Kidlit Blog Tour

The lovely Amy Sonnichsen tagged me in this blog tour and I'm so grateful because I've been at such a loss for blog topics these days! (Anyone else?)

What are you working on right now?
The Oyster Book is a working title. I'm in the very early stages of writing it. 

How does it differ from other works in its genre?
Hmm.  At this point, I'm just trying to understand my main character's story. I'm learning that she sees the world differently than most. She works on an oyster farm. She works mostly with her hands and her heart. And she has very unique abilities. I would like there to be a dream-like quality to the book, a question of what is real and what isn't. 

Why do you write what you do?
What a question. While I'm always trying to understand who I am as a writer and what I'm doing (really, what am I doing?), I write what I write because I believe that the real world and the ordinary lives we live are interesting and beautiful. I believe the smallest moment or the shortest exchange of dialogue holds infinite truths and possibilities, not just in a sentence or a story, but in our lives. 

How does your writing process work?
I've written two novels and rewritten another. Each time it's different. What stays consistent, what I am reluctantly learning to accept, is that I'm a slow writer. I have to do a lot of dreaming before I can even begin. I do a lot of wandering and exploring through a first draft to understand. Then I do a ton of rearranging, expanding, rewriting, researching, and tossing out words through multiple drafts. I send to trusted readers only when I think I've done all I can. Then I consider their words and revise again. 

Any departing words of wisdom for other authors?
I once read this odd little book (the title escapes me) by a real-life musician explaining all he learned from a mythical teacher. There was a small but meaningful section on 'intention'. The author felt that the intention of every note he played on his guitar could be felt by an audience. So if his intention at a particular gig was to get through it, make connections, or earn a paycheck for the night, the audience would feel that. Same if his intention that night was to experiment or be playful or to play a song he loved. 

I always think back to that complex but beautiful idea. So, at the risk of sounding as hippy dippy as possible, whether we write playfully or with conviction, whether we're working with what we love or fear, we should write each word or play each note with the best and truest of intentions, so that it can be felt. 

I hope Meredith Moore and Laurel Garver will continue the grand tradition of the Kidlit Blog Tour because I'm curious what they are working on!  

What's Up Wednesday #2

What I'm Reading

Charming Billy by Alice McDermott. When my local used bookstore closed last spring, the owner let me take an entire tiny shelf of literary fiction paperbacks. I've slowly been making my way through them and only recently did I discover I actually owned this National Book Award winner from the year I graduated high school. It's beautiful so far.

Also, from that same stack, I just finished Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay. I knew nothing about the Vel' d'Hiv round up in France during World War II and I found the story absolutely fascinating.

What I'm Writing

The reason I've been missing in action from the blog is because I was finishing up revisions to RABBIT ISLAND for my agent. While the revisions were not extensive, I found I had to dig deep into the psychology of my characters in order to better understand some of the underlying emotions behind several conversations, story lines, and relationships. It turned out to be a tough pass. Now that they are turned over, I'll sleep well, gear up for another revision, if there is to be one, and continue dreaming and researching The Oyster Book.

What Inspires Me Right Now

The possibilities of summer.

What Else I've Been Up To

I've been in a sort of head fog these days, a bit distracted, nervous, preoccupied in spiraling thoughts, fidgety yet tired. In many ways, not myself.  On the actual side of things, there have been dinners with friends, plans with family, working each day, hoping for the right opportunities, writing and reading each night, and an unhealthy amount of viewing of Frasier reruns on Netflix. That cast of characters is really making me laugh.

Because I feel so tired these days, I think I'm going to experience a period of hands-off for a little while. A sigh. A release. Let the universe take over.

Beyond that, I'm dreaming of our upcoming trip to Ireland. And I hope one day this weekend, maybe Sunday, I'll wake up and go absolutely nowhere. That would be a beautiful thing.  

For more What's Up Wednesday, go here.

What's Up Wednesday

I thought I'd try this weekly meme because I've been struggling with what to write in this space. I always want to be here, writing posts, sharing thoughts, but then I find myself at a terrible loss, staring at the blank screen. As a result, as a default, as you've probably noticed, melancholy Melissa comes out to play on the blog.  As in, everyone is skipping and patty-caking, and I'm all, look at the dead bird.

So. Let's try this. Shall we?

What I'm Reading

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain. This book is fascinating. I've lived a good, long, life wondering why I feel uncomfortable in many social situations and, the more I read, the more I understand what's behind a lot of this discomfort: an extrovert ideal, a shift that took place in the 1920's and has permeated society since. Now, I understand why the stimulus of Toy Fair sends me into a panic. I know the psychology behind my coping mechanism at cocktail parties.  I get why I can not thrive in office brainstorms. All of these 'shortcomings' have really upset me in the past and now the awkward puzzle pieces finally fit. I've been forced to fit my personality into an ideal that doesn't suit who I am. Major. Enlightenment. I'm going to have a lot to say about this book when I finish.

What I'm Writing

I'm working on revisions with my agent for RABBIT ISLAND to prepare for submission (!)  I've begun research for, what shall be known from here on out as, The Oyster Book.

What Inspires Me Right Now

Let's see...the power of introverts, oysters, friends who live their dreams, the complexity of sky, rediscovering Amy Winehouse's Back to Black Album, the lyric I'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside.  And as always, New York City, its two rivers, my writing tree in bloom, mornings on the subway rattling, bunched up, next to, near a stranger.

What Else I've Been Up To

I traveled briefly to sunny Florida and wandered through a professional golf tournament this past weekend. I read and have been inspired by the manuscripts of friends. I received deliveries and library alerts of books by women I admire.  I've gone to work each day. I look for new work. There have been dinners with friends, first birthday parties. Our first anniversary approaches, soon to reflect on a year as wife.

Well. Look at that. I liked doing this meme very much.

What's up with you this Wednesday?

For more What's Up Wednesday, check it out: here.