Stephanie Faris's Blog, page 64
June 9, 2014
Get to Know Maddie Evans
Today we're doing a little something different. We're getting to know this girl...
...a little better. I recently sat down with Maddie Evans, star of 30 Days of No Gossip, to ask her a little more about her bad gossiping habit. Check it out on Sher A Hart's blog, Written Art.
...a little better. I recently sat down with Maddie Evans, star of 30 Days of No Gossip, to ask her a little more about her bad gossiping habit. Check it out on Sher A Hart's blog, Written Art.
June 6, 2014
Fight Songs for Writers
Football teams have fight songs.
Runners have their battle playlists.
Even Snow White's seven dwarfs had a song to inspire them.
Nobody needs a fight song more than a writer.
When I started, my fight songs were on a CD.
Then came mp3 players. We can now create entire playlists to help us throughout the day. The question then becomes...which songs do we add?
Of course, you'll likely want your own, but I have a few. This one reminds you to keep going in the face of rejection.
So does this one.
And this one reminds you to never give up on your dreams. The hopes we had were much too high, way out of reach but we have to try...
What songs are on your Fight Song playlist?
Want some bookmarks for your classroom or library? Email me with your address and I'll send some right away.
Runners have their battle playlists.
Even Snow White's seven dwarfs had a song to inspire them.
Nobody needs a fight song more than a writer.
When I started, my fight songs were on a CD.
Then came mp3 players. We can now create entire playlists to help us throughout the day. The question then becomes...which songs do we add?
Of course, you'll likely want your own, but I have a few. This one reminds you to keep going in the face of rejection.
So does this one.
And this one reminds you to never give up on your dreams. The hopes we had were much too high, way out of reach but we have to try...
What songs are on your Fight Song playlist?
Want some bookmarks for your classroom or library? Email me with your address and I'll send some right away.
June 5, 2014
Dear Teen Me and a Book Sale
Today I'm excited to be featured on Dear Teen Me. Click on the bad 80s picture of me to proceed.
I'm also helping T.B. Markinson promote the sale of her book, A Woman Lost. This week it's on sale on Amazon for $0.99.
Here's a little bit of information about the book:
The synopsis:Elizabeth “Lizzie” Petrie has it all. She’s rich, beautiful, intelligent, and successful. None of this matters to her mom. Les-Bi-An. That’s all her mom sees.Even though Lizzie insists her mom’s antagonism does not bother her, Lizzie distances herself from her entire family. When her brother, Peter, calls her out of the blue to announce he’s getting married, Lizzie’s entire life changes drastically. Peter’s fiancée wants to bring the lesbian outcast back into the family. Will this desire cause Lizzie to lose everything dear to her?Sarah, Lizzie’s girlfriend, is ecstatic about this change in Lizzie’s personal life. Sarah, the hopeless romantic, wants it all, including settling down with the fiercely independent Lizzie.Can Lizzie be tamed? And can she survive her family and all of their secrets?
I'm also helping T.B. Markinson promote the sale of her book, A Woman Lost. This week it's on sale on Amazon for $0.99.
Here's a little bit of information about the book:
The synopsis:Elizabeth “Lizzie” Petrie has it all. She’s rich, beautiful, intelligent, and successful. None of this matters to her mom. Les-Bi-An. That’s all her mom sees.Even though Lizzie insists her mom’s antagonism does not bother her, Lizzie distances herself from her entire family. When her brother, Peter, calls her out of the blue to announce he’s getting married, Lizzie’s entire life changes drastically. Peter’s fiancée wants to bring the lesbian outcast back into the family. Will this desire cause Lizzie to lose everything dear to her?Sarah, Lizzie’s girlfriend, is ecstatic about this change in Lizzie’s personal life. Sarah, the hopeless romantic, wants it all, including settling down with the fiercely independent Lizzie.Can Lizzie be tamed? And can she survive her family and all of their secrets?
June 4, 2014
Not Really The Cat in the Hat
Today, I'm participating in the Kid Lit Blog Hop. Check out some of the other hoppers by clicking on the button.
Recently I was invited to read as part of the Indies First Storytime Event. Because things have been so hectic lately, I didn't realize until the last minute I was supposed to read from my favorite picture book.
I didn't have one on hand, so they provided a selection. From the stack, I chose this one:
While I loved the story when I was a kid, I can't say it was my favorite. I can't even remember a favorite picture book. I was a kid! However, while reading to my niece and nephew, I came up with a new favorite:
If I ever am tasked with reading to kids publicly again, that's the one I'll pick. It's SO clever! The girly side in me likes this series, too, though:
What's your favorite children's picture book? Why?
If you have an e-book copy of 30 Days of No Gossip, I can now autograph it. Request it using the cute little widget below.
Recently I was invited to read as part of the Indies First Storytime Event. Because things have been so hectic lately, I didn't realize until the last minute I was supposed to read from my favorite picture book.
I didn't have one on hand, so they provided a selection. From the stack, I chose this one:
While I loved the story when I was a kid, I can't say it was my favorite. I can't even remember a favorite picture book. I was a kid! However, while reading to my niece and nephew, I came up with a new favorite:
If I ever am tasked with reading to kids publicly again, that's the one I'll pick. It's SO clever! The girly side in me likes this series, too, though:
What's your favorite children's picture book? Why?
If you have an e-book copy of 30 Days of No Gossip, I can now autograph it. Request it using the cute little widget below.
June 2, 2014
Comparing Yourself to Other Writers
My wonderful agent, Natalie Lakosil, recently posted a blog that touched on something that has been bugging me lately. She called it "peer pressure," which was the perfect description of it.
She was referring to the pressure we feel from other writers. The, "everyone else is doing it" mentality we never quite escape, even after adolescence. It's human nature, after all, to measure ourselves by others.
No matter where you are in your career, someone else will always be ahead of you. Winning contests, getting published, hitting the bestseller list...
Comparisons destroy friendships. They inhibit your ability to truly be happy for your fellow chapter member or critique group partner. They may even drive down your confidence, which will cause the worst thing of all to happen...
You'll stop writing.
The interesting thing about social media is that we have the power to let people believe anything we want. That successful writer who posts every five seconds about her new WIP, booksigning, or multi-million-dollar book contract? Her situation is likely completely different from yours. Or she's just really insecure and likes to brag.
It's important to focus on what you're doing and not worry so much about others. This quote says it best, I think:
Have you ever struggled with comparing yourself to others?
She was referring to the pressure we feel from other writers. The, "everyone else is doing it" mentality we never quite escape, even after adolescence. It's human nature, after all, to measure ourselves by others.
No matter where you are in your career, someone else will always be ahead of you. Winning contests, getting published, hitting the bestseller list...
Comparisons destroy friendships. They inhibit your ability to truly be happy for your fellow chapter member or critique group partner. They may even drive down your confidence, which will cause the worst thing of all to happen...
You'll stop writing.
The interesting thing about social media is that we have the power to let people believe anything we want. That successful writer who posts every five seconds about her new WIP, booksigning, or multi-million-dollar book contract? Her situation is likely completely different from yours. Or she's just really insecure and likes to brag.
It's important to focus on what you're doing and not worry so much about others. This quote says it best, I think:
Have you ever struggled with comparing yourself to others?
May 30, 2014
Best Books of May
Today I'm participating in a group blog challenge hosted by The Armchair Squid.
We're supposed to tell everyone about the best book we've read during the month of May. This month, I'm applauding a book that was written by fellow Nashvillian Courtney C. Stevens.
I only met her briefly, at her book launch party. There were about a billion people there. It looked like this.
I bought her book at the event, but after about 45 minutes in line to have it signed, I had to go. I couldn't wait to read it, but I had so many other books in my TBR pile, it took me a couple of months. Finally, this month, I read it, and I have to say, this book...
...is pure awesomeness. It ranks right up there with two other YA books I've read in the past year...
...and...
...as my favorite YA books of ALL TIME. Seriously. If you haven't read Faking Normal, Thirteen Reasons Why, or Canary, click on the book covers above and order them now!
Join in on the fun. Add your name below and a link to your blog to participate.
We're supposed to tell everyone about the best book we've read during the month of May. This month, I'm applauding a book that was written by fellow Nashvillian Courtney C. Stevens.
I only met her briefly, at her book launch party. There were about a billion people there. It looked like this.
I bought her book at the event, but after about 45 minutes in line to have it signed, I had to go. I couldn't wait to read it, but I had so many other books in my TBR pile, it took me a couple of months. Finally, this month, I read it, and I have to say, this book...
...is pure awesomeness. It ranks right up there with two other YA books I've read in the past year...
...and...
...as my favorite YA books of ALL TIME. Seriously. If you haven't read Faking Normal, Thirteen Reasons Why, or Canary, click on the book covers above and order them now!
Join in on the fun. Add your name below and a link to your blog to participate.
May 28, 2014
Guest Interview: Unicorn Bell
Kristin Smith interviewed me for her post on Unicorn Bell. Click on the pretty banner below to check it out.
May 27, 2014
Here's My Money. Be Mean to Me.
A battle broke out on a community Facebook page recently when a woman reported she took her two teen daughters here:
The waiter, she said, called one daughter ugly and the other daughter a brat. The general consensus was that the mom was reckless for taking her children to a place not designed for children.
You see, there's a sign clearly posted at the entrance that warns anyone who enters of the dangers. Those arguing with the mom said she couldn't have missed the sign. Here's one I found online:
The mom said she was distracted by a doorman who was giving her a salespitch to bring her in. He didn't warn her daughters that Dick's Last Resort is a place where kids are forced to wear inappropriate hats.
(That was the cleanest one I could find.)
My point, which I argued to the end, was that even if they criticize parents, calling a teen girl ugly is crossing the line. Teen girls are impressionable, and such a thing can do lifelong damage. Plus, if she's clearly upset by it, shouldn't the waiter stop?
What do you think? Was the waiter wrong? Or should the girl just have gone along with it?
The waiter, she said, called one daughter ugly and the other daughter a brat. The general consensus was that the mom was reckless for taking her children to a place not designed for children.
You see, there's a sign clearly posted at the entrance that warns anyone who enters of the dangers. Those arguing with the mom said she couldn't have missed the sign. Here's one I found online:
The mom said she was distracted by a doorman who was giving her a salespitch to bring her in. He didn't warn her daughters that Dick's Last Resort is a place where kids are forced to wear inappropriate hats.
(That was the cleanest one I could find.)
My point, which I argued to the end, was that even if they criticize parents, calling a teen girl ugly is crossing the line. Teen girls are impressionable, and such a thing can do lifelong damage. Plus, if she's clearly upset by it, shouldn't the waiter stop?
What do you think? Was the waiter wrong? Or should the girl just have gone along with it?
May 23, 2014
No Street Clothes
I have a treadmill in my home that I use every day. Whenever I have a few extra minutes between writing assignments, I hop on and take a walk.
I never stop to think if what I'm wearing is treadmill appropriate. I've worn PJs, yoga pants, capris, jeans... It's all good.
So last year while staying at a hotel, my stepdaughter had to remind me to change clothes before we headed to the gym to walk on the treadmill. You see, in gyms, there are rules about the clothes you can wear.
What, I always wonder, are street clothes? Do they think people are going to show up looking like this?
How do my jeans and tennis shoes hurt the treadmill more than yoga pants and tennis shoes, I wonder?
Mostly, when walking on public treadmills, you just have to look the part. Otherwise, people will think you're weird. Unlike the many, many times people wear workout clothes to do just about everything else in life.
Do you have a special wardrobe for the gym?
I never stop to think if what I'm wearing is treadmill appropriate. I've worn PJs, yoga pants, capris, jeans... It's all good.
So last year while staying at a hotel, my stepdaughter had to remind me to change clothes before we headed to the gym to walk on the treadmill. You see, in gyms, there are rules about the clothes you can wear.
What, I always wonder, are street clothes? Do they think people are going to show up looking like this?
How do my jeans and tennis shoes hurt the treadmill more than yoga pants and tennis shoes, I wonder?
Mostly, when walking on public treadmills, you just have to look the part. Otherwise, people will think you're weird. Unlike the many, many times people wear workout clothes to do just about everything else in life.
Do you have a special wardrobe for the gym?
May 21, 2014
Ignorance is Bliss (Or How I Found the Write Path)
Today I'm excited to be helping out with an exciting project. Carrie Butler, a great writer I only met through this challenge, is looking for compilations for an e-book. The book, which will be free, is set to inspire new writers on their road to publication. The assignment is to write a letter to the younger versions of ourselves when we first started trying to get published. So here's my entry!
Dear Know-It-All:
Stop. Don't send that manuscript. I know you're all proud of yourself because you wrote three books in a couple of months, but you'll soon learn about a thing called revising. You need to read over that manuscript and make sure it's perfect before you send it to an acquiring editor.
Of course, you won't listen. You're so enthusiastic and excited, you're sure an editor will take one look and sign you immediately. Never mind that you don't even know what happens when an editor signs you. You figure you'll learn those things as you go.
You have a long way to go, but perhaps it's best you don't know that. Soon you'll not only join a writer's group, you'll be instrumental in creating it--the first-ever Nashville chapter of Romance Writers of America. You'll meet some incredible people, including some famous novelists. They'll teach you how to handle booksignings and speaking engagements and survive rejection after rejection after rejection.
Interestingly, though, your career will come full-circle before you publish. It's 1995 and there's no market at all for young adult fiction. Middle grade is practically non-existent. You'll have to wait for someone named J.K. Rowling to come along and change everything. Don't bother saving those two young adult manuscripts you wrote last month, though. They're each about as good as any book would be that was created in only a couple of weeks.
The best advice you'll ever hear is that you should always have more than one iron in the fire while querying publishers and agents. That advice will help you through many rejections.
Meanwhile, enjoy the journey. You'll look back on every step of it someday with great fondness. To paraphrase a future crazy teen pop star: It doesn't matter how fast you get there--it's all about the climb.
Name: Stephanie Faris
Title: Ignorance is Bliss
Link: http://www.stephaniefaris.com
I give permission to use this entry in the e-book compilation.
Dear Know-It-All:
Stop. Don't send that manuscript. I know you're all proud of yourself because you wrote three books in a couple of months, but you'll soon learn about a thing called revising. You need to read over that manuscript and make sure it's perfect before you send it to an acquiring editor.
Of course, you won't listen. You're so enthusiastic and excited, you're sure an editor will take one look and sign you immediately. Never mind that you don't even know what happens when an editor signs you. You figure you'll learn those things as you go.
You have a long way to go, but perhaps it's best you don't know that. Soon you'll not only join a writer's group, you'll be instrumental in creating it--the first-ever Nashville chapter of Romance Writers of America. You'll meet some incredible people, including some famous novelists. They'll teach you how to handle booksignings and speaking engagements and survive rejection after rejection after rejection.
Interestingly, though, your career will come full-circle before you publish. It's 1995 and there's no market at all for young adult fiction. Middle grade is practically non-existent. You'll have to wait for someone named J.K. Rowling to come along and change everything. Don't bother saving those two young adult manuscripts you wrote last month, though. They're each about as good as any book would be that was created in only a couple of weeks.
The best advice you'll ever hear is that you should always have more than one iron in the fire while querying publishers and agents. That advice will help you through many rejections.
Meanwhile, enjoy the journey. You'll look back on every step of it someday with great fondness. To paraphrase a future crazy teen pop star: It doesn't matter how fast you get there--it's all about the climb.
Name: Stephanie Faris
Title: Ignorance is Bliss
Link: http://www.stephaniefaris.com
I give permission to use this entry in the e-book compilation.
