Inspiration

Writey Friends and Exciting News!

by sarahenni on April 5, 2012

I am way, way beyond excited to be writing this post right now. My amazing friend, critique partner, and the person who taught me The Ways of Tumblr Sumayyah Daud appeared in Publisher’s Marketplace today:

Sumayyah Daud’s debut BEGIN AGAIN, about a seventeen-year-old girl trapped inside a pseudo-reality of her own making, trying to discover what secrets she has locked inside her own mind, before it’s too late, to Julie Strauss-Gabel at Dutton, byAmmi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency (World).

I’m ecstatic. I’m thrilled. Above all things I’m so PROUD of Sumayyah for writing this incredible book!

That's Sumayyah, with other super-ladies Kaitlin Ward and Kirsten Hubbard

I met Sumayyah when Suzanne Collins came to town, and for the last two years I have lured her to Shake Shack to get her crazy-smart opinions on Sherlock, Game of Thrones, and all things YA. I jumped at the chance to beta read for her, and guys, Begin Again knocked me out. I stayed up all night reading it.  I can tell you that:

  1. There is a boy. His name is James because he is perfect. And sorry but he’s totally mine, though Dawn and I may need to have a knock-down drag-out over this.
  2. There is a world and a story that is so beautifully created it will completely suck you in.
  3. Kiran. KIRAN. She is a strong, complicated, intelligent, awesome character that I can’t wait for you all to meet.

Congrats, girl. I couldn’t be happier for you. Next shake is on me!

Tagged as: DC Mafia, EXCITE, Inspiration, Sumayyah, writey friends

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Third Month’s a Charm

by sarahenni on March 2, 2012

I don’t know about you, but that February lasted just a little too long for me. It feels like March is really when 2012 is going to kick off, not to mention daylight savings and The First Day of Spring and spring break…etc etc! There’s also a pretty funny trend about March that I’ve noticed: people tend to use that month to challenge themselves to do things.

I mean, beyond March Madness (SO EXCITED), I’ve seen people participating in Mustache March, 30 Days of Lists*,Cory Jackson’s Change Write Now gears up for a second go-round, and my friend Jessica is doing her own 30 Days of Books personal challenge.

The challenge I am accepting, Barney Stinson style, was introduced to me by Katy Upperman and organized by this lovely Kiwi:

If you don’t want to follow the link, here’s the challenge breakdown. Take an image inspired by the prompt for each day and post it on Twitter, using the #MarchPhotoADay hashtag.

Fun, right? And pretty darned easy. I’m looking at it as a great way to do something creative every day BESIDES writing. Sometimes changing my thinking, ever so slightly, is the best way for me to get re-inspired.

So! Here was my Day 1 photo, “Up.”

(This isn’t one of those tortured artist pictures or anything. This is literally the view of my hotel room’s ceiling as I lay in bed yesterday. With the awesome filters on instagram, the shadow looked quite ominous and cool, I thought.)

What about you?? Are you challenging yourself to anything this March? Do you know of any other fun challenges? Do share! And if you’re doing the pic-a-day challenge, let me know!

Tagged as: If you think I am doing this because I am jealous I can't participate in Mustache March you are SO RIGHT, Inspiration, Instagram, Katy Upperman, March Photo a Day, My Inner Tortured Artist, Photos

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2012 Motto

by sarahenni on January 2, 2012

This post was first published on January 1 last year, but  it worked so well that I’ve decided to use the same motto for this year, so it applies now more than ever.

I am often late to things. And by things, I don’t mean birthday parties or brunch. I mean like, late to the airport. So late that I miss flights. Sometimes. Okay, often. (This is really fun for my friends and family, let me tell you.)

I used to be late and then freak out. On the metro, in the taxi, in the check-in line, in the security line. Like, cursing myself and stomping my feet and shaking. This was a stressful and not terribly productive use of my time. I gained wrinkles and lost some hair doing this.

Then one day, as I was in the shuttle on the way to the airport trying not to check my watch every three seconds or bite my nails to bloody stumps, I thought of something. A little phrase that stood out, rooted itself in my mind, and allowed me to breathe easier:

I am when I am.

Now when I’m in line, or on hold, or in traffic, I repeat this to myself and it helps keep me calm. It’s a calming dose of reality, like the strangely humbling comfort John Lennon always gave me in “All You Need is Love” when he said there was nothing you can sing that can’t be sung, nothing you can make that can’t be made, and nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time. You can only be where you are, in that moment.

2012 is going to be a year of change. Lots of important, exciting things are or could happen. But I can’t rush them, or will them to happen sooner. I can’t pass by them, overeager for the next exciting thing. I need to be calm and present for every moment.

So, I am adopting I am when I am as my official motto for 2011. I’ll think it to myself when friends start to query, but I’m just not ready. When friends get agents before me, and start the publication journey I am so anxious for. I’ll be happy for every one of them, and I’ll be happy with exactly where I am. I am when I am, and when things change I’ll be ready.

What about you? What are you doing to prepare yourself for the new year?

Tagged as: all you need is love, Inspiration, motto, quest for zen

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Write Like Mike

by sarahenni on December 13, 2011

Writers don’t get commercials.

Or sponsorships.

There is no championship game.

Most of the world only sees the highly-polished finish product of what we do. They don’t see the blood, sweat, and tears that go into it.

So how do you do it? How do you get yourself in front of the computer every day?

For me, some days it takes a lot of chocolate. But other days I motivate myself like a coach. I dish out the tough love. I tell myself, “Just do it.”

(Cheesy? Yes. Effective? Hell yes.)

These commercials obviously weren’t meant for writers. But Michael Jordon is 1) Awesome and 2) found success at basketball the way we find success at anything in life. He worked hard. He didn’t give up.

Also, he is awesome.

If you are feeling down on your writing and you need something to convince you to keep going, look no further. Mike may not be talking about exactly what we’re pursuing, but dude knows something about achievement. And until Stephen King secures that Gatorade contract, this is the best we got.


Tagged as: Also I want Air Jordans, Inspiration, It's normal to want to watch Space Jam right now, Michael Jordan, Motivation, Write Like Mike is my personal slogan

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Busting the Block

by sarahenni on November 11, 2011

November is flying by, and I’m hearing some amazing word counts from all of you NaNoWriMo-ers! I thought it would be an appropriate time to share the thing that has helped me figure out which way to go when the writing seems to hit a wall.

When a scene is sputtering to a halt and you have no idea what will happen next, do one thing first: step away from the story and change it up. If you’re on a computer, pick up a pen. If you’re hand-writing, pull up a Word document. Maybe just take a walk.

Then, make a list of every conflict that is at play in the story when the scene is happening. I prefer to write out the list, but you could definitely just mull it over. My lists look similar to this:

  • John is angry at Anne because she refuses to believe that Sasquatch is real.
  • Anne is sad/lonely because her brother left for college, leaving just her and her mom.
  • Anne’s mom lost her job and Anne is struggling to help bring in money.

Right about now in the process of making the list, I start to get inspired with ways to make the bad situations even worse. Something that will further one or more of the conflicts, or somehow combine conflicts. For this (completely hypothetical) list, my thought was: “What if Anne helped John with his Sasquatch Watch website to earn some extra money?”

Boom. There’s my next few scenes. Anne calls John and says she’s so sorry for ever doubting that Sasquatch, that majestic cryptozoological wonder, was anything but factually in existence. John rekindles his crush on Anne and leaps at the chance to get her help on his website. Of course, all this helps work toward the eventual super-conflict, when poor John learns that Anne has been lying to him and using his website for money.

(aaaand now I want to write this story.)

Taking a step back and making the list helps me look at the book as a whole more effectively, rather than just wondering “What is happening RIGHT AFTER THIS?” Sometimes that can be creatively stifling.

What about you? What are some writers’ block busting methods you use?

Tagged as: Inspiration, MOAR CONFLICT, NaNoWriMo, Sasquatch?, writers' block, Writing

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Getting the Teen Perspective

by sarahenni on November 8, 2011

Generations are defined by the events that shape them. I’m 26, and I don’t feel that removed from my teen experience. But let’s look at the major events that have happened in my lifetime, that I remember: the first Gulf War, the O.J. Simpson trial, the crazy shambles of the Al Gore vs. George Bush race, September 11th, President Obama being inaugurated (I was totes there!), and the recession.

But a teen right now was born between 1993 and 1998.

To put that in perspective? There are some teens that are younger than “…Baby One More Time.” Yeah. Odds are, they didn’t go see Titanic three times in theaters (I mean, what? Who did that…). The biggest James Cameron movie they know is Avatar. They might not even think Leonardo DiCaprio is hot. (*tears*)

But I really don’t want to turn current teens into “other”—that is not the point of this post. The point is to remind myself, and maybe you if you need reminding, that while writing is a very personal practice, we have to be attentive to the world of the people we’re writing for.

For current teens:

  • The threat of high school shootings has always been present. (Columbine was in 1999.)
  • Google has always been a noun and a verb and the best access to the internet. (No dial up for most of these lucky kids.) (Google history) 63% of teens say they regularly use the computer at home, and nearly half have their own email addresses. (Source)
  • 9/11 happened when they were in elementary school or younger. I doubt many second grade classes stopped to watch what was happening. (My high school teachers didn’t. And shame on them.) But they’ve been living with the political and military fallout from 9/11 throughout their formative years.
  • For these teens, women and minorities regularly run for office, and win.
  • The recession hasn’t caused them to forego insurance payments or refinance their home. It has caused that kind of stress to their parents, who may or may not be honest with their kids about familial financial strain. The recession has also made it harder than ever for regular teens to find easy part-time or summer jobs, something that was an important experience in every former generation.
  • Reality TV has always been part of their culture. (The Real World: New York debuted in 1992.) MTV was at an all-time low before The Jersey Shore became its highest-rated show ever.
  • Speaking of MTV, the network hardly bothers with videos anymore, which industrious music-loving teens can find online now. (And they are—57 million unique viewers watched music videos on Youtube in September alone.) So when Beavis and Butthead returns, not only will most teens not have any memory of the original show, the dudes will be lambasting Snookie and Kardashians instead of music.
  • They’ve been raised in a 24-hour news cycle. MSNBC was founded in 1995; FOX News was founded in 1996.
  • Wikipedia is a font of knowledge they’ve had access to for as long as they’ve had papers to write!

And these are just a few things that came to mind. What do you think? What else can you think of?

(And any actual teens please let me know if I’m getting anything wrong or leaving out something major!)

Tagged as: information, Inspiration, most links ever in one post, repost, research, talkin' bout their g-g-generation, teens, Writing

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RTW: The #1 Reason

by sarahenni on October 19, 2011

Welcome to another Road Trip Wednesday, a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway posts a weekly writing- or reading-related question and anyone can answer it on their own blogs.

This Week’s Topic:

What is your numero uno reason for writing?

My number one, absolute, most head honchoiest reason for writing is that I’ve learned the hard way that when I don’t have a creative outlet, I get cabin fever in my own mind. I withdraw and get antsy, frustrated, snippy, morose. Like a reverse-Hulk situation.

So I try to avoid that, obvs. And honestly, if I was a gifted painter, I would do that. If I could afford a woodworking shop, I would get all Norm Abram on it. But the one thing I’ve always been good at, really good, is writing.

So it’s fun, it’s challenging, it’s emotionally vital to me now, but the real reason I write is because I’d go crazy otherwise! Life is intolerably boring when you don’t put your own mark on the things around you.

What about you?? What is the reason you write?

Tagged as: Inspiration, Measure twice cut once, Road Trip Wednesday, This Old House references FTW, Writing

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