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The event at
Books of Wonder with
Libba Bray,
Kristin Cashore,
Suzanne Collins, me and
Scott last night was astonishing. Several people said they thought there were around 200 people there. I could not possibly guess from where I was sitting, but it did indeed appear to be many.
Here's my bad fuzzy photo of the many:
It was pretty overwhelming to be on the bill with such popular writers, especially Suzanne Collins. For those who don't know, her two most recent novels, Hunger Games and Catching Fire are currently, and have been for some time, numbers one and two on The New York Times bestsellers list, selling bajillions of copies a week. The Books ...
Posted by Justine at 17:03, November 11th, 2009 under Book tour, New York City/USA, Writing life, Writing process, Young Adult literature |
Today's
NaNoWriMo tip comes from Scott.
Go check it out.
Last night we watched Bong Joon-ho's
The Host again, which is probably my favourite giant monster movie ever. If you haven't seen it do so immediately! It more than stood up to a second viewing. We then watched the Making of The Host documentary, which was way better than those things normally are. For starters, they barely talked to the actors at all---always a very good sign. Pretty much every aspect of film making was covered: from the initial idea to the storyboards to sound design. Q: How did they create the monster's voice? A: Painstakingly.
A lot of time was spent on the logistics of filming on ...
Posted by Justine at 14:18, November 1st, 2009 under Viewing, Writing life |
I've been having a long-running conversation with a bunch of writer friends about our hopes for our careers. One of them has written a truly marvellous book, which comes out next year, and she's been telling herself not to hope for too much. She's trying very hard not to think about that book at all and to concentrate on the next one.
Which is of course what all writers should do: focus on the book you're writing, keep on plugging, don't get too distracted by what may happen next year with the book you've already finished.
Except that hope is precious. Hoping that your book will do well, that it will find readers, is not a terrible thing. I'm sure all writers ...
Posted by Justine at 2:11, October 28th, 2009 under Writing life |
You know what I wonder about authors on tour? ((You don't wonder? Well, I'm going to tell you anyways. So there.))
I wonder if they ever get sick of talking about themselves.
I mean, I know that authors are frequently the world's most self-obsessed human beings, but even so gabbing about yourself all day long gets really really old. I think that's why I like the Q & A sections of my events best. Because I get to hear what other people are thinking.
I had a wonderful event at a middle school in Seattle today. Small and intimate with about 15 girls and I was able to ask them questions and hear about their writing processes. It was my favourite part ...
Posted by Justine at 1:16, October 20th, 2009 under Book tour, Writing life |
Disclaimer: I am writing about YA publishing in the USA. Although I'm Australian I know much more about the publishing industry in the US than I do about Australia. Or anywhere else for that matter.
I know that the title of this post is going to lead to some comments insisting that it's not true that white writers have any advantages and that many white people are just as oppressed as people of colour. I don't want to have that conversation. So I'm going to oppress the white people who make those comments by deleting them. I don't do it with any malice. I do it because I want to have a conversation about white privilege in publishing. We can have ...
Posted by Justine at 13:13, October 1st, 2009 under Publishing business, Ranting, State of the World, Whingeing, Writing life, Writing process |
Lately, I have heard several published white writers express their trepidation about the idea of writing non-white characters. Some of them have mentioned that they feel they'll get in trouble if they continue to write only white characters, but that they also feel they'll get into trouble if they write characters who aren't white cause they'll bugger it up.
Damned if you do, they say, damned if you don't.
To which I can only say, and I mean this nicely, "Please!"
What exactly are you risking? Who exactly is damning you? Which of your previously published novels have attracted no criticisms and no damnation? Cause that's amazing. You wrote a book no one critcised? Awesome. Please teach me that trick!
Every single book I've ...
Posted by Justine at 16:46, September 26th, 2009 under New York City/USA, Ranting, State of the World, Whingeing, Writing life, Writing process |
Why do so many people have an obsession with how old people are when they make art?
Hmmm. I think that sentence demands a bit more context. I keep seeing comments like, "OMG, Buffy is amazing and Joss Whedon was only in his early 30s when he first created it." Or Arthur Rimbaud was one of the most influential French poets ever and he quit writing when he was 19!"
There must be something wrong with me cause I think, "So what?"
Either the art is good or it isn't. Who care how old the person was who created. Doesn't make it any better.
Not to mention that there's an argument that the only reason people are still talking about Arthur ...
Posted by Justine at 15:23, September 25th, 2009 under Ranting, State of the World, Writing goals & milestones, Writing life |
T'other day I was gasbagging with John Scalzi as I do when the writing isn't going well and IM calls to me. We got to discussing as how we are frequently annoyed by reviews which dismiss a book because the reviewer did not like it but can give no reasons beyond saying that the book sucked. This is something that annoys many writers. We put in all that hard work agonising over every word and someone dismisses the book like this:
This book is bad. It sucked so much. Don't read it.
Or even more frequently,
This book had golden retrievers in it. I really hate dogs. Also the mother washed her son's mouth out with soap and the book ...
Posted by Justine at 13:12, September 15th, 2009 under Frippery, Whingeing, Writing life |
Most aspiring writers ask the right questions. I worry that
my last post, which is an
echo of
many earlier posts, gives a different impression, so I feel the need to say it loud and clear: the vast majority of aspiring writers who contact me ask smart, sensible, interesting questions. It's really only the ones who are more in love with the idea of being a writer than with actually, you know, writing who ask the wrong questions. Mercifully, they are massively outnumbered by the people who love writing.
During my events at the
Melbourne Writers Festival I wasn't asked any wrong questions. My audiences were smart and full of excellent questions. The encounter ...
Posted by Justine at 6:42, August 28th, 2009 under Fans & readers, Reading, Sydney/Australia, Writing life, Young Adult literature |
Currently I am at the
Melbourne Writers Festival and thus I am fielding many questions about writing and publishing. I noticed again that many of the questions unpublished writers ask are coming at it from the wrong end of the stick. Ally Carter calls this
asking the wrong questions.
For instance, after yesterday's event an adult came up to me and explained that they are an aspiring writer working on their first novel. They said they wanted my advice but the questions they asked really confused me:
What's the best way to get started writing fan fiction?
How do you build up a following?
Should I be using wordpress, livejournal or blogger?
It took me awhile to realise what was going on. ...
Posted by Justine at 3:48, August 25th, 2009 under Publishing business, Writing life, Writing process |
I've been asked a few times why none of my protags are white given that I am white. (So far that question has only come from white people.) I thought I'd answer the question at length so next time I get that particular email I can direct them here.
I don't remember deciding that Reason, the protagonist of the Magic or Madness trilogy, would have
a white Australian mother and an Indigenous Australian father. I don't remember deciding that Tom would be white Australian or Jay-Tee Hispanic USian. But I made a conscious decision that none of the characters in How To Ditch Your Fairy would be white and that Liar would have a mixed race cast. Why?
Because a young ...
Posted by Justine at 0:14, July 22nd, 2009 under State of the World, Writing life, Writing process |
Yesterday Maureen Johnson posted most excellently on the topic of
judging yourself by numbers. She paraphrased a graduation speech by Bill Murray:
“Look, people thought I was going to be a huge failure, but then I got kind of lucky and made it. And I had and have lots of amazing friends, and we’ve seen each other’s careers go up and down. Take my advice: don’t go comparing yourself to other people. You will go insane. It’s pointless. Your fortunes may rise and fall, depending on all kinds of things you have no control over. Keep your friends. Never compare all the outward markers of success. Do what you love, because that’s all you really get and that’s all that ...
Posted by Justine at 11:01, July 17th, 2009 under Publishing business, Ranting, Writing life |
The
discussion in the fanfic post got me thinking about the differences between writing to make a living, as I do, and writing solely for fun.
Many people in that thread talked about how writing fanfic was a learning experience that prepared them for becoming a professional writer. And there's no doubt that that's how fanfic has worked for many pros. However, the vast majority of writers of fanfic not only don't become pros, they have no desire to do so. They write fanfic for a variety of reasons: fun, community, because writing is something they can't not do and so on---they don't do it as some kind of apprenticeship for becoming a "real" writer.
I know professional writers who ...
Posted by Justine at 0:00, June 23rd, 2009 under Publishing business, Writing goals & milestones, Writing life, Writing process |
Posted by Justine at 14:45, June 14th, 2009 under How To Ditch Your Fairy, Ideas, Liar, Vainglory, Writing life, Writing process |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, June 9th, 2009 under Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 12:50, May 20th, 2009 under Publishing business, Ranting, Writing life, Young Adult literature |
There's a very fine line between promoting your books and writing tickets on yourself. It's a moving line. What one person finds overly self promotery other people think is fine.
For instance, I was once told I had crossed the line because my Livejournal icons were of the front covers of my books. I thought that was nuts. I like the covers of my books. Why can't I make icons out of them? Too pushy, I was told. It's like you're only on Livejournal to get people to buy your books. Someone else told me I shouldn't mention my books on my blog because it sounds like I just want people to buy them and that's the only reason I ...
Posted by Justine at 13:39, April 24th, 2009 under Publishing business, Writing life, Writing process |
I was a little taken aback recently to meet an author who kept quoting their own work in support of their arguments. Seemed to me they were writing tickets. Um, really you're quoting you to prove your points? Isn't that redundant? Oh, look, I agree with me. How surprising!
But mostly I was weirded out because I couldn't quote anything from any of my books even if you threatened to kill me if I didn't start reciting stat. Who memorises their own books? I mean other than the writer I just met who does.
I put it to the test and asked a bunch of my writer friends if they could quote any of their work. Cassandra Clare and Robin ...
Posted by Justine at 18:23, April 9th, 2009 under Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 16:45, April 6th, 2009 under Bloggery, Publishing business, Writing life |
I've been writing stories since I first learned how to write a sentence. But I did not become a full-time writer until 1 April 2003. ((Wow, this is my sixth anniversary. How bizarre.)) In those many many years before I became a full-time writer I wrote in between doing other things. In between going to primary school, high school, university, and my various jobs. I'd always have at least two documents open when I was at uni. One was the essay I was supposed to be writing and the other was the story or novel I was writing on the sly. When the going got tough with one I'd switch to the other. Writing was something that I snatched time ...
Posted by Justine at 0:12, April 1st, 2009 under Publishing business, Writing goals & milestones, Writing life, Writing process |
Posted by Justine at 0:26, March 22nd, 2009 under New York City/USA, Writing life, Writing process |
Posted by Justine at 10:41, March 18th, 2009 under Writing life |
Because a good writing day is better than all the mangosteens in the world. Because a good writing day wipes the memory of all those bad writing days entirely. Because I love it.
Posted by Justine at 1:23, March 7th, 2009 under Mangosteens, Writing life, Writing process |
Posted by Justine at 0:59, February 27th, 2009 under Bloggery, Frippery, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 0:14, February 17th, 2009 under Writing goals & milestones, Writing life, Writing process |
Posted by Justine at 16:56, February 16th, 2009 under 1930s NYC novel, Whingeing, Writing life, Writing process |
Posted by Justine at 0:05, February 13th, 2009 under New York City/USA, Publishing business, Sydney/Australia, Writing life, Writing process |
Posted by Justine at 0:16, February 11th, 2009 under New York City/USA, Reading, Writing life, Writing process |
Posted by Justine at 0:35, February 1st, 2009 under Bloggery, Magic or Madness trilogy, Praising, State of the World, Writing life |
Yup, it's my annual what-I-did-this-year skiting post. I write these mostly for myself so I can easily keep track. Hence the
last day of the year category. Thus you are absolutely free to skip it. ((I would if I were you.))
This year was exceptional. I'm still pinching myself. My first Bloomsbury USA book, How To Ditch Your Fairy, was published and seems to be doing well. I was sent on my first book tour, which was fabulous. It's insane how much fun I had and how many fabulous schools, book shops and libraries I visited in California, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. Thank you to everyone who came to see me while I was on the ...
Posted by Justine at 0:20, December 31st, 2008 under 1930s NYC novel, Book tour, First Kiss, How To Ditch Your Fairy, Last Day of the Year, Love is Hell, New York City/USA, Sport, State of the World, Sydney/Australia, Vainglory, Writing goals & milestones, Writing life, Young Adult literature |
Posted by Justine at 0:06, December 18th, 2008 under Bloggery, Book tour, Publishing business, Writing life, Young Adult literature |
Posted by Justine at 0:25, December 14th, 2008 under Bloggery, Fans & readers, Praising, Ranting, Writing life |
Taking up blogging is one of the least effective things you can do to promote your book.
There, I've said it.
Don't take up blogging cause your publisher says you should. Or because of John Scalzi. Yes, he's sold tonnes of books and gotten heaps of fans because of his blog. He is the exception. Very few writers who blog have thirty thousand plus hits a day.
Scalzi's been blogging for more than a decade. Ten years ago he had maybe a few hundred people a day reading
Whatever. It took him years of consistently good and frequent blogging to build that audience. ((And all those other authors with insanely popular blogs? Most of them were already popular---like, say, Meg Cabot---before they ...
Posted by Justine at 0:59, December 13th, 2008 under Bloggery, 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 |
I have decided that I will do all future signings my way and ignore Scott's advice entirely. The only people who can tell me to hurry up when signing is whoever is running it. So there, Scott!
I hasten to add that crazy long signings are not a regular occurrence for me. They pretty much only happen at places like
NCTE or
TLA or on school visits. If I had lines like Scott gets routinely I would probably study how he gets through a line speedily while also managing to chat to those he's signing for. He is a master. He does in fifteen seconds what takes me a minute. ((This could be because he's a USian and I'm ...
Posted by Justine at 17:28, November 26th, 2008 under Cons & Other Gatherings, New York City/USA, Praising, Sydney/Australia, Writing life |
Scott and me are having a wee bit of an argument. He thinks I sign too slow on account of I like to chat to everyone and make my dedication as personal as possible. He thinks that's fine with a very short queue but when the line is long you owe it to the people standing in line waiting to go as fast as possible.
The argument arose because I had a big line at NCTE ((National Council of Teachers of English)) on account of the lovely
Professor Nana talked very enthusiastically about How To Ditch Your Fairy. Bless you!
In my defense
Where I was sitting I couldn't see the queue so I didn't know how long it was.
English ...
Posted by Justine at 0:37, November 25th, 2008 under Cons & Other Gatherings, Fans & readers, Scott's books, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, November 13th, 2008 under Ranting, Whingeing, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 15:46, November 9th, 2008 under 1930s NYC novel, Bloggery, Excuses, Fans & readers, Liar, Whingeing, Writing goals & milestones, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 1:00, November 4th, 2008 under Excuses, Liar, New York City/USA, State of the World, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 7:50, October 31st, 2008 under Liar, New York City/USA, State of the World, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, October 28th, 2008 under Liar, Whingeing, Writing life, Zombies |
Riddle me this:
Why do I so often think that a dream sequence will solve my plot problems when as a reader I hate dream sequences?
Gah!
Yeah, I just deleted the dream sequence.
Posted by Justine at 12:23, October 26th, 2008 under Liar, Whingeing, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, October 21st, 2008 under Book tour, Publishing business, State of the World, Writing life |
I finally figured out why I always often get into mega fights disagreements with my copyeditors.
Eureka!
Thus far all my novels have been in first person or limited third. I view these as the colloquial points of view and write them to mimic the character's speaking voice as much as possible. That way, if I do it right, the reader will feel like the protag is talking to them because the language I use is conversational.
And there I fall into arguments with many copyeditors (not all of them---certainly not YOU). They wants everything to be gramatically correct and conform to house style. I wants for it to be colloquial, flowing, rhythmic language. Sometimes that means flouting conventional grammar rules and house ...
Posted by Justine at 0:00, October 14th, 2008 under Words & Language, Writing life, Writing process |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, October 13th, 2008 under Cons & Other Gatherings, Ideas, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 8:58, October 6th, 2008 under Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, September 23rd, 2008 under Magic or Madness trilogy, Publishing business, Writing life |
Posted by Justine at 0:00, September 4th, 2008 under Bloggery, Ranting, Writing life |
