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It's hard to believe that a year ago that I was getting ready for the TWISTED book tour, and was a nervous mess waiting for people to read the book. It's kind of weird because this week - seemingly out of the blue - I have gotten many letters and emails from teen readers about the book. Posting snippets of the letters would probably push me from blatant self-promotion into self-absorbed obnoxiousness, so I won't. But trust me, they're really nice.

I found out yesterday from my editor Sharyn that TWISTED just won some lovely recognition, but I don't think I can go public with it for another week. I'm just going to sit here and glow quietly.

TEACHERS, FYI! In the middle of May, TWISTED will be released in paperback, which makes it a perfect book for your summer reading list.

More writing questions: Do you always write chapter by chapter when you draft? Or do you ever end up with gaps in the initial draft that you have to go back and fill?

No, I don't write chapter by chapter. I generally start at what I think is the beginning and aim for what I think is the end, but those are guidelines, not rules. I always wind up with holes. Going back and figuring out what belongs in the holes is fun. The trick is to play out one of the story threads naturally, not to cram in a scene just so have something in Chapter 7. If it doesn't fit, throw it out.

How did you know it [the manuscript/book] was ready then? How did that work? ...and a related one... how long do you wait to regain objectivity before revising the first time and do you have any tricks for increasing objectivity?

I feel like I've already answered this, but I can't find the post, so I'll do it again, because it's a good question. Finding objectivity is one of the hardest things we do. I don't think any writer can ever become fully objective about her work. Putting it away for a month and not looking at it helps. Then - before you read it - give it to three trusted readers; people who read a lot for fun and respect you enough to be honest. (DO NOT give it to relatives or lovers!) Ask them to read it and write down the three aspects of the story that are working the best, and the three that are the most confusing.

Next: take a copy of your story to a new location; NOT where you wrote it. Go to an independent bookstore, a coffee shop, a park, a nice hotel lobby. Read their comments first, then read the manuscript. If you can't find anything you want to change, you're done.

Other questions, Readers of the Forest?

After today's work, I'll be packing for tomorrow's trip to Springfield, IL, where I'll be speaking at the Illinois Reading Council's Annual Conference. Are you going? This is where you can find me:

Thur. 3/13 8am: From Speak to Twisted

Thur. 3/13 11:45am: Luncheon speech

Thur. 3/13 3pm: Revision Secrets

Wednesday and Friday will be spent in airports and on planes.

2008 Resolution Tracker
Week 10 - Miles Run: 20, YTD: 218.25 (my right knee feels like it was more)
Week 10 - Days Written: 7, YTD: 70

I have to admit, I was ignorant. I had no idea Chattanooga was so lovely and filled with exciting things and sweet people. This place needs to go on the Roadtrip Vacation List!

Yesterday I talked to students at Chattanooga School for the Arts and Sciences and Tyner High. (Yes, yes, I know I am technically on hiatus from school visits, but this trip were arranged through the A Tale for One City program, so it's different.)

Do they look like Monday morning, or what? They were actually much more lively than this picture looks. It was really nice to hang out with kids again. (Special thanks to the kids who came over from Howard!)



CSAS is in a historic building and some of the lockers are wooden. Gives the expression "old school" new meaning.

After CSAS, my wonderful host, Fran Bender, took me to the Art District for lunch at a coffee shop and quick walk through the museum neighborhood. Then it was on to Tyner.

The students at Tyner were some of the friendliest I have ever had the good fortune to run across.

Some of the guys instantly freeze into GQ cover model positions whenever they feel a camera on them.

The girl on the left wins the "most thoughtful and insightful questions of the decade" award.

Thank you everyone for making the day so much fun!!

Long day today - more schools and my public presentation tonight.

I leave you with John Scalzi's article about the financial realities of the writing life, not to discourage any of you from becoming writers, but so you know what you're getting into. If you are seriously contemplating writing as a career, you owe it to yourself to read the entire article. Thank you, Stef, for the link.

Finally, thank you, mares for the heads-up about the extremely nice review of TWISTED in the Drew University Campus newspaper, The Acorn.

Oh - one last thing. Dinner last night? Shrimp and grits. Heaven - just heaven.

You may think it is a bit ironic that I would pick an excerpt from Epidemiologic Principles and Food Safety the week after we announced that Locavore is the “word of the year” but I composed this post long before locavore mania began. Nevertheless, it does seem appropriate to question what the effects of technology have been on food safety. Tamar Lasky’s compilation of leaders in the fields of public heath and safety provides a unique look into a problem we often ignore, until we can’t. The book describes the various ways epidemiologic principles are applied to meet the challenges of maintaining a safe food supply and addresses both the prevention and control of foodborne illness. Below is the book’s forward by Allen J. Wilcox.

Food is much more than personal fuel—food creates community. We welcome friends and family into our homes with a meal. We celebrate important occasions with feasts. We carry food to those in mourning. We receive food as daily comfort. We don’t think of food as a risk.

But there is risk. (more…)

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Andrew Smith, our go-to American Food guru is back again this week with a look at American food trends. What trend do you think has been, and will be, the most influential: Fast Food, Slow Food, Factory Farms or Organic Farms? Be sure to let us know in the comments what you think! Check back on Thursdays throughout May for more great posts by Andrew Smith, editor of the Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink, who teaches culinary history and professional food writing at The New School University, serves as Chair of the Culinary Trust and as a consultant to several food television productions.

A. Fast Food
White Castle, launched in 1916, successfully used Henry Ford’s principles of the assembly line to make and sell inexpensive hamburgers. (more…)

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