Ghenet Myrthil

Friday Five

2012-02-17T12:35:00.000-05:00

1. This weekend I'm off to my first writing retreat! Three other writer friends and I are staying in a cabin in the nearby Pocono mountains for three days. There will be plenty of first drafting/revising, reading, chatting, snacking and tea-and-wine-drinking (though not all at once). I'm really excited to get away from the hustle and bustle of NYC for a few days and fully concentrate on my writing. I'll share a recap next week!

2. I finished reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green last night. It was incredible. That's all I'll say about it for now because next Friday, I'll discuss it as part of the YA Book Club (hosted by Tracey Neithercott). If you've read the book, you should join in! All the details are here. If you haven't read the book, DO IT. It will change you for the better.

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3. Next on my reading list is Ditched by Robin Mellom. It's really fun so far. It's a debut so I'll post about it for the 2012 Debut Author Challenge when I'm done.

4. Last weekend I started Couch to 5K, one of my Thirty Before 30 goals. It's a 9-week program for beginners who want to work their way up to running a 5K. I first tried it a couple of summers ago but stopped when it got to hot to run outside (me and the gross NYC summer temps don't get along). This time, I'm starting out on the treadmill at the gym and will move outside when it gets warmer out. The hardest part so far is finding the time to get to the gym, since the program has three runs a week. But I highly recommend it if you want to get into running.

5. I'm really behind on my TV viewing (which is probably a good thing), but the one show I'm really excited to catch up on is Smash. Have you seen it? Here's the premise from the show's website:

"Smash" is a musical drama that celebrates the beauty and heartbreak of the Broadway theater as it follows a cross section of dreamers and schemers who all have one common desire - to be a "Smash." The series centers on a desire to create a Broadway musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe.

My teenage self (who dreamed of being on Broadway) is rejoicing over the existence of this show.


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What have you been reading/watching lately? Have an awesome weekend!

When is the Best Time to Share Your Story?

2012-02-15T10:30:00.000-05:00

While at the 2012 Writer's Digest Conference, I attended a session called "Making Good Ideas Great" by Jack Heffron. His words of wisdom included:

Write passionately, in a way that feels natural to you.
Suspend disbelief and withhold judgment. Don't be the editor/reviewer when you write your first draft. Focus on the story and the way to pull the best ideas for it.
Writer's block isn't a block; it's writing. True love with your book happens when it starts getting hard. It means your idea is asserting its independence and letting you know what it wants to be. Give yourself time to explore the story's possibilities and let the relationship with your story blossom into something deeper.
Creativity is in exploration and execution. It's 100 little epiphanies that evolve into something bigger, not one big "aha" moment.
Readers don't care as much about what happens as what it happens to. If your critique partners are saying your middle is boring, it could be that they haven't connected enough to the characters.

He also said something that got me thinking. According to him, when your idea is new and fragile, you shouldn't share your story with others. He warned us against telling our critique partners about it too soon because it will stifle our creativity. Keep your idea a secret, he advised.

It got me thinking. When is the best time to share your story with your critique partners? As you're writing your first draft, or once it's complete?

I wrote the first 1/3 of my book while getting an MFA so I got feedback on it from the very beginning. I'd write a draft of a chapter, send it to my workshop, receive comments, revise it and send it again. Then I'd wrote more of the book and they'd comment on it throughout the program.

Once I graduated, I took time to finish the draft before sharing it with anyone else. It was nice to not have constant feedback while writing. I joined a critique group soon after finishing that draft, and started getting feedback again.

With my next book, I wonder if I should try writing the whole thing before letting my critique partners read it. Maybe Heffron is right and I'll be more creative because I won't have critiques in the back of my mind. I can see how an unfavorable comment received in the beginning of the process could stop you from seeing an idea through. This happened to me in my MFA program with another story idea.

If I write an entire first draft secretly, I won't have to worry what people will think of it, and can explore the story's possibilities without judgment. I can see the pros and cons of both sides, but I might give this approach a try.

What about you? When do you share your stories? Do you keep them under wraps until they're completely written?

Top 5 Tips I Learned at the Writer's Digest Conference While 9-Months Pregnant: Guest Post by Gabriela Pereira

2012-02-08T09:30:00.000-05:00

Today I'm excited to share a guest post from Gabriela Pereira. I first met Gabi in our MFA program and we've been good friends ever since. Last fall, she launched DIYMFA.com, an amazing resource for writers, and most recently she and her husband welcomed home their first baby. Just before her son was born, she joined me at the 2012 Writer's Digest conference. Take it away, Gabi!

In January 2011, I attended the awesome Writer's Digest Conference (WDC) and the day it ended, I began counting the days to this year's event. You can imagine, then, my surprise and disappointment when I realized that the dates for the conference were precisely the three days prior to my baby's due date. I mean, not to be narcissistic or anything, but couldn't they reschedule this amazing conference to... say... mid-February so that I could go? This scheduling glitch was beyond unfair.

In the weeks leading up to the conference, whenever I talked to my writer friends I'd hear about how they were going to WDC12 and I got insanely jealous. I checked the conference website obsessively, researching agents and choosing my sessions, completely in denial of the fact that I was nine months pregnant and probably wouldn't be able to go. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I decided baby or not, I was going and that was the end of it. This is the story of that adventure and the Top 5 Things I learned.

Don't Try This at Home, Kids. Before I share my experiences, let me add a quick disclaimer. Before arriving at the conference, I made sure I was cleared by my doctor and that I had a support network of people both at the conference and at home, just in case anything happened. Also, the conference was in NYC, I happen to live in NYC and plan to deliver my baby in NYC. Had this conference been anywhere else, I would not have tried to pull off this insane stunt. (OK, I probably would have tried, but I doubt my doctor or my family members would have let me get away with it.)

Top 5 Things I Learned from Attending the Writer's Digest Conference While 9-Months Pregnant

1) An impending baby is not something you keep to yourself. First off, once you show up at a conference with your belly the size of a beach ball, there's no way you'll be able to keep it secret anyway. Instead, you might as well make sure key people are aware of your situation before you show up than to try to tough it out on your own.

The week before WDC12, I called the conference line and spoke with one of the organizers. I told her what was going on so that it wouldn't come as a crazy surprise to her or the rest of the conference staff should something unexpected happen. This gave me a safety net and meant I had a whole team of conference organizers aware of my situation. Whether you're about to have a baby or you have any other special need that the conference people should know about, tell them. The WDC12 conference staff was incredibly supportive and helpful and knowing that they were aware of what was going on gave me huge peace of mind.

2) Don't be a hero. This is actually good advice for all conference attendees, whether you're about to have a baby or not. When you go to events like this, the temptation is to squeeze every last morsel of awesome out of the weekend. This is all well and good, but when you get to day three of a fast-paced conference like WDC, you'll be at the point of burnout and you may end up missing some of the best sessions. I can't tell you how many people I know skipped out on Chris Baty's closing keynote (either because they had to travel home or because they were exhausted) and that talk was probably the best part of the whole weekend.

Don't be a hero, or you risk losing steam and missing the good stuff. Instead, be strategic and skip out on sessions that are not as important to you. Twice during the conference, I purposefully missed out on sessions so I could sit down in the comfy hotel lobby chairs and put my feet up for an hour. I chose the sessions I skipped based on two criteria: how relevant the topic was to me and whether I had friends who planned to attend the session and could lend me their notes. I'll admit, at the time I felt a bit like a sissy for having to skip out, but in the end I was glad I did it because I got much more out of the conference that way.

3) Stay hydrated and eat. Every conference I've ever been to has had water dispensers at the back of the session rooms. Some conferences (not WDC, unfortunately) even offer nibbles for breakfast before the morning sessions begin. Whether you're 9-months pregnant or not, take advantage of all opportunities to hydrate and eat. If you have a water bottle with you, fill it before a session and keep it handy so you don't have to get up multiple times to refill your glass. Tip: If they give out water bottles during lunch, grab one and refill it before the Pitch Slam so you can rehydrate while standing in line.

If there's no breakfast offered by the conference, make sure you eat something in the morning. Many writers are often tempted to skip out on morning food in their rush to get to that first session, but that's a long time to wait for lunch if you haven't eaten since dinner the night before. Take the time to take care of yourself and you'll be better able to focus on what's really important at the conference. Like pitching your book.

4) Be prepared. When you're 9-months pregnant, there's no telling what might happen, so you have to prepare for a conference as if the baby could come any minute. You also have to prepare as if the baby doesn't come and you are actually able to make it to the various sessions and pitch interviews with agents. In the weeks prior to WDC, I honed my pitch, chose sessions and studied agent and speaker bios as if I were definitely going to the conference. I think because I didn't know how much of the conference I would actually be able to enjoy, I was more prepared for this conference than ever before. In the end, because I thought I might have to leave at any moment, I got much more out of the experience than at other conferences in the past.

At the same time, I also had to make back-up plans in case the baby decided to show up during the weekend. These things included: having family "on call" to come drive me to the hospital in a moment's notice and having my doctor's phone number memorized--in case my cell phone battery died. Having several friends attending the conference with me was also a tremendous help because I knew there were multiple sets of eyes watching out for me and making sure I was feeling OK.

5) Pitch Slam is great, but it's not the end-all-and-be-all. I know that most writers attend conferences like WDC because they want to get their book idea in front of an agent. Pitch Slam (like speed-dating for writers and agents, where you have three minutes to pitch an agent with your idea) is a great opportunity, but for me it's only the icing on an already incredibly tasty cake. Because Pitch Slam involves standing in long lines, I wasn't sure how my endurance would be and if I would be able to pitch more than one or two agents at all. Because of that, I ended up not putting all my eggs in the Pitch Slam basket and focused more on making the most of the conference sessions, which I knew would be much easier on me.

The result? Not knowing how many agents I'd be able to pitch meant it took a lot of pressure off of the whole Pitch Slam experience. Each agent I got to was another bonus and whether they said "yes" or "no" to my idea, I was happy just to get their feedback and hear what they had to say. In the end, I managed to pace myself and pitch 8 agents, getting really helpful feedback from all and several requests that I submit my work.

But that wasn't the best part. Since I invested so much more time in preparing for the conference sessions than the Pitch Slam, I ended up making great connections with several speakers, one of whom even offered to speak with me further about my book concept and give me input. If I hadn't been 9-months pregnant and had invested my all in Pitch Slam, I would probably have never made those amazing new contacts.

Take-home Message: When I got home after the conference ended, I collapsed into bed and was near-comatose for 24 hours. Was the insanity worth it? Most definitely. Would I do it again? Absolutely (especially now that I know the baby was taking his sweet time).

The biggest takeaway from the weekend? Attending a conference three days before your baby is due is most definitely a conversation piece and this means you're probably going to be one of the most memorable attendees at the conference. But when you're that memorable you have to also be careful not to be memorable for the wrong reasons. The moral of this tale: If you're 9-months pregnant and attending a writing conference, whatever you do... don't do anything stupid. 'Nuff said.

Gabriela Pereira (AKA Gabi) is the founder and instigator of DIY MFA, the Do-It-Yourself "Masters" in Creative Writing. Her mission is to help share the MFA experience with writers who otherwise would be unable to get the degree. For more information on DIY MFA, check out DIYMFA.com or follow Gabriela on twitter (@DIYMFA). Gabriela has an MFA from The New School with a concentration in Writing For Children. She has published short stories and writes for two regular columns on writing.

YA Cafe/2012 DAC: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

2012-02-03T12:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to YA Cafe, an ongoing series where I chat about various topics relating to teen literature.

As I first mentioned back in December, I'm participating in the 2012 Debut Author Challenge, hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren. Cinder by Marissa Meyer was my first book and I really enjoyed it! Here's the summary from Goodreads:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

One thing the description doesn't mention is that this story is a re imagining of the fairy tale, Cinderella. You can read the Grimm's version here. Or you can remember dancing and singing along to the Disney version when you were a kid. (Was that just me?)

This was the first time I read a fairy tale re-telling, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I wondered how suspenseful it would be if the plot was very close to the Cinderella story, and I knew all along how it would end. But that wasn't the case. Many elements are the same - Cider's an orphan who lives with her evil stepmother and stepsisters (though only one of her stepsisters is evil). The budding romance between Cinder and Prince Kai is reminiscent of the original story. (I loved how Meyer tied in the glass slipper!) But the similarities end there.

The world of the story is totally different. Cinder takes place in a futuristic New Beijing, after the 4th World War. Cider is a cyborg, which is awesome in itself, but she's also a strong female protagonist who knows what she wants and doesn't take crap from anyone. Even when she does chores for her stepmother, she has an escape plan in mind. She's far from the submissive Disney Cinderella.

The plot strayed from the original story and took it in a totally new direction. And the ending was far from happily ever after. In fact, this is the first book in a series and it provided a cliffhanger that got me excited to read the next book, Scarlett, in 2013.

Overall, it was fun to read Cinder with the original Cinderella story in mind, but I'm glad it ended up being a unique story in itself. It made me want to read more books like it! I found lists of other YA fairy tale and classic re-tellings here and here. I'm going to add a few of these to my TBR list.

Have you read Cinder? What do you think of fairy tale/classic re-tellings?

Writer's Digest 2012 Conference: Wisdom From The Pros

2012-02-01T11:30:00.000-05:00

Of all the sessions I attended at the Writer's Digest conference, three had the biggest impact. Here are some words of wisdom from these writing pros that are worth remembering:

Donald Maass

{on writing the 21st century novel}

A lot of literary fiction titles (i.e. The Help, Water for Elephants) have been on the New York Times bestseller list for 1-2 years, while genre fiction (thrillers, etc.) are only on for 3-10 weeks.
The whole concept of genre is slowly dying.
Strong and beautiful writing is dominating. Maass calls it "high-impact" fiction, which reaches people in powerful ways. It's personal. Authors bring genuine experiences/emotion and don't hold back.
No matter what kind of writer you are and what kind of fiction you're writing, the techniques of high-impact fiction is available for all of us to learn from.
Maass' new book - Writing the 21st Century Novel - will contain 380 prompts using these techniques to improve your fiction. It debuts in the fall!

James Scott Bell

{on conflict and suspense}

True character is shown during conflict.
Suspense is withholding information.
You need trouble from the very first page, something that disturbs the characters' world.
First, you need a lead character readers can care about. Types of leads are positive, negative and anti-hero.
Second, the stakes of the story need to involve death--either physical, professional or psychological.
Third, open with a disturbance, or at least the possibility of trouble. Readers read because they want to worry about a character.
Each scene must have a character with an objective, and obstacles in the scene create the conflict. The outcome will be that they accomplish the goal or they don't. It should either be a setback or lead to further trouble.

Chris Baty

of NaNoWriMo fame

{on the drive to write}

Novels aren't written by novelists. They're written by everyday people who give themselves permission to write them.
There are four things writers need to pack:

A deadline. Even more important than the great idea, you need to get your idea moving. Break up writing into small, manageable steps. Ask other writers to hold you accountable.
Momentum. Remember the scientific rule, objects in motion stay in motion and objects in rest stay in rest? It applies to writing too. Even with a deadline, sometimes manuscripts stall. Even if you don't write everyday, commit to looking at your manuscript everyday. Tiny victories (i.e. opening your document) will lead to confidence about your project.
An appreciation of messes. Make as many messes as possible. You need to constantly experiment. Forgive yourself for your mistakes. You get better just by putting yourself out there and doing it.
Faith, that our books don't suck, that we're getting better, and that our work will eventually matter to somebody. Being a writer is an impractical and impossible dream but world holds a lot of great surprises. Everyone has so much more in them than they realize. We have the power to do great things. Outsource the job to friends and family - let them believe in you and borrow their confidence.

I walked away from these sessions feeling inspired and energized to write. Maass, Bell and Baty each have books on writing that I can't wait to get my hands on. Donald Maass' new book, Writing the 21st Century Novel, comes out this fall. James Scott Bell's new book, Conflict and Suspense, came out last month. Chris Baty has two craft books - No Plot, No Problem and Ready, Set, Novel. Baty's talk even inspired me to try NaNoWriMo! It's months away so we'll see if I actually do it. In the meantime, I hope you find these words as inspiring and helpful as I did.

Have you ever done NaNoWriMo?

Next week, I'm sharing a guest post from my good friend Gabriela Pereira (of DIYMFA.com) who was 9 months pregnant when she attending the Writer's Digest Conference. Stay tuned for her unique take on the experience! (Spoiler alert: she didn't go into labor during the conference...thank goodness!)

Friday Five

2012-01-27T10:48:00.000-05:00

I've never done a Friday Five before but I have a few unrelated things swimming in my head, so it seems appropriate. Let's get to it!

1. One of my Thirty Before 30 tasks is to participate in 10 twitter chats. I did my first one last week: YA Highway's The Highway Cafe.

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It was really fun! Though a little intimidating at first because the tweets go by really fast, and you have to pay attention to keep up. You also have to be okay with just jumping into conversations, which can be awkward. But the YA Highway ladies and all the other writers were really nice. We chatted about books we're reading, whether we're plotters or pantsers, how awkward most writers are in real life, and why that's okay (ha - that was a funny topic), and even our drinks of choice when writing. I will definitely join YA Highway's chat again, and others as well. If you're looking for twitter chats for writers, check out this post by Debbie Ridpath Ohi (aka Inkygirl). She lists all the hash tags for recurring chats and when they take place.

2. This weekend is the NYC SCBWI conference. I went the last two years but this year I'm missing out. With Writer's Digest conference last weekend, and other conferences/events I want to attend the rest of this year, I need to pace myself. I just registered for the NJ SCBWI conference in June and I'm really excited. It's a lot smaller than the big NYC one and I'll have more opportunities to meet and mingle with agents and editors, and of course other writers. If you'll be there too, let me know!

3. My husband and I are seeing the play Sleep No More tomorrow night for his birthday. It's not even really a play, but an experience. Have you heard of it/seen it? Here's what New York Magazine said about it:

A grown-up haunted house that actually haunts, Sleep No More (devised by the U.K.’s diabolical Punchdrunk company) is six floors of stylish madness that incorporates influences as diverse as Macbeth, Hitchcock, and techno. As you wander, masked, in the murk of the “McKittrick Hotel”—really a trio of converted warehouses next to the High Line—you encounter mute actor-dancers as they literally climb the walls of their infinitely detailed hell-house. If this be gimmickry, let us have more like it. Sleep No More phases through you like gamma rays, transforming you into (or maybe just revealing) the voyeur you were always meant to be.

It's going to be soo trippy! I'm nervous and excited at the same time. Expect a full report afterwards.

4. I finished the first book for the 2012 Debut Author Challenge: Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I really enjoyed it! My post on it will be up next Friday.

5. I hit 200 followers this week! I try not to focus too much on stuff like that but it's a nice milestone to hit. THANK YOU all so much for reading. :)

Have a great weekend!

Writer's Digest Conference 2012 Recap: Adventures in Pitching

2012-01-25T15:00:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, I attended the Writer's Digest 2012 Conference, which was fantastic. The speakers were informative and inspiring, and I made a few new friends. (My Moo business cards were a hit!) The most interesting part for me (and the most highly-anticipated part for most attendees) was the pitch slam on Saturday afternoon. Last year, I didn't participate but this year I was ready. Let me tell you, it was quite the experience.

The pitch slam is like intense speed-dating with literary agents. You pitch to as many as you can in 3 hours. You only get 3 minutes with each agent, and because everyone lines up in front of each agent, you end up waiting between each pitch. In three hours, I pitched 7 agents. Other people I spoke to pitched more because they were on shorter lines.

Overall, the pitch slam was great but I had a rocky start. Without getting too specific or naming names, here's what happened.

First of all, I was super nervous before it started. I'd memorized and practiced my pitch to death, but since this was my first time sharing my book with an agent (in person or by query) I was terrified. I decided - after speaking to a few other conference attendees - that it would be smart to pitch to an agent lower on my list, in case I screwed it up. That way, if I did mess up, at least it wouldn't be with my #1 agent at the conference. I went with who I'll call AGENT A.

It...didn't end well.

I recited my pitch perfectly and managed to speak slowly and sound conversational even though I was nervous. But then AGENT A told me my protagonist's problem doesn't seem big enough to carry a novel. I tried to explain that there's more to it, but AGENT A basically hated my premise. And frankly, wasn't all that nice about it.

Of course I was upset after that. Not only because I didn't get a request, but because I was told my book couldn't work. My first pitch ever on my first book ever and it seemed like a major rejection.

I thought about tweaking my pitch at that point, but decided to try one more agent first. I was already really nervous so switching my already memorized pitch seemed impossible. So I took a few deep breaths, told myself to let it go, and went on to AGENT B.

I pitched well again and AGENT B was really nice. But I didn't get a clear yes or no. It was strange because I'd heard writers usually get a specific request to send partial or full manuscripts, or the agent tells them they aren't interested. AGENT B did neither, though I was told I could check out the submission guidelines on the agency website.

*cue beginnings of meltdown*

I didn't go into this thing expecting everyone to request my manuscript. But I'd heard several people who'd done this before say they got requests from pretty much everyone they pitched. If agents think the pitch sounds remotely interesting, it seems they request because it's easier for them to decide when actually reading something. Plus, everyone I'd practiced my pitch with (my critique partners and other writing friends at the conference) seemed to think it was pretty good. But here I was with two not-so-great agent interactions.

I considered quitting at this point. Some thoughts that ran through my head (as I fought back tears...I'm kind of a wimp!): Maybe AGENT A is right, and my book isn't developed enough. It is my first book after all. Maybe I needed more practice and this book should be shelved.

But I didn't quit. I pulled myself together and said I'd try one more. If the next agent didn't seem interested either, I was going to stop pitching and regroup.

But AGENT C liked it! And so did AGENTS D, E, F and G. PHEW! Not only did they react positively to my pitch, but they asked good questions and gave constructive feedback. In total, I got five manuscript requests, one of which was a full. Squee!

In the end, it was a very worthwhile experience. And looking back, I'm kind of happy the "bad" pitches were first because they reaffirmed a few things:

1. The publishing business is very subjective. One agent might hate your manuscript but another will love it. You have to remember that a "no" from someone doesn't automatically mean your book sucks. AGENT A clearly wasn't into my type of book, and that's okay. AGENTS C-G liked it enough to request, proving my premise is fine.

2. Rejection is inevitable. Enough said.

3. In the face of rejection, KEEP GOING. If I'd decided not to continue pitching after AGENT B, I never would have gotten manuscript requests.

4. You pitch to find an agent who loves your book, but also to find an agent you'd want to work with. It was nice to be able to speak to these agents in person and see which ones I could see myself working with. One friend got a request from an agent, but realized through the pitch that she didn't actually like that person. Yes, you want to sign with an agent, but it's equally important to sign with the right agent for you.

I'll have to remember these lessons throughout the querying process! Have you ever pitched to an agent in person? If you're thinking of going to the conference next year, and want to ask me questions about the pitch slam, feel free to email me at ghenetwrites(at)gmail(dot)com. It sounds super scary (and was at times) but it was all worth it.

Next week, I'll start telling you about some of my favorite sessions at the conference. Hint: They involve Donald Maass and James Scott Bell. Stay tuned!

Goodbye (For Now) ROW80

2012-01-22T16:11:00.001-05:00

If you've read my blog recently or follow me on twitter, you know that I attended the Writer's Digest conference this weekend. Today was the last day and overall, it was amazing. I plan to share a few recaps, so stay tuned!

You probably also know that I participated in the Pitch Slam, which was yesterday. I'll share more details on Wednesday, but for now I'll say--having had that experience and knowing I'll be querying agents in the near future made me realize something. I don't feel comfortable talking about my book's status online. Since my goals this round were all about revision, and that's my main focus right now, I've decided to drop out of this round of ROW80.

This has nothing to do with the challenge (which is fantastic!), and everything to do with the fact that I'd rather finish working on this book quietly and let my critique partners and beta readers keep me motivated offline. The next time you hear about this book, it'll be because something exciting happened. And if you don't hear about this book ever again, well...I guess you'll figure out what that means.

Thank you for everyone who's supported me through ROW80. I will definitely continue to root everyone on, especially those of you I've gotten to know through this challenge. And when I'm ready to start writing another first draft, I'll totally sign up again because ROW80 really motivated me last time.

As for my blogging schedule, Sunday updates will go away, but I'll still post every Wednesday and sporadically on Fridays.

Hope you all have a great and productive week!

Writing Lessons from Felicity (Part 1)

2012-01-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

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I've been re-watching the TV series Felicity on Netflix. I originally watched it when it first aired in the late '90s. I was in high school at the time and OBSESSED.

Now that I'm re-watching, I've noticed things that I didn't pay attention to before. Like writing lessons! Yes, you can learn a thing or two about writing from this amazing show.

Spoiler Alert: If you've never watched the show (WHAT are you waiting for??) but are interested in watching, don't read on. I'm using examples from the first two seasons.

Lesson One: Make Your Characters Suffer

I sometimes have a hard time making my characters suffer. I know it's necessary and I manage to do it, but it doesn't always come easily. Usually I need to go back to a scene and make the situation even worse.

The writers of Felicity, however, have this concept down. There are so many moments when bad things happen to Felicity or her friends, or they get into awkward situations. I've actually cringed for them while watching these moments. Here are a few examples:

Example 1: In season one, Felicity goes to her first college party in her dorm. A friend borrows music (on cassette tapes - so retro!) to play during the party, but mistakenly takes a tape that has Felicity's recorded voice (Felicity and her friend Sally send tapes back and forth instead of letters). The DJ plays the tape during the party, and of course it's the part where Felicity talks about being a virgin. Everyone at the party hears about Felicity's sexual inexperience. *cringe*

Example 2: Later in the season, Julie (Felicity's friend/Ben's recent ex-girlfriend) overhears Felicity and Ben talking about the upcoming road trip and the fact that they almost kissed. Awkward.

Example 3: In season two, Felicity and Noel are caught smooching. Who catches them? Their art professor. The twist is, Felicity is currently dating the art professor's son, David. Oops!

As you can tell, there's a lot of drama. And kissing. You need lots of DRAMA in books. Lots of kissing isn't bad either. Especially in YA. ;)

In each of these examples, you feel for the characters who made mistakes, because their flaws make them more real. You wonder how they'll get themselves out of the situation. And you see the consequences of their actions.

In example 1, Felicity is mortified and now the whole dorm knows her sexual status (or lack thereof).

In example 2, Julie is hurt and stops talking to Felicity and Ben for months. She even writes and performs a song about how horrible Felicity is.

In example 3, Felicity breaks up with David, leaving him hurt, and she realizes she still has feelings for Noel, who already has a girlfriend. Things get complicated.

There are so many more examples in this show, and it's one of the reasons why I love it. It's fun to watch characters get into sticky situations and then get themselves out of them. As writers, that's what we need to achieve for our characters. Make them suffer! Your readers will be glad you did.

Are you good at making your characters suffer? Any other Felicity fans out there?

Since I'm only halfway through season two (of four), I'll share different lessons in a few posts as I finish the series.

Thirty Before 30: Changes in Blog Land

2012-01-11T14:32:00.000-05:00

One of my Thirty Before 30 goals is to improve my blog. See?

10. Improve my blog

I still love my blog's design (Thanks Joy!) but I've wanted to make a few changes to make the rest of it better. I figure since I'll be querying soon, literary agents might find my blog so I want it to be professional and easy to navigate. Here's what I've done so far:

Goodbye Blogspot, Hello Custom URL. I *finally* got around to buying my domain name - http://www.ghenetmyrthil.com/. The upcoming Writer's Digest Conference inspired me to make this change, since I wanted to put the new URL on my business cards.
Updated Bio. This is still a work-in-progress (since I suck at writing bios) but you can see my new one in the About Ghenet page above. I listed some fun facts about me. Who doesn't like fun facts?
Writing Page. The new Ghenet's Writing page has information about the books I'm writing. For now, it just has the bare bones of my current WIP (title, word count, genre, and status) but I might throw my hook/pitch in there once I start querying.
Books Page. I'll keep track of what books I read here. My plan is to read 52 this year so the list should grow each week.
Sidebar Tweaks. I updated the blurb under my photo, my blog schedule, and streamlined the labels in my posts.

An even bigger blog change is in the works, so I'll share it once it's done.

Speaking of blogging, I have a slight change to make to my schedule. I want to give my current revisions my full attention so until they're done, I'm going to only blog on Wednesdays, with a ROW80 update on Sundays. Once I send the manuscript off to beta readers, my Friday posts will be back. I hope you understand!

Meanwhile, anyone have any tips on writing bios?

How to Prepare for a Writing Conference

2012-01-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

Later this month, I'm going to the Writer's Digest 2012 Conference. It'll be my second time attending and I'm really excited. (Links to my recaps of the 2011 conference are at the end of this post.) As I talked about last year, I love writing conferences because they're inspiring, plus you can learn from experts and meet other writers.

Before you attend a conference, you should take the time to get ready. If you've spent hundreds of dollars to register (and even more if you have to travel or stay in a hotel), you want to get the most out of it. Here are a few ways to prepare:

1. Pay Attention to the Agenda. How you prepare for a conference depends on what you'll do when you get there. If you signed up for a workshop where your manuscript will be critiqued, your book needs to be polished before then. If the conference includes pitching sessions, you'll want to research the literary agents you're pitching and practice ahead of time. If you sign up for a conference months in advance, give yourself enough time to work on these things.

What I'm Doing: Last year when I went to the Writer's Digest Conference, I didn't participate in the pitch slam. This year, I'm ready. Fingers crossed I get requests!

2. Bring Supplies. Carry a notebook. Extra pens. Glasses, if you need them. Don't let your lack of supplies prevent you from gathering notes. Even if you aren't typically a note-taker, I still suggest jotting things down. The pros are presenting to you. That kind of in-person exposure isn't available everyday!

Also, bring business cards. Most likely, an agent or editor at a conference won't take your card but they're great for handing out to other writers so you can stay in touch. The basic information you need on a card is your name, title (writer), and contact info (website, email address, twitter handle, etc.) Here's another tip: if you want to include a phone number, set up a Google Voice account.

What I'm Doing: I'm ordering Moo business cards because they're affordable and good-quality. They even have a bunch of writer-appropriate designs. I ended up choosing one of their other designs because I was drawn to the colors.

The front - I couldn't resist the purple!

Two of four images on the back. They have nothing to do with writing but that's okay. They're pretty!

[source for all images]

3. Plan to Mingle. Writing is such a solitary activity so use the conference to connect with other writers. If you're going alone, the idea of talking to total strangers might intimidate you. But you should remember that you all have writing in common. Think of some ice-breakers ahead of time, for when you find yourself in a position to chat with someone. Some good ones are: What do you write? Where are you from? Is this your first time at this conference? If you go into the conference planning to speak to people, you'll most likely leave it with new friends.

What I'm Doing: I'm going to make a conscious effort to break out of my shell and talk to other writers. I met one of my writer friends (hi, Gina!) at last year's conference. Since then, we've started weekly write nights with a couple of other people.

Are you going to any conferences this year? If you'll be at the Writer's Digest conference, let me know! I'm going to try to tweet while I'm there so you can follow along @ghenet. And once it's over, I'll share what I learned right here.

2011 Writer's Digest Recaps
On Not Pitching
Putting the Fire in your Fiction
Building the Perfect Plot

New Year. New Goals!

2012-01-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

Happy 2012! With the start of a new year, it's time to set some new goals.

I had an awesome stay-cation last week, free from blogging and tweeting. I spent some time revising but mostly I just recharged. I slept in, spent time with friends and family, and watched an entire season of Felicity. (Best. Show. Ever!) It was great, and now I'm ready to be productive again.

[source]

In 2011, my main goal was to finish the first draft of my novel. In 2012, I want to continue to make progress with my writing. Here's what I hope to accomplish:

Finish revising my WIP and query literary agents. I'm pitching this novel at the Writer's Digest conference later this month, which I'll talk more about on Friday.
Write the first draft of my second YA novel.
Work on "Secret Writing Project." One of my former MFA professors put an idea in my head and I'm excited to explore it. Sorry I can't say more! I'll talk about it if anything comes of it.
Read at least 52 books. One book a week is totally doable. At least 12 of these books will be debuts, since I'm participating in the 2012 Debut Author Challenge. I'll track the books I'm reading on the "Books Read" tab above.
Check off more Thirty before 30 tasks.

It's going to be a busy year, but I'm excited. Good things are going to happen. I can feel it!

What do you hope to accomplish this year?

ROW80 + 2011 Goals: How'd I Do?

2011-12-21T13:11:00.000-05:00

It's the last day of ROW80 round four and almost the end of 2011. So how'd I do with my goals?

ROW80
At the beginning of the round, I set out to:

Finish current round of edits, using the revision checklist from James Scott Bell's Revision And Self Editing to track my progress
Send manuscript to beta readers
Read The Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass
Begin researching literary agents
Polish query letter
Start preparing pitch for Writer's Digest pitch slam

Unfortunately I didn't get as much done as I hoped. Revising takes a long time, guys. Much longer than I expected. Not because my book is particularly bad, but because it's my first book and I'm trying to get it right. Add to that an anniversary trip, moving, Thanksgiving and a gross, nation-sweeping cold during this round and you can understand why I'm still working on the first 1/3 of my book.

FAIL.

Except, not really.

I still made progress with my edits and had some really productive weeks (all thanks to write-nights). I read Hooked and figured out how to make my opening shine. Because the Writer's Digest pitch slam is only a month away (eek!) I've started to research the literary agents that will be there, and work on my pitch and query letter. I have drafts of both so I'm on the right track.

What's next? My "winter break" (as I like to call my upcoming 11 days off from work) begins on Friday so as soon as the Christmas festivities are over, my plan is to revise my way into the New Year. (Not literally. I'll take a break for the champagne toast!) Then I'll join the next round of ROW80 on January 2nd so I can keep the productivity going! You should join too!

So in conclusion, I'm giving myself a pat on the back for trying my best this round. I'll celebrate with an extra helping of chocolate fondue on Christmas night. ;)

2011 Overall

Back in January, I dubbed 2011 the Year To Make It Happen. By "it" I meant the next step in my writing career. I wanted to finally finish my first draft (after 2 years of working on it) and get it ready for the next step--querying.

Well, I finished that first draft. And I'm getting it ready for that next step. I'd say 2011 was a huge success and I'm excited to see what 2012 has in store.

THANK YOU to everyone for your support and encouragement throughout this year. I'm taking a blog break for the holidays...and let's be honest, to catch up on revising! I'll be back the first week of January. Happy Holidays, everyone! Catch you in 2012.

Thirty Before 30: Winter Wishes

2011-12-16T10:20:00.000-05:00

I turn 30 on July 24th, 2014. I created a list of thirty things I'd love to accomplish before then. You can read my introductory post about this challenge here.

21. Do 6 volunteer projects (2 per year)

This month I was able to check another volunteer project off my list (see the first one here). A couple of months ago, my job sent an email around asking for volunteers for New York Cares Winter Wishes. Here's what the website says about the program:

Each year, New York Cares partners with hundreds of our Community Partners, including homeless shelters and other deserving nonprofit organizations, to provide holiday gifts for disadvantaged children, teens and families, many of whom would not otherwise receive gifts during the holidays.

To accomplish this, we collect and screen more than 32,000 gift requests and send them to volunteers who purchase, wrap and send the gifts to our partners.

It looked like a fun, easy way to make a difference this holiday season so I signed up. A few weeks later, I got the information for my recipient. I actually got to choose between a few recipients that were sent for the volunteers at my job.

I decided to buy a gift for a 17-year-old girl, whose winter wish was a deep purple shirt or sweater from either H&M or Urban Outfitters. She had me at purple. It's my favorite color (if you couldn't tell from this blog). Obviously this girl has good taste. Plus, in her "about me" section, she wrote that she loves her little brother and enjoys sports and music. She sounds awesome!

So off I went to H&M near my job, on 5th Avenue in NYC. Yes, I braved the holiday tourists and shoppers and survived. Ha. I searched the store, keeping my eye out for deep purple shirts and sweaters. Luckily I found the perfect one. It's a cute purple cardigan with a black ribbon belt. I could see a teenage girl wearing it with jeans and flats.

{source}

I decided to add something else so I also got her a black beaded necklace that goes perfectly with the sweater. It even came with a purple bow.

The H&M gift box looked festive on its own so all I needed to do was add a red bow and buy a card.

I wrote her a simple holiday message and told her I hoped she enjoyed the gift. Then I packed it all up in a UPS box and sent it on its merry way.

I would definitely participate in Winter Wishes again. It was fun to go shopping for this girl, knowing the gift will make her feel special. This is what the holidays are all about.

Are you giving back in some way this holiday season?

Year One in Review

2011-12-14T16:46:00.000-05:00

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This month marks my blog's one year anniversary! To celebrate, I thought it would be fun to "steal" a list of superlatives from one of those blog awards that went around a while back, and recap a few of my posts. Here we go!

Most Beautiful: The clear winner is the post where I shared a few re-imagined children's book covers from Uncovered Cover Art. They're all gorgeous.

Most Helpful: I'm going to go with my post on Writing with a Full-Time Job. I even ended up writing a guest post on the same subject for Ink Slingers. It can be tough to find time to write when you also work, but it's absolutely possible.

Most Popular & Most Surprisingly Successful: I'm combining these two because the post that's received the most hits overall is one I never expected to be so popular: Managing Expectations While Keeping the Faith. Honestly I think a lot of people found it by googling Eleanor Roosevelt, but that's okay! The message of that post - that as writers, you have to be practical and realistic about the publishing process, but also believe in the power of dreams - is an important one.

Most Controversial: In my post, Not Just Another Writing Blog, I took on a semi-controversial topic - what writers should blog about. It's definitely a personal decision, but I decided to branch out and blog about more than writing and books. So far, I've done that through my Thirty Before 30 posts and it's been fun.

Most Underrated: I think the YA Cafe Book Club posts were a little underrated, because not as many people participated as Gabi and I originally hoped for. But I'm still glad we tried it. I enjoyed chatting about YA books and will keep doing so with the 2012 Debut Author Challenge.

Most Pride-worthy: A post I'm really proud of is my Writer's Digest 2010 recap post, On Not Pitching. In it, I described how I was one of the only conference attendees who didn't pitch my book during the agent pitch slam, and why that was the right decision for me. It's easy to get sucked into the pressure of doing things quickly (pitching, querying, etc.), but it's better to wait until you're ready before taking the next step. I'm so glad I waited. I'm attending the conference again this January and this time, I'm ready to pitch. More on that soon!

Overall, this has been a fantastic year of blogging and I'm excited to keep going. I'm grateful for all of you for following me along in my little writing journey. Seriously, THANK YOU! The writing and kid lit community rocks and I love being part of it!

ROW80 Check-In: 12/11/11

2011-12-11T20:47:00.000-05:00

Remember my last update and how productive I was? Well, this week was the complete opposite. I had a cold (one that I swear swept the nation...gross) and it prevented me from doing anything. Womp, womp. Besides reading more of Hooked, I didn't look at my WIP at all. I even had to miss a critique group meeting and write night! But I got a lot of rest and feel back to normal, so it was time well-spent.

At this point, I'm pretty sure I won't be finished revising my book by the end of the year. But that's okay. I'll just keep plugging along until it's done. On my original list of goals was to polish my query letter and start researching agents. I'm going to start doing that now, as I revise my WIP. As Jessica Love wrote in her recent query advice post, it's smart to write your query letter early on. Writing it early can help you figure out if there's anything wrong with your story, and it gives you time to perfect it before sending it out. I already have a draft so I'm off to a good start.

I have the week between Christmas and New Year's off from work, and I'm not traveling so I hope to spend lots of time revising. I can't wait!

I hope you all are cold-free and got a lot done this week! See how other ROWers are doing here.

I had a cold this time last year and wrote a post about what I learned about writing from being sick. Check it out if you're curious! Apparently December colds are a trend for me. Gross x2...

YA Cafe: 2012 Debuts on my TBR List

2011-12-09T12:35:00.000-05:00

I announced last week that I'm participating in the 2012 Debut Author Challenge. For the challenge, I need to read and review/discuss at least 12 books by debut young adult or middle grade authors. (I'm focusing on young adult authors to keep it part of YA Cafe.) There are SO many to choose from, but here are a few 2012 debuts that have piqued my interest:

Click the title to read the description on Goodreads. Click the author name to visit their website.

Ditched by Robin Mellom

(1/10/12)

The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani

(1/10/12)

Never Eighteen by Megan Bostic

(1/17/12)

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

(2/7/12)

Croak by Gina Damico

(3/20/12)

Slide by Jill Hathaway

(3/27/12)

Welcome Caller, This is Chloe by Shelley Coriell

(5/1/12)

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

(6/14/12)

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

(6/19/12)

Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield

(7/5/12)

And here are a few that don't have covers up yet, but I'm still excited for them:

The Downside of Being Charlie by Jenny Torres Sanchez (5/22/12)

Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill (11/13/12)

This isn't the final list of titles I'll discuss for the challenge, since I haven't had the chance to check out all of next year's debuts. But I'm sure at least a few of these will be on the list. It's going to be a great year for reading!

For even more 2012 debut recommendations, check out the Apocalypsies blog. What 2012 debuts are you excited to read?

Craft Tip: Surface Problem vs. Story-Worthy Problem (And Why You Need Both)

2011-12-07T10:40:00.000-05:00

I mentioned in a couple of ROW80 updates that I'm reading the craft book, Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One & Never Lets Them Go by Les Edgerton. It's all about how to write an effective beginning, and I highly recommend it.

One of the things I learned from the book is the difference between Surface Problems and Story Problems. Every story needs both.

Edgerton says:

"The opening scene features the inciting incident, which is the dramatic event that creates the initial surface problem and set ups the introduction of the story-worthy problem, which is the reason d'être for the entire story."

Before reading this book, I didn't realize the surface problem and story-worthy problem were two different things. I thought if my protagonist had a problem to solve at the beginning of my story, that was enough.

Turns out, it's not enough. Here's how they differ:

Surface problems are the bad situations your protagonist gets into. It relates to his immediate goal. For example, in Holes by Louis Sachar (a book I also highly recommend), Stanley's surface problem is that he needs to find a way to survive at Camp Green Lake. His surface goal is to escape and return to his family.

The story-worthy problem goes even further. It's a bigger psychological problem that greatly affects the protagonist and makes him want to change. Basically, it's what the story's really about. Holes is about more than a kid trying to escape a camp. It goes much deeper than that. His story-worthy problem and goal are to overcome his family curse and not be a victim anymore. Being at Camp Green Lake (his surface problem) is just one manifestation of his story-worthy problem.

I'll admit, the difference between these two elements was difficult for me to grasp at first. But now that I understand them, I see how you can't have a book without both. Simply having a protagonist in a bad situation isn't enough to keep readers reading. There needs to be a bigger issue to solve.

Luckily, though I didn't know the terms when I was writing, my WIP has both elements. Now as I revise, I need to work on strengthening my story-worthy problem.

Edgerton goes into much more detail about these and the other elements that make a strong beginning. He provides a ton of examples, using books and movies. If you're looking to improve your story's opening, check it out!

Have you read Hooked?

ROW80 Check-In: 12/4/11

2011-12-04T13:52:00.000-05:00

You guys, this was a whirlwind writing week! (Woo alliteration!) My write night buddies and I met not just once, but twice this week, each time for about 2.5 hours. Our productivity together has risen to a whole new level! Each day we chatted for the first 5-10 minutes and then didn't talk again until hours passed. I know I keep dwelling on write nights, but they are the reason I'm getting so much done lately. If you have the ability to put together a group of your own, I highly recommend it.

I didn't do the best job of tracking the total number of hours I edited this week but it's over 10.

I spent the write nights editing chapters based on comments from my critique group. Then during my lunch hours and train rides to and from work, I read Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One & Never Lets Them Go. I'm still on The Opening part of my revision checklist and this book is really helpful so far. I'm going to elaborate on one of the main things I've learned from it on Wednesday. Stay tuned!

Lately I've been getting so much more done during the week than on the weekends, so I'm going to try to keep the productivity up this week.

A late congrats to everyone who finished NaNoWriMo! For those of you embarking on revisions this week, good luck! I'm right there with you.

How was your week? See how the other ROWers are doing here.

YA Cafe: 2012 Debut Author Challenge

2011-12-02T13:03:00.001-05:00

FUN!

I signed up for the 2012 Debut Author Challenge, hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren. It's going to be awesome. Here are the rules and details in case you want to participate:

CHALLENGE OBJECTIVE:

• To read & review a minimum of twelve young adult or middle grade debut novels between the dates of January 1, 2012 - January 31, 2013.*

*The 2013 extension is so that December Debuts can be read and count toward the challenge.

RULES & GUIDELINES:

• You must have a Blog to post your reviews or be a member of Goodreads.

• Your blog must be written in English.

• Deadline to join is May 31, 2012.

BOOK GUIDELINES:

• Must be a young adult or middle grade title.

• Must be the author’s YA or MG debut, released in 2012.

• If an author has a previous novel published for adults or children, they can still qualify for the challenge.

• If an author has a previous YA or MG title, they do not qualify for the challenge.

I'm going to focus on YA debuts so I can keep this challenge as part of YA Cafe. For a list of all 2012 YA/MG debut authors, click here. Next week, I'll share what titles I'm most excited about reading. There are so many!

Since I don't normally post reviews, I'm going to fudge the rules a bit. For each book, I'll pick a question to discuss, so it'll be more like my book club posts. I'm excited to discuss books for this challenge AND support brand new authors!

For more information and to sign up, check out The Story Siren. Are you joining in?

Why Pinterest is Useful for Writers

2011-11-30T13:45:00.000-05:00

Last week, I shared a few inspiring quotes from one of my Pinterest boards. In case you're not familiar with Pinterest, here's how it works. It's a virtual bulletin board, where with a click of a button, you can "pin" images from all over the web. Your profile can have as many boards as you want, and they can fit any theme. Want a place to store all those cat photos you love? Create a board. My boards include: home & design, inspiring words, DIY projects, recipes, and writing office inspiration.

My Pinterest Page (click to enlarge)

Still not sure if Pinterest is for you? Here's why it's useful for writers:

*All your story inspiration in one place. Pinterest is awesome if you're the kind of writer who likes visual inspiration. If you collect images to represent the setting, character(s) or mood of your stories, you can pin them to dedicated boards. Many writers use Tumblr for this, but what's great about Pinterest is that you can create a separate board for each project. I haven't done this yet, but I think I'll create a board for my next book. (Note: whatever images you pin are visible to other Pinterest users, so if you like to keep all details of your stories under wraps as you're writing, you might want to create a vague board title.)

*Image search made easy. If you're looking for inspirational images for your WIP, Pinterest is a great place to start. You can search by keyword and "repin" images that other users have already pinned to your board. For example, I searched for "rain" and a ton of images came up:

(click to enlarge)

*Connect with other writers. With all of the other social networks out there, nobody needs another one. But if you follow other writers' boards, you can see the images they post and repin the ones that inspire you.

In a nutshell, if you like visual inspiration while writing, you should check out Pinterest! Right now it's invitation-only so if you'd like an invite, leave your email in the comments (or email me at ghenetwrites[at]gmail[dot]com) and I'll invite you.

Are you on Pinterest? Happy pinning!
p.s. I have no affiliation with Pinterest. I just love their site and wanted to share!

ROW80 Check-In: 11/27/11

2011-11-27T21:26:00.000-05:00

Man, has it been a busy couple of weeks! The move went well and we're finally settled in so I added that to my list of things to be thankful for on Thanksgiving. :)

Because of the move and the holiday, I didn't get much revising in this week. But I got some done during this week's write night (our most productive write night yet, I'd say!) and I also squeezed in a little this weekend between seeing family/friends and unpacking. This week I'm going to try to reach for another 15 hours of revising.

My original ROW80 goal was to be ready to send my manuscript out to beta readers by 12/1. Seeing as how that's only a few days away and I still have a ton of editing to do, that's not going to happen. But I'm not worried because I kind of expected this. It was a lofty goal to begin with. Revising is going well though and I feel good about my progress. The end of the year means less productivity for a lot of people, but I'm going to try my best to keep up the momentum so maybe I can get my manuscript beta-ready by the end of this round of ROW80.

Have a great week, all!

See how the other ROWers are doing here.

YA Cafe: Ch-ch-ch-changes

2011-11-25T15:33:00.000-05:00

It's been almost a year since Gabriela and I came together and created YA Cafe, our weekly Friday series on teen literature. But now due to the upcoming arrival of her son and the start of a new business, Gabi is saying goodbye to her personal blog.

What does that mean for YA Cafe? Gabi will no longer post, but since I still want to chat about teen lit, I'm going to keep the series going. Obviously the format will change since it will no longer be a collaborative project. I think I'm going to let go of the rigid schedule. Up until now, we've posted for YA Cafe on Fridays but going forward, I might write a YA Cafe post on a Wednesday, or skip it one week. I'll continue to blog consistently but add some spontaneity.

The book club will fade away as well, unless I hear people are interested in it. If you are, let me know!

SO. My blog schedule will still be Wednesday and Friday, with Sunday ROW80 updates. I'll post about writing, books (under YA Cafe), Thirty Before 30 updates, and whatever else comes to mind.

To Gabi: I want to say a huge THANK YOU for being such an awesome YA Cafe partner for all of these months. I loved getting together to brainstorm topics, and trying new things like the book club and our video interview. I hope this isn't the last time we work on something together! I wish you luck with your new venture, DIYMFA, and I'm super excited to see you become a mom.

As for you lovely blog readers, thanks so much for supporting this project! It's been a blast and I'm excited to see where it takes me next. :)

Thirty Before 30: 9/11 Memorial

2011-11-23T10:33:00.000-05:00

I turn 30 on July 24th, 2014. I've created a list of thirty things I'd love to accomplish before then. You can read my introductory post about this challenge here.

24. Do 5 touristy NYC activities

A few weeks ago, on a gorgeous but chilly fall morning, my husband and I visited the 9/11 Memorial. I feel weird calling a memorial a tourist destination, but people from all over the world are coming to NYC to visit it, so it counts.

Since the memorial is currently in the middle of a construction site, we had to reserve our free passes in advance. Once construction is complete, the park and memorial will be open to everyone, no pass necessary.

It was hard for me to capture on camera how stunning the pools are. They're huge! Water falls down the sides and into the center. It's a simple design that makes a big impact.

From the 9/11 Memorial Website:

The National September 11 Memorial is a tribute of remembrance and honor to the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center site, near Shanksville, Pa., and at the Pentagon, as well as the six people killed in the World Trade Center bombing in February 1993.

The Memorial’s twin reflecting pools are each nearly an acre in size and feature the largest manmade waterfalls in the North America. The pools sit within the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood. Architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker created the Memorial design selected from a global design competition that included more than 5,200 entries from 63 nations.

The names of every person who died in the 2001 and 1993 attacks are inscribed into bronze panels edging the Memorial pools, a powerful reminder of the largest loss of life resulting from a foreign attack on American soil and the greatest single loss of rescue personnel in American history.

I don't know any of the victims of 9/11, but it was still an emotional experience to see all of those names and imagine how scared they must have been.

Around the memorial, the World Trade Center is being rebuilt. It will have several office buildings. Also under construction is a 9/11 Museum, which will open in September 2012. I definitely want to visit the memorial again once the museum is open. I also hear it's beautiful at night!

For more information on the 9/11 Memorial, click here.

For all of you celebrating Thanksgiving, I hope it's a good one! I'll be back with an ROW80 update on Sunday.

YA Cafe Book Club: Thank You, Deb Caletti

2011-11-18T10:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to YA Cafe, where book lovers can gather and chat about teen literature. I'm your barista, along with Gabriela from iggi&gabi. Each Friday we pick from a menu of topics and share our thoughts on our respective blogs.

Today's Special: YA Cafe Book Club: The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti

This month is all about YA appreciation and for today's book club, we're discussing one book we appreciate most. I'm thankful for so many YA books but I've picked the one that got me started...

An Open Letter to Author Deb Caletti

Dear Ms. Caletti,

From an early age, I knew I wanted to be a writer. But it was one of your books that made me realize I'm meant to write for teens. Really, my obsession with YA began with you.

The summer after I graduated college, I started working for the children's publisher that publishes your novels. One of the perks of the job was access to free books. I hadn't been exposed to young adult literature since I was a teen myself. Even then, I hadn't read much since it wasn't as big as it is now. That summer, I fell in love with YA. One of the first books I grabbed was yours. The Nature of Jade. I devoured it.

I saw myself in Jade and her anxiety, and understood how she felt. I struggled with anxiety myself. I'd never connected with a character in an adult book that way before. Not only did I love the story you told, but it also introduced me to the wonderful world of contemporary YA. Since then I've read every single one of your books and found my niche writing contemp YA myself. As cheesy as it sounds, I've found my "home" as a writer and reader.

I want to thank you. Thank you inspiring me as a writer. Thank you for writing such beautiful prose, and telling such compelling stories. Thank you for showing me that literature for teens can have a huge impact on readers of all ages. I'm so glad that job brought me to your books and that your books brought me to where I am today.

Your grateful fan,

Ghenet

What YA book are you thankful for? Which author would you write an open letter to? Tell us on Twitter with the #YACafe hashtag. And check out Gabi's pick on her blog!