Researching visual narrative AKA watching ALL the TV, and how line edits let me hope and hope leaves me breathless.

Inching back toward the world of the living after being sick for WAY too long. Symptoms obviously included congestion, cough, and an inability to blog.

While sick, I decided to research narrative structure and character, and by that I mean I watched A LOT OF TELEVISION.

How much? Well, I finished Darker Than Black, devoured all of Downton Abbey, several episodes of Merlin, two whole seasons of Being Human (the UK version), half a season of BSG, the first few episodes of Archer, and one American Idol audition.

Yeahhhhhh.

I would have devoured lots of BOOKS except the whole being sick thing turned me into a zombie incapable of processing written words, and I’m in the middle of juggling Paradise Lost, the Bible, and Good Omens, so it’s probably best that I did NOT read.

My new sekrit play thing DOES involve a demon, but he looks more like this:

But I digress. The point is I AM returning to the world of the living, and while my brain’s not quite working well enough to blog about important or poignant things, or make elegant analogies (I tried to make one between life panic and bunnies, but it didn’t go well), I’m working on it.

I’ve started line edits for THE ARCHIVED!

Line edits are, by far, my favorite part of the entire editing process. A short explanation: Every editor/author is different, but in my case, I generally get three rounds of edits. The first two are, for lack of a better word, HELL. They are BIG rounds, the first usually focusing on world-building (by the end of it, I wish I wrote realism) and plot structure, and the second focusing on more world-building and character development. The third round, assuming I’m still alive after the first two, is line edits. This is where my editor and I go line by line through the entire manuscript and tighten all the threads, smooth the logic and polish the language.

You see, this is the first round where I let myself HOPE. The worst is behind me, the sleepless months of wracking my brain and shredding my story and then sitting amid its ruined corpse thinking it will never, ever, ever be right. The is the round where I realize that my story is, little by little, becoming BOOK-SHAPED.

You guys, I spend the entirety of this round holding my breath because hope is scary and wonderful, but mostly scary.

THE ARCHIVED was my pet project. It was this little beast that lived in my head and fed off my dreams. It had a previous incarnation, and that version was with me for two full years before I pulled it apart, and started again, and this time it was THE ARCHIVED. That was almost exactly a year ago. It’s come so far, and even though it still has a little ways to go, even though we’re still snipping and cinching, it’s getting there, and there’s all this hope, and it leaves me breathless.

This is about the time where I force myself to love something new, to spread all that want and hope so it doesn’t kill me. And I’ve got one project absorbing a good deal of those feelings, VAGABOND PUPPIES (not real title), but also two new play things, and I keep trying to siphon off love into them because this is scary.

Writing books is scary, and caring so much about them is terrifying.

On the creepiness of teddy bears and my need to possess a narwhal snuggie and/or cape.

Let’s talk about teddy bears.

I’m sure they can be adorable, but for the most part, I find them terrifying.

Exhibit A1: THE SNUGGLE BEAR.

Snuggle bear. Scary.

Exhibit A2: SUPERNATURAL CONFIRMS IT.

Exhibit A3: GOOGLE CONFIRMS IT.

Exhibit B: THE PURITY BEAR.

No, that’s not a parody.

See, kids? Teddy bears can be terrifying.

Onto the second, and equally important topic of this Sunday post.

It’s come to my attention that I do not own a narwhal print snuggie. I own half a dozen narwhal plushies, and two narwhal figurines, and a narwhal carved of animal bone, and a stamp, etc. etc. but NO NARWHAL PRINT SNUGGIE.

Look at this fabric!

So I was thinking about how much I wanted a narwhal print snuggie.

Narwhal snuggie status: NEED.

Anyway, I was thinking about how badly I wanted a narwhal print snuggie, when my housemate, Jen, suggested something even better.

You guys.

I NEED A NARWHAL CAPE. HOODED. WITH A HORN.

10-sec sketch! Text reads NARWHAL NOT UNICORN.

If I had a narwhal cape (hooded, with horn) then I would be forced to wear that cape in public, and to places like Comic-Con.

We must make this happen, lovelies.

IN SUMMATION.

Down with creepy teddy bears, and up with narhwal themed attire!

In which an update post devolves into the most random of the random.

Hey guys!!

Sorry about that little blip of BLOG FAIL. Feeling better (well, actually, sick, on a psych/emo level, better).

-One of the reasons I’m having trouble blogging is that I’m in this odd time where I can’t really say much about what I’m working on.

-There are all these terribly exciting things having to do with the paperback of THE NEAR WITCH, but since it doesn’t come out until May, I’m supposed to keep my lips sealed until at least Feb/March. It’s kind of killing me.

-And since THE ARCHIVED is just about 1 year out (I don’t have a release date, but it’s January 2013), I’m not allowed to say ANYTHING about it yet. And that kills me, too. I got to see a draft of catalog copy for TA yesterday, and did this squee-bounce because it was the first email I’d gotten that didn’t revolve around edits, and that induced a moment of OMG ONE DAY THIS STORY WILL BE A BOOK THERE IS A GOD. And that makes me want to TALK about it, but alas. Not yet.

-The project I’ve referred to as VAGABOND PUPPIES should be making its way out to publishers next month, and that SCARES THE BEJEESUS OUT OF ME.

-I’ve been playing around with two new projects, but we’re keeping it casual right now I’m not in the mood to commit. They’re about as different as can be (one is morbid MG, the other adult), but I’m having fun.

-I read THE FAULT IN OUR STARS and cried in a Starbucks. For, like, TWO HOURS STRAIGHT.

-I learned that AMC theatres in NYC have $6 matinees if you go before noon, and I’ve never been so happy to keep odd work hours.

-The next month or two will have a HUGE impact on my future, and that’s probably a large part of why I look like this all the time right now: (O_O)’ If you see me, and I look like that, hugs and/or cookies help.

-Things I’ve been researching: Mortality rates, the Vatican vault, David Tennant, hand-to-hand combat, Epinephrine-based revival.

-Things I’ve been buying: rusted keys and silver rings.

-Things I’ve been thinking about: covers, blue skies, Haywire, the terrifying nature of hope and the consequent reluctance to feel it, and, as ever, narwhal picture books.

What about you, loveleies? What’s on YOUR minds? Talk to me.

In which Victoria feels increasingly lost.

Sorry. I’m working on it. I promise. There are just all these…things. And the things aren’t moving and they take up space in the air around me until there’s no more air. Kind of like those black spheres in The Incredibles.

(Oh, and the winner of the WWNGD bracelet is…Ashley R.)

Victoria vlogs ALL THE THINGS. And then throws free stuff at you.

I JUST TURNED IN EDITS*!!! THIS SOUL-EATING BOOK IS ONE STEP CLOSER TO BEING DONE.

As a THANK YOU for all of your patience with me lovelies, I give you a vlog of THE MOST EPIC RANDOM, and a giveaway!

1. Victoria vlogs ALL THE THINGS.

A 2012 goal NOT included in the vlog: Have hot chocolate with Charlie McDonnell (okay, this one is totally cheating because it’s not really in my control, le sigh).

2. Victoria GIVES YOU THINGS.

One of my favorite things I got for Xmas was a WWNGD bracelet – What Would Neil Gaiman Do? And I got SEVERAL, which means I can give one away!!!

SO if you want your very own WWNGD bracelet, leave a comment between now and Monday at 9AM CST. That’s all you have to do

*By edits I mean ROUND TWO, the second round of content edits, aka soul-killing story rippling changes. Now I move on to line edits!!!

Life is like a blue police box.

So as the end of the year draws near, I found myself thinking about life. More specifically, about journeys. Mum and I were talking about 2012, and that got us talking about 2011, and the journey it’s been. And I realized something: for some people–myself included–life is like a TARDIS.

Sometimes the Doctor thinks he wants to go somewhere/somewhen, but it’s not where he NEEDS to go. The TARDIS concerns itself far more with need than with want. It always gets the Doctor where he NEEDS to go, but–no offense, TARDIS–it’s never a very smooth journey. The Doctor might think he knows how to drive that big blue box, but it does have a remarkable habit of knocking against, bouncing off of, and crashing into things before it finally lands.

I set these destinations in life, I chart these courses, and no matter how I plan, no matter how badly I want to follow the path I’ve made, it never ever happens. That’s not to say I don’t get there eventually, but it always seems to take a strange, rocky, circuitous, or unanticipated course. And that’s okay, because that’s when the Doctor has his best adventures, not when he goes where he’s heading, but when the TARDIS detours him by a few millenia, or a few worlds. The TARDIS knows.

So in 2012, I’m going to try and trust a little more in the TARDIS. I’m writing up my goals, but if things start to veer in interesting ways, I’m not going to beat the control panel with a shoe. I’m going to lean with it. I’m going to go for the ride.

This odd tangent brought to you by edit brain.

PS. This.

Thanks be to andifelldowntherabbithole.tumblr.com for this brilliance.

A special holiday message, brought to you by singing authors, pets, guitars, and just the right amount of awkward.

A holiday message from the YA world!

And yes, I sang a line.

Even though I HATE singing (well, I don’t hate singing, I just hate singing where other people can hear…I waited until my housemate ran to the store to film my bit because I was too embarrassed).

The heinous state of edits means I probably won’t post again until after Christmas, so considered my awkwardness, and the awkwardness of many others, to be my gift to you.

Happy Holidays, from YA to You! (This idea, and execution, courtesy of the lovely Saundra Mitchell)

“Winter Wonderland” written by Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith.

Featuring the vocal stylings of Tessa Gratton, Dawn Metcalf, Mike Mullin, Rhonda Stapleton, Jennifer Brown, Beth Revis, Victoria Schwab, Erica O’Rourke, Aprilynne Pike, R.J. Anderson, Maggie Stiefvater, Lara Zielin, Sara Bennett Wealer, Diana Peterfreund, Jon Skovron, Carrie Ryan, me, Julia Karr, Christine Johnson, Josh Berk, Sonia Gensler, Kimberly Derting, Jackson Pearce and Sarah Ockler.

Feel free to spread the video, and the holiday awkward!

The paperback cover of The Near Witch!

I was going to wait to share this until early spring, when I get to share some other exceedingly cool news, but since Amazon went and put it up NOW, we shall spread out the sharing of things, and have the cover now, and the other cool stuff later

So! Here’s the paperback cover!

Don’t you LOVE it?!?!

Okay…so maybe that’s not the REAL paperback, but it is a brilliantly funny cover done by Jeremy and Jeffrey West, along with Travis Pearson.

Here’s the hardcover, for reverence:

And here’s the real paperback cover:

I genuinely LOVE it.

1. They stacked the type,
2. put my name at the top,
3. and made it BIGGER (which is always immensely flattering),
4. AND they took some of the lovely filigree and made it gray so it would pop, which
5. offers a stronger visual frame for the cover, and yeah.

There you have it!

As we get closer to the paperback release — MAY 15, 2012 – I will share TWO pieces of EPICALLY AWESOME NW NEWS.

But for now, I shall let you enjoy these two covers, and wish you a happy holidays ))

The Day Rachel Stole Christmas (and Gave it to Victoria).

I’ve been in New York a little while now, and I’ll admit I’ve been struggling to settle in. One reason is that it’s really expensive! And, well, expensive. And then there’s the fact it’s expensive. Oh, and people whistle at you, and things smell, but mostly it’s expensive.

In case you don’t know the backstory for this move, you might think it went something like this:

-V rolls around in piles of money (as all writers CLEARLY DO <–heavy sarcasm) wondering how she should spend it
-Friend Rachel emails and asks if V wants to move to NYC
-V eyeballs her money, and says “Sure!” because she is a totally financially stable person now
-V gets on plane, and air-frolics to NYC, and has many adventures

What really happened was more like this:

-V gets back from trip to UK (which was budgeted in advance and took lots of planning)
-V survives release of The Near Witch
-Wanderlust kicks in
-Friend Rachel emails and asks if V wants to move to NYC
-V closes her eyes bc that's how she deals with grown-up decisions, and wanderlust-y live-life V takes over and says “SURE.”
-V gets on plane, and air-frolics to NYC, where she eats top ramen and budgets her daily cafe-writing money

Which is a totally fine way of living if you're crazy and/or ballsy and/or both and/or me. I just want us on the same page.

So I've been having an "adjustment period" and kind of dying in edits because I get snagged on every little detail and rather than moving on and coming back, I have minor nervous breakdowns, and that's cool, it's cool, it's all cool, we're cool…

ANYWAY.

My housemate, Rachel, who has been working very hard and not feeling particularly festive, took one look at me and determined (the rocking in the corner probably helped) that I wasn't feeling very festive either, and she decided we needed to have A DAY.

And oh, we did.

First we passed through the seven levels of the candy cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops…(if you don’t know this reference, you fail at life. Go watch Elf RIGHT NOW).

We started out on 5th Ave, and looked at all the amazing shop windows. The Bergdorf Goodman windows were STUNNING. One of them was sculpted entirely of paper!!

After looking at windows, we stopped into FAO Schwarz, where we hugged giant dogs, Rachel pointed out the aggressively cute baby animal toys, and then, we witnessed the glory of professional BIG piano players. You guys, they played BACH. On the floor piano.

Then we walked to Bryant Park and went ice skating! With Christmas music playing.

After that we grabbed the most divine hot chocolate–it was basically a dark chocolate bar, melted down, and stirred with a tiny portion of milk.

We took our hot chocolate and walked to see the tree at Rockefeller, and then we walked the 30 or so blocks down to Union Square, to shop at the Holiday Market. And it was there I met a man who has been swimming with narwhals!!!

Or at least, he claimed he did.

But he had a ton of photos from his nomadic time in Alaska, and a fairly extensive knowledge of narwhal swimming etiquette :p We also met a man who makes sock puppets. So, win.

We finally made our way back to our neighborhood and wandered the streets looking at Christmas lights (we also saw a man peeing on a car, but there you go).

And then! We came home and watched the only movie guaranteed to make Christmas Christmas.

A Muppet Christmas Carol.

And that’s how Rachel stole Christmas, and gave it to me.

I wish I could steal the holidays for each of you, fill them with laughter and hot chocolate. But since I can’t, due to the sheer logistics, I will say this:

I hope your holiday is magical. I hope it’s filled with warmth, love, and yes, a little chocolate. Be happy, not ABOUT anything, but simply for the sake of happiness. Be kind to yourself, and to others. And maybe, if you can, give a little bit of holiday to someone.

YOU GO, TYPE-LOVING COVER DESIGNERS.

Okay, so it’s come up on this blog a few times, but my degree is in design. To be more specific, cover design. More specific still, typography. So I’m a bit of a type geek.

And to be honest, I’ve always gravitated more toward the aesthetic of adult literary covers because of their use of typography. Much as I love the content of YA, cover-wise it hasn’t been one for playing with type (I am making generalizations here, and of course there are exceptions).

And I get it.

I get that it has to appeal to teens (not JUST teens) and the best way to do that is a photographic cover (especially one with a dead girl in a dress, apparently). The vast majority of YA covers, even the GORGEOUS ones, don’t play with type. They pick a nice, solid font, and place it front and center. Sometimes they add swirls, or a bit of filigree…:

…but it’s fairly safe. Lovely, but static. I picked three covers for popular upcoming titles, but the MAJORITY of books out there–fantasy and realism alike, though I’ve noticed there’s MORE willingness to play in realism–will fit the mold. The key is, there’s little to no interaction between the type and the image (have you seen Zombieland? That’s an AMAZING example of the type interacting with the environment). And that’s okay, it’s a balancing act. The type is there to be lovely without overshadowing the image. And I like them.

But I LOVE typographically active covers. Which is why I’m SO, SO, SO happy to see a handful of YA covers going in that direction!!!

I don’t know what’s guiding this. I suspect it’s publishers wanting to generate more crossover appeal, though I suppose it could be a genuine interest in exploring typographic potential, but whatever it is, I LOVE IT.

So this is my plea to cover designers, publishers, and the people who make the big decisions: be daring! I’m not saying to get rid of the dead girls/girls in dresses, I’m just saying I’d LOVE to see this kind of thing continue!!

ETA: Megan Crewe showed me THIS LINK to an awesome list on GR!