Where Did That Come From?

The first day of my 7th-grade English class, the teacher assigned us a short story to read. The next day, we had a quiz. The first question was, "Who is the author of the story?"

I didn't know. It had never occurred to me to think about who wrote the things that I read. I just sort of assumed that books and stories magically appeared on shelves for me to pick up. Like milk. I mean, who drinks milk and thinks about the cows who made it, right? You just buy it and dunk your Oreos in it.

That short story was "The Lottery," and the author was Shirley Jackson. Once I knew her name, I started thinking about her. What was she like? Why did she write "The Lottery" (which, if you haven't read it, is only the best short story ever)?

Later, I read a biography of Shirley Jackson and found out a lot more about this fascinating writer. Then I went back and re-read a lot of her work, looking for ways her life found its way into her books. And I've done it with other authors I love: John Steinbeck, Flannery O'Connor, Carson McCullers, just to name a few. Knowing something about the people who write the books that are important to you can make reading them a whole new experience.

Something else happens when you learn more about the authors of your favorite books—you see that they're real people. Just like you. Sure, some of them have unusual lives. But most of them are people who simply see the world in extraordinary ways and write about it. And that's what writing is, putting your story on paper and letting people know how you see the world.

Who are some of your favorite authors, and what can you find out about their lives? And, more important, what do you have to say about the world you live in?

Jenny Collins
Author of First Kisses 3: Puppy Love

Adriana Dominguez: Find Your Middle Ground

What is the most difficult part of writing? Getting started of course! First lines and first chapters can be awful, and they often are! The first line of your story should grab the reader's attention, and the first chapter should set the stage for the whole story, this is true, but do they have to be written first? And more importantly, do they have to be perfect before you can even think about what you're going to write next?

Big NO.

Why? Because once the story gets rolling, its focus will inevitably change, that is part of the process of writing: rewriting. Characters will acquire lives of their own through the process; parts that you thought were important will seem less so and, surely, new ideas will come to the surface. So don't fret too much about your beginning; when you finish writing your story, you may very possibly find that its strongest points lie in the middle, not the beginning, and maybe not even the end! So write the first sentence, and the next, and the one after that, and don't look back. Keep writing. Often, a story is a puzzle that you create as you go, and that needs to be put back together once it is finished. The pieces will be there in front of you, and once you have them, where they should fit will become that much clearer. So, say hello to new beginnings!

Do you always begin at the beginning?

Adriana Dominguez
Executive Editor, HarperCollins Publishers

Patricia Ocampo: The Right Writing

They say that all editors are failed writers. I am sure there is some truth to that maxim—after all, it is a maxim—but I think a big, fancy asterisk has to appear beside the word "failed."

When I was ten, my mom brought home some books with funny pictures, lively short stories, and neat rows of lines. Lots and lots of lines. My clever mother had spent hard-earned money—money that could have gone to our Disneyland fund (currently rattling around the bottom of my Snoopy jar)—on write-your-own-ending exercise books! After reading and rereading (and rereading) the enticing intros, I valiantly took up the story about a naughty piccolo. All too soon I was planted on the couch watching The Little Mermaid, the books buried in the linen closet.

In high school, I aced essays and struggled with lab reports. School newspaper editorials came easily, but hard-news stories did not. In journalism school I could churn out radio scripts in my sleep, but drafting a television spot was like chewing tin foil. Was I a writer or not?

I finally figured it out when I became a book editor. Just like many of you, I love writing, reading, and anything to do with words. Unlike many of you, I cannot write fiction. Short stories, novels, plays—I am utterly useless. But ask me for some jacket copy or a book review, and the writer in me blooms. Yes, I'm a failed* writer.

*But I can write in certain styles with the best of them.

Anyone who loves to write can be a successful writer. Sometimes, it's simply a matter of figuring out what kind of writing you're good at, and you might have to think outside the box for that. A failed novelist, poet, and playwright may just be the greatest biographer the world has ever seen.

(And if you're really stuck, consider a career writing story endings. I hear the market's wide open.)

What kind of writing is right for you?

Patricia Ocampo
Editorial Assistant, HarperCollins Publishers

Sarah Cloots: It's the Little Things

Everyone says it's the big, landmark things in life that are important. "Don't sweat the small stuff," they say. But let's face it—that's pretty hard to do. It's those pesky, unavoidable little bumps in your day—a stain you found on your shirt as soon as you got on the bus, the finger you slammed in your locker in your rush to make it to class before the bell, an off-handed remark from a teacher or friend that you've been overanalyzing—that stay on your mind and have you obsessing, putting you in a funk despite your best efforts to forget about them and move on to bigger things.

But the great thing is, it works the other way around, too. An unexpected "hi" received in the hallway, an inside joke winked at over lunch with your best friend, or the right answer you gave in history class can leave you smiling the rest of the day.

So why not make some good little things for yourself and translate that to your writing? Making yourself work on something every day—whether that means writing a new chapter, asking for a friend's honest opinion, or even scrapping something that you don't think works anymore…will give you a sense of accomplishment, will keep you from feeling overwhelmed…and soon all those little things will add up to something big.

Then, as you lay in bed at night trying to fall asleep, count that day's writing as one of the good little things that happened that day (that you were fully responsible for!) and watch as the list of good things start to outweigh the bad. A landmark indeed!

And those bad little things? You can totally turn them into good things too. After all, life's most devastating, embarrassing, unforgettable moments make for fantastic stories. Happy writing!

Sarah Cloots
Editorial Assistant, Greenwillow Books

Margaret Miller: Writer's Block? Take the Bad Writing Challenge!

In my experience, the number-one reason for writer's block is insecurity. It can be paralyzing, and the more you want to be a writer, the worse it is, because the more it matters that you write well. What if you have no good ideas? What if your good idea is not as good as you think? What if no one else likes what you write?

What if you fail?

Well, what if you do? Everyone fails! Even successful writers fail—believe Zadie Smith if you don't believe me. You'll never write anything good if you're not taking the kinds of risks that might also lead to terrible, shameful failure.

So here is a simple exercise to prove that writing badly is completely, totally survivable:

Beginner's challenge: Write something awful. It should be something that you would cringe if you heard someone else read aloud but that could pass for a genuine attempt at good writing. Now you've written something terrible. Any broken bones? No? Fantastic!

Intermediate challenge: Take your piece of bad writing and post it in the comments section below. Did the entire internet see your bad writing? Yes. Have you suddenly gone blind? No? Excellent!

Advanced challenge: Find a local open mic night. Get up and read your horrible writing as if you think it's the greatest piece ever created. Does everyone in that coffeehouse think you're an awful writer? Probably. Are you still alive?

Yes?

You did it! Now you are immune to insecurity, because you know that writing something horrible does not cause broken bones, blindness, or sudden death.

Not everything you write will live up to your standards. The first thing to learn is that that's okay. The second thing to learn is that the more you fail, the more you know, and the more you'll improve in the long run.

Now please stop reading this blog and go write something hideous, flowery, ungrammatical, implausible, overserious, unpleasant, melodramatic, confusing, and pathetic. Post it below!

Margaret Miller
Associate Editor, HarperCollins Publishers

Patricia Ocampo: The Right Writing

They say that all editors are failed writers. I am sure there is some truth to that maxim—after all, it is a maxim—but I think a big, fancy asterisk has to appear beside the word "failed."

When I was ten, my mom brought home some books with funny pictures, lively short stories, and neat rows of lines. Lots and lots of lines. My clever mother had spent hard-earned money—money that could have gone to our Disneyland fund (currently rattling around the bottom of my Snoopy jar)—on write-your-own-ending exercise books! After reading and rereading (and rereading) the enticing intros, I valiantly took up the story about a naughty piccolo. All too soon I was planted on the couch watching The Little Mermaid, the books buried in the linen closet.

In high school, I aced essays and struggled with lab reports. School newspaper editorials came easily, but hard-news stories did not. In journalism school I could churn out radio scripts in my sleep, but drafting a television spot was like chewing tin foil. Was I a writer or not?

I finally figured it out when I became a book editor. Just like many of you, I love writing, reading, and anything to do with words. Unlike many of you, I cannot write fiction. Short stories, novels, plays—I am utterly useless. But ask me for some jacket copy or a book review, and the writer in me blooms. Yes, I'm a failed* writer.

*But I can write in certain styles with the best of them.

Anyone who loves to write can be a successful writer. Sometimes, it's simply a matter of figuring out what kind of writing you're good at, and you might have to think outside the box for that. A failed novelist, poet, and playwright may just be the greatest biographer the world has ever seen.

(And if you're really stuck, consider a career writing story endings. I hear the market's wide open.)

What kind of writing is right for you?

Patricia Ocampo
Editorial Assistant, HarperCollins Publishers

Kristin Marang: The Formula

Has a well-meaning English teacher ever used this line on you: "The best writers are readers"? I heard it a lot in high school and college, and the reasoning behind it makes sense: By reading, you expose yourself to good writing, and you learn to write well by example. Sure, I get it—but, just the same, I've always felt that there was something missing from the Reader = Writer formula. If you read every book in the canon of English literature, I'm sure it would improve your vocabulary, your sense of story, and your ease with writing. But if your goal as a writer is to develop your own unique voice and to use that voice to say something that's never been said in quite the same way…then part of the formula has to include living—hands-free of books—with your eyes wide open.

In my view, the best writers are the ones who pay attention to the world around them and then step back and try to sort the whole crazy mess out on a blank page.

What's going on around you? What are the all-consuming questions that lead to sleepless nights in your life? Whether it's your take on first love, your perspective on life as a teenager, or your insightful musings about reality TV—when you pick a topic that's inspired by your own questions and experiences, it's a great opportunity for authentic, inspired storytelling. After all, the way that you alone see the world through your own unique lens is worth exploring. So read everything you can get your hands on…but don't be afraid to explore your own world, too—it's worth writing about.

What's on your mind or catching your eye today? Anything worth writing about?

Kristin Marang, Editor, HarperCollins Publishers

Alexis Barad: You Say You Want a Resolution

Remember that New Year's Resolution you made back in January? Hmm. Well, it's been nearly five months since then, so I hope you're well on your way to accomplishing that resolution. If you haven't made any progress, fear not! Who needs a new year to start something new? Why not make a resolution at the beginning of a new season&$8212or refresh that January 1st resolution that you haven't really gotten around to doing?

I've been telling myself for months now (sadly, for more than just five months) that I would get "serious" about my writing. And by getting serious, I meant not just staring at that unfinished short story on my laptop in between episodes of The Bachelor. Last week a friend of mine told me that she is going back to school for her MFA (graduate degree) in Writing—something she's been meaning to do for years. It inspired me to sign up for a writing workshop as soon as I can so I can start classes this summer. The warmer weather has me dreaming about taking my laptop to a café with outdoor seating, or sitting in a park with a notebook and a Virginia Woolf novel by my side for inspiration (or, for distraction.) But if my track record for doing any type of exercise that doesn't require a group setting and an instructor yelling at me to work harder has told me anything, it's that I am not good at self-motivating. Signing up for a writing class will be the perfect thing to make me commit to working on my writing in a serious way. And now that I've put it in writing, and made you HarperTeen FanLit folks read it, gosh darnit, I'm going to stick to this decision.

Take this lovely season of sunnier and longer days to make a resolution, big or small. And if you make that resolution and then later slack off, don't worry. I'll bug you about it in the fall.

What's your resolution of the season?

Alexis Barad,
Editor, HarperCollins Publishers

Mette Ivie Harrison: The Romance of Talking

To me, romance isn't about the kiss that ends the story. It's about the way that people reveal themselves to each other in conversation. Think about Darcy and Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. Though she hates him at first, it is his words and his willingness to explain himself that ultimately make her fall for him. Talking is the very stuff of their love.

Some writers write pages of backstory for each character—detailing their first pet, their favorite color, and their most embarrassing moment—before they even begin the story. But you don't fall in love with someone because of a list of their attributes. You fall in love with someone because of that magic or chemistry or whatever you call it that happens when there's interaction. There's no romance until two characters are together; then there's the sizzle, the unique way that they become more than they were when alone.

I try to do this with George and Beatrice in The Princess and the Hound. I want the reader to feel how Beatrice becomes different when George is around, because he speaks to her differently than anyone else. He speaks expecting her to respond to him as an equal. What is more romantic than that? To me, nothing.

When I really get into a story and have enough details about my characters that they feel real to me, I can close my eyes and hear them talk. There are moments when things slip out that they didn't mean to let go, and in those moments, a chance for a response comes. What will the other character say? Will they understand? Will they laugh? Will they betray? Will they weep? Will they love?

Do you know someone whose voice you just love to listen to? Someone whose voice grates on your nerves? Someone who seems to sing when they talk? How do you bring these voices into your writing?

But it's worth the wait.

Mette Ivie Harrison
Author of The Princess and the Hound