writerjenn

I have a couple of news items, before I get to today's episode of My Life as a Writer:

First, a book giveaway: Kate Messner is giving away an ARC of Judith Mammay's KNOWING JOSEPH, the story of a boy dealing with his autistic brother. For more details, follow the link.

Second, the Shrinking Violets are celebrating National Independent Booksellers Month (although frankly, they've gone international already, by featuring a bookstore in Toronto!). Every day this month, the Violets will feature a different indie bookstore. Besides Toronto, they've already hit Santa Barbara, CA, and Durango, CO, One of this month's stores is bound to be near you! You can celebrate by stopping in at the Shrinking Violets blog, nominating your own favorite indie, or (best of all) stopping in to your local indie.

In my last post, I referred to the pieces of paper that litter my desk with ideas about my WIPs.  I must say, my blog readers have exhibited very little faith that anyone besides me could decipher them.  Handwriting issues aside, allow me to share some of these gems with you:

On slip of paper #1 (this is written on the back of a Trader Joe's dark chocolate candy wrapper):
Is the metric system poetic?
prot-jerky
C. re S. in car: People never know what the hell is really going on.

Slip of paper #2:
how to snake a drain
A. takes T. to ER
good + evil

So you see, these are entirely clear.  I will tell you they refer to different WIPs, and I have shortened the characters' names to initials.  It's very likely the characters' names will change anyway.  The line about the metric system has nothing to do with either WIP; I was just thinking that you can use measurements such as inches, yards, pounds, and miles in effective fiction writing, but most metric terms have a more formal, technical sound to them.  Therefore, if the US ever finally goes metric, we may have to deal with this in our writing.  You can have romantic tension when the characters are only an inch apart, but doesn't some of the romance drain out when they're "centimeters" apart?  Or try these lines: "But I have promises to keep/and kilometers to go before I sleep . . ."

Anyway, I digress.  I often do.  Which is why I need little slips of paper to remind me of things I would otherwise forget.


 

Weatherwise, it seems like we've been living the same cold gray day over and over for the past two months. I'm a big fan of recycling, honestly. But isn't there a sunny 70-degree day that we could be recycling instead of this raw, dismal one?

Nevertheless, the flowers know it's spring. Violets, hyacinths, tulips, weeping cherries, and forsythia have joined the daffodils as the most recent bloomers. And here are a few more items to brighten the day:

The latest Edge of the Forest is up, as you've probably heard, but I want to give a special mention to the interview with Peter Cameron about SOMEDAY THIS PAIN WILL BE USEFUL TO YOU, which I've raved about here. I loved this book so much, I wanted to run around pressing copies into the hands of friends, family, and complete strangers.

The Author2Author authors (does that become Authors cubed?) are giving away more books this week! 

Check out this post from rosefiend.  It'll teach you how to garden.  Or how to write an advice column.  Or at the very least, will provide some comic relief on this (did I mention it's dark and depressing today?) lovely spring day.

Finally, I am counting down to the New England SCBWI conference in New Hampshire next weekend.  Any of you going to be there?  I'm putting up one of my userpics today so you will recognize me.  That will help you say hello or steer clear, whichever you prefer.  ;-)

Time for a couple of book-giveaway announcements.  They're giving away a whole bunch at Teens Read Too.  And now the wonderful Brent Hartinger is giving away copies of an anthology about Narnia.  Follow the links for rules and deadlines.

How much do I hate Daylight Savings Time?  Let me count the ways.  Argh.  I'm convinced it's just a conspiracy to ensure that my morning walk to the commuter train always happens in the dark.

I'm working on the novel again.  I had set it aside for a few weeks, hoping that I could return to it with some objectivity.  While it turns out that I'm still incapable of objectivity--it's like asking a new mother to be objective about her baby's cuteness--at least I can see the ragged spots in the prose rhythm, and I'm smoothing them out.  I'm finally happy with chapter 1, and I like the new scene in chapter 2.  Beyond that, I couldn't tell you if it's fabulous or junk.  As I remind myself, even if this particular manuscript goes nowhere, it's a learning experience . . .

The winds are howling, my windowpanes are rattling, and silvery clouds are gathering overhead. But spring is coming! I know because today I saw some of the earliest harbingers: snowdrops bowing their creamy heads, and witchhazel with its fruity-scented yellow stars. In this area, snowdrops and witchhazel are the earliest bloomers, getting a jump on even the crocuses. So, even though these blossoms are going to get their little heads frozen off tomorrow (projected high: 26 degrees F. Ouch!), the tide of spring will inevitably turn.

In other news, the authors at Author2Author are giving books away this week:

Monday – IT'S NOT ABOUT THE ACCENT, by Caridad Ferrer
Tuesday – SOMETHING TO BLOG ABOUT, by Shana Norris
Wednesday – THE SECRET LIFE OF A TEENAGE SIREN, by Wendy Toliver
Thursday – THE BOYFRIEND LIST, by E. Lockhart
Friday – LOST IT, by Kristen Tracy

The giveaway starts Monday, February 12th!  Pay them a visit to see how to win. Pay them a visit anyway, to read all about the various stages and emotions of writing and publishing, plus daily tips!

Finally, if you've noticed how slow the blogosphere gets on weekends, here's a Sunday feature you can count on: Quoteskimming over at Kelly Fineman's Writing and Ruminating.   In the interests of full disclosure, I will tell you she skimmed me this week, but I recommend the Quoteskimming feature (and Kelly's whole blog) regardless.  Today's gems include a link between writing and yoga, and the spirit of Jane Austen generally makes an appearance.

First, because I always love a book giveaway, I'll let you know that Kate Messner's "pre-owned" ARC of Linda Sue Park's KEEPING SCORE is up for grabs.  Follow the link for details.  Now for our regularly scheduled programming:

I'm thinking about description today, since that will be the focus of my next editorial pass through my WIP.  The current pass is focused on plot and pacing.  During this pass, I've decided that my pacing is much better, but I could use more description.  This has always been a weakness of mine.  I'm something of a minimalist; if you liken my writing to visual arts, my stories would be more like sketches than photorealist paintings.  I like to put in the details that matter, the few and telling details, and let the reader use those clues to fill in the rest. Only sometimes, especially in early drafts, I tend to skimp too much.  While I do cut when I edit, I'm one of those writers who has to add more than cut during revision.

It's not that I don't admire the deep, lush, rich descriptive passages that many writers do so well.  I've mentioned Updike's THE CENTAUR a few times before, and since I've just reread it, this example is uppermost in my mind.  Updike's descriptive passages are not just evocative of setting; they relate to plot and theme as well; they include symbolism and help with characterization.  And boy, are they beautiful (even when what he's describing is not beautiful).  I admire them; I just can't write that way myself.

Of course, description can be done badly, too.  There are books in which chunks of description are just plopped right into the text, bringing the narrative flow to a standstill.  As a reader, I tend to skim or skip when I hit those snags.  That may have led to my disenchantment with long, detailed descriptions.

So here are my best thoughts on description:
Description should not only be evocative; it should matter somehow to the characterization, theme, or plot.
Details should be relevant.  Only tell the reader what s/he really needs to know.
Only tell the interesting parts: the quirky, or funny, or chilling, or repugnant.  Whatever it is, it should be fascinating.
Don't rely on stereotypes.  Tell it the way it is, not the way everyone thinks it's usually supposed to be.
Appeal to all five senses.
Read poetry for great examples of how words can be used for maximum effectiveness and depth.  Pay attention to the sounds of words as well as the meanings.
Allow the reader room for imagination. 

That's what I aspire to, anyway.

Shortly after I posted the news about Lisa Schroeder's book giveaway, I found that Jo Knowles is giving away 3 signed copies of her book LESSONS FROM A DEAD GIRL in a similar type of contest. For info about Jo's contest, see the rules here.

The holiday spirit is afoot in YA-writers'-land!

Here are some random thoughts and opportunities.

First, the opportunities:

If you like YA books, check out this contest by Lisa Schroeder. She's awarding FREE YA books this month! And not just any old books, but really good ones! Including National-Book-Award and Printz caliber! See the link for contest rules.

If you live in the Philadelphia area and would like to hear some poetry or recite some, check out this event featuring one of my former poetry teachers:
Poets and Prophets presents Deborah Fries on Tuesday, Dec. 11th at 7 PM. Harvest Bookstore, 9 East State Street, Media, PA. An open reading follows the feature. $2 donation requested.

Now the thoughts:

My writing office is a mess. For 3 weekends running, I've had "clean office" on my to-do list. Today I realized I still did not have a big enough chunk of time to do the whole thing. But I decided that, instead of putting it off again until I could do it all, I would just do a little of it. And so I did manage to make a dent! It reminds me of a quote I have in my office, which I've heard expressed several different ways, but I like this phrasing: "You are not required to complete the task, but you may not abandon it."

Here's what I've been doing instead of cleaning my office: 1) continued work on my current writing projects; 2) attended a performance of Gamelan Semara Santi; 3) filled out a bunch of holiday cards while listening to corny seasonal music (I am covered in glitter from the cards). I don't regret these choices one bit. 

Happy writing and reading, everyone!