How do I say how unsettling and surreal it is to see the Boston bombings on the news? I used to live there. I can't count how many times I walked down that street, or rode the Green Line underneath Copley Square, or watched the marathon (though not from the finish line). I know that incidents like this are supposed to breed terror and fear and unease and all that, but it seems so unfathomable to me why someone would attack a road race of all things.
Of course, I'm also reading Columbine by Dave Cullen right now, which probably doesn't help. It's a fascinating book, and as someone who was in high school during the height of the school shooting trend and ensuing paranoia, I can relate to those students who were witnesses. (Obviously not Harris and Klebold. So far, they just seem like sociopaths. No sympathy from me for them at all.)
There used to be a theory that one huge, world-altering event happened every other decade or so: the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, the stock market crash in 1929, Pearl Harbor in 1941, JFK's assassination in 1963, the Challenger explosion in 1986, September 11th 2001 - but now it's almost like horrible tragedies are happening once a month. What gives?
Karla
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Felicity Saves the Day
I was at my parents' house today, for my mom's birthday. And, down in my old bedroom, I came across my American Girl books. Let me tell you - I adored those books in elementary school. Felicity was my favorite, Molly was my least favorite, and Samantha and Kirsten fell somewhere in between. Even now, I remember the stories fondly.
It made me think about the responsibility that we as authors have towards younger audiences. Since I am working on a YA novel, I consider a lot what or how the things that I'm writing will be interpreted by readers.
Back when I was working at the bookstore, there were certain young adult books that I swore never to recommend to parents of teenage girls. Books about catty, rich, mean girls do nothing to encourage young girls to explore their potential. I'm not anywhere near being feminist, and we have come a long way towards women being equal in several aspects of life, but girls still need role models better and stronger than Bella Swan. (Though I will say that Bella at least gets badass when she finally becomes a vampire.)
Where is the line between responsibility and creativity? I've never been one to place blame for violent acts on things like movies or television, but children do emulate the characters they love. After all, who of us DIDN'T try to start their own Baby-Sitter's Club?
Karla
It made me think about the responsibility that we as authors have towards younger audiences. Since I am working on a YA novel, I consider a lot what or how the things that I'm writing will be interpreted by readers.
Back when I was working at the bookstore, there were certain young adult books that I swore never to recommend to parents of teenage girls. Books about catty, rich, mean girls do nothing to encourage young girls to explore their potential. I'm not anywhere near being feminist, and we have come a long way towards women being equal in several aspects of life, but girls still need role models better and stronger than Bella Swan. (Though I will say that Bella at least gets badass when she finally becomes a vampire.)
Where is the line between responsibility and creativity? I've never been one to place blame for violent acts on things like movies or television, but children do emulate the characters they love. After all, who of us DIDN'T try to start their own Baby-Sitter's Club?
Karla
Friday, April 12, 2013
Inaugural Post, reposted
Originally I had set up a blog on Tumblr, but I like the way that Blogspot works so much better. So this is the first post that I wrote a few weeks ago, imported to here, which will be my permanent blogging home.
My goal for this blog is mostly to be a jumping off point for my professional life. I graduate with my MFA in just four short months, and then…what? You’re welcome to find out with me.
There will be pop culture-ish mentionings throughout, as I like to stay tuned in, especially to books (obviously). I just attended AWP in Boston last month, which was a great conference, if a little overwhelming. 11,000 attendees with 600+ panels in three days. Yikes. But I got to see quite a few of my Stonecoast friends (my MFA program - links soon) and got to play in my old home city.
Recently, I finished reading The Inverted Forest by John Dalton. I find these things through places like EW, add them to my immensely long list, and then don’t remember what they’re about. This one, it turns out, was about a summer camp for the developmentally disabled, at which something ominously “tragic” almost happens and then there are repurcussions. I wanted it to be good. I tried to convince myself that it wasn’t going to go exactly how I thought it would.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t good and it did go exactly where I thought it would. There was a bit of a twist in the second part, but a twist gone horrible wrong. You know the kind - a serious monkey wrench that makes you question whether the author even knew what was going on. Unreliable narrators are great; unreliable authors are not.
So welcome! "Buckle your seatbelts - it's going to be a bumpy night."
Karla
My goal for this blog is mostly to be a jumping off point for my professional life. I graduate with my MFA in just four short months, and then…what? You’re welcome to find out with me.
There will be pop culture-ish mentionings throughout, as I like to stay tuned in, especially to books (obviously). I just attended AWP in Boston last month, which was a great conference, if a little overwhelming. 11,000 attendees with 600+ panels in three days. Yikes. But I got to see quite a few of my Stonecoast friends (my MFA program - links soon) and got to play in my old home city.
Recently, I finished reading The Inverted Forest by John Dalton. I find these things through places like EW, add them to my immensely long list, and then don’t remember what they’re about. This one, it turns out, was about a summer camp for the developmentally disabled, at which something ominously “tragic” almost happens and then there are repurcussions. I wanted it to be good. I tried to convince myself that it wasn’t going to go exactly how I thought it would.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t good and it did go exactly where I thought it would. There was a bit of a twist in the second part, but a twist gone horrible wrong. You know the kind - a serious monkey wrench that makes you question whether the author even knew what was going on. Unreliable narrators are great; unreliable authors are not.
So welcome! "Buckle your seatbelts - it's going to be a bumpy night."
Karla
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