Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Ten things I have been thinking about lately

...in no particular order:

1. Snow!

2. Middle grade books -- I have been pondering many things about stories in this genre, but mostly: What makes them work, when they really work? (A blog post on this question and some possible answers is pending & percolating & coming soon, I think).

3. While we're at it, middle books, too--as in, the middle book of a multi-book series or trilogy--and the same question really: What makes them work, when they really work?

4. The annual apparently-I-just-never-learn question of Seriously, where did I hide my favorite winter hat, sometime last Spring? Argh!

5. Peppermint-flavored everything! (Especially ice cream.)

6. The power of community (especially in, but not limited to, our social media-centric world) and what makes a community's development organic versus contrived, and do such origins even matter, actually, once a community takes hold of itself?

7. Seasonal comfort reads (there's a blog post coming on this, too).

8. The question of the (proper? healthiest? most productive?) balance between pride and humility, when it comes to careers of all sorts.

9. The delicious anticipation that develops with building up a designated "holiday pleasure reading" pile.

10. Notions of perception and reality and how you need a bit of both to create a genuine story.

So there's a peek inside some things being pondered by this editor's brain at the moment. What about you? What questions, ideas, things, etc. have you been thinking about lately?

6 comments:

  1. Hmmm, what things have I been pondering lately?
    1. What book will I read next.
    2. I need to run more if I'm gonna do this 1/2 marathon in a couple months.
    3. Oh, just ONE more christmas cookie, please?
    4. I'm blessed to have a job I love (bookstore assistant)
    5. Health is a fragile thing.
    6. I can't wait for Christmas Eve!
    7. Happy birthday, Jesus!
    8. I'm glad I live in the desert--it's nice and toasty warm here.

    Okay, that's about all my brain could handle at the moment. :) Great post, this was fun!

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  2. I've been pondering the fact that I'm now older than the age of the first literary character I crushed on and that (probably? hopefully?) I will keep getting older until I surpass the fictional ages of all my fictional crushes.

    I've also been pondering the fact that no one ever seems to mention The Stepford Wives in connection with dystopian fiction and whether or not it actually is dystopian (I say yes).

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  3. Kathleen--It was *startling* to me the first time I realized that I was (quite a darn bit) older than Gilbert Blythe.

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  4. In regards to #5- Go to Shake Shack on a Friday this winter(and only a Friday). Their seasonal peppermint custard is to die for.

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  5. Gilbert Blythe, yes!!!
    Can't wait for the Middle Grade post, Molly!

    I've been thinking about technology in novels. The Internet plays a role in my WIP, yet I still want it to feel timeless...

    Happy Holidays.

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  6. I also await your Middle Grade post for insight.

    I used to work for HarperCollins and used to run Favorite Teenage Angstbooks. Now I run a small urban farm in Oregon.

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