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Food for Thought

The Los Angeles Times’ Festival of Books laid out a banquet of ideas for readers and writers alike — food for this book-lover’s soul. Here are several tasty tidbits I picked up from four sessions I attended, served up by the writers I heard. 

Frank McCourt in Conversation with Mitch Albom

Left to Right: Frank McCourt, Mitch Albom. McCourt’s on the big screen.


Frank McCourt (Angela’s Ashes, Teacher Man):
“Before you read a Faulkner sentence, wave goodbye to your family.”
“Students’ eyes tell you if you’re reaching them; on the other hand, for a writer, it’s only you and your words, at your desk.”
Mitch Albom: “I got numerous rejections for Tuesdays with Morrie. Several editors told me I didn’t know how to write a memoir, and [one editor] told me I didn’t even know what a memoir was.”
 
Young Adult Fiction: Rites of Initiation

Left to Right: John Green, Per Nilsson, Andreas Steinhöfel, and Markus Zusak

 

On writing:
Per “made up a lie that has become the truth” about his roots as a writer. He said he started writing so he could tell his kids who he was as a 12-year-old –- how he’d spent his time “walking aimlessly while daydreaming about being a hero, an idol, a secret agent.”  As well, he wanted his son to know how he coped when he “collided with the real world,” when metaphorical “lampposts sprang up out of nowhere.”
Andreas wrote three chapters of a novel at age 16. He quickly figured out that it was “terrible,” but “that realization proved I could be a writer, that I had a keen editorial eye.”
John says “I’m good at two things: telling lies and sitting. And that’s what a writer does.” John also said that 
*Looking for Alaska, in its Dutch translation, is called The Great Perhaps. That title wouldn’t work here, John says, because “Americans are not in the business of abstraction.” 
*Defining YA is dangerous business. It’s really a matter of where publishers think books will sell. Unfortunately, sometimes publishers underestimate kids. They’re not fools. They’re not going to take any rubbish.” 
*”It’s a false premise that every idiot can write for an undeveloped person. Writers need to have a good story.” 
*“YA novels grapple with important issues. They’re different from books written for adults in that they’re usually not layered in irony; [instead], they’re written in a simple, unadorned, serious, and thoughtful way.” 
Markus said, “The books I love transcend categories. That’s what I’m striving for.” He also said that “People never come up and say “I love your junior/fantasy/crossover young adult book. I don’t care what they call it; I just hope they compliment me on the story.”

 
On writing about death:
Per: “When you’re 16, you think about things, and you carry your 16-year-old the rest of your life. If you think about your own life, you can’t avoid thinking about death.”
Andreas: “It’s a great way to get rid of characters you don’t need any more. Every death means there’s a new beginning in store.”
John: “It’s extraordinarily likely that everyone in this room will die. Historically, it doesn’t look good for us. At 16, I was aware of mortality and frailty of this state we’re in. In the face of death, we can find and sustain hope.”
Marcus: “There’s no bigger story than death, so it’s natural that we end up there as writers sometimes.”
 
The challenge of plotting and character development:
Andreas: “I love chapter headings almost as much as John loves famous last words. I make long lists of chapter headings until I feel I’m ready to write.”
Per: Writing about contemporary teens “isn’t difficult” because “it’s about having an active imagination. I’m not writing about American Idol; I’m writing about feelings. Characters and situations come out of an active imagination.”
John: “My favorite part of writing is having written. When characters are alive for me, there’s nothing like it. I keep trying to get back to that feeling.”
 
Devil in the Details: Quirky Nonfiction

Left to Right: Veronica Chambers and June Casagrande

June (Grammar Snobs are Great Big Meanies) gave advice to punctuation challenged writers: “Only communicate via text message. No one will know you don’t know the difference.”
Martin (Oops: Twenty Life Lessons from the Fiascos that Shaped America): “Write from the inside out, rather than the outside in. Figure out what you want to say about the topic, and then begin to write.”
Veronica (The Joy of Doing Things Badly): “Consider first writing an article for a magazine, so you can show audience interest in your topic when you decide to write a book.”
  
Creating New Worlds: Young Adult Fantasy Writing

Left to Right: Margo Lanagan, Adam Gopnik, Cornelia Funke, and Moderator Denise Hamilton

Random thoughts:

Unanimously, the panelists recommended T.H. White as their favorite YA fantasy author. They gave their highest praise to White’s Once and Future King.
 
All four agreed that the publishing industry has a slight air of condescension about YA novels; however, the positive side of writing for this genre, they said, is that authors can develop an intimate relationship with a particular age of readers.
 
These panelists emphasized the importance of developing originality in voice and plot. They warned against the dangers of “patterning” that writers might pick up in a formal writing program.
 
On writing:
Adam’s son, aged 9, is his test audience. His response to the first draft of his dad’s latest book? “It’s cool, Dad, but could you just bring the cool bits a bit closer together?” This is a constant challenge a writer faces, Adam said; it’s what an editor might say. So that bit of advice from his son guides Adam’s writing to this day.
*“To be a successful writer,” Adam says, “you must translate the mental task into a physical task. Don’t ask, ‘Can I write magical books?’ Instead, ask, ‘Can I sit for __ hours and get ___ words down on the page?'”
*Adam says “It’s important for me that my books teach kids that the dignity of logic is greater than the glory of magic.”
Cornelia: “Fantasy allows a writer to take common problems and clad them in something else. This allows readers to see them much more clearly and perhaps deal with them in a more effective and interesting way.”
“YA fantasy fiction is sometimes entertainment engineered by publishers who want something written to formula.”
Margo: “A certain amount of composting of life that has to go on before you’re ready to write.” You’re a more effective and interesting writer, she says, if you have a variety of experiences that are not writing-instruction related. “If you rely too much on critiques and programs of instruction,” she suggests, “your writing becomes circular and stale.”

And from today’s LA TImes: “[If] publishers looked to their own childhood memories rather than a spreadsheet, they’d recall that young readers, more than any others, want to be transported and shown not just other lives but whole worlds utterly different from their own. Witness the wild popularity of fantasy and science fiction among the very same kids who display the very same sensibility in their choice of video games. What could be more dispiriting than going into your room in search of escape, solace or pleasure, opening a book and reading a story about someone just like you hemmed in by the same four walls?”

Us, in USA TODAY

Our legislative efforts are getting national attention!  

(I do hope you don’t interpret this post as bragging; as I see it, it’s about public safety and accountability, not about me.)

The article: “California Bill Targets Convicted Athletes,” is on page 12C of this morning’s USA Today.

If you’d like to weigh in on the issue or this article, you can send an online letter to the USA Today editor here or contact California Assembly Member Jay La Suer. 

UPDATE: If you live in California, check the local news on NBC tonight (Friday). Vikki Vargas interviewed me about this story, and the San Diego affiliate got footage of my son, as well.  

Hilton Head, South Carolina’s Island Packet comments on the story here.

Festival of Books

Yesterday, I joined tens of thousands of other Southern California residents who stood in line to get free tickets for this year’s Once-Upon-an-LA-Times’ Festival of Books. I managed to snag tickets for some phenomenal speakers and events! Check this list: 


Writers: Born or Bred?
Moderator Ms. Barbara Isenberg
Mr. Greg Iles
Ms. Amy Tan
Mr. Scott Turow

First Fiction: Breaking Out
Moderator Ms. Susan Salter Reynolds
Ms. Kirstin Allio
Ms. Olga Grushin
Mr. Uzodinma Iweala 

Frank McCourt in Conversation with Mitch Albom
Interviewer Mr. Mitch Albom
Mr. Frank McCourt

Young Adult Fiction: Rites of Initiation
Moderator Ms. Sonja Bolle
Mr. John Green
Mr. Per Nilsson
Mr. Andreas Steinhöfel
Mr. Markus Zusak

Book Biz: The Insiders
Moderator Ms. Bridget Kinsella
Ms. Betsy Amster
Ms. Kim Dower
Mr. Laurence J. Kirshbaum
Mr. Steve Wasserman

The Devil in the Details: Quirky Nonfiction
Moderator Ms. Meghan Daum
Ms. June Casagrande
Ms. Veronica Chambers
Mr. Martin Smith

Creating New Worlds: Young Adult Fantasy Writing
Moderator Ms. Denise Hamilton
Ms. Cornelia Funke
Mr. Adam Gopnik
Ms. Margo Lanagan

Biography: On Their Own Terms
Moderator Ms. Elizabeth Taylor!
Ms. Deborah Martinson
Ms. Hazel Rowley
Ms. Annalyn Swan

I wish that I could join Nadia and some of my fellow Firebranders at the North Chicago RWA conference this weekend. But going up to UCLA on Saturday for the Festival is an exciting substitute, for sure!

UPDATE: If you’re going, be sure to drop by the Mysterious Galaxy/Penguin booth between 12:00 and 1:00 on Saturday: moschus is having a book signing you won’t want to miss!

Wheel of Life

Like other pilgrims over the centuries, I’m inspired by images carved into cathedrals’ stone walls. During the Middle Ages, when many were illiterate, these illustrations taught people what a thousand words could not.

 
This Wheel of Life is one of my favorite icons: it suggests a timeless and positive way to look at change. I’m thinking today how I can apply this visual metaphor to my writing career, the topics and characters I’m writing about, and other aspects of my journey through life.
 
At the top of the wheel, you’ll see a well-dressed and smiling king or queen. This is the position of Happiness.
 
Notice that the wheel doesn’t stay static. The carefree individual from the top of the wheel soon appears to be in distress, upside down and falling through space. This is the position of Loss.
 
As the wheel continues in its forward momentum, the once-happy individual from the top of the wheel is now at its bottom – naked and being dragged through the mud. This is the position of Suffering.
 
The wheel persists along its path, and the traveler, once again clothed, rises up to the position of Hope.
 
Maybe we could use this picture to teach each other. I’m wondering: What does this illustration suggest to you?

A Capitol Day

On the same day that two Duke University lacrosse team members were arrested for their alleged involvement in a much-publicized rape case, I was in Sacramento, making the case for Assembly Bill 2165.* Today’s arrests are just the latest installment of a tragic story unfolding — for the victim, the alleged criminals, and each of their families. But they also serve as timely illustration of the relevance of that bill.
 
Good news: The Arts, Entertainment, Sports and Internet Media Committee unanimously endorsed the bill today, echoing the support of the Higher Education Committee at the end of last month. And five Assembly members have added their names as co-authors of the bill, which signals its bi-partisan support.
 
A story in last Sunday’s LA Times suggests that the “Duke lacrosse scandal reinforces a growing sense that college sports are out of control, fueled by pampered athletes with a sense of entitlement.” Whether the perceptions are widely held, my family’s experience suggests that it’s true. That’s why I’m so pleased that the bill has successfully cleared another milestone on its way to (I hope) becoming law.
 
I spoke with someone from the New York Times this morning, and this afternoon, with a reporter from USA Today. I’m hopeful that something will come of those conversations. I know from my family’s experience that it may take quite a while for a judicial resolution to the alleged rape crime in Durham; but in the meantime, it’d be nice to have the media turn the spotlight on this potential solution to a widespread problem illuminated by the Duke University case. Then, when we’re cheering for our favorite student athletes and teams, we could be certain we wouldn’t be cheering for violent criminals, as well.

*In essence, AB 2165 prohibits student athletes who are convicted of violent felonies or sexual crimes from participating in intercollegiate sports at California public colleges and universities until they’ve successfully completed the terms of their court-assigned sentences.

Horse Sense

This morning, Blaze and I circled around barrels, zigzagged through an obstacle course, and made tight corners around poles. I’m not yet confident of my horseback riding skills, so I was concentrating hard during my lesson. On the other hand, Blaze kept getting distracted by the other horses and an occasional strong wind. He tossed his head, danced around, and went far faster than I wanted him to go. And to tell you the truth, I got scared.     

Back at the stables, I asked my riding instructor how I could control the horse better the next time I felt myself panic. She explained that Blaze and I were exchanging nervous energy, which made us both ineffective on the ride.     

“Next time you’re afraid,” she said, “just go back to the basics. Remember to use the skills that you know. There may be times when you aren’t able to control your horse, but you’re always in control of yourself and your own fears.”     

Driving home, I thought about how this riding lesson also applies to my novice adventures in writing Young Adult fiction. The class I’m taking is putting me through my paces; I’m definitely testing my skills. When my dialogue falls flat, deadlines are looming, and my plot line’s spinning out of control … well, to tell you the truth, I get scared. But next time I panic, I’ll try to remember that I am a competent writer who knows the basics, and that I have what it takes to control my own fears.

I Can’t Keep Up (and that’s probably the point)

Just when I was getting traction with MySpace, it seems that trend is hitting the skids.

According to a report in the UK Observer, teens are turning their attentions to FaceParty and turning their backs on MySpace.  “I definitely prefer Faceparty to MySpace,” says one of 6 million users. “MySpace is all corporate now.”

Finding relief from adult scrutiny is a key reason teens are making the switch. Dave Barnfort, director of Faceparty, says “The grown-ups know all about MySpace, but very little about us. Their kids get home from school and spend hours on it. We try really hard to keep out of the press.”

Sorry, Dave, but I just had to make mention of this. But with my LJ friends as my witnesses, I won’t tell another soul.