Girl Meets World

Staunton River State Park, VA
Photo Credit: Julie Bonner

As I approach "the end" of my novel, I realize more and more that my young adult story parallels my life. My main character, Corey, finds himself in this new, unknown world where he navigates his way through dangers, challenges and personalities. And though panic occasionally rears its head, he reminds himself to be brave and trust in the future. He learns to believe in himself and accept help from others.

Recently, my son and I moved to a new community and enrolled in college classes. I'm brand new to the cell phone and laptop worlds. But I've been able to navigate my way around town and through the techie challenges. I'm enjoying meeting new people. And yes, there's an occasional pang of panic. I may veer off the path a little longer than Corey, but I do make it back, trusting in community and in the future. Thankfully, I've had a bit of help from some of the dearest of friends.

I didn't set out to write about my world. Didn't realize till recently just how similar Corey's world is to mine.

So I'm curious...

Do other writers experience the same thing? Are their fictional stories similar to their own lives? And did they plan it that way or did it just naturally evolve?

If you're a writer, I'd love to hear your "story"...


(For a peek at my first page: http://curtincorner.blogspot.com/2013/03/naked.html)

**Special thanks to Patrick Dinneny, fellow Social Media Marketing student, for creating my blog post title!**

#writer #story #book #fiction #life #brave #adventure #GirlMeetsWorld

From Mud to Martians and More...

Lynn Plourde

Lynn’s first ever published picture book, Pigs in the Mud in the Middle of the Rud, oozes with inspiration. Years ago when I read the story to my son, it was simply about getting farm animals out of the road. But now it holds a different significance: That sometimes you’ve just “gotta shoo” away all those road blocks to get to your destination, your goal.

And I’m encouraged by the fact that it was published after Lynn had been writing for thirteen years and after she had received hundreds of rejections. Sometimes success requires getting “muddy, head to toe.”

So glad that Lynn’s “road” intersected with mine. In November we both attended a Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance workshop with Jennifer Richard Jacobson (see January post).

Learn about Lynn, check out her sage advice and…

watch for her new book coming out this summer!

 

 

Follow Lynn on . . .

WEBSITE: www.lynnplourde.com

 

FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/pages/Lynn-Plourde/208223469276148

 

TWITTER: twitter.com/LynnPlourde

 

GOODREADS: www.goodreads.com/author/show/132398.Lynn_Plourde

 

YOUTUBE CHANNEL: www.youtube.com/user/LynnPlourde

 

 

What were you like as a kid?
As a kid I was a bookworm and a brown-nose in school. I LOVED school, often played it at home (of course, I had to be the teacher), and I bent over backwards to try to impress my teachers. School and learning and reading seemed to fill me up!

What's your favorite childhood memory?
Not sure I can pick just one. But I so loved when the grown-up relatives would get together and play cards. Of course, I wasn't allowed to play, but I'd sit quietly at the corner of the table and listen to their stories. I loved their laughter, sense of belonging, the way they tried to out-do each other with their stories. I think that's when the sense of story got under my skin.

How many books do you have published?
I've had 27 kids books published to date (# 28-You're Wearing THAT to School?! will be out this summer), 10 books for teachers that have listening and speaking activities for the classroom, plus a reference book A Celebration of Maine Children's Books.

 Do you remember how you felt when your first book was published?
It was a BIG DEAL when Pigs in the Mud in the Middle of the Rud was published in 1997—a dream come true! I had t-shirts for my family made up with the cover of the book. Plus I did my first book signing in my hometown of Skowhegan on March 1st, National Pig Day!

What's your favorite book of yours?
Oh, that's impossible to answer. I'd have to say "my next one"—always my next one. I'm excited about a new book that I can't wait to share with the world. From the time I learn one of my books will be published until it actually appears in the world is usually about a three year wait (the publisher has to find an illustrator, the illustrator has to do the illustrations, the editing, the printing, the marketing. etc.). So at that point, I'm champing at the bit to have it seen.

How did you go from speech therapist to teacher to writer? And has your previous work experience helped your writing career?
Actually I went from speech therapist to writer--I was NOT a teacher, although I consider myself a "teaching author."

As a speech therapist, I used picture books in therapy to help to develop students' vocabulary, concept development, sequencing skills, auditory memory, and so much more. I've been told that many of my picture books develop those same skills. For example, the repetitive chorus of "Oh no. Won't do. Gotta Shoo. But who?" in Pigs in the Mud in the Middle of the Rud (http://www.lynnplourde.com/index.php/books?bid=11) encourages kids to join in the story and promotes their auditory memories. For the hidden moose in the illustrations of Moose, of Course! (http://www.lynnplourde.com/index.php/books?bid=18) I encourage parents and teachers NOT to have kids point at the moose, but to answer questions or describe where the moose are hidden (i.e. on the right page, near the top of the page, looking in the window).

As a speech therapist I knew about sounds--sibilant sounds, plosive sounds, etc. and sounds can give text a different feel. I always read my picture books aloud to hear how they sound, and then I add another sentence, read aloud, add another, read aloud, etc. My books also have a lot of word play in them which is a combination of my speech therapy background, the picture books I read myself and that "call to me", plus my sense of humor.

Did you always want to write?
I always wanted to TEACH. I didn't know you could grow up to be an author for a job. But writing was something I always enjoyed doing and my teachers gave me positive feedback on my writing—so I felt encouraged.

What inspires you to write? How do you get your story ideas?
I have hundreds and hundreds of ideas—they are everywhere . . . what I see, snippets of conversation, photos, newspaper articles, songs, etc. I have an overflowing idea notebook and files on my computer with ideas. The challenge for me is not getting the ideas, but rather growing the ideas into stories. How can I tell something in a new, fresh way, with my own voice? I want a story idea that will excite me and in turn excite kids. I start many stories that I don't finish, but I still keep them in hopes that maybe someday I will find the perfect way to tell THAT story.

The picture book industry is changing. How do you perceive the changes? And how are you adjusting to them?
Two ways I've noticed the picture book business changing are that editors want picture book manuscripts to have LESS words and the transition to e-books.

I'm trying to adapt to "less words," but it's not easy—I tend to write longer stories and want to include word play. I also think kids deserve longer stories. Are we doing them a disservice by only giving them shorter texts? Are we reinforcing shorter attention spans with shorter texts? But there's a part of me that realizes we need to trust the ILLUSTRATIONS to tell more of the story—they need their space too.

Also, I'm working on a picture book that will have the conversation in speech bubbles so there's no need for the "he said" and "she said", which naturally shortens the text. So I'm still figuring this one out.

As for e-books, they are here to stay, but are evolving for picture books—publishers are still trying to figure out what e-picture books will look like (i.e. have a read-aloud, have activities/extras—but will those add to or detract from the story, what about the small screen of an e-reader for picture books, etc). The contracts I sign now all have e-book clauses, but it's still a "to be continued" story.

What do you like most about being an author?
I LOVE two parts of being an author—the creative, new story excitement and sharing with kids. When I write a new story, I'm always in awe. Where did that come from? It was an invisible idea that grew into a story that might be a book kids hold in their hands someday. Since I write for kids (not grown-ups), I get to do lots of school visits and share my stories with kids, act some out as a play, and most importantly teach kids how to write their own stories. I love the school connection! And so I did get to be a teacher of sorts, after all!

What are your plans for 2013/the future?
To keep writing! As I said, You're Wearing THAT to School?! will be out this summer so I'll be busy promoting that—it's a fun book about Penelope the hippo who's a bit over the top.

I have some other stories that I've had encouraging feedback on and I have some ideas for new stories. I'd love to write another non-fiction graphic novel (after having co-authored Lost Trail (http://www.lynnplourde.com/index.php/books?bid=31) with Donn Fendler—a graphic novel version of his 1939 survival story. So I hope to clear time for research for that.

What are you currently working on?
The answer to that depends on the day! I'm revising a story for an editor called NO Monsters Allowed! which includes a monster talking in monster language—tee hee! I'm in the middle of a picture book Are We There Yet? about kids asking that familiar question on a car ride—except these kids are Martians and it's a really looooooong space ride for them. Plus I keep thinking about the nonfiction graphic novel.

 Any advice for writers?
I actually have a video blog called MAKE WRITING VISIBLE (http://www.lynnplourde.com/index.php/blog) which is targeted toward teachers and students, but I've had a number of authors tell me that the information has been helpful to them too.

I encourage aspiring authors to write because you LOVE it, because you'd be crabby if you didn't write. Don't write because you love the idea of having written something or you think it would be impressive to be published.

Pay attention to what you READ—the kinds of books you most enjoy reading, might very well be the kinds of books you'd be best at writing.

Remember it's a process—no one tells a story perfectly the first try . . . you have to be willing to revise and rewrite over and over.

Go to workshops. Read books on writing. Join a writers’ group.

Join the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (http://www.scbwi.org) if you write for kids, and join Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance (http://www.mainewriters.org) if you write in Maine.

Finally, find your writing VOICE, your own special way of telling a story.

 

#Author #LynnPlourde #Book #Writer

Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Author. Teacher. Overall cool person...

“How can we tell if our writing is crap?” That was the question I posed to Jennifer during her inspiring writing workshop: Examining the Middle Grade and Young Adult Novel in Progress. She laughed – well, guffawed really – and then said that all writers write crap. That books come out of revising our initial drafts. “I can,” she later admitted, “probably identify six to eight drafts for each story.”

 

This hard-working writer and teacher resides in Cumberland, Maine, with her husband, Don O’Grady. Together they have a Brady-Bunch-style family of four young adults.

 

 

Jennifer’s web site: http://jenniferjacobson.com

 

 

What were you like as a kid?

I was the oldest in my neighborhood, so was a bit of a bandleader – always leading kids in games of some sort.  I organized circuses and dance recitals. (Never having had a dance lesson, I made everything up.) At school, I was awkward (not a cool bone in my body) and often a loner. In all situations, my imagination saved me.

 

As a child, what did you imagine yourself becoming?

A teacher.  There was never any question.

 

How long have you been teaching?

I’ve been teaching all my adult life.  I’ve gone from teaching very young children to teaching teachers how to teach writing (say that three times fast).  I’m lucky to visit classrooms and work with students of all ages regularly. 

 

What's your favorite teaching moment?

When students, who believe they are not capable writers, discover they can compose written messages the world wants to hear.

 

You've taught children and now teach adults. What's the biggest difference?

There’s very little difference. I sometimes have to remind myself that adults need the same things to learn well: opportunities to reflect, to practice, to be reminded of what they’re doing well.  The mistake most teachers make (myself included) is talking too much.

 

You combine teaching and writing and you say one enhances the other. How so?

When I write and make new discoveries, I share those insights with my students.  When I work with students, I’m constantly reminded of human nature, insights that help me with characterization.

 

Which book of yours did you enjoy writing the most?

Working on my newest book, Paper Things, feels more like play than work.  It's a story about eleven-year-old Ari who accompanies her older brother when he ages out of foster care. I would happily go on writing this book forever.

 

Is there a publish date for ‘Paper Things’?

The spring of 2014 from Candlewick.

 

Which book of yours is your favorite?  

I love Small as an Elephant.  I grew most as a writer while working on this novel.

 

How so?

Because my editor requested so much more in the way of setting with Small as an Elephant, I grew in my understanding of the importance of physical detail and how it can effectively portray emotion. Formerly, I believed that details came solely from an author's imagination, but with this book I learned to get out into the world and observe more.

 

What is your biggest writing challenge?

My biggest challenge is creating characters who emote. I grew up in a Yankee family where one didn’t show emotions. It took me a long time to learn to how to process feelings quietly and on my own, and now I need to learn how to let my characters' lives be messier.

 

What is your biggest writing joy?

My biggest joy is when I tap into a vein of truth.  I know that it’s good news when I’m crying as I write.

 

During the workshop you mentioned that your childhood was bleak, but that you rarely pull from those experiences for your writing. Why not?

I should have said this better.  Actually, I do pull from my childhood all the time, just not in a literal way.  For example, I was never physically abandoned by my family, but I experienced the sense of isolation that Jack (Small as an Elephant) feels when he’s trying to make his way alone.

My early family life was filled with contradictions; there were joyful moments imbedded in that unpredictable, chaotic, often lonely time. I’m afraid that I’m not yet a strong enough writer (or person) to convey the balance of love and dysfunction that existed in my home.

 

I believe that in any hardship endured, there is something positive that comes from the experience. Do you think that's true?

Absolutely. I escaped difficult times by creating stories: stories with my dollhouse, stories with paper dolls, written stories, and even by recreating an entirely different family/social life when I went off to summer camp.  I didn’t realize it until recently, but stories—the ability to imagine other possibilities -- has always sustained me.

 

Do you have any advice for teachers?

When it comes to writing, always respond to the message before the conventions. We write to be heard. 

Point out what students are doing well – like anything, we learn to write better when we feel partially successful.

 

Do you have any advice for writers?

As you write, ask yourself, “Is it true yet?  Is it true?”

 

Any 2013 resolutions?

To take more writing risks –that is, to ignore my highly opinionated internal editor – especially on first drafts.

 

Carol Gordon Ekster 

Passionate. Determined. Caring.

Carol knew she wanted to be a teacher since Mrs. St. Peter’s first grade class in New York City where she was encouraged to stand in front of the other students and lead. And that’s what she did. She taught fourth grade for thirty-five years. Now retired, she combines her love of teaching with her new-found passion for writing.

She lives with her husband, Mark, of 38 years, in Andover, Massachusetts.

Carol can be found on Facebook, Twitter @cekster,
Pinterest:  http://pinterest.com/cekster/pins/, and
her web site: http://carolgordonekster.com.

Carol and I met up at Breaking New Grounds in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and had a wonderful chat while sipping coffee.

You’ve written over 50 stories.

Yes, some of them are horrible. (said with a laugh)

I was just reading one of my stories that I really liked it. I thought it was such an important story. It’s called Making the Team. It’s about a kid who doesn’t make the team. Everybody thinks they’re going to have success right away, but that’s not the way it goes. I guess we all need to have a little rejection in our life so that we can better appreciate our successes.

If your kid feels failure, then you read a book and they learn that it’s going to be okay. Books enable us to sit with our kids and read about a real life situation and then talk about it.

I wish I had a better sense of humor. I wish I could write a funny, silly book. I write, really, from the heart of a teacher. I think that’s what I am first and foremost. I’m always trying to get teaching in there. What’s the lesson? If you can combine the fun of reading with learning an important life skill, that’s powerful.

You’re published books are Ruth the Sleuth and the Messy Room and Where am I Sleeping Tonight? A Book about Divorce. What was the magazine article?

“The Library is the Perfect Place.” 

To me, it would have been the perfect picture book about the correct behavior in the library and the amazing wealth of materials you find in a library. That was in February of 2010. If the picture book market was better, who knows what would have happened...
 

I read that you’re in three writing groups. How did you find them?

Through SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators).

All of them. Wow. So how do your writing groups help you?

Just tremendously. They find inconsistencies and help you improve your story—from little things like word choice to bigger things like changing the plot.     

I always feel that I need the feedback. I could be missing something and you don’t even realize it because you’re so close to your work.

It’s different perspectives.

Yes, I love different perspectives. And I feel you don’t write alone.  Some people have fabulous ideas. I had an editor who liked my writing and she encouraged me to keep sending (my manuscripts). I met her at the (NESCBWI) conference. She would give me comments and specific things to do. I sent this (Ruth the Sleuth and the Messy Room) six months after I wrote it which is too soon usually. She sent it back and said, “I don’t see enough growth in (Ruth).” Now I look for those things.

It’s a learning process.

It’s a learning process. I immediately went back and changed the story so (Ruth) learned. Every time I brought it to a different (writing) group, people gave me ideas. Someone said to give her a ten-minute time limit. Then I thought to put a clock in the bottom corner of the page.

I do strictly picture books, so to hear an illustrator’s perspective—they’re visualizing the story— they can add so much. They really have a whole different perspective. I remember (the Illustrator) said to have fun with the clothes. She said to take the shoelace, tie it around her head. And when I saw it, I was so grateful to her.

What would you consider your biggest accomplishment?

My daughter developed into a very special woman.  That is a big accomplishment, certainly, and to me, all my years of teaching and touching lives is an accomplishment.  But my first book was probably my biggest accomplishment. 

The chances are so slim (to be published), but I’m a very determined person. I kind of knew it was going to happen because I felt it. I knew I just had to keep going and going.

That’s a good point, though. As far as being a writer, what characteristics are important to possess?

Perseverance.  It really is because there are talented people who do not like rejection.

 I was in such a different field. Sure there are some parents who are going to give you a hard time in education, but it’s not the same. Most days the kids love you and look up to you and you see it.

Here, I’m getting rejection after rejection. I’ve sent out nearly 800 submissions and I’ve had three things published: one magazine story and two books. That’s a very small positive affirmation as opposed to the negative. Most people can’t take it. I’m not really thrilled about it.

And then there’s marketing.

I’m not crazy about that because that’s a new stretch for me. At my first book signing, I had never been so nervous in my life because it was something new.

You have to believe in your book because it does take years.  About.com informed me that my book (Where am I Sleeping Tonight: A Story of Divorce) was a finalist for best children’s book for divorce. Somebody nominates you and I didn’t win, but at least my name was out there.  And that was more than three years after it was published. It takes time.

I’m not a patient person. To know some things take time, it’s helped me to settle down. It’s not going to happen in a minute.  It makes me think, “Maybe I should re-read that before I send it out. Sit with it a few days.”   

35 years of teaching. What were your favorite memories?

Joy. I remember so much joy. The feeling in the classroom. I always had speakers. We did art projects. We built statues. It was a very special environment.

Well, some of the best memories of the last few years, when I started writing, the kids got to share in my accomplishments. I shared my writing with them. I’d read everything to them and ask for their feedback.

That helped them with their revising. It made them better writers and they trusted me because I go back and re-write over and over. Before I started writing, kids would get emotional when I’d give them feedback.

So, when I found SCBWI and I brought my first book, they started ripping it apart. I realized that’s why the kids got so upset. It took me a while to say, “Oh, I want to make it better.” So I learned to give that back to kids. I don’t think I was as sensitive as I could have been. I didn’t realize…

But then your students saw that with all your revising, your book got published.

That was a special year when my book got published. The students were so excited for me. That was a special memory.

How long have you been retired?

Three years.

Do you miss teaching?

You know what? Yesterday I was looking through some old notes which was why I was feeling so emotional about some of the kids. The notes people wrote me were beautiful. And it made me think, “Really? Did I have such an influence?” But it’s so nice.

I miss the teaching and the touching lives. During the last week of school I give a little assignment to show one way you’ve changed this year. Some kids are so talented. They draw amazingly. I saved a couple of them because they were touching. One showed that now she was responsible. The details… the way she drew me! Another kid said she used to not like science and now she loves science because we did activities. I was determined to get them excited about science.  Half the time the experiments didn’t work out, but…  We just had fun.

I love teaching. I didn’t love all the correcting… I didn’t have a life. I have a life now.

What’s retirement like for you?

Everything used to be so scheduled to the exact point. The last thing I want to do is be held to a schedule. I want to write when I want to write.

I don’t spend a lot of time cleaning or doing that kind of stuff. Most of my free time is on my writing. I might do some marketing, but if I haven’t worked on a story or sentences then I feel sad and I miss it. I love when I’m working on a story. I particularly love when I come back a few days later and I see something that (snaps her fingers)…. When did I write that?  When I have a new story and I get a draft down and it sounds like a good start, I get so excited.  

Having distance, leaving stuff sometimes, a couple of days, and then coming back to it, having a fresh perspective on it, is fabulous. I love it when it clicks and I’m in the writing mindset. And I can do it when I want, when I feel it.

What are your plans for the future?

To keep doing what I’m doing. I feel very open as opposed to my structured life for ten months a year. I feel blessed to have this open time. I start most days with an aerobics class and a yoga class. I think the yoga helps open my mind and I go home and write. I love it. I like variety from time to time—a little traveling or whatever.

I feel blessed to have the time to be open with whatever happens or whatever thoughts come my way.

Elizabeth Miles

For someone who describes herself as having been an average girl growing up, Elizabeth Miles sure has accomplished extraordinary things. While working 40 hours a week as a journalist, she’s managed to complete a YA trilogy and, in her free time, has plunged into the world of theater. She’s following her passions and pushing herself to the limit.

Elizabeth Miles is one to watch…

Elizabeth Miles is on Facebook, Twitter @milesbooks, and www.elizabethmilesbooks.com

What were you like as a kid?

I’m an only child. My parents are both educators. They were very supportive of my academic interests. I was a big reader and writer as a child. I was really into playing pretend which makes sense given my theater interests now.

Where I grew up was very affluent and concerned with superficial things in some ways, but it was also a great school system and so I feel it was kind of “normal”. I wasn’t really emo or dark and I wasn’t really sporty or a cheerleader. I was kind of like an average girl.

What was your best memory from childhood?

My parents have this house in the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts. We used to go there every weekend. I would find these little red orange salamanders and collect them in a coffee can and try to bring them home with me to Chappaqua to start a colony there. It never worked which is really sad for the salamanders, but I can remember finding great joy in those salamanders.  And my dad would help me find them, so, yeah.

Have you always wanted to become a writer?

Definitely. I was always writing little stories and binding them into little books. I found such solace in books and reading. Looking back on it, it seems so natural that this is what I do now. Certainly, there was a big gap of time when I didn’t think I’d ever be an author. I was so focused on journalism. It wasn’t until 2010 that I decided to try fiction writing.

So, how did you evolve into writing fiction?

My friend, Lauren Oliver, the author of the Delirium series and Before I Fall, which are YA novels, was starting a literary development company called Paper Lantern Lit. She suggested that I send in a writing sample. I had been exercising the creative side of my brain with theater and I thought ‘OK, I’d like even more of a chance to get creative and delve into that less fact-based side of me.’ So I sent in a sample and they liked it.

The Paper Lantern Lit. Can you explain exactly what they do and how it works?

They find generally unpublished writers, who need some sort of help – plotting, discipline, whatever – and if they think the raw talent is there, they will use that as a spark to develop a book. I worked with them to craft the outline for Fury and then wrote it and it was sold as the trilogy.

So do you pay them for their services?

No. They’re the middle man between Simon & Schuster and me. They get a cut of my advance. It’s been terrific. They’re like a really helpful critique group.

Your trilogy is Fury, Envy and… ?

Eternity. I just finished writing the actual first draft and submitted it to Simon & Schuster, so there will be editorial notes. It felt cathartic to write the end and it’s funny, I’d been wondering throughout this process ‘Am I going to have another idea  when this is done?’ And as soon as I finished writing Eternity, something else popped into my mind. It was like my brain had the space.

Will you share that idea? 

I found this old account of a pair of young ladies during the 1600s who cross-dressed to get onto a pirate ship and to join them.

Anne Bonney and Mary Read?

Yeah, exactly. I had been wanting to write about girls dressed as boys in colonial times and then I found this and people love pirates. So, I’m going to do some serious research and see where that goes.

Where did the idea for the trilogy come from?

I had always been interested in mythology and I knew that I wanted to write something scary. I thought the furies were under-represented and in my mind, they were the perfect villains because the idea of revenge is so terrifying. Taking the creative liberty to make (the furies) evil, unrelenting and disproportionate in their sense of justice seemed to be a really great catalyst for some scary stuff.

Is your character JD based on a real character?

In the acknowledgements to Envy, I say to Keagan that I used to think a guy like JD was too good to be true, and then I met you.

(JD’s) not really based on anybody in particular, he has lots of traits of guys that I’ve loved and respected. I think he’s so smart and funny, but he really does, especially as the trilogy progresses, have a backbone and he demonstrates that. In the first book he acts a little bit like a doormat, but he’s not and I really like that about him.

Have you decided how you feel about forgiveness? Is sorry ever really enough?

I definitely have come to the realization that you should be judged only by the person who your misdeed affects. The idea of being judged by some over-lording entity is a scary one. Gabby has every right to be furious and feel hurt and betrayed for good and I think that she chooses to forgive Emily is much more powerful than any outside condemnation that she could have affected.

What keeps you focused and motivated?

Coffee. (she said with a laugh)

It helps that I really love to write. Sometimes I don’t feel overjoyed to approach the computer, but there is a zone I get into, as every writer does, and I can muddle through the hard times knowing that I’ll get into a zone sooner or later.

About how many hours goes into working as a journalist and how many hours do you spend writing fiction?

Well, I work a typical 40-hour work week as a journalist and then about twelve additional hours a week working on the books. I stick to a very strict schedule of two chapters per week. And then I send them periodically to the folks at Paper Lantern Lit and then I’ll do a week of editing. So, it’s more manageable when I get to the end, so it’s not totally raw.

Have you ever experienced writer’s block?

Yes. Since I work on an outline, what I’ll do is skip ahead. I try to get the beginning of the next chapter done. If I start to feel productive, I’ll feel more equipped to go back and tackle the problematic area again. It’s like I have to build up my own confidence and then once I’ve achieved that then I can tackle the harder parts.

The other thing that keeps me motivated is reading. I try to read a lot. It’s inspiring to read something deliciously good. And that makes me want to go to my computer.

What do you like about writing?

I was giving this talk about freelancing the other day and I was talking about even when you have the stupidest assignment it can still be fun because there’s always a magical combination of words that when you hit them, you know it. You feel tingly. It’s really exciting to know that if you work hard enough at it you can express something real through words.

I’ve always been a big letter writer and email writer and I think I process a lot of my emotions through writing and I think that’s a really important part of who I am.  So, yeah, that’s what I like about writing.

Is there anything you don’t like about writing?

I don’t think there’s anything I dislike about writing. There are parts about being a writer I’m not crazy about: the inevitable comparison to other writers, feeling that I’m not being productive enough.

Do you have any advice for writers? Or for those considering a writing career?

The typical stuff: practice and write all the time and read as much as you can, but everybody says that. I think one of the most helpful things for me has been to not get too carried away. It’s just something that I like to do and so I’m doing it. I think if you just approach it as realistically as possible and don’t think ‘I’m going to be the next Stephanie Meyer’…

The other thing is to keep trying. Don’t be overly emotional about what you’re doing right and what you’re doing wrong. Yeah, just write.

Additional Facts:

Birthday: December 8, 1982

Born/Raised in: Chappaqua, NY

Lives in Portland with: her boyfriend Keagan – a carpenter and a Mainer— and Ender & Bean, her two cats named after the two main characters in Orson Scott Card’s Sci Fi Ender’s Game.

Occupation: journalist, author

Hobbies/Interests: theater: acting/directing & producing

Elizabeth cofounded a small theater company which performs modern takes on older shows. She plans to direct their winter show, an intense retelling of the myth of Philomela and Procne, called If We Were Birds, by Canadian playwright Erin Shields.

Dates:   Fury: Available now!

Envy: September 4, 2012

Eternity: Fall 2013

#ElizabethMiles #Fury #Envy #Eternity #author #YA