It's the Year of the Dragon!


Dragon pic gakked from www.draconika.com

Better Than Boyfriend and I usually enjoy the start of the lunar new year by visiting a nearby Chinatown or hosting a banquet for our staff at one of our favorite restaurants to bring in some joy and prosperity for a breath of fresh (chilly!) air. While the Jewish New Year tastes of apples and honey, the Chinese New Year smacks of crumbly almond cookies and soft moon cakes filled with red bean paste! (It somehow always comes down to food. And fire. The kids both love and shy from the towers of red firecrackers snapping in the windows and exploding in the streets.)

Take a moment today and re-energize! Need help? Enjoy some beautiful Dragon Dance photos or take a little time out of your day to watch this:



Health and happiness to you & yours!

Maggie Stiefvater wrote an incredible post about the "Dissection of Revision," outlining part of the journey from rough WIP to finished page. It garnered so much online support, that she thought to share the love by contacting a bunch of other authors and inviting them to dissect their own writing in similar fashion, and since I'm all about Paying It Forward, I was thrilled to take part in taking apart!

Now, granted, I have little to no technical skill and this post gives thanks to a lot of smart people (mostly my husband, the Ever-Patient One) and due in no small part to the begging/pleading/ranting at the various machines in my office to comply with one another, but herein lies the result: the opening scene of Chapter Two of LUMINOUS, broken down into (appropriately enough) thirteen points to consider at a safe distance, preferably with a hardcover copy handy!

YE OLDE ROUGH DRAFT:



( Massive details behind the cut )

And, finally, here we are:

AN ILLUSTRATED SUMMARY FROM FIRST DRAFT TO FINAL PAGE



While this might look like a simple a-to-b linear travelogue, I assure you this went through all the alphabet and then some! There was anywhere between five and a dozen drafts of portions of the manuscript to the whole enchilada and much of its gold was thanks to the editors, copy editors, critique partners and supporting cast. The one thing I really learned from this process was that a printed book is truly a work of art.

I hope that this was helpful, or at least amusing, because the #1 thing we can do for one another as writers in the field is Pay It Forward! Thanks, all! If you have any questions, feel free to plunk them in the comments.

Peace and fluffy kittens.

See something? Say something.

Yesterday, I got to speak with my editor about finishing touches on Book One and the plans for Book Two. I exchanged emails with two bestselling, award-winning authors on projects and invitations to Pay It Forward. And today, I am getting ready to go to a writer's retreat with two of my old critique partners and a bunch of fellow 2011 debuters.

I feel very writerly.

So I am packing clothes, chocolate, and silly things in preparation to bask in the glory of writing armed with the fresh knowledge of what I'm going to do for Book Two in the Twixt amongst people who understand.

I've been to a couple of retreats and they've always been wonderful. Maybe not productive in word count, but wonderful nonetheless, because I am able to sit in the midst of the typing and the music and the scribbles and it's like you can see the wheels turning. There's an energy snapping and popping in the air and even when it settles, it's the lull of creation taking place; line by line, word by word, bird by bird. And in-between, we eat and we talk and we share dreams and advice, we listen and share, we know and we don't. That is something that cannot be replaced or replicated and that is our community. The writing community's strength is that it understands and reaches out to one another because while writing is solitary, the hearts behind it are open to the world.

I will be open and listening and writing with a smile. More to come soon.

:-)

One of my jobs is "author" and another of my jobs is "Mom." And as a mom, one of my holy responsibilities (besides cooking, cleaning, washing, folding, driving, balancing checkbooks and calendars and making sure everyone's wearing enough layers and clean underwear) is to hound my children mercilessly to do their homework. My daughter is very bright and has become used to finishing her work in ten seconds and, should it take longer than that, she gets easily frustrated and insists it's "too hard" and she "can't do it." To avoid this, she can try to be sneaky and do the bare minimum of an assignment so it'll be done sooner. This illusion works wonders even if it doesn't actually *do* the assignment.

(I know this is a blog about writing. Bear with me.)

The other day, my bright little girl had an essay that was supposed to be 100-300 words. She dutifully sat down with her pencil and paper and wrote steadily while munching on her afternoon snack. Suddenly, she put down the pencil and announced, "One hundred and five words! I'm done!"

This sounded a lot like my daily Word Count goal setting, but I knew that this wasn't achieving some small part of larger picture, to her, this was the whole deal: over and done. My husband checked over the essay topic. "You didn't answer the question," he said and pointed to a bit of her writing. "Why don't you talk about this more?" She rolled her eyes. "But I wrote over 100 words!" she whined. This is when I said a few words of wisdom that came from somewhere in the deep Hivemind of Motherhood (honestly, I blame the Muse for flashes of inspiration like these, which makes me suspect Maggie is a grandmother at the very least):

"Homework isn't a test, it's a conversation on paper. It's asking you for your opinion. We want to know your thoughts and this is a way to tell us what you think by using your words."

Whoa.

And in this silly, Sunday moment, I got a lot of what I feel about education and test-taking as well as a lot about what I feel makes Good Writing. A book is a conversation between the author and the reader as the narrator and the characters, or the narrative character and the reader. The element of "voice" resonates because we, the readers, can hear it, feel it, speaking to us in a way that is believable and breathes the characters and the world into life. We are invested in the main character and her or his journey because we care about what happens and, most importantly, what they have to say about what happens. Through the guise of these conversations, I (the author) get to talk to you (the reader) by having a conversation on paper. I want to hear your voice, too. I want to answer the questions you may have or tell you more about the people or places or ideas you find most interesting. I want us to co-create an experience together: this story coming true for just we two until you can turn and talk about it with your neighbor in a way that makes it true for them, too. It's a shared experience. A larger conversation. And it's one that keeps growing off the page and into the wider world.

Take, for instance, Harry Potter. I love how Jackson Pearce once (quite rightly) pointed out that just about any place in the world, you can have a conversation with anyone about Harry Potter. It has transcended the page and brought such a richness of character and detail that there's an infinite number of conversations to be had. A world of opinions that keeps growing the more voices are added and the more perspectives are shared. It's awesome in its power and, most importantly in my opinion, the inclusiveness--welcoming everyone to come and join the party!

Pick up a pen, turn on the computer, pick up a book, and join the conversation.

Another thing I've promised to do for myself this year is to go experience more art. Beyond classical Monet, Renoir & Seurat, I like art that twists your head to the left, forcing reconsideration of reality and the automatic "Ooo! What?" That includes anything from Neil Gaiman's writing to movies like Inception or The Game to Bosch's triptych and Blue Man Group's musical pipes. My latest eye candy treat for the noggin is 3D street art.

Check it:


"Cave Painting" by Edgar Müller at the Arts Alive Festival

There is something delightful about changing the ordinary into the extraordinary with the healthy application of art. Edgar Müller's 3D street art speaks to me in ways that are purely Urban Fantasy; the itch I like scratched when I consider the real world with a dollop of "What If?" madness and an offbeat sense of humor and fun. I *love* this stuff! It's always a nice reminder that in order to refuel creatively, it's nice to break out of your medium and go experience something else for a while. And watching the creation of a project from start to finish really gets me ready to take on my own work.


My favorite bits are seeing folks walk along the edges or lean precariously over a drawn precipice!

So this new year, I hope you take the chance to swim in unforeseen waters for a while and zap your brain with some alt-creativity. You never know what you might jar loose!

What are some of your favorite bits of inspiration when you need to refuel? Include them in the comments to share some brain candy with the rest of the class. We could all do with a little creative widdershins!

I don't make New Year's resolutions. I never got into the habit of making (or breaking) them and don't plan on starting now. Instead, I like to make Big Life Goals and then take the necessary steps to make those dreams happen. Warning: this is not an easy process.

It's so much easier to let dreams and wishes slip into "someday" -- a vague, golden paradise in time and space that exists to coddle us into being content that while we aren't really doing anything about those ideas right now, they will be waiting for us just around the calendar corner when we have the time/energy/brain space to get to them. It is a pretty lure, but don't fall for it: it is a lie. There is no cake.

Here's the secret: Bake your own!

"What meanest thou?!" I hear the cry as the bubble bursts. What meanest me is that I find it far more effective, albeit far more scary and confronting and demanding, to actually plan for Big Things to Happen and then make them happen. But these can't be monthly goals or even yearly goals, those are too close and too immediate. I balk. Rather, it's better to fool the brain with those "someday" impulses by picking a completely ludicrous, far-away date and then logically pacing yourself to meet them, traveling back through time to the more immediate today. (If you ninja your brain quiet enough, it'll never sees this coming.)

For example, my husband and I began our marriage by taking up the challenge to paint our life out as big as we could. We took a fat black notebook and came up with our crazy ideas, marching our Dream Life out to 2025 in areas like Home, Work, Family, Friends & Travel. We made up *huge* stories about what our house would be like, the kinds of parties we'd throw, the countries we'd visit, the careers we would invent for ourselves and wrote them as specifically as possible, with dates. (You can imagine the closer we got to the present how the grumbling and petty fights began. This is what happens when you confront yourself with dreams. You get over it & then eat cookies.) We then listed what steps we'd need to take backwards, allowing that if these Big Goals would be true in 2025, then what would life look like in 2015? 2010? 2005? 2003? 2001? Next year? Six months from now? Three months from now? Next month? Next week? Tomorrow?

This was back in 1999.

Crazy, huh? Well, we didn't get the dog we wanted after we left the apartment (we have two cats) and I didn't make a College Preparatory education program (I got published, an even BIGGER life dream) and my husband didn't expand his business (it's the economy, you know, but he stayed in business that he made himself for over 15 years now!) but it's a little eerie how many of our other life goals came true down to the details including building our dream house, the dates when our children were born, a Paris vacation we promised ourselves, throwing major theme parties for friends we hadn't made yet, and getting to bring my parents to Disney to witness their grandchildren experiencing the magic for the first time.

And, here's the thing: if when we don't make our goals, being "close" is that much closer than not doing anything at all, leaving that hope for "someday", which invariably never comes. Good intentions are great, but having a big, fat, beautiful Plan is *so* much better!

So this week, Better Than Boyfriend & I sat down for our yearly check-in with Ye Olde Black Book of Awesome Lifehood to see how we're doing and being on the cusp of mighty changes that no one could have foreseen, we have some major decisions to make. Luckily, we're making them together, hand in hand, and facing the future with our eyes on the prize(s), but since I barely ever dreamed that I'd *finally* be a published author, I'm keeping Neil Gaiman's advice close to my heart: his wish that we Make Big Mistakes as well as a commitment to pushing my own envelope out of my comfort zone. To that end, I'd like to

- Write the book that I am supposed to write, the one that calls me to step up and do it
- Meet authors who I admire in-person to thank them for their generosity, graciousness, savvy or just because I'm a rabid fangirl at heart and *really* like their books
- Do something for the world, something that can change it for the better in a tangible way
- Stop the roller coaster ride in my head and hug my family more

So while those aren't resolutions per se, these are steps on my way to greatness and a better life than even the one we dreamed up over a decade ago. Life is an adventure: let's dream BIG!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

This is YOUR year!

Remember: you are capable of unimaginable brilliance & there is no timeline for awesome. ;-)

For all those who celebrate:

***MERRY CHRISTMAS!***


Festivities ala Hogwarts, c/o fanpop.com!

Having no idea about this myself, I hear that this involves presents, pine trees, and the Snoopy Dance. I approve! And to add to the heaps of loot, I'm happy to announce the winner of the "Don't Miss This If You Missed It" Contest Giveaway:

katemacetak!

Congratulations!!! And may this be a year of wonderful writing, reading & goodies for all!

The holidays are well upon us. You can tell be the frantic merry-making and gobs of cardboard boxes peoples' doors and halls. And here to share some holiday "ruach", is some stuff to bring you smiles for this festive holiday hilarity:

First, herein lies a bit of brilliance via the incredibly talented Saundra Mitchell who, aside from being a stand-up lady in both the writerly world and the comedic sense, is also an incredible baker and has a flair for the fun. I was thrilled when she asked me to join her and a lot of cool YA Authors in an escapade of silliness: "From YA to You!" Enjoy!



Second, how can one survive the wrapping of presents without double-sided sticky tape? Well, while I've been gluing my fingers together and tearing tissue-thin wrapping, I kept thinking of this vid of Simon's Cat which always kept me sane. Enjoy some more!



And lastly, there is *ONE MORE DAY* to enter my "Don't Miss This If You Missed It" contest giveaway for the holidays, ending tomorrow at midnight. Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell the hyper-intelligent robotic cyber-cat that is masquerading as an alien invader in your home: the more the merrier and they count as more chances to win!