Leila Howland's Blog, page 28
May 17, 2014
John Green on The Fault In Our Stars, Prophet Backlash, and Diversity In YA
Fantastic interview with John Green from the South Bend Tribune!
Posted: Monday, May 12, 2014 3:15 pm | Updated: 11:16 am, Tue May 13, 2014.
Sona Charaipotra
For the past week, thousands of screaming teens have gathered in major…
May 13, 2014
YAY! Nantucket Red is out today!
YAY! Nantucket Red is out today!
May 1, 2014
Does walking make you more creative?
The New York Times says yes. My middle grade series idea came to me on long strolls around my LA neighborhood (yes, sometimes we walk here!), so I have to agree. Have you found this to be true, too?
photo via http://www.evareynoldsfinearts.com/index.php/Artists/tom_corbin/Woman%20Walking%20Tall/
April 28, 2014
My writing process
I am part of Sassy Curmudgeon’s (the hilarious and lovely Una LaMarche) #mywritingprocess blog tour!
Enjoy!
What am I working on?
NANTUCKET RED, the sequel to NANTUCKET BLUE, comes out on May 13th, so I’m getting ready for my book launch by writing blog posts (like this one!) and setting up a few events. I’m going to have a baby in June, so I can’t do a full on tour like I did last year, but my launch party, at Skylight Books in Los Angeles on May 14th , is going to be a blast. I bought adorable napkins with whales on them and everything! I am finishing up a round of edits for my middle grade debut, FORGET-ME-NOT SUMMER, out next spring from HarperCollins, and beginning an outline for the sequel to that book. I’m also doing a lot of dreaming/freaking out about having a baby, practicing prenatal yoga and then canceling out all of its benefits by eating a ton of ice cream.
How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I have to agree with Una that a writer’s voice is what makes one person’s work different from others in its genre. So then the question becomes what makes my voice unique? I think the answer is simply that it originates from some essential part of who I am. Yesterday, in the middle of a lunge, my prenatal yoga teacher looked at me, laughed, and asked what on earth I was thinking about. “You’re always making the funniest expressions!” she said, adding, “I’m all, ‘what conversation is she having in that head of hers?’” Since she was crediting me with having a witty inner dialogue, I was too embarrassed to tell her that I was thinking about the mac and cheese I was going have for lunch. But the truth is that I do have an active inner life; I try to observe the world around me with sensitivity and allow myself to respond to it. I think my writer’s voice, along with my odd facial expressions, comes from this place, which is by its very nature unique to me.
Why do I write what I do?
It’s where I belong! I was trying to be a professional writer for at least ten years before I was able to earn any recognition or money doing it. I wrote poetry in college and was rejected from the MFA programs to which I applied. I wrote short stories for adults a little later, but couldn’t seem to get them published anywhere. (Admittedly, this was a short-lived phase.) I wrote screenplays for a couple of years and that didn’t lead anywhere, though it taught me a great deal about structure and story. I wrote a novel for adults and couldn’t sell it. Then my lovely agent introduced me to YA and everything fell into place. I love YA. I love middle grade, too. I’m not going to limit myself and say these are the only genres in which I will write, but right now writing for kids and young adults feels right to me.
How does my writing process work?
Here’s how it usually goes. At the beginning, there’s a lot of resistance, even though I know I want to do it. It’s kind of like taking that first swim of the summer. I know the water’s going to be cold, and it’s temping to just stay on my towel and lie in the sun all day (or putter around on the internet), but I have to gather my courage and jump in if I want to ride the waves. Once I’m “in”, I start with an outline. It’s usually about 6-8 pages. Here’s where I try to locate the story - the main conflict, the secondary conflict, and the character arcs. Then I move that outline to a color-coded sticky note collage. Here’s where get loose, adding poems, song lyrics, memories, and free associations, allowing myself to veer off course and deviate from the structure. Then, (hopefully) armed with insights and creative nuggets, I revisit the outline. After that I start a first a draft, often with the phrase “as fast as you can, as bad as it has to be,” on repeat in my mind. I meet with Kayla and Vanessa, my writing group, once a week, turning in chapters as I go. Once I have that first draft, I write a second one, and then maybe a third. Then I write an email to my agent exclaiming that I have my first draft. Usually my (very smart) agent has (very smart) notes. And once I’ve taken those notes into consideration, the manuscript goes to my editor and a whole other wonderful process begins. But that’s a different blog post!
What is your writing process?
April 15, 2014
A Perfunctory Guide to Writers Looking for Publishers
I’m asked at least once a week how to get published. Once upon a time, this was a very straightforward answer:
1. Write a novel.
2. Write a query letter.
3. Send the query letter to agents or to editors.
4. Rinse and repeat until said agents and editors ask to see the rest.
5. Rinse and…
April 12, 2014
Can we all please take a moment to admire the beauty of this...
Can we all please take a moment to admire the beauty of this cover of The Ring and the Crown by Melissa De La Cruz?
March 8, 2014
March 7, 2014
Another favorite indie bookstore...
Skylight Books in L.A. When I first moved to Los Angeles and knew very few people, I knew I could spend hours here and feel at home. 
And there’s a tree in the middle of the store!
March 6, 2014
February 3, 2014
I read Nantucket Blue last night and loved it! Thanks so much! I think I needed a fun, well-written beach read during all this cold!
I’m so glad! Thank you so much for telling me!
