Writing inspiration and dreams.

I've always had vivid dreams that I remember with clarity afterward.  Which is fun when I have my very favorite dream where I'm moving into a new house and I get to run around marveling at all the rooms and closets.  (Yes, I really do get that excited about closets in my dreams!)

It's not as much fun when my teeth fall out and my mouth is nothing but blood and gore.  Or when I've sprouted unwanted body/facial hair.  Or when I'm running for my life.  And I've always found it particularly upsetting when people who've died in real life come back in dreams and tell me it was all just a misunderstanding.  Then I have to wake up and deal with the fact that, yes, they really did die after all.

But there is one recurring dream that I've had for years and years and years that is worse than any of those.  It's loosely based on something that really happened, but in the dream, everything is twisted around.

This past January, I dreamed this terrible dream again for what feels like the two-millionth time and I didn't want to get out bed afterward.  I lay there for an hour, maybe two, and thought, When will this ever stop?  What can I do about this?  And remembered how I used to have these dreams when I was teenager and how much harder it was then. 

That same day in January,  I decided to write something and see what, if anything, would come of it.  I started with one scene, which led to many more scenes.  Now, officially, I'm working on a new manuscript.  And I love it!  I love my new main character and I love getting to see her story unfold.  I keep feeling like this story might be the best thing to happen to me since FREEFALL.  I really hope I'm right!

There are a lot of things I don't believe in.  I don't believe that "Hey Jude" by the Beatles is about heroin.  I don't believe in fate.  I don't believe that I've had to suffer having this dream for most of my life so that I would one day be inspired to write this story. 

But I do believe that you can "take a sad song and make it better."  And that's what I'm trying to do.

New Old Diary entries

I just put up two new entries on my Read My Old Diaries page -- which is something I plan to do every Monday! I'm alternating the journals from ages 13 and 14 until I use up all the age 13 material.  Then I'll probably just keep moving forward chronologically from there.  :-)

The Magic 8 series

On my blog, I do a series of interviews with authors (all debut middle-grade and young adult so far) with eight questions pertaining to their writing and their lives. I posted a new interview (okay, "interview" might be the wrong word since I use the same questions for everyone!) today with Amy Brecount White, the author of FORGET-HER-NOTS.  The book just came out last month.  Click here to read her answers!

(And if any other published authors would like to be featured on the Magic 8, please let me know!)

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Amy Brecount White

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Amy Brecount White is the author of Forget-Her-Nots a magical realism YA novel to be released by Greenwillow/HarperCollins on 3/2/2010.    


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Delicious and magical, here is a debut novel about a new (and slightly misunderstood) girl at an exclusive boarding school. Laurel has always loved flowers, but when a class project calls for research into the Victorian language of flowers, she makes a potent discovery. Her affinity for blooming things is actually age-old magic, passed from one generation to the next-a bittersweet gift from her beloved mother, who’s recently died-and it gives Laurel the power to make people fall in and out of love. Laurel’s introduction to the secret society of flowerspeakers is rife with complications and mishaps-especially when her classmates convince her to use her magic at the prom. This evocative coming-of-age story lingers in the air much like the fragrant blooms that determine Laurel’s fate so mysteriously.

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THE MAGIC 8

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1.  Mindi Scott:  At age eight, what did you want to be when you grew up?  And at age eighteen?  And while you’re at it, what about at age twenty-eight?

Amy Brecount White:  At age 8, I’m pretty sure I wanted to be exactly like my wonderful teacher.

At age 18, I wanted to be a college English professor.  (Then I got tired of living in the library.)

At age 28, I wanted to be a writer.


2.  MS:  Which Breakfast-Club-style label would have best fit your teeanage self?

ABW:  The Total Nerd Who's Trying to Pretend She's Not.

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3. MS:  What are some of your superstitions and/or phobias?

ABW:  My major phobia is heights.  It’s not that I don’t like them, it’s just that they make me feel like I want to jump.  Not a good thing.

4. MS:  Without giving away too much from your book, which character or scene are you the most pleased about having created, and why?

ABW:  I LOVE the prom scene, because it’s serious but funny and romantic, too.  And I wrote and rewrotes it like a gazillion times, so it better be good.

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5.  MS: Was there any certain music that inspired you while you were writing this book, or is there a song that could serve as your protagonist’s theme song?

ABW: I’m weird in that I write best in total silence.  Otherwise, it’s hard for me to hear the voices in my head. 

For Laurel, I like The Fray’s “Over My Head.”  It’s not a perfect fit, but it makes me think of how she feels at lots of points in the novel.

6. MS: What’s up next for you as a writer?

ABW:  I’m finishing up a second YA, but this one is realistic and has nothing to do with flowers.  I’d love to revisit the flowerspeaking world, but that’s still in the future.  Eight ball?

7. MS:  And now, the most important question of all:  Beatle or Elvis?  Please support your answer.  ;-)

 

ABW:  Beatles.  “Norwegian Wood.”  Bizarre but lovely.  I just adore that song and so many others.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNV2vaxOQ-Y

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8.  MS:  Okay, your turn.  Do you have a question you'd like me to ask my Magic 8 Ball on your behalf?  (I'm telling you, this things is scarily accurate!  Well, except for when it's lying.)

ABW:  What will my next work be about?  (Still working on this and taking suggestions!)

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MS:  I don't think that really answered your question!  But it would make a cool title maybe?  :-D  Thank you so much, Amy!

ABW:  Thank you so much, Mindi.  It's been fun.  :-)

To learn more about Amy and her debut novel, FORGET-HER-NOTS, visit http://www.amybrecountwhite.com/

Another Wednesday, another WoW

FREEFALL is this week's featured book on Café Saturday! Could there be anything more exciting than seeing my book mentioned as something someone is looking forward to reading?  I think not.  LOVE IT!  :-D