Advice that's hard to hear
I've gotten my first request from a teen reader:"Can you tell me how I can get published?"I'm not sure how to answer him, and I think it's because I really have no good answers. The thing is, the only...
View Article"How Bad Do You Want It?"
Crime author James Ellroy spills the brutal truth about getting published.P.S. I have no idea what he's talking about at the very beginning. Start listening when he says, "I'm happy."P.P.S. At first I...
View ArticleThings I have in common with some really famous authors (or not)
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal talks about the writing process of some famous authors, and it hit close to home in a few ways:1. Hilary Mantel gets some of her best ideas in the shower....
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Procrastination picture, er, bookshelves
I like peeking into other people's work spaces, so I thought, in the spirit of getting up and stretching, I'd take photos of my office bookshelves*:*Notes:1. The TV is ONLY there for breaking news,...
View ArticleOne chapter at a time -- oof!
I'm in the middle of a first draft, and it's going well, considering. I have a bare-bones synopsis that's guiding me, so I know pretty much what needs to happen in each next chapter.But I can only...
View ArticleYou can't believe everything you read
I subscribe to daily e-mails from Book2Book, which is sort of the British version of Publisher's Lunch. You get publishing news here first, plus it's fun to read about literary festivals in Bath and...
View ArticleTruman Award nominee
I'm thrilled to announce that Jump the Cracks is among 12 nominated titles for the 2010-2011 Truman Readers' Award in the state of Missouri.It's an award that is chosen by kids in grades 6-8.I honestly...
View ArticleA soft spot for dogs and for Christmas
Time for my favorite Christmas poem:The Sheepdog U.A. FanthorpeAfter the very bright light, And the talking bird, And the singing, And the sky filled up wi' wings, And then the silence, Our lads...
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ALA Boston
I'll be at ALA Midwinter on Sunday, January 17, signing books in the Llewellyn/Flux booth from 2:30-3:30pm.If you're there, please come say hi. It would be great to see some friendly faces!Two other...
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oooh, I want to do this!
(photo from SLJ and IdeaPaint)You can make an entire wall into a dry-erase board.Wouldn't that be great for a writer's office????
View ArticleHow to derail a perfectly good writing day
What's my theme????This book here says I'm supposed to know my theme...I have 22,000 words...it must be in here somewhere...(Moral of the story: Some days are meant for reading. Some days are meant for...
View ArticleManuscript housekeeping: forest vs. trees
When writing a novel:You (meaning me, I guess) can’t just plow along putting down words all the time (though I do love seeing that word count climb).Sometimes you have to stop and take stock. Look at...
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Snowshoeing: Good news, bad news
Good news: It was beautiful today, and plenty of just enough fluffy snow.Bad news: I had to go alone because my Valentine is far away this year.Good news: I did bring Chipper, who is good company in...
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Are you sure you wanna go with the clown costume? Or why writing is like...
So I was watching the pairs skating last night, poetry on ice, etc. etc. And last up come the German pair, who were wearing just the most...interesting costumes I’ve ever seen:(image from...
View ArticleFear of finishing
I've read 3/4 of The Tale of Desperaux twice now. I still don't know how it ends. I don't want that book to end. (Yes, I'm in denial.)This happens all the time with books I really love (though...
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I want to go here:
Someday:The Guardian Hay Festival of Literaturewhere they have tons of cool book events on the "programme" and {REALLY?} at least one of the days it's rainy.Then I want to "walk" the seacoast path...
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Some days
Some days writing a novel feels exactly like this: And on other days it feels like this:
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The semicolon explained
It's all here in black and, er...fur?Check out the link below for a quick, useful, and adorable guide to "the most feared punctuation on earth."(And get some insider info on rats in the process.)...
View ArticleThe new gadget reveals...a reader
Ring the bells, sing a song, jump for joy, all you lovers of the civilized mind: The long-form fictional format (e.g. the novel) is alive and well.And residing in an iPhone.My older son, the...
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Hidden New York, and other stuff
Some people go to New York City for the shows. Some go for the museums.The next time I go to New York, I'm going here. On other topics:1. It's the time of year for royalty statements, wherein there was...
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Poetic pottery
I love to collect ceramics, and here are two of my favorites, because they're literary:A Louisa May Alcott quote on a little mug I ordered from England via the Internets.Very sweet!A little...
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About that ending
I have a guest post up at Eating YA Books, wherein I talk about how I wrote--and rewrote-- the ending of Jump the Cracks, and why I think it's the perfect ending.
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Irish connections and good news
I shall enjoy getting used to saying it: "I'm a McElderry author."Margaret K. McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, is going to publish my midgrade fantasy novel. The one I struggled to...
View ArticleMoving day
I've moved to Another Blog Site. I hope you'll follow me there, for info on my newest book, coming from Margaret K. McElderry Books in 2012.
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