Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Unpacking, and Adventures in Boston


For the past couple of weeks, since returning from my Texas trip, I haven’t been writing. It’s the first extended break I’ve taken since I can remember. And I’m taking this break because I have been, finally, unpacking case after carton of books – one of the last of the moving-into-a-new-home tasks.

Too many books??
All this sorting and sifting is good for the mind and great for the library. For the first time I can put picture books together, and alphabetize my YA collection (heck, might as well!) I’ve found duplicates of some books – time for the library sale – and others, well, I wonder why I have them on the shelf. I’ve found a number that must be added to my TBR pile. Some books the family has outgrown, and some I separate to highlight in a treasured spot.

This is much like what I have to do to my manuscript when I pick it up again next week, especially after this bit of time and distance. Some scenes need to be cut and some reordered so they work better with their neighbors. Some choice phrases turn up once too often. I’ve outgrown some clichéd expressions and I find passages of which I can be just a little proud. Putting my words in a box and taping it up for a while is the best way to view them all with a fresh eye.

In other news, I’ll be in Boston next week, speaking on two panels at the annual AWP conference at the Hynes Convention Center, with a bunch of my 2k10 friends (Michele Corriel, Swathi Avasthi, Leah Cypess, and Alexandra Diaz) and Anna Staniszewski. We’ll be speaking on Craft in YA on Thursday at 4:30PM, and Marketing Techniques on Friday at 10:30AM. And on Saturday March 9 from 10:30-noon I’ll be signing my books in the Vermont College of Fine Arts booth (#312). Come see us!

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