10.27.2007

Writing Life 9



Look for the ALAN Book Club at http://alan-ya.org/index.php. So far Ellen Wittlinger, David Klass, Mary Pearson, Gail Giles, Carl Hiassen, Laurie Halse Anderson, Robert Lipsyte, Nancy Garden, and I have had the pleasure of meeting up with teachers, librarians, and other readers over an hour on a given Wednesday night. The format is ChatRoom style, reminiscent of the old days on AOL well before IMing. Though better looking than the plain white background. And who runs the show for ALAN? C.J. Bott does, and she does a great job. Now, due to different holidays coming up, she says, there won't be meetings during November and December, but we're hitting the ground running come January 2008. On the 16th (a day before my birthday) we'll get together at 9PM Eastern sans author (Traci L. Jones) to discuss in advance of the interview with her her fantastic novel STANDING AGAINST THE WIND. The following Wednesday, Jan. 23rd, also at 9PM Eastern we gather again, but this time witht Traci on board, willing to field questions, take comments, and the like. It's a really fun format. I had fun doing it. So join C.J. and others who love YA lit for lively discussions. Later in 2008 Coe Booth, Pete Hautman, and Alex Sanchez will also take part. Check for scheduling and updates to this list on ALAN's site.

On Glossaries and Italicizing

Author and creative writing teacher John Gardner contends that "the most important single notion in the theory of fiction" is that...