Living up to ‘the hype’

Really, it’s another term for PUBLICITY.  But most of us think of the hype as the promise that something is going to be amazing. 

I’ve often been tricked by the hype, left to wonder if everyone who agreed with the hype was lying because they wanted to fit in.  Because take it from Twi-hards, Potter-heads, and what-ever-they’re-going-to-name-Hunger-Games-Fans – being a part of the hype is fun.

As much fun as it would be to rant about all the times the hype has let me down – I’m going to list books where the hype has been right on track.  

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling

Where She Went, Gayle Forman

The Mortal Instruments Series, Cassandra Clare

Delirium, Lauren Oliver

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins

Divergent, Veronica Roth

Anna and the French Kiss, Stephanie Perkins

Fallout, Ellen Hopkins

Shiver, Maggie Stiefvater

Will Grayson, Will Grayson, John Green, David Levithan 

Do you guys concur?? I’m SURE I’m missing some.  Please add to the list. 

Friday Five: five new TV shows – only one will make it to my television

I need help.  Between The Vampire Diaries, 90210 (no judgment), Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Parenthood, Modern Family, and The Office – I really have room for only one more show in my life.  But because of all the cancelations (RIP: Brothers & Sisters, Friday Night Lights), there seems to be a copious amount of new shows premiering this Fall.  

Out of the five new shows below, which one should I start watching?

1.  2 Broke Girls

2.  New Girl

3.  Ringer

4.  Free Agents

5.  I Hate My Teenage Daughter 

“Step away from the fashion magazines”

This is good advice. I’ve heard this from several people over the course of the last two months.  My cousin.  My boyfriend.  And now Christa, which means I’ve taken my seasonal fashion obsession viral and that can’t be an entirely good thing.  

So, most of you probably aren’t distracted by Michael Kor’s Spring 2012 menswear collection, or the unknown designer who is going to replace John Galliano at Dior-

 - but I’m sure you’re distracted by something.  So please, vent about it in the comments (and please only divulge the most ridiculous things you’re distracted by, not important things like sleep and family and pets). Vent, let it go, and visit the links below to get back on the writing path.

Getting Back into Writing Groove

Three Steps for Growing an Idea

Easing In (read the comments on this one!)

The Gateway Novel

I’m trying to write the gateway novel, defined as the novel that will lead to other novels.

The gateway novel is one that gets published first.  The one that has a perfect premise, intriguing beginning, and hopefully 'inspires' a fantastic query. 

The novel that will open the door for my other novels – written or still in my brain. 

I know that just because one WIP gets published doesn’t mean all the WIP’s sitting in my document folder will one day become books, but some of them might.    

So tell me, have you found your gateway novel yet?   Is it your first novel? 

Friday Five: Seattle Weather – the love-hate relationship

1.  When it’s cloudy, at least there isn’t a glare off my computer screen when I’m writing by a window. (Rain: 1 point)

2.  Seventy-eight degree weather means everyone’s windows are down ALL the time, which can be annoying when the person living below you likes to yell at her cats, but wonderful when the girl across the alley has a beautiful voice and sings Adele songs in the evenings. (Rain: 2 points, Sun: 3 points)

3.  No lines at Pike Place Market. (Rain: 1 point)

4.  The view from Highway 99 when the skies are clear is amazing - city going north, mountains going south. (Sun: 3 points)

5.  Heavy traffic because everyone wants to be in the sun vs. slow moving traffic because everyone drives slowly in the rain. (Rain: -2 points, Sun: -2 points)

Rain or shine – which do you prefer?  

What would Victor Ward say about this week?

“Dad, life is tacky.” 

(pg. 92, Glamorama, By Bret Easton Ellis)

This week:

• Football season (this is an accurate term, no?) has started and now football is EVERYWHERE.  
• Fashion Week is happening in New York City and I’m stuck in Seattle forced to watch it stream live.
• There’s still a lot of orange at Fashion Week. 
• Missoni at Target crashed the Target site and most everything sold out in a (rumored) 32 minutes. 
• ‘Helpful Agent’ wants me to revise and resubmit my manuscript beginning, so all querying and submitting has come to an abrupt halt until this revision is complete.   This will be revision number ten-thousand.
• Revision # 3 for the WIP my critique group was supposed to start reviewing this week is not going well, and the week is basically over and I have yet to show them anything.  Pretty sure I make drastic changes to the first five chapters every time I sit down to write. 
• I went to a happy hour with $.20 hot wings and got my money’s worth. 
• And, in case you didn’t gather, in lieu of this post, I’m reading Glamorama.  And I can’t stop blogging/tweeting/facebooking about it.  #tacky

“We should run this industry”

-The Hollywood/book-optioning/talent agency industry.

I have a few friends that read, for the most part, all of the same books that I do and, like me, invest slightly more than the average person in forming opinions about what should happens to these books, should they get turned into movies. 

Okay, slightly might be a bit inaccurate – perhaps a more truthful word would be much. 

We invest much more than the average person. 

Sometimes it feels like another job, because let me tell you it is work. 

There’s nothing better than finding out a book that you love is going to become a movie (sometimes).  The whole matter of trying to convince people to read it – and then trying to convince people who read it and didn’t like it, why they are all wrong in the head – is sometimes time consuming. 

We have lines memorized that must make it into the movie. 

We’ve got actors reserved for specific roles and we get angsty when the ones we want don’t get chosen –and even more angsty when actors take on roles in books-turned-movies- that we didn’t approve for them. 

It’s exhausting. 

“Has anyone heard him speak, does he sound witty?  Can he do witty?”

“What’s with his grin – this character has the weight of the world on his shoulders, he’s not supposed to smirk like that.”

“Where’s the last line? That can’t be the last line. Why are the credits rolling?  I can’t believe they left out the last line!”

“If he takes that role, he is dead to me.”

“Rumored?  Are they crazy?  This should be a movie ASAP. What is wrong with Hollywood?  They don’t like money?”

“I thought her British accent would be subtle, you know…not so British.”

You guys do this too, no?  Over invest much?  Have a core group of people with whom you sit around and think: We should run this industry?  

Friday Five: Must reads

-The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han.  And then after that you should read It’s Not Summer Without You and We’ll Always Have Summer. 

1.  Epic love triangle. So good I couldn’t pick a side.  At one point I actually thought it would be easier on my emotions if one of them got lost at sea. 

2.  Sibling rivalry.  (My favorite, especially when combined with number one).

3.  All the books in the trilogy are available! No annoying wait-period. 

4.  These books are perfect summer reads and summer is almost over so get on it!  (Not that I wouldn’t love the series just as much in January).

5.  Jenny Han.  Amazing writer.   Nicholas Sparks has nothing on her – and I mean that as a compliment in case that’s not clear.  Her blog is fabulous too.