I wanted to make sure to put in an appearance…I was out of town all weekend endur–I mean, enjoying family fun time, which evidently makes me ill, since I now have a head cold. That’s my excuse, and I’m stickin’ to it. If I still feel bad tomorrow, I might have to put off this week’s Toon Thursday, which makes me sad. But sometimes it has to be done.
I’m hopelessly behind on blogs, too, but I’ve got a few links for y’all. One is that the 2008 Children’s Choice Book Award winners were announced–YA-wise, the major (though unsurprising) bit of news there was that J.K. Rowling won the Author of the Year Award. Did I mention I wasn’t surprised? Yeah.
Next, a few Narnia-inspired news bits. On Cynsations, Cynthia Leitich Smith interviews Herbie Brennan on his latest editorial project, Through the Wardrobe: Your Favorite Authors on C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. He contributed an essay, along with Ned Vizzini, Sarah Beth Durst, Brent Hartinger, Elizabeth Wein, and many others. It sounds like a fascinating project if you’re a Narnia fan. Secondly, though there are a few spoilers, you won’t want to miss Fuse #8’s Caspian vs. Caspian–Betsy’s take on comparing the book to the movie is quite amusing. If you haven’t clicked that link yet, let me just say this: Susan + Caspian + tongue action.
On the writing front, though I’m working on finishing a first draft, I’m also going back to revise my last “finished” draft with an eye to characterization, since those are the types of comments I received (when I received any) from agents. In addition to good old-fashioned brainstorming–writing down any and every idea, no matter how ridiculous–I’m also going to do some writing exercises from a book I like called What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter. It’s just one of those books I randomly picked up ages ago, but it’s helpful for sparking ideas. Anybody out there have writing-related books whose advice they swear by?
About the author
Sarah Jamila Stevenson is a writer, artist, editor, graphic designer, proofreader, and localization QA tester, so she wears a teetering pile of hats. On any given day, she is very tired. She is the author of the middle grade graphic novel Alexis vs. Summer Vacation, and three YA novels, including the award-winning The Latte Rebellion.Comments
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A. Fortis, I just read a wonderful series of essays about writing and cleaning houses, (!) by Nancy Peacock. It’s called “A Broom of One’s Own: Words on Writing, Housecleaning, and Life” (Harper Perennial, 2008). It’s wise and funny. Peacock used to clean houses for a living. One of my favorite books of the year.
Cool, Susan! Thanks. I’ll have to look for that.