Studies in Storytelling: 2009

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Sorry for the long time no see! My life has been a little crazy as I've made a rather epic transition. I am no longer little Fort Millian high schooler. It's to Columbia with me, to the Honors College at the University of South Carolina.

Sweet freedom. Sweet change. Sweet refuge from dramaaa...

For the last three weeks or so, my focus has been all on the changes and not on my writing. Regrettable. But necessary. Now I am ready to buckle down and GO.

I spent a nice hour in the bookstore today doing my Cinderella Mouse thing - gather stacks of books so high I have to use my chin to keep them from falling. Then I sit down with them and scan through the pitches and acknowledgements pages, taking notes on the books that sound interesting and literary agents I need to check out. (I'll type my notes up below.)

I LOVE doing this.

I also realized something pretty epic when I was in the bookstore today. There used to be about nine shelves filled with teen fiction. Within the last three or four months, that number has grown to eleven.

If I miss this wave, I will not know what to do with myself. Thanks to Miss Stephanie Meyer and Mr. Edward Cullen, my genre is skyrocketing, maybe just in time, maybe in time....

Meh Notes:

Title - Author ~ Agent
Waiting for You - Susane Colasanti ~ ? *(I found this one interesting because the acknowledgements made references to depression and anxiety, topics of personal interest to me.)
Bait - Alex Sanchez ~ Miriam Altshulter
Snap - Carol Snow ~ Stephanie Kip Rostan
My Soul to Take - Rachel Vincent ~ Miriam Kriss (Interesting for its language. I read the first page.)
Shiver - Maggie Steifvater ~ Laura Rennert
Breathless - Jessica Warman ~ Andrea Somberg (Gorgeous cover on this one, but the only word in the pitch that caught my interest was "semiautobiographical")
Graceling - Kristin Cashore ~ Faye Bender
Kissed by an Angel - Elizabeth Chandler / Mary Claire Helldorfer (This is one I should read because it resonates so well with my life and the stories I tell, but I haven't been able to find this lady's agent if she has one.)
Twenty Boy Summer - Sarah Ockler ~ Ted Malawer (I think this title was a bad idea.)
Reincarnation - Susanne Weyn (This has the potential to be FASCINATING.)
Radiant Darkness - Emily Whitman ~ Nancy Gallt
The Fetch - Laura Whitcomb (I've heard this ones really good.)
A Kiss in Time - Alex Flinn ~ George Nicholson
As You Wish - Jackson Pearce ~ Jenoyne Adams

I left the store with:

Crank by Ellen Hopkins (I need to read her books. I just need to.)
Odd Hours by Dean Koontz (So I don't have to borrow it from Megan again)
Prom Nights from Hell by Meg Cabot, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe, Stephanie Meyer, and Lauren Myracle (Needed this too.)
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (An extra copy because I shall be reading it for SCHOOL ^.^)

More later! <3

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Sorry for the delay. I have to do my summering sometime. I am 18, after all.

Well, I have an update. I haven't queried for a month because the literary agent considering my work required a period of exclusivity. Very annoying to someone with a time schedule. However, working with her was a pleasant experience. Around 40 days passed since I sent her the partial, so I emailed asking for an update. She responded quickly with a thoughtful and positive review (strong preface, engaging narrative), and even went so far as to ask that I query her with future ideas. This project, however, wasn't perfect for her.

Who is she? Mollie Glick of Foundry Media. The cool thing about my experience with this agent was getting to meet her. She was the agent-in-residence at the Southeastern Writer's Workshop Conference this year, so I got to sit down and talk with her about my writing about the industry. She had not read my chapters yet when I spoke with her, but it was a bonus to get that face time.

Sorry I haven't posted the review yet. I promise they will come. As soon as the summer funk wears off.

More later! <3

Sunday, July 19, 2009

To be honest, I expect to get a bit of rap for trying to write anything memoir-esque at my age. I'm 18. What could I possibly have to say?

One of the best things I got from this last conference was a gentle reminder of the value of those years from Emily Sue Harvey. "It's amazing that you write," she said. "Not only that you have the drive, lots of kids have the drive. You have something to say."

Her words surprised me. I'd never thought of that--having something to say--as my strength before. Then I thought about the number of nights I've spent lying awake just thinking about life, the times I've agonized about getting through situations without hurting others, and my uncle's words about the emotional-literary power woven into my writing.

I thought maybe she was right.

So I've been looking for stories in my life, and I've finally struck gold. I've found a story I want to write so much it hurts. I've resolved to turn it into a masterpiece. It involves the World Scout Jamboree I attended in 2007. I'm dying to share it, even in its atrocious first-draft form, so I'm going to be an indulgent teenager and post the first paragraph.

The Teapot Boy

My first impression of the boy who would change me forever was as wrong as it possibly could have been. I remember sitting on the stage set up in that gymnasium, scanning the crowd and getting seized by a glare. That’s right. I was minding my own business, making drowsy conversation with the people lounging on the sofas where I’d been taking a nap, and a boy I’d never met before was staring me down.

On that creepy note, I must leave you for now. I'll keep you update though. I'm very excited about it.

So excited that I didn't feel like working on the reviews I should have written today. Sigh. Those will happen soon. I promise. The posts on the way are:

A review of In Odd We Trust by Dean Koontz & Queenie Chan
A review of The Uglies by Scott Westerfield
Thoughts on Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
& Thoughts on Song of Renewal by Emily Sue Harvey

Jambo Picture:

[caption id="attachment_128" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Sword dancers from Qatar"]

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Thursday, July 16, 2009

As my blog readers know, I attended the Southeastern Writer's Conference last month and got a bit of a shock. Miss Stephanie and--godforbid--Edward flipping Cullen did far more for me than I ever could have dreamed.

The industry is in a sad condition right now. That is undeniable. Agent in Residence Mollie Glick gave a speech about her job as a literary agent and revealed that a large part of it is keeping up with editors. Not only are editors moving and shuffling around between publishers and houses these days, they're dropping like flies. Entire branches and houses are getting cut off.

It's dark.

Apparently, Borders booksellers has nearly gone bankrupt several times within the past year and have survived by a miracle. (I'm very interested in this situation and there may be a post about it soon.) Without a doubt, the disappearance of a major booksellers would be disastrous to the industry. E-books would probably take off, boosting the printed word toward an obsolete state.

How do you break in when things are this bad? Where is the hope?

Okay. Competition is high. It's always been high. Relatively, it's not that much of a difference.

One market is still booming. One genre is easier than ever to break into. Respect for it is growing, and its popularity is wonderful. This is the Young Adult market, especially Fantasy. My market.

Four people--Emily Sue Harvey, Cheryl Norman, Mollie Glick, and Holly McClure--all remarked on how well the YA market is doing at the conference last month. About a week after it ended, I was in a bookstore, and I asked an employee if she was familiar with the YA section and if she could tell me what was selling best. She pointed to a few titles, naming one I'd never heard of (which made it all the more beneficial to me). "Anything to do with vampires, witches, or fairies. Actually," she said, pausing, "that's most of what we get coming through here right now."

I almost cried.

If you're a young adult fantasy writer, now is the time to step up and shoot for it. Despite the economic downturn, we are the ones who have been empowered. And it's probably all thanks to Miss Stephanie Meyer and Mr. Edward Cullen!

It's dark.

How do you break in when things are this bad? Where is the hope?

Okay. Competition is high. It's always been high. Relatively, it's not that much of a difference.

One market is still booming. One genre is easier than ever to break into. Respect for it is growing, and its popularity is wonderful. This is the Young Adult market, especially Fantasy. My market.

I almost cried.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

I thought I'd blog a little about what's going on in my own life today and update everybody on how my dreams are going. =) I attended the SWA Conference a few weeks ago, which I blogged about. I repeat: This conference is an IDEAL beginner experience.

Thanks to this experience, my manuscript is in the hands of a literary agent I like very very much. Keeping my fingers crossed. We'll see.

The last few days, I've been outlining Sunlight, the sequel to Sunrise. No, I'm not completely satisfied with that title. Bubbles would be more appropriate, but it sounds too much. like the name of a poodle. Le sigh. I think I'm going to start updating my second book's word count on my blog just to add some accountability.

At the SWA Conference this year, I also got a definition for that mysterious thing I've been hearing about called Dragoncon--it's an anime convention, a writer's conference, and a sci-fi/fantasy convention combined.

Can you say My Paradise? How cool is that

It must be humongous. Apparently there are even something like 1500 registered Storm Troopers in Atlanta. My little brother wants to register and keep his helmet in his car so he can put it on whenever he sees a state trooper

I'm going. =D At least, I've got some of my anime friends interested, not to mention my Star Wars-fanatic parents. (Which might be an Oops....)

That's the general past, present, and future of the moment though. I'll keep everyone updated.

More soon <3

Word count: 4000

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Another wonderful experience from the Southeastern Writers Association Conference last week.

Let me start by making a little fun of myself. Last year at the SWA Conference I'm pretty sure I was ~scared out of my wits.~ The entire time I felt completely out of my depth and overwhelmed but at the same time inspired and determined any kicking, spitting mule you'd like to imagine.

I was also awkward as hell.

This year my awkwardness had dropped dramatically from their previous As Hell levels. Thanks to a great shift in attitude and the experience Model UN gave me, I've actually finally learned how to talk.

I realized I'd changed a bit when I found myself sitting next to Chuck Sambuchino, one of the biggest names there, the first night of the conference--and he was teaching me to play Poker.

I still can't say I'd be able to win if I sat down at a Poker table now. No, I'm afraid I definitely would not have the confidence to engage in any alternate forms of the game. Cough. But I did pick the gist of it up and when I started making decisions we started winning. Of course, the stakes weren't high. It was also fun watch Mr. Sambuchino dramatically slap down an immense bet of 50 cents.

My mad Poker skillz aren't the only thing I picked up from him last week, however. Even though he had to leave the conference Wednesday morning, he taught four classes: Screenwriting, Nonfiction, Business of the Business - Agent Focus, and Business of the Business - Editor Focus.

I have notes on all the classes, but I have a TON of screenwriting stuff. They'll definitely fill a post or two in the future. I enjoyed the classes and liked Mr. Sambuchino's teaching style. He's laid back and very open to questions. He makes jokes and laughs at the business and himself. He also played the piano before class--medleys including Coldplay's Speed of Sound and Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit.

I'm sorry. That's awesome. As an eighteen-year-old, I find it simply epic. =)

I'd highly recommend Mr. Sambuchino as a class instructor--and the good news is he's going to be teaching at the South Carolina Writer's Workshop at Myrtle Beach in October! Hopefully his classroom will have a piano.

Another wonderful experience from the Southeastern Writers Association Conference last week.

I was also awkward as hell.

I realized I'd changed a bit when I found myself sitting next to Chuck Sambuchino, one of the biggest names there, the first night of the conference--and he was teaching me to play Poker.

I'm sorry. That's awesome. As an eighteen-year-old, I find it simply epic. =)

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Because I understand that there is no money to be made in poetry (except the occasionally $30 contest award) I'm going to post my poem, The Opposite of War. Last week it got 2nd place in the Smith Moseley Award for Poetry at the SWA conference =) It's about the World Scout Jamboree in 2007.

The Opposite of War

I’ve lost my accent somewhere.
Maybe I dropped in the Thames,
or it fell victim to a ghost of the Tower,
or a Windsor swan plucked it from my fingers like bread,
but I hope it was swallowed, drowned,
trampled by polished boots
during the changing of the palace guard
because I have never felt so screamingly blended
and whole. I could never find it anyway
in this seek-and-flutter of color—
Skin like rice and beans and bread,
Vegetarian choices and tea.

And the uniforms:
A modern exotic salad,
with British, American, Norwegian, Polish, Korean,
iceberg khaki,
Japanese spinach leaves, curly banana crisps,
topped with Malaysian mangoes,
Chilean blueberries,
rich German raspberries,
a sprig of French Parsley,
and fruits and seeds like stagelights
all topped with white summer light for a dressing.

One line seemed universal:
"Where are you from?"
One line in London streets,
Roman exhibits, and the Queen’s roses
threaded with bees,
echoed later when tears fell from beneath
a cowboy hat
onto a lotus flower—
and though we never closed at night,
the wedges of our worlds
unfurled and overlapped,
tied with “Where are you from?”

And the Prince sliced chocolate cake for us with his helicopter,
golden dragons slithered from camp to camp,
business cards fluttered everywhere like leaves.
We did more than I can list.
We ran mountains with metal slides,
built catapults, rang church bells,
painted, planted, traded, sailed.
But mostly we danced
in every language.

Forty thousand of us—
dancing to O-zone,
cursing at vending machines,
and arguing about African education—
from 216 countries
all over the Earth—
each with a different view
of God above it
and Satan inside it—
We babbled about the falling ame
and family.

I’d never felt, heard, eaten so many wonders—
and I’d never seen a gentleman cry like that,
screaming through the arms around him
that she was a blond half-Asian.
She had died in his arms four months before.

In the thick and thesis of our new summary of earth,
we were reminded of things that fall away.
And did soldiers guide us all here by the hands,
disappear so that we could curse at vending machines
as one world, one family?
Because if the World Wars
The Trail of Tears, the Boxer Rebellion,
The Rape of Nanking, the Ravage of Africa,
The Russian Starvations--

And if
Iraq

Darfur, Sudan

Georgia, Europe

Mumbai, India

The Gaza Strip

If these things wound and kill,
our many colors
evoke life with their vividness
life that manifests as stop-and-go conga lines
neckerchiefs of many signatures
international flirtation.
They keep it safe
by sealing it in pictures that steal souls
and snatching business cards straight out of the wind.
Our blending colors heal and keep alive.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Website: http://www.sullivanmaxx.com
Accept Mailed Proposals: Coverletter, 1-P Synopsis, First Five Pages
Current Clients: See Tags

Last week I attended the Southeastern Writers Conferences, and two representatives of the Sullivan Maxx Literary Agency visited. Ms. Holly McClure, a talented writer as well as an agent, spoke about the state of the publishing industry and motivated us to find advantages. She called the class The Empowered Author.

I loved it. It was an encouraging and positive experience. I understand how busy agents are, and I truly appreciated that she and her assistant agent Jeanie Pantelakis would come talk to a small room of publishing industry n00bs.

It didn't stop there, however--after the class got me more hyped and driven than any other I'd attended all week, I ran back to the room (where I should have changed out of the Incrediboy T-shirt) and grabbed my hard copy.

They ran a small session with those who had complete manuscripts and wanted to participate--and taught us how to pitch!

This was great for me, since these Elevator Pitch things make me very nervous. I'll share some of their advice soon. Running out of time for tonight. I just wanted to share the great experience with Sullivan Maxx literary agency and their generosity and enthusiasm.

Friday, June 26, 2009

I went to the bookstore yesterday on a high from the conference. Never a good idea. Then again, I may singlehandedly save the industry at the rate I'm going.

I'm kidding. What I actually did was sit down with a HUMONGOUS stack of magazines. Like:

[caption id="attachment_30" align="aligncenter" width="321" caption="This. "]

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Except not that neat.

I looked over the entire back wall of a Books-A-Million and picked up anything that looked interesting to me. I picked up crochet magazines because I used to love to crochet. I picked up wedding magazines because I've had some pretty cool wedding stories in my life. I looked over film review magazines because that's something I want to learn how to do. I looked at horror magazines because that's a little like fantasy--but, as I decided, not much.

I flipped through to see which one took fictions and checked out a few other sections that I might like to write for. Then I picked a handful that seemed like the best winners for me (and my budget):

Writer's Journal
Realms of Fantasy
Writer's Digest
American Girl (which I've already discovered does not take fiction submissions)

I also picked up Otaku USA because I'm also running an anime review blog under a persona.

The final think I bought was The Waters and the Wild by Francesca Lia Block. Four things to say about that:

1. I want Jennifer Heuer to do my jacket cover.
2. The synopsis of this book grabbed me...and then I discovered it didn't do justice to the first chapter.
3. That name is too pretty to be real. It's either a pseudonym or the lady's parents are overpassionate.
4. $17 is too much for that tiny hardback. I only bought it on a binge.

All right, I have to take this chance to recommend to all aspiring writers out there, if you're in the south, the Southeastern Writers Workshop is an ideal place to start. That's where I began my journey, and it has given me the boosts I need. I didn't understand why I needed to go to conferences, honestly, and I got much more than I bargained for.

On my record now are:
The SWA Juvenile Writing Award - 2nd place and $30
The Smith Moseley Poetry Award - 2nd place and $30
The M.L. Brown Award for YA Lit - 3rd place and $10 (2008) & 1st place and $50 (2009)!

So those cash prizes aren't extravagant, but the thing is those awards are perfect credentials for a query letter. If you want to be published, people, build them up!

The conference also gave me the chance to meet with Mollie Glick from Foundry Literary + Media and agents from Sullivan Literary Agency there on St. Simon's Island.

I'm going to be posting every day for the rest of the summer and quite often after that. Hold me to it, please! I don't mind nagging. =)

~Courtney