I have returned alive from my husband's birthday weekend in Vegas. Alive, and with all the energy and ambition of a garden slug. Let's do a Monday Five, shall we?
- I followed the WSJ kerfuffle on Twitter over the weekend, and damn, the YA folk are a passionate group! It all comes down to parenting, right? People trying to tell people how to raise their kids, those people telling them to back off, everybody swayed by the people who aren't doing a great job of raising their own kids, since those are the ones everybody hears about because they are more likely to end up in the news. Oh, the humanity. I spent my youth reading Stephen King books, so a little dark YA certainly wouldn't have twisted my soul.
- After reading that article, I decided it was time to finally read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I think I jumped on board a little too late though--I know it's a classic and all, but the 1943 writing style is driving me bonkers. It's like Angela's Ashes, only with a lot more telling. Telling, telling, telling. Don't hate me, I know this book has mega-fans.
- We signed a lease this morning, which makes it official that we are moving in a few weeks. This is a little scary, as we haven't moved in five years and we are going from an apartment to a full-on house, with stairs and everything. Also, I haven't met the landlords yet (this was done through a realtor), and I hope they are awesome. Scary.
- Last week my awesome critique partner Liz (who swears she is coming off blog hiatus soon, right Liz?) signed us up for the YA in Bloom event out in Pasadena on June 25th. Anybody else going?
- JuNoWriMo update: According to my calendar, I need to be done revising chapter 14 by the end of the week. I just finished up 9. Wildly, wildly optimistic, but I'll be pushing myself to get as close as possible. Blog updates may be infrequent this week. And on that note, adios!
Good luck with the move! I hope it goes okay. And way to go finishing chapter nine! I've got some catch-up to do too, so we can be catch-up buddies. :)
ReplyDeleteHm...should I go? I've spent so much money this year on writerly stuff (including going to SCBWI LA - are you?)...but this sounds fun and low-key. Oh decisions.
ReplyDeleteGood luck on everything - sounds like you're super busy!!
ReplyDeleteI would love to go, but my bff is getting married that day. :-( (Well, not :-( to her getting married. That's :-D...but :-( to missing out on a fun YA event)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the move and the revisions!
ReplyDeleteThat is one eye catching slug. If being a slug means looking like that it doesn't seem like that bad of a condition. -Aaron
ReplyDeleteI don't like a lot of the old classics either, so don't feel bad. Good luck with the move! And happy writing; hope you meet your deadline :)
ReplyDeleteThat WSJ article was crazy. I finally was able to read it today. Whew!
ReplyDeleteI also was amazed at the YA community's response to the WSJ article. Wow.
ReplyDeleteGood luck on the move and the revising! I also read Stephen King book all through high school without being scarred for life. Frankly, the movie JAWS did more permanent damage to my psyche.
ReplyDeleteI haven't done A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN yet either...I use audiobooks to get through the books I know I should read but aren't my favorite style/genre etc. I can also learn a lot as a writer from the things I just plain don't like.
ReplyDeleteAs for the article, I'm torn...as a parent and ex-teacher, I know there are some depressed and suicidal teens out there who might be feeding of the darkness of these books. Then there are other troubled teens who are helped by reading about others going through similar dark things...mostly, teen readers want to be entertained and not talked down to, which is what I think these edgier books accomplish.
But most important, the adults in these teen's lives should be aware of what they are reading and any potential emotional ramifications of their choices. It isn't the book's job...or author's, or publisher's, or even the library's job to do that. Freedom of speech/press is important and should be protected, but it's not w/o risks. As parents always tell their teens, freedoms come with responsibilities.