WFMAD Day 25 – and a child goes to school

On September 7, 1992, this child went to first grade.

That is the OfficeMouse.

I bring this up because today is her first day of school again, this time as an eighth grade science teacher. Congratulations Ms. Anderson!!!

The day she started school in 1992 is the day I mark as my first day of being a "real" writer. I had been a freelance journalist for a while and had been playing around with the notion of trying to write books for kids.

After I put OfficeMouse on the bus that day, I went up to my little writing nook and wrote myself a long journal entry. In it, I gave myself the goal of being published in five years.

It took me four years.

Looking back, I should have given myself ten years. That is a much more realistic time line.

Ready…

Today’s advice: "Most of us spend half our time wishing for things we could have if we didn’t spend half our time wishing." Alexander Woollcott

Set…

Today’s prompt: Write down where you want your writing life to be in 2010, in 2014, and in 2026.

Be specific and bold. What kinds of books do you want to write? When will you have them ready to submit?

Don’t worry about the things you can’t control, like editors or publishing houses or marketing plans.

You have total control over the quality of your work and the amount of time and energy you put into it. Write yourself a road map from now to 2026 defining how and what you’re going to write.

Scribble…Scribble….Scribble!

Finding order in chaos

Spent all day yesterday sorting through receipts. Things are fairly under control. Now I have to total things up and prepare the package to send to my accountant.

This is something that few of us think about when we dream of becoming a writer. If the stars do line up and you are making a living from your books, you need to transform yourself into equal parts creative person and businessperson. I’m self-employed, just like many hairdressers, carpenters, graphic artists, and musicians. It’s not a bad thing, not at all. I like being in charge of myself. I get to boss me all over the place some days.

I do wish that I could boss these receipts into marching into the proper piles on their own.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic My desk, looking MUCH better than yesterday.

There are bunch of new things happening here in the Forest. I’ll be blogging about them tomorrow, I promise.

Meanwhile, check out this article about getting adults to read YA literature.

You can also read a fun interview with me done for the teens of Palatine, IL.

One Month and Counting!!!!!!! (and more W&PQ)

Let the countdown begin!

WINTERGIRLS goes on sale one month from today!!! In a month, I’ll be on my way to the airport to catch a flight out to California for the beginning of the book tour.

The spring will be almost as much of a travel blur as last fall was.

Laurie’s Totally Excellent Spring & Summer Roadtrips:
1. Book Tour
2. Visit to Lima, Peru
3. Los Angeles Times Book Festival
4. College graduation of Daughter #3 (YAY!!! ::throws confetti and dances::)
5. International Reading Association conference
6. American Library Association conference

The good news is that I won’t be on the road for such long stretches this time. Being able to come home to my husband keeps me sane, even if it’s only for a couple of days.

Oh, and I’m going to New York City in a few days for some interviews and meetings. I have no clue what to wear. I always feel like a hick when I go to the Big Apple. Probably because I am a hick. Hicks are the new geeks, don’t you know.

My wardrobe issues would all be solved if the rest of the world would join me in my version of sartorial splendor: flannel shirt and jeans, pony tail and sunscreen. What more does a girl need?

I can’t believe there is only a month left until the book is out! My stomach is jumpy and nervous and excited and freaking out just a bit.

Gah. That last sentence didn’t make much sense, did it?

You wrote: what’s it like when on tour, for your writing? Do you have much time/energy left for writing, do you make yourself work on a particular project, or is it only if a deadline’s edging close for a contracted project that you would write while on tour? (It sounds like you need to get this one done before the tour – which suggests you don’t have much time for writing at all – is that frustrating or are you kept too busy to notice that much?)

I do not know what book tours are like for other authors, so my answer only pertains to me.

I ADORE going on book tour. It’s fun and rewarding. I also really, really appreciate the fact that my publisher is willing to spend money putting me on the road, and that booksellers are willing to go to all the trouble and preparations required to set up my visits to their stores and the schools they work with. Because I value what these folks are doing for me so highly, my time and energy while on tour is fully at their disposal.

What does this mean? It means there are days when I have to wake up at 3:30 am, catch a flight to the next city, spend all day signing books and visiting schools and stores, grab veggie wraps from Subway for lunch and dinner, do an evening library presentation and fall into another hotel bed at about 10 pm. Even a relaxed day will start at 9 am and not stop until 9 or 10pm.

But like I said: I love this!! It is energizing to meet readers and I am always honored when people take the time to come out to a bookstore to see me.

The down side? Well, I get sick of the veggie wraps. I rarely have enough time to exercise. And it is very challenging to squeeze in writing time. I try. Usually I can steal half an hour or so while waiting for a plane. And flying time is a wonderful place to jot down ideas, or let my mind drift to new projects. The publicists try to schedule in the occasional day that has some down time – that’s always nice – so there are a few extra hours on days like that for the writing. However it’s impossible to get consistent blocks of time from day to day.

But I must admit, it’s a pretty sweet problem to have, so I’m not whining. I am incredibly fortunate and blessed to have the chance to go on book tour.

Scribblescribblescribble…

W & P Q #7, with swimmers and the smell of chlorine

Madwoman in the Forest, Sports edition…..

Spent Saturday at the Section III Boys’ Swimming Championship down in Syracuse, because Number One Son qualified in two events. Actually, BH spent all day at the pool. I spent most of the day in the car in the parking lot, working on my laptop. BH would text me as one of Son’s events came up, and I’d shut down the computer and go in to watch and cheer him on. Combining parenting with writing isn’t always pretty, but it can be done.

He took 4th in the section in the 100 breaststroke and tied for 6th in the 200 IM. The breaststroke time was a personal best and a State-qualifier, so even though the kids up here have MidWinter Break this week, he’s got to get up and go to swim practice.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic Here he is in full Mohawk-splendor cheering on a teammate who is swimming the 500 free. (He shaved the Mohawk off for finals, BTW. Kind of bummed me out.) (Photo: The Post Standard)

Running update: I had a small medical procedure done on my leg last week, but will soon be lacing up and hitting the road again.

Onto the questions!

You wrote: Do you ever get major panic attacks about whether the story you are writing is good enough? How do you deal with the uncertainty?

I freak out about my writing ALL THE TIME. As in, every day. Sometimes many times a day. I am a neurotic, self-doubting, insecure bowl of Author-Jello. The only way I know to deal with uncertainty is to keep plowing ahead. Also, never let yourself throw your manuscript into a blazing fire. Very bad.

You wrote: Any advice for a youngish writer who has a burning desire, passion, need to write…. and yet is completely at a loss for plot? I don’t even know if I want it to be fantasy or more realistic… I just have this ache to write something that I would want to read. I am also compelled to write a positive female role model for young girls (like Melinda) for girls — I’m a high school English teacher, and while I love the escapism of some of the popular fantasy books out there, I worry about the message they send to our young girls (i.e. that you have to change who you are – literally – to be with the man you love…)

But beyond that, I have no real plot ideas. Do your story lines come first? Or can you start writing and have the plot … sort of … come to you, like mana from heaven? Suggestions on how I can rustle up one of those dang plots? 😀

Sounds to me like you should give yourself permission not to worry about plot for a while. Just do character sketches. Sit down for fifteen minutes and freewrite about one of those girls you mentioned. Not a real person, make her up. Start with a small, specific detail, like a description of her fingernails or the smell inside her backpack, and run from there.

My YA novels usually begin in my frustration with a situation that many teens find themselves in, something that makes me upset. (WINTERGIRLS = Eating Disorders, f.ex.) But I think that if I focused on plot first, the stories would never go beyond “problem novel” fare. To me, the most interesting element is character. So I ponder a situation, do a lot of character freewriting, and wait for a new voice to pop into my head and start whispering. I do not worry about straightening out the plot bones until after I have written a mess of a first draft.

This might not work for you – all process is personal. But I do think you might enjoy just writing for a while, without overthinking plot needs.

NOTE: Last week I got an email from a student who had what she thought was a great core set of plot points for her novel. She wrote to me (very politely, yay!) and asked if I would please supply her with a few rising action and falling action sequences.

I declined (also politely). Sometimes, all the advice in the world doesn’t matter. You just need what Jane Yolen calls “BIC,” Butt-In-Chair time.

W & P Q #5 & vacation ideas & literary tattoos

Looking for a place for a vacation combined with books? You can stay at Nora Robert’s B&B or follow the Bookstore Tourism blog and plan your trip accordingly. Then there’s always the Library Hotel.

Do you have any other book/author-friendly vacation spots?

Unrelated, but fascinating, to me anyhow. Do you remember, in TWISTED, the English teacher told the main character, Tyler, about a friend of his in grad school who had Homo, fuge written on his arm, in Latin? (A wonderful librarian quotes the entire passage on her blog entry about TWISTED, if you don’t remember.)

Well, there is evidence of a real-world person getting this tattoo, though he went for the English translation, not the Latin. I am quite sure this tat had nothing to do with my book and everything to do with the original Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. It’s just cool when the real world and the world in my head intersect. (thanks to Susanna William via Fuse #8 for the linkitude.)

You wrote: This is probably one of those “whatever works for you” kinds of questions, but I’d like your perspective. Since, as you mention, most writers must maintain full-time jobs to live on while writing, how does one balance writing with the other demands of life? This includes not only the full-time day job but also raising children and family demands. I’m sure that your juggling of book tours and fan mail and running and family alongside your writing time must provide some wisdom…please share!

No wisdom, just sympathy. Every writer I know faces these struggles. And they don’t seem to get easier, they simply morph into something new. Most of our kids are grown, but now taking care of our elderly parents takes up a lot of time. Chances are that when our parents have all passed away, grandchildren will appear on scene. “And so it goes…,” to quote a famous man.

I’ve always set well-defined and somewhat attainable goals for myself, both in my writing and my real-world life. Having goals helps me keep the right compass heading when life gets overwhelming. I’ve also gotten better at turning away from the kinds of activities that do not support the priorities in my family life and my work. This means watching little television and going to few movies. I’m not much of a volunteer anymore. I kind of feel bad about that, but to my dismay, there are still only 24 hours in a day.

Here’s something that might help. Indentify the core values in your life (family, marriage, creative work, financial stability, for example). Try to keep it at 5 or fewer.

Write the values down and then list the tasks that you do everyday that connect to and strengthen those values.

Here’s the tricky part. For one week, monitor how you are spending your time. (Maybe you could do this at the top of every hour, or before you go to bed each night.) List which activities support your core values and which had nothing to do with them. Then figure out how you can detach yourself from the things that are not within your core value system. This will free up time for the things you care about the most.

Any thoughts on this?

Back to work. Scribblescribblescribble…