Behind the Blog: Reviewer Speak Week Schedule

Our Behind the Blog: Reviewer Speak Week kicks off this Sunday and will be going on full-blast until Saturday. We're also hosting Susan McBride tomorrow (yay for Debs!) so this means eight straight interviews! OH MY GOODNESS! Schedule is below.

Sunday (9.7)- Little Willow

www.slayground.livejournal.com

Monday (9.8)- Reviewer X

www.reviewerx.blogspot.com

Tuesday (9.9)- The Story Siren

www.thestorysiren.com

Wednesday (9.10)- Guys Lit Wire

www.guyslitwire.blogspot.com

Thursday (9.11)- WORD for Teens

www.wordforteens.blogspot.com

Friday (9.12)- The Book Muncher

www.thebookmuncher.blogspot.com

Saturday (9.13)- Miss Erin

www.misserinmarie.blogspot.com

These book review bloggers will be talking about their favorite (and least favorite) books of all time, what led them to start reviewing, advice for other reviewers and loads of other stuff. These bloggers have collectively reviewed hundreds and hundreds of books, built successful and amazing sites, have their opinions respected and help keep the love of reading alive.

Did I mention I'm psyched?

A Little KMW Love

www.kidmagwriters.com/workday/fresh-ideas.htm

Way back when I was 13/14 and reading Writer's Digest in Borders (I promise I subscribed shortly thereafter, Maria!), I read the 101 Best Websites for Writers issue and focused in on the Children's section. "KidMagWriters.com," I read and noted down the website in my notebook (such a dweeb.)

KidMagWriters.com was the only website that I really liked, and I kept coming back. That October, I wrote my first piece for Jan Fields (the incredible editor) about using board games to find originality. It was one of my first on-writing clips.

Fast forward to now, and I've written at least a dozen articles for KMW. Many of my other clips (and the money with them) have come from markets I learned about through the Inside Markets section, or other writers' bios. The advice, the encouragement, the knowledge: all fantastic.

So I'm very happy to be writing a monthly column now for KidMagWriters.com called Fresh Ideas. How can you find inspiration for your writing? How can you reinvent a tired genre? I'll be talking about these issues and more.

Read those zines. Write down those names. You never know where they might take you.

Back to School Happiness

I love school.

I'm absolutely thrilled with my schedule (just scared someone will come in and say, just kidding.) My teachers are a riot (to the guy who said we can bribe him with chocolate chip cookies, to the woman who says "take it like a woman" rather than the other, to the brave one who asked 33 people who they thought the most vivid character was in our summer reading), I'm not in a super-advanced math class for once (thank God) and I love my school.

Sigh.

The cheesiness.

Life is busy for me these days. I'm blogging here (which I love), I've started a monthly column at KidMagWriters.com (more on that tomorrow) called Fresh Ideas, and I am blogging every Thursday at Orb 28 (www.orb28.blogspot.com), part of the online New Moon community.

I have my own freelancing (lovely stuff) and THE BOOK! which I FINISHED! (at least the first draft. Technically 160 words are my own "made-up reviews" to boost my confidence, but what the heckle.)

So, how is your back-to-schoolness going?

Know What an Editor's Job Is

(If You Want to Write...)

Do you know what an editor does?

The class clown now raises her hand and says, "Edit." Very good, clown. But do you? If you want to write and be published, you will work with editors the way athletes work with coaches. But if you don't know what an editor does, your relationships will never work very well. Class clown, please pay attention.

Editors acquire stuff. Part of their job is to read submissions from people like you and decide whether they are well written and whether they will be interesting to their readers.

Editors make stuff better. A good editor will change up your article, essay or short story to improve it. Expect changes, and even ask for them if it's appropriate.

Editors are kind of unloved. Everybody loves them because of what they can get out of them, and few love editors for themselves. When you work with editors, be polite. Be gracious (but not pushover-y.) If you bond so well with your editor, a Christmas card is not inappropriate.

Read Moonrat over at www.editorialass.blogspot.com and Evil Editor at www.evileditor.blogspot.com. I haven't been able to find a magazine editor who blogs, but if you find them, read them. Know what an editor does, so that you can do what writers do.

Writer's Block Happened Two Thousand Years Ago

I found this in Suetonius' biography of Caesar Augustus.

There is also a book of Epigrams, no larger than the last [book], which [Augustus] composed almost entirely while he was in the bath. These are all his poetical compositions: for though he began a tragedy with great zest, becoming dissatisfied with the style, he obliterated the whole; and his friends saying to him, "What is your Ajax doing?"

He answered, "My Ajax met with a sponge."

- Chapter 85

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/suetonius-augustus.html

The He-Man and YA

Lana (over at www.caramellunacy.blogspot.com)* posted about how the fact that, in many romance novels, the heroines are so overwhelmed by their love interest's... manliness... that they lose their heads and dignity and are swept away in floods of passion. Her post led to an interesting discussion about guy love interests in girl-centered books.

We talk a lot about how girls are portrayed in literature, but what about boys? Stereotypes are found on page and in life; is the literary spectrum wide enough to include all kinds of guys?

I made a list of my favorite guy protagonists, love interests and least favorite (short list, but I know there's more.) What this reveals to me is that, with the exception of Edward Cullen, I like nerds more than jocks and guys with a unique perspective (funny, same with girls.)

Here are my three lists. Please add to them!

My Most Awesome Guy Protagonists

Julian Singh in A View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg (Oh. My. Gosh.)
Augie Hwong AND T.C. in My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger
Jerome P. Foxworthy in The Moves Make the Man by Bruce Brooks
Ken Bauer in Love, Football and Other Contact Sports by Alden Carter
Hassan in An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (technically, he's a supporting character, but Hassan took over the whole book)
Roscuro in The Tale of Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo (even though he's the bad guy)

My Favorite Guy Love Interests

Finn in Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys by Kate Brian
Edward in Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (but not so much in Breaking Dawn)
Titus in Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart
Matthew in The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart... but he needs a little brainwashing
Cameron in Sweethearts by Sara Zarr, if he's a love interest. Debatable.
Nat in The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare ("And love was Nat.")

My Least Favorite Guys, Villains or Otherwise
Thomas AND Josh in Private by Kate Brian
The Prince in A Frog's Tale by E. D. Baker
Eragon is tempting.

I can't think of any others off the top of my head, so help me out. What guys in literature, whether in guy books or girl books or crossovers, make you want to scream? Or fall in love? Or run outside and do the hokey-pokey for the joy of being alive?

*I originally said Lenore of Presenting Lenore, but this was a complete goof-up on my part (the L's!) Lenore has a lovely blog, but she had not posted on this particular topic.

And the Winner Is...

Kristy!

Congratulations, Kristy! Please send me your mailing address via the email in the profile and I'll mail you a copy of Fringe Benefits by Valerie Frankel. Just so everybody knows, Kristy's ideal summer job is working at an ice cream store. Amen, sister... except I wouldn't be able to fit into any of my clothes at the end of it. Hmm.

Thanks to everyone who entered; we will be hosting another giveaway later this month. Stay tuned for deetz!