Help! On writing for me and only me

I should write my review of The Near Witch today. (Here's a hint: you should read it.) My brain hurts too much. You're getting writing angst instead.

Sorry about that.

In short? Sometimes the intersection of writing and book blogging sucks. Most of the time, I think it does make me a better writer. Having to think - constantly think - about what I like and don't like in a book does a lot to make me think critically about my writing, and most especially to help me avoid the sorts of tropes and stock characters I hate to read.

Another thing book blogging makes me think about constantly, though, is marketing. And while judging whether or not a current project will sell or get good reviews is certainly a useful ability, it's one that lately I can't seem to turn off: and it's killing me. It's killing all the fun to be had in getting my current story off the ground, because all I can think of is that it's not necessarily one I'd give good reviews as a blogger or one that will be ending up on the NYT bestseller list.

The kicker is that it's not even a project I have real plans to sell. It's one that I'm essentially working on as a long writing exercise to get myself back into the groove, because the last time I finished a novel project was two years ago and that is the most depressing thing ever. So. *pulls hair out*

Here's where I ask for your help, oh infinitely wise readers of this post: has anyone else had this problem? How did you get over it? Any advice on how to get back to writing for me and only me?

Thanks, all, and your regularly scheduled book blogging program will be returning when I can stop crying into my ice cream tomorrow!

Review: Brooklyn, Burning

Brooklyn, Burning by Steve Brezenoff
Goodreads | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

• Why I read it: I <3 NYC, street kids, identity crisis
• Disclosure: Received an e-galley from the publisher via NetGalley. Thanks!

Goodreads blurb:

When you're sixteen and no one understands who you are, sometimes the only choice left is to run. If you're lucky, you'll find a place that accepts you, no questions asked. And if you're really lucky, that place has a drum set, a place to practice, and a place to sleep. For Kid, the streets of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, are that place. Over the course of two scorching summers, Kid falls hopelessly in love and then loses nearly everything and everyone worth caring about. But as summer draws to a close, Kid finally finds someone who can last beyond the sunset.

Review: 

As a subgenre, literary YA can be tricky. An author not only has to have the writing chops to impress adult reviewers; they have to have a premise strong and relevant enough to attract teens. Do it wrong and you end up with straight adult literary fiction, or worse: a bad book. (See: an awful lot of bad books.) With Brooklyn, Burning, Steve Brezenoff comes within a hair's breadth of doing it wrong - but pulls back from the edge just in time to give us one of the strongest releases in any genre, literary or otherwise, that I've seen this year.

The driving plot of Brooklyn, Burning, like 9 out of 10 books I've seen this year, is a romance. What makes this book the 1 book in 10 I actually remember and think about often is the way Brezenoff goes about constructing that romance with the perfect blend of adult social commentary and genuine teenaged tension.

The social commentary part: the gender of our protagonist Kid is never made explicitly clear, though you don't realize it was never clear until the very end. The tension part: Kid's falling in love with Scout, and nobody understands, much less approves. Scout might as well be a vampire, he's so far out of Kid's reach. And in fact, the love affair is written with the sort of dreamy grittiness that characterizes the writing of Holly Black or Cassandra Clare.

I didn't make the urban fantasy connection until after I'd turned the final page, but it's a connection I like more and more every time I think about it: because when you're as far removed from being homeless on the streets of New York City as me, the difference between urban fantasy and urban contemporary becomes insignificant in terms of enjoyment of the story. Fiction is fiction is fiction. The world of Brooklyn, Burning may have been (heartbreakingly) inspired by the streets and its characters (heartbreakingly) inspired by real teens, but it exists in the heads of authors and readers as much as that of any other story - so why should there be so many lines drawn between what is real and what is fantasy?

It's just a thought. Maybe I'm going on tangents here - I loved this book so much it tends to make me incoherent. What I can tell you absolutely for certain is this: whatever you think of it, you'll be hard-pressed to find another book like Brooklyn, Burning. It deals with too many "issues" - homelessness, classism, identity, city planning - to list, but never delves so deep it loses sight of the emotional arcs of its characters. It moves in and out of time like Doctor Who on steroids but keeps the story moving; it has beautiful writing in spades and a mystery that's riveting to read. (I actually could have done without the mystery. But I think a lot of people will like it.)

Just read it, is what I'm saying, whether you're a literary YA fan or urban fantasy fan or just a good book fan. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Five out of five stars.

Brooklyn, Burning releases September 28th, 2011.

Middle Grade Monday: Interview with Adrianne Ambrose

Middle Grade Monday is a weekly feature here at Maggie's Bookshelf, written by none other than my real life 11-year-old middle grade sister, Ellie, reviewing what all of the cool kids - read, not teenagers - are reading.

This week, Ellie is thrilled to be making her interview debut with author Adrianne Ambrose, whose middle grade novel What I Learned from Being a Cheerleader Ellie reviewed back in May. 


Take it away, Ellie and Adrianne!


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What character did you feel most like?

In Middle School, I was probably a combination of Bethany and Elaine. I’ve always loved to read and didn’t really care about being popular, but in 8^th grade I landed a spot on the cheerleading squad and the popular girls were not very happy about it. A lot of the cheerleading challenges that Elaine faces in the book were based on my real life experiences.

What part of the book was hardest to write?

The end. Just trying to get all the pieces to come together in a way that felt like I was giving satisfaction to readers, but not going on and on forever.

How long did the book take to write?

Hmmm… I was working on other projects and video games simultaneously, but I’d say about eight months total.

What inspired you to write?

The impetuous to start writing What I Learned From Being a Cheerleader was that I was living in an apartment where we had some very noisy and inconsiderate upstairs neighbors. We tried everything to make them aware that there were other people living in the building that didn’t want to be woken up at three in the morning, but they refused to listen. I started writing the book to vent some frustration with their behavior, but quickly found the voice of Elaine and then the story took on a life of its own.

In general, I’ve always been driven to write and tell stories. Even before I could write on my own, I would dictate stories to my mom and she would type them out for me. When I was younger, I started a ton of stories that I never finished. I’ve become better about that as an adult. ;O)

What advice do you have for girls (like me!) who want to start writing?

Oh good! I’m glad you want to be a writer. My advice would be:

Step 1: Read everything and anything you can get your hands on. Fiction, non-fiction, biographies, etc… Try books that you don’t think you’ll like just to see what’s good or bad about them and why you think they were published. When you finish a book, think about what made you enjoy (or not enjoy) the story. Be aware of the structure of the book - the beginning, middle and end.

Step 2: Write! You’ve probably got a ton of story ideas floating around in your head. Start putting some of those down on paper. You don’t have to write a huge novel, just start with a short story and make sure you complete it. Then try another one, maybe in a different style than your first attempt. The more you write, the better you’ll get at making well-rounded, interesting stories. Very few people get their first, second, or even third novel published, so don’t give up. Write because you love to write.

Which character’s shoes would you most dislike to be in?

Probably Todd’s shoes. He’s popular and good looking in Middle School, but he isn’t very nice and he’s not all that smart. Todd will probably continue to be popular in high school, but once he gets to college he’ll discover that people are a lot more confident and able to stand up for themselves. His popularity will take a nosedive. Being a jerk isn’t going to get him very far in life.

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Thanks as always for the real live middle school insights, Ellie, and for the wonderful interview, Adrianne! If you haven't read What I Learned from Being a Cheerleader already, Ellie says you should. And for YA readers, check out Adrianne's YA vampire comedy Fangs for Nothing, available for $0.99 for the Kindle from Amazon! Or you can follow her on Twitter @AdrianneAmbrose and her blog.

Frustrating things.

It's exactly four weeks today since I fell off an innertube at a family reunion, presumably hit my head, and got a concussion. Two appointments with my doctor, two more with a physical therapist, a trip to a pediatric neurologist two hours away, five prescription medications, three hours in the ER, and some serious bloodwork later, I don't feel any better.

Obviously, this is a problem, and it's becoming pretty clear that it goes deeper than the concussion. Unfortunately, we don't know how much deeper or why, which it's safe to say is pretty much the most frustrating thing ever.

Here's to hoping this all gets sorted out soon, and that you all keep on rockin' just as much as usual till I get back to normal. Happy reading!