Archives
Posted by Justine at 0:25, December 14th, 2008 under Bloggery, Fans & readers, Praising, Ranting, Writing life |
One more thing that I think some wannabe published writers don't understand. Being a professional writer means having homework ALL THE TIME. (Thanks to Jennifer for
pointing this out.) And when your homework comes back covered in red you have to do it over. Sometimes you have to do it over multiple times. And then your homework gets checked again by several other people (copyeditor, proofreader) and then you have to look at it again.
It's like the worst homework ever. Homework that NEVER EVER ENDS.
I'm just saying . . .
Posted by Justine at 0:28, December 9th, 2008 under Bloggery, Publishing business, Ranting, Writing life |
A large part of being a writer---whether you're published or not---is working to improve, to perfect your craft. One of the biggest obstacles for many beginning writers doing that is that they sometimes get so obsessed with getting published that they forget about the writing.
It took me twenty years of striving to make my first professional fiction sale. I know how you feel---I felt it. I was desperate to get published and that's part of why it took me so long. I kept getting distracted from perfecting my craft. From writing and writing and writing and rewriting and rewriting and rewriting. From reading and studying the best (and worst) writers I could. I was more obsessed with seeing my name ...
Posted by Justine at 0:10, December 8th, 2008 under Ranting, Writing life, Writing process |
Posted by Justine at 13:44, December 7th, 2008 under Bloggery, Ranting, State of the World, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, November 13th, 2008 under Ranting, Whingeing, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 1:00, November 6th, 2008 under Praising, Ranting, Unicorns, Zombies |
One of the biggest culture shocks for me as an Australian living (some of the time) in the USA is
voting. Every election year I've been here there have been
voter intimidation and
fraud scandals. Maybe I missed it, but that does not happen at home. Not every single election.
Seems to me that the aim in the US is to make voting as difficult as possible. Why? I don't get it. I've had friends disallowed to vote because the official said they had the wrong ID. It didn't exactly match the name on the voter rolls. As in, their driver's license had their middle name spelled out in full, "Rachel", but the voter roll had just ...
Posted by Justine at 0:00, October 22nd, 2008 under New York City/USA, Praising, Ranting, State of the World, Sydney/Australia, Zombies |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, October 16th, 2008 under New York City/USA, Publishing business, Ranting, Reading, Sydney/Australia, Young Adult literature |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, September 26th, 2008 under New York City/USA, Next novel, Ranting, State of the World, Zombies |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, September 4th, 2008 under Bloggery, Ranting, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 17:38, August 31st, 2008 under Ranting, Reading |
I just read a book that's been getting rapturous reviews. It is every bit as beautifully written as advertised. There were whole paragraphs that were very WOW inducing. ((Imagine Stephanie Rice saying, "Wow!!!")) I loved parts of it and not just because they were about cricket. ((I just gave away what book I'm talking about, didn't I?)) But I did not enjoy this book.
I will break my usual procedure and name the book: Netherland by Joseph O'Neill. I'm naming it because it really is gorgeously written. Seriously, it's stunning. O'Neill deserves the reviews he's been getting. I think many people will love it. Hell, many people are loving it. I'm writing this to figure out why it didn't work for ...
Posted by Justine at 0:59, August 27th, 2008 under Ranting, Reading, Travelling |
Posted by Justine at 19:27, July 30th, 2008 under Ranting, Reading |
Posted by Justine at 20:00, July 28th, 2008 under Fans & readers, Ranting, Reading |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, July 28th, 2008 under Fans & readers, Ranting, Reading |
I just watched a hard fought game between the LA Sparks and Detroit Shock that ended in
a real fight. The ending was horrible with three players and one coach ejected and, I'm sure, lots of unwelcome attention from the press which ordinarily completely ignores the WNBA. Gosh, maybe now even the New York Times will cover a game.
I was most shocked by Detroit Assistant Coach Mahorn, who is male and well over 7ft tall 6ft 10inches, pushing over Lisa Leslie. He needs to be suspended for the rest of the season. You do not touch the opposing team's players ever. Under any circumstances.
But mostly I blame the referees. There were several incidents leading up to the fight between ...
Posted by Justine at 22:26, July 22nd, 2008 under Basketball, New York City/USA, Ranting, Sport, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 0:32, July 22nd, 2008 under Ranting, Writing life |
Just when you're approaching the end of one book and you really must give that book all your time and all your brain, another one comes along and starts insisting you write it instead.
This is WRONG and must stop. IMMEDIATELY.
Bugger off, stupid new book. GO AWAY!
Posted by Justine at 12:08, July 17th, 2008 under Liar Book, Ranting, Whingeing |
Posted by Justine at 12:57, July 16th, 2008 under Bloggery, Liar Book, Ranting, Whingeing, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 0:03, July 10th, 2008 under How To Ditch Your Fairy, Liar Book, Ranting, Whingeing, Writing goals & milestones |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, June 16th, 2008 under New York City/USA, Publishing business, Ranting, Reading |
Not only does it all look EXACTLY the same but it rips really really easily. It is the stupidest currency ever.
That is all.
Posted by Justine at 15:41, June 15th, 2008 under New York City/USA, Ranting |
I have been noticing much skiting on the internets of late. "Oh look," says a blogger, "look what amazing Advanced Readers Copy I has been sent! Is mine, not yours. Hahahahahah!"
Well, now it's my turn. I has an ARC of
Margo Lanagan's first novel in years and years, Tender Morsels. I hugs it to my chest and will share with no one! Well, okay, I'll share what I thinks of it with you but not the actual ARC cause that's mine!
But before I get to actually, you know, read the delicious bookie which is calling to me---seriously, everything about it screams, READ ME!, from the gorgeous cover to the jacket copy to the fact that Margo Lanagan wrote it---I ...
Posted by Justine at 12:10, May 30th, 2008 under Liar Book, Praising, Ranting, Reading, Young Adult literature |
Posted by Justine at 0:01, May 16th, 2008 under Ranting, Reading, Whingeing, Young Adult literature |
Posted by Justine at 17:10, March 9th, 2008 under Bloggery, Publishing business, Ranting |
Posted by Justine at 12:18, March 3rd, 2008 under Ranting, Words & Language, Young Adult literature |
Posted by Justine at 13:19, January 28th, 2008 under Ideas, Praising, Publishing business, Ranting, Zombies |
Congratulations to
all the Printz honorees and winner. What a fabulous line up! Can't wait to read 'em all!
I'm especially pleased to see
Geraldine McCaughrean and
Elizabeth Knox on that list. They're two of the best writers in the world right now. Regardless of genre.
I'm a little disappointed by some of the whingeing I've seen from people who are upset that they've never heard of any of the Printz honorees. Isn't that one of the points of literary awards? To draw our attention to books that might otherwise be overlooked? Every award jury is devoted to finding the best books they can that are eligible for their particular award. Eligibility is not determined by copies sold or ...
Posted by Justine at 16:06, January 15th, 2008 under New York City/USA, Praising, Ranting, Young Adult literature |
This vid exactly expresses my current feelings. Be warned that it involves intemperate language and violence:
Do not ask me how many times Microsoft Word has crashed on me today. Let's just say I better not run into Bill Gates anytime soon.
The first person who tells me I can switch stupid Mr Clippy off gets punched. He is switched off. But when Word crashes it magically gets switched on again. Have I mentioned that I HATE Microsoft Word?
Oh and the first person who tells me to switch to
Scrivener gets yelled at. I have switched, but I'm doing final rewrites, and have to keep my doc in smelly ...
Posted by Justine at 11:29, December 17th, 2007 under How To Ditch Your Fairy, Ranting, Viewing, Whingeing |
Especially when it's a manuscript intent on
giving me paper cuts or in the form of a card.
There. I've said it: I hate Christmas Cards. Do not send me any.
To be honest I'm pretty much against anything that shows up in my mail box that isn't a cheque or a contract or a magazine I subscribe to. ((I'm okay with parcels though. Especially in their Krug champagne form.)) And really why can't all of these be done electronically? Why do banks charge wire transfer fees? Transferring money from account to account is now one of the simplest processes in the world. Why can't I sign my contracts electronically? Why can't I subscribe to all the magazines I ...
Posted by Justine at 0:01, December 3rd, 2007 under Admin, Ranting, State of the World |
Posted by Justine at 9:55, November 13th, 2007 under Basketball, Bloggery, New York City/USA, Praising, Publishing business, Ranting, Sport, State of the World |
Cedarlibrarian, a major Harry Potter fan,
doesn't care about spoilers. Her arguments are smart and convincing.
And yet.
I'm really not a very evolved consumer of texts cause spoilers bug the crap out of me. I want my first experience of any narrative---be it book, manga, graphic novel, TV show, movie, play, whatever, to be untrammelled by knowing stuff about it. I don't read reviews unless there of something I've already read/seen or it's something I don't care about.
Frankly, I'd almost prefer not to know what genre it is.
I don't want to know if people liked it or not. All the spoilery grumbling about the latest series of TV shows I haven't seen yet drives me spare. ((And I almost ...
Posted by Justine at 22:51, October 21st, 2007 under Ranting, Reading, Viewing |
Posted by Justine at 13:26, October 12th, 2007 under Ranting, Reading, Travelling, Young Adult literature |
Posted by Justine at 0:08, September 12th, 2007 under Ranting, Reading, Writing life, Young Adult literature |
Here's why I will never join SFWA:
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America has used the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to fraudulently remove numerous non-infringing works from Scribd, a site that allows the general public to share text files with one another in much the same way that Flickr allows its users to share pictures.
Included in the takedown were: a junior high teacher's bibliography of works that will excite children about reading sf, the back-catalog of a magazine called Ray Gun Revival, books by other authors who have never authorized SFWA to act on their behalf, such as Bruce Sterling, and my own [Cory Doctorow's] Creative Commons-licensed novel, "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom."
SFWA's attitude to ...
Posted by Justine at 11:48, August 31st, 2007 under New York City/USA, Publishing business, Ranting, State of the World |
Because today I must share the negativity, a list of my current hates:
Referees who only seem to see the fouls committed by my team
Bill Laimbeer ((Though I do love hating him. Don't ever change, Bill! You were eerily calm and unaggro during today's game. A game where you don't get a technical foul is a just plain wrong.))
Friends who are always late---especially when we're meeting for dinner and I'm starving and the stupid restaurant won't seat us until the entire party is there
Restaurants that won't seat you until the entire party is there---What gives? The table is empty and just sitting there. We'll order stuff. Lots of it! You'll make more money off us if you seat us straight away. ...
Posted by Justine at 17:48, August 26th, 2007 under Basketball, Ranting, Sport |
Posted by Justine at 0:04, August 20th, 2007 under Bloggery, Ranting, Young Adult literature |
Posted by Justine at 17:57, August 8th, 2007 under Bloggery, Publishing business, Ranting, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 14:36, August 6th, 2007 under Bloggery, Publishing business, Ranting, Writing life |
Ages ago I ranted against those who say that switching point of views is evil and wrong. I did not give any examples demonstrating when pov switching not only works, but makes a scene a billion times more effective than it would have been trapped in one pov only.
So here is one. And from a fellow Australian, naturally:
There was more talk, more laughter. One moment Arabella thought that he would walk away with the other men. The next Lord Petre feared that she would turn back to the box with Miss Blount, and that his chance would be lost. The chance for what, he could not say. Neither of them heard a word of the conversation; each ...
Posted by Justine at 23:56, August 4th, 2007 under Praising, Ranting, Reading, Sydney/Australia, Writing process |
Am I alone in finding
Anne Hathaway not even remotely Jane Austen-like?
Didn't think so.
Gah!
Posted by Justine at 23:30, August 2nd, 2007 under Ranting, Toilets, Viewing |
Someone just told me I'm wrong about Bring It On being the best movie of all time. Excuse me? If I say it is then it is! This is my personal list of the best movies of all time. I cannot be wrong about it.
I'm not saying there aren't other best movies of all time. There are! The Princess Bride is one. Rififi is another. Not to mention Out of the Past and Lagaan.
I am also not wrong about
mangosteens being the best fruit.
Or The Wire being the best television.
Or Emma and Hellsing and anything by Osamu Tezuka being the best manga.
Or zombies being the best monsters.
And cricket absolutely is the best sport.
So nyer!
Though, of course, I reserve the ...
Posted by Justine at 17:23, August 1st, 2007 under Food, Mangosteens, Ranting, Reading, Viewing, Zombies |
Last year there was a fair amount of debate about whether M. T. Anderson's Octavian Nothing is YA or not. Personally, I think it is, but I can see where those you don't are coming from. You can make a case either way. Octavian fulfills my requirements for YA.
I just finished a book which doesn't fulfill those requirements even though it's being sold as YA. Like Octavian Nothing, Margo Rabb's Cures for Heartbreak is a gorgeously written, deeply moving book. I loved it.
I just don't think it's a young adult book.
Here's why:
The protag is not a teenager. She's someone in her thirties looking back on her teenage years and how she coped. This gives the book a distant, elegiac quality, ...
Posted by Justine at 12:25, July 25th, 2007 under Praising, Ranting, Reading, Young Adult literature |
Today there is a
most excellent article in The New York Times about just how bad flying in the US is. Delays are up by 39% this year and that's based on the airlines' stats which everyone says are deeply wrong:
As anyone who has flown recently can probably tell you, delays are getting worse this year. The on-time performance of airlines has reached an all-time low, but even the official numbers do not begin to capture the severity of the problem.
That is because these statistics track how late airplanes are, not how late passengers are. The longest delays---those resulting from missed connections and canceled flights---involve sitting around for hours or even days in airports and hotels and do not ...
Posted by Justine at 16:21, July 5th, 2007 under Ranting, Travelling |
Posted by Justine at 0:01, July 2nd, 2007 under Ranting, Reading |
Posted by Justine at 6:22, June 29th, 2007 under Ranting, Reading |
Anyone know where I can buy preserved lemons (Morrocan style)? (Yes, I know I can get them online, but I like to shop in real life with actual people. I also know I could make 'em but I ain't in the mood for sterilising jars.)
I'm also looking for Thai herbs like pak chii farang and pandanus leaf. And, yes, I've tried Chinatown. Couldn't see 'em anywhere and no one knew what I was talking about.
And how about plain old chervil? (The places round here haven't even heard of chervil. Is there some strange USian word for chervil I don't know about? I googled and came up with chervil being chervil. So how come no one knows what it is?)
I'm ...
Posted by Justine at 12:28, June 23rd, 2007 under Food, New York City/USA, Ranting, Sydney/Australia, Whingeing |
The
wonderful speech that
David Levithan gave at Reading Matters is now
available as a podcast. You all should listen to this passionate, galvanising call to arms that left most everyone wanting to go out and slay vampires right that very minute. Or, you know, get the books that kids need into their hands.
I'm still mulling over my response to David's call to arms. On the one hand, I think he's totally right. On the other, it's so annoying to have a foreignor come in, spend a few minutes in the country, and then tell us Aussies what to do! We hates it, we do. Especially when they're right . . .
Posted by Justine at 0:12, June 20th, 2007 under Cons & Other Gatherings, Praising, Ranting, Reading, Young Adult literature |
Yes, my site has been down on and off since Friday. Ditto my email. Yes, it has driven me insane.
My apologies to anyone who's been sending me urgent emails. I now have close to a thousand unread emails waiting for me.
Brave new world of faster and better technology, eh?
Bah, humbug.
Posted by Justine at 22:59, June 18th, 2007 under Bloggery, Excuses, Ranting, Whingeing |
New York has a sports team that's opened its season with a five game winning streak, despite not even making the playoffs last year and no longer having its
best and most popular player. How many column inches has the New York Times given this remarkable performance?
Pretty much none. Unless you count the teeny tiny AP reports.
This is because the team is the
New York Liberty and it's a women's team. The New York Times is incapable of covering women's basketball unless it's a profile of a male coach. Especially if that
male coach is ex-NBA and coaches a non-New York team.
The New York Daily has no problem covering the Liberty nor does the ...
Posted by Justine at 11:06, June 6th, 2007 under Basketball, New York City/USA, Ranting, Sport |
