This is going to be too much fun! I'm doing a live chat on writing from a perspective different from your own at 5:30 PM EST Wednesday Aug 31 at the famed Inkpop.com website.
The Q & A about writing a character or a complete novel from the p.o.v. of a gender other than your own will last only one hour.
But you can leave questions for me right now right here and I will answer them during the chat.
Looks like we'll also be talking about writing from a dog's or cat's perspective. I've done quite a bit of that in my short-story collections, Ghost Dogs of the South and Ghost Cats of the South.
And, of course, your own experiences writing from other perspectives are most welcome at the Inkpop live chat. Join us, won't you?
You can join the live chat by clicking here: Dead Rules by Randy Russell.
Or simply drop by and read the discussion as it takes place. Should be fun to see me in a skirt.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
You're a YA Cliché! ~ by Cara Best
Cara Best, one of my favorite teen bloggers, told me she was working on a list of Clichés in YA Novels. I asked (begged!) her to share it with me as a guest post. Lots of fun ensued (see below).
You may read Cara’s regularly irregular and most charming blog posts and YA Book Reviews at Chasing Words. Drop by.
You're a YA Cliché ~ by Cara Best.
Welcome to your very own YA novel: CLICHED. You're the main character and your story has been told by an anonymous writer who's just released the details. Here's your reality CLICHED in list form
1. Your parents are dead.
I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, but your parents are dead. Maybe both, maybe one or the other, at least a sibling. Someone in your immediate family is dead. Because being an orphan, half-orphan, or recent only child makes you relatable because no one has a complete, still living family
2. You’ll be in Science Class a lot.
You're a "typical" high school student, but you only attend science classes. Also, you never have homework. Studying is a foreign concept. In said science classes you only ever do lab work and your lab partner is Hotty McGorgeouson. Hotty thinks you're cute which leads to…
3. Instalove!
McG and you have had two full minute-long conversations and now you're in love.
The only thing you know about him is that he broods a lot {brood is a keyword, it's used often to emphasize his mysterious appeal}, has long, lean pulsating muscles {again, phrasing is key}, and that his past was traumatizing. You don't know what was traumatizing, but you must take Hotty's word that he did nothing wrong and was a helpless victim. The pick axe in the trunk of his car is also just for weekend projects
4. You have no interests whatsoever.
This is key. You must enjoy nothing but spending time with Hotty McG and solving whatever mysterious problem you're “battling.” Your token minority friend will constantly try to convince you to do something with your life, but you manage to resist.
5. You cannot, I repeat, CANNOT do anything for yourself or by yourself.
CLICHED is going for a 1950s housewife mentality in which you may do feminine tasks but are not allowed to save yourself, be heroic in any way, act as anything other than Damsel in Distress, or do anything without Hotty. Think of what the neighbors will say!
6. Stay on script.
Feel like going out of the box? Don't. Have an original, fresh idea? Kill it with fire. The last thing our publisher needs is you becoming a mid-list author because you don't listen. Our study of five real live teenagers has shown that clichés are beloved among YA readers and we must not divert!
There you have it. CLICHED in a nutshell. The next book in the series OVERDONE is set to come out in one year with seventeen more books rounding out the series. Feature films to come. Happy reading everyone!
You may read Cara’s regularly irregular and most charming blog posts and YA Book Reviews at Chasing Words. Drop by.
You're a YA Cliché ~ by Cara Best.
Welcome to your very own YA novel: CLICHED. You're the main character and your story has been told by an anonymous writer who's just released the details. Here's your reality CLICHED in list form
1. Your parents are dead.
I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, but your parents are dead. Maybe both, maybe one or the other, at least a sibling. Someone in your immediate family is dead. Because being an orphan, half-orphan, or recent only child makes you relatable because no one has a complete, still living family
2. You’ll be in Science Class a lot.
You're a "typical" high school student, but you only attend science classes. Also, you never have homework. Studying is a foreign concept. In said science classes you only ever do lab work and your lab partner is Hotty McGorgeouson. Hotty thinks you're cute which leads to…
3. Instalove!
McG and you have had two full minute-long conversations and now you're in love.
The only thing you know about him is that he broods a lot {brood is a keyword, it's used often to emphasize his mysterious appeal}, has long, lean pulsating muscles {again, phrasing is key}, and that his past was traumatizing. You don't know what was traumatizing, but you must take Hotty's word that he did nothing wrong and was a helpless victim. The pick axe in the trunk of his car is also just for weekend projects
4. You have no interests whatsoever.
This is key. You must enjoy nothing but spending time with Hotty McG and solving whatever mysterious problem you're “battling.” Your token minority friend will constantly try to convince you to do something with your life, but you manage to resist.
5. You cannot, I repeat, CANNOT do anything for yourself or by yourself.
CLICHED is going for a 1950s housewife mentality in which you may do feminine tasks but are not allowed to save yourself, be heroic in any way, act as anything other than Damsel in Distress, or do anything without Hotty. Think of what the neighbors will say!
6. Stay on script.
Feel like going out of the box? Don't. Have an original, fresh idea? Kill it with fire. The last thing our publisher needs is you becoming a mid-list author because you don't listen. Our study of five real live teenagers has shown that clichés are beloved among YA readers and we must not divert!
There you have it. CLICHED in a nutshell. The next book in the series OVERDONE is set to come out in one year with seventeen more books rounding out the series. Feature films to come. Happy reading everyone!
Monday, August 8, 2011
St Louis, Wichita, Memphis & Blytheville Arkansas
Boards on the windows, mail by the door...
why would anybody leave so quickly for?
Dead Rules and Randy Russell (me) are on the road this week.
Talking about ghosts and love at these wonderful Independent bookstores:
Wednesday, August 10, Puddnhead Books, St. Louis (Webster Groves) MO, 7 p.m.
Thursday, August 11, Watermark Bookstore, Wichita KS, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, August 16, The Booksellers at Laurelwood, Memphis, TN, 6 p.m.
Short and sweet, due to the heat, Dead Rules & I will only be at the best bookstores ever.
And I’ll also be signing stock at That Bookstore in Blytheville Arkansas because I love this place! Order the signed first edition from Mary Gay after August 15.
why would anybody leave so quickly for?
Dead Rules and Randy Russell (me) are on the road this week.
Talking about ghosts and love at these wonderful Independent bookstores:
Wednesday, August 10, Puddnhead Books, St. Louis (Webster Groves) MO, 7 p.m.
Thursday, August 11, Watermark Bookstore, Wichita KS, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, August 16, The Booksellers at Laurelwood, Memphis, TN, 6 p.m.
Short and sweet, due to the heat, Dead Rules & I will only be at the best bookstores ever.
And I’ll also be signing stock at That Bookstore in Blytheville Arkansas because I love this place! Order the signed first edition from Mary Gay after August 15.
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