For Writers - Banned Books Week and Judy Blume

In honor of Banned Books Week, I'm digging back into my SCBWI Conference notes with some nuggets of wisdom from Judy Blume - one of the most challenged authors, and a gamechanger in the children's book world. She was a surprise guest at the conference and a delightful one at that.
There were plenty of takeaways from her visit, but something that resounded with me was the message for writers to stick with it and never give up.

Judy Blume said:

We all started writing not knowing what we were doing, and I am no exception. It may not get easier (there is always the anxiety about writing well), but eventually we can say “I know how to do this!”

Let yourself go when you write! The inspiration will be inside you. When it hits you inside and it's right, then you have to write it. Don't worry who your audience will be, just write.

(Note: None of the above is a direct quote since I don't have a transcript of the interview, but I was taking notes as fast as I could!)


October workshops:

October 3-31 From Homeroom to First Bell - The Hero's Journey in YA - Online
Author Jen McAndrews and Moi explore the Hero's Journey in YA fiction, including
breakdown analysis of popular teen books and movies. Registration here - deadline Oct. 3.

October 17 Writing a Young Adult Series - The Thurber House, Columbus OH
How to develop series fiction for teens and tweens, from the first idea to the last climax.

October 28-30 From Homeroom to First Bell - The Hero's Journey in YA, ECWC, Seattle, WA
Jen and I, same class description as above. We'll talk really fast!


This week's links:

10 Tips Writers Can Learn from Bad Movies (W.I.P. It) Love it.

10 Ways to Increase Story Tension (Cheryl's Musings) Yes.

9 Things That Happen When You Read (Psychology Today) How 'bout when we write? : )

5 Elements of a Riveting First Line (Wordplay) Excellent!

The Psychology of Attraction: Fear (Livia Blackburn) Cool!

Storytelling is Healing (Face The Page) Nice.

Writers Are Like Onions (Victoria Schwab) Re: want & fear & books & bravery & madness

What Elements Make a Good Book? (Wordplay) Excellent quotes.

Finding the Heart of Your Story (Adventures in Children's Publishing) Tip from Donald Maass

Why Writers Write and Readers Read (Writer Unboxed) Common Cause

What Makes Novels Page Turners? (Kill Zone) Keep readers wondering.

Introducing... Backstory (Beyond the Margins) Make your readers crave it.

Thinking about KidLitCon? (Jen Robinson) <<Adventures in Children's Publishing) Love it.

Character Development (Pubrants) Get to know your MC before writing the opening scene.

Does your MC Get the Best Lines? (Character Therapist) If not, think again...

Is your YA Setting Hitting the Wrong Nerve? (YA Confidential) Good

Avoiding Stop-the-Action Description (Artzicarol Ramblings) Keep readers from skimming.

Write. Revise. Rest. Repeat (Bluestocking Blog) With bonus links on each step.

Emotions: Show, Don't Tell (Chatterbox Chitchat) Readers want to FEEL something...

Tragic Monsters (Paranormal Point of View) Write villains who stay in your heart


Now go. Write!

FF - Speak Loudly

Banned Books week starts tomorrow.

I'll tell you right up front that I'm a relatively moderate, Christian mom. I will admit that there are some books I've steered my kids away from when they were younger, because, in my judgment as a parent, I either felt they didn't uphold our family's values or I decided my children weren't ready for the subject matter yet. There are books that I myself prefer not to read because I am uncomfortable with the language or the subject matter. All this may make me an unlikely advocate for freedom in reading.

But here's the thing. I choose for me. I choose for my children (until they are old enough to choose for themselves.) But I don't believe I have the right to choose for anyone else.

Do I understand the zeal behind some of the book challenges, especially in schools? Absolutely. We are taught in many a church to stand up for what is right. Some people misguidedly believe this means imposing their interpretation of "right" on others. While I'm sure these people have the best of intentions, that view is, at best, shortsighted. I value the freedom to choose for myself, thank you.

So here I am, a protective mom, speaking up against censorship. We've seen a lot of high-profile banning going on in the past few weeks. But there are quieter bans happening all over. Challenges by some people who haven't even read the books they are questioning. The only way we're going to stop this kind of dictatorship from happening is to speak loudly against it.

For this week's freebie - and a longer-standing commitment - leave a comment below, telling me your views on book banning and censorship. (The winner, as always, will be selected via random name draw, not on the content of the comment, so feel free to be completely honest. But be respectful. I reserve the right to remove argumentative, troll-like comments.) Up for grabs is the last remaining ARC of TRANCE, a signed flat, and a handful of bookmarks. This drawing will remain open until Wednesday, September 29.

Winners! October is for Reading!

Happy October! Book things to celebrate this month:

This week is Banned Books Week. Celebrate your freedom to read and take a stand against book banning!

Teen Read Week is also coming up in a couple of weeks! (October is a great month for reading!!!) A great way to celebrate:

Check out Kelly Parra's Secret Fates Extravaganza! A whole month of authors and giveaways to celebrate the release of INVISIBLE TOUCH! (And I'll be joining the party to give away books!)

If you love thrillers, you won't want to miss Karen Dionne's launch party for her new book, FREEZING POINT. (Not YA, but I am a huge thriller fan, plus I had a chance to read an ARC over the summer and I can tell you, FREEZING POINT = awesomeness.)

Watch for Melissa Walker's ongoing Cover Stories posts on her blog each Monday. (The story behind the DEATH BY series covers is up this week!)

Don't forget for your chance to win books and prizes all month right here on the blog!*

Speaking of... I need to announce last week's winners!!!

MS. ZEPHYR'S NOTEBOOK winner: Julian from Whytecliff

Starbucks Chocolate winner: Susan Adrian

Congrats! Please send me your mailing address at gerb at lindagerber dot com.

Have a great month of reading, everyone!!!

* Thanks to those of you who have pointed out that my RSS feed reader isn't working. I am trying to resolve the issue. Seems I get it ironed out and then it's not working again. I appreciate your patience!!!