Vision, promises, work....

Perhaps one of my biggest challenges has been creating a clear vision of what I want out of my artistic career. I know I am not alone in this process.

How does one create a vision?

Make a plan. The first things that come to you mind. Begin there. You can always we revise you ambitions as you move along.

Promises.

Make a promise to yourself to move towards your goal. Believe in your power to move towards the goal even through the difficult parts.

Believe in the power of your ability to create what ever it is you desire. You must maintain your vision to see beyond the immediate.

Finally,

You must be prepared to work.

Step by step.

Day by day.

Books are for Girls

So the other day i was listening to Sherman Alexie talking on MPR. He is a great writer with a varied background and had a lot of really interesting things to say, I suggest checking that interview out on their archives. One, of many, things that really stuck with me during his talk was when the interviewer asked him something about his audience. His response was something to the effect of, well i'd like it if young people and men like my books but since 80% of people who buy them are college educated, adult, white women, that's really who needs to like it.
I found that pretty suprising and I understand that it wasn't intended to be a literal statistic, but I just sent out a bunch of beta copies for the novel i am finishing. Guess who actually has read them and turned in critiques? Only adult, smart, women. My younger lady friend? Nope. My guys friends? Nope. Just the mid twenties plus crowd, so there's a little totally non-scientific survey in that same direction.
Another beta reader of mine said that part of it is that his wife buys them, reads them first, and he only reads the ones that get a good recommendation from her. I wonder about other peoples thoughts on the subject? Most of the people I myself know who actually read, are the ladies.... In fact almost exclusively ladies. I wonder why that is? I mean, I know lots of guys read, I mean I read all the time, but i definitely know way more women who do. Putting it into stark contrast, I gave my parents my book. They were so proud I had finished it, they took me out to dinner, did the whole proud parent thing, blah blah. Both equally gushy, supportive parents.
Bottom line: my mom read it, my dad hasn't.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

...and a blessed Samhain to you all! Wishing you writing inspiration in the New Year!

Quote of the Day

"All that I desire to point out is the general principle that life imitates art far more than art imitates life."

Oscar Wilde

What Teens Read

Fascinating Publishers Weekly article about a Teenreads.com survey of YA readers. Although the publishing industry itself has been hit by these hard economic times, I found this survey very reassuring for authors of YA scifi and fantasy. http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6703770.html


(X-posted with Children of the Night)

Bear Witness

My current wip is a YA paranormal romance in which one of the characters is a lycanthrope. Recently, I wrote a scene in which another of the characters has to run from him when he is in werewolf form. I casually described the werewolf as bigger than a bear and talked about how fast he was and didn't think much of it. Then, last Friday, I had the fun of taking my son Harrison and my daughter Shanika to the Minnesota Zoo to see the Russian grizzly bear exhibit. Suddenly I was faced with actual bears and I found myself revisiting the words I had written. What does it mean to be "bigger than a bear"? The beautiful creatures swimming just beyond the glass weighed in at 700 pounds or more and had to put on about 400 pounds every year to prepare for winter. What did it mean to be incredibly fast? Although the huge animals looked lumbering, the sign by their cage assured me that one of their running strides was equal to four human strides. As I watched the bears swim, I imagined what it would really be like to run from one. Then I tried to imagine what it would be like to be one, or to be something like that-- that big, that powerful. I left the exhibit with a whole new notion of my scene, a new respect for bears and for my lycanthrope character-- and a new appreciation of writing. Because sometimes seeing the world through the lens of my writing makes me a more curious, interested person. As a busy mom trying to write my first book in my supposedly free time I often have to stay goal oriented just to keep my momentum going. But sometimes it is good to focus on all the benefits that writing brings to my life, like how my writing gives me an excuse to research things I wouldn't otherwise learn about, or how writing has introduced me to a host of fascinating people I might never have otherwise met, or how writing can turn an ordinary trip to the zoo into an encounter with something mythic.

How I spent my November

I love nanowrimo. Making writing a first draft into a month long community celebration just works for me. This year I'll be using the November habit to force open a word production block. What has it done for you?