Comments on Nathan Bransford - Literary Agent: Holiday Cheer: Reality is Not All It's Cracked Up ...

Since I used to put out gangsta rap records on my ...

2009-01-05T12:21:00.000-08:00

Since I used to put out gangsta rap records on my own independent record label before writing books for 9-12 year olds, I should be be whiz at this...
Actually I am sort of working on a new book entitled "White chick in gangsta city."

Nathan has a point about rap. If not rap, then ab...

2008-12-30T09:17:00.000-08:00

Nathan has a point about rap. If not rap, then about expanding your writer's worldview. I went to a YA writers conference a year ago. Almost all the writers were white and 40+ (nothing wrong with that, but a lot of the writing shared was pastoral in nature). I don't think My Antonia could compete against all the Gossip Girls of today. I was one of about 5 people with a tan. Yet, in almost every state in America, except for the mountain states, approximately 66% of school children are ethnic minorities. Just a note: Urban is hot. Urban does not indicate race. It's real life, fantasy environment, just like Nathan said. The gangsta part was funny, given the demographics of the writers in the writer conference I attended, but if you don't get the humor, you might already be in trouble. By the way, didn't 50 Cent start his own publishing company, because publishers weren't publishing for the majority minorities? Anyway, it doesn't hurt to think multiculturally, especially if you write YA. Kids have to read. They're the cash cow of the industry. Anyway, sorry this is so long.

Hey, Deaf Brown Trash Punk,you could do the Heming...

2008-12-29T19:47:00.000-08:00

Hey, Deaf Brown Trash Punk,
you could do the Hemingway bit and go out and run with the bulls in Pamplona next July.
Or not.
Just a thought. :)

And, Nathan, I think I'll pass on a gangsta rap novel. someone else will have to write that one...

Our critique group once auditioned a fellow writer...

2008-12-29T19:25:00.000-08:00

Our critique group once auditioned a fellow writer who was working on a novel, based on his real-life experiences during the 70s. His premise was kind of cool and his writing style showed promise. But the poor guy had written himself into the novel. He was the protagonist! (The plot was fiction, but the characters and relationships were real, he explained.)

Whenever we commented on lack of action or confusing dialogue or whatever, his comeback was always, "But that's the way it happened."

Okay, but the way it happened was boring, dude.

"Keeping it real" has become a cliche in rap music...

2008-12-29T13:44:00.000-08:00

"Keeping it real" has become a cliche in rap music. But it really is a piece of advice to all artists out there.

I think as writers we need to be true to ourselves. We can do that in our fictional worlds. Thanks for pointing that out.

I write reality - but through a filter, like you e...

2008-12-29T12:20:00.000-08:00

I write reality - but through a filter, like you explain. I didn't realize this until I read your post. Interesting! Yeah, real life is boring...

I think one of my favorite movies is Stranger Than Fiction. It's about one of the most boring people on the planet, yet it's possibly one of the most interesting movies I've ever seen. It works!

Thanks for sharing. :)

I used to live overseas, teaching English. My adu...

2008-12-29T10:15:00.000-08:00

I used to live overseas, teaching English. My adult students, who certainly should have known better, used to tell me "facts" about America/Americans that they had learned by watching television. Every semester, I had to print in big letters on the board,

TELEVISION IS NOT REALITY

Even "reality" television shows are not reality. If they were, nobody would watch them.

And if fiction depicted real life exactly, I wouldn't read it. I have enough reality in my real life.

I read to escape reality. If I were to read a book...

2008-12-29T09:15:00.000-08:00

I read to escape reality. If I were to read a book about my life, I'd fall asleep in the first ten pages.

That's why I write about the past. It allows me to explore issues and a time and place that are far from the mundane life I'm living.

Yup! Give me pure escapism everytime. :) Real life...

2008-12-29T08:36:00.000-08:00

Yup! Give me pure escapism everytime. :) Real life is just so, well, real.

I ♥ this post so much.God bless Nathan for bringin...

2008-12-29T08:35:00.000-08:00

I ♥ this post so much.

God bless Nathan for bringing up RZA. None of my current friends are Wu Tang fans. How sad. =(

My life is boring, pathetic and un-interesting. Un...

2008-12-29T08:34:00.000-08:00

My life is boring, pathetic and un-interesting. Unless I'm some kind of an Indiana Jones world class traveller (which I'm not) exploring China and Egypt, then yeah, I ain't wasting my time writing about my own pathetic life.

Yes, you are right. I'll write something much more exciting, something for ME to fantasize about.