What's up, writers!? How was week five? I got in lots of writing in some fun writing places so that was cool! But I'm in revision mode which is fun in a challenging way but also challenging in a tiring way. I'll talk more about my week in the recap!
This week, I'm thinking about writing what begs to be written. Here's my video and then I'll share a mentor text that inspires me in terms of writing what begs to be written.
Two years ago, I went to a powerful session at nErDcamp Michigan led by Cindy Minnich and Sarah Anderson that was all about sharing diverse books. We all need diverse books...but sitting in that session helped me see how much I need diverse books. To better understand my own story, I spent all last March doing the Slice of Life challenge with Two Writing Teachers and I realized just how much I have to share my stories.
The books in Jenny Han's series To All The Boys I've Loved Before are totally mentor texts for me. Just look at those gorgeous book covers with a clearly Asian main character! I have so much LOVE for these Jenny Han and these stories. These are the kind of books I hope to write (and eventually publish!). In looking closely at my own life experiences and thinking about what books are begging me to be written, I know my heart is in writing books with diverse characters.
You can read my review of To All The Boys I've Loved Before here.
Some quotes that inspire me
from Jenny Han's To All The Boys I've Loved Before:
“Life doesn't have to be so planned. Just roll with it and let it happen.”
“When someone's been gone a long time,
at first you save up all the things you want to tell them.
You try to keep track of everything in your head.
But it's like trying to hold on to a fistful of sand:
all the little bits slip out of your hands,
and then you're just clutching air and grit.
That's why you can't save it all up like that."
Because by the time you finally see each other,
you're catching up only on the big things,
because it's too much bother to tell about the little things.
But the little things are what make up life.”
“How was I supposed to know what’s real and what’s not?
It feels like I’m the only one who doesn’t know the difference.”
And the third book in the series,
Always and Forever, Lara Jean, is due out in 2017!
My Teachers Write Recap:
I spent a lot of time with my words this week...although the majority of my time was spent thinking through revisions and working on my query. I actually wrote the query for this ms before I drafted but now I'm reworking it after knowing what I know from writing the book. It can be complicated, this writing thing, huh?
Anyway, I think my query is in much better shape and now my goal this week is to really zone in on revisions so I can polish this baby up and submit to a contest organized by the amazing Brenda Drake called Pitch Wars. I participated in 2014 and was mentored by Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie. It was an absolutely amazing experience. Submissions open this week so if you have a polished up manuscript, I would definitely recommend joining in! And let me know if you have any questions or if I can help in any way!
1. We respect each other and the type of writing we do.
2. We only offer constructive criticism.
3. We are positive and encourage each other at all times.
4. We recognize and maintain this as a safe environment.
Today, in the comments:
How did you do this week? Did you meet your weekly goal(s)?
Has anything begged you to be written this summer?
Has anything begged you to be written this summer?
What was the pit of your week? (The hardest part, the not-so-fun part?)
What was the peak of your week? (The best part, the most-totally-fun part?)
What are you looking forward to and planning for the week ahead?
What was the peak of your week? (The best part, the most-totally-fun part?)
What are you looking forward to and planning for the week ahead?
P. S. Thank you for replying to each other's comments!
While I read them all and do my best to reply and
reply as soon as possible it doesn't always happen.
I so appreciate you cheering each other on through Teachers Write! You r-o-c-k!
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