drama, characters, jersey shore…with gifs!

Oh, I am going to admit a dirty little secret. Ready? Freckles McYoungest and I have been watching old seasons of The Jersey Shore. *Ptui!* Man. I felt filthy just typing that. It started when we were with Bottled Lightning, and she kind of sort of FORCED US to watch an episode or two. Holy [...]

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rochester: supreme second banana

The Second Banana. The comic who supports the lead comic. Often a straight man. Not always. He’s the buddy. The little brother. Maybe the dog. He’s your main character’s back-up. His guardian. His foil. But it always works best when he’s a fully drawn character. A strong Second Banana demands an even stronger main character. [...]

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if i was going to write about my aunt

I had this aunt. She wasn’t really my aunt, she was my father’s cousin’s wife. When my sisters were young, before I was born, she would call my mom five or six times a year and say, “Let’s pool our resources and have a potluck dinner.” So Mom would throw in her watermelon and potato [...]

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falling in love…with my characters

Any of you who know me in actual-factual walk-around life or twitter fun-life are aware of the fact that I am REVISING THE HECK-FIRE OUT OF my current manuscript. Well, ladies and gentlemen. Two more chapters to go. Yahoo, and all that stuff, but I’m already a little sad. Because I love my characters so [...]

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master writer #4–jay asher, 13 reasons why

13 Reasons Why, the debut YA novel by Jay Asher is the fourth in our series of kidlit books in which the author demonstrates an incredible mastery of a specific aspect of the writer’s craft. Clay Jensen finds a strange package on his porch. Inside, there are cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker–his dead classmate. [...]

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master writer #1–jennifer brown, hate list

I have a brilliant, new idea. No, no, come back! For the next weeks I’m going to profile different kidlit books whose authors have mastered some aspect of their writing in a particularly stupendous way.  These are the books I go to when I’m stuck in revisions and need a refresher course. First up: The [...]

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alice in wonderland: where childhood is real

Tim Burton? I just don’t know what I’m going to do with you. You are a master of visual splendor. The Wonderland you created for Alice is incredible. I saw your film with my pal Jenn Bailey and two of her three BaileyBoys–The Bandman and Lord Bluntly.  We enjoyed it, yes, but… Tim, you don’t [...]

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steamed punks

Steampunk: the new old genre. Jules Verne and H.G. Wells are the fathers of Steampunk, what with Captain Nemo’s Nautilus: and the Time Traveller and his machine: The word “Steampunk” conjures thoughts of gears, goggles, parasols and petticoats.  Ingenious technology paired with Victorian sensibilities.  It’s often easier to show someone a picture than try to [...]

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details, details

I don’t think I’ll ever write a 100,000 word manuscript. First of all, my attention span isn’t that long.  Also, I have been known to search for just the “right word” for 45 minutes.  You don’t pound out 100K words doing that.  But the biggest reason is… I’m just not that into detail. I can’t [...]

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not-so-minor characters

This is the Hairy Beast that lives with us.  (Like the kids, I don’t want to compromise her privacy by revealing her true name.)  She is totally devoted to me and the crumbs that I drop.  She follows me around, hides under my feet–I am her mama, through no fault of my own. Our first [...]

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