Allow me brief rant about messing up.

Kids do it all the time. Teenagers are the lord and masters of messing up (though it makes them cringe and their face break out). By the time we get to be adults, most of us will do anything to avoid messing up because it's embarrassing and horrifying.

We hide our mistakes, we blame others, we bury the shame by swilling beer, chowing down seven-layer dip, partaking in illegal substances, watching American Idol or Real World marathons, and pulling our hats down to cover our eyes. Because we feel bad when we mess up. We feel stupid and worthless.

But to be human is to mess up a lot.

So the choice is this - you either acknowledge that you are not human, which means you are an Immortal, which means you should feel like crap if you miss a day of writing or forget to change the oil in your car or blow off a date with your best friend. You're Immortal - go back in time and fix it! And stop whining!

If you're human, then you get a little break. The trick is to be honest with yourself, get up, dust yourself off, and go at it again.

Have you missed a couple of writing days this month? Had you planned on being published by now? Were you convinced that not only would you be published by now, the movie of your book would be out and you and JK Rowling would be taking your kids to Chile to go skiing in August?

Nothing wrong with that. Dreaming is the first step. But if you've fallen a little short of your goals, do not reach for the seven-layer dip and the remote. Dust yourself off and admit what's not working. If the goal is really important to you, set another milestone (perhaps one that is a shade more realistic) and go back at it.

I have fallen way short of my running goals recently. I overtrained for the Lake Placid half-marathon and wound up with pissed off tendons and muscles in my calves and feet. I've taken almost a full month off from running to recover and I've spent about nine-tenths of that time yelling at myself. Which is ridiculous.

I"m going to try and start running again this week, but I know I need to be more balanced about my exercise. (Balance = a concept that eludes me; I usually go at a project a hundred miles an hour, then I crash and burn and wonder what went wrong.) I just bought a bike so I can crosstrain more and so my legs and feet will forgive me. I'd like to run another half-marathon in the fall, but I'm not going to obsess about it. The goal is to try and get in some kind of exercise every day, just like I write every day.

Me geeking out on my new ride.


Today's goal: Write for 15 minutes without scolding self.

Today's mindset: balanced.

Today's prompt: Take a couple of minutes to evaluate how you're doing on your writing goal for the year and if you need to recalibrate. "Write every day from now until December 31" is a reasonable, achievable goal. "Get an agent, score a four-book, six-figure contract based on this really good idea I have" is not reasonable.

Extra prompt - freewrite descriptions of clothing worn by your characters. Push for exquisite specific details about those jeans or that suit or her bra strap that tell us as much about the person as the clothes.


Scribblescribble...

We have a male goldfinch who thinks our house is a romantic rival. Seriously. For three days, he has been flying up to the building and attacking it with his beak. He is most persistent. I've heard him muttering: She's mine, I say, MINE. get away, you fool. Don't you see your quest for her love is in vain? Back, back to the foul place from whence you came!

At first I thought he wasn't seeing the glass, so I pulled the shades, and tinkered with the angle of the windows (they open outwards). Didn't help. He's attacking the siding, too. I'm worried that the little guy is going to break his beak, or get a concussion and forget which nest is his, then his true love will pine away in sorrow, and their children will be sent to a cruel orphanage in the north on England and will have to eat gruel.

Writing Process and More!

Mitali Perkins has posted the Q&A I did on the readergirlz forum last week. In it, I talk about the hardest thing about YA writing, inspiration for various novels, and the challenges of writing outside my gender and ethnic background. Thank you, Mitali, divas, and girlz! I had fun with youze!

ALA

I leave for the annual American Library Association conference on Thursday. If you see me wandering around, please come up and say hello because I am always intimidated by these events and am most grateful for friendly faces.

Along with much wandering, this is my official ALA schedule:

Saturday, June 28
10-11am Signing at the Simon & Schuster booth, #2499

3-4pm Signing at the Penguin booth, #2616

5:30pm-? Come hang out with Tanya Lee Stone and me in the lobby of the Grand Californian Hotel. No tickets! No lines! We'll be chit-chatting about our new non-fiction historical picture books: Elizabeth Leads the Way, about the life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Independent Dames, about women and girls during the American Revolution. Both of us also write YA, so I imagine the conversation could go anywhere. This very informal, just a chance to sit around and talk with librarians without any hoopla.

I'll be at the S&S party on Saturday night. Must remember not to wear heels to that one. That was a big mistake last year.

Sunday, June 29
noon - I'm going to the Art Luncheon! (very stoked about this) Matt Faulkner, who illustrated INDEPENDENT DAMES and THANK YOU, SARAH will be there, along with Robin Preiss Glasser, Kadir Nelson, and David Small.

4-6pm VOYA Reception for the Perfect Tens 2007 at the Hilton

6-11pm Newbery/Caldecott Banquet. (Might wear heels to this one. Might even wear a dress.)


Sadly, my plane leaves on Monday, so I'll miss the Printz Awards on Monday, which are always a lot of fun.

Will I see any of you in Anaheim?

Wow. This internet thing is rather handy.

Within an hour yesterday of posting my plea for speakers of Dutch, I had three offers of help. When I woke up this morning, there were three more. Thank you very much, kind blogreaders, the emergency is over. Your help was much appreciated.

Spent last night watching Number One Son race around the track at sectionals. He definitely gets his speed from his father, thank goodness. He did well enough to make next week's state qualifiers in the 400. I cannot even begin to imagine what it feels like to move that fast. I am the turtle in the slow lane, ducking my head into my shell as the rocket-fueled racers speed by.

Bookavore has posted many author photos in her ongoing documentation of her adventures at BEA. She has a great shots of her almost-uncle, M.T. Anderson, and of Sherman Alexie, who is exercising his rights of free speech against the owners of the Seattle SuperSonics.

This weekend is devoted to going over the last-last-super-ultimate-last pass of the CHAINS galleys and looking for a bicycle. My plea for Dutch speakers went so well, I will turn to you again.

(Random wandering tangent: Dutch = Netherlands = flat = self-sufficient, energy-saving practical people = lots of bike riders = skating too, on the canals = Hans Brinker = beloved book of childhood = curled up reading on a rainy day with McIntosh apples. Sweet.)

So - do you have any advice about what bicycle I should consider buying? I would use it for going to town to pick up groceries and library books, which means it will need some kind of basket and the ability to climb hills. I also have this fantasy of riding it to the library and bookstore in Oswego, which is about 15 miles away, which means the tires have to be strong, because the shoulders of the road can be sort of cruddy. And it needs a very soft, comfortable seat. I do not want to sit on a rock, thank you very much.

Any suggestions?

EXT. MOUTH OF THE CAVE OF REVISION - DAWN

Various characters from AUTHOR'S latest novel swarm the beach in front of the mythical CAVE OF REVISION. Helicopters swoop by low enough to cause sand to swirl and whitecaps to form on the water.

The opening chords of Richard Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" plays loudly from hidden speakers.

Activity on beach freezes as AUTHOR steps out of CAVE OF REVISION, clutching manuscript pages in her hands.

AUTHOR (triumphantly)
You smell that? Do you smell that?
Ink, friend. Nothing else in the world smells like that.
I love the smell of ink in the morning.
(kisses manuscript) The revision is done!


MINOR CHARACTER (rolls eyes)
Great. Does that mean you'll finally take a shower?


with apologies to Francis Ford Coppola and John Milius

There are a lot of terrific bloggers in the kidlit corner of the blogosphere. This week they have coordinated their efforts into the Summer Blog Blast Tour 2008. Little Willow has the entire schedule.

Kelly Fineman was kind enough to ask me to take part. So... warm up your linkety-link finger, because:

Step One - Kelly has posted an extensive review of INDEPENDENT DAMES.

Step Two - Yesterday she gave a preview of all the folks she's interviewing this week.

Step Three! Today (drum roll, please) you can read her interview with me; in which I ponder writing history and historical fiction for kids, spill the secrets about the writing process of DAMES, and answer the age-old question: "cheese or chocolate?".

Thank you very much, Kelly and organizers of SBBT!

I really do adore the revision part of the writing process.

But I'll be taking a brief break from it this evening. Come on up and join me.

Oh... one more thing.

TWISTED is available in paperback today!!!!!!

Don't know about you, but my weekend rocked the house. I worked on revisions, I did not touch the pile of research I was supposed to, BH and I ran 13.3 miles on Saturday morning, and I was both mom and daughter yesterday. Spent most of it in the garden, a most Demeter-like day.

(ETA - You should read my daughter's blog on what she learned from her various moms about books.)

I will be signing books on Thursday! Come see me at river's end bookstore in Oswego, NY from 6 - 8pm. The store is celebrating its 10th anniversary and it is time to party. We'll have TWISTED in paperback and INDEPENDENT DAMES (thank you Uncle Simon and Uncle Schuster for making it available a little early).

The next 6 weeks are going to scream by, so be patient if my posts are a little sporadic and shorter than usual. I am going to be posing questions in preparation for my July Writing Challenge; things designed to get you thinking and maybe open up some ideas for your writing during that month.

Today is Katherine Hepburn's birthday. Ms. Hepburn famously said: "If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun."

So here is today's question: Which rules are worth breaking?

Having your new book - the book you've worked on for years, dreamed about, fussed about, cried over, danced with, bored your relatives to tears with ("aren't you done with that thing yet?") - having that book arrive is the closest thing possible to the moment when you give birth to a child.

Without the mess and a room full of strangers wearing latex gloves and face masks.

Without further ado, meet INDEPENDENT DAMES: What You Never Knew About the Women and Girls of the American Revolution.

::wipes tears from eyes::


DAMES is a 40-page non-fiction historical picture book that highlights the revolutionary activity of 80 women and girls you've probably never heard of.

( When you spend more than a decade on a project, you want to show it off. )

Last month I gave the keynote speech at the New England SCBWI Conference. There were 550 people in the room. Most have them have written to me in the last couple of weeks (thank you very much - they have been sweet and much appreciated notes) commenting on what I had to say.

The most frequent topic is the challenge I issued: to write for at least 15 minutes a day for 21 days. Some people loved it, others struggled.

With summer coming, I thought I'd issue it again:

Can you commit to write for at least fifteen minutes every day from July 1st - July 21st?

Let know if you want to join by leaving a note in the comment section. You can comment anonymously, if you want. If there is enough interest, I will focus my blog posts in July on writing stuff.

What do you think? Want to play?

I dashed outside the Cave of Revision this morning and it's true: it is almost Spring up here on the tundra. In fact, I think it will happen today, while I am deeply buried in my story.

I won't be able to haunt the Forest with my camera to pounce on the Absolute Moment, so here is the closest I can come to proving this to you.

Here the Creature With Fangs poses next to one of the last piles of snow we have.

Next: daffodils on the brink of blooming. (Yes, those daffodils, mentioned in '06!) I tried to get the CWF to pose here, too, but she was more interested in crushing the plants with her paws. I threw a stick in the other direction and snapped this shot.

Thank you to everyone who donated to my husband's Race for Cancer. There is still time to help our cause and get some of the free LHA goodies mentioned earlier this week (scroll to bottom of post).

Attention New England SCBWI Conference attenders! Today is Day 5 of my 21-Day Writing Challenge. How's it going for you? I'd love to hear what you're doing - leave a note in the Comments section and pass the word along to the other folks who were there.

OK, back into the Cave I go.

Readers questions are pouring in!

Many folks are asking about one of my responses to Katrina's questions earlier in the week about majoring in Creative Writing in college.

I wrote: Don't major in Creative Writing, but take some of the classes if the professor has a good reputation with the other students.

This made some people - those majoring in Creative Writing - nervous. So I expanded on my opinion:

My concern is that too many colleges give students the impression that a degree in Creative Writing will nearly guarantee them a lifetime of publishing contracts and a life of ease.

It does not work that way.

If you are fortunate enough to have great professors, your chances of developing your writing skills to the point where you could be published are increased, there's no doubt about that. But there are a lot of terrible creative writing professors out there. Lately, I've talked to several 20-somethings who are bitter and disillusioned because the degree has not translated into anything but rejection letters.

So if it makes you happy, go for it. But do so with your eyes open.

I'd like to add something else to all the high school students out there who want to become authors. I think the single most important thing you can do for your writing career is to spend time living in a different country. Take a gap year and volunteer your services abroad. Or just travel and talk to people. And then come home. You need to get away from the world in which you were raised in order to gain some perspective on your experiences there. Your writing will be stronger and more interesting once you gain that perspective. IMHO.

Were any of you Creative Writing majors? What's your opinion about this?

On MySpace, a reader asks: "Are you sure you didn't write symbolism and themes into your books? Because My english teacher seemed pretty hung up on the fact that I could read Speak three times in two weeks without finding some deep, hidden meaning. In fact, I had to write Not one, but two essays about it.
Well, I know I really Love your books.
I don't search for deeper meanings, becase frankly, I like the Message at the very top.
Can I print Out your myspace and Give it to my English I teacher?"

By teaching you about the uses of symbolism in literature, your teacher is giving you a couple of extra tools that can make reading more fun. I think the symbolism that is important is the symbolism a reader finds in the story. It doesn't matter what the author tried to stick in there. I'm sorry that the essay writing was painful, but I'm glad you liked the book.

K saw the SPEAK movie on Lifetime this weekend and wrote: "All I really have to say is... you're my freakin hero! Well, not really... but that's my way of saying I enjoy the small taste of your work that I have sampled. I've honestly never heard of you or your books before, but Speak came on the TV just now and is probably about halfway through and I love it.

It's everything I think but can never say... Because... people just don't get it. It's good to know I'm not the only one with a bitter, sarcastic, cynical look at society's stupid unwritten rules of communication.

So I haven't read your book, so I don't know if these quotes are in there, but they are in the movie and are awesome.

"All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings... is a lie. No one really cares what you have to say."

"Why couldn't he just say what he meant? Would they pin a scarlet letter to his chest? 'S' for Straightforward?"

"Once you get through this "life sucks" phase, I'm sure lots of people will wanna be your friend. But for right now, I don't think we should have lunch together."

That's enough, I guess. You wrote the book, you know what you said, you get the point.

You don't have to answer me back. You're busy. That's cool. But I pretty much had to tell you I love Speak."

I've had some great letters about TWISTED recently - I think I'll share them tomorrow.

In closing, many congratulations and all the respect in the world to the Lady Vols of Tennessee and Coach Pat Summitt (whom I adore) for winning the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship last night.

::lifts head from manuscript to see blog friends standing around::

Oh. Right.
Yay Jayhawks!!

I really do have a ton of great ideas for today's post, but I have too much work to do.

Check back with me tomorrow, OK?

::sticks self back into story::

Yes, Theo is in the process of posting my new website, and yes, we know that not all features are working yet. Thank you very much to everyone who has written to let us know pages that seem to be empty and the broken links. Consider the current version very much Beta. It will be polished and shiny soon.

Katarina, an 8th grader from NJ, mailed the following questions. I'm on deadline again, so the answers will be pithy.

When did you realize that you wanted to become a writer specifically for young adults?
I haven't decided that yet. I just try to write good stories.

How do you deal with frustration/writer's block?
I run.

Are there any specific classes that I should take in high school/college?
Keyboarding. I suggest you don't major in creative writing, either, but take some of the classes if the professor has a good reputation with the other students.

Is this a job that includes more failure or success?
Ha! Buckets of failure, tasty tablespoons of success.

How long does it usually take to get “started,” i.e. find a reputable publisher and editor
Ten years.

How long, on average, does it take for you to write a book including the editing/publishing process?
Two to three years from the beginning of a project until it lands in a bookstore.

What precautions can I take so I don't fall for publishing scams?
Never pay cash to anyone who claims to be an agent. Learn the difference between vanity presses and trade presses. Your librarian will help you find books that explain the difference.

Should I have a good knowledge of other styles/genres of writing?
Write what is in your heart.

How can I learn to deal with bad reviews and critics?
Smashing your hand in a car door once a week helps. If you don't have a car, use a hammer. Bad reviews hurt.

When I am just starting out, is the compensation good enough, or is it hard to make a living?
Learn how to waitress so you'll always be able to eat. Be nice to your parents in case you need to live in their basement until your big break comes.


And a very nice note from Danica, who writes:

Ms. Halse-Anderson,
I've got to let you know how much I truly loved "Speak." I first read
the novel as part of an Adolescent Literature class, and I enjoyed it
so much that I thought I needed to find a way to work with the novel
on a deeper level. I've decided to use it as part of my senior thesis
on reader-response and adolescent literature.

You've managed to take a subject like rape and address it in a way
that's approachable for adolescent readers-- the treatment of the
subject is not too intense or explicit, but still clearly demonstrates
the emotional pain of rape. It seems that rape is too often treated
lightly (somehow-- something I will never quite understand), and your
book is a wonderful approach to the benefits of speaking out about
sexual trauma.

Thank you, I look forward to reading more from you!

Thank you very much, Danica. That is exactly the inspiration I needed to go back to my revision!

In fact, this medicine is definitely helping. I don't feel great, but I've stopped telling BH to order me a pretty coffin with built-in bookshelves. Thank you to everyone who made me laugh yesterday (and this morning, Jerry).

Congratulations are in order for one of my favorite YA librarians, Stephanie Squicciarini, from Fairport, NY. Stephanie is the genius and energy behind the fantastic Rochester Teen Book Festival, as well as one of those librarians able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. And she is one of the winners of the Library Journal's 2008 Movers & Shakers Award. Brava!

More writing questions.

daimeera writes two questions: First: have you ever written a character (or more than one) whom you've personally disliked, but who has been popular with your readers? I ask because no matter how hard I try, I'm not particularly fond of one of my own characters, yet I've received feedback that she's likable (admittedly few people have read the novel, but I was surprised to hear it at all).

Hard question. I don't think many readers like Teri Litch, from CATALYST, but I really love her a lot. Some day I might a book from her POV. We'll see. You might want to explore, on paper, why you don't like this character. As you write about her, you'll probably uncover more details and layers to her personality. Could be fun.

Two: do you feel it's dangerous to begin a story with a character who isn't immediately likable? I've heard mixed feelings on this; some people will put the book down within a few paragraphs, others are more intrigued by this type of character. Have you found it makes a difference, or do you have a personal preference?

There is no one correct way to do anything in writing. If you are worried about the impact of your opening, experiment with it. Write a couple of different openings and see how it affects the rest of the story, The most important thing is to write the book that you want to read.

TWISTED good news update: It was chosen for the Kansas State Reading Circle Recommended Reading List (Senior High/Young Adult). It's also nominated for the Kansas Heartland Award, so thank you, Kansas!

In closing, Bookavore passes on an article about common faults in writing. Wrap your ego in armor before you read this one, fellow scribblers.

It's hard to believe that a year ago that I was getting ready for the TWISTED book tour, and was a nervous mess waiting for people to read the book. It's kind of weird because this week - seemingly out of the blue - I have gotten many letters and emails from teen readers about the book. Posting snippets of the letters would probably push me from blatant self-promotion into self-absorbed obnoxiousness, so I won't. But trust me, they're really nice.

I found out yesterday from my editor Sharyn that TWISTED just won some lovely recognition, but I don't think I can go public with it for another week. I'm just going to sit here and glow quietly.

TEACHERS, FYI! In the middle of May, TWISTED will be released in paperback, which makes it a perfect book for your summer reading list.

More writing questions: Do you always write chapter by chapter when you draft? Or do you ever end up with gaps in the initial draft that you have to go back and fill?

No, I don't write chapter by chapter. I generally start at what I think is the beginning and aim for what I think is the end, but those are guidelines, not rules. I always wind up with holes. Going back and figuring out what belongs in the holes is fun. The trick is to play out one of the story threads naturally, not to cram in a scene just so have something in Chapter 7. If it doesn't fit, throw it out.

How did you know it [the manuscript/book] was ready then? How did that work? ...and a related one... how long do you wait to regain objectivity before revising the first time and do you have any tricks for increasing objectivity?

I feel like I've already answered this, but I can't find the post, so I'll do it again, because it's a good question. Finding objectivity is one of the hardest things we do. I don't think any writer can ever become fully objective about her work. Putting it away for a month and not looking at it helps. Then - before you read it - give it to three trusted readers; people who read a lot for fun and respect you enough to be honest. (DO NOT give it to relatives or lovers!) Ask them to read it and write down the three aspects of the story that are working the best, and the three that are the most confusing.

Next: take a copy of your story to a new location; NOT where you wrote it. Go to an independent bookstore, a coffee shop, a park, a nice hotel lobby. Read their comments first, then read the manuscript. If you can't find anything you want to change, you're done.

Other questions, Readers of the Forest?

After today's work, I'll be packing for tomorrow's trip to Springfield, IL, where I'll be speaking at the Illinois Reading Council's Annual Conference. Are you going? This is where you can find me:

Thur. 3/13 8am: From Speak to Twisted

Thur. 3/13 11:45am: Luncheon speech

Thur. 3/13 3pm: Revision Secrets

Wednesday and Friday will be spent in airports and on planes.

2008 Resolution Tracker
Week 10 - Miles Run: 20, YTD: 218.25 (my right knee feels like it was more)
Week 10 - Days Written: 7, YTD: 70

Saturday night's storm knocked out our electricity and there was so much snow, we couldn't get out the driveway. Normally this wouldn't have been a big deal, but I promised an editor a bunch of stuff would be delivered this morning and the battery on my laptop was drained dry. Big problem, frantic author.

Beloved Husband to the rescue! Scot is an old school Yankee tinkerer, a slightly-aged Boy Scout who loves improvising, and he saved the day.

He turned my little red car into an office.

First he cracked open the doors of the garage so I wouldn't asphyxiate. Turned on my lovely car (it often gets 40 miles per gallon, btw) and cranked the heat. Plugged the inverter into the 12-volt jack (the thing we used to call a cigarette lighter). Plugged my laptop into the inverter. Carried down all of my research books and stacked them on the passenger seat. Fired up the laptop.

I worked out there all morning, enjoyed the tea that Scot brought out at 10:30am. When the power came back on at lunchtime, I moved into the house and kept working without missing a beat. Wrote until dinner and a little bit after that and accomplished my goal.

As promised, this week I'll answer some of the writing process questions. that you guys have sent in. Today's questions come from skg who writes: Do you ever have to adjust the overall pacing of the story, and if so how do you approach that?

Once the stinky first draft is done, I do a lot of tinkering with the pacing. It takes a little time to get the perspective that allows me to see the entire story, but once I can, I examine each thread of the story to make sure the events that pull it forward unfold in a way that makes sense, both for that thread and for the larger story. I make a time line of events on a huge sheet of paper. Once I see things on the time line, I usually make changes; speeding up some sections, slowing down others.

How do you think through making a character change over the course of a novel?

To be honest, I don't give that part much thought. I focus on creating situations that force the character out of her/his comfort zone, raising the emotional stakes as I go along. If I've developed conflicts that are organic and in keeping with the character's world, her/his response to the conflicts will naturally lead to internal growth.

More tomorrow. Right now I have more writing to do, and a long run later if I'm a very good girl. It's ten degrees outside... I'll be running on a treadmill.

I woke up at 3:30 this morning thinking about the chapter I'm revising. I took this as A Sign. When the Muse kicks you in the rear end in the middle of the night, you might as well get out of bed. I'm glad I did because this is turning out to be a scribblecious day.

I am fascinated by the excellent questions that poured into the Comments section yesterday. I will answer them when I know this draft is going to make it in under the wire, aka next week.

What other writing process questions do you want me to answer?

Finally, because I made such a fuss about the terribly written demand for help from a student in November, I think it's only fair to post an email that came in last night. This one is a wonderful example of how you can get an author to write back with the information you need. Teachers, feel free to share this!

S., who is my favorite 8th grader in the world because of this letter, wrote:
Dear Mrs. Anderson,
I am an eighth grade student and am doing a 30 page report about you
and three of your books( Speak, Catalyst, Prom). I have gathered
information from numerous sources but I seem to be needing more,
thats at least what my teacher said. In your interviews with
teenreads and St. Petersburg, I managed to acquire some weird
information, aka what clique you were in in high school. If you know
of a good website or have any information that might not be out
there )like what kind of writing you do, and what you are working on
now.....) that would be greatly appreciated. I think your books are
amazing and so touching. My favorite one is Speak, when i read the
book, i felt her pain. thank you so much for being such an amazing
author!

THAT is how it's done, my friends. (For the record, I wrote her back and suggested she use the Tags on my LiveJournal as an index. It's the fastest way to come up to speed on what I'm doing.)

A round of applause, please, for S!

A thread about writing popped up in the Comments yesterday. Since some people don't read the Comments, I figured it would be more useful if I responded here.

The first question was: Because of the crushing deadlines you (and many other authors) encounter, have you ever thought of an additional scene that you might have wanted to add to any of your stories after the book was finalized and sent to the printer?

No, I never think of additional scenes after the book comes out. Despite the deadline pressure, the book doesn't go out until it is ready. I've never had to ask a publisher to move a publication date, but if it came to that, I would. The integrity of the book is the most important thing.

But I have thought about putting some of the "cutting room floor" scenes on my website, after the books have been out for a while, so that fans could read them. I'm sure they would lead to interesting discussions.

The only problem is that my webmaster is already overwhelmed with work and I'm afraid if I ask for anything extra at this point, he'll move to a desert island.

Follow up question! Do you always write chapter by chapter when you draft? Or do you ever end up with gaps in the initial draft that you have to go back and fill?

I start at the beginning and stumble forward, though I usually have several later scenes in mind before I ever set down the first word. In early drafts, there are chapters that are fully fleshed out with narrative, dialog, action, and story momentum. But there are also chapters that contain only a few lines that say something like "Main Character does something profoundly stupid that sets up the consequences in Chapter 30. Also, the sub-plot with the mermaid needs to be brought up. Add imagery of seashells?"

As I move through draft after draft, I figure out if, in fact, I need the chapter in question. If I do, the scenes that carry the proper load of the storytelling kind of show up in my brain. That's the magic part. I cannot explain how that happens. It just does.

Other questions?

2008 Resolution Tracker
Week 8 - Miles Run: 24.25, YTD: 171
Week 8 - Days Written: 7, YTD: 56

44 weeks left this year.

Busy weekend writing. Busy week ahead.... you guessed it, writing. My cold is gone but it woke up the asthma dragon who sleeps in the deepest lobe of my lungs, and we've been wrestling a lot. I tend to lose these battles. I've been getting my running in, but veeeeery sloooooowly because of the hacking and sputtering. I am trying to convince myself that running with a reduced flow of oxygen is a cool new conditioning technique. And I am off to the doc today to see if he can prescribe a nostrum that will put the dragon back to sleep.

I hates lung dragons. (Does anyone remember the Yosemite Sam quote?)

In much happier news, I can share the cover of my fall book with you!!



The story follows the adventure of a slave trapped in New York City in 1776 while the city is torn back and forth between Patriot and British occupations. It doesn't come out until the fall, so more details later. (Thanks to perfykt for the nudge.)

Last week mousesnovel asked in response to my announcement that I left a character on the cutting room floor: Was it difficult to eliminate the character? I'm not sure how much you can tell me, if it will give spoilers, but I know I get very attached to mine.

The different parts of the writing process feel like different countries to me. The etiquette and customs of one country is extremely different from the next. In the early drafts, I include everything that falls into my head and I love it all. I could never cut out a character at that stage. When I get to later drafts, that changes. The only thing that matters is what works best for the story. if I fall in love a character and she doesn't work in the story, she's gets cut. I can always send her flowers, take her to the movies, or go out for coffee with her. But if she isn't a vital thread in the fabric of the story, out she goes.

I am dashing outside the Cave of Revision for a quick breath of fresh air. All is going fairly well. I am working long days, but love being so submerged in my story. One of the characters is now found only on the cutting room floor. Eliminating her cleared up all kinds of structural problems in the text.

Now if I could just get rid of the hamsters who have taken up residence in my lungs, life would be peachy. I am coughing like a seal with a three-pack a day habit, a seal who hangs out under the dock and steals French fries from unsuspecting tourists, a seal who works as a carnie with a traveling fair and writes rambling screeds about walrus conspiracy theories. I sound like a Seal Gone Bad.

Thanks to a generous contribution from Mary Pearson and Aliya, who contributed from England (!), I am 94% on the way to making my Team in Training fund raising goal. All I need is another $150. Will you put me over the top?

OK, the fresh air is killing me. Back into the cave I go.


2008 Resolution Tracker
Week 7 - Miles Run: 22, YTD: 146.75
Week 7 - Days Written: 7, YTD: 49

45 weeks left this year.