The first mistaKe

Before the mistaKe part, I did a few things right.  When Drake learned to walk, I started dropping him off with a friend for a few hours so I could write at a cafe--coffee being the key to brain function.  I picked a place for its saggy couch near an electrical outlet.  The semi-hip people hanging around allowed me to pretend I was an artist instead of an exhausted mom with an empty hard drive.

Judy Blume saved my life in middle school (OK, that sounds dramatic, but there were weeks when she was my best and only friend). I longed to be the next Judy. Inspired by a particular event, I began writing a novel (sans outline and mfa, btw).

The 8th grade incident that sparked my novel:

Most adults agree--middle school is THE most intense, tumultuous, and painful time of growing up (so promise not to judge me.) 

I went to middle school in Palo Alto, CA after being home-schooled for two years. Most days I ate lunch with a noisy mob called The Group. But The Group dissolved, and because my best friend moved, I was alone. I approached two "nice" girls to ask if I could join them for lunch. The look they exchanged before rejecting me still haunts me today.

Eventually I found new friends. One fateful day, a girl who got on my nerves asked if she could eat with us. My friends and I conferred (how cruel is that?) and afterward I told her NO. When she started crying, a strange kind of joy washed over me (remember, you promised not to judge). The elation was soon replaced by guilt and a black ooze feeling not unlike road tar.

Now for the mistaKe:

I was ready to start my novel. I had an idea, a laptop, and a place to work.  BUT when I went to read other books, a bookstore buyer steered me to CLASSIC YA novels. And the Honolulu librarian suggested a book about a girl raised by dolphins and a sci-fi thriller. I should've read recently published, angsty, funny novels about cliques instead. If I had, I wouldn't have made mistaKes like no cell-phones and school dances where girls wore dresses. I would've learned that I was covering old territory.

The ADVICE moment has arrived!

Read as many books in your genre as you can, and a stack from outside of your genre, too. Check out my links to sites about books.