All Things Middle Grade

heza

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Hey - where would be the best place to post that I am looking for writers to interview for my blog. Blogging is so new for me and I'm floundering for ideas.

I need to start following your blog! (Actually, more people's blogs around here altogether.) I should probably start blogging, too. I have trouble justifying a blog, though, until I've at least finished a novel and started querying. I don't know if my thinking is silly.

I also have trouble finishing a novel. My current WIP has me petrified and at a total standstill. I think I'd just use updating a blog as an excuse to procrastinate more.
 

sissybaby

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Well, yeah, that pretty much happens to me all the time. It's very easy to become sidetracked by a blog - and Twitter - and Facebook. Not to mention, er, AW? Need I go on?

And, yes, you should visit my blog. And comment. I need comments. Self-promoting is really difficult for me - I lack the confidence, among other things.
 

sissybaby

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Amarie - I would LOVE for you to allow me to interview you - or one of your characters. I think the character interviews are lots of fun - as a reader, especially. It allows us to get into the heads of the characters from a different perspective, and it makes me feel like I have privileged information when I read the book. Does that make sense?

I would love to interview Timp, too, and Mike, of they're interested - and there are many more around here, too.
 

heza

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You should interview author and character at the same time! The arguments always amuse me.
 

timp67

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I absolutely loved Hugo, the movie. So great!

And ... interview ahoy! :)
 

SheilaJG

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Okay, I nearly spit out my milk this morning when I read something about that downed cruise ship. The story fascinates me because I have a crusie-ship phobia (I hate crowds, I may be somewhat claustrophobic, and I have a fear of drowning). As a writer, I love a good bad guy, and the captain, it would appear, is a real piece of work. Not only did he abandon ship before everyone was off (I guess he missed the day in captain class where they taught the lesson about the captain going down with his ship), but he was yelled at for an hour to get back on the ship, and he didn't.

This morning he claims that he only left because he FELL into the lifeboat as he was helping rescue people. Really? Oh, you just can't write this stuff.
 

sissybaby

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Yeah, the falling into the boat was the kicker for me.

I have always loved cruising - I have a rabid fear of flying - falling out of the sky as opposed to drowning makes no sense to me, but that's how my mind works.

Now I'm going to have to give up cruising. This gutless captain ruined it for me. Scenes from Titanic keep running through my mind.
 

Sage

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This morning he claims that he only left because he FELL into the lifeboat as he was helping rescue people. Really? Oh, you just can't write this stuff.
:ROFL:

I really liked the cruise we took last Christmas, even though:

  • My room was tinier than the other rooms (not kidding)
  • The seas were extra rocky (according to my parents, big-time cruise fans)
  • I had a severe allergic reaction to something on the ship, possibly mold, and had to cancel an excursion (but I went whale watching with my parents instead)
  • I couldn't find anywhere that I liked to write (this could have been a reluctance to work on that particular story)
But I was always running around the ship with stuff to do. There were dance classes and karaoke and bingo for money and massages. Most of the excursions I did were excellent. And it was so nice to not worry about food (which is sadly a point of stress throughout my day). Plus, we went to Hawaii in winter, so that was great :)
 

Amarie

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I'm also not a fan of cruises having been on many as a teenager with my travel agent mother. That was back in the days they were more oriented for adults so there wasn't much for kids to do. On one trip I did meet up with one girl my age who was traveling with her grandmother, and we managed to explore the ship thoroughly, finding willing crew members to give us tours to areas we weren't supposed to see. :)

Going to a party in the crew's tiny cabins crammed full of people was interesting. Had we hit a rock, none of them would have been capable of even saving themselves.
 

profen4

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I've never taken a cruise - though I've been on lengthy ferries that were the size of cruise ships (I'm sure the ferries had fewer amenities :)) I'm not afraid of boats, and I'm quite at home in the water, but cruises haven't ever really interested me. I've been to several locations where cruise ships stop, and in the hours before the arrival, the location is so lovely, then the ship arrives and the entire atmosphere changes. I can't help but think that cruise-ship travel diminishes the cultural experience somewhat. I'm sure it makes up for it in comfort and ease of travel, but I worry that it would be hard to get an idea of a place when you're in a group a thousand (or much more) strong. do lot nam do boi nu xe day cac loai ban buon quan ao vest cong so nu chup anh cho be
 
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Ferret

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I've been on two cruises, and I'd love to go on another. Although what happened is tragic, it doesn't change my opinion of cruises. There are plane, car, and train accidents all the time, but we can't just stop going places.

I do agree that a cruise isn't the best way to experience other cultures, though.
 

Marzipan

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Have to agree. It was horrible, but you are more likely to die in a car crash than on a cruise. My husband's friend keeps trying to talk us into going, but I have a fear of being stuck in one place and not being able to leave. Don't get me wrong, I can swim fine. Must have been all those summer stays with extended relatives. Hah :)
 

heza

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Gah! I have "Book Club" tonight--which is where my local girlfriends hold me accountable for producing content by holding these little monthly get togethers where we drink wine, read chapters, and drink more wine. I hate to cancel these because they're also our big social "girl time"... it's actually very little to do with me and the book.

But I started this new job in January and it's just been nuts. I don't have any new content written and I only have today (during breaks at work) and Saturday morning to do it. What's worse, I got to a part in the novel (cause I'm a filthy pantser) where I have no idea what happens next....

Does anyone have any advice? Or just want to commiserate with me about being up against a deadline after you've been slacking?
 

JoyMC

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Does anyone have any advice? Or just want to commiserate with me about being up against a deadline after you've been slacking?

That's really cool that your girlfriends do that for you! This is just a suggestion, but what if you write a scene you don't intend to include in the book? A compelling bit of backstory, or a totally improbably what-if scenario for your MC, etc. etc. You'll get the writing in, you could learn something about your character that you didn't know before, and you might even spark something that will tell you what's next in your book. At the very least, you'll have pages for your super supportive friends!
 

sissybaby

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Well, Heza, I can certainly commisserate with you. (I think there's a misspelled word in there somewhere).

If it were me, I'd go and drink lots of wine and then tell them you've had an epiphany and don't want to spoil it, so you aren't going to read anything until you've switched it around.

But I'm not only a panster and a procrastinator, I'm also a liar, so that might not work for you.
 

heza

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That's really cool that your girlfriends do that for you! This is just a suggestion, but what if you write a scene you don't intend to include in the book? A compelling bit of backstory, or a totally improbably what-if scenario for your MC, etc. etc. You'll get the writing in, you could learn something about your character that you didn't know before, and you might even spark something that will tell you what's next in your book. At the very least, you'll have pages for your super supportive friends!

Thanks, JoyMC. My friends are very supportive... and kind of task masters. I do have a few ideas for scenes that I, in no way, can configure out how to incorporate into the book... so I could write one of those out. One is actually a very important "reveal" scene for something I'm not sure will ever actually be revealed.

Do you guys ever do that? Have scenes and background and emotions and stuff for your characters that never actually see the page?

Anyway, at this point... I figure that a lot of what I've written won't end up in the final book because I'm just so all over the place with my story, not having it hammered out and all. I doubt they'll know the difference. Plus, I do, regardless, need to get their input on an attempt at a revised voice... still have trouble with MG voice... especially a non-fake-British MG voice.

sissybaby said:
Well, Heza, I can certainly commisserate with you. (I think there's a misspelled word in there somewhere).

If it were me, I'd go and drink lots of wine and then tell them you've had an epiphany and don't want to spoil it, so you aren't going to read anything until you've switched it around.

But I'm not only a panster and a procrastinator, I'm also a liar, so that might not work for you.

Actually we're more alike than you think. ;) I sort of feel like I'm trying to come up with excuses for why I don't have my English homework done.

I did have an epiphany... to combat the apparent British Victorian feel of it, I'm thinking of solidly setting it in Boston. (What a research project that's going to be!) But I haven't done enough research to properly import any of it into my prose yet, and I hate to write and then go back in and sprinkle... then it's more "flavored" with setting, rather than built on it, if you know what I mean.

Anway, someone else suggested that I actually use tonight to start working on an outline and then instead of prose, make them read my outline and/or help me with it.

Thanks for the advice, guys. Both great ideas.
 
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elissacruz

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*pokes head in thread*

I've been off playing hooky again, but I thought I should stop by and say hi. I'm too lazy to go back through the thread and see what I've missed, so please let me know if there are any huge developments I should be aware of.

In my case, the only thing I have to report is that my plans for MG world domination are marching ever forward. ;)
 

jtrylch13

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I loved Hugo too. The movie anyway. I haven't read the book. My only complaint was the scene where Hugo went outside of the clock face, shimmied across the arm of the clock, then dropped onto the frame of the clock. Besides scaring me to death, why didn't he just climb out the window and onto the frame. There was no reason for the dangerous hanging-from-the-arm-thing.
 

Kitty Pryde

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I loved Hugo too. The movie anyway. I haven't read the book. My only complaint was the scene where Hugo went outside of the clock face, shimmied across the arm of the clock, then dropped onto the frame of the clock. Besides scaring me to death, why didn't he just climb out the window and onto the frame. There was no reason for the dangerous hanging-from-the-arm-thing.

You and all your sensible grown up ideas! Hmph! :D

I do want to see Hugo. The other day at the movie theater they had the little robot invention guy on display in a case and it looked pretty sweet. The book was decent but not a favorite...cool story though.
 

timp67

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I loved Hugo too. The movie anyway. I haven't read the book. My only complaint was the scene where Hugo went outside of the clock face, shimmied across the arm of the clock, then dropped onto the frame of the clock. Besides scaring me to death, why didn't he just climb out the window and onto the frame. There was no reason for the dangerous hanging-from-the-arm-thing.

He was copying what he saw Harold Lloyd do in Safety Last! at the movie theater, wasn't he? :)
 

timp67

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