a thoughtful review than post something unhelpful, but bad reviews are going to happen. If you can read those reviews and still remember why you write, awesome. If you know you're going to get upset, avoid them.

Fifty Years of the Finches

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite books and movies. It's rare that both the original novel and the film adaptation work so well, but each version is fantastic. The movie is celebrating its 50th anniversary–hurray! In honor of the occasion, Movieline has interviewed Mary Badham, who played Scout, and Cecilia Peck, daughter of Gregory Peck. About why To Kill a Mockingbird is so necessary, Badham says:

"To me, the root of all evil is ignorance, and this book speaks directly to the importance of getting an education because ignorance breeds things like bigotry and racism, and all that hatred. We're still dealing with that, right here in the United States, if we're talking about Muslims or Mexicans or immigrants, you know, it's a major deal right now. So we're still grappling with these issues. It's just that people have changed their clothes, that's all. This is not a 1930s black-and-white issue, this is here and now, today."

Another great example of why literature and film matters, especially if it confronts an uncomfortable subject. Make sure to check out the rest of the interview through the link.

Sometimes English Majors Can Make Money

Most writers I know have some kind of day job, even if they're generally successful. This means that we have to balance our writing careers with another career–you do the 9-5 thing and then go home and get to work. A step toward a full-time writing career can include freelance writing. It might not be writing the fiction/poetry/plays you want all day, but it still supports your skill. I've stumbled across magazine articles by YA writers like Megan McCafferty; for me, it was a great surprise and a nice reminder that even very successful authors branch out.

In case you're thinking of going the freelance route, here are some very interesting articles about making writing a viable financial option. It requires a lot of work–maybe more so than a regular 9-5–but being able to say you're a professional writer is kind of awesome.

Anyone have any freelance experience or suggestions? Feel free to share in the comments.

Links Galore

A few more links for the afternoon:

The publishing version had to come out at some point.
At least there's one peacemaker in the debate over e-books.
Maurice Sendak should get a cut of this project.
Another reason to shop in bookstores.
Rosy at the Review Diaries interviews the ever-lovely Shannon Hale.
Read the first chapter of Printz-winning novel Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley.