Hi, all! It’s been a little while since I’ve blogged, mostly because I really liked having my book deal blog post sitting pretty at the top, and also because I’m working on the next edition of Perpetual WIPs, which will feature eleven awesome published authors!
But, I do love this What’s Up Wednesday meme, created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk, and so, bye bye, book deal post, and hello actual real life that’s still happening!
What I’m Reading
Admittedly, I’ve been in quite a slump lately – I’ve literally started four books in the last couple of months that I just couldn’t bring myself to finish yet. I did love THE DISENCHANTMENTS, but it was one glorious book in a sea of disappointments. And so now I’m reading what’s become my new go-to when I get depressed about the state of books: The Ruby Oliver series, by E. Lockhart. There are no words for how much I love this series – it just has the perfect voice, a fantastically believable and human main character, and it’s a great exploration into the considerably more everyday issues of teens. In short, it’s the series that makes me wish I knew more teen girls, just so I could hand out the books like candy.
What I’m Writing
My life is basically endless revision right now – I feel like I haven’t drafted something in a billion years! (Unless you count the new chapter I just wrote, but it was for revision purposes.) Right now I’m waiting on one more set of beta notes on my contemporary YA called JUST VISITING, and then as soon as that gets its final revision and goes off to my agent, I’ll return to the revisions I already had in progress of my contemporary NA, ONCE YOU GO GREEK. (I was 80 pages in when suddenly ALL THE THINGS happened and I had to not-so-gently shove it aside, but no more!) Then I hope to take a little break before returning my little 2K baby, which is another contemporary YA.
What Inspires Me Right Now
The number one thing that inspires me right now is imperfection. While reading THE DISENCHANTMENTS, I had the same thought I saw a lot of other readers did in the reviews – “Bev sucks.” But here’s the thing – Bev doesn’t suck because she’s a badly drawn character, or an unbelievable one. She “sucks” because she doesn’t make every single decision we’d like her to make, and we disagree with the way she handles situations, and we love Colby and we don’t want him getting hurt.
Writing a character you know not everyone will love is a difficult thing, but it’s so much more impressive to write one who’s right and believable and perfect for the story at hand. Colby loves her for who she is, not who she should be, and who hasn’t been there in high school?
Confession: I know not everyone will like Ally, the main character in my book BEHIND THE SCENES. My husband just read it for the first time, and when I asked what he thought of her, he said the same thing some other readers did – he found some of her choices and reactions a little overdramatic and infuriating. “But then I realized… I just thought she was acting like a teenage girl.”
Bingo.
I don’t know who you were in high school, but I was overdramatic and infuriating. I like to think I was a lot of good things too, and I know Ally is, but I wasn’t perfect, and I don’t like reading characters who are, or who are treated like they are. I don’t want to write characters it’s impossible to live up to or relate to. I want to write the Bevs, the Rubys, the Allys, the Reagans and Victorias (i.e. the MCs of my newest ms). I want to write teenage me, who didn’t always understand the deep truth of “This too shall pass” or “Go for the nerdy ones.” And I love reading the authors who do this really, really well.
What Else I’ve Been Up To
I have a beautiful new niece! But otherwise, this is pretty much it. That’s the thing about having a dayjob and freelancing and writing and blogging – life doesn’t really leave room for much else. Mostly, I spend the free time I’ve got watching TV with my husband and trying to learn WTF I’m supposed to do now that I’ve got a book deal. But for now, I’m pretty OK with that 😉
The Daily Dahlia 
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I love you for making this point about unlikeable MCs again. (I really enjoyed your YAMisfits post on the topic.) Another reason I enjoy an unlikeable MC is because there’s so much space for growth. And who among us actually feels like we’re perfect?
I love those points about imperfections–it’s so true that it can be so hard to write a character you know not everyone will love. I struggle with that often. But the characters I love best when I read are the imperfect ones, the ones who feel the most real. And BEHIND THE SCENES sounds amazing!
I think writing real characters is so much harder but so much more rewarding than writing the cardboard cutouts for sure! And thanks, I hope you like it!!
Congrats on the awesome book deal!!! It sounds like it was a journey to get there, but all you have to do is remember what it was like to THINK about having a book deal (or an agent and being on submission!), and man, I’ll bet you can’t stop from smiling???? Congrats, that’s really so awesome – I love reading stories like this to know that it can happen!
Thanks for the great reco on The Ruby Oliver series – I just added them to my TBR list!
And best of luck on all your revisions!
Thank you!! And yes, it was definitely a lot of work and ups and downs, but as long as you finish on an up, everything does have a way of seeming worth it! I hope you love the Ruby Oliver series as much as I do!
Congrats again on your book deal! And your new niece! So much to smile about!
Also – I HEART you for writing all that you did about the Bevs in YA. Yeah – I was not a big Bev fan, but that’s who she was. It was very realistic. I’m sure I was not always everyone’s favorite person either, but there are still good sides to the not-so-likeable one. Courtney Summers is one of my favorite authors for many reasons, and one of those reasons is because she can make the unlikeable character likeable.
Okay, I just rambled. 🙂 Thank you for tolerating that. Anyway – that little bit in your post inspired ME.
Thank you!! Yes, it’s definitely been some happy times lately! Courtney Summers is my all-time favorite writer of “unlikeable” characters but I reference her so often for this that it was nice to be able to mention someone new!
First of all, congratulations on your book deal and your new niece! Both are very exciting! I totally agree with you about writing flawed characters. There are so many more layers to imperfect characters, and how else do you create realistic conflict in a story? Hope in the middle of all your busyness you get the chance to draft something new, even just for the fun of it. 🙂
Thanks so much, Erin! And yes, agree completely! I did start drafting something a month or two ago with some characters who are definitely flawed and layered and I’m excited to get back to it soon!
Congratulations on your book deal and on your new niece.
I think I’ll have to go and re-read the Ruby Oliver series now, I do love it so much, E. Lockhart is an amazing writer.
Thanks! And yes, she’s fantastic – I love her range, though the Ruby books are definitely my favorites!
So I´ve never read The Ruby Oliver series…need to add them to my TBR 😀 BEHIND THE SCENES is already on my TBR. CANNOT WAIT!)
You are very right about “imperfect” characters. That´s why I love Courtney Summers´ books for example. I wasn´t perfect as a teen. And I´m still not perfect. It doesn´t mean I´m a bad person 😀
Your point about teenagers is something I’ve had to remind myself recently with some of the YA I’ve been reading. I have a few teenage kids, and I used to go to school with teenagers (in fact, rumor is I was one myself for a few years…), so I know what they’re like. When I see MCs in YA books being infuriatingly dramatic or crushing intensely, or making stupid choices for bad reasons, I have to remind myself these are teenagers, and that’s how teens operate (for the most part). Of course, the trick for the writer is to make sure it sounds genuine, and not just playing to a stereotype.
I want to write teenage me, who didn’t always understand the deep truth of “This too shall pass” or “Go for the nerdy ones.” Yes! Couldn’t agree more. I think teen Jaime was overdramatic and infuriating as well, so sounds like you nailed it. 🙂
I still haven’t read any of the Ruby Oliver books which makes me wonder what the heck is wrong with me. The fact that it’s your go-to series speaks in its favour for sure. Now I’ll definitely have to check it out.
So glad you joined us this week, Dahlia! Can’t wait to hear more about your book deal journey and discoveries. 🙂
I hear you on the endless revisions…I have been polishing my MS for about four months now. I’m waiting on feedback from my amazing critique partner and am getting so antsy.
I totally agree on the imperfect and overdramatic thing. Being a teenager was such a crazy emotional rollercoaster, so if your main character is always acting rational and completely likeable that’s probably not very realistic.
Congrats on your new niece!
It’s a painful process but it makes books so much better – thank goodness for wonderful CPs! And thank you!
I love the process too…it’s so exciting when you realize you just made something work that wasn’t quite right before. My CP is amazing, her notes on my first 4 chapters got me to just the right place. But now I’m waiting on the rest and going a bit mad! I feel confident when I’m done with her crit I’ll be ready to query. Hopefully I can keep my sanity until then.
it has also entered my mind that people won’t like my MC because she is…prickly. like you, i hope she reads as real and understandable.
ps i got really nerdily excited seeing your photo on the onefour facebook page. i’m going to read your book NEXT YEAR.
I have no doubt she will – I cannot freaking wait for your book! And I’m going to read *that* next year!! (Prepare to be hounded for an ARC swap. HOUNDED.)