Lesson 1: Didn’t people say YA was dead about 10 years ago? Clearly, YA is alive and well and taking over the music industry! Katy Perry’s set looked very Hunger Games, and I have to admit, I’m [...]]]> I watched the Grammys last night along with much of America, and a couple of things struck me:

Lesson 1: Didn’t people say YA was dead about 10 years ago? Clearly, YA is alive and well and taking over the music industry! Katy Perry’s set looked very Hunger Games, and I have to admit, I’m pretty amazed at the effect YA literature is having on pop culture — it’s not surprising given that pop music is aimed at teens, and this is what teens are into right now. It’s just remarkable given how YA was so passé, and now people can’t get enough. The lesson? Don’t follow trends. Also: in YA, death can always be undone.

image via popsugar.com

Lesson 2: This one comes form Adele, who is back after surgery! Her performance followed Katy Perry’s extravaganza with minimal sets and choreography, which led to a writing realization — you don’t need pyrotechnics when you have voice. (To be fair to KP, she has a good voice, but her music is so produced that it gets masked. Which is perhaps Lesson 2A — voice gets lost in over production.)

Lesson 3: Then there was the levitating Nicki Minaj in her spectacular (and I do mean the word in a literal sense!) exorcism/witch hunt. Of course I couldn’t help but see connections to YA television like The Secret Circle and the ever present teen witch fascination. Go, YA! But my final lesson from the Grammys — be ridiculous or be a classic, have pyrotechnics or a serious performance, but most of all, be yourself and have fun!

image via theage.com.au

Of course I listened to her as a kid. I remember a DJ in Pittsburgh who thought I Will Always Love You was the most brilliantly performed song ever, and he played it [...]]]> Whitney Houston is one of those exceptionally talented people who you hoped would find her way. Her death is such a tragedy.

Of course I listened to her as a kid. I remember a DJ in Pittsburgh who thought I Will Always Love You was the most brilliantly performed song ever, and he played it half a dozen times in a row on air so everyone could appreciate it.

These were my two favorite Whitney songs and videos (probably because of the Rainbow Brite colors and dancing!):

Rest in peace, Whitney.

(1) Remember my post about the new HiLoBooks imprint that a couple of friends launched? The first three books are available for pre-order! And I know, I know, you aren’t [...]]]> This week has been full of wonderful media, both books and videos! So for today’s Friday Five, here are some highlights:

(1) Remember my post about the new HiLoBooks imprint that a couple of friends launched? The first three books are available for pre-order! And I know, I know, you aren’t supposed to judge books by their covers, but aren’t these absolutely beautiful? They’re designed by Michael Lewy. Go pre-order them now! It’s science fiction by people like Jack London, Rudyard Kipling, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This is the good stuff.

(2) Also available for pre-order — a new book by Molly Crabapple. I’m not even sure how to begin to describe Molly — talented, gorgeous, innovative. In addition to being a terrific artist, she’s one of the smartest business people I know. She can market and launch events like no one else. Margaret Cho calls her “THE artist of our time” — now there’s a testimonial! This collection is particularly interesting because Molly Kickstartered a project called “Week in Hell” where she covered a hotel room with paper and drew for a week straight. Her backers got pieces of original art. She collected photos of her artwork and  process into a book. Cool, huh? I know Molly virtually and met her in person at last year’s SxSW conference in an absinthe bar. Where else? The detail in her work is amazing, so pre-order her book, too!

(3) Switching over to videos — I have to say, I love the First Family. The Obamas seem like a great couple and fantastic parents. Here’s the First Lady on Jimmy Fallon’s show, promoting her Let’s Move campaign with a little competition… the woman can do push-ups!

(4) And here’s the President, launching a marshmallow cannon at the White House Science Fair:

(5) Finally, Prop 8 was overturned in CA, and the gay marriage bill was passed in WA. Still, there was some controversy this week when JCPenney announced that Ellen would be their new spokesperson. A group called One Million Moms posted a statement on Facebook about how JCPenney clearly didn’t care about “traditional values.” Ellen talked about it on her show, and I love what she had to say:

“My haters are my motivators.” Fantastic.

And on that note, happy Friday, everyone! Have a great weekend.

Varian Johnson had a simple solution [...]]]> Recently I posted about outlining in Scrivener and using color coding to track plot lines. Elsewhere on the Internet, a couple of VCFA alumni were chatting about making timelines — could this be done in Scrivener? If not, what tools did people use?

Varian Johnson had a simple solution that I loved: he makes his timelines in iCal. He maps scenes to specific dates, and this helps him track his story and remember the context of the world outside, such as holidays and March Madness and anything else his main character might think about.

Erin Hagar pointed to Aeon Timeline — software that’s meant for outlining and making timelines. Aeon Timeline can be synched with Scrivener with all of the information imported as custom meta data.

I tried both, and the iCal method really worked for me because it helped me keep perspective. My novel begins just after the end of the school year, and I’d forgotten basic holidays such as Father’s Day. One of the scenes I’d outlined actually made sense to set on that day, and using the holiday adds resonance I would have otherwise missed.

I printed the iCal timeline as a PDF and then dragged it into my Scrivener Research Binder for reference. After all of my independent outlining and timeline work, Aeon Timeline didn’t work for me. It seems like a good tool for tracking multiple characters and scenes and for outlining from scratch, but it was overkill given the amount of work I’d already completed. The visual timeline was pretty cool, though, and I liked having the ability to map multiple story arcs and characters by color in two dimensions.

Another alumn mentioned creating a timeline in Google Calendar and adding the URL to Scrivener in order to have a calendar that’s always up to date — sounds like another great solution!

Now the only strange thing is that when I look forward to May and June, character life events pop up. I wonder what it’d be like to write the story live, as it unfolds in real time. This may be an experiment for another novel in another time — perhaps one that spans years rather than weeks

How do you plan and map your work?

1) Jo had her first book, Roads to Power, reviewed by a British MP in the Wall Street Journal. They liked her foundation and disagreed with her conclusions, which must mean she did something right (remember the WSJ column on YA lit? [...]]]> Okay, for this week’s Friday five, I’m tooting some friends’ horns.

1) Jo had her first book, Roads to Power, reviewed by a British MP in the Wall Street Journal. They liked her foundation and disagreed with her conclusions, which must mean she did something right (remember the WSJ column on YA lit? *shudder*). Also, WSJ — she’s Dr. Guldi, not Ms. as you repeatedly called her. She’s in the Harvard Society of Fellows! Jo’s a brilliant historian, and her research is fascinating, so check out her stuff.

2) danah started off this year on the cover of Fast Company (along with 6 others) in a feature on “Generation Flux.” She was profiled in the magazine as “The High Priestess of the Internet.” Now there’s a title!

3) danah gets a second shout out because she was recently profiled in the NYTimes, as well, this time in the fashion section. The Times mostly got her. First, they acknowledged her doctorate (big step up from the WSJ). Second, they summarized her research well. The part they missed? Well, that related to fashion… danah doesn’t dress like a high school student, and she definitely doesn’t dress the way she did in the 90s, but that’s besides the point. danah’s work is a must read for anyone with kids or working with kids — she deals with issues of online privacy. She also spends most of her time thinking about kids who can’t speak up for themselves because they’re disenfranchised in some way — “the invisible child” as Katherine Paterson says.

4) This is totally silly but cracked me up — Hugo, who was at the Media Lab at the same time as danah and me — headed the Improper Boston’s list of 20 most desirable singles of 2012. Given that Hugo’s a cool hunter, makes sense that he’d make the cool hunted list. Also, they’re right — he does have great hair

5) And finally, Jason’s show has been getting terrific buzz. He’s a writer for Smash, which premiers on Monday at 10 pm on NBC. The first episode is already available online, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys theatre, Glee, or smart writing. The cast is phenomenal, starring Anjelica Huston, Debra Messing, and various Broadway stars. Uma Thurman shows up later in the season, as does Bernadette Peters (in an episode Jason wrote!). So watch, support, and enjoy the show. Hey, it’s about artists who are trying to make it, and isn’t that a story we all understand?

For the bonus sixth — a huge congrats to fellow VCFA alumn Gwenda Bond on her brand new two-book deal with Strange Chemistry! *pops champagne* Hooray!!

Happy Friday, and have a great weekend!

Is it the name? Does pinboard [...]]]> Although I always swear I’m not going to join another social network, I have to admit, I’m pretty fascinated by Pinterest. First, there’s the gender thing — it’s about 80% female. Why, when Tumblr isn’t so skewed, and Pinterest shares the highly visual interface with easy reblogging?

Is it the name? Does pinboard = female? Or perhaps the early adopters were mostly women, and they set a culture that’s been reinforced? Is it the logo? Or is something about the interaction itself gendered?

And then there’s usage — of course everyone talks about Pinterest as the place for wedding planning, and it’s probably no wonder that the largest demographic is 25-34 year old women. But the domestic nature of Pinterest reaches far beyond weddings. Women also plan their homes, collect recipes, find craft projects, and window shop. Pinterest users also collect images and quotes as motivation for exercising, eating better, and generally living better lives.

Collecting images feels like nesting, of creating a space that provides comfort and safety. The network is part scrapbook, part aspirational, and part motivational. Pinterest users play dress up and try out different versions of themselves — who they are and who they aspire to be.

I saw some writer friends use Pinterest as a place to collect research materials for their novels, including clothing a character might wear or a place she might visit. And it struck me that Pinterest is all about world building.

Viewing multiple images at a time on a pinboard implies a narrative — all of the objects were chosen for a reason and create a bigger picture. The women there are creating and sharing stories in a way that others can participate, taking an element of someone else’s story and making it her own. And perhaps that’s why it’s so popular — it’s a way of showing who we’d like to be.