Friday, January 18, 2008

Mermaid Mania -- Robin

Yes, I have Mermaid Mania. It’s getting a little out of control, really. I’ll tell you what happened. It’s a sweet story about three very good friends. It’s also a story about me being a dork.

A few days ago, I needed help. My agent and I decided it would be best if I switched gears for a while and revisited the young adult novel I’d been working on. We decided on a deadline to revise the novel, after which I would happily get back to my middle grade book. It sounded like a reasonable idea.

But my YA has been sitting in a drawer (I think that sounds more interesting than “in an electronic file on my laptop”) and I haven’t looked at it in almost a year. When I did, I realized…I needed help.

Enter the Mermaids. We held an emergency meeting at our favorite coffee shop and problem-solved my novel for almost three hours. We added storylines, took out storylines, changed family dynamics, and strengthened the characters’ motivations. We also drank a lot of coffee and made a lot of crude attempts at humor. I’ll never look at the paintings in that coffee shop the same way again.

Later that night, we all e-mailed each other to say thank you and to summarize what we’d learned (in a Doogie Howser sort of way). My husband rolled his eyes and told me to go to bed. But when I put on my pajamas, I didn’t realize that I had put on my Disco Mermaid t-shirt (the one with the Don Tate designed logo…I love that shirt!).

I started to change into another shirt, but my husband told me not to take it off…that he’s come to accept that this is who I am. A dork.

(Hey! He married me! Now who’s the dork? Eh?)

- Robin


Bonus Post:
I saw the best bumper sticker today. It said…

Wag More
Bark Less

8 comments:

Kim / POWER OF RUN said...

You mermaids are awesome and so lucky to have each other.

Disco Mermaids said...

I'm gonna have to order another Mermaid t-shirt soon cuz mine's been worn thin.

Glad to know I'm not the only dork in this group!

- Jay

Stephanie J. Blake said...

There is a special safety in numbers (of the dorks) in kidlit.

I for one think dorks are very special people.

Disco Mermaids said...

I agree CW...I feel I'm among friends.

;-) Robin

Laini Taylor said...

This is wonderful. You guys are awesome. Now, please come fix my book!!! Coffee's on me :-)

Don Tate II said...

Best of luck to you, Robin, with the novel. You deserve to sell that baby! So much work. I'm in awe of your -- and writers in general -- patience.

Melissa Walker said...

Love that bumper sticker, and the support group you guys have cultivated. A tough balance to strike, this type of friendship. Celebrate it!

Anonymous said...

It's so wonderful that you have other writers who are willing to drop everything and help you rework your novel. Kudos to all of you. As for the bumper sticker, I LOVE it! Am thinking about seeing where I can find one for my own bumper.