Annie Cardi's Blog, page 82

YA in Non-YA Media

I was visiting my parents this weekend, and I saw this poll in my mom’s copy of Women’s Day:

Two of the four books they suggest are YA, but they’re not called out as such. It’s not a poll about what books moms are stealing from their teens’ bookshelves, or what YA women would like to try. They’re just listed as books. Granted, they’re not at the top of this poll, but I’m glad to see The Hunger Games and The Book Thief listed here without being labelled as an “other.”

Being Grateful: Notes to a Young Author Self

Love this post by YA author Ally Carter about all the things she wishes she could tell her younger, budding author self. It’s great advice for people at the beginning of their writing careers. One part I liked in particular:

“And the biggest piece of advice I can give you is this: take a sheet of paper and write down five things that would make you really, really happy in your career.  Then write down five things that would be “best case scenario” things.  And lastly write five “in your wildest dreams” things.

Keep that list.  Remember that list.  Because in this business the finish line is constantly moving.  One day you really just want an agent.  Then it’s a book deal.  Then it’s a bestseller.  Then it’s a movie.  Then it’s a castle next to JK Rowling’s.

In short, appreciate things as they’re happening, remember that once upon a time that thing was a dream of yours and that it’s still a dream for someone.  So be grateful every day.”

I think this is a great idea. Writing is full of disappointments and rejections, even for super-established authors. It’s easy to get caught up in thinking about the bestsellers and castles that seem just out of your reach. Until we all have castles next to Rowling’s, it’s good to remember all the awesome things happening now–even if it’s just that you finished a new draft or your critique partners said they loved the voice in your latest work.

Make sure to check out Ally’s full post for more great advice.

Illustrative Quotes

These illustrated versions of literary quotes are so cool! One I especially like:

You can buy them here.

Friday Fifteen

After a week’s break, I’m back again with the Friday Fifteen, in which I review five books in fifteen words or less. This week, books from summer reading (so far) are featured:

1. Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Lovely novel, on the more literary side of YA. Excited to see more from Whaley.

2. A Game of Thrones from George R. R. Martin

Tried it, hated it. Saw the tv show. Tried again, liked it a lot better.

3. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

Charming and sensitive story about an ugly dog and why we need each other.

4. Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Three witch sisters live in alternate 19th century New England. Delightful; psyched for the sequel.

5. Divergent by Veronica Roth

Exciting start to the series. Don’t think I’d fit into any of the factions, though.

Links Galore

A few more links to take you into the weekend:

The AV Club looks at The Giver, aka Dystopian YA Before Everyone Knew It Was Cool.
Win a copy of The Disenchantments !
Check out the Horn Book’s summer reading list.
Charting the cliffhanger.
More commonly misused words and phrases; you’ll be champing (yes, champing) at the bit for even more!
Ze Frank talks about the teen brain.

Summarized Dialogue: Only Saying What You Need

Sarah LaPolla has a great post up about meaningful dialogue and what kind of dialogue doesn’t work in your story. Dialogue that acts as an info-dump or contains tedious life stuff will frustrated and bore your reader. Make sure to check out the full post for all the examples.

One way to avoid unnecessary dialogue is to use summarized dialogue. Instead of dictating exactly what a character says, you can sum it up and keep it as part of the narrative. Then, you can actually quote any meaningful dialogue. One (fairly bad) example:

Everyone started debating whether or not ghosts were real. Michael insisted they were, but Jenny demanded hard proof. Then Carrie told us about the time she was doing laundry alone one night. She was pulling clothes from the dryer when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. At first she thought it was the lights flickering, but when she turned she saw woman in an old-fashioned dress standing at the other end of the hall and looking at her. Carrie froze, and after a second the woman turned the corner and was gone. “At first I couldn’t move, but when I finally peaked around the corner there as no one there,” Carrie said. “Now every time I do laundry, I make sure someone else is home.”

Again, quality isn’t huge in this example, but you can see how we don’t exactly need all of the conversation to get a sense of the exchange. Just choosing a few pieces of dialogue paired with summary can provide all the necessary information you need while still highlighting the key emotions.

I think summarized dialogue is one of the best tools a writer can use. Try it out the next time you’re writing a scene and feeling bogged down by the dialogue.

Keeping Words Alive

Very intrigued by the Endangered Languages Project:

As a writer, I think words and stories are hugely important. If this project can help us share stories and history, that’s pretty awesome.

(via The Dish)

Links Galore

A few more links for the day:

“You must have so much time to read,” and other things not to say to a librarian.
More upcoming YA trends. I’m curious about the “human experimentation” titles.
Small towns and middle grade novels.
Famous character names that almost weren’t.
Win a bicycle from the Paris Review!

Books and Brunch: A Winning Combination

So glad to hear that Trident Booksellers and Cafe is doing well! It’s one of my favorite local bookstores. Plus, their menu is fantastic. Once, a couple of old coworkers and I took a longer lunch just to get the sweet potato fries.

For more on my favorite Boston-area bookstores (including Trident), flash back to this post.

Books and Memories

Love this quote:

Inkheart is a delightful novel in general, and it perfectly captures what it means to love books. This is just one great example.

(image: Design Crush)