BEA Pout-a-Thon Day 2

This is fun! If you have a chance, scroll through yesterday’s comments. Be sure to chime today, telling me how you are pouting because somehow your invitation and plane tickets to BEA got lost in the mail.

We’ll have us a good old communal pout and then write another book.

Here is something to make the wretched, hungry hoards at the Javits Center envious:

Image and video hosting by TinyPic Cup of coffee in my favorite mug and homemade blueberry muffin!!!

What are you NOT eating at the Javits Center or hotel for breakfast?

To help us all improve our writing (since we’re stuck at home, we might as well use the time wisely) LJ-user mainecharacter passed along a great writing quiz.

What quiz questions about the life of a writer would you add?

This morning I shall both pout and research. This afternoon is filled with family responsibilities; good thing they are used to seeing me pout.

This weekend I am pretending to be at a Q & A panel at BEA. (Delusional? No. It’s a gift for fiction.)

Pretend you are in the audience. What questions do you want to ask? I shall answer!!

::reaches for muffin and passes basket to you::

15 Replies to “BEA Pout-a-Thon Day 2”

  1. Writing Quiz

    That was really fun. Thanks for posting it.

    The questions that interest me about writers and painters are process questions–I like to get inside of their heads. I feel like an infant creative professional, so I like to learn things like what motivates artists and what their particular habits are.

    One question that maybe you’ve answered before is: How long did it take to write Wintergirls from start to finish, and how long did it take to publish it (from the moment you picked up your pen to the day it arrived in print for sale)?

  2. The mug is simply beautiful, and looks like it fits warmly in the hand. Thank you for that lovely image.

    This is random and not part of the discussion, but I needed to take this moment to be grateful to have seen it.

  3. Oh, thank you! I read the family line and had a good laugh. I made blueberry muffins last night. I hoist my muffin and toast your coffee mug. Uh, toast?

  4. I’m having biscuits with homemade cherry-strawberry jam. They don’t have THAT at the Javits center! And coffee. And then I’m going to plant out my container gardens, but I’ll be pouting all the while.

  5. I’m not having anything so lovely as a homemade blueberry muffin, but at least I got to sleep in!

    What is your blueberry muffin recipe?

  6. My questions for the panel:

    What’s in the works now that Wintergirls is released? Does your mind need a vacation from such an emotional book or are you able to move on, easily, to another topic even if it is as sensitive a topic?

    I’m inviting everyone over to The Brown Bookshelf. I’m “moderating” a discussion on who’s who among brown kiddie lit author. Drop by the comments and tell us who’s out there we should know.

  7. Everybody at BEA will be SO jealous of me, THEY’LL start pouting. I’m off today to volunteer at son’s school as an observer for the 8th grade presentations. Okay, they want me to actually rate the kids, which I hate, but I have a feeling I’m going to see a lot of kids who picked topics they LOVED, struggled through the tasks of research, organization, and writing, and then get to SHOW us all how great they did. If that’s not inspiration for me to keep going on my first draft, I don’t know what is.

    Plus they’re feeding me! Probably won’t be any chocolate martini’s, though. Hmmm friend’s bbq tomorrow. Maybe I do need to hunt down that recipe.

  8. Screw you, BEA. Laurie Halse Anderson is hanging with us non-attendees!

    I just found your BEA pout-a-thon today, but I have been pouting for a week now.

    Here’s my question, Laurie. While reading Prom, I was so impressed with how well you captured life in Philly. I grew up there, and you brought me back so many times.

    Then, when I read Wintergirls, I couldn’t believe how accurately you described the rationale of someone struggling with an eating disorder.

    Tell me how you do this. More than any other author, you seem to completely inhabit the diverse worlds of your characters. Can you give me any advice on how the hell you do this?

    Thanks for many hours of literary enjoyment,

    Marie

  9. Thanks for hosting this pout-a-thon, Laurie! I am pouting, too, and without even a copy of the ARC of Catching Fire to console me 🙁

    One thing that I always wonder about after going to the ALAN Workshop and having the opportunity to talk to all the awesome authors is: Do you ever wish that we’d ask you about stuff BESIDES being a author? Or do you prefer to be asked only about your work?

    This last thing is totally off-topic, but I keep meaning to send you this link. Have you ever heard of Girls on the Run? http://www.girlsontherun.org/ It’s an organization that helps girls build positive self-esteem and good relationships through running. I’m not involved but we have a chapter in our community and every time I hear it mentioned, I always think that it would be right up your alley.

    Happy Friday!

  10. *lifts hand up* When did you start writing seriously? Because I wrote some stuff when I was ten, eleven, but I was thirteen when I really got into it.

    I had a boring breakfast today: bread, butter, ham. But then I had sweets and skittles in front of the school. (Started at 10, came at 9 for music, food and fun with friends.)

    I’ve never looked for quizzes about the life of a writer. I usually look for quizzes to help me with my novels. (I swear I’ll complete a third one someday… Over 30 000 words, too. Hopefully.)

    -Kayleigh, pouting for France

  11. THat was a great quizz – I got 88 (all “D” except 2,3,4 which were “C”) – I suppose I need to just get going then.

    Here’s my question – for you or the list I guess: after a 10-12 hour work day, how do you come home and get past the “world in my head” ideas and get the energy to sit and write when all your body wants to do is sit and sit?
    A) Caffeine
    B) More Caffeine
    C) Skip things like eating, feeding cats, personal hygiene and write instead
    D) Write at lunch and edit on holidays.

  12. Many people start writing because it’s cathartic. It’s therapeutic in a way. Or they feel a need to share the stories they have, or they’re inspired or. . .well, whatever it is, really. At some point, you started writing, and at another point, it became your career. And when something’s your career, there’s definitely a different perspective on it. Stress, if nothing else.

    We know about your gardening and running. Is there anything else you do to escape from your career of writing and unwind yourself until you’re Laurie again? And even if there’s not, could you comment about having this other interests and activities?

    –Brian

  13. Question.

    Laurie, I have read 4 of your books (Speak, Catalyst, Prom, and Wintergirls) and I have a question for you.

    How you do always have the ability to make your main characters go through some sort of metamorphosis? They always seem to start out one way, and end up another by the end of the book. As a writer, I would love to know how to do that. So, what kind of process does it take?

Leave a Reply to Anonymous

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.