Category: Inspiration

Friday Fifteen

Leave a comment

I sat down today to get some major work done, and ended up completely distracted by the SCOTUS ruling in favor of marriage equality. I’m so happy for friends, family members, and other couples and families whose lives are directly affected by this change. Your relationships have always been valid, and I’m glad they’re now supported legally.

So instead of the regular Friday Fifteen, I’m harkening back to the micro-review days of yore. Here are a few of my favorite LGBTQ (mostly) YA novels, reviewed in fifteen words or under:

Far From You by Tess Sharpe
The sleuth-smarts of Veronica Mars meets the self-destructiveness of House, centered around a heartbreaking relationship.

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley
Dual perspectives about two girls on opposite sides of desegregation left me shaking with emotion.

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King
King blends philosophy and magical realism and sexuality and family life together beautifully.

Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You by Peter Cameron
A coming out story that’s sharp, funny, sad, and surprising in turns.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
A hard one to read in many ways, but Cameron’s story is poignant and hopeful.

Baby Be-Bop by Francesca Lia Block
Touching story of coming out, from one of Block’s classic characters.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Surprisingly gentle story of friendship, identity, and coming out, and I loved the parental presence.

Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
Heartbreaking look at family life and gay relationships in the 1980s, via bereft teen June.

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
Lola’s family life, particular her dads, were my favorite part of the story; so genuine.

I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
Told in dual perspectives, Noah’s narration is so sweet and sad.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Amelia Earhart’s Forgotten Footage

1 Comment

Some fun Amelia Earhart news for the week! A film of Amelia Earhart, taken just before her final attempted flight around the world, surfaced recently after sitting on a shelf for fifty years.

In 1937, Earhart was preparing for a flight around the world. Photographer Al Bresnik went to take pictures of Earhart at Burbank Airport, and his brother, John, joined him. Unbeknownst to anyone, John took a short film of Earhart, and his son discovered the contents of the film decades later. Check out some of the footage in the Associated Press clip below:

It’s unclear whether this footage was taken before her first attempt or second attempt, but either way it’s a look at Earhart within a year of her disappearance over the Pacific.

It doesn’t add a lot to Earhart’s history or clear up any details of her disappearance, but for me it’s a reminder that the public is still interested in her life and her story. Learning about her during the research process for The Chance You Won’t Return was awesome, and i loved realizing why Alex’s mom connected to Earhart so deeply. Even these little glimpses of her feel like they give us a clearer picture into who Earhart was and where she went.

A Poem for Runners

1 Comment

Today in the Boston area it’s Marathon Monday, my favorite day of the year. I’ve talked a little before about how I love cheering for all the runners and what the marathon means to me, so today I’ll just share a poem by Irving Feldman called “The Runners.” I especially like these last lines:

“…your hidden heart rejoicing that the quick heel
won’t soon, won’t ever, be overtaken,
although you, as you have longed to, suddenly
disburden yourself and follow follow.”

Click through to read the whole poem, and have a safe and happy Marathon Monday!

A Poem for Tax Day

Leave a comment

Sometimes you realize that you need to get something mailed immediately. Sometimes you end up at the post office without realizing that it’s Tax Day. Sometimes you make mistakes.

Okay, it didn’t end up being all that bad. (The post office had four people at the front desk, which is three times the usual number.) But it did get me thinking about my favorite poet/financial worker, T.S. Eliot, and his poem “The Waste Land.” A poem that begins with the line: “April is the cruellest month” totally gets what it’s like to be in the post office on Tax Day. Also, these lines:

“A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many,
I had not thought death had undone so many.
Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled,
And each man fixed his eyes before his feet.”

So “The Waste Land” isn’t exactly about standing in line at the post office, but that’s one of the great things about poetry–even when you’re feeling annoyed at bureaucracy and your own inability to remember the date, you can connect it with something much more literary and thoughtful. Poems aren’t just for pouring over in English class–they’re part of our everyday lives, if only to keep us amused while we’re standing in line with a few dozen other unlucky people.

Feel free to share your favorite lines/poems for random life events in the comments!

Links Galore

2 Comments

Lots of good links to share:

The Soul of Wit

Leave a comment

A fun look at how stylometry helps prove that Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare’s plays.

I’m always a little baffled when people try to make a big conspiracy theory around Shakespeare. (See also Truman Capote writing To Kill a Mockingbird instead of Harper Lee.) Let the dude have his work!

Also, this is good proof that a writer’s voice is a real thing. Even though Shakespeare wrote sonnets, historical dramas, fantastical comedies, and more, all his works have his particular tone and style.

Maybe you’re not Shakespeare, but you have your own writerly voice. Someone else can be writing about spooky ghosts or family dramas or adventures in space, but your voice is all your own, and that’s part of what makes everything you write unique.

Quote of the Day

1 Comment

“I would say to get the character in your mind. Once he is in your mind, and he is right, and he’s true, then he does the work himself. All you need to do then is to trot along behind him and put down what he does and what he says…You’ve got to believe in him. You’ve got to—to feel that—that what—that he is—is alive, and then, of course, you will have to do a certain amount of—of picking and choosing among the possibilities of his action, so that his actions fit the character which you believe in…But the character’s got to be true by your conception and by your experience, and that would include, as we’ve just said, what you’ve read, what you’ve imagined, what you’ve heard, all that going to giving you the gauge to measure this imaginary character by, and once he comes alive and true to you, and—and he’s important and moving, then it’s not too much trouble to put him down.”–William Faulkner

As always, Faulkner finds the perfect words to describe the creation process. So often I feel like I just need to see in my mind what a character is doing. I can’t force it; I just have to let them walk around so I can “put down” what they say and do.

Check out more of Faulkner’s thoughts on writing here (wahoowa!) and check out more quotes on writing here.

Quote of the Day

Leave a comment

“Writing is a job, a talent, but it’s also the place to go in your head. It is the imaginary friend you drink your tea with in the afternoon.”
― Ann Patchett, Truth and Beauty

This perfectly describes the writing process for me. Yes, it’s a job and can be hard and not everyone has that skill, but it’s also the way I process the world and how I go about my daily life. It makes me think “Oh, I bet this WIP character goes to Catholic school,” or “This is exactly how this WIP character first realized she loved X.” I love spending time in these worlds and with these people who don’t actually exist.

Libraries Are for Everyone

Leave a comment

A moving video about all libraries do for everyone in their communities:

Libraries are for readers, for the young and old, for people who are searching for jobs, for people who are learning new languages, for people who are new to their communities, for people who can’t leave their homes, for people who need some help, for people who want to share their knowledge.

Libraries are for everyone.

Let’s make sure our libraries get the support they deserve.