writing
Going Nowhere, Gladly
Sometimes I have a character appear.
Im sposed to keep a jurnal. FI ken rite 100 wrds, thal let me go out with thuther kids but I dont see no uther kids. Jus ol pepl. 29. Sgreen out ther tho. I lik this pen 2. Ma ear iches. Ma hair 2, cuz uv the stichs. 48. Thers mor stichs on ma arm 2 from the axsident. 58. I no yur gone to reed this so dont think Im gone tell you no… Continue reading
Young Adult Readers: Inspiration
My audience is supposed to be young adult readers, but it’s useless to think of writing to them as if young adults were all one dark-haired girl curled up with a book in her bed at two in the morning. Talk to a young adult for ten minutes and you’ll find an individual as unique as your grandma. Talk to a young adult for decades, and you’ll find friends of all ages with a common young heart.
Determination
What’s more important than trying to write to teenagers is… Continue reading
Telling Time
One of my worst memories of third grade was when Sr. Mary Frances asked me to go check what time it was for her. A small clock was on the counter near the sink, so I went over to look, but I couldn’t read what the hands were telling me. I didn’t yet know how to tell time. Sister sent over my friend Leslie to help me, and Leslie knew right away what time it was. She told me, I told the teacher, we went back… Continue reading
Agent Query Questions
Not so long ago, I had tons of my own questions about how the query process works and I wondered if I’d ever find representation. I speculated whether my query would stand out or get lost in the slush pile without being read. It was a time of careful research and cautious hope. Since then, I’ve corresponded with dozens of agents, and I have found they are genuinely nice people with a passion for books. Needless to say, they didn’t all want to represent Birthmarked,… Continue reading
Profanity: the Gateway to Evil in YA Lit?
I’m all for profanity in books when it suits the characters and the situation. Most of the teens I know employ a range of swear words and use them flexibly for humor, sarcasm, and rage in real life, so when I encounter teens in books who use obscenities, it doesn’t faze me much. It seems real.
So why don’t I use obscenities in the Birthmarked trilogy, and isn’t it inconsistent to be prudish about language when I’m writing about edgy concepts, like childbirth, hanging pregnant women, torture, murder,… Continue reading
Fish
Fish
You don’t move
you red distorted blob
and I with my manuscript
don’t either.
Hard to say which of us
is more alive
in mind, body and soul,
I in my air, or you
looking through the glass
at the distorted, motionless
blob with the pen.
Only I could figure it into
a competition
or imagine this poem
might be better in French.
You water-laugh
no doubt
at my arrogance,
knowing
just because I feed you,
let alone scribble poems,
doesn’t mean
I deserve to win.