Our philosophy is simple: fun and work, humour and support. We write all genres and in all styles and support each other by providing encouragement and helping each other develop thick skins in the face of industry rejections.
We understand that as writers we must do the majority of the work ourselves and we embrace this by giving honest critiques mixed with gentle grace and lots of humour.
Harry Potter is all about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of a adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend.
King then went on to say that the difference between Myers & Rowling was that Rowling knew how to write...I don't care how much money you make & if your books become movies, nothing makes up for the royal slap from a fellow writer & an icon in the industry...
No kidding Natasha. I read that and thought..."wow, I hope he never reads anything that I write." But then I thought..."wow, wouldn't it be cool if Stephen King read something that I wrote?" Then I thought..."heck, I'd be happy if ANYONE wanted to read something that I wrote; you know, besides my mom." Then I had a little cry. Almost done for the day...back at 'er.
Your mind is a scary place to be, isn't it?...no wonder we're such good friends. :P
Good work on the pages!
And yeah, I hear you--I'd be floored if King read anything I wrote...and really, really scared...I'd hate for him to say, "The difference between Deen & Meyers, is that while neither know how to write, at least Meyers doesn't make my eyes bleed."
Has anyone actually read any of Twilight? I was given a copy of the series and haven't touched it yet. I was thinking of eventually reading it just to see its qualities that hook YA readers... I had one friend say the same thing about Twilight's theme, and if that truly is the case then I agree with King's remark. If the message you're sending to millions of teenagers all over the world is one that diminishes confidence in themselves and re-establishes gender roles that we've been trying to break, then I think the tongue-lashing is well-merited.
Besides, it's not like Meyers's principal audience is going to really care what Stephen King thinks. I think we have to be careful what message we send to children as well as adults, and if that message is one many would consider deplorable, then scathing reviews are the due.
That said, I think one author (can't remember whom) always wanted to get the best and the worst reviews, because it showed that he was writing stuff with enough "gray" and controversy that it was making people think. So maybe getting a harsh review by King is, as you say, great!
Also, I don't think our writing would make eyes bleed... seizures, maybe, but no eye bleeding ;-)
I haven't read any of the Twilight stuff, and I can't say I'd probably be a fan if I did, but I like to think that kids reading ANYTHING is better than them rotting their brains with video games and watching Jersey Shore.
My husband hated reading as a youngster, and only began picking it up because of King and Tolkien. Now he reads anything and everything he can get his hands on (except my stuff- he doesn't dig historical anything as a rule).
I would love to know what King would say about my stuff. But then again, I probably don't. ;)
Well my meeting was a no-go for tonight, as the bus decided not to bother showing up, therefore I have time to add a few more words to todays count. Not sure what the final count will be yet, but I'll post it later seeing as it's not even 7:30 yet.
My oldest daughter read the Twilight series when it first came out, and liked it at first but then went back and picked it to death. She even has a t-shirt with Bella Lugosi holding the Twilight vampire's head with a caption that read "The Sparkling ends now" or something to that effect. According to her Meyers's continually uses the same phrasing to describe things over, and over, again. Sometimes more than once on the same page.
As far as I know my youngest hasn't read it yet, and I doubt if she will after the review her sister gave it.
Argh! I want kids to read, but I still don't know how that got published. Doesn't everyone know abour word real estate? That's my pet peeve when I self-edit- the fact that I used the same word in 3 consecutive paragraphs and didn't even realize I was doing it. I read one of them out loud to Al (my husband) a few nights ago, and he taunted me with it. If Meyer can get published, I can get published. There's an island here, I can feel it (all the way to the tips of my litle rat whiskers...)
PS- Howard, ask her where she got her shirt. I need to offend as many teenagers as possible. :D
Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of the "read at any cost" philosophy: (1) I had moms tell me they didn't care that her daughter read the explicit romance books by Harlequin...I was stunned. No one would allow their pre-teen daughter to watch a movie with explicit sex, so why is it okay for the daughter to read explicit sex? Especially as we all know that our imaginations are way better than anything Hollywood can come up with, not to mention that often times, those books have heroes that border on the abusive (read the back over of one where his "desire for revenge becomes obsessions." Uh. What?! And this guy's the HERO?!!) (2) Had another mother tell me her son won't read a book with a female protagonist. Yowza. Isn't that good and sexist--can you imagine a kid getting away with, "No, mom. I only want to read books about white kids." No way. No parent will raise their kid to be bigoted, so why is it okay to say to our sons, "Yes, you're right. Girls ARE different and less worthy of your time. Let's go get you some male-dominated book." Lol, okay, getting off my soap box...for now, MUUWAAHAAHAAHAAA....off to join Laini on the rat island...for the reference: http://www.jennycrusie.com/for-writers/essays/rats-with-islands-how-to-survive-your-publishing-career/
Well I didn't get much more done after all, but I made it to my goal so I guess that's half the battle. Big day tomorrow though, as I don't want to go outside and get cold. Then again I have to walk the pooch, and shovel the sidewalk so I can't escape it all.
I agree with Natasha regarding the variety of writing available. Hopefully the reviews of books or word-of-mouth (which according to Donald Maass is the most potent form of book advertising... true?) will propel more quality literature into the hands of youngsters.
Funny story to relate: my young niece just turned one year old. She loves books, for some reason, just holding them and flipping the pages through her fingers. She picked up a novel I was reading and just started giggling as she thumbed through it. Cutest thing in the world.
Anyway, her parents read her various stories before she goes to sleep, and apparently only one has made her pass out before they reach the end. It's called "How to Live Your Life and Why", a fairly ancient book written in the style of "You shouldn't do this, because that would be stupid" pontificating in what looks to be a Dr. Seuss book but is really an awful list of rules.
It gives me hope that already, after one year of life, she can already discriminate between good stories and bad ones :-).
I be at 24648 words. Yarrrrrr. https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=xx-pirate
I'm not saying I want all young girls reading Harlequins or anything like that, but to be fair, my mom had plenty of Kathleen Woodiwiss in addition to her old Mary Stewarts and Victoria Holts, and I read them all.
The only book my parents really had a problem with was me trying to read Helter Skelter at 12. My aunt had a copy when I went to visit, so I started reading it there, and my mother about had a cow. So I snuck it a copy into the house. MAN was she pissed when they found it (snooping...what do you expect, parents?).
Yeah, I read romance pretty early, but I also read everything else. We didn't see what the big deal was.
I went thru the reverse of what the one mother was saying in 12th grade. All the books we had were stuff like "Bless the Beasts and Children" and "Lord of the Flies" and Joseph Conrad. To this day, I hate Conrad. It would have been nice to have some Jane Eyre or the Brontes mixed in, but the dudes in class wouldn't have stayed still long enough. I would have liked a little choice in the matter. But like you said, to each his own.
I'd rather my kid read anything than play video games (this is hypothetical since I have no kids and don't plan having them). Nowadays, it seems that many kids are way too concerned with bright shiny things, texting, and instant gratification.
I was far less concerned with quality when I was young than I am now. I just want them developing that lifelong love of reading that I had.
@gddietrich: BAAHAAHAAA--holy smokes. Too funny. My eyes are bleeding.
@Hal--good luck with the convocation.
@Laini--I hear 'ya. No flies for me!!
Anyway, I'm all for movie watching & video game playing--all those lines for plots/dialog come for writers, and I'm for keeping us wordsmiths employed. :D
My new favorite quote:
ReplyDeleteHarry Potter is all about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of a adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend.
Stephen King ;-P
Here we gooooo.....
Man, poor Stephanie Myers.
ReplyDeleteKing then went on to say that the difference between Myers & Rowling was that Rowling knew how to write...I don't care how much money you make & if your books become movies, nothing makes up for the royal slap from a fellow writer & an icon in the industry...
Natasha 27,820
No kidding Natasha. I read that and thought..."wow, I hope he never reads anything that I write." But then I thought..."wow, wouldn't it be cool if Stephen King read something that I wrote?" Then I thought..."heck, I'd be happy if ANYONE wanted to read something that I wrote; you know, besides my mom." Then I had a little cry. Almost done for the day...back at 'er.
ReplyDeletedone.
ReplyDeleteGregory 9875 words.
Your mind is a scary place to be, isn't it?...no wonder we're such good friends. :P
ReplyDeleteGood work on the pages!
And yeah, I hear you--I'd be floored if King read anything I wrote...and really, really scared...I'd hate for him to say, "The difference between Deen & Meyers, is that while neither know how to write, at least Meyers doesn't make my eyes bleed."
for the record: I just read what Deen wrote...and it DID make my eyes bleed...laugh-tears.
ReplyDeletehehehawww
great going on your word count too...we all just soooo rock!!
Has anyone actually read any of Twilight? I was given a copy of the series and haven't touched it yet. I was thinking of eventually reading it just to see its qualities that hook YA readers... I had one friend say the same thing about Twilight's theme, and if that truly is the case then I agree with King's remark. If the message you're sending to millions of teenagers all over the world is one that diminishes confidence in themselves and re-establishes gender roles that we've been trying to break, then I think the tongue-lashing is well-merited.
ReplyDeleteBesides, it's not like Meyers's principal audience is going to really care what Stephen King thinks. I think we have to be careful what message we send to children as well as adults, and if that message is one many would consider deplorable, then scathing reviews are the due.
That said, I think one author (can't remember whom) always wanted to get the best and the worst reviews, because it showed that he was writing stuff with enough "gray" and controversy that it was making people think. So maybe getting a harsh review by King is, as you say, great!
Also, I don't think our writing would make eyes bleed... seizures, maybe, but no eye bleeding
;-)
I haven't read any of the Twilight stuff, and I can't say I'd probably be a fan if I did, but I like to think that kids reading ANYTHING is better than them rotting their brains with video games and watching Jersey Shore.
ReplyDeleteMy husband hated reading as a youngster, and only began picking it up because of King and Tolkien. Now he reads anything and everything he can get his hands on (except my stuff- he doesn't dig historical anything as a rule).
I would love to know what King would say about my stuff. But then again, I probably don't. ;)
Greetings folks,
ReplyDeleteWell my meeting was a no-go for tonight, as the bus decided not to bother showing up, therefore I have time to add a few more words to todays count. Not sure what the final count will be yet, but I'll post it later seeing as it's not even 7:30 yet.
My oldest daughter read the Twilight series when it first came out, and liked it at first but then went back and picked it to death. She even has a t-shirt with Bella Lugosi holding the Twilight vampire's head with a caption that read "The Sparkling ends now" or something to that effect. According to her Meyers's continually uses the same phrasing to describe things over, and over, again. Sometimes more than once on the same page.
As far as I know my youngest hasn't read it yet, and I doubt if she will after the review her sister gave it.
TTFN
Argh! I want kids to read, but I still don't know how that got published. Doesn't everyone know abour word real estate? That's my pet peeve when I self-edit- the fact that I used the same word in 3 consecutive paragraphs and didn't even realize I was doing it. I read one of them out loud to Al (my husband) a few nights ago, and he taunted me with it. If Meyer can get published, I can get published. There's an island here, I can feel it (all the way to the tips of my litle rat whiskers...)
ReplyDeletePS- Howard, ask her where she got her shirt. I need to offend as many teenagers as possible. :D
Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of the "read at any cost" philosophy: (1) I had moms tell me they didn't care that her daughter read the explicit romance books by Harlequin...I was stunned. No one would allow their pre-teen daughter to watch a movie with explicit sex, so why is it okay for the daughter to read explicit sex? Especially as we all know that our imaginations are way better than anything Hollywood can come up with, not to mention that often times, those books have heroes that border on the abusive (read the back over of one where his "desire for revenge becomes obsessions." Uh. What?! And this guy's the HERO?!!) (2) Had another mother tell me her son won't read a book with a female protagonist. Yowza. Isn't that good and sexist--can you imagine a kid getting away with, "No, mom. I only want to read books about white kids." No way. No parent will raise their kid to be bigoted, so why is it okay to say to our sons, "Yes, you're right. Girls ARE different and less worthy of your time. Let's go get you some male-dominated book."
ReplyDeleteLol, okay, getting off my soap box...for now, MUUWAAHAAHAAHAAA....off to join Laini on the rat island...for the reference: http://www.jennycrusie.com/for-writers/essays/rats-with-islands-how-to-survive-your-publishing-career/
But I will say this: to each our own. If we all liked the same books, then there would only be ten on the shelf...by one author.
ReplyDeleteThe good and bad thing about subjectivity: we all have choice. :-)
Well I didn't get much more done after all, but I made it to my goal so I guess that's half the battle. Big day tomorrow though, as I don't want to go outside and get cold. Then again I have to walk the pooch, and shovel the sidewalk so I can't escape it all.
ReplyDelete**** Day 14 **** +1617 = 24411 Words ****
Hey, I just noticed that according to the NaNoWriMo stats page I'm predicted to be finished this thing on the 28th - who would have guessed.
ReplyDeleteLaini: She likely got it from Cafe-Press but I'll check.
I agree with Natasha regarding the variety of writing available. Hopefully the reviews of books or word-of-mouth (which according to Donald Maass is the most potent form of book advertising... true?) will propel more quality literature into the hands of youngsters.
ReplyDeleteFunny story to relate: my young niece just turned one year old. She loves books, for some reason, just holding them and flipping the pages through her fingers. She picked up a novel I was reading and just started giggling as she thumbed through it. Cutest thing in the world.
Anyway, her parents read her various stories before she goes to sleep, and apparently only one has made her pass out before they reach the end. It's called "How to Live Your Life and Why", a fairly ancient book written in the style of "You shouldn't do this, because that would be stupid" pontificating in what looks to be a Dr. Seuss book but is really an awful list of rules.
It gives me hope that already, after one year of life, she can already discriminate between good stories and bad ones :-).
I be at 24648 words. Yarrrrrr.
https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=xx-pirate
I'm not saying I want all young girls reading Harlequins or anything like that, but to be fair, my mom had plenty of Kathleen Woodiwiss in addition to her old Mary Stewarts and Victoria Holts, and I read them all.
ReplyDeleteThe only book my parents really had a problem with was me trying to read Helter Skelter at 12. My aunt had a copy when I went to visit, so I started reading it there, and my mother about had a cow. So I snuck it a copy into the house. MAN was she pissed when they found it (snooping...what do you expect, parents?).
Yeah, I read romance pretty early, but I also read everything else. We didn't see what the big deal was.
I went thru the reverse of what the one mother was saying in 12th grade. All the books we had were stuff like "Bless the Beasts and Children" and "Lord of the Flies" and Joseph Conrad. To this day, I hate Conrad. It would have been nice to have some Jane Eyre or the Brontes mixed in, but the dudes in class wouldn't have stayed still long enough. I would have liked a little choice in the matter. But like you said, to each his own.
I'd rather my kid read anything than play video games (this is hypothetical since I have no kids and don't plan having them). Nowadays, it seems that many kids are way too concerned with bright shiny things, texting, and instant gratification.
I was far less concerned with quality when I was young than I am now. I just want them developing that lifelong love of reading that I had.
I totally agree with the 'kids being too concerned with bright shin'..SQUIRREL!!
ReplyDelete@gddietrich: BAAHAAHAAA--holy smokes. Too funny. My eyes are bleeding.
ReplyDelete@Hal--good luck with the convocation.
@Laini--I hear 'ya. No flies for me!!
Anyway, I'm all for movie watching & video game playing--all those lines for plots/dialog come for writers, and I'm for keeping us wordsmiths employed. :D