I think it all started with Mary Poppins and Bert the chimney sweep for me. Or maybe it was Westley and Buttercup? Minnie and Mickey? I can't be sure, but ever since I was little, I've always had those couples who I believed should be together forever and ever. This is something I never grew out of and I never want to grow out of it! There's just something really gratifying about seeing two people who you've been wanting to get together actually get together!
I can't help it, I'm constantly in a state of "Now kiss!"
OTPs don't have to be referring to two particular individuals either, I don't think. Maybe you just really like a certain trope. The duke and the servant girl, the lady cop and the bad boy, the mischievous rake and the debutante, etc... I consider these a form of OTPs, too.
It's a good time to be alive for us shippers. The internet has made it possible to flail and share and find others who "ship" the same pairings, which is basically what I want this new blog series to be about.
I want to hear from writers and readers alike! Who are your OTPs? Why do you like that pairing? Why do you think that pairing is appealing to others? If you're interested in being a part of this series, go hereand shoot me a message! Tell me which OTP/s you'd like to discuss. I'd like to make this an on-going series so there are plenty of spots open for anyone who wants to participate!
I've jumped feet first into figuring out how to write comics. As a person who has loved comics her entire life, this has always been a dream. I always knew it was a tough thing to do, but has that swayed me? Not at all. The past week I've really been actively researching and exploring the world of comics publishing and writing. It's amazing what one can learn in just a week.
I always knew it was a tough field to break into, but I never realized it was *this* hard. Most publishers don't just want your script, they want to see drawn pages, which means hiring an artist. Or that's what it means for me since I couldn't draw if my life depended on it. From what I can tell, a lot of agents are the same way. I could be wrong about that one, though. Still looking into agents who rep graphic novel and comics writers. There aren't as many as you'd think. And if you want to write for one of the Big 2 (DC and Marvel), GOOD FREAKING LUCK! I'm personally not interested really in writing established books so the fact that DC and Marvel are off the table doesn't bug me too much. What does bug me is how closed they seem to be to new ideas and new talent. But, whatever.
And then, there's the actual writing of the thing! Go google "comic book script examples". Go on, I'll wait. (I would have just shown you some here, but I'm paranoid about copyright infringement...)
*waits*
Do you see what I mean? Do you see how intricate that stuff is? Similar to a screenplay and yet different. Instead of shots, you have panels. There are tons of terms to learn, too. And if this book is a series, where do you end the first book? Is it like chapters in a novel or not? I mean, maybe... I guess. Wait, no, not really, but sometimes... *sigh* There's so much, it all just makes my brain hurt. But in a good way, if that's possible.
If you came here looking for advice on how to write comics, I'm sorry, but I'm in the same boat you are. I do, however, have some links and recommendations that I've found extremely useful:
One of the books Gaiman recommends is Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud and, guys, GO FREAKING READ THAT RIGHT NOW! I don't care if you've never had any interest in comics ever! Seriously interesting stuff and so well done. I mean, a comic *about* comics? Genius!
Another rec from Gaiman is Will Eisner's Comics and Sequential Art which I will begin reading in the next couple of days as soon as I get over the book hangover I got from Understanding Comics.
The forums at Digitalwebbing.com look to be informative. I just joined and will be perusing them. I know forums were very important in my journey to becoming a published YA author. I'm a fan of forums.
I'll continue to update this post with more links and things as I find them.
Despite my bitching, I'm really excited about this. I'm a learner, I love to learn, so this endeavor is right up my alley. I'll keep you posted, ya know, if you're interested.
Do you have any recs for me? Have you attempted comics writing? Post in the comments!
Listening to: Ray LaMontagne
Reading: Not sure yet. Will pick something today. Suggestions?
Watching: Will be watching the new Sherlock once I write at least one chapter.
Playing: Puzzle and Dragons (SO ADDICTIVE!)
So, 2013 was a fantastic year in some respects and a not-so-fantastic year in others. My debut novel, THE SUMMER I BECAME A NERD, released on May 7, 2013 which was as exciting as one could imagine. So much awesomeness there, I can't even. I learned a lot from the whole experience of writing, editing, and waiting on pins and needles for that book to come out.
One of the big things I learned was first drafts are easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy in comparison to editing. With a first draft, it's just you and your imagination and your characters and your lava lamp and a beer. But with editing, it's more like you and your editors and stress eating and the ever looming question of "Will people even like this???"
Since coming to this realization, I've been sort of stuck writing-wise. Because, as I'm sure I've stated here before, I'm a worrier. Worry, worry, worry. I worry about everything. What has happened, what will happen, what won't happen. It's all fair game for my worry habit. And every time I'd sit down to write something, I'd be really excited! At first. Then the worry would set in and "Nope, this is all crap. Better try something else. Or better yet, let's just watch ten episodes of Supernatural in a row. That'll make everything better." (Because, as we all know, Supernatural is the best thing ever.) But, SURPRISE SURPRISE, that strategy didn't work.
So here I am, in the same spot I was a year ago except with a lot more book ideas, a lot more unfinished stories, and a lot less Supernatural to catch up on. That's sounds pretty pitiful, now that I look at it. BUT not to worry! *says the queen of worrying*
Seriously though, there comes a point where I have to get over myself. I have to stand outside myself and take a good look, pretend like I don't know this silly girl in pajamas who never leaves home without her sonic screwdriver. And, as an observer, I need to give that geeky girl some advice:
Shut up with the whining, put on your big girl panties, and boot up, honey. Because things aren't going to get any better on their own. So, buckle down, focus, put on some actual clothes and GET TO WORK!... Okay, maybe keep the PJs because they do look comfortable.
There you have it. That's my main resolution, if you want to call it that, for 2014. To stop worrying so much and get some sh** done!
That's right, folks. THIS BLOG IS NOT DEAD! I know it's been a while since my little blog here has had anything new to say, but do not despair! I plan on bringing this baby back! In fact, there are a lot of things I want to fix in the coming year.
Yes, this is one of those end-of-the-year, reflection, resolutions posts. I know a lot of people do these and you'll probably get tired of them quickly, but I feel like if I say out loud, to the public, what I want to do in the coming year, I might actually feel obligated to DO those things. So here we go.
1. Writing: I need to be more disciplined with my writing. I will stick to a schedule. I will push through the tough times and get those words down because:
I also want to try some different things this coming year. A big goal for me is to write a comic book script. Because, ya know:
*insert gif of Jay yelling, "COMIIIICS!!!" from Mallrats.
I couldn't find one and it makes me sad all day.
Get on that, internet!*
2. Reading: I have been really lazy about reading for a while. Like the last time I finished reading a novel was over the summer, I think. I did go on a comics binge the other day, though. House of Mystery is phenomenal, btw. But King is right. I'm officially setting a goal for myself. I shall read at least 50 books in 2014! It has been said and so it shall be!
3. Blogging: December 22nd is this blog's THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! Holy crap! I'm not sure if 2013 really counts since I barely posted anything at all, but I'm counting it, so there. Three years ago, I set out to blog very consistently about my adventures in writing. And it went well for the first year. Then I got busy and kind of let this blog go unchecked. But this coming year will be different!
I will blog at least once a week! You heard me, ONCE A WEEK!
I'm not promising that it will always be about books or writing because I have to save all my good literary talk for The Secret Life of Writers blog (which you should totally check out). But there will be something here at least once a week.
There are tons of other things I want to accomplish or improve upon in the coming year, but they're the boring ones like losing weight, eating healthier, changing out of my pajamas before 3pm at least twice a week, etc. So, I won't bother you with those, BUT I do want to hear your resolutions for the new year! Tell meeeeeeee because I'm a great listener!
So, it's been about 11 weeks since TSIBaN was released. *cues the happy dance*
And it's been going well, I think. Of course, I have no idea really what is good, passable, or not good at all, but I like to think readers like the book. So, that's awesome! I'm super thankful for all the readers, all the comments, and all the new friends I've made throughout this whole thing! Seriously, I never expected all this awesomeness!
Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I want to be kind of candid for a moment. I watched this video from Kelsey Macke, one of those new friends that I met in the Adult Nerdfighter Facebook group:
You should watch it because a lot, alotalotalot, of what she says is how I feel. Especially the part about what her agent mentions about how we constantly compare our personal self to everyone else's public self. This is something I'd never heard before but it has totally struck a cord with me. I try really hard to remind myself that I am me, I am who I am and there's no escaping that, I wouldn't want to escape it! But it's easy, for me at least, to fall into this idea that others are doing things better than I am. And I'll admit that my jealous side does come out every once in a while. Or daily... But I see these prolific writers pumping out 2, 3, 4!!! books a year and I'm still wondering if I'll ever be able to finish another book. Not to mention trying to keep up with all the other stuff that's involved with being a published author, a mother of 2, a wife, etc. Don't get me wrong, I love authors who can write that much awesome stuff, but, damn it, why can't that be meeee?!
(Side note: I realize I might be sounding like the crying prom queen here, but sometimes I just need a venue that's not going to judge me. Somewhere I can be honest and voice my problems.)
There are days when I'm inspired and I want to do ALL THE THINGS! But there seem to be more days where I'd rather just wallow in my incompetency and eat chips and dip and spend hours on Tumblr looking at Sherlock gifs. I guess before I was published I thought, "If can just conquer this hurdle, it'll be smooth sailing." How I got this in my head, I have no idea! Because the sailing is not smooth, my friends. It's freaking choppy. It's tsunamic (not a word but it is now).
I want to end this rambling blog post with some poetic answer as to how to fix this, but the truth is there is no magic, pretty answer. Life is hard, shit happens, there are road blocks, and the only thing we can do is keep on swimming. I know this. And there are good things, too. So many good, wonderful, amazing things! I guess I just need to focus more on those good things rather than allowing doubt, jealousy, and Sherlock gifs get in the way.
If you read this entire, whiny post, thank you. And if you just skimmed over it, that's cool, too. If you want to commiserate, please do! Like Kelsey said in her vlog, there's a ton of support for querying authors (as it should be), but once you get the agent/editor, things can become super lonely.
4 days, guys... 4 FREAKING DAYS UNTIL THE SUMMER I BECAME A NERD IS RELEASED FOR REAL INTO THE WORLD! ASDFJKL;!!!!!!!!!
FREAK OUT!!!
Deep breath... I'm calm, really...
Now that the freak out is over, I have a question. So, I'm a total noob at this whole thing and I have no idea what to expect. I'm sure there'll be lots of mixed emotions, heck there has already been an infinity of emotions like:
Scared-out-of-my-mind, dear-God-what-have-I-done fear
Mother, wife, and YA author living on a windy hill in Louisiana. I love fuzzy socks, comic books, cherry coke, and brand new office supplies. Represented by Jenny Bent at The Bent Agency. Stay cool! Contact me at leahraewrites(at)gmail(dot)com
