Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Blastin' through the Block: MEET YOUR AUTHOR EDITION!!!

Okay, I'm going to come out and be completely honest. Ready??? Really..are you sure? This may not be pretty...well fine.

I haven't written anything in a long time....as in it's been about 2 months and some change.
*cringe*
Yeah, I'm definitely not proud of that. I'm in a slump for a variety of reasons but mostly because I lack the motivation. So here's what I'm going to do....revert to my old standbys, that's right, Blastin' through the Block. I figured well hey, maybe I'm not the only one who could use a picker-upper so I'm sharing with you. 

This edition is called meet your author. Don't take it too literally because I know it's not always possible for that to happen. I mean sure, if I had several thousands of dollars I could probably talk J.K. Rowling into tea as long as I supplied the crumpets :) but as it is, I am a poor college student. So how do you meet your author? By stalking them. *DISCLAIMER* I am not encouraging the actual criminal type of stalking.* I mean check them out. Do they have a blog? A website? What is their tour schedule if their touring? Do they have an extras like interviews or vlogs on youtube? Read it all. Listen to it all. View it all. 

Why? You ask. Well, because they're where you want to be, and in a sense who you want to be. 

Here's the thing: It has to be an author you admire, believe in, etc. It has to be someone stalk-worthy. It has to be someone THE bookshelf worthy. Why? For the simple reason that they will inspire you the most. Take in what they say, what they type, what they have done for others, and use that as your motivation. Absorb the inspiration they give you and stream it onto your paper in your own words and in your own way. Every author I've ever stalked has given advice to writers. Take it in. They say what made them start writing and what keeps them writing. Use it as your inspiration. 

Most of all. Listen to what they say when they're talking about themselves. You'll find a commonality (most likely) between them and you and in that moment they become human. You can take them off that divine bookshelf and turn them back into what they are: people who write. They're people just like me and you. That can empower you because as J.K.R. said, "If they can do it, why not us." And indeed, why not?

What did I just spend the last two hours doing? Checking out an author that I have spent very little time with: Lois Lowry (check here if you don't know what has made me love her as much as J.K.R.). I am really jazzed up to write something now...I don't know that anything will come of it, but you can bet I'm going to at least open a document and try. Which is progress for me :) I once told a friend that writing a book draft isn't more than just not stopping until you get to the end. I should probably remember that more often. 

So, what do you think? Have you actually met an author in person? (I want to hear ALL about it!) If not, have you *stalked* an author lately? Are you going to stalk now? Any other ideas of how to Blast through the Block? Let me know in the comments!

9 comments:

Carla said...

Write two sentences or 10 words. That's my new block-breaker. It's so easy! And then I want to write more and better. It's so doable I can take it each day...even with my kids and everything else I do!

I love your meet-an-author idea too!

~Carla (carla-jansen.blogspot.com)

Carolyn V. said...

I live near a bunch of authors, so I see a few of them here and there. I haven't really stalked any of them lately (although if they are carrying a large plate of cookies, I might be inclined).

I'm stuck in the same place. I've written research papers, but not creatively. I'm missing it.

Shannon O'Donnell said...

This used to be my favorite recurring theme on your blog. I'm so glad to see you've gone back to it! One of my writing gurus, Ralph Fletcher, is someone I've met and spent time with several times--he's wonderful. I get to meet my biggest stalker fave, JAMES DASHNER *swoons*, next October. :-)

Kelly Lyman said...

I LOVE this idea. I do "stalk" other authors and you're right, afterwards it gave me motivation. I also read my favorite authors too when I'm not feeling it. Thanks for this!

Unknown said...

I'm a huge Lois Lowry fan! The Giver is my fave from her portfolio. This is a great idea -- I'm going to take your advice!

Jennie Englund said...

I've palled around with Ellen Hopkins at a couple of conferences: she's refreshingly honest, open, and she knows her writing stuff!

Lydia Kang said...

I've yet to meet a YA author yet. Someday...
:)

Roberta Walker said...

Hey, don't sweat it - you ARE writing! Even blog posts count :) And stalking authors and even aspiring authors is an investment in your future so definitely not a time waster! Networking, networking, networking!

Stacy Henrie said...

I discovered an inspirational romance author last year who's stuff I really enjoy. Long story short, I got to eat breakfast with her at a conference I attended. It was very cool to hear about her writing journey and realize, hey authors are people too.

I know when I'm feeling unmotivated, reading books by my favorite authors or just a very well-crafted book helps get the juices flowing.