Laurie Halse Anderson's Blog, page 6

WELCOME TO THE 6TH ANNUAL



WRITE FIFTEEN MINUTES A DAY (WFMAD)



CHALLENGE! 

 

This is for you if you want to write.

If you struggle to find time to write.

If you want to get ready for NaNoWriMo in November.

If you are wicked insecure about your writing ability.

And if you are a gifted and skilled procrastinator.

 

 

The rules of the WFMAD Challenge are simple.

Commit to write for 15 minutes every single day this month.


Write, just like you promised yourself.


There is no Rule #3. Life is already too complicated. Two rules are easy to remember. The point is to get you to write, not bog you down with silly regulations.

 

How does this work?

Things are going to be a little different his year. For starters, we're doing it in September, not August (which we started doing the year my mom died), and not July, which was the original month for WFMAD. This year's challenge was moved because a) I'm busy working n the next book (ASHES), and b) my new YA novel, THE IMPOSSIBLE KNIFE OF MEMORY comes out in January and I'm already busy with early publicity chores, and c) our son got married in August, so life has been more hectic than usual.

I'll post a blog every day. It will have some writing prompts and not-so-gentle reminders that you PROMISED to write for 15 minutes. YOU SWORE AN OATH! This is boot-camp for your writing discipline, my friends. There is no whining in boot camp. No excuses. Just writing. And random outbursts of dancing.

 

Where Do I Sign Up?

No sign-ups, although in years past, writers have double-dog-dared their writer friends to join them in the Challenge. I suggest a high-stakes bet with your friend, if you choose to do that.

 

Do I Have To Respond To Your Prompts?

Hell, no! Write what you want, write what the little voice in your head is whispering. But if you are stuck, try out the prompt.

 

How Can You Tell If I Am Doing It?

I can’t. It’s between you and your Muse, unless you tell your friends or leave a note in the Comments section of my blog. (I must admit, I like it when people do that.) Sometimes people post their day’s writing in the Comments section. (I like that, too.)

You are accountable only to yourself, ever, for the amount of time you choose to spend writing. Or if you blow it off. This is a good place to begin the daily discipline, and to get in the habit of that accountability. Here you are with friends who understand the struggle. Feel free to tell us all about your writing challenges, or ask me questions in the Comments section.

 

What if I screw up and miss a day? Or a week?

Then you start over! Don't waste any more time beating yourself up about lost writing opportunities. There are only three situations that should ever interfere with your writing: you have a new baby, you are sick enough to be in a hospital, or you are caring for someone who is that ill, and someone you love has recently died. HOWEVER…. all three of these situations evoke powerful feelings and if you could write even one sentance a day when you are in the middle of them, it would be awesome.

 

 

HELP! I'm totally blocked! I can't think of anything to write!

You've come to the write, I mean right, place.

Today's non-fiction prompt: Write about why you are afraid to write. What is your worst writing nightmare? What is the worst thing that can happen if you send 15 minutes a day, every day for the rest of this month, writing? 

Today's fiction prompt: Write a silly fable about two cows. Cow #1 follows her dream of being a performance artist. Cow #2 dreams of being a performance artist, but lacks the courage to try. You can see where I'm headed with this, can't you?

Fifteen minutes. More if you want, but just fifteen minutes spent writing today could change your entire life.

Scribble… scribble… scribble…

Entertainment Weekly is running the exclusive excerpt of my new book, THE IMPOSSIBLE KNIFE OF MEMORY!!!

Go read it!!

While you're doing that, I will run around the woods and squee with excitement!!! 

 

 

In this short video  I speak up about why parents should let their kids read books that reflect modern reality if they want them to be prepared for the real world instead of being destroyed by it.

 

 

The video was shot at the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression seminar at their Winter Institue in Kansas City, MO in Feb 2013.

 

 

Drum roll, please!

We just unveiled the cover of my new book!

::crash of cymbals & blast of trumpets::

(photography by Martin Stranka)

To learn more, head over to USA Today where I spill about the the story and give the date of publication!

I am officially trapped in an otherworldly Limbo.



Limbo is filled with dirty Kleenex.

 



All of my glorious weekend plans?

 

 



I will try to be less pathetic tomorrow.

 

 



If you want to cheer me up, get the entire world to follow me on Goodreads.



​Now I have to sneeze again…

Sorry about that. You should probably wash your hands right now.

 

 

A couple of weeks ago, the mother of one of my young readers contacted me on Facebook and wrote, “I’m going on a short trip to NYC. My son wants to see one of the places from CHAINS. Which one spot should he see?”

Not only did her son read and enjoy the book, but he wanted to take that experience to the next level and walk in the footsteps of the characters. AMAAAAAAZING!

I suggested that they visit the African Burial Ground National Monument, which shows visitors about the lives of enslaved and free black New Yorkers and their connections to African culture, and the Fraunces Tavern Museum, which is filled with artifacts and information about New York City during the American Revolution.

Not only did they go and have a wonderful time, but the Mom kindly posted this photo (reproduced with her permission) of her young history buff.

 






 

 

 

 

I am so excited about this!!

Here is the just-released cover of FALE!, the Brazilian edition of SPEAK. The book debuts there in a few weeks, published by Valentina. A lot of Brazilian readers enjoyed WINTERGIRLS, I can't wait to hear what they think of this!

Last week a special issue of Shelf Awareness focused on the new REALITY Reads campaign that Macmillan has put together. If you like contemporary YA lit, or you work with teens, you want to check this out.

That special issue also has a great article about Joy Peskin, the editorial director of FS&G (and my editor), as well as a short piece by me about the impact that SPEAK’s readers have had on me.

Enjoy!

I owe the late, great Helen Thomas a debt of gratitude. My entire generation does.

 

 

 

Librarian Kelly Jensen wrote an excellent blog post at BOOKRIOT today, “What Are Grown-Ups Afraid Of In YA Books?” It is a great post and you should read it.

And now I will say something that I have never said before.

You should read the comments, too.

Dr. Richard Sweir, the guy who called SPEAK “child pornography” earlier this month, has been responding to most of the blog’s comments. His arguments are enlightening.

If you are honestly puzzled about how SPEAK could be called pornography, Sweir’s comments offer insight. Among other things, he said: “The book is about rape. By being about rape it promotes rape to our most vulnerable.”

One of my favorite exchanges -

Dr. Sweir: “The book is about the rape of a child. If you made a movie about the rape of a 13 year old would it be rated PG-13? It is all about rape, rape, rape and more rape.”

ernstludwig: “The answer to your question is yes, it would. The movie based on this book, also titled Speak, is rated PG-13.”

That is sort of amusing. Other exchanges are not.

The biggest lesson for me was that Richard Sweir comes perilously close to admitting that he hasn’t read the book. It seems that his information about the novel comes from the parents who want it removed from the school district. And while in his own writings, he calls bullying “peer pressure” that is healthy when it targets LGBT kids, any time a commenter calls him out for describing the book as porn, his response is to whine that people are bullying him.

If you are looking for material that can be a great discussion starter about censorship issues, you will love both the blog post and comments.

I salute the commenters who tried to get Sweir to cite his objections and move beyond muddy rhetoric.

What do you think?