Happy Birthday, Twenty Boy Summer!

June 1, 2009

Today is the official release date for Twenty Boy Summer. Though it snuck into many bookstores early, today is still a special, exciting, amazing day, as it marks the fruition of a dream come true. To celebrate, I’m taking a trip down memory lane with some of the retro posts that highlight my years-in-the-making TBS publication journey.

Retrospective

And finally…

TBS Birthday Plans

Other celebratory activities today?

  • Baking and decorating heart-shaped, TBS-themed cupcakes from scratch for tomorrow’s family book launch party, which will be another fun time in what’s quickly becoming a month-long bookfest.
  • Chatting with Nadine-Stella in 21 Questions on Starry Night and sharing the first ever sneak peek of Fixing Delilah Hannaford, my second novel, which comes out next year. Nadine-Stella is also giving away hardcover copies of Twenty Boy Summer to 5 lucky commenters!
  • For the first stop on a 10-day Traveling To Teens blog tour, learn more about the inspiration behind Twenty Boy Summer at Lauren’s Crammed Bookshelf.
  • Awesome Sarah MacLean, author of The Season, hosts TBS main character Anna Reiley on Inside the Character’s Studio.
  • I might even take a nap later. :-)

Feel the Love

Parties aside, I wouldn’t even be blogging about this if it wasn’t for the love and support of so many friends, family members, writing buddies, my amazing agent, and the whole team of people working hard at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. There are so many wonderful people who helped me along the way, and this celebration is as much theirs as it is mine. I’ve thanked many in the pages of Twenty Boy Summer, but there are a few more who deserve a virtual hug today!

  • Sarah Dessen. Without even knowing it, YA author Sarah Dessen inspired me to write for teens way back in 2004. Today, I get to thank her publicly as part of The Sarah Dessen Diarist’s Sarah Dessen Celebration.
  • The 2009 Debutantes. The Debs is a wonderfully supportive community of fellow debut YA and MG authors who are made of awesome. We laugh. We cry. We send chocolate.
  • The Word Ninjas. The Word Ninjas is a new collaborative of debut authors and YA book bloggers working together to introduce new YA reads to the world. The bloggers working on Twenty Boy Summer and the other ninja books are incredible and passionate and excited and it’s really been an honor to work with them. Watch for more fun ninja TBS stuff throughout June!
  • The YA Book Blogging Community. I have met so many amazing readers through the YA book blogging community that to name them all would take about a thousand separate blog posts! Every Friday, we introduce one of these bloggers on fLiP iT fRiDay, but in the mean time, I’d like to thank ALL of them for their viral-like support of TBS and other debut YA books. They’ve read and reviewed, hosted contests and interviews, shared books with their friends and family, stalked me in NYC (okay, I encouraged the stalking!), and honored me with things like Jordyn’s 2-week-long TBS Countdown, taking tons of pictures of TBS in the wild, and kicking off my release day with this heartwarming surprise:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU9GkdTKYG0

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you to all of the readers, librarians, booksellers, teachers, bloggers, publishers, and all those with whom I share my love of books and reading and storytelling. I’m overwhelmed by your support and encouragement and enthusiasm for Twenty Boy Summer and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate this day than with all of you.

    Happy Birthday, Twenty Boy Summer!

5 Comments | books, friends and family, memories, publishing, writing | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Ockler

Workspace Show & Tell: First Vlog Ever

April 14, 2009

Sharon at Seven Book Babes talked me into doing a guest video post with only a few threats of violence. She’s learning to be nice, and I’m learning how to talk in front of a camera with smaller doses of rambling, stuttering, lisping, and fidgeting. Enjoy!

6 Comments | Buffalo, books, home, writing | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Ockler

Typecasting Creative Types

March 8, 2009

“We see you as this kind of artist…”

It happens on all the talent search reality shows: American Idol. America’s Next Top Model. The one about… well, okay, so those are the only two talent search reality shows I’ve seen, but that’s a statistically relevant sample, right?

Anyway, on both shows, I’ve consistently heard comments like:

  • “We see you as a really wholesome commercial pop singer.”
  • “You’re definitely a high-fashion, runway type.”
  • “Country music is your zone, not hip-hop.”
  • “You’ve got that commercial appeal. Not high fashion, but definitely Seventeen magazine stuff.”
  • “I see you recording a bluesy rock record, not pop.”
  • “Not sure about fashion, but you could definitely sell makeup with that face.”
  • “You’re more like a Kelly Clarkson rocker-girl type.”

And the judges or mentors or hosts (in other words, people who are experienced and presumably know best) are always so certain about it. It’s never “Hey, you’ve got a really fresh face. Have you thought about makeup modeling?” or “The fans seem to love when you chose the rock songs over the country. How do you feel about that?” It’s always “You’re going to do this…” and “We see you doing that…”

Identifying and encouraging someone’s particular talents and strengths is great, but what if that person doesn’t want to be a rocker girl? What if she wants to be a soulful blues diva? What if that model turning heads on the runway wants to be in Seventeen magazine selling lip gloss? Should she give up, and focus her efforts on the strengths identified by the industry pros? Follow the “safe” path that everyone has already assumed for her?

Typecasting

The film term is typecasting — to cast repeatedly in the same kind of roles. And just as with singers, actors, and models, it happens with writers, too. Sometimes it’s the author’s choice. I mean, if the books are selling, why mess with a good thing? Or, if you love writing a particular genre, and that’s your passion, why switch if you’re not interested in exploring other options? Other times, I wonder about the publisher’s influence. Has Stephenie Meyer ever had this conversation with her editor?

  • Editor: Steph, baby! Your numbers are through the roof! Tell me what’s next in the vampire lineup?
  • Steph: *Clears throat* Well, it’s not so much vampire… I wanted to go in a different direction. Try something new.
  • Editor: Great! We love new! So what is it now, murderous ghosts in high school? A pirate-zombie love story?
  • Steph: *Shuffles papers* No, nothing like that. This one is more… well, there are these baby mice, and—
  • Editor: Perfect! Bringing back the Black Plague. Quarantined at school. A young girl risks her life to care for her plague-infected crush. Yes, yes, yes!
  • Steph: No, not so much. The mice aren’t sick. They’re just trying to find their way home, and they enlist the help of the new girl at school who’s kind of nerdy—
  • Editor: And suddenly the mice turn on her and attack her in the school cafeteria, leaving nothing but her glasses and bones and a warning to all who think it safe to befriend rodents?
  • Steph: Gross. No. More like, they hide out in the girl’s pink glitter unicorn backpack until after school when she can take them to the field across town to reunite with the rest of the mice-clan. No one dies in this book. It’s all very warm and wholesome.
  • Editor: Warm and wholesome? That’s it? Stephenie, are you $#%@ing with me?
  • Steph: No, of course that’s not it! I didn’t tell you the best part. *Raises eyebrows in hopeful expectation* The mice dress like humans, with little mouse-dresses and tiny mouse-spectacles!
  • Editor: *Head explodes*

An unlikely conversation, I know. But as a writer, it’s definitely something I think about (whether my publishers would encourage a departure from my usual thing, not about the Black Plague or mice who wear spectacles). My first two books are similar in genre, tone, and style. I’ve gotten really great, positive, and in some cases totally over-the-moon amazing feedback on them. But that’s not all I want to write. I want to try new things, to push myself creatively. Dark urban fantasy? Middle grade murder mystery? Historical? Why not? Stories are like music. There are only so many words, just as there are only so many notes. But writers have the opportunity to arrange them in limitless ways, to create limitless characters and worlds and plots. Just thinking about all of the possibilities makes me dizzy!

Trying new and crazy things — it’s one reason Radiohead is my fave band. They went through this whole techno kind of phase that I wasn’t into before they returned to their indie rock style roots, but I appreciate that they tried something totally different. And now I’ve learned to enjoy their experimental stuff. I love that they weren’t afraid to break out of their “safe” zone. Simon and Randy might insist they made the wrong song choices, but I’m glad they did it.

That’s exactly the kind of thing I aspire to in my writing, even if Simon or Tyra shake their heads at me all up and down the book shelf! Maybe I’ll find that I suck at historical. That my urban fantasies are tame and weak. But at least I will have tried.

Thoughts from Writers and Readers

What about other writers? What do you guys think? Do you have a safe zone? What is it? Are you comfortable stepping out of it? Do you even want to step out of it, or do you see yourselves developing and perfecting your single style? Is your answer influenced more by the passion in your heart or the straight-up logic of your contracts and finances? Both are very real motivators!

What about you, readers? Do you prefer that your fave authors stick with the genre and style you’ve grown to love, or do you like when authors explore new territory?

Share your thoughts in the comments!

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Posted by Sarah Ockler

Creating Conflict in Fiction: Only Trouble Is Interesting

February 24, 2009

“Conflict is the first encountered and the fundamental element of fiction, necessary because in literature, only trouble is interesting.” —Janet Burroway, WRITING FICTION

In fiction, as in life, trouble comes in many forms. Confrontation. Impossible decisions. Disastrous consequences. Heartbreak. Danger. Anything that interferes with or prevents a character from getting what he or she wants. Without trouble, there’s no story.

One Ring to Rule Them All

Consider J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy trilogy, THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Here are just a few of the many, multi-layered conflicts surrounding the story’s primary quest to destroy the evil One Ring:

  • If not destroyed, the ring could fall back into the hands of the big, bad Dark Lord.
  • The only way to destroy it is to cast it into the fiery chasm from whence it came.
  • Said fiery chasm is far away in Mount Doom, deep within the evil domain of the super scary Dark Lord.
  • The ring tries to corrupt the very beings who swear to protect the ring bearer, putting his life, the quest, and the entire land at risk.
  • The Dark Lord and his evil minions constantly seek the ring, making crossing the lands treacherous for all.
  • If anyone uses the ring, the minions will immediately sense its power and be drawn to it.
  • The ring tempts everyone to use it, weakening them until almost none can resist.
  • There’s a whole ‘nother bunch of evil creatures trying to kick off a war… and so on.

If the wizard Gandalf had the power to destroy the One Ring with just a little hocus pocus, there would’ve been no long and arduous quest to Mount Doom. There would’ve been no fantasy trilogy for film director Peter Jackson to read, fall in love with, and make into a movie, and be warned, friends… that would be a sad, sad day in our shared history.

Without that movie, none of us would’ve seen Viggo Mortenson as Aragorn clad in leather and just the right amount of scruff get all up in the Dead Army King’s face with the best verbal bitch-slap ever: “You will suffer me!”

*Swoon*

Ahem… as I was saying. Trouble. Conflict. It’s what makes story possible.

Making Trouble for Our Characters

Jessica Verday’s Let’s Talk Torture post got me thinking about what writers do to amp up conflict in our fiction. Like Jessica, I don’t generally set out to torture my characters, I just try to tell their stories. But if it’s all roses and easy street, the story fizzles out fast, creating no conflict but my inability to pay the bills when I can’t sell my books. Lucky for me, my agent is great at pointing out when a character’s life is going too smooth. “I really like this,” he might say. “But what can we do to raise the stakes here?”

In other words, how can we turn a ho-hum trip to the nurse’s office for a paper cut into a severed appendage during an earthquake where the character has to chose between saving her thumb or saving her secret crush’s prized Stradivarius violin that he inherited from his great-great grandfather—all that’s left of his family’s legacy—moments before the ceiling in the cafeteria caves in?

Got Conflict?

Writers, how do you cause trouble for your characters? Do you let the story roll out first, seeing what kinds of messes the characters get into on their own, or do you throw bombs in their paths from page one? Do you brainstorm a bunch of “what if” scenarios before writing, or test out different conflicts and ideas as you go? Do your agent or critique partners help you see where the stakes can and should be raised?

And readers, what do you think? How “amped up” do you like your fictional conflict? Do you prefer trouble that’s realistic and reflective of your own struggles in life, or do you like to read about characters whose difficulties are more magnified or exaggerated? What kind of trouble makes a good story for you?

Discuss. Argue. Throw down some verbal bitch-slaps. All in the name of a good story, right? ;-)

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Posted by Sarah Ockler

Party Like It’s, Um, 2009

January 21, 2009

Last night I had this crazy dream in which National Fuel (the gas utility company here in Buffalo) totally shut down, leaving the entire region without heat. I had to trek over to some government agency about said missing heat, along with about 1 million other cold people, and the person working the desk told me she really loved my book and wanted to give it to her supervisor immediately.

Hours later, still waiting in the lobby with all the other cold people to get my heat turned back on, the desk woman tracked me down. She needed me to sign some forms because they wanted to give me a $2 million grant to work on my next book.

“My supervisor really loved your book, miss,” she said, handing me a pen. “And we really just have this money sitting around. We have to give it out in grants. It’s yours.”

2 million dollars. Nice, right? Well I must be some kind of mystic, because when I woke up this morning, well… guess which one of those dreams came true?

Hint: Effing brrrrrrrrrrrrr!

National Fuel didn’t shut down, but my furnace died, and I froze all day, and even though they came and fixed it pretty fast, I’m still frozen, because if I start out the day cold (or with bad hair or in a bad mood), my whole day is shot. And still, hours and hours later, no one has arrived with my $2 million check, despite the fact that I signed about seven different forms for that woman!

Life is, like, so totally unfair.

Effing brrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Speaking of unfair, and waiting around for things that never materialize, yes, I abandoned my faithful blog readers again for nearly a month. A lot of exciting things have happened since I last rambled here, including but not limited to two trips to the ER (only one was my own), the start of a brand new year, and the long-awaited swearing-in of a brand new president.

George, don’t let the door hit you in the…

*Ahem*

Anyway. January is just the beginning. There are lots of fun things happening in 2009, especially on the YA lit front. Check it out:

12 Months of Debsness

On the 15th of each month, you can win a Debsness bag stuffed with goodies from the 2009 Debutantes member authors. All you have to do is leave a comment on the Debsness post and you’ll be entered to win. I’ll put the link up here before the next giveaway.

2009 Debs Blog Tour

Starting in February, running throughout the year, 37 of the 2009 Debutantes will stop by SarahOckler.com during the craziest blog tour in history1. We’ll learn a little bit about their 2009 releases, main characters, interesting trivia, and maybe some other fun stuff, too.

‘09 Debut Authors Challenge

Blogger Story Siren is hosting the ‘09 Debut Authors Challenge for anyone interested in reading a set number of YA or MG novels from debut authors published this year. I’ve been lucky enough to get a sneak peak at several ‘09 debuts in ARC format, with a few more on the way, so I’m excited to be part of the challenge. If you like to read and you <3 YA as much as I do, check it out!

TWENTY BOY SUMMER hits the shelves!

On June 1, 2009, just about two years after finishing TWENTY BOY SUMMER and signing an agent, I’ll get to walk into my favorite bookstore and see it on an actual shelf.

Like, next to other actual books.

That people can actually buy.

And read. OMFG.

*Faints*

1. This claim has not been scientifically proven.

3 Comments | books, publishing, writing | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Ockler

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