When I have writer’s block, Blogging is like a laxative…it loosens me up and gets the juices flowing.
If I were a superhero, I’d be Analogy-Girl. My super power would be that I could rattle off an analogy for anything. This power wouldn't save the planet or fight crime or anything, but it sure would come in handy when I enter the World Series of, um, Analogy-Making. Is that a reality game show yet? Well, it should be.
True story…I was once asked in an interview (clearly a test of how well I could think on my toes) to explain how a Turkish carpet salesman was similar to lime Jello. Believe it or not, I spun around a few times, grew a golden A on my chest, sprouted a flowing cape, tights and a boostier, and became Analogy-Girl…armed with a kick-ass answer!
Since this is my one and only talent in the world, I thought, what better place to showcase it than on our Blog site. God bless the internet!! Let’s test my skills, shall we? Okay, I have no witnesses, so you’ll just have to trust me. I’m taking random words out of a book right now, writing them down, and I will use them to create several analogies. Here they are:
book, snowflake, people, flower, run, write, car (let’s call it a Porsche, just to make it interesting), puppy, adolescence
Here we go. Drum roll, please…
Writing a book is like running long distance…the process is fun and finishing is extremely rewarding, but if you do it for too long, you just end up exhausted with stiff joints and pain in your back and butt.
People are like snowflakes, floating randomly through life. Some latch onto others, some become nothing at all, and some are destined to be part of something big. But they all evaporate in the end.
Books are like flowers. Most have the power to bring joy into our lives. Some lose their luster after a while, some will grow to be huge, and some, no matter how wonderful and perfect, will sit alone waiting to be picked up.
Adolescence is like a Porsche…quick, obnoxious, and loud. And if you take it too fast, it can kill you.
Life is like a puppy…it can be playful and loving, but sometimes it craps on you or bites you for no reason.
Damn, I’m good! And that only took me, like, five minutes. I can analogize about anything.
Go ahead. Challenge me! Throw some words my way…you know you want to.
--Eve
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Monday, August 28, 2006
Choose Your Own Free DVD
You may have read Jay’s love letter to Choose Your Own Adventure books. Lucky for us, the makers of a new Choose Your Own Adventure DVD series also read that post…and sent us a free DVD! Since we’re always looking for an excuse to squeeze in some quality Disco Mermaid time, we decided to review their first release (The Abominable Snowman) together. We went to Eve’s house (because she has the biggest TV), ordered pizza (where we each got to Choose Our Own Topping…pepperoni, black olives, and mushrooms), went to the living room (where we each got to Choose Our Own Seat…Robin and Eve on the couch, Jay on the floor), and popped in the DVD. Here's what happened on our adventures:
The main characters were narrated by William H. Macy, Frankie Muniz, Lacey Chabert, and Daryl Sabara. At several points in the movie a timer popped up and we had to select between two options to continue the story.
PRE-CHOICE...or HOW THE ADVENTURE BEGINS:
Uncle Rudy (already in Nepal) invites Benjamin, Crista, and Marco to join him in a Yeti search. The three children meet a Sherpa guide and hop on a plane to link up with their uncle. But the plane starts having engine trouble mid-flight…
PRO-CHOICE...or OUR CHOSEN ADVENTURES:
Robin - stays in the plane, crash lands, survives an avalanche, follows yak poop to a house, leaves house, survives a snow storm and falling ice, finds Uncle Rudy, visits a temple, argues with Uncle Rudy about the dangers of too much adventure, offered the choice of a safe and lonely life or a risky adventurous life…chooses adventure, Sherpa turns into a Yeti and flies everyone Peter Pan-style to Shangri-La (elapsed time: 22 minutes)
Jay - parachutes out of the plane, chooses between two Sherpas, goes to base camp, survives cracking ice lake, follows Yeti prints, partakes in a snowball fight, runs screaming from a bear (elapsed time: 15.5 minutes)
Eve - follows Jay until the Yeti prints, follows Uncle Rudy’s prints instead, goes to a monastery, gets sick (though it looks like a bad acid trip), catches up with Uncle Rudy, becomes a member of a famous explorers society, takes a picture of two Yetis, leaves for a brand new adventure in Paris (elapsed time: 22 minutes)
PERSONALITY PROFILE (not part of the DVD, just something we figured out based on our choices):
Robin - the cautious Disco Mermaid, but easily talked into letting loose
Jay - the goal oriented (read: anal) Disco Mermaid, sometimes sacrifices the journey for the destination (leading to premature death by bear claw)
Eve - the adventurous Disco Mermaid, always winds up in Paris
EVALUATIONS:
Robin - I really love the idea of using DVDs for a ChooseYour Own Adventure series. There were some big stars involved, too—the guy from Fargo, the kid from Malcolm in the Middle, the cute little girl from Party of Five, and the talented one from Desperate Housewives. I think kids, probably six and over, will enjoy choosing what’s going to happen next. I wish I could’ve had longer to make my decisions—the clock ticking made me feel rushed and scared of making the wrong choices. And if there’s more than one person in the room, or if you’re a highly dysfunctional group (i.e. Robin-Jay-Eve) there may be a lot of shush-ing going on in order to follow the story line. And speaking of story line, luckily, I made all the “right” decisions and my adventure ended with me flying through the sky while holding hands with aYeti…something I’ve always wanted to do!
Jay - I thought it was great! I can see kids having just as much fun with this as with the books (it’ll probably even encourage them to read the books for further adventures…always a good thing). I liked the humor (especially the penguin butt joke), enjoyed the animation, and found myself really caught up in discovering what would happen because of my choices. Because I recently read several of the books with my niece and nephew, I wasn’t too thrown by the weird endings (the DVD doesn’t try to follow the book, and both forms of adventure often have abrupt or random story endings). I’d give these as gifts over regular DVDs because they don’t allow the viewer to be passive.
Eve - The first thing I noticed was how weird Frankie Muniz’s voice sounded. Kind of a mix of a young Joe Pesci and Kermit the Frog. Once I got over that, I found the DVD quite entertaining. But although it started out with promise, the endings all seemed a little abrupt and strange. I chose to have fun on my adventure and chose the wild paths, like “parachute out of the plane” and “go to the Buddhist temple.” I did find the Abominable Snow-guy at the end, but it was surreal and quick…I saw him through the window of a building and he was hanging out in the shrubs with a little Abominable Snow-girl. They waved and I…I mean, the characters…waved back, we took a picture of them, and then we decided to get up and go to Paris! Huh?? Again, I did have fun, and I think children will, too. The humor and duration seemed appropriate for kids 6-9, and although we were screaming about how little time we had to make our decisions, I think keeping things quick paced is a good idea for the little ones…like you’re on a real adventure and have to decide your fate fast. This would be a great activity for sleepovers or family nights in. Fighting over which path to take before the little timer thing ran out was the most fun part for us. Well, that and watching Jay get eaten by a bear within the first three minutes…that was awesome!
BONUS FEATURES:
- a music video with clips from the movie
- “In the Shadow of the Himalayas: How People Live in Nepal” - a great 28-minute documentary about Nepal (where the movie is set) which uses students from Seattle and their sister school in Katmandu to keep it kid-friendly
- a 10-minute behind-the-scenes featurette (which Jay kept pausing whenever Lacey Chabert appeared on the screen)
- an Adventure Journal tucked into the DVD case with lots of fun facts and photos of Nepal (including info on Sherpas, animals, the language, and myths)
CONCLUSION:
It’s amazing no one turned the Choose Your Own Adventure books into interactive movies until now. The makers of this DVD series will probably sell a ton of copies because of the animated movie alone. But they took the concept beyond what was necessary and made it a fun educational experience, as well.
The main characters were narrated by William H. Macy, Frankie Muniz, Lacey Chabert, and Daryl Sabara. At several points in the movie a timer popped up and we had to select between two options to continue the story.
PRE-CHOICE...or HOW THE ADVENTURE BEGINS:
Uncle Rudy (already in Nepal) invites Benjamin, Crista, and Marco to join him in a Yeti search. The three children meet a Sherpa guide and hop on a plane to link up with their uncle. But the plane starts having engine trouble mid-flight…
PRO-CHOICE...or OUR CHOSEN ADVENTURES:
Robin - stays in the plane, crash lands, survives an avalanche, follows yak poop to a house, leaves house, survives a snow storm and falling ice, finds Uncle Rudy, visits a temple, argues with Uncle Rudy about the dangers of too much adventure, offered the choice of a safe and lonely life or a risky adventurous life…chooses adventure, Sherpa turns into a Yeti and flies everyone Peter Pan-style to Shangri-La (elapsed time: 22 minutes)
Jay - parachutes out of the plane, chooses between two Sherpas, goes to base camp, survives cracking ice lake, follows Yeti prints, partakes in a snowball fight, runs screaming from a bear (elapsed time: 15.5 minutes)
Eve - follows Jay until the Yeti prints, follows Uncle Rudy’s prints instead, goes to a monastery, gets sick (though it looks like a bad acid trip), catches up with Uncle Rudy, becomes a member of a famous explorers society, takes a picture of two Yetis, leaves for a brand new adventure in Paris (elapsed time: 22 minutes)
PERSONALITY PROFILE (not part of the DVD, just something we figured out based on our choices):
Robin - the cautious Disco Mermaid, but easily talked into letting loose
Jay - the goal oriented (read: anal) Disco Mermaid, sometimes sacrifices the journey for the destination (leading to premature death by bear claw)
Eve - the adventurous Disco Mermaid, always winds up in Paris
EVALUATIONS:
Robin - I really love the idea of using DVDs for a ChooseYour Own Adventure series. There were some big stars involved, too—the guy from Fargo, the kid from Malcolm in the Middle, the cute little girl from Party of Five, and the talented one from Desperate Housewives. I think kids, probably six and over, will enjoy choosing what’s going to happen next. I wish I could’ve had longer to make my decisions—the clock ticking made me feel rushed and scared of making the wrong choices. And if there’s more than one person in the room, or if you’re a highly dysfunctional group (i.e. Robin-Jay-Eve) there may be a lot of shush-ing going on in order to follow the story line. And speaking of story line, luckily, I made all the “right” decisions and my adventure ended with me flying through the sky while holding hands with aYeti…something I’ve always wanted to do!
Jay - I thought it was great! I can see kids having just as much fun with this as with the books (it’ll probably even encourage them to read the books for further adventures…always a good thing). I liked the humor (especially the penguin butt joke), enjoyed the animation, and found myself really caught up in discovering what would happen because of my choices. Because I recently read several of the books with my niece and nephew, I wasn’t too thrown by the weird endings (the DVD doesn’t try to follow the book, and both forms of adventure often have abrupt or random story endings). I’d give these as gifts over regular DVDs because they don’t allow the viewer to be passive.
Eve - The first thing I noticed was how weird Frankie Muniz’s voice sounded. Kind of a mix of a young Joe Pesci and Kermit the Frog. Once I got over that, I found the DVD quite entertaining. But although it started out with promise, the endings all seemed a little abrupt and strange. I chose to have fun on my adventure and chose the wild paths, like “parachute out of the plane” and “go to the Buddhist temple.” I did find the Abominable Snow-guy at the end, but it was surreal and quick…I saw him through the window of a building and he was hanging out in the shrubs with a little Abominable Snow-girl. They waved and I…I mean, the characters…waved back, we took a picture of them, and then we decided to get up and go to Paris! Huh?? Again, I did have fun, and I think children will, too. The humor and duration seemed appropriate for kids 6-9, and although we were screaming about how little time we had to make our decisions, I think keeping things quick paced is a good idea for the little ones…like you’re on a real adventure and have to decide your fate fast. This would be a great activity for sleepovers or family nights in. Fighting over which path to take before the little timer thing ran out was the most fun part for us. Well, that and watching Jay get eaten by a bear within the first three minutes…that was awesome!
BONUS FEATURES:
- a music video with clips from the movie
- “In the Shadow of the Himalayas: How People Live in Nepal” - a great 28-minute documentary about Nepal (where the movie is set) which uses students from Seattle and their sister school in Katmandu to keep it kid-friendly
- a 10-minute behind-the-scenes featurette (which Jay kept pausing whenever Lacey Chabert appeared on the screen)
- an Adventure Journal tucked into the DVD case with lots of fun facts and photos of Nepal (including info on Sherpas, animals, the language, and myths)
CONCLUSION:
It’s amazing no one turned the Choose Your Own Adventure books into interactive movies until now. The makers of this DVD series will probably sell a ton of copies because of the animated movie alone. But they took the concept beyond what was necessary and made it a fun educational experience, as well.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
It's a Plutocracy -- Jay
This whole Pluto-is-no-longer-a-planet thing is a conspiracy. I bet if you check the stock portfolios for the “scientists” who made this decision, over half of them own stock in textbook publishers, scientific poster companies, and manufacturers of planetary models. Follow the money, that’s all I’m saying.
Calm down, Jay. Is that what you’re thinking? Calm down?!?!?! Don’t you realize what this means? It means I have to edit my last middle grade novel one more time if I want it to stay contemporary and not become historical fiction. One of my characters builds a model of the solar system and the ninth planet plays a big part in the climax of the story. At least, it’s a big part for such a teeny-tiny planet. But that’s what Pluto will always be to me. A planet! Oh, and a Disney dog, too...but a Disney dog named after a planet!
I can probably add a couple of lines as to why my character puts Pluto on his model, but why should I have to change my fiction to fit the facts? And what about that mnemonic sentence used to memorize the order of the planets? My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas. What’s it going to be now: My Very Emaciated Mother Joyfully Served Us Nothing?
Damn you, scientists. I was a space-geek in elementary school, too. But I learned from it. It made me stronger. And I promised never to repeat what was done to me. But you...you just can't help picking on the smallest planet in the solar system, can you!
- Jay
Calm down, Jay. Is that what you’re thinking? Calm down?!?!?! Don’t you realize what this means? It means I have to edit my last middle grade novel one more time if I want it to stay contemporary and not become historical fiction. One of my characters builds a model of the solar system and the ninth planet plays a big part in the climax of the story. At least, it’s a big part for such a teeny-tiny planet. But that’s what Pluto will always be to me. A planet! Oh, and a Disney dog, too...but a Disney dog named after a planet!
I can probably add a couple of lines as to why my character puts Pluto on his model, but why should I have to change my fiction to fit the facts? And what about that mnemonic sentence used to memorize the order of the planets? My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas. What’s it going to be now: My Very Emaciated Mother Joyfully Served Us Nothing?
Damn you, scientists. I was a space-geek in elementary school, too. But I learned from it. It made me stronger. And I promised never to repeat what was done to me. But you...you just can't help picking on the smallest planet in the solar system, can you!
- Jay
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
A Shout Out to All the Medium Brains—Robin
I admire people who are smart and stuff. Unfortunately, the smart gene skipped over me and graced itself on the head of every other person in my family.
My brother, a brilliant lawyer, missed one question on his SAT. I think he sneezed and the scantron misread it. My father got his Brilliant Degree from Georgia Tech and has a bit of that RainMan complex in which he can tell you the date, time and weather condition of virtually every historical event ever. My mother was named the most brilliant educator in, like, the entire state. Now she’s retired and gardens. But, oh no, she’s not just a gardener. The state of Georgia has named her a “Master Gardener.”
Good grief, people.
So what’s my contribution? What is it that I do with my medium brain?
I put words together on paper with the hopes of making 12-year olds giggle.
My big-brained family is an understanding group, though. They often come over to me, pat me on my smallish head and say, “There, there. There, there.”
I also admire smart people who quote from famous literary works. My mouth drops whenever I hear someone quote Shakespeare or Thoreau or Dickinson.
Personally, I like to quote from Stouffer: “Cut a slit in the wrapper and microwave for 5 minutes on HIGH.”
My other source of quotes is one that my medium-sized brain can truly understand…cheesy movies. And with that, I give you my list of top movie quotes that I often incorporate into my every day language. (Yes, my language is stilted and trashy.)
And since this has been a week full of contests, I challenge you to guess which movies these classic lines come from. (If you guess one correctly, you get a lollipop from me…at next year’s conference! Oh, come on, it’s worth the wait!)
Some quotes are from the same movie, but they’re just that meaningful!
1. “I was born a poor, black child.” (Osceola, you should get that one!)
2. “Anywhere between the thimble and the box of matches.”
3. “And over there’s the divan, for socializing and whatnot.”
4. “What’s your victor, Vector?”
5. “We’re the Judea’s People’s Front. We’re the People’s Front of Judea!” (Don’t ask me how I use that in every day conversation.)
6. “It goes to eleven…” (Too easy, huh?)
7. “Can I borrow your panties, for like, five minutes?”
8. “Grandparents forgetting a birthday…they live for that sh*#!”
9. “You want, like, ten thousand of his babies.”
10. and finally…”Did you have brain tumor for breakfast!?”
Did anyone get any of those? “Anyone, anyone…” (See how this works!?)
If you have any to add to these ten, please educate my medium brain. (Though it actually only goes to 20.)
--Robin
My brother, a brilliant lawyer, missed one question on his SAT. I think he sneezed and the scantron misread it. My father got his Brilliant Degree from Georgia Tech and has a bit of that RainMan complex in which he can tell you the date, time and weather condition of virtually every historical event ever. My mother was named the most brilliant educator in, like, the entire state. Now she’s retired and gardens. But, oh no, she’s not just a gardener. The state of Georgia has named her a “Master Gardener.”
Good grief, people.
So what’s my contribution? What is it that I do with my medium brain?
I put words together on paper with the hopes of making 12-year olds giggle.
My big-brained family is an understanding group, though. They often come over to me, pat me on my smallish head and say, “There, there. There, there.”
I also admire smart people who quote from famous literary works. My mouth drops whenever I hear someone quote Shakespeare or Thoreau or Dickinson.
Personally, I like to quote from Stouffer: “Cut a slit in the wrapper and microwave for 5 minutes on HIGH.”
My other source of quotes is one that my medium-sized brain can truly understand…cheesy movies. And with that, I give you my list of top movie quotes that I often incorporate into my every day language. (Yes, my language is stilted and trashy.)
And since this has been a week full of contests, I challenge you to guess which movies these classic lines come from. (If you guess one correctly, you get a lollipop from me…at next year’s conference! Oh, come on, it’s worth the wait!)
Some quotes are from the same movie, but they’re just that meaningful!
1. “I was born a poor, black child.” (Osceola, you should get that one!)
2. “Anywhere between the thimble and the box of matches.”
3. “And over there’s the divan, for socializing and whatnot.”
4. “What’s your victor, Vector?”
5. “We’re the Judea’s People’s Front. We’re the People’s Front of Judea!” (Don’t ask me how I use that in every day conversation.)
6. “It goes to eleven…” (Too easy, huh?)
7. “Can I borrow your panties, for like, five minutes?”
8. “Grandparents forgetting a birthday…they live for that sh*#!”
9. “You want, like, ten thousand of his babies.”
10. and finally…”Did you have brain tumor for breakfast!?”
Did anyone get any of those? “Anyone, anyone…” (See how this works!?)
If you have any to add to these ten, please educate my medium brain. (Though it actually only goes to 20.)
--Robin
Monday, August 21, 2006
The dePaola Coda: A Contest
No, it’s not a typo. This is our coda to The dePaola Code. One last hurrah for the series of posts that launched our blog into a slightly higher stratum of the blogosphere. A lot of ridiculously cool things have happened to us because of The dePaola Code, so we’re offering to rub some of that coolness off on you!
As you may have read, we met Tomie dePaola at the recent SCBWI National Conference. We came prepared with a printed booklet of The dePaola Code, presented it to him, and he loved it! End of story? No. We had a few more copies on our persons and nervously asked Mr. dePaola if he would be generous enough to sign them. We told him that some copies were for us while some were for...our readers! That’s right, we’re giving away two copies of The dePaola Code autographed by The Man himself. As a bonus, they were also signed by--not one--but all three Disco Mermaids.
We know!!!
Okay, so how do you get one of these extremely rare literary masterworks? There are two ways. One, write something that makes us laugh. Or two, draw something that makes us laugh.
FOR AUTHORS: Write the funniest Disco Mermaid joke and an autographed copy of The dePaola Code is yours! “Why did the Disco Mermaid cross the road?” We don’t know…tell us! “How many Disco Mermaids does it take to screw in a light bulb?” We give up! “Three Disco Mermaids walk into a bar…” Good. Keep going! You can e-mail us as many jokes as you want. To find our address, click View My Complete Profile beneath the kissy-kissy picture near the top right corner of our blog. We’ll post some of our favorite jokes before choosing a winner. And if you really want to brown-nose us, post about this contest on your blog. Since there are three of us, if we have a tie, your post will be the tiebreaker.
FOR ILLUSTRATORS: Design a Disco Mermaid logo and The dePaola Code is yours! A mermaid in a Saturday Night Fever pose? Great! Three mermaids in a conga line? Terrific (we especially like the way you put a goatee on one of the mermaids)! You can e-mail the logo to us, but the same tiebreaker rule applies here. So send us a link to your post and we’ll link to your blog.
How long does it take three Disco Mermaids to make a decision? Ooh...sounds like the beginning of a great joke! But don’t worry, we’ll give you ample warning to submit any last minute jokes or to finish your logos.
Good luck…and have fun!
Friday, August 18, 2006
The Trends, They Are A-Changin' -Eve
The other day Robin asked me if I thought the “Chick-Lit” phase would ever go away.
“Of course,” I said. “Something else we never saw coming will soon take its place as the hot new thing.” Just like in fashion. Nothing lasts forever…or does it?
While flipping through the latest issue of Harper’s Bazaar the other day I read the “What’s In, What’s Out” list in horror as I realized that everything I’ve put on my body lately is on the “OUT” side. Wedge sandals? OUT. Chunky layered necklaces? OUT. Boot cut jeans? Definitely OUT. OMG, I’m a walking “Glamour Don’t.”
But there’s more. This fall’s ultimate "must have or you'll look like a total imbecile loser and everyone will laugh at you" piece is… wait for it…
Leggings! HA! That stretchy little piece of spandex that was every girl’s main wardrobe staple in the 1980’s is back! What a crack-up. I mean, no one looked good in them the first time around. Unless you weighed 92 lbs, had insanely good calf and thigh genes, and no cankles (condition where your calf and ankle are indistinguishable, they blend into one).
Someone at the L.A. conference asked me what I thought the hot new kid’s lit trend would be. After careful thought, here’s my conclusion:
Let’ s reject the trends! Chick-Lit one year, fantasy the next. Quiet books are out. Wait. Now, they’re back! Silly picture books? Sooo 2002! Funny middle grade? They don’t sell. Oh, yes. Now they do! Edgy YA? Yawn. Oh, wait. It’s selling like hotcakes again! Jeez. I can’t keep up.
Every year, we conference-goers are advised to follow the current trends. But by the time we get that trendy ms written, into the hands of the right editor, and into Barnes and Noble, that trend is long gone.
The good news is, write what you love and you can rest assured that your genre will pop up again eventually as the hot thing everyone wants. Luckily we writers only have to wait 3-4 years for our trends to recycle; fashionistas have to wait 20-25!
It’s a funny analogy to think about. I mean, will Harry Potter-esque fantasy be the leisure suit of the millennium? Will quiet picture books be like the skort…you know, designers try to push it on us every few years, but it never really sticks? Will edgy Chick-Lit be like hot pants? And in a few years, we’ll laugh and say, “OMG, I can’t believe I read that! What was I thinking?? It made my butt look so fat!”
Funny thing is that just minutes before I wrote this “reject the trends” blog, I was shopping online for…what else?
Leggings! True story.
Eve
“Of course,” I said. “Something else we never saw coming will soon take its place as the hot new thing.” Just like in fashion. Nothing lasts forever…or does it?
While flipping through the latest issue of Harper’s Bazaar the other day I read the “What’s In, What’s Out” list in horror as I realized that everything I’ve put on my body lately is on the “OUT” side. Wedge sandals? OUT. Chunky layered necklaces? OUT. Boot cut jeans? Definitely OUT. OMG, I’m a walking “Glamour Don’t.”
But there’s more. This fall’s ultimate "must have or you'll look like a total imbecile loser and everyone will laugh at you" piece is… wait for it…
Leggings! HA! That stretchy little piece of spandex that was every girl’s main wardrobe staple in the 1980’s is back! What a crack-up. I mean, no one looked good in them the first time around. Unless you weighed 92 lbs, had insanely good calf and thigh genes, and no cankles (condition where your calf and ankle are indistinguishable, they blend into one).
Someone at the L.A. conference asked me what I thought the hot new kid’s lit trend would be. After careful thought, here’s my conclusion:
Let’ s reject the trends! Chick-Lit one year, fantasy the next. Quiet books are out. Wait. Now, they’re back! Silly picture books? Sooo 2002! Funny middle grade? They don’t sell. Oh, yes. Now they do! Edgy YA? Yawn. Oh, wait. It’s selling like hotcakes again! Jeez. I can’t keep up.
Every year, we conference-goers are advised to follow the current trends. But by the time we get that trendy ms written, into the hands of the right editor, and into Barnes and Noble, that trend is long gone.
The good news is, write what you love and you can rest assured that your genre will pop up again eventually as the hot thing everyone wants. Luckily we writers only have to wait 3-4 years for our trends to recycle; fashionistas have to wait 20-25!
It’s a funny analogy to think about. I mean, will Harry Potter-esque fantasy be the leisure suit of the millennium? Will quiet picture books be like the skort…you know, designers try to push it on us every few years, but it never really sticks? Will edgy Chick-Lit be like hot pants? And in a few years, we’ll laugh and say, “OMG, I can’t believe I read that! What was I thinking?? It made my butt look so fat!”
Funny thing is that just minutes before I wrote this “reject the trends” blog, I was shopping online for…what else?
Leggings! True story.
Eve
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