A wonderful way to close the last week of 2017: a live on-screen interview on Cheddar about my book, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters. Thanks so much for to the team there, especially hosts Baker Machado and Jill Wagner, and to expert publicist, Dan Fortune. Happy to give thanks and shout-outs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, my inspiring home city of New York, and National Novel Writing Month. Watch the interview here: https://cheddar.com/videos/what-it-takes-to-get-a-novel-published
Tag: writing
In the pause: A momentous weekend as a writer
A great big day today: my book, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, had nearly 2500 downloads on Kindle this weekend, hit #1 in its Kindle categories, broke into the top 100 Kindle books across all categories on Amazon, and the incredible Dan Fortune landed me a huge interview for the end of this month. I am literally floating. Thank you to everyone for being a part of this wild literary ride. I love you. Keep dreaming.
In the pause: I eavesdrop and observe for the sake of my writing
To be a writer is to first be a listener and observer. I often go somewhere—a coffeeshop, a museum, a store—and just tune into the conversations of others. I don’t take out my phone or notebook. I don’t have any purpose other than to listen to what people say, how they say it, and then how people respond to them.
I tried this experiment recently at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I went to their Astor Chinese Garden Court and sat there for a while as people wandered in and out. It’s a bright and peaceful place in the museum. Good for clearing the mind and opening up the ears.
It was fascinating to see such a diverse set of people come into the space and have a similar experience, of peace and contentment and happiness. It reminded me how hurried and cluttered our lives can become. And it made me more conscious of the power of places that give us time to just be. The expression of “wow” on everyone’s face when they entered the garden made me smile.
As we edge toward 2018 and the cold weather takes us indoors for a few months, I’m looking forward to more of these listening and observing activities. We have so much to learn from each other.
In the pause: How other authors bring out the best in our writing
Earlier this week a new author told me that he was afraid to let his characters be harmed. And I told him that he has to let them breathe and live, and that means that difficult things can, will, and must happen to them. It’s the overcoming of obstacles that makes for powerful storytelling.
What I didn’t realize is that giving this advice would give me new Emerson material. I have had the ending scene of the second book in my mind for some time and it puts a beautiful bow on this arc of Emerson’s journey. And then, after this conversation with this author, it came undone. Another very small scene came into my mind when I got home and it wouldn’t let me go. Though it’s only four lines, it’s jarring, even to me. And it’s absolutely what must happen. It hurt my heart to write, and so I had to get it down in ink. No matter how long we’ve lived with our characters, their stories will still surprise us.
While I’m busy working away on book 2, you can download the Kindle version of Emerson’s first book, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, for free for one more day today. Visit Amazon to get one for yourself and for all the readers on your list!
In the pause: Messages in dreams
I believe that our dreams can send us the messages we need exactly when we need them. Yesterday I had a dream that I had handed in my manuscript for Emerson’s second book. There was a note on top of it that said, “Dedication – that’s your only goal now.”
Though it was a very short dream, it had a powerful impact on me. It gave me encouragement to stay on this path, to keep creating, dreaming, and growing. To keep helping other people. To keep standing up and speaking out to help build a better world. I hope that by sharing this message, it helps to encourage you, too. Stay true to who you are and the impact you want to have. We need you.
In the pause: How to achieve impossible dreams
When I want to do something big, I spend about 30 seconds thinking about what that goal looks and feels like. Almost immediately, I move into what I call breakdown mode. I start to break apart that big, beautiful dream into bite-sized pieces. The big dream, for me, is too daunting and it’s not actionable. I make it happen, I’ve got to unpack it, dissect it, and put it into a to-do list with deadlines. And then I pick a place and begin. For my writing, it’s one word at a time. For my collage work, it’s one tiny piece of paper. For getting a new job, it’s making sure my resume is up-to-date in all its various forms and channels. You get the idea. It’s a puzzle and the best I can do is focus on one piece at a time.
When my head hits the pillow at night or when I sit down for my 18 minutes of daily meditation, I give myself a little chance to think about that shiny goal out there in the distance. I fall asleep thinking about those dreams and I wake up thinking about them. Everything in between, all my waking hours, are devoted to action. It’s the only way I know how to make things happen.
In the pause: Writing breakthroughs in longhand
On Friday and Saturday I had a few writing breakthrough in my second book in the Emerson Page young adult book series. And they didn’t happen while I was writing. I was actually reorganizing my closets. I was folding my sweaters when a very strange person showed up in my imagination, an old woman whom I have never seen before. I closed my eyes and listened to what she had to tell me about Emerson’s story, and I got it all down in longhand as honestly and as quickly as I could before it evaporated. And the story just kept flowing into the evening while I sat in a coffee shop on the Lower East Side waiting for friends to go to dinner.
I never saw this coming —this character, this plot twist, this revelation, this truth that was both painful and freeing. It explains so much that needs to be explained in due time. You won’t meet her until book three, which will be the final piece of Emerson’s story. I originally thought this series would be nine books, and had mapped it that way. Now I see that this portion of her story wraps up in a trilogy because of this new character.
In book two, Emerson will be exploring Iceland, Ireland, and Spain—three countries connected in odd and mysterious ways that will shed some light on Emerson’s path to her goal. I’m just glad to be able to tag along for the wild ride she’s about to take.
In the pause: A NaNoWriMo breakthrough
At almost 30,000 words this month, I’m sliding into the weekend with the ending scene defined for the second book in my young adult book series about Emerson Page and the ending scene to the series. Both carry tissue warnings in the best possible way. I feel like having a cake to celebrate. The first book in the series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, is on sale now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your favorite independent bookstores.
In the pause: How to know what to write
“Write what should not be forgotten…” ~Isabel Allende
I’m in the midst of writing some difficult passages in Emerson’s second book. There are characters in the book that have been through terrible times. They’re reliving those times, explaining them to Emerson because it will make a difference to her journey. And I hope it will make a difference to readers, and the journeys of readers. I hope their resilience, determination, and love for life inspires us all to be the best people we can be. I hope it makes us kind, grateful, and resolved to build a better world for ourselves and for each other. Life is tough; together we are tougher.
In the pause: Featured in Women’s National Book Association Members Write Now column
Thank you to Women’s National Book Association – NYC Chapter for making me their Members Write Now feature this month. Read an excerpt of my book at http://wnba-nyc.org/members-write-now-christa-avampato/.
Christa Avampato 