writing process – Page 17 – Laurie Halse Anderson

February 7, 2009

25 random… one day late

Yes, it’s a Facebook meme, but I feed my LJ to my Facebook, so this is called efficient blogging.

1. I am too busy for this meme.
2. – 25. See above.

Honest – I’ll try it again in the summer. Everything that came to mind to write in the meme had to do with feeling overwhelmed or not having enough time or some other whiney crap that nobody wants to read.

For me this is the best of times, mostly, and a little of the worst of times. Obviously, I’m enjoying (well, basking in) all the wonderful attention that my work has recently received.

Interjected note for those of you seeking to break into writing: I started writing for kids on September 7, 1992. First picture book was published in 1996. First novel SPEAK, published 1999. So it’s taken me 17 years to get here. Be patient and keep working!

People have been very kind about my books, I have the chance to do work I care about, my family is healthy, my bills are paid. So I have no serious worries. The only small cloud on my horizon is learning how to better balance the time demands. I leave in about six weeks on the next book tour and have a bunch of other speaking trips after that. Once we get past ALA, I’ll have plenty of writing time, but the book I’m working on is due before that.

I’ve thought about taking a 6 month hiatus from blogging, but I’ve decided not to. The blogosphere is my water cooler, where I get to hang out with friends while I pour a cup of coffee. It is also part of the Author side of my job. If you are making your living writing books, you have two jobs: Writer = writing books. Author = everything related to publicity and contact with readers.

Despite the very cranky note on my website discouraging readers from contacting me with homework questions, I received a flood of them this week. Most of them wanted me to explain various aspects of my books for an essay or a report. These were usually accompanied by demands that I answer by midnight, because the paper was due the next day.

For the record: I don’t do homework. And I was such a bad student of English, that if I did give answers, they would probably be wrong.

A couple of the emails asked good questions about being a writer. I thought they might be of interest to you, too, so I’m going to answer them on this blog next week. If you have “What’s It Like To Be A Writer?” questions, leave them in the comments section, and I’ll answer those, too.

What’s it like to be a writer for me today? I am going to try to write 10 pages, and empty my email box and get started on the fan mail that came in this week. And I really need to go for a run.

Scribblescribblescribble…..

February 2, 2009

Kindling with the Muse

So, if my beloved Eagles can’t win, I throw my support down the PA Turnpike to the Steelers. Which means I sort of get to say “We won!” Awesome game, great-half-time (tho’ it sure looked to me like Bruce is going to be a little sore today, what with flinging himself into the stage and crashing into the camera. When he popped down on his knees in the first song, I though for sure he tore an ACL. Maybe he does yoga. Or maybe he’s in traction right now.)

We enjoyed the game in our basement, which BH has been renovating for the past year. It is becoming affectionately known as the “Man Cave”. I have lifetime privileges.

And, for the record, I did not break my thumb. More on that later.

But before we get to that, let’s back up to the Kindling Words Retreat this weekend. For those of you dropping into the Forest today for the first time (this blog is an LJ Spotlight this week – welcome, everyone!) Kindling Words is a writer’s retreat. It’s a bit different than most writer’s conferences in that the emphasis is on craft and inspiration, instead of getting published.

One of the nice things was that I did not have to give any presentations this year, so I was able to focus on my own writing and listening to the wisdom of others. The retreat started out with an evening of being creative outside the box, with the opportunity to create group poetry, group painting, and to sit in on a drumming circle and be taught by a gentleman from South Africa.

I forgot to write his name down, but he was AMAZING. That’s him with my friend Marnie Brooks, who is one of the organizers of the retreat. I was completely ready to run away and hide because the thought of having to play a drum in front of other people, was very scary. But everyone else walked in, so I screwed my courage to the sticking point, went in and picked up a djemba.

To say that I forgot my shyness and played with enthusiasm is to put it mildly. I didn’t know that I loved playing the drums because I had never played the drums before! (How many other fun things have I not yet tried that could be a blast?) Our teacher was extremely good and he led us (30 of us) in a drumming circle for about 20 minutes, then we had another brief session that night. I got in that place that I sometimes get to when I’m writing or running, when I am so deep in the experience that I lose sense of who and where I am. I am sure this looked scary to the people sitting next to me. I. Was. Gone. More on the consequences of that later.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were filled with presentations by author Nancy Werlin, artist Mary Jane Begin, and a keynote by Mr. Ashley Bryan, who is one of those people who carry themselves with such dignity, but at the same time exude such warmth, that I could not bring myself to call him Ashley all weekend. He is Mr. Bryan.

I attended a few of the presentations, but played hooky from a few more so I could concentrate on a plot knot and some extremely wrong character motivations in the book I’m working on right now. Despite the fact that my hands were sore from the drumming, I spent most of Friday and Saturday morning typing like a mad woman. More on the consequences of that later.

But there was plenty of time for catching up with folks at meals. Where else can you breakfast with Mr. Ashley Bryan and Jane Yolen, and see over their shoulders, Gregory Maguire, and the brand-new Coretta Scott King honor book author, Hope Anita Smith?

Or lounge on a couch by the fire with Ellen Wittlinger and Sibby Falk? The number of authors there whose work I admire was staggering. You can see more pictures on Kate Messner’s LJ.

There was an additional drumming circle, but I could not participate. In fact, by lunchtime on Saturday, I couldn’t move my thumb. (Notice swelling and bruising.) I was pretty sure that I had fractured (in a small way) a bone at the base of the thumb and had aggravated it wicked by all the frenzied typing. It didn’t seem to make much sense to go for x-rays until I was home, so I iced, iced, iced it, and put arnica on it, courtesy of Anne Sibley O’Brien.

By Sunday, the swelling started to go down and I could move it again. Crisis over. Many pages accomplished. My only regret was that the weekend had to end. Note to self: participate in drumming circles only when not on deadline!

At the traditional bonfire on Saturday night, I threw in my wishes for the next year. (It certainly worked for me in 2008!) The retreat is held in Vermont, so yes, the bonfire is built in the snow.

A bonfire in the snow is the perfect metaphor for our creative journeys; improbable, unexpected, delighful, circled by friends, kindled by the Muse.

January 31, 2009

Shhhhhh…. want an ARC?

I feel like a literary pusher whispering to passers-by on a street corner when I say this but, ::whispers:: want an ARC of Wintergirls?

There are limited quantities available from my most adored Uncle Penguin. How do you try to score a copy? Head over to the Wintergirls MySpace page. Details are in the blog entry there called “Advance readers copies available.” (And yes, I saw the typo there. No, I am not responsible for it.)

Penmage wrote in to let all of us in the Forest know of her review of WINTERGIRLS. Thank you!

I’ve skipped some of the events here at Kindling Words and did NOT go snowshoeing (though it was tempting) so I could work on my book. This is the part of the writing process that is extremely dull to anyone who is not currently inside my head. I am trying to sort through all of the tangled plot threads and make sure that a) they make sense, logically, b) they are properly motivated by the main character’s emotional state and outside events, and c) they make sense. I feel like I am making progress which is good, but I’m not exactly impressing people with my wit here at the retreat because my eyes keep glazing over as I fade out of conversation and back to that tricky turn of the story in Chapter 6.

A lot of people have written in to ask when the sequel to CHAINS will be released. That’s the book I’m working on right now. Title? FORGE. If all goes well, it should be released in Spring 2010.

When I am done with FORGE, I’ll probably write another YA. I haven’t started hearing a new main character yet, but I suspect he or she will start bugging me later in the spring. I get butterflies in my tummy thinking about it – sort of like knowing that I’m going to go on a year-long blind date, but having no clue about the date’s identity.

I’m off to see if they’re serving breakfast yet.

September 22, 2008

running forward

Many, many thanks to everyone for the kind notes and condolences for my sister and her family. They are muddling through the best they can, and the love of others sure makes a big difference.

It was actually very nice to have work as a distraction. So I am drawing the curtain across the lingering grief, and running forward.

Well, shuffling forward.

I flew to Boston late last week to be one of the dinner speakers at the New England Children’s Bookseller Advisory Council (as part of the New England Independent Bookseller’s Association conference). I had a lot of fun giving the speech, but the best part for me was listening to my co-presenters, Jeanne Birdsall and Norton Juster. I was thrilled to meet PW ShelfTalker blogger and Wellesley Booksmith buyer Alison Morris, and reconnected with Elizabeth Bluemle of The Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelburne, VT. (Thank you for the wonderful introduction, Elizabeth!)

That is Jeanne, me with the goofy grin, and Rebecca from Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley, MA (where I’ll be speaking on November 7th). I am wearing an IndieBound shirt. You would look good in one, too.

After a busy Boston day, I flew to my adopted hometown, Philadelphia. Can I just say again for the record how much I love this city? Got off the plane, walked through the terminal, hopped a SEPTA train and was in Center City in a flash. BH drove down from the tundra and met me there.

We visited the National Constitution Center (which you must visit).

I hung out with my homeboy, George.

While BH mingled with the Signers of the Constitution, looking ponderous and grave.

Afterwards I partook of a Philly sacramental meal.

And, thus refreshed, we pushed on to the African American Museum in Philadelphia. You should REALLY see this one, too! I wasn’t allowed to take any photos, but we were fascinated by the exhibit on Alpha Kappa Alpha, and blown away by several levels of art and history about the Afro-Mexican experience.

After a good night’s sleep, we woke bright and early for the Philadelphia Distance Run, 13.1 miles (aka a half-marathon). The weather was gorgeous and everyone was friendly and enthusiastic. We ran with more than 16,000 other crazy people. Most of them were faster than us, but they were very sweet about it.

The course took us into Center City, past Independence National Hall (yes, I blew kisses and muttered the opening words of the Declaration as we passed by), then out the west side of the Schuylkill River, over a bridge, and down Kelly Drive on the east side of the river to the Art Museum. Most inspiring to me were the bands along the route, particularly those who played the Eagles’ fight song. There were plenty of water stops (plus Cytomax, which is my new favorite fluid because it did not upset my tummy) and one gel station. And port-a-potties! Yes!

As BH and I overtrained for the Lake Placid half-marathon in June, it makes perfect sense that we undertrained for this one. We were saved from humiliation by an incredibly flat and forgiving course. We made the finish line in a respectable time and, most importantly, really enjoyed the run. Our feet may have shuffled, but our spirits soared.

Here is BH and me at the end of the race with our bling (finisher’s medals) around our necks.

After a long hot shower and a nap, we hobbled to an Italian restaurant known for serving large portions.

BH consumed most of a vat of ziti.

I ordered a piece of lasagna as big as my head and almost ate the whole thing.

Now that we overtrained for one race and undertrained for another, we are looking for a third half-marathon for which our training will be just right. Can anyone recommend a race in February 2009?

I’m in Philly for a few days of research, then headed back to the north country to tuck all of this research into the proper chapters of my new book. Wish me luck in the archives!

September 12, 2008

CHAINS extras and genre-bending questions

My author copies of CHAINS arrived! Opening that box is sort of like being handed your new baby in the hospital. All you can do is gasp and coo and babble.

Of course, now I have to keep my very ill Chapter 15, she of the dripping nose and viral motivation infection, from infecting the new baby…

Theo the WebGod has been hard at work getting the website ready for the new arrival. Check out his handiwork by clicking on CHAINS. What do you think of the Teacher’s Guide and Bibliography?

A few more questions about genre-bending trickled in.

What’s your take on writers using different names for different genres?

I think it makes sense sometimes, especially if the author can develop a strong following under each name. I have a book idea that is very much removed from what I’ve done before, and there’s a chance I’d publish it under a different name, but I listen closely to what my agent and publishers had to say first.

Do you go through an agent for both publishers? The same agent? When pitching differently genred stories to an agent, will they facilitate dealing with two different publishers for one client?

I published my first seven books without an agent (including SPEAK and FEVER 1793). My agent is very happy to represent all of my work; she’s in it to help me build my career and she does a great job.

How does one decide which direction to go (especially if there are many interests)?

Write down all of your stories ideas on little slips of paper (one sentence per idea per slip of paper). Put all of the strips of paper in a bowl and mix them up. Do not look at them for a week. Then sit down with a piece of paper and pencil. As you pull out the story ideas, rate them 1 – 10 on a scale of how excited you feel when you consider the idea. Write the idea that excites you the most. And it should excite you because the writing sounds fun, not because you think it will be the next Harry Potter. You can’t control the market’s reaction, you can only control the writing.