Today we continue the “Series Series” with a guest post from the amazing Jennifer Nielsen, who shares her secrets to juggling multiple series.

In the spring of 2009, my agent, Ammi-Joan Paquette, sold my first series, The Underworld Chronicles, to Sourcebooks Publishing. The first book in that series, ELLIOT AND THE GOBLIN WAR, would be released in the fall of 2010.

Which left me approximately eighteen months for…well, I wasn’t sure what. I wrote the second book of the series, but didn’t want to start on the third and be too far ahead. I worked on pre-pub promotions, but felt creatively bored. And I got the idea for a new series that grabbed me by the throat – I had to write it if I hoped to breathe again.

So I spent the fall of 2009 immersed in writing. In January of 2010, I submitted a new manuscript to Joan, which she very quickly sold as a trilogy to Scholastic. That series, The Ascendance Trilogy, would begin with THE FALSE PRINCE, to be released in April 2012.

But 2012 was soooo long away, and the idea that this might one day get very complicated was only theoretical.

Fast forward to early fall of 2011 when the vague concept of writing multiple series’ became a reality. The second book in The Underworld Chronicles had just been released and I was working on promotions for that. I had copyedits due for the third book in that series. I had the second book of The Ascendance Trilogy written and was working on rewrites from my editor’s letter. Buzz was beginning for THE FALSE PRINCE, pulling away some of my attention. And I was formulating early thoughts for the next series I planned to pitch to Scholastic.

OF COURSE I wanted to write book 6! That was a no-brainer of an answer. Besides, the idea that it might one day further complicate my life was only theoretical.During all of this, I got a call from Scholastic. Was I interested in participating in another series with them? As 39 CLUES was winding down to its final books, they had a plan for their next multi-platform series. This would be called INFINITY RING, a time travel adventure. Did I want to write book 6?

Okay yes, by then I had a much better feel for what was coming my way. I quit my part-time job, dropped my role as director of the school musical, and decided that house cleaning was mostly optional. However, everyone is crazy busy – not just me. And all writers have to adopt certain survival skills in order to meet their deadlines. Here are some of the tactics I’ve adopted:

* Commit to Meeting Deadlines. I feel very strongly about meeting my deadlines. I currently have three editors at two different houses, and believe the responsibility for meeting deadlines belongs to me. It’s not fair to make one editor wait while I work on something for another editor. So I try to build my schedule around deadlines first.

* Form a Long-Term Plan. I have 2012 carefully mapped out so that I know where my focus should be for the rest of this month, then what I’ll do next, and after that, and after that. Some parts of the plan are more flexible than others, so when necessary I can bend, but my focus always remains on that overall map.

* Fill the Empty Spaces. Empty spaces are those times when nothing purposeful is happening, or when I could multitask. So if someone calls to chat on the phone, that’s when I empty the dishwasher. If I’m waiting at the dentist office, I’ll pull out some printed pages to edit. While I’m driving alone, I can turn down the radio and play out a scene in my mind. Luckily, I love what I do, because I spend most of my waking hours either writing, or hurrying to get something else done so I can get back to writing.

* Reserve Play Time: I’ll be honest – I don’t play as much as I did a couple of years ago. My stack of books to read gets taller, I watch less television, and I head to the mall only when I absolutely need a new outfit. That’s a tradeoff I am happy to make for the privilege of being able to write books that I love. But I also try very hard to balance that with family time, an occasional lunch with friends, and allow myself to unwind in the evening with a game of Word Monkey on my iPhone.

* Stay Grateful, Stay Humble: I did a recent guest post for another blogger who declared THE FALSE PRINCE the next HUNGER GAMES (squee!), then asked how I keep my head with all the buzz surrounding that book’s release. I responded that it really wasn’t so hard. Every book contract deserves celebrating, so there are plenty of people to cheer for. Besides, I’m not so far from the aspiring writer three years ago who was hoping for even a nibble from an agent on the first Elliot book, and so I am thoroughly grateful to be where I am today. And I stay humble by remembering that THE FALSE PRINCE has yet to be released, which is when it will really be tested.

And I stay busy. After all, I’m on a deadline!

“Hello. My name is Lydia. And I write fiction for teens.”

I’m very open about it now, but there was a time when I thought saying those words meant I had either sold myself out, or that my writing skills had taken a step backward. Somewhere along my writing journey I discovered stories within me that were focused on “the teen experience” rather than an adult viewpoint. This happened without forethought. Like any other story ideas, I didn’t know exactly where these stories came from or why I suddenly felt the urge to write them. All I knew was that they could not, in any way, be considered “fiction for adults.”

This was a bit scary at first. One of the main reasons was that I didn’t know how to write YA. I hadn’t read any YA fiction since I was a pre-teen, so as an adult I had no idea what good YA looked like (or bad YA, for that matter). I had nothing to judge my work against.

The only way to learn how to do it right was to start reading YA again, but this was during the peak of the Twilight years. I didn’t like that people thought I was just riding on a trend. “Well, golly gee whiz, all you gotta do is whip out a novel for teenagers and you’re set for life!” No. I already knew that’s not how it works–I knew of all the hard work that goes unseen by the public eye. But when people outside of my writing world asked what I was working on, and I said, “a novel about teenagers,” they replied, “Oh, you could be the next Stephanie Meyer!”

Le sigh…

I was also, without realizing it, blocking my own path for writerly growth with belief in an ugly stereotype– that YA fiction is dumbed down. It’s easy to think that when you place a YA novel side-by-side with an adult novel and open them both to any given page. Adult novels have larger pages and smaller print, so comparatively, a YA novel looks dummified with its (sometimes) smaller pages and (almost always) larger, more spaced-out print.

But that is only what’s seen on the surface. Once I started reading YA novels again, this time as an adult with writing and publishing experience, I discerned they are not at all dumbed down. They employ the same storytelling techniques as adult novels, although usually with a much faster pace, and the vocabulary is just as broad. I can honestly say now that YA novels are my most favorite to read and write.

There is an old stigma about YA writers being substandard to writers of adult fiction, but I firmly believe that stigma is disintegrating with time, as more aspiring authors are exposed to the truth.

What truth? Consider these five bust-worthy myths:

Myth: YA authors write YA because it is trendy, an easy sell, fast money.

Truth: YA fiction is just as difficult to break into as adult fiction, the publishing process is exactly the same (read: SLOW), and your chances of breakout success are just as slim. YA authors write YA because, for varied reasons between individuals, that is what they desire to write, nothing more.

Myth: YA novels are easier to write than adult novels because they have less words.

Truth: YA fiction is just as difficult to write as adult fiction, and just as complex in its layering. Each type (adult vs. YA) has its own pros and cons. As a writer of both, I can vouch for that. And as a writer of short stories as well as novels, I can vouch for the fact that a smaller word count does not equal easier. It may mean you finish the first draft more quickly, but you use the same basic skills of storytelling and writing technique to complete the finished product.

Myth: YA writers are only successful because they live on the Internet (blogging, twitter, facebook, YouTube, etc.), and that’s where teenagers are.

Truth: Online activities can increase your exposure, which is important, but people sill have to read your book, like your book, and recommend it to others for it to garner any kind of success. And this is true of any fiction, not just YA.

Also, not all teens are on the Internet 24/7. If a YA writer really wants to promote where their target audience is, they visit schools and/or libraries. Online venues work best as a promotional supplement rather than the main.

Myth: If you write YA and adult novels under the same name you will lose credibility with the audience of either/or.

Truth: Some authors choose to write different types or different genres under different pen names, but that is by no means required just because you have a different target audience. This is something you would discuss with your literary agent and/or editor before making a final decision, but there are successful authors who use the same name for everything. (Ally Carter, Lauren Baratz-Logsted, Ann Aguirre, James Patterson, and (yes!) Stephanie Meyer, to name just a few.)

Myth: Adults only write YA fiction because they seek validation, redemption, closure, and/or vengeance for their teen self.

Truth: Most YA writers, myself included, write YA simply because that’s what the story calls for. Many (again, myself included), find the pacing and technique agreeable with their natural writing style. Some of us also take a more noble approach. We feel we can help modern teens get through a difficult time by providing an escape through fantastical entertainment, or let them know they are not alone in their trials by way of “issue” books. And really, this holds true for adult fiction, too, just through a differing viewpoint of world experience.

Bottom line: If you discover you have a teen-focused story in you begging for release, don’t let the stigma of the YA writer hold you back. The YA author community is one of the most supportive I have found, with some of the most talented and dedicated workers in the craft of fiction writing. So don’t be afraid to openly admit you write and love YA.

Say it with me. “Hello. My name is…”

Happy writing,

~Lydia

Lydia Sharp is a novelist, short story author, book reviewer, and is one of eight honorary contributors to the award-winning blog for fiction writers, Writer Unboxed. She also blogs weekly, tweets, and shares what books she’s reading at goodreads. Most of them are YA.

It’s Friday the 13th. Bad luck

It’s also bad luck if you break a mirror, spill salt, or step on a crack (at least to your mother’s back). On the other hand, it’s good luck to find a four-leaf clover, knock on wood, or have a lucky rabbit’s foot (as long as you’re not the rabbit). These are superstitions, not strictly religion, not quite myth, and are subtly in-between the norm and the unusual, cultural idiosyncrasies inserted without anyone batting an eye. We accept these as true, or true enough not to be questioned as true to some. And although folks who follow these superstitions range the gamut from oddly quaint to outright OCD, it’s a quirk that defines them and the world they live in. It’s a subtle depth that makes it believable, which makes fiction seem real.

My favorite part of both world- and character-building is to find the subtle quirks, the superstitions, the illogical or unusual that define a person or a place in a story. Something as simple as a yellow brick road leading to Oz or as defining as non-Muggles fearing to say anything other than “You-Know-Who” with appropriate dread. Knowing that the entire DiscWorld exists on the back of a giant turtle held aloft by elephants may not have a direct impact on the story itself, but it certainly shapes our perception of what kind of world we are dealing with here! Some people are born with a sixth sense, becoming police investigators or kids who see dead people. Some archaeologists have a fear of snakes, some redheaded wizards have a fear of spiders, and some unlucky gold-dusted-fairy-magnets have a fear of just about everything. Some vampires must sleep in the soil of their homeland while others sparkle in direct sunlight. It’s the subtleties that make worlds and characters memorable.

Think about what are some of the things you do that make no sense to anyone outside of your family or friends? What is it about your upbringing, religion or culture that might look unusual to an outsider, something you might have had to explain in the past? A turn of phrase, an unconscious action, a habit that you inherited from who knows who; these are the little things that define you as You a lot more than mentioning your hair and eye color. Think about a place that stands out in your memory. It’s not the physical walls or trees or bits of rock that stick out in your mind, is it? It’s a sense of the place, an overall feeling that is comprised of many small details that together paint a picture that is instantaneously recognizable. Choose three. Three unusual details can define anything as unique.

1) man, red cape, giant S on his chest

2) boy, black rimmed glasses, lightening bolt scar

3) mouse, suspenders, two black circles for ears

The lucky thing is: it’s as easy as that!

Midnight is a magical time. Thirteen is an unlucky number. A ring of toadstools should be avoided. Running water can keep you safe. So can reciting bible verses. Or turning your clothing inside-out. All these tiny statements shape a world in tiny ways. Where did they come from? What do they mean? You don’t need to explain because it doesn’t matter; it’s understood as real. Everyone’s acceptance invites our acceptance that there is magic still in the world and we know it, and respect it, without thinking too much about it. This person always takes a toothpick when they leave a restaurant. That person never sits in the passenger’s seat. The best friend has a habit of writing notes to himself on his jeans.

It’s Friday the 13th. Do you have subtle quirks or superstitions in your story?

Knock on wood! Happy writing & good luck!

Dawn Metcalf is lucky enough to have her first YA novel, LUMINOUS, coming out this June from DuttonBooks. She lives in Connecticut with two cats, two kids, and her good-humored husband and you can visit her antics at www.dawnmetcalf.com.

Frequently classified as “literary” or “lyrical,” beautifully-worded novels might not have action-packed plots or big-screen potential, but they stay with you in a different way.

For me, it’s the zingers: when I sense an image the author has written more clearly than if I’d seen, felt, or tasted it myself. It’s when I say to myself (or sometimes out loud), “Oooooh, beautiful.”

The best way to get a feel for a good zinger is to have a look at some examples. These ones struck me in some of my recent reads. I’m guessing anyone who’s read any of these novels will be able to pick out where they came from just from the single line. The answer key follows below in case you need to add any of them to your to-be-read pile.

1. “The frowning shops that fronted the square seemed to sigh and spread their shoulders.”

2. “The bowl of icing was right there on the counter, ready to go, and cakes are best when just out of the oven, and I really couldn’t possibly wait, so I reached to the side of the cake pan, to the least obvious spot, and pulled off a warm spongy chunk of deep gold.”

3. “Ice-bitten and hunger-eyed, Einar Andersson stood on the beach, very near the creek that had started the whole damn thing, and wept.”

Amazing, right? Can’t you see those shops sighing on the square? Can’t you taste that golden cake? And can’t you just feel the freezing cold and despair? Wow. I will not soon forget any of these three books. What I will remember about them–more than anything else–is the beauty of the writing.

So this is all great, but what can aspiring authors learn from great zingers like these? (Other than repeating over and over, “I’m not worthy.”)

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got about writing came from the brilliant Markus Zusak, author of THE BOOK THIEF and THE MESSENGER. At a small SCBWI conference in Munich, Germany, he told the crowd: “Try to have a gem on every page.”

A zinger on every page. But won’t that exhaust the reader?

Yes and no. There’s a fine line between writing beautiful phrases and keeping things simple. No one likes overwriting, and trying too hard can exhaust, frustrate, or even alienate the reader.

So maybe not every page. But often. We must strive for more in our writing, stepping past the cliché and into our own unique strings of words.

We must strive to make our readers say, “Oooooh, beautiful.”

Great zingers, unmasked:

1. PLAIN KATE by Erin Bow
2. THE PARTICULAR SADNESS OF LEMON CAKE by Aimee Bender
3. REVOLVER by Marcus Sedgewick

Kip Wilson Rechea has a Ph.D. in German Literature and a great love of books, languages, travel, and yoga. She lives in Boston with her husband and young twin girls, and is currently hard at work on a Young Adult novel set in India. Check out her blog or follow her on twitter.

It’s 5 p.m. on a Wednesday. I’m tired, drained from a day of editing other people’s writing, but it’s time to meet with my critique group. I dash over to Panera, where we’ll gather at 7:30. I grab dinner and a diet soda and pull out the three manuscripts we’re discussing that night. I’ve critiqued one already, thank goodness. Just got to squeeze the other two in before we start. Next week, it’s my turn to submit. But I’ve got a deadline at work. And the midterm for the class I’m taking. And the laundry is piling up. I haven’t had dinner with my husband in three days. When will I find the time to write?

Does this sound familiar? When I first joined SCBWI and my critique group about four years ago, I submitted a lot of old stuff. I wanted to be writing on a consistent basis, but I felt that I didn’t have time or energy.

I started to make a change when I attended an SCBWI New England conference where Laurie Halse Anderson was a featured speaker. She urged us to make writing a priority in our lives. But we didn’t have to become prolific writers overnight. Start small. Just open the file and stare at it. Write one sentence. Write for just fifteen minutes. As I sat in that huge audience of published and unpublished authors, I thought, these are goals I can accomplish.

After fits and starts, I’ve settled into a habit of writing one weekend day a week. I usually write from about 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. I prefer to write at a coffee shop because it helps me focus to be out of the house – and it’s motivating to think a warm breakfast and a cold glass of iced coffee await me. Email, Facebook, and the Net are turned off (unless I need to do research).

I’ve been following this pattern for about six months now, and I’ve written 30,000 words of a new novel. Am I setting any records with my one-day-a-week marathon of writing? No. But it works for my schedule. I’ve managed to carve out this time that’s important to me. I’ve learned to balance—I can be a dedicated employee, a friend, a wife, a student, AND a writer.

If you’re keeping your day job, here are some tips to help you balance and keep writing a priority.

1. Get a planner – write down the days and times you plan to write and stick to them. Writing down your goals helps you meet them.

2. Make sure your partner, children, friends know that writing time is valuable to you. You’re happy to do the dishes, help with homework, go out for drinks any time other than the time you’ve set aside for writing.

3. Write with friends. Meet up at the coffee shop for “writing dates.” Like going to the gym, having a writing buddy can motivate you to stick to it.

4. Don’t over commit yourself. Adding activities to your life is great, but don’t let it edge out your writing time.

5. Don’t spend more time “being a writer” than actually writing. This advice comes Laurie Halse Anderson’s SCBWI talk. Blogging, Facebooking, networking, attending conferences are all great things to do to build your platform as a writer. But you can’t be a writer without, well, writing.

Do you have other ideas for a balanced life? What works for you?

Laura A. Woollett is passionate about nonfiction, particularly history, and is inspired by Jim Murphy’s true-life disaster tales. Her own disaster manuscript, Big Top Burning, won the 2009 W-I-P Grant for Nonfiction and is currently out on submission. Laura juggles writing with her full-time job as a Senior Editor for Educators Publishing Service in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She holds an M.A. in Children’s Literature from Simmons College.

One of my critique partners is working on a wonderful middle-grade novel about an eleven-year-old girl whose mother is a writing teacher. The girl has to attend endless receptions where the first question students ask her mother is, “Where do you get your ideas?” “From my experience, of course,” she answers. Her response reminds me not of my own writing teachers but of my geometry teacher: it’s necessary but not sufficient.

We all have lots of experiences. Some we’ve reveled in; others, we’d just as soon forget. For fiction writers, it’s probably the latter that produce the best ideas. Recently, I read that the writer’s job is, first, to make readers care about their characters and, then, make them worry about them. Recalling experiences that have made you worry about yourself or made other people worry about you will probably make ideas flow like hot lava. They may seem too hot to touch but they’ll change your readers’ landscape.

As a nonfiction writer, I get to rely on other people’s experiences. Some of these are painful, too, such as the true stories I tell about young black civil rights protesters who were beaten and jailed. Others are jubilant, such as stories about the same young people, who ultimately defeated segregation. (You’ll soon be able to read them in my debut book, WE HAVE A JOB: THE 1963 BIRMINGHAM CHILDREN’S MARCH, Peachtree Publishers, 2012.)

But, the question for this post is: How do I find the people who have and are willing to share experiences that are worth reading about? A major source is magazine articles, in particular, articles I’ve written. WE HAVE A JOB started life as an article about music in the civil rights period for COBBLESTONE Magazine. It wasn’t until I researched the topic that I learned about the role children played in the civil rights movement. A current work-in-progress started the same way. Talking with an expert for an article, I learned little-known facts about a well-known writer, which have blossomed into a manuscript that is under submission.

Taking what Winnie the Pooh called an “expotition” can also inspire ideas. Although I felt silly, I presented myself to the head of a major repository library and asked, “What do you have here that might interest kids?” Primary documents on early photography and important artists appeared in my carrel and might lead to other WIPs. Newspaper articles, conversations with friends about their travels, books for adults—I keep my eyes open for ideas in all of these.

I’m also learning to be open to serendipity. While on a research trip to Israel to study one topic, another, much more appealing one popped up. So, I abandoned the first idea and am flying (almost literally!) with the second.

What ties all these idea-sources together? I’m always mindful of mining for the nuggets that will appeal to kids—and to me through years of research and writing.

Cynthia Levinson writes nonfiction for children and is represented by the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. She and her husband live in Austin, Texas and Boston, Massachusetts.

My novel has some booger jokes.

Thing is, they’re not, I hope, gratuitous booger jokes. They’re there to show things about the characters: Who chooses to make the jokes, and about whom, and why? How do other characters respond to them? Whose responses change? (Note that the novel in question is a WIP; this post does not constitute a binding contract on booger joke details.)

One of the hardest ways to write humor for early and middle-grade readers is to say to yourself, “I need something here that will make kids laugh.” The result tends to be a wisecracking narrator who doesn’t sound much like a kid, and the humor is often based on things adults think are funny to kids. “Homework stinks and so does liver” only gets you so far. The former may be on kids’ minds, but it’s not the only thing there, and the latter? How many modern kids even know what liver tastes like? (Correct me if it’s a much-reviled staple in your household.)

In my reading and writing experience, humor works best when the story and the characters come first. Often, that means the characters take something seriously, and readers get to be in on the joke. Ramona really thinks “The Star-Spangled Banner” is about a dawnzer that gives a lee light. To Clementine, it makes total sense to name cats Moisturizer and Laxative.

Kids are funny. And often, we let them be the funniest when our focus isn’t, “I’m writing about a funny seven-year-old,” but just, “I’m writing about a seven-year-old.”

Shoshana Flax, a children’s bookseller at Brookline Booksmith, holds an M.F.A. in Writing for Children from Simmons College. She is working on an early chapter book that’s about a lot more than booger jokes.

I’ve been writing for almost thirteen years but never consistently looked for an agent until 2009. Because an agent isn’t a necessity in the children’s market, I figured submitting to an agent was an extra, unnecessary step. Instead, I sent queries and manuscripts directly to editors willing to take unsolicited submissions, always hoping the next editor would be The One.

In spring 2009, I won a contest at a local writing conference. At the last minute, I’d decided to send in my middle-grade historical novel-in-verse. It was my best work, but I wasn’t sure how it would be received alongside pieces meant for the adult market. My prize included a one-on-one with an editor who specialized in fantasy, sci-fi, and women’s fiction, a world apart from what I’d created. She took one look at my manuscript and asked, “Why don’t you have an agent yet?”

That’s when I started subbing in earnest, sending three to five queries at a time. I combed through blogs like Cynsations, Literary Rambles, and the Guide to Literary Agents, looking for any mention of agents taking on new clients. By May, I’d gotten my first full request. In June I got two more. In July another two. In September, yet another two.

By October, I’d had ten agents request fulls and two ask for partials. One agent liked my story, but felt some significant changes were necessary. I thought through her suggestions but took things in another direction, coming up with an entirely new, stronger ending. In the days I spent revising, two more agents requested fulls, bringing my total to twelve. I contacted the first agent, telling her I’d made changes to the story, though not along the lines she’d suggested. If she was still interested, I told her, I’d be happy to send it along, but I also wanted her to know two more agents were reading the newer version. She graciously told me she’d love to see the story if the other two agents passed. One did. One didn’t.

I found Michelle Humphrey on the Guide to Literary Agents blog and fell in love with her upbeat attitude about the publishing process (“Make rejection pie!” she said). She responded to my query the next day. A week and a half later, she emailed me, saying she’d read my manuscript in one sitting and wanted to talk to me about it as soon as possible. Less than two weeks after reading GLA’s post on Michelle, I had an agent.

Not long after, I spent a morning reading through the submission records I’d kept over the years. Some information I’d had to fish out of other folders, but for the most part, I’d kept a pretty accurate (though low-tech and messy) list of manuscripts, submissions, editors, agents, and rejections.

Here’s what the records showed:

11 years of writing (10 years of subbing)

11 manuscripts

211 rejections from editors (2 fulls and 1 partial requested)

12 contests/grants entered (1 win)

75 rejections from agents (12 fulls and 2 partials requested)

1 yes! (Thank you, Michelle)

Caroline Starr Rose spent her childhood in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and New Mexico, camping at the Red Sea in one and eating red chile in the other. As a girl she danced ballet, raced through books, composed poetry on an ancient typewriter, and put on magic shows in a homemade cape. She’s taught both social studies and English in New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, and Louisiana. In her classroom she worked to instill in her students a passion for books, the freedom to experiment with words, and a curiosity about the past. Her book, MAY B., debuts January 2012 (Schwartz and Wade/Random House Children’s Books).

If you’re interested, just send an email to anna(at)annastan(dot)com and tell me what topic you’d like to write about. I’ll let you know if it’s something that would work (and if it is, we’ll figure out specifics from there). I’ll still be writing posts over the next several weeks, but I’d love to feature some of yours as well. I look forward to hearing from you!

Dear Kate-of-senior-year-in-high-school,

I’m writing this letter from the future.  You turned 40 this past summer – hey, stop laughing! – and a lot has happened.  Some of it was sad, but most of it has been lovely, and I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll leave it at that.

What I really want to talk about is where you’re going.  You’ve gotten a lot of advice from adults this past year.  Some of it is good, and some is not.  Some of the things they’ve told you are true; not so much, the rest.  And I’d like to help you sort it all out.

The not-so-true stuff:

You don’t really want to live in a city.

Yes, you do.  And you’re making the right decision to go to school in Syracuse, even though it means your mother will give you mace in your Christmas stocking next year. You want to live in a city, at least for a while, because it’s where you will meet new people and realize that what you’ve suspected for a long time is true.  There’s a lot more to life than you saw growing up in a small town.  You won’t always want to live there, but right now, you do.

If you love writing, you should be a journalist.

This is not entirely untrue, but it certainly isn’t the only road open before you right now, and it would have been nice if someone clued you in to this.  I know there are no novelists living in that small town, and that most people there don’t see that as a real career choice.  But it is.

Don’t worry – you’ll find your way there eventually.  And the journalism will be an exciting stop along the way. You’ll spend seven years in TV news, during which time you’ll meet a handful of presidential candidates and their wives, ride in a military transport plane, travel in a helicopter over the Adirondacks looking for marijuana plants, win an award for reporting on a car bombing linked to organize crime, and hold a fifteen foot long python at the New York State Fair. You will be okay with this, really, even though the cameraman will have to do several takes and unwind the snake from around your leg at one point, before the story turns out right.

Through all this, you will meet a whole lot more people, good and bad. You will learn to speak in public, think on your feet, write quickly, and meet deadlines, all of which will serve you well.

Enjoy these last few months before graduation because high school is the best time of your life.

Enjoy them, for sure. But that thing about high school being the best part?  Not by a long shot.  It gets way better.

Stop being so idealistic; you can’t change the world.

Okay…it’s true that you’re not going to change it all at once, in that grand, sweeping way you are imagining.  But you can do your part, and you will…in a thousand little ways through the years.  They add up, so keep believing, even when it doesn’t work out right away.

The true stuff:

You can do anything you set your mind to.

Kind of funny that this came from the same people who told you to quit trying to change the world, isn’t it?  But they got it right this time.

The only thing is…some things that you set your mind to will take a whole lot longer than others. (Eight years, in the case of getting that first book published.)  But that’s okay…there was no time limit on this one, so it’s still true.

Words are powerful.

This was from your English teacher Mr. Smythe, who said a lot of true things, as it turns out.  All that stuff about the power of language, the potential for literature to bring people together and help us understand ourselves and the world around us and make a difference?  All true.

You should keep writing. You’re good at it.

You are.  You won’t always think so.  As a matter of fact, there will be a lot of days you decide you are perhaps the world’s worst writer and deserve to have your laptop thrown down a mountain.  But that’s part of being a writer, and you’ll get over it.

You’ll go a long time only writing term papers and other things for school, and then only news stories for a bunch of years.  But one day, you’ll come home to poetry and fiction. You will keep writing.  Because you’re good at it, but more than that, because it makes you whole.

Have fun at college. You should probably leave those striped legwarmers at home, but don’t get rid of them.  They’ll be back in style eventually.

And yes…keep writing.  It will be a blast.

xo

~Kate

Kate Messner is the author of THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. winner of the 2010 E.B. White Read Aloud Award for Older Readers, SUGAR AND ICE (Walker/Bloomsbury), the MARTY MCGUIRE chapter book series coming from Scholastic this spring, and two picture books on the way from Chronicle Books. She’s also a National Board Certified middle school English teacher. Learn more at her website: www.katemessner.com.