I'm so excited for this adventure. I had a conversation with one of the graduating students on the way here from the airport. Not only did she alleviate all of my fears (without knowing she was, mind you) she also opened my mind to new ideas. I was so set on coming in here and leaving with one complete YA novel, ready for publication. I still want to do that, my number one goal, but I want to try my hand at other genres as well. I think it takes an incredible amount of talent to write a picture book. I've tried it and had less than stellar results. I won't even tell you about the travesty that was my middle grade novel concept. The thing is, these people make me feel like I can do these things. Everyone has such different backgrounds and different goals but here we all are, learning from each other.
Well, here I am, in the last place I ever thought I'd be and it is BEAUTIFUL! I'm so excited to finally be here and to be surrounded by these brilliant people. I made a new friend, Kate, and we went exploring around the campus. The bookstore is adorable and I can't wait to buy way too many books when they open tomorrow (sorry Mom.)
I'm so excited for this adventure. I had a conversation with one of the graduating students on the way here from the airport. Not only did she alleviate all of my fears (without knowing she was, mind you) she also opened my mind to new ideas. I was so set on coming in here and leaving with one complete YA novel, ready for publication. I still want to do that, my number one goal, but I want to try my hand at other genres as well. I think it takes an incredible amount of talent to write a picture book. I've tried it and had less than stellar results. I won't even tell you about the travesty that was my middle grade novel concept. The thing is, these people make me feel like I can do these things. Everyone has such different backgrounds and different goals but here we all are, learning from each other. Okay, this is all I can do for now. I have a meeting in ten minutes. The adventure is just beginning and I can't wait to report back with more fun experiences.
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Why does it take a new year to make us want to change ourselves? I never really considered it from that point of view before. It was always just sort of something I did because everyone else did: this year I'll be healthier, this year I'll work harder, blah blah blah. A year is a long time to make that kind of a commitment. It's a long time to forget you even made the commitment. So today I'll break that tradition. Today marks the day I will make resolutions for myself daily. I'm going to take the time to think about myself every day, not just once a year. Sometimes I hate YA novels. Okay, maybe an overstatement, but still. It's like there's an obligation to include some kind of stereotypical romance scene or love triangle in the book. Think about it, what books have you read recently where the main focus of the novel is for the main character to find "love" of some kind. Can't characters have desires other than romance? For example: I just finished reading Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout. It was a decent book in some regards. I just couldn't get past the boring and kind of disgusting "romance" between the main characters. They HATED each other for most of the duration of the book, all the while tormenting each other like Kindergartners. Is this the basis of "love" for young adults? Is this what they have to look forward to? Men with bi-polar tendencies and immaturity levels rivaling my eleven year old nephew aren't exactly the highlight of love. I was practically tearing my hair out every time Kat made an immature comment to Daemon. Who am I to judge though? What do I know about romance? Nothing, that's what. Okay so maybe not 1,000 books exactly.... I got my "suggested reading" for VCFA today. Good LORD there are a lot of books. I've read quite a bit of them, but still. With a little over a month to go until I have to leave for residency I'm not sure how many of them I can actually accomplish. I'll do my best though. It's interesting to read through the lists and see how many of these books I've already read. It was like seeing a list of my childhood class assignments. Admittedly, I read most of the picture books while I was shelving in the children's section at work. I was merely becoming acquainted with our materials.
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AlexisMaster of Fine Arts from Vermont College of Fine Arts, Rowan University alumna, sister of Theta Phi Alpha, and future YA author extraordinaire. Archives
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