Fan loyalty and the Muppets

So I went and saw the new Muppet movie yesterday.

It was beautiful :) It made me smile and laugh out loud. The heart of the original Jim Hensen stuff was there, and the wacky humor, and the cameos by a cast of random and hilarious celebrities. I loved it.

The whole thing was about the Muppets as a brand, and whether or not they still had the backing of a loyal fan base. Obviously they did. And do. And it got me thinking: what does it take for something to have that kind of fan loyalty? Like, what makes the difference between someone buying your book and someone waiting for and looking forward to and buying all your books?

Obviously the most important part is having something amazing to offer, or people won't have the emotional engagement it takes to become a rabidly loyal fan. The Muppets are amazing. Harry Potter is amazing. That's why people care so much.

But beyond that. There are plenty of incredibly amazing things that don't have that same kind of widespread, devout fan base (Connie Willis), and also plenty of less amazing things that do (*ahem* Twilight. Sorry.) So what is it that makes the difference? I really want to get my hands on a copy of The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, but what are your thoughts first?

Here are some of mine: to try and get some kind of answer to my own question, I thought about what makes me personally a fiercely loyal fan of something.

First, past experience. I love the Muppets because I remember watching them as a kid. I will always consider Walk Two Moons one of my favorite childhood books, because I remember how strongly it effected me when I read it. I will always love Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, despite my knowledge of it's and Andrew Lloyd Weber's many musical flaws, because I remember listening to it while my sisters and I ran circles around the living room naked. (That was our form of dancing. We haven't progressed much since then.)

Second, because someone we know and trust recommended it. I've never washed clothes with anything other than Tide, because that's what my mother always used. I will always love Stephen Sondheim, because my mom loves him. A River Runs Through it will always be one of my favorite books, because it reminds me of Mr. K, my high school English teacher. I love Listerine and the '500 Miles' song by The Proclaimers because they remind me of my dad. So does Steve Martin dancing. (And you wondered where my family got our dance skills.)

Third, herd mentality. I hesitate to mention this one, because for me and I suspect for a lot of you, when EVERYBODY likes something it tends to make me like it less, at least at first, and if I love it then I love it despite what everybody else thinks. Like the play Wicked. I love it because it's awesome, not because every theater goer and their dog loves it. But still, whenever anybody goes to New York, they ALWAYS see Wicked and Phantom of the Opera, because that is what EVERYBODY sees. So basically, even though herds are sometimes annoying and often wrong (I still do not understand how Phantom is still there and Les Mis is not), if they're going to be there, they may as well be in your field, right?

Anyway. As far as it goes for us writers and artists, all that really matters is that we create the best work we know how. With work and some luck the rabidly loyal fans will follow. Hopefully not too closely. But yeah, the psychological and business aspects of this are fascinating, at least to nerds like me.

What do you think? What makes you a loyal fan of something, and how do you think we can maybe apply that to writing careers?

Sarah Allen

The End. Almost.

I've never written the end of a novel before. But now I'm 3/4 of the way through, and I'm starting to get to the wrapping up point. I'm trying to remember all the lose strings I've got dangling so I can tie up at least some of them, and have something somewhat complete. That will feel so amazing, to have finally finished a full-length novel.

The weird thing is confronting things I've only been thinking about for months/years and now actually having to confront them. Or at least just things I need to start thinking about for reals now. Major editing, finding good beta readers, researching and querying agents, trying my best to be contract-smart, that kind of thing. I mean, all that's still going to be a while yet, especially anything to do with signing contracts, but I'm getting to the point where I almost have something ready to try with. And that is exciting.

As far as actually writing, though, I could use some tips and advice from those of you who have actually done this before. Finished a novel, I mean. I want to make sure I wrap this thing up right. Of course it's not going to be perfect and it's going to need major changes anyway, but I want to get it as good as I can the first time around. So what can you tell me about making a successful ending?

I'm also finding myself arguing with whatever part of my brain controls motivation. I want this done so bad, and I'm working and everything, but I feel so...slumpy. It's still coming, but it's going slow again, and taking a lot more effort than usual. I hit that kind of thing before, at around the 53% percent mark, and then I got over it. I'm hoping that happens again, that I get even closer to the end and I get some kind of last cross-the-finish-line energy boost. I'm also trying hard not to think too much about what I'm going to do next. Because guys, I have so many ideas, and they are going to be awesome. Next year is going to be awesome. But in the meantime I've got what I'm working on now, and I still love it and will feel so much better about myself and my life and my presumptuous attention whoring from all y'all and people all over the interwebs when its done. So I'm going to just keep going and hopefully get it done this year, but any ideas on how to make that easier or get through it with more smiling and less teeth gritting would be greatly appreciated.

Those of you doing NaNoWriMo, I hope the ending is working out for you. We will make it to the end.

Sarah Allen

Sunshine Sure Looks Good On You

Isn't that a great line? It's one I just heard in the Lady Antebellum song I'm listening to right now.

You know, it seems like people around me are having a bit of a hard time. Everything from feeling sick/lonely/depressed/unstable to 15 page papers and unreciprocating boys and messy houses and dull day-jobs and the list goes on and on. This spring and summer was when I felt like I was buried under that big steaming pile of wrenching, crushing, soul-sucking crap, but I feel like I got my feet under me this fall and things have been quite fabulous for a few months now. But it seems like a lot of the most important people in my life are going through hellish blegh right now.

I talk about this a lot, and it should be no surprise given the title of this blog, but I like being happy, and I like when other people are happy. To me that's the point of life.

And it's not like there's a magic wand to wave or button to push that will make the suck go away. As optimistic and happy as I am, there are definitely times (this spring and summer) when I just feel like I'm drowning and there's not really much you can do except wait and pray and paddle with all your might to keep at least your nose above water.

But there is so much good. When I was at my lowest, I still had things like my God, my family and my writing. I never realized how vital those things were to me until I hit that low point. As vital as breathing. But just because we have those things doesn't mean problems are going to be fixed in a snap and that everything is going to be peachy hunky rose-colored dory. It's still going to be not that sometimes. And that's okay. How else do we figure out what we really have, who we really are, and what really matters?

And in my mind, writing is one way of spreading a little bit of sunshine. Again, that doesn't mean our stories have to be nice and happy and full of kittens and rainbows. In fact, the best ones usually aren't; they're usually rough and real and talk about hard things. But those stories still bring sunshine because then you know that other people understand, and that's automatic sunshine right there. And sometimes rain just makes your own little sun stand out even more, which makes rain awesome too.

So watch a movie or a show or listen to a song or read a book or write a word or find a picture or a person that makes you smile today and remember, the sunshine sure looks good on you.

Sarah Allen

101 Things I'm Thankful For (in no particular order)

1. Candied pecan yams
2. God
3. My yellow bedroom
4. Windowsills
5. My family. I wouldn't be without them.
6. Pansies. I like their faces.
7. J.K. Rowling
8. Chapter 33, 'The Princes Tale.'
9. England
9. Jane Austen
10. Jazz
11. Colin Firth
12. White Chocolate
13. Cavalier King Charles Spaniels
14. Frasier
15. My luck with roommates. I've never had a bad one.
16. Black-Eyed Peas on the radio
17. Thursday night dinners with my mom
18. Reeses Puffs and Waffle Crisp
19. My computer
20. My car
21. Blogs and blogging
22. Being as far as I am on my WIP
23. The amount of butter and sour cream my mom puts in the mashed potatoes
24. Meryl Streep
25. My parents marriage
26. The letter Captain Wentworth writes to Ann Elliot at the end of Persuasion
27. Mathew Macfayden in the rain in the new Pride and Prejudice
28. Having ward prayer and FHE at my apartment. It forces me to socialize.
29. Sweaters
30. Farmer Hogget in Babe
31. Taming of the Shrew
32. My best friend who introduced me to awesomeness like TNG and Doctor Who
33. This poem
34. Friends who I can argue with and they still love me
35. Midnight showings of anything. Even Twilight.
36. Alan Rickman's voice.
37. Dr. Benjamin Linus. Don't think I'll ever get over him. Don't judge.
38. My cell phone.
39. My green leather purse I've used so long its chipping on the bottom.
40. Indoor plumbing. It's big.
41. Pixar
42. Josh Holloway's dimples
43. Hooker boots
44. Gum
45. John Green
46. Peach flavored Fresca
47. 100 calorie fudge bars
48. Dishwashers, especially because my apartment doesn't have one
49. Dollar theaters
50. The smell of Listerine and after-shave
51. Colin Mochrie
52. My adorable preschool kids
53. YouTube
54. This song. And this one.
55. My playbill of 'Gypsy' signed by Patti LuPone
56. Holly Flack for Michael Scott
57. Niles Crane
58. Vincent Van Gogh
59. Post-it notes
60. Converse shoes
61. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
62. The Book of Mormon and the Bible
63. Fingernail clippers
64. Rain
65. Sonnet 130
66. Zoos
67. Secondhand book stores
68. Construction. Not really, but I'm trying.
69. My ginormous Gone With The Wind poster
70. Brian Regan
71. This dance from Sasha and Twitch, or this one from Melanie and Marko.
72. Gustavo Dudamel's hair. Also Josh Groban's.
73. Toby Stephens as Mr. Rochester
74. The part in Two Towers where a muddied, bloodied Aragorn bursts through the big double doors.
75. My teddy bear named Russ.
76. Having at least one X chromosome
77. C. S. Lewis
78. Pinterest
79. Laughing
80. David Tenant and Catherine Tate
81. Stephen Sondheim
82. Pajamas
83. Treadmills with TV's
84. Animal Planet
85. Pina Coladas and getting caught in the rain
86. Black trench coats
87. Google and Wikipedia
88. Paychecks
89. Duotrope.com
90. Brigham Young University
91. Disneyland
92. Eating frozen chocolate covered bananas, churros and funnel cake by the Rivers of America waiting for Fantasmic to start
93. Waking up ridiculously early on Christmas morning and talking with my siblings until it's time to go upstairs to open presents
94. Amazing high school teachers
95. Guys with beards or curly hair
96. People who need people
97. The Bronte sisters, especially Charlotte
98. Airplanes and road trips
99. The smell of sharpies (should explain a lot)
100. Jim Hensen
101. The word 'chimerical'

What would you add to this list?

Happy Thanksgiving!
Sarah Allen

Five Cookbooks for Writers

So we all know what tomorrow is. Stuff our faces day. To help with the stuffing, here are 5 cook books made especially for writers and readers:

The Write Ingredients

The New Great American Writers Cookbook

Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen

The Book Lover's Cook Book

The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook

Pretty fun, huh? I'm definitely not one for cooking, but I think if I had a few of these it might make it a little more fun for me. I may actually invest in that.

Do you know of any cookbooks for writerly people? What are your favorite general cookbooks and recipes? Any that you're going to be using tomorrow?

Sarah Allen

So Nike Was Right

The past few days I've stumbled upon something that is quite a novel concept to me, though for the rest of you its probably very old hat. The concept is this:

Just do it.
Its so incredibly simple. I don't know why I've made things so complicated in the past. It's like I let myself float from thing to thing, distraction to distraction and do some writing here and there when it happens. I get some done that way, but only a little some. (Pun very much intended).

Here's the thing. This weekend and yesterday (and hopefully today) I just quit the goofing off. I've set aside morning writing time, which typically works out well, but I've wanted the after-morning time to be more productive too. So the past few days I get home from work, get a quick snack, and then say, ok, now its time to write. That's it. Nothing else. I turn on a classical iTunes radio station, turn off the internet, and just write. Doing that I've gotten 4000 words out in the last three days, which for me is huge.

See, the mornings work for me because I tell myself its writing time. But the afternoons its been more like "stuff" time. Like email and reading blogs and eating and going to the gym and maybe writing a paragraph and playing on Pinterest time. It's pretty obvious that, for me at least, I don't write unless its WRITING TIME. It's not that I didn't know that before, it's just that I'm discovering how much I can get done when I apply it across the board. Because I want this book DONE, dang it.

Its amazing what a little mental manipulation can do. Do you have any mental tricks to help boost your creativity or productivity?

Sarah Allen

Boys Are Like Parking Spaces

Sometimes it's frustrating, isn't it. Cute guy from church? Girlfriend. Friend's nice brother? Engaged. Colin Firth? Married.

It's almost enough to make you start comparing yourself. What am I doing wrong? What should I do to be more like them? Is there some secret man-catching formula that I'm missing out on?

That is what's so great about writing. There is no wrong way. The point is to be different and stand out. There is no secret formula.

Writing is a big party and everyone willing to drive or fly or swim or crawl to the house is invited. It's not a competition. Our writing voices are our very own, and we can make connections with our own very special group of readers.

And those readers will connect with other writers too. That's what's so great. You can never have too many books, and there's always enough shelf space. With the advent of eBooks there really is enough shelf space. It's not like we're trying to steal readers from other authors, we're just trying to grow our big happy family as much as we can. Room for everyone.

Spread the love :)

Sarah Allen

Movie Night: Miss Potter

Need something to watch tonight? Look no further. Miss Potter is one of the sweetest, most heartwarming movies ever. And it's about a writer.



Make sure you have a box of Kleenex close, though.

Sarah Allen

Things I Miss

Zebra patterned bubble gum.

Dexter's Laboratory and Rugrats.

Benjamin Linus.

Eating desert without thinking about it.

Reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for the first time.

My English 319 fiction workshop class.

Niles and Daphne.

Disneyland.

The smell of New York.

Being young enough to make my teddy bears age appropriate.

Staying home from school sick with a Jamba Juice and Animal Planet.

Being in high school plays.

There have been some good things and good experiences in my life. I'm grateful for them, I miss the ones that are gone, and hope and pray for more goodness in the future.

What do you miss?

Sarah Allen

E.J. Patten and Popular vs Literary

MG author E.J. Patten (Return to Exile) came and spoke to the creative writing class today. It was pretty awesome. Seeing and hearing from authors in real life can be such a refreshing experience.

Anyway, he read a bit from his book (which I highly, highly recommend for the MG readers in your life. It's supposedly in the same vein as the Percy Jackson series, though from what he read I think its a lot better. You can check out his website here.) He also answered a bunch of questions that the students had.

He talked a little about his experience in the publishing industry. He has a lot LOT more of that then me, so I was listening. He said he had an idea for a YA book a while ago, but was told it was unpublishable just because of the way the YA market is. He obviously found a way to work it out, a way that worked for him and the publisher, but I asked him what he would suggest to people if what they want to write is "unpublishable."

He said pretty much everything is publishable, but you have to keep the market in mind. He got into the whole popular vs literary question, and said that to make a good living as a writer, you pretty much can only do that with "popular" genres. He mentioned Michael Chabon and Jonathan Franzen as a few people who are doing pretty well within the literary genre, but that it's just the way things are that in general literary fiction doesn't sell that well, definitely not as well as the popular genres.

You know, I used to get really bugged by the Popular vs Literary debate. I always thought, can't a book be both? Popular and well-written? I mean, take Harry Potter. One of the greatest literary achievements of our time, and one of the most popular. I still think they can, but I think its just a fact that we have to deal with that really literary books that sell well are the exception. Straight up that's just the way things are, generally.

It's unfortunate, but not disastrous. It just means we have to make some decisions as writers and accept and deal with what those decisions mean. Writing is hard and takes a lot of time and effort, no matter what genre you write in, and there's a lot of luck involved too. There's a little better chance you can make it big writing in popular genres, and if you write more literary fiction, you should probably be prepared with a second career/day job.

The most important thing, though, is that we write what we want. That's all it comes down to. Just write whatever the heck you want and write it the best you can. That's what's fun about being a writer anyway, isn't it?

Sarah Allen

NaNo Half-Way: How is it going?

Today is the 15, the midway point of November, and hence NaNoWriMo. I'm not trying to freak anybody out, because being behind at this point is normal. I just want to know how its going. So how's it going?

If you're not doing NaNo, what are you working on? And how is that going?

Mine is going. Slowly but surely. I just finished chapter 14, and there's going to probably be 21 chapters. So I'm about 2/3 done. Which is great, but I am so ready to be done.

Sarah Allen

What We Learn When We're Out of Our Mind

On Saturday I saw this awesome documentary called 'Being In The World.' It was so amazing and thought-provoking. It was about the human interaction with the physical world around us, starting with early philosophy's idea that we are individual and the world around us is what we perceive it to be, whereas the more modern thought is that the world is made up of our collective interaction with it. Fascinating stuff.

That's pretty abstract, but I'll try and make it clear, like they did. They used the examples of cooking, jazz, and sports. When you cook, you have a recipe; when you play a sport, you have rules. But they talked about how the true masters know their medium or physical surroundings so well they make something completely different from everybody else, even within the confines of recipes and rules. The jazz masters aren't individual musicians so much as a collective group listening to and feeding off each other, improvising based on each other and the audience and the room. True revolutionaries don't so much blow up the rules or the cultural norms as much as imbibe the rules and culture of everyone and everything around them and work with it to create something totally unique. Like a meal or music. And we can't do this without seeing meaning outside of ourselves and feeding off of it.

I was, of course, trying to apply all this to writing. Though writing is a craft, definitely, and takes practice, its not the same kind of thing as cooking or sports or music. We're not using tools or our body in quite the same way. Writing is more mental and less physical then those other things. Those physical things, though, I think make connections in our brains that can definitely develop our writing. Even more directly, though, is a quote they used in the movie. It was the W.B. Yeats quote that says, "Man can embody the truth, he cannot know it." They were talking about it in relation to the fact that a good cook, musician or athlete cannot really tell you exactly how they do what they do, except that they just do it. Same with writing. In our writing, if we try to explain things, try to tell the reader what we "mean", it comes off unrelatable and preachy. Much more effective is just telling a story as best as we can, letting our words and characters "embody" the meaning, and letting whatever Truth is in our story come out to each reader on its own. Because if we have a good story and round characters, it will.

I hope that makes sense. My thoughts today are a bit piece-y and random, as they kind of were all last week. Thanks for putting up with me.

Anyway, there are a couple other things I want to share. First, I started a Pinterest account. Check it out for awesome stuff. Find new things to teach you meaning and truth :)

Mostly, though, I wanted to share a song that I think shows perfectly what it looks like when characters and story speak for themselves. It's from a Broadway show, but don't let that turn you off. The play is 'The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.' The whole show is major hilarity (which is why people are laughing at the beginning of the video; notice they aren't laughing at the end), with all the kids having these quirky problems and issues, singing songs about their magic feet and being too perfect at everything. Then this song comes. This girls mother is on an ashram in India and her father isn't there either:

Good stuff, huh? Powerful. Possibly my favorite Broadway song of all time. It is, to me, what happens when words say more then words can say. Which is when you know you've got something great.

Sarah Allen

Friday Funny

And my bro being funny :)


Hope you're having an awesome weekend, and awesome 11/11/11!

Sarah Allen

See Yourself the Winner

So I already told you that I'm not doing NaNo. However, I was talking to an awesome friend last night who is doing it, and we were talking about her struggles with her book, and my struggles with mine, and how writing is hard but awesome. I love talking with other writers who can give me direct sympathy and advice on the issues I'm having with my WIP and how to cope with or fix them.

I felt very motivated after I hung up the phone, and decided I was going to write, and got another five or six-hundred words in. That's not much, I know, considering the pace of you NaNo-ers, but for me its good news.

That's kind of what I want to talk about--getting in to that mindset where you're ready and excited to be productive. It makes things go by so much better, and helps you really get things done. I know for you NaNo-ers, that's a pretty important mindset to maintain for all of November. Here's my tidbit. When I'm in that motivated mood, its pretty much always generated or accompanied by the thought 'because you know what? It is going to feel so, so, so, so, freaking amazing to be done.'

Can't you imagine it? Typing the words THE END. Hitting 50,000 at 11:57 on November 30th. Even if you've done it before, it feels just as good to do it again, doesn't it?

That kind of thought right there I think is where motivation comes from. At least for me. When I'm thinking about writing that last sentence, one I've been working on in my head already for months, changing my WIP meter to 100%, blaring the news all over every social media outlet I know, I don't want to watch a movie (which is a big deal for me) or listen to music or chat with friends or do anything but write. Get the dang thing done. As I'm becoming aware that this kind of thinking is power, I'm hoping to be able to use it more and more to make faster and faster progress.

Because you know what? We can win. We can win NaNo and writing and life. And it's going to feel indescribably fantastic when we do.

Sarah Allen

Glee, turkey toast, and other good things

I have finally reached 50,000 words.

My sister showed me her first illustration for the picture book we're working on together. Its brilliant. Adorable. Fabulous. I am very, very excited.

Turkey toast. By that I mean a piece of wheat toast with margarine, mustard and turkey lunch meat. Very yummy. And in lieu of my strange aversion to sandwiches, a good lunch option. Anyone else not a fan of sandwiches?

Coach Beiste from Glee. After last nights episode, she is my new favorite.

Christmas music on the radio. You may not agree. I don't care.

Sleepless in Seattle on at the Gym. I love the Lifetime channel.

This song:


What's good in your life right now?

Sarah Allen

Interview with Beth Revis, author of 'Across the Universe'

So excited today to welcome Beth Revis, author of Across the Universe and it's upcoming sequel, A Million Sons, out in January, 2012. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and dog. Be sure to check out her amazing website, if you haven't already. Take it away Beth!

What is your writing schedule like?

I tend to start writing around noon or so, until about 5pm, and then I usually write some more a few hours before bed...if I'm feeling very productive and focused.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I pretty much always knew it. I love writing from an early age. I wrote my first "book" when I was in elementary school--a 10 page story about a unicorn.

How do you typically come up with ideas and develop them into a story?

It's different for every story, but for ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, I came up with the twist at the end first, and developed the entire book around that.

What is the story behind getting Across the Universe published?

A long one! I started writing ten years earlier, and wrote a novel a year for ten years. By the time I got to the eleventh book, I was pretty beat down--but I subbed to my dream agent, she signed with me in December, and then the rest is history!

Who are the authors that inspire you, and what have they taught you about writing?

JK Rowling taught me that the best stories make you both laugh and cry. CS Lewis taught me that the best stories have more than one meaning.

What most attracts you to the life of a writer?

I just honestly love telling stories.

What do you consider the hardest thing about being a writer, and how do you deal with it?

I am my own worst enemy. I tend to procrastinate--but fortunately I work pretty well under pressure!

What's the best writing advice you've ever gotten?

I was watching the director's commentary to the Joss Whedon movie SERENITY, and he mentioned that the Operative was a character that was totally evil...but that you could almost sympathize with. That made me realize that what I really need to do is make all characters, even the bad ones, have a viable motivation.

Why do you blog? What advice would you give to other author bloggers?

I blog because I enjoy blogging--that's the whole reason. My only advice is to do it if you like it--and don't worry so much about the numbers.

What do you hope readers will take away from your books?

If I've done my job right, then hopefully each reader will find what they need to find in the story. I think reading is a deeply personal thing. But I did set out to write it with the idea that the truth is important, even if it hurts.

So someone I know is going to read this?

As I get closer and closer to finishing my book, I've been thinking about this more and more. The goal is to get your work published, right? That means out there for everybody to see. And that everybody includes your friends and family.

Mostly, that's just fine. There's just a couple things that worry me about that. One that worries me a little, and one that worries me sort of a lot.

When you read something, you can't help but make judgments about or connections to the author and the authors life. So when people read our work, they make assumptions about us and our lives. Whether they are correct (which they probably aren't) is beside the point. And you know, that's all ok, that sort of comes with the territory of being an artist. Of course people are going to judge you and your work, but only we know where it all came from, and even that's a little iffy. It's a little more complicated when the readers know you personally. When they know your life a little more intimately, and they make connections or judgments or think that you're making certain points or using certain details based on your life and who they know you to be. Does that make sense? Basically what I'm trying to say is that by letting people in your life read your work, its a bit like letting them in to your head, and whether what they see is accurate or to the point, it can't help but shift/change/alter, even if its only slightly, the way they see you as a person, or the way they've seen you up to that point. And I kind of don't want it to change anything. I'm still me, I'm still the person I've presented to them, but now they know a little more. Or they think they do.

But all that is okay. I can deal with that. It's expected. The bigger deal for me, related, but not an aspect of this issue I've fully thought about until recently, is this: People in my life who read my work will not only make assumptions and judgments about me, but perhaps also about the other people in my life. Say I write about a father, a mother, a sister. Can that be kept separate from real life to people who read it and know my actual father and mother and sisters? Even on a more general scale. Say I address certain issues or topics: Does that mean people are going to make judgments about my family as a whole and the way I was raised or something like that?

It seems like those kinds of connections and judgments are inevitable. What bothers me most is that if this type of judgment is passed, which it will be, then I've dragged the people in my life into something they did not ask to be dragged in to. That seems a little bit presumptuous to me.

This is where I come to those of you with more experience then myself. Obviously this is something every writer and every artist has to address, somehow. How did you deal with this? Is it best to just be true to your own inner-artist, move forward, and trust the support of the people that matter most? I'm thinking that's the only thing you can do, if you're going to be honest and truthful with yourself and not compromise your inner artist. And you know, even if the people who matter most don't quite understand, which they might not, they still love you and support you. Sometimes it's scary to rely on that, but that's why they are the people that matter most.

What are your thoughts on this? How do you write without shaking up too badly your own real life world?

Sarah Allen

A Fairy Tale Twist

Anybody watching that new 'Once Upon a Time' show? It's actually pretty cool. Sometimes the writing feels a little forced, but its generally well-done and the premise is freaking awesome. Basically its about fairy-tale characters who are stuck in our world.

I really like the idea of mixing or twisting fairy-tales. Modern day spins even, that kind of thing. It's just a fun idea.

It's also pretty great creative fodder. Take your two favorite fairy-tales and mix them up. Or use mythologies, like Greek or Norse. People like Lewis and Rowling do it all the time. Fenrir Greyback is a direct throwback to Fenris Ulf, a character from Norse mythology.

I've actually got an idea that's been ruminating in my head for months. I don't wanna give away too much, but I will say that it's a mix of Beauty and the Beast and Peter Pan. I guess Peter Pan isn't technically a "fairy tale", but its public domain and up for grabs anyway. And it works in my head. I've got a line-up of other projects that will probably have to come before that one, but maybe I'll do it eventually.

Anyway, what fairy-tale mix-ups would you do? Ok, ok, so I'm keeping mine a secret while asking for yours, but you can keep your best idea to yourself, if you must. Seriously though, what fun combos can you come up with?

Sarah Allen

3 Steps to Fame, Glory, and Eternal Life

Are you a writer disenchanted with blogging? Are you a new blogger wondering how you're going to make a difference anyway? Are you intimidated by all the social media outlets writers are supposed to know how to juggle, and juggle brilliantly? If you answered yes to any of these questions...

Ok, enough of that. But seriously though, there are so many posts about how different writers feel towards blogging. Like Roni Loren's post about the life cycle of a blogger from yesterday. I'll admit that's the post that got me thinking, but like I've said, I've seen similar posts all over the place. So I figured I might as well add my two cents to the conversation. Halloween was my two year blogiversary, so I have a little experience to back me up.

I feel like there is so much drama llama trauma that eventually pops up with blogging. Which for me, kind of defeats the whole purpose. I feel like things could be a lot more emotionally smooth and satisfying if people just kept three things in mind from the very beginning.

1. Set those lofty goals, but keep them personal. I am the first person who will tell you to dream big. Shoot for the stars. Go whole hog, go for it, all those cheesy, sentimental cliches. (I annoy people sometimes...)But I really mean it. Its no fun and just not as meaningful if you don't have buckets full of gold and rainbows as your end goal. But. Be self-aware and realistic in how you plan to move towards those goals. 3,000 followers on your blog? Sure, why not. But you're not going to get there in a day, a month, even a year, no matter how often you post or what marketing you do or whatever. Its a very slow building process, so know yourself and know what kind of pace and efforts you are comfortable making on a daily and weekly basis. Remember, you're doing this for you. The rest will come.

2. Determination. Stick to it. Grit your teeth. Suck it up. Just do it. Muscle through. However you want to say it. Even if you're very careful in how you set things up, and make reasonable short-term goals for yourself, there are still going to be times when you feel like chucking your computer at the wall. When you're sitting in front of a blank post at one in the morning with no clue what to write about. This is when you have to try and remember why you're doing this in the first place and just do it. This is where you show how badly you really want it, whatever 'it' is. Good things come to those who never give up.

3. Rejuvination. Sometimes you just get burned out, and sheer determination only gets you so far. Don't be afraid to take some time for yourself to get yourself feeling alive again. Sometimes for me all it takes is belting my lungs out to a really good song. Often going to the gym makes me feel better. Sometimes I just need a night of kettle corn, diet Dr. Pepper and a couple good chick flicks. It's kind of like filling up at a gas station, and then you've got the umph to get you through the next few hundred miles. Do what you need to do so you don't burn your engine out completely.

So there you have it. Those are my thoughts on the subject, take them for what they're worth. What are your thoughts on the whole writers blogging thing? Worth it? Too much effort? What have you felt about your own bogging experience?

Sarah Allen

The Book I'm Most Grateful For and a 19 Book Giveaway

The most amazing giveaway is going on at Beth Revis' blog. And when I say amazing, I mean amazing. 19 books. Nineteen. And signed too. Yeah. Amazing.

The point of the giveaway is for everyone to write a post about the one book they are most grateful. An awesome idea, in my opinion. And while it is impossible for me to pick one favorite, or one book for which I am most grateful, there was one that popped immediately to mind.

This is a book I've read within the last few years. I've read other books by this author, which were also mind-blowingingly incredible, but this one just left me breathless. In my opinion, this book could not be more perfect.

This book is Persuasion, by Jane Austen.

I love everything about it. I love the honest, realistic and still dreamy Captain Wentworth. I love the strong, good, intelligent, and just plain amazing Anne Elliot. I love how each of them has kept to their own values and moral system despite the ideas and personalities around them.

What really got to me about this book, though, can be said in one word. It is the same reason that led me to buy all eleven seasons of Frasier and watch every episode within two months. It is why I love characters like Gregory House, Severus Snape and Benjamin Linus. It is often a defining factor for me in my enjoyment of a book or movie.

Pining.

Agonizing, loyal, soul-wrenching, heart-breaking pining. Like Niles for Daphne. Like Severus for Lily. Like Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth for each other.

And this book is pining at its absolute best. Every move, every moment, so your hair stands on end and by the end you feel like you've just run a marathon and feel like sobbing. I feel little twinges on the violin strings of my heart just thinking about this.

I'll give you a little taste. Just a little taste, and you see if you can resist. I'm not giving anything away here, because, lets face it, its Jane Austen and we know the right people are going to end up together. So here is a letter from Captain Wentworth to Ann. Just try not to melt, I dare you:

I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone forever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone, I think and plan.--Have you not seen this? Can you fail to have understood my wishes?--I had not waited even these ten days, could I have read your feelings, as I think you must have penetrated mine. I can hardly write. I am every instant hearing something which overpowers me. You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others.--Too good, too excellent creature! You do us justice, indeed. You do believe that there is true attachment and constancy among men. Belive it to be most fervent, and most undeviating in,

F.W.

I must go, uncertain of my fate; but I shall return hither, or follow your party, as soon as possible. A word, a look, will be enough to decide whether I enter your fathers' house this evening or never.

*Picks self up from puddle on the floor* Ok, that's all I can say about that...This book is my happy place.

Sarah Allen

NaNoWriMo: And the next plot point is...

So. Even though I'm not doing NaNoWriMo, I couldn't let November 1st go by without addressing what would be causing me by far the most grief, were I doing NaNo.

Plot.

It's never been my strong suit. I love characters and thoughts and dialog and description and scenarios, but putting those all together into a novel-length cohesive story is tough for me. I've talked about this before in various ways, but its definitely worth talking about again.

Let's say the first segment of my MS is plot points A-G. The way my mind works, I get the major plot points--A, D, G--down okay. But hitting B, C, E, and F along the way sometimes gets me stuck, even though I know they need to be there. Does that make sense? It's like crossing a river on stepping stones, and finding the smaller steps between the bigger, more obvious boulders is tricky.

This can cause problems during NaNo for people like me, who don't have the luxury of a long time to think things through and search and search for that tiny needed step. And its a problem for me in general, so I could really use your ideas.

I have come up with a few things. When I'm starting an idea, I start with a very basic outline with those more major, A, D, G points. I come up with as many plot points as I can just within the story in my head, but it still ends up fairly sparse. Then I start a kind of accumulation process. I start a list. I go through my old creative writing notebooks, see what ideas they can give me. I stare at my bookshelf and try and think what major plot points from my favorites could maybe give me ideas for something in my story. I take that list and integrate it with the outline and flesh it out a little more. Then I go through and see if I can spot any holes and try and fill those in. By then I've hopefully got something workable and its time to start.

Inevitably, though, new things are discovered as the story unfolds, more holes are uncovered, new ideas pop. Then the outline changes and you're left without a step, without an E where you thought there was one.

That is where I get stuck. That is the biggest problem I have personally so far encountered in the novel-writing process. After a period of thinking and agonizing I generally find a way to get myself unstuck, but if I could get your advice to make my unsticking a lot more stable and graceful, so I don't feel like I'm flopping my way to the next boulder, that would be great.

So what do you do? How do you get from A to D? I mean, some people--the "pantsers"--write whole novels just one step at a time, feeling their way forward with their characters, with only the vaguest notions of where they're going if any at all. It's that exact "feeling your way forward" process that I could use help with.

So. For my and the NaNo-ers sake. Help?

Sarah Allen