Author of award-winning, adventurous realistic and historical fiction

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What’s Up Wednesday, 2/19

Feb 19, 2014 | , , , , , , , , ,

WUW7

What I’m Reading 
I sped through the great historical-fiction middle grade Esperanza Rising and lingered in Alice Munro’s Dear Life. Her stories are fantastic–sharp and poignant. Now I’m starting Barbara Kingsolver’s Flight Behavior. I love her books so much, and so far this one is no exception.

What I’m Writing   
I’m taking a break from revising while I keep working on guest posts (here are some of the ones I’ve done so far: WAMA blog tour) and get ready for my launch party (this Thursday! At Books of Wonder, if you’re in NYC) and a few fun upcoming events. I miss writing/revising–but I’ll be back to it soon, and reenergized thanks to this time away.

What Inspires Me Right Now

The enthusiastic and enriching writing community; the readers and bloggers I’ve had a chance to meet the past few weeks; my insanely supportive friends and family.

What Else I’ve Been Up To 
Baking a ton (I almost mean that literally) of cookies for my launch party; practicing reading my book out loud (not the world’s easiest task for an introvert like me); binge-watching House of Cards–seriously, how did I not watch this show until now? I’m 6 episodes into Season 1 and I’m pretty obsessed.

So what have you been up to lately?

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme that helps readers and writers touch base with blog friends. You can find the link widget (and cute buttons!) on Jaime’s and Erin’s blog posts.

What’s Up Wednesday, 1/29

Jan 29, 2014 | , , , , , , , ,

WUW7What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme that helps readers and writers touch base with blog friends. You can find the link widget (and cute buttons!) on Jaime’s and Erin’s blog posts.

What I’m Reading 
I finished  Tiger Lily, which I loved. I also read Brandy Colbert’s Pointe, which was incredible. Bookanista rec for that to come next month! Now I’m reading the great MG Esperanza Rising.

What I’m Writing   
I made some slow progress with revising over the past week. I also wrote a short story, kind of randomly. It was an idea that I’d been circling for a while, and I found myself with some extra time on the couch (more on that below), so I just sat down and wrote it. Which was incredibly fun and refreshing.

What Inspires Me Right Now

Cheering for the winners of the ALA Youth Media Awards (and watching my TBR list grow and grow). Celebrating the book birthdays of fellow Class of 2K14-mates and OneFour Kid Lit writers. And anticipating my own book birthday next week (eep!)!

What Else I’ve Been Up To 
Remember my last What’s Up Wednesday post, when I said I did something to my hip in yoga? Well, apparently I’m not so great at anatomy, because it wasn’t actually my hip–a doctor’s visit confirmed that I have a hamstring injury, from some combination of overuse in running and yoga. It’s been a bit of a bummer–I spent the first week after figuring out what was wrong with me doing nothing but rest and ice. Being sedentary and me don’t agree, and it will be quite a while before I can run again. But if there is a bright side, it’s that I’m learning to slow down a little. Actually, a lot. Being kind to myself is working, and I’m already feeling a lot better. I’m looking forward to running again this spring when I’m good as new (or as “new” as a thirtysomething can be!)–hopefully we’ll be rid of Polar Vortexes by then. 🙂

So what have you been up to lately?

What’s Up Wednesday, 1/8

Jan 8, 2014 | , , , , , ,

WUW7

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme that helps readers and writers touch base with blog friends. If you’d like to join in, you can find the link widget on Jaime’s and Erin’s blog posts. I love this idea because it gives a structured, easy way for me to keep up with blogging. Also, the buttons are cute. Thanks for the idea, Jaime and Erin! 

What I’m Reading 
Escaping the Polar Vortex by reading Printz winner Nick Lake’s Hostage Three, a smart, addictive, and chilling-in-a-figurative-way contemporary thriller about a teen girl on a yacht boarded by pirates in the Gulf of Aden.

What I’m Writing   
After taking December off from writing (which was wonderful in the way that you start longing to write again and sneakily daydream about characters, but also really enjoy the time to watch movies and read and sleep), I’m back to revising a MG manuscript. I love this story, and since I’ve had a long time away from it, I’m full of fresh ideas.

What Inspires Me Right Now

The new year! Reading everyone’s words for 2014 has given me so many great ideas on what to focus on this year. My word is open–what’s yours?

What Else I’ve Been Up To 
Lots of yoga, lots of work on promo for When Audrey Met Alice, and lots of time Googling images of beaches and warm places to distract myself from the temperature outside.

So what have you been up to lately?

On NaNo, ten days in

Nov 12, 2013 | , , , , , , ,

In the past, I’ve used the NaNo energy and camaraderie to write lots–I think last year I did about 30K in November of the project I was working on. But I’ve never done NaNo “for real” before. Truthfully, I’m not even doing that now–I had 28,000 words of the project I’m working on written before the month began. But I did decide that I wanted to NaNo to finish or hit 50K, whichever comes first. And so ever since the clock struck midnight on November 1, I’ve been working for my average of 1,667 words a day, with the 50K goal in mind. (I think finishing this project will take about that many words.)

How’s it going so far? I want to travel back in time and throw a parade for everyone who has finished NaNo in the past because WOW is this hard. When I am drafting, I typically average about 1,000 words a day–but I am not usually able to write every single day. Maybe I do 2,400 on a great Sunday and the following Monday through Wednesday I write nothing. Regardless of how often I write, the 7,000-8,000 words/week average seems to really work for me. At that pace, I’m writing fast enough that my first-draft antsiness isn’t a problem, but not so fast that I get burnt out.

Naively, I thought that upping my average to 1,667 would not be so bad. And while it isn’t terrible–I’m not crying into my pillow every night, and so far I’ve been keeping up with that pace–I’m learning a lot about what makes me a happy writer and a successful drafter, namely: This is too fast for me.* I need a little more time to think things through and to let myself recharge. Of course, there are benefits to the NaNo pace, too–when I hit the middle of my story, I didn’t have the option of muddling in it. I got creative and kept going. The choices I made in forging ahead might have created a hot plot mess, but at least I’m moving forward instead of stalling and starting to second-guess myself, which has been a problem for me in the past.

Because I’m a perfectionist type who loves goals and deadlines, I’m going to keep trying for the 50K goal (also because I want to take December off from writing to read and do holiday things). Even if I don’t make it–and some upcoming travel might derail my plans a bit–I’m proud of how much I’ve already done, and happy with what the NaNo experience is teaching me about my sweet-spot for a writing pace as well showing me how I can use goal-setting to boost creativity.

If you’re doing NaNo, how’s it going? If you’ve done it in the past, how was your experience?

*Duh, right?

Blog Remodel

Sep 12, 2013 | , , , , ,

Considering I have been kind of lax about blogging lately (revisions! end of summer! lots of work at work! travel! an overwhelming desire to watch television and eat pizza!), I doubt many noticed yesterday that my blog/site had a little change-up.
www.rebeccabehrens.com will soon be my shiny new website, as designed by Biondo Studio. (Expect a really gushing testimonial about how great Denise and John at Biondo are, soon.) In the meantime, my blog is going to be back at its weird old blogspot address, vicariousreader.blogspot.com. Once all the web design stuff is done, and I have figured out how to use WordPress, my blog will be found within my website. I am not smart enough about web design and the Internets to explain more of what we are doing in terms of the domain transfer, existing followers, etc., but the long-short of it is that you can still follow me here for now, and soon I’ll see you at my shiny new site!

In the meantime, how are you?

Inspiration spots, bubbles, and ideal readers

Jun 24, 2013 | , , , , , , , , , ,

I have many writing spots, in my apartment, from the desk to the couch to the kitchen table, and writing spots in other places scattered around the city and back in America’s Dairyland, too. But I also have an inspiration spot, one for daydreaming and brainstorming and problem-solving, both for writing problems and sometimes IRL problems.
I wasn’t until I started cultivating my inspiration spot that I realized how important a place–or mental space–that is for writers, too. As important as an ergonomic desk chair.

Anyway, my inspiration spot in a makeshift windowseat. From it I get a nice, sunny view of the sidewalk below my apartment. It makes for good people-watching, as they walk to and from the park or in and out of the candy-and-lotto bodega.

In one of the little walkup buildings on my street lives a nice young family. Their daughter looks like she’s about ten or eleven. Her mom or dad sits on the stoop as she and her puppy play on the sidewalk out front. A lot of times she plays with a simple bubble wand. She twirls around the sidewalk, spinning and marveling at the bubbles floating up into the trees. Her parents join in. It’s really charming. I kind of adore Bubble Girl. (Hopefully it doesn’t sound creepy that I watch her play.)

I write books for young readers, but I don’t have kids. Which is fine, because as that quote from legendary children’s book editor Ursula Nordstrom goes,”I am a former child, and I haven’t forgotten a thing.” But sometimes it’s good to let kids remind me, a little more immediately, of being at the age at which bubbles were all I needed to have a happy afternoon. I smile and watch Bubble Girl play, and I wonder what she’d want to read about. I remind myself that it’s actually her I’m writing for. I’d like to write a book that will make her smile or think or laugh.

Generally, I don’t like to give directives, because really how do I know what anyone else needs to get his or her writing groove on. But I do think it’s helpful for most writers to have a reminder of your ideal reader. Bubble Girl is mine.

And I hope I do right by her.

On Moving and Books

Mar 19, 2013 | , , , , , ,

I’m currently packing up my apartment. In the process, I’ve determined that books comprise about 40% of what I own. (Sorry, robbers. If you don’t want paperbacks or old T-shirts or shoes with an odd wear pattern because apparently I walk funny–you’re out of luck.) Right now they are strewn across the floor of our living room/office/storage area/guest room (life in small spaces, yo) and slowly making their way into poorly packed boxes.

A poorly packed box.

I think books might actually be the Very Worst Thing to Pack. Worse than glassware. Hear me out: books are heavy, they come in wildly variant trim sizes, and they are dusty (at least if they belong to someone who hates dusting, like me). Putting them into boxes feels like the world’s most frustrating game of Tetris. There’s always ONE art book that is super long and won’t fit in the box and screws everything up, so another box full of tcotchkes that normally could live in the back of a closet in the new place (never to be unpacked–almost as good as actually dealing with the clutter) now contains a book and therefore has to get unpacked and dealt with.

Anyway. Can you tell that I’m at the point of moving at which I wish someone would hit me over the head with one of my rarely used kitchen appliances, or the copy of Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia that I haven’t opened since college, and I could wake up once we’re settled again?

I love print books. Always have, probably always will. Given the choice, I will opt to read in print form as opposed to on my iPad. But damn it if moving doesn’t make me want to bring my entire collection to the Strand and go digital. To think I could have every book in the mountain of brown boxes that currently prevents me from walking from my desk to the closet door on my 0.68-pound tablet . . .

What about you? Does moving (or dealing with piles of books in your home on a regular basis) make you want to convert to e-reading?

Best of Blog Spam

Dec 5, 2012 | , , , , , ,

I switched the settings for comments a while back, mainly so people could link to their URLs in their names. It was a good tweak to make, but it has resulted in an impressive influx of comment spam. Whatever, Blogger generally does a good job of weeding out spam comments automatically, so I’m not going to change back to the “registered users only” setting.

The only annoying part is getting all the notification emails about faux comments, typically from “Anonymous.” Usually Anonymous is trying to get me to visit web sites about tribal tattoos, which is kind of random, or treat acne, which sadly is already a routine part of my post-teenage life. However, reading the comments has taught me a lot about a bot’s strange grasp of grammar and syntax. Behold, some of my favorite spam comments, with their original weird formatting, along with my imagined replies:

The entire glance of your web site is fantastic, as neatly as the content!  
I appreciate that you took the time for an entire glance.

I wish to read more things approximately it!  I hope to provide more things approximately it!

That is very attention-grabbing, You are an overly professional blogger.
I’ve
joined your feed and sit up for in the hunt for more of your
magnificent post. Additionally, I’ve shared your web site in my social
networks.  That’s me: a true overly professional.

It’s amazing to go to see this website and reading the views of all
friends regarding this post, while I am also zealous of getting
know-how. It’s a good thing to be zealous of getting know-how.

An impressive share! I have just forwarded this onto a coworker who
was conducting a little homework on this. And he actually bought me dinner simply because
I found it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this.
… Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending time to discuss this matter here on your web site. Hey, any time a post gets a reader free dinner is a win, as far as I’m concerned.

Hi to every one, the contents existing at this website
are actually amazing for people knowledge, well, keep up the nice
work fellows. The “fellows” and I thank you, and are happy to provide “people knowledge.” As opposed to robot knowledge, I guess.

Its like you read my mind! You appear to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something.
I think that you could do with a few pics to drive the message
home a little bit, but instead of that, this is excellent blog.
A great read. I’ll definitely be back. Thanks for the unsolicited advice. I’m glad that despite the lack of pics, you will definitely be back. (Ironically this was on a post about the White House, and I did sort of write a “book in it.”)

Fortunate me I found your website accidentally, and I am stunned why this twist of
fate did not took place earlier! I bookmarked it. I am also stunned why this twist of fate did not take place earlier for fortunate you!

bear grylls bear grylls bear grylls Dude: anyone who knows me knows that I watch I Shouldn’t Be Alive, not the Bear Grylls show.

Requiem for a Dumbphone

Jun 13, 2012 | , , , , , , ,

You served  me well, Dumbphone. Even though you never held a charge. Even though your backplate constantly yearned to break free from the rest of the phone, rendering you unconscious (sometimes in the middle of a call). Even though you loved to butt-dial my sister and BFF Annabel. Even though your teeny tiny little QWERTY keypad made texting a grammatical nightmare.
You had some good features. CNET said your shape was reminiscent of a candy bar; that’s probably why I liked you. Mmm, chocolate phones. You had a distorted little patch of mirror on the back for incredibly lo-res selfies, I guess. Your ringtones were unintentionally hilarious. Or maybe intentionally–I have no idea who designed you. I will miss the fact that I could drop, kick, or throw you without fear. I never, not once, worried about somebody stealing you on the subway.
Perhaps we will meet again–if my iPhone breaks or gets itself stolen, or if I am feeling nostalgic for a phone that is just a phone. Until then: thanks for the four years(!) of conversation. It’s been real.
To all who preceeded me into the world of iPhones: which apps do I want? Help me figure out how to use this thing with suggestions in the comments, please!

Miss Teen Dream Fun Facts Page!

Sep 12, 2011 | , , , ,

I had so much fun reading Libba Bray’s Beauty Queens. So much fun that I didn’t want to write a review or even sum up my thoughts on the madcap, hilarious satire. Instead, here’s my homage to that perfect end-of-summer read: my own contestant fun facts page, if as a Wisconsin teen I hadn’t been more Daria-like than a Teen Dreamer.

Name: Rebecca Behrens
State: Miss Wisconsin
Age: 16
Height: almost 5′ 3”
Weight: Depends on how many dairy products I have sampled
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Green
Best feature: Arm muscles from frozen-custard scooping

Fun Facts About Me:
I secretly love to sing along to my Boyz Will B Boyz CD while dancing around my room. But in public, I tell everyone I only listen to alternative and folk rock.*
My favorite show is NOVA Captains Bodacious.
The thing that scares me most is Ladybird Hope the swimsuit competition running out of the Corporation’s 100 Lashes mascara.
I love watching old movies, and I like to make Hitchcock blonde Halloween costumes.
My dream is to run the Corporation’s doughnut production business unit. Or to be an investigative journalist who exposes crooks with hidden cameras. I love me some hidden cameras.

*The Corporation suggested that I do not mention Ani DiFranco by name.

For those of you who’ve read Beauty Queens: what would your fun facts be?

Pinterest for Writers

Jun 6, 2011 | , , , , ,

I stumbled into joining Pinterest lately–my friend invited me and I signed up, but had no idea what I was making an account for. Then other friends started “following” me on Pinterest and I still didn’t have a clue what it was, but figured it was time to figure it out. So, being a lazy person in the 21st century, I posted a status on Facebook: Hey guys, what is this Pinterest thing and why should I be using it?
Turns out Pinterest is a collection of virtual pin boards, social-networked. The official explanation:

What is Pinterest?
Think of Pinterest as a virtual pinboard — a place where you can create collections of things you love and “follow” collections created by people with great taste.
People use Pinterest to collect and share all sorts of things — wedding inspiration, favorite T-shirts, DJ equipment. You name it, people are pinning it.
We know you have great taste in something. Our mission is to make Pinterest the best place for you to share your taste with the world.
It feels kind of like fantasy football but for stuff. Sure, it’s inspiring, but looking at other people’s boards starts to make me feel a little tight-chested, like I am never going to have enough disposable income/time to make my home/wardrobe/travel plans/food look even 1/8 as good as the stuff on Pinterest. I turn away from the screen and see my haphazard, design-aesthetic-lacking furniture and the jar of Old El Paso in my fridge and stretched-out cardigans from Old Navy and feel like a wee bit of a failure at life.
But–I’ve found one awesome way to use Pinterest for my writing. I’ve always tried to make character collages to get a sense of the gestalt of my characters. Handmade, IRL collages are not the easiest to put together; you need a lot of magazines, glue sticks, and time. It’s also easier said than done to find the right images for your characters/settings/whatever you’re making the collage for. Not so with a virtual pin board. I can create a new board for a character or scene, then run all over the Internet snagging related images. Maybe I find a house that looks like the spooky one a character is renting. Then maybe I find an image of the food she’s cooking, the dress she’s wearing, the musician whose album she’s playing when the ghost first appears. When I sit down to write the scene later, all my inspiration is right there on Pinterest if I need it.
I’m not sure yet how much I’ll use Pinterest as a writing tool–for one thing, pin boards are public and I like to write with the door closed. It’s a cool option to have, though.

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