Revising!

My editorial letter for In the Shadow of Blackbirds arrived last Friday, so between now and mid-May I'll be nearly nonexistent on the web, aside from taking some Twitter/Facebook breathers now and then.

If you're unfamiliar with editorial letters, that's the stage of publishing when the main editor for a book sends the author several pages of notes suggesting how to make the book stronger. Here's a picture of the seven-page In the Shadow of Blackbirds letter the brilliant Maggie Lehrman of Amulet Books/Abrams sent me:

Okay...admittedly, the letter may not be all that visible. I may have discreetly covered the contents with a printout of a 1918 calendar I'll be using to help map out my changes. For what it's worth, you can see one of the numerous stickies I've been using to jot down notes when ideas hit me as I'm walking around the house.

I will say that the bulk of my revisions will involve strengthening my characters' relationships and making my unsettling historical world become as palpably alive as it can possibly be. I had heard nothing but praise about Maggie's skills as an editor from other Amulet authors, and I completely agree: her work is amazing. I'm so excited about digging into her suggested revisions and coming out on the other side with a book that makes me beam with pride (at least I'm hoping that's what happens when I get to the other side!).

I'll be back with more info about the editorial letter stage once I'm done. Until then, look for me at Dear Teen Me on May 9.

I'll be in 1918 if you need me.

Read Books That Make You Squirm with Envy

I started reading John Green's new young adult novel, The Fault in Our Stars, today, and I immediately found myself hooked by his writing, his protagonist's memorable voice, and the novel's central predicament: a wisecracking, terminally ill young cancer patient named Hazel finds a new love in her life. Even as I sit here and type these words, I'm tempted to chuck all attempts at getting any writing done today and dive back into his story.

My instant love of Green's novel got me thinking about all the books I've read—from the disappointing to the brilliant—and I realized I can place them into four categories:

Category #1: Books I dislike shortly after I start reading them. Perhaps a rave review, the opening chapter, or the promising premise got me to pick up the book in the first place, but the book rapidly goes downhill. I usually set these novels aside instead of forcing myself to read them.

Category #2: The so-so books. I give the book a fair shot and eventually make my way through to the end, but it's not without some pain and regret. Usually I hold onto the hope that the ending will make the difficult journey worthwhile, and sadly, I'm often disappointed I stuck out the ride.

Category #3: The good books, worthy of 3- to 4-star ratings. I enjoy the reads, but there are one or two flaws that fail to make the book superb.

Category #4: The superb books. The authors are so skilled at their craft that they're able to juggle fascinating characters, a compelling plot, and ridiculously gorgeous writing without letting any element fall to the wayside. Typically, these are the award-winning books, and leaving their fictional worlds behind when I close the last page usually makes me feel a little lost. It's always hard to find a worthy follow-up read after finishing this type of book.

As a writer, I find Categories #2 and #4 are the ones that challenge me to write better books.

When I come across a so-so book in one of my favorite genres, I'm disappointed as a reader. In response, I set out to write the book I wanted to read. If all books in a genre were superb, I probably wouldn't feel such a compelling need to spin my own tales. For example, I've never experienced an overwhelming desire to write children's picture books, namely because the messages I'd want to get across for that age group have already, in my opinion, been achieved incredibly well by someone else. 

When I come across a book in the superb category, I feel my own writing improve. The skilled author sets the bar high, and as a writer, I find myself trying to climb to meet their nearly impossible standards and produce a story equally as compelling as theirs. It's like a cook who wants to improve themselves by eating a feast prepared by a master chef: you savor, you absorb, you fill yourself up with the other person's bounteous talents, and you learn.

If you're a writer, seek out the superb books as often as you can. Find yourself squirming with envy at an author's work. Treat your mind to writing that blows you away.

Never, ever be afraid of a challenge.

Your readers will be thankful.

Yes, I'm Definitely Seeing This Ghost Movie

Being the huge fan of Gothic historical ghost stories that I am, I'm counting down the days until the February 3 release of The Woman in Black, starring Daniel Radcliffe. If you haven't yet seen or heard anything about this film, or Susan Hill's novel on which it's based, here's one of the many Woman in Black featurettes popping up around the web (it includes a quick peek at the author):



As with most movie adaptations, differences from the book seem to abound, but I still can't wait to run out to see this creepy, classic, ghostly tale on the big screen and get scared out of my wits.

Smart grrrlz

My sister recently sent me a link to a Girl Scout social media fact sheet that discusses the ways girls portray themselves on sites like Facebook and Twitter. The study found that "girls downplay several positive characteristics of themselves online, most prominently their smartness, kindness, and efforts to be a good influence." Moreover, "the most frequent words girls use to describe how they come across based solely on their online profile are fun (54%), funny (52%), and social (48%)."

I'm really not surprised girls downplay their intelligence—online and offline—but it's still such a sad comment about society's expectations of what makes a cool, attractive female. When I was in middle school, someone gave me the nickname of "Brainiac," and I hated it. I started resenting my intelligence, and I even let my grades slip until I started hanging out with other advanced students and realizing how foolish it was to ruin my education over a nickname.

Thankfully, today's world is full of smart grrrl role models I never had while growing up. I'm from a time when Madonna was the woman young teens wanted to be—and that was long before anyone revealed she had a high IQ.  Here are five reasons why it's cool to be a girl with brains nowadays.

1. SMART GRRRL MOVIE STARS
Natalie Portman, who played Padme in the Star Wars prequels, graduated from Harvard and once told The New York Times, "I don't care if [college] ruins my career. I'd rather be smart than a movie star."  She's beautiful and successful—yet she values her brains.

A recent Entertainment Weekly issue spotlighted Emma Watson's quest for a college education. Not only does Emma play Hermione Granger, a character who makes intelligence look like a vital tool for undertaking an adventure, but in real life she attends Brown University. She says of her post-Potter university days, "I'm just...happy." 

2. SMART GRRRL BOOKS
I recently finished reading Jacqueline Kelly's The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate and absolutely loved it.  The heroine of the 2010 Newberry Award-winning novel is an eleven-year-old girl who develops an interest in science and finds encouragement from her eccentric naturalist grandfather.  The problem: Calpurnia lives in Texas in 1899.  She's not supposed to be interested in science; she's supposed to be preparing to become a wife.  Her struggles against resigning to a non-academic life of domesticity are both entertaining and heartbreaking—and Calpurnia is proof that a smart literary heroine doesn't have to be the nerdy sidekick in glasses.

3. SMART GRRRL MATH

Once upon a time Danica McKeller played Winnie Cooper on a 60s-set TV show called The Wonder Years.  She grew up, had a tough time transitioning from child star to young adult actor, but instead of becoming washed up and drug addicted, she graduated summa cum laude from UCLA with a degree in mathematics.  Furthermore, she authored two bestselling smart grrrl math books: Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle School Math without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail and Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss.  My husband keeps both books in the high school math classroom where he teaches.  Girls tend to lose interest in math around the fourth grade, so it's fantastic that Danica has come along and written these books that show a hipper, non-threatening side of the subject.

4. SMART GRRRL MERCHANDISE
If literary intelligence is your strength, check out Sarah Utter's line of "Reading Is Sexy" mugs, magnets, T-shirts, etc., available from BuyOlympia.com. She also makes "Future Librarian" items, among other designs. If you think guys will laugh at you for flaunting the sexiness of reading, do you really want those particular guys? Many males are book nerds, too, so there's no need to waste one's time, smart grrrlz.

5. SMART GRRRL MOVIES

Nothing bothers me more than a movie about a bookish woman in glasses who loses her specs and intelligence to get the man in the end. My top recommendation for smart grrrl cinema is Real Women Have Curves.  Not only does the protagonist, Ana (played by Ugly Betty's America Ferrera), embrace her less-than-perfect body image, but she fights for her education in a family that's pushing her to stick to tradition and work in a sweatshop.  I plan to show this movie to my daughter in a year or two.  It's young female empowerment at its best. 

There's no shame in having brains.  I'm proud of the fact that I just turned in a manuscript with a smart grrrl heroine, and my hope for my own daughter is that she doesn't feel any embarrassment about her intelligence. Thank you, modern role models, for showing girls there's more to life than surface beauty.  Here's to the females with brain power!

A book recommendation for writers. . . and readers

I keep forgetting to recommend a book I received for my birthday: Scout, Atticus, & Boo: A Celebration of Fifty Years of To Kill a Mockingbird by Mary McDonagh Murphy.  If you enjoy Harper's Lee's fifty-year-old classic, I think you'll find Murphy's tribute to be an entertaining look behind the scenes of the novel's creation, the making of the 1962 movie, and the life of a private American talent who called it quits on the publicity machine and never published another title.

The bulk of the book consists of essays written by people as diverse as Oprah Winfrey, Mary Badham (Scout from the movie), James Patterson, and Harper Lee's 98-year-old sister (who still works at the Lee family's law office!).  While the essays themselves don't always consist of exemplary writing, they offer lovely nuggets of wisdom about how to write an outstanding novel that will stand the test of time.  Some of the essayists describe the cleverness of To Kill a Mockingbird's opening paragraph.  At least two authors cite one of my favorite paragraphs as being a model use of sensory writing (it's the paragraph that describes the ladies as being "like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum").  Others discuss characterization and the bravery of tackling taboo subjects.

Scout, Atticus, & Boo is also a tribute to the art of writing a stand-alone novel, which is becoming a rarity in today's era of sequels and series.  I personally feel there's a great deal to be said about an author who's able to tie up all her loose ends within the pages of one book.  It's not always easy, but it's something to be admired.

As a writer, what I found most inspiring was the story behind Lee's original, contracted version of To Kill a Mockingbird, which was a far cry from the completed novel we see today.  Editor Tay Hohoff said of the first version, "There were dangling threads of a plot, there was a lack of unity."  It took two years of Lee rewriting the book before Mockingbird became publishable.  As I'm tearing into my own manuscript and rewriting major scenes, I keep thinking of the story behind To Kill a Mockingbird and reminding myself that revisions can be well worth the time and effort.  Even celebrated authors don't get it right the first time.

More ghostly YA books

I recently finished reading Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown's Picture the Dead, a gothic, illustrated novel set in Civil War-era Massachusetts.  Admittedly, the authors had me sweating for a while because they used some of the same themes that appear in my work-in-progress: a wartime setting, spirit photography, a soldier's mysterious death.  The book was a page turner with gorgeous prose, so it didn't take me long to speed through the haunting story and realize--with a huge sigh of relief--our books have enough differences for me to keep plugging away.  Definitely check it out if you're looking for a book to read while huddled under the covers.  Fans of Poe, the Bronte sisters, and Sarah Waters's darker tales will eat it up.

While vacationing in Washington this past week, I visited the wonderful Village Books in Fairhaven and added another ghostly YA novel to my reading pile: The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.  I've read his adult fiction before and especially enjoyed The Shadow of the Wind. This new novel was actually published in Spanish in 1993, but Little, Brown Books just released an English version in May.  It involves a young teen's experiences in a long-unoccupied--and possibly haunted--house on the Spanish coast during WWII.  Can't wait to read it!

As for my own writing news, I need to plug away at Blackbirds revisions before submitting the manuscript to another critique partner in September.  I've been reading so much info about how crucial it is to be able to write a one-sentence synopsis of one's book, and I think I've come up with one that satisfies me: A sixteen-year-old girl helps both the living and the dead endure the horrors of a troubled era.