Debra Dockter's Blog, page 4
June 22, 2015
Dear Teens, You Rock!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, and again and again and again — teens get a bad rap into today’s society. We constantly hear about spoiled, lazy, entitled teens but no one ever talks about the fact that many teens today help to economically support their families. That many teens to go school, then are expected to keep a job and then get criticized for not keeping their grades up when there’s no time to do homework between family responsibilities, classes and work, not to mention trying to fit a little bit of being social in there.
I’m tired of the negativity so starting today, I’m going to post about some amazing teens and the amazing things they do.
The first teen I’m celebrating is one we’re all familiar with: Malala Yousafzai. Yes, she’s the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize. She’s articulate, intelligent, inspiring and a hundred other amazing things, and she’s seventeen!
On Jon Stewart last week, she talked about her younger brothers and how their relationship is pretty much like any seventeen year old girl with two little brothers. She talked about taking exams for school, and she talked about speaking up when something isn’t right.
For Malala, the issue is education and making certain that every child has the opportunity to learn.
Before this, Jon Stewart was talking about the tragic murder of nine people in a church in South Carolina and about his certainty that, sadly, nothing is going to change in our nation to address the issues of race and violence. Then, he spoke with Malala, and there was hope. If a teenage girl can stand up against the Taliban and against a world of beings who believe that only the privileged deserve to learn about the wonders of the world and the universe, then what can we do — each of us. We all have a voice, and across the globe, Malala is helping inspire people to use theirs.
What will you use your voice for?
You don’t have to try to solve world problems; you just have to remember that you have a voice and that you matter.
YOU MATTER!
June 7, 2015
Losing my Book Signing Virginity ;)
His hair was white with a hint of silver. He approached slowly, having risen from his chair in the small, intimate room where we had discussed literature, shared words. Outside, the rain had stopped but the sky was still gray and large drops of water fell from the trees creating a slow, comforting rhythm.
Yes, he was older and, having taught English for thirty years, he was experienced. I’ll confess, I was nervous. My hand trembled as I grasped the pen. This was it. I was about to sign my first book. He was calm. Of course he was. It wasn’t his first time. He’d been here before, dozens of times. He probably had bookshelves lined with signed copies, but for me, he’ll always be my first.
This is how I lost my book signing virginity in Tampa, Florida at a charming bookstore, called Inkwood. I have to confess that the night before was plagued with book-signing nightmares: I forgot a pen, there were no books, and the audience was a crowded room (that part was good) of hyper and slightly deranged children (children of the corn variety!)
I’m not sure what I expected. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure anyone would show up, not with the rain, the road construction and the debut author. But some did brave the weather and the orange barrels, and we had a very rousing discussion about genetics, ethics, and of course, books.
At my second signing, the crowd (I use the word generously) was about the same, but there was a young man who stood out to me. He seemed shy, reserved, his long black hair hanging in his face, and I couldn’t help but think how he and the main character of Deadly Design, would be friends if Kyle was real. I thought to myself that this young man had a story and I wished I could sit down with him in the Starbucks and talk. While I didn’t get that chance, I’m glad Kyle went home with him, not because it means I sold a book, but because even if Kyle isn’t real and even if we didn’t get the chance to talk, he and I and Kyle will have conversations on the page and that’s what it’s all about.
At my third signing, I was met by lovers of YA and young aspiring writers, both groups asking lots of questions about the book and about the writing process. I was humbled when many already had questions prepared because they’d read the book and were curious about so many things. I signed books, stumbling over what to write because I wanted those who attended, those who had read or wanted to read my book to know how much they matter. I wanted to send home a reassuring voice, a cheerleader, to those who want to write but who struggle with the fears all writers have.
Did I sell a ton of books? No. Did I meet some people I will never forget — absolutely.
From the wonderful store owners and managers, to the graceful older men and women, to the young man with a story of his own behind his long black bangs, to the warm YA bloggers and those wanting to write. Thanks for crossing my path.
Touching people in person is a luxury writers seldom get. So here’s to touching on the page.
June 1, 2015
Deadly Design Book Trailer
With one day before the release of Deadly Design, we have a book trailer. Hope you enjoy!
May 24, 2015
Announcing the Blog Tour for Deadly Design!
Here’s the blog tour schedule. Check it out for Give Aways, Reviews, Interviews, and Guest Blogs!
Monday, May 25 – Once Upon a Twilight
Tuesday, May 26 – Fangirlish
Wednesday, May 27 – Fiktshun
Thursday, May 28 – Nick’s Book Blog
Friday, May 29 – Reading Lark
Monday, June 1 – The Compulsive Reader
Tuesday, June 2 – Mundie Moms
Wednesday, June 3 – Page Turners
Thursday, June 4 – Addicted 2 Novels
Friday, June 5 – Reading with ABC
Monday, June 8 – Winterhaven Books
Tuesday, June 9 – A Dream Within A Dream
Wednesday, June 10 – JennRenee Reads
May 19, 2015
Dear Teens, Please Survive
This past week was a frenzy of graduations — high school, college, even pre-school. During this same week, I officially withdrew my youngest daughter from public school for reasons most people who have walked the halls of middle school are familiar with.
In today’s society, the only people who ever seem to say that it’s okay to be different, are people standing in front of podiums receiving Oscars.
They’ve made it. They’re safe. They’ve not only survived being ‘different’, they’re able to lift their heads up and say, “Hey, this is why I’m here. My life is amazing because I survived being the kid who got belittle and insulted and stared at. I’m here because I’m unique. My mind doesn’t work like everyone else’s. I have an amazing imagination. I see the world for all its possibilities. I hear music in the wind and the rain. I hear characters whispering their stories to me. I care more about social injustice than I do about who will win the football game, probably because my life has been full of social injustice.”
We are a society filled with sheep. We’re told to think the same thoughts, to wear the same clothes and hair styles, to listen to the same music and believe the same beliefs. But that’s what society says and we, as individuals, are bigger than any society. We are individuals, each with unique minds, unique passions.
I was one of those kids who ate lunch alone in the auditorium. Not because I was anti-social, but because there was no clique– no table designated for dreamers.
My daughter has always been unique. She’s had characters and stories bouncing in her head since thoughts could first form there. She’s never really cared to conform but the pressure to do so has been crippling over the past year. The stares when she dyed her hair black, the boy who asked her if she was a satan worshipper because she wears My Chemical Romance T-shirts.
Graduation speeches are filled with fortune cookie advice. But here’s mine.
Survive. Don’t let society define you. Don’t be yet another sheep. There world has enough of those.
I won’t lie and say that it will be easy. The stares won’t stop. The whispering that happens both outside your head and inside won’t go away. But fight. Fight for the right to exist in a world made up of the vibrant colors of your imagination. Fight for a world with music that pounds in your chest and makes you feel something. Fight to stay different and alive so that one day you can touch the world with the magic that’s within you, because that’s why you’re different.
You have something others don’t have. I don’t know what your particular type of magic is — maybe it’s stories, maybe it’s music or photography or painting or creating new comic book heroes who fix social injustice or maybe it’s you fixing it. Whatever it is, it’s precious. It needs protecting. It needs to be safe.
So survive. Graduate not just with a diploma but with the freedom to be who you are and to leave your mark on the world. We need you so please, just survive.
May 8, 2015
Florida Book Signings
Hi Follow Book-lovers,
If you happen to be in Florida the first week of June, I’d love to see you at one of the following locations to discuss Deadly Design and sign some books.
Tuesday, June 2nd – Tampa, FL
Inkwood Books @ 7pm
216 S Armenia Ave, Tampa, FL 33609
Friday, June 5th – Ft. Myers, FL
B&N #2711 @ 12 pm
13751 Tamiami Trail, Fort Myers, FL 33912
Saturday, June 6th – Miami, FL (Coral Gables)
Books & Books @ 5 pm
265 Aragon Ave, Coral Gables, FL 33134
April 30, 2015
There’s no crying in writing!
We all have stories of people who encouraged our efforts to write and some who discouraged our efforts. My story is a combination of the two. Years ago Richard Elman came to Wichita State University and taught a course on creative writing. It was a tutorial course, one in which individuals met with him weekly during which time he would critique our work.
I gave him a short story that I was somewhat proud of. The next week I arrived at his office with my fingers crossed that he would see some talent in it — that he would say something encouraging to fan the tiny, feeble flame that was my writing ego.
I sat down across from his desk. We greeted each other in a nice cordial manner, then he threw the manuscript on the floor and said, “If this was the only copy that existed in the world of your story, and it suddenly combusted, I wouldn’t waste a drop of my spit trying to put out the flames.”
I didn’t cry, well, not until I got to my car and contemplated whether or not I would ever go back to his office. But then I asked myself why I was going in the first place. I was going to learn to be a better writer. That was the whole point and if anyone could teach me about writing, who better than a man who obviously had no regard whatsoever for my feelings.
I went back the next week and the next and the next.
Mr. Elman was, to some extent, ruthless, but he was exactly what I needed; he was a great teacher. I wish I could remember everything he taught me, but when it comes to any art, the lessons are evident in the work. They are seen on the page; they are heard in the nuisance of words.
I was sad when I learned of his death just a few years after he’d taught me so much. He taught me to be tough and to remember that the quality of writing is all that matters. There’s no crying in writing (at least not in getting critiqued)!
He also taught me to be present in the writing, in every word, and like all great teachers, I know he lives in the writing all of those he taught.
April 19, 2015
Curse the Day Job!
Okay, the fact is that most writers have day jobs, or sometimes, night jobs, or second shift jobs or maybe jobs that seem to never end, like teaching. Day jobs are great in that writing these days generally requires electricity and caffeine, both which are hard to pay for without money.
But while day jobs are a blessing, they also have their downsides. Talk to any writer and the one thing they’ll tell you they need the most is time. For many people, they work the 8 to 5, pick up the kids, fix dinner, do laundry or whatever. For the writer, the real work begins after they’ve punched out, but there’s still dinner to fix, still laundry to wash and still a big steaming pile of “whatever” to get done.
Day jobs take up time. They also keep us from getting hungry, figuratively and literally. The bills are paid, there’s food in the fridge, and there’s a danger of becoming comfortable, of forgetting the dream and the stories we want to tell.
I’m not saying we should quit our jobs. (Yes, I think all writers fantasize about getting out of bed, filling their favorite mugs with coffee and getting to work in our pajamas — in short, quitting our jobs), but you may have noticed that few homeless people today are getting published. Most of us can’t quit our jobs, at least not yet. We have to see the dream through, and to see the dream through means, at least for now, getting up to the alarm clock, getting dressed, and heading to the only 8 to 5.
My point? Do your job, but don’t forget that no matter what it says on your pay check or your name tag, you have two jobs. You’re a writer. Let the day job feed you and pay the bills, but don’t let it feed your ambition. Don’t let it feed your dreams. Don’t get comfortable being part of the status quo. Don’t let your day job turn into the thing that keeps you from fulfilling your dreams.
April 12, 2015
Two Dirty Words — “No Time”
Okay, I’m going to say it and hate me all you want, but sometimes it’s just true. Some days there is no time to write!
It’s a horrible reality, like death and taxes and waiting for replies to queries.
Writers are told that nothing is more important than the craft. Like Stephen King says, if you want to be a writer, you have to read and you have to write. In the make-believe realm of Writer’s World, there would always be magical moments when the clock stops, the children take naps, and the dryer hums quietly making sure nothing wrinkles until the spell breaks and it’s time to get back to reality. In today’s world, writers are often Cinderellas stuck mopping floors, just waiting for our godmother to send us — not to the ball- but to some quiet sanctuary where we can WRITE!
Non-writers don’t get it. They don’t understand that not writing is like not getting the drug we’re addicted to. It’s literally like all the characters in our brains start running their fingernails (and some of them have very long fingernails indeed) across some chalkboard in our brains. To put it mildly, we get a little…irritable when we don’t get to write. But it happens.
Life gets in the way. Things like the need to pay bills and eat and avoiding ending up as guests on Dr. Phil because we’ve neglected our children and spouses and we remember our characters’ birthdays but not theirs.
So what do we do?
What can we do?
First and foremost, we have to not beat ourselves up. We may create superheroes on the page, but sadly, we can’t turn ourselves into them. We can’t go without sleep or food or somehow add hours to the clock. We can however remember that tomorrow is a new day. Sure, it will come with challenges, like every day does, but it’s new. It’s fresh. It’s a blank page.
Even if you can’t get a word physically on that page because the one hour you’d carefully set aside is taken up by an emergency trip to the vet because the dog ate a roach hotel, you can still think about writing. You can turn the radio off and visit with your characters at stop signs and traffic lights. You can jot an idea down in the little notebook you carry or on a fast-food napkin. You can fan the flames of your creativity until things settle down a bit.
They’ll never settle down completely. Writer’s World doesn’t exist. But we can remember that tomorrow is a new day, and with it comes a new night and new minutes and new moments. New opportunities to push the laundry and the grading and the dishes aside, and do what keeps us sane.
Write when and what you can. Fifteen minutes at lunch is better than nothing at all. And amazingly, if we give ourselves small goals, they have a way of growing bigger. Fifteen minutes at lunch turns to thirty. Maybe we wake up thirty minutes before the alarm goes off and instead of going back to sleep, we get to work.
Stephen King is right in that to be a writer you have to read a lot and you have to write a lot. But when life becomes our own personal antagonists, we have to remember that ‘life’ is what it’s all about. Enjoy the cuddles when the kids are sick, don’t forget to listen to the birds when you take the dog for a walk. After all, if we get too out of touch with our own lives, how will we be able to write about the lives of our characters?
March 28, 2015
Waiting
I’m a terrible waiter. I try to explain, especially to my family, why for the next so many days or weeks, I might not be the most pleasant person to be around, and I know they don’t get it — they aren’t writers.
We wait for a response and that response is everything. It’s the answer to questions that burn continuously in our souls.
Am I wasting my time?
Do I have any talent?
Will I ever be able to quit my day job or at least, pay a bill just once with money I’ve made writing?
These are huge questions, and sadly, an email rejection on a query doesn’t answer any of them, and too often I’ve heard agents say that they had a great writer with a great book that they just couldn’t find a home for.
So what do we do?
Some writers drink whiskey or vodka or vermouth. Some take second jobs in order to afford their twice daily trips to Starbucks because not only do we need caffeine, we might well develop relationships with the staff at Starbucks and seeing their kind, smiling faces may be the only thing that keeps us from falling off the edge of ‘waiting’ insanity.
It would be nice if we could wait like expectant mothers. That we’d be guaranteed that by such and such a date, our manuscript will have developed a beating heart, a brain, and by such and such a date, we will be able to hold our precious creation. But no.
We can’t just gestate our characters and plots into existence. We have to work constantly to create and recreate them. Maybe our protagonist is a male one day, a female the next. Maybe she has a brain the first fourth of the book but by page eighty-seven, her brain’s been sucked out by alien insects.
We create and wait. Create and wait. And while I may not be the best person to hangout with during those periods of waiting, I know the best advice I can give myself and others to help us through the endless ticks of the clock.
Create. Start the second book in a series, even if you don’t know if the first will sell. Start a totally new project or go back to an old one. Work. Create. It won’t silence the ticking, but it will muffle it a bit, and while we wait, we become better writers because that is who we are destined to be.
