Greg and I have a philosophy about the writing life: celebrate everything!

Not just sales or awards, but also finishing drafts, revision requests, media attention, whatever.

It’s a challenging field with a lot of rejection, and you have to keep your spirits up. Focus on the journey. Let yourself rejoice in every step forward. And not just your own victories but your friends’ and colleagues’, too.

If you’re a beginner, your family may wonder why you’re cheering, say, a personal rejection with a request for more manuscripts. Go ahead and explain what it means.

The fact that you’re working in such a tough industry is a reflection of your courage. You’re someone who’s not afraid to pursue your dream.

That in itself is well worth celebrating!

Cynsational Links

Crossing Two Bridges: Coming Out, The Power of Images In YA Lit by Alex Sanchez (adapted from a panel discussion at the 2003 NCTE convention) from the fall 2004 Alan Review.

Graphic Novels Resources from the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Subtopics include: reviews in journals; Web sites for reviews; resource books; listserv; vendors; publishers; other resources.

Humor Fiction: a recommended bibliography from Genrefluent.

Something On My Mind from author/poet Nikki Grimes. What’s on Nikki’s mind at the moment is the power of prayer. Also see Nikki’s thoughts on Wordsmithing 101.

Finally, I was talking about Period Pieces: Stories for Girls selected by Erzsi Deak and Kristin Embry Litchman (Harper, 2003)(ages 8-12) a couple of days ago, and I wanted to mention that there’s another related anthology for YAs (ages 12-up), Don’t Cramp My Style: Stories About That Time Of Month by Lisa Rowe Faustino (Simon & Schuster, 2004). See the listing of contributors and read an excerpt. Featured authors include David Lubar and Han Nolan.