Month: April 2011

feelings

fact finding mission

abby mumford

i learned something new the other day. it started off with boredom. boredom with my hairstyle at the same time i had a very posh wedding to attend. clearly i couldn’t show up with the same old hairdo, but my hair is stick straight. if i can get the ends to bend under, it’s a good day. i thought about what to do and decided i wanted something like this:

one problem. i can’t french braid. trust me, i’ve tried. there’s something so elegant and chic and yet casual about it. my friend carrie has worn her hair in a similar style, but i wasn’t sure if she could recreate it on me. as i sat there on the bed and let her nimble fingers twist and twine my hair, i was struck by the thought that i’ve known her for 16 years and somehow didn’t know this one small fact.

she’s a master french braider.

even after all these years, there was something i didn’t know about her. i loved this, but yet, i am freaked out when the character i’m working with (one i’ve known only for a few months) does something unexpected? why is this? why can’t i embrace that newness like i embraced the news about carrie? sure, my character’s not french braiding my hair for me, but that doesn’t mean she’s any less entertaining.

i realize you’re only going to know what people/characters want you to know, but how do you make sure to ask the right questions? and what do you do when something unanticipated arises in the plot or with a character? do you roll with the punches? do you manipulate things to your satisfaction? do you let yourself (and your hair) get twisted up?

general

i haz no words…

abby mumford

…so here, read theirs:

WRITING ADVICE by janice hardy. seriously, everything she says is this “AHA! LIGHTBULB! IS THAT YOU, OPRAH?” moment. the only downside is that she posts so frequently, i find it hard to find the time to read every post because each one deserves to be read with a fine tooth comb. or with a pen and paper for notes. or with a glass of wine. you know, how ever you roll. (also? her books are so so fun. THE SHIFTER and BLUE FIRE.)

HILARITY by allie. this is seriously funny business.

THE SPACE BETWEEN by lauren miller. a post i’ve linked to before but i’m linking to it again because i can’t stop thinking about it. it usually crosses my mind as i glance at the clock which reads 2:15am, 3:27am, 4:12am, 5:34am, etc.

CONVERSATIONS WITH STRANGERS. i came across this blog from her other tumblr site: HGRB. that is a lighthearted blog and perhaps this one started as one too, but it’s evolved into something more. she says this started as a way to combat her shyness and i must say, it’s working. she comes across as confident, witty, and interesting. plus, she always manages to say so much more than just what she writes in each short post. this is a read between the lines keeper!

READING RECOMMENDATIONS by michelle hodkin. a lot of buzz is swirling about michelle’s upcoming novel THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER and while i’ve read the first chapter (and sufficiently scared myself), but aside from all that, i’ve had a few interactions with her on twitter and she is awesome. not to mention yesterday she was giving away free book recommendations (based on the last 3 books you’ve read) in the comments section of the post. her point was that we should all break out of our reading habits. re-reading the comments section is a great way to add to your own TBR list.

this is what my life feels like right now.

anything else YOU’D like to add?

feelings

from their head to the silver screen + a winner

abby mumford

firstly, because i hate waiting, i’m going to announce the winner of the WHERE SHE WENT contest right now. yup, right here at the top of the post. you’re welcome.

congratulations, KELLY B, for this comment:

“She went for a ride
With her guy by her side
They stopped for a pop
And put down the top
He leaned in for a kiss
And trust me, didn’t miss
After, she floated home
Where was she…I say Rome”

because, poetry. enough said. (KB, email me your mailing address and i’ll get the book right out to you!)

and now onto other news. as you know, HUNGER GAMES by suzanne collins is one of my most favoritest books ever and if you didn’t know, it’s being turned into a movie. suzanne collins herself wrote the screenplay, so i’m feeling like this has a shot at reaching a level of awesomesauce that most books turned into movies don’t reach.

and then this week, the castings for the boys in the movie stopped being rumors and  started being confirmed. so now, the main three actors have been finalized. the ladies over at forever YA do a good job of breaking down their (and consequently, my) thoughts, so i won’t ramble on about that when you can just read it here.

it got me thinking though about why fans are so passionate about the actors chosen to portray their favorite literary characters when a book goes to the silver screen. it may seem like a silly thing to get riled up about, but really, it’s not because it goes a little something like this:

author writes book. it belongs to the author.

agent and editor read book. it belongs to author, agent, and editor, as they’ve all made their editorial suggestions, etc.

book is released into the wild where boys and girls and lads and lasses and men and women pick it up, read it, and it suddenly belongs to THEM. they read the author’s words, but they have to use their imagination to picture the characters and places and plots and you bring your own life experience to the page, so the author’s words may direct you here or there, but it feels like YOUR book, YOUR characters, YOUR friend and that is why we so desperately wish our voices could be heard in the casting room. we want to make sure the characters look on screen like they do in our brains.

i know movies and books have different limitations and strengths and weaknesses, so there is a reason most authors have no say in the movie making part of their book, but i can’t help but wish the author, the person who originally dreamt up the story, could have more input. as if movies don’t take long enough to produce, adding that step would probably muck things up even more, so that’s why they let the professionals decide and not the author or the public, but still, HUNGER GAMES is an important movie (to me) and i want it to be right. i don’t know much about the boys they picked, but sister E claims they are good choices, so i’m going to put aside my initial disappointment and hope their acting chops and hair dye match the characters in my head.

plus, THIS ARTICLE makes some valid points and will help me to trust in the professionals who are putting this movie together. and now, we wait until march 23, 2012.

are you excited about the HG cast? don’t care? have you had a book hit the big screen which made you fall in love with the story all over again? saw the movie and held an impromptu wake for the book that died on screen?

book club

WHERE SHE WENT (to japan)

abby mumford

first, there was THIS. and i was blown away.

next, THIS was written. and i couldn’t wait.

then the earthquake and tsunami happened and we all joined together for japan. including this contest by @gayleforman:

RT @gayleforman 10 signed #WhereSheWent. I give $1 to Japan Red Cross for every tweet. You tell me what selflessness is.

for those who don’t speak twitter-ese, let me decode for you. there are two parts. (1) gayle had 10 signed copies of the sequel WHERE SHE WENT and she was going to give them away to those who told her what selflessness was. (2) for every tweet TO her and ABOUT the contest, she would donate $1 to the red cross to help the japanese relief efforts.

the tweets were flying! it was quite cool to read all the other entries. some were serious. some were funny. ALL were helping the red cross. i did my part to spread the word about the contest and then i entered. twice. because selflessness is such a big word, it needed two entries. here were my entries:

@gayleforman selflessness is you donating to the red cross just because we pushed a RT button. #whereshewent

@gayleforman selflessness is my mom. any mom. all moms. well, most moms. #whereshewent

then, i went back to work because well, that’s what i do. plus, they say the good stuff happens when  you least expect it/you aren’t looking. i  checked back into twitter around 5 and found out this:

RT@gayleforman: @abbymumford You get one. For general awesomeness. And specific. [and then she put in some technical information.]

did one of my favorite authors really just pick me? AND call me generally and specifically awesome? heck yeah she did. my winning streak sure is thriving! and NOW, i’m forwarding on the good will and good cheer in two different ways.

(1) gayle has inspired me not only to be a better writer, but to be better, in general, in life, so i’ve donated to shelterbox, the harvard square bake sale, and to the american red cross to benefit japan. it wasn’t much, but i’m happy to add what little i can.

(2) by staging my own contest. that’s right. i’m giving away a brand new (not signed, sorry) copy of WHERE SHE WENT. all YOU have to do, dear readers, is comment below and tell me WHERE SHE WENT.

(you can answer any way BUT seriously because i do not approve of spoilers. the book was just released today, so if you have finished it already, power to you!)

and, GO.

oh wait, i should mention you have until THURSDAY APRIL 7 at 5pm EST to enter. the winner will be announced during my next post on FRIDAY APRIL 8.

now, GO.

feelings

scary 101

abby mumford

it’s a well known fact i’m a wuss. i blame it on my overactive imagination that takes a tiny seed of truth (a pineapple, a monster in the closet, a murderer upstairs while i’m babysitting, an alien, a man hiding in the dark corner, a ghost) and expands it until i am shaking and crying and LIVING MY WORST NIGHTMARE. knowing this about myself has helped me to be proactive about this over the years. i’ve stopped watching scary movies. heck, i’ve even stopped watching scary movie previews. when commercials come on (yes, i know. i watch commercials. i don’t have a DVR. i’m so ancient), i can hit the mute button faster than the first note of the scary music can finish.

i don’t have a finely tuned response towards scary books, though. sure,  i know not to read anything with stephen king on the title, but what about one that says susan beth pfeffer?

LIFE AS WE KNEW IT is easily one of the scariest things i’ve ever read because IT COULD HAPPEN. (it could totally occur within the next ten years. or fifteen. or two.  even with all the technology available today, weathermen are still wrong A LOT, so what’s to say an astronomer or NASA expert couldn’t be way off as well?) this book is also one of the most mesmerizing things  i’ve ever read. i couldn’t stop reading, couldn’t put it down, actually, wait, i did put it down once when i went to check the pantry to make sure there were enough canned goods in there. (read it, you’ll see.) i read this two christmases ago and i STILL think about this book on a weekly basis, which means it should be on my top ten list of great books, but for some reason, i never consider it. probably because it scares the bejeezus out of me and i do my best to forget it, but IT WON’T LET ME. just when i think i’m over it, something like the supermoon happens and i’m right back in the trenches with miranda. this doesn’t make it a bad book. it just makes it a bad book for those that are wusses like me.

although, honestly, even that’s a lie. (see what scary books do to me? they make me lie!) because as a “writer”, this is the kind of book i want to write. no, no, not a scary one, but rather one that drapes itself over your shoulders and covers you from head to toe and wriggles into your brain so you can NEVER FORGET. NEVER. EVER. EVER. NEVER. NOPE.

in fact, i think it makes it my next recommendation of what YOU should read.

note: there are two other companion novels in this series: THE DEAD AND THE GONE (book 2) and THE WORLD WE LIVE IN (book 3), but  i didn’t realize that at the time, so i read book 3 before book 2 and was a bit confused at some of the missing details. i actually haven’t even read book 2 yet. hmm, while you read book 1, i’ll read book 2. deal?