A New Adventure

Okay, folks, I’m trying something new, and I would really love your input. I’ve found that some of the best development for my books comes from things I write that aren’t actually going to be in the book—scenes that are written for the sole purpose of getting to know my characters, my world, etc.

So this is my plan. On Mondays, I will post a writing prompt geared toward character/story development. On Friday, I will post my own response to the prompt (nothing long, just a brief scene), along with links to anyone else who participates. You can post your response any time between Monday and Friday–just link to your post in the comments of Monday’s prompt, and I’ll tag you on Friday.

This is a great way to link up with other writers and get people excited about what you’re writing. Plus, you can totally justify it as counting toward your writing goals of the week, AND exercises like this really help me get unstuck when I can’t seem to make any headway.

It doesn’t have to be perfect, it doesn’t have to be long, it doesn’t have to be earth-shattering. You just have to have fun with it!

What do you think? Are you in it with me? Do you have any suggestions on how to run it better? Would you completely stop reading my blog if I started posting writing prompts? Let me know in the comments! I would really love to hear feedback as I plunge into this new attempt.

To kick things off, here is a prompt for this week:

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Take a minor character from your WIP and write a scene from their past, before your story takes place.

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Also, the fabulous Lisa over at Accidental Bohemian was kind enough to interview me! Click on over to check it out!

To 100 and Beyond!

So many exciting things have been happening, and I haven’t had the time to blog about any of them!

• I passed 100 followers last week. That was pretty cool.
• I got a Goodreads update email—and two of my friends had added Demon’s Heart to their to-read list! Nothing like seeing your cover on a Goodreads email to make it real. Check out the Goodreads page for Demon’s Heart.
• There is now a pre-order button for my book on my website. You can pre-order through either Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
• In book-unrelated news, I played tennis for the first time in a couple of years on Saturday. I live in a place where the courts are only dry for three months out of the year, and I missed those three months last year due to traveling and a baby. I love tennis, and it was so good to get out on the court again.
• And finally, I’m almost done with a crafty sewing project that I started back in November. It’s been sitting on a shelf for months, and I finally pulled out my sewing machine and have been getting the last few pieces sewn on. I feel about sewing machines the way Calvin feels about his bicycle, so this is a big deal.

Happy July, everybody!

Oh, the Internets.

My bloggy friend Lynette posted a wonderful response this morning to that ridiculous Slate article about how YA fiction is worthless trash. I had many of the same thoughts in response, and hers are already well articulated, so I’ll skip the specifics of why that article is one of the most absurd articles I’ve ever read, and head straight into a rant about how it’s an embodiment of what’s wrong with the Internet today.

Pretty much anyone with access to a library can publish on the internet today. That means there’s a lot of stuff on the internet to sift through. That means that in order to get attention, so many people write things that are deliberately inflammatory. They may or may not believe what they’re writing, but if it gets their site enough hits, they’ll post it. Logical fallacies? Not a problem! Hitler-like tendencies? No one will care! Half-truths and unsupported statements? No one will even notice! It’s written and published, so everyone has to believe it.

Some people are not deliberately inflammatory, they’re just incredibly close-minded. Their way is the only way to make anything of your life. If you don’t ready stuffy old books all the time, you’re an idiot. If you don’t breastfeed, you’re a terrible mother. If you don’t tweet a billion times a day, you’ll fall into oblivion. If you don’t discipline your children using my methods, you’re a terrible mother. If you don’t self-publish, you’re a snooty traditionalist pig. If you let your children cry in the store, you’re a terrible mother. If you don’t let your children cry in the store, you’re a terrible mother. (Can you tell I have an issue with mommy blogs?)

In both cases, common courtesy is sadly lacking. Can you imagine how many people Ms. Graham tried to publicly shame? How is that okay?! It doesn’t matter that no one I know who has read the article believes her. What matters is that every bit of that article qualifies as cyberbullying. Why are we surprised that our children are using the internet to tear down and torment their peers when adults do the same thing every day, not just on social media, but on national and worldwide magazine and news sites?

Thankfully, not all people are like that. Some do take the time to back their opinions up with facts. Some don’t condemn the Other for simply being different. I see dozens of blog posts every week that are thoughtful, uplifting, and well crafted. So thank you, my dear WordPress friends, for being a light of sanity in a very hazy internet. You give me hope that not everyone in the world is lost in the isolation of their own need to be right all the time. Stay wonderful.