Sailor Boy is out of town right now, which is an excuse for Rio and I to stay up until all hours and eat junk food (seriously, you should watch this pup do EZ Cheez out of the can).
On the work front, I’ve been streamlining some timeline problems, which I’ve discovered is always an issue for me in revisions. What happens when and long passages of time — I’ve always got to go back and add those words in.
Here’s what’s piqued my interest on the internet recently:
YA FOR OBAMA: A group of YA writers spearheaded by Maureen Johnson and including such luminaries as National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr (whose essay, “Red State Jesus Freaks for Obama” was truly enlightening), New York Times Bestselling Author Scott Westerfeld (who explains clearly and concisely why the Democrats are better for the economy here), Printz Award winner John Green (who talks about the intersection of faith and science), and literary deity Judy Blume. It’s an incredible undertaking and a great place to talk politics.
And the only other thing I’m going to be saying about politics on this blog is ARE YOU REGISTERED TO VOTE? Please, please register, and VOTE. The deadline for many states is almost upon us. This is going to be an incredibly close election. YOUR VOTE MATTERS. (In passing, if you are a student, registering to vote in the state in which your college is located does NOT affect your parents’ ability to claim you as a dependent on their tax return. Nor your scholarship, health insurance, auto insurance, or other issue you may have heard a rumor about to the contrary.)
Back to book talk.
Jennifer Barnes has a good post up about emotional authenticity in your writing. It’s definitely a big step to take in your development as a writer. I comment on her thread about one particularly painful instance, but something I’ve been thinking about recently is how when I wrote fanfic, I was pretty good at the whole “bleeding on the page” thing. It helped that the work was completely anonymous and that no one would connect the things I wrote to me. When I began to write for publication, I had to learn that skill all over again. It’s a lot harder to say certain things when you know that your loved ones and elementary school teachers and that guy you dated for two weeks freshman year are going to look at it and know that you were the one who wrote that. What I find is that occasionally when I do access that stuff, I get really nervous about keeping it in the story, even though deep down, I know it has to be there.
Shannon Stacey tears a slightly sketchy start-up epublisher a new one for a poorly designed website whose very slogan presents the first of many, many typos.
Have a great weekend!
September 26th, 2008 at 8:13 am
You know… I want to vote, yet I don’t want to register. Well, it’s not that I even want to vote, I just want y’all to do the right thing and elect the right person/people.
September 26th, 2008 at 9:40 am
I sometimes wonder why people don’t register. Is it a hesitation to commit to one party or the other? (I almost never vote the party I’m registered for, lol, at least not straight ticket). Just not wanting to be bothered? I think of it as one of those things you ought to do just in case. Like having birth control available, even if you aren’t planning to have sex. Register just in case you are driving past the polls on voting day and suddenly think, hey, why not vote?
I do think, though, that authors ought to stay out of politics. When authors are outspoken about their politics, I can’t help myself from looking at their work in a new way, suspicious of a hidden agenda. But maybe that’s just me.
September 26th, 2008 at 9:59 am
Scott and Sara’s articles were great. And I’m registered to vote, even though I’ve been unsure of who to vote for. (Voted for Hillary in the primary.) But after this crappy week I see that I have no choice but to place my vote.
September 26th, 2008 at 9:59 am
I don’t know why authors should stay out of politics — we put them in our books! the agenda in my book isn’t hidden at all. I regularly get reviews speculating or praising or complaining about the politics in them. And I’m writing chick lit. Imagine if I were going for political satire or out and out political novels!
I like plenty of authors’ books whose politics I find appalling (Orson Scott Card, I’m looking at you) and I am capable of saying “I enjoy this artist’s work” without buying into their politics.
September 26th, 2008 at 10:18 am
I have to agree with Diana — I think anyone anywhere has a right to talk about politics and take a stand for what they believe in. Just because we have books published doesn’t mean we suddenly lose the right to talk about what’s important to us.
I do recognize that talking publicly about politics causes some readers to turn away, to rethink the author and his or her work, and to judge the author. And to be honest, this is one reason I’ve chosen not to discuss politics on my own blog (even though I am very involved in politics right now).
I think it’s a shame that we allow politics to be so divisive in this way — to create this “us and them” mentality. I wish this weren’t the case. But I also recognize that this is, unfortunately, the case and that readers do have a right to turn away from an author simply because of his or her politics. It’s a risk the author takes by taking a stand. Still doesn’t make it any less of a shame.
September 26th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
As this is not a political blog, all political comments will be henceforth moderated. Not comments ABOUT talking about politics and whether we have the right to do so, but political comments. There are other blogs for that. I recommend YA for Obama.
(I’ve borrowed a blog overlord from Justine.)