By Adele Annesi

Word for Words is by author Adele Annesi. For Adele's website, visit Adele Annesi.
Showing posts with label Young Adult. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Young Adult. Show all posts

Thursday, February 13, 2014

International Best-Selling YA Author Cantrell on Writing a Sequel

Julie Cantrell
I met award-winning young adult author Julie Cantrell while writing for Southern Literary Review when she was managing editor. Since then, Cantrell has received two Christy Awards (Debut Novel of the Year and Book of the Year) for her novel Into the Free, as well as the Mississippi Library Association Fiction Award. The novel is also one of five finalists for the University of Mississippi community reads selection.

The story also became a New York Times and USA Today bestseller, and an international bestseller, thanks to its Dutch readers. After strong reader support, the sequel, When Mountains Move, has hit shelves. Here, Cantrell describes how she conceived of and developed the new novel.

How did the idea for the new novel arise?
When the debut novel, Into the Free, went through edits, we cut a lot from the ending. I always wanted to tell more of Millie’s story, and I’m grateful the publisher gave me an entire second book to explore the next phase of her life. I’ve enjoyed seeing what happened next for Millie, and I hope readers will, too.

In what ways did writing this latest novel differ from writing your first one?
When I wrote the first book, I never intended to show it to anyone. So I was completely free to write without any fears or limitations. It was a beautiful creative experience. Of course, we went through major edits with it, but the original draft was born without those concerns.
 
With the sequel, I had a tight deadline and the added pressure of following the debut novel without letting down those readers. When I found myself worrying about reader expectations, future reviews, marketing plans, etc., I would try to take a step back and remind myself to enter that artistic space again, as I had with the first one, and to leave the rest of the details out of my mind frame. It was easier some days than others, but I did try not to let any of those concerns affect the process of putting the story on the page.
 
What advice would you give to aspiring novelists?
Try to write without ever thinking about who might read it, how they might react, or whether the book will be successful in terms of sales figures, reviews, etc. Write as if no one will ever read it. I believe that may be the only way to dig down deep enough to write with raw honesty, and that applies to fiction, too. I mean, even if you aren’t writing about your life or the way you see the world, you still have to be able to write honestly about the character’s life (lives), without worrying that you might offend someone or break a conventional social rule, etc. That’s the beauty of any form of art … you can bypass all the norms we live by in the real world, and just let your brain have some fun.
 
For more on Julie and her work, visit Julie Cantrell, as well as Into the Free and When Mountains Move.
 
 

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Ridgefield Writers Conference a Success, Thanks to All

Ridgefield's historic fountain
Thanks to great coordinators, a wonderful workshop faculty and keynote speaker, industry-leading panelists and dedicated attendees, the inaugural Ridgefield Writers Conference on September 28 in historic Ridgefield, Connecticut, was a resounding success, with plans under consideration for a 2014 conference.

The Ridgefield Writers Conference, based on the Master of Fine Arts workshop format, surpassed its attendee goal, with participants coming from as far as North Carolina and northern New England. Due to the positive response to the event, a fiction and creative nonfiction workshop was added, as well as two literary agents to the morning and afternoon media and publishing panels.

The conference was kicked off by keynote speaker and award-winning author Dr. Michael White, founder and director of the low-residency MFA program in creative writing at Fairfield University. The workshops featured fiction with acclaimed author Chris Belden, winner of Fairfield University’s 2013 book award, nonfiction with author and novelist Pete Nelson, whose novel I Thought You Were Dead has been optioned for film, creative nonfiction with award-winning novelist Rachel Basch, young adult fiction with multi-published author Steve Otfinoski and poetry with poetry professor and former Crazyhorse editor-in-chief Carol Ann Davis.

The media and publishing panels featured editors from The Newtowner, Alimentum and Connecticut Muse. Electronic and print publishers included BookTV Girl, Defying Gravity and Globe Pequot Press, and agents included Allen O’Shea, L. Perkins, Rita Rosenkranz and Talcott Notch.

he conference concluded with a wine and cheese reception sponsored by the Ridgefield Library for An Evening With the Authors, featuring Linda Merlino, Chris Belden, Nalini Jones and Pete Nelson. Books on the Common provided a venue for faculty-penned works on-site, and the Chamber of Commerce provided information on local venues.

For more information on the Ridgefield Writers Conference, created by Word for Words, LLC, with Ridgefield-based author Chris Belden and award-winning writer, editor and instructor Adele Annesi, please contact Adele Annesi at Word for Words, LLC, a.annesi@sbcglobal.net.