Obessions and a Book Review

My older sister, Laura, is obsessed with World War II. Specifically, of the Holocaust. She owns many books and documentaries on the subject, and when I'm in doubt of what to get her, I just find something about the Nazi's and she loves it.

I, on the other hand, fell into something equally as heart breaking. The shootings at Columbine. Maybe it was because they occured on April 20th, the day after my birthday. Maybe it was because of the way my heart ached when I saw the news coverage. I couldn't and still can't wrap my head around what happened that day, and I don't think anything else has traumatized me the same way.

Honestly, I'm not sure why I became obsessed with the massacre. I just am. One of my life goals is to go to the memorial, feel the deep sadness that resides there. See if I can make it without crying, the way I had when I visited Ground Zero.

Because of this obsession, I'm drawn to books about school shootings. (That sounds awful, sorry.) First, I read She Said Yes, about Cassie Burnall, who said yes when asked if she believed in God. I cried for a long, long time after.

Next, I read Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes in less than two days (I think).

When I'd heard of Hate List, it immediately went on my Christmas list. Thank you Amazon for recommending me this book. And thank you, Mom, for buying it for me.

I read this one over the Winter, and I was not disappointed. Firstly, the cover says a lot. Clearly, there is something between the boy and the girl. As I read, I imagined these two, and this boy, who from the cover looks so freaking cute you just can't imagine him shooting everyone...

There were parts where I argued with the author, and the intro took me awhile to get into, but over all, this novel broke my heart.

It's about the girlfriend of the boy who brought a gun to school, and killed a bunch of people. People blamed her, even thought she was also shot. I think the most heartbreaking part, was that even though she was still angry with the boy, she still loved him.

The only big thing I had an issue with was the end, but the rest of the book was so good that I was okay with it. If you get the chance, read this book.

Now to continue my ramble:
I think one of the reasons I'm so drawn to these types of stories, whether it's real life, or fiction, is because it's so tragic. No one will fully know why these kids, these CHILDREN decided to bring guns to school, to shoot other CHILDREN, and then to shoot themselves. There is nothing we can do. But maybe, just maybe, we can prevent future tragedies.

Nineteen Minutes, and Hate List do a fabulous job of telling the story of the kids who bring guns to school, why they do it, what pushes them to the edge. At the end of Nineteen Minutes, I didn't want the kid to even be on trial. I felt like the jerks totally got what they deserved (harsh, but it's fiction, and so well written you had to root for the guy). In Hate List, it was kind of the same scenario. I just wanted to hug him. To make him feel better, to tell him that life gets better. People are jerks, but you can move away, go to college...don't take your life.

I am humbled by writers who explore these things because they write about the bullies, about the kids breaking, and seeing no other way. They give answers to the questions we'll never really be able to ask. I think it's why I'm so drawn to these books, even if I know I'll end up crying.

So what about you guys? Read any of these? Have any thoughts or feelings on the topic?

Banned Books Week: September 24-October 1

I'm not really a person for rules and regulations, or being told what to do. I don't like that one of my three jobs requires that I to wear my hair down to hide my eyebrow rings and then stud my lip ring. I also don't appreciate being told that I can't wear an actual RING for my lip at another place of employment. I try to veer away from jobs that mandate "No visible tattoos" (mine is easily covered by my watch, but it still bothers me) or that I have to "Look clean" (What does that even mean, anyway? What ever happened to no shower Fridays?). It makes me feel like they're forcing me be someone I'm not..It makes me unGodly uneasy. 


I like being able to make decisions for myself, be able to look the way I want to, do the things I want to. I don't think people should fit into certain molds that society creates, I don't like capital punishment or speed limits....I don't like things being off limits. It just kind of bugs me. One of the big ones that gets to me is banned books.


As Banned Books Week continues in full swing, I was kind of starting to wonder: 


Do you ever find the list, and read books off of it just to feel rebellious?


I did (maybe still do :) ). 


As a teen, I felt some form of vindication when I'd read the list and come find that a book that I'd loved was there, on the damn list. After that vindication, I'd feel anger. Overwhelming anger; who are these people trying to keep these amazing books out of kid's hands? More importantly, the question I kept falling back to was WHY? Why on earth are these pages so offensive to people that they wouldn't want them supplied in libraries, in schools? 


To this day, I still don't really understand why people ban books, or burn them. (Okay, some exceptions....like...you know, hate literature. I'd burn that quick.) But books, wonderful, character evolving books. Sure, at the start of the story, they can be racist, and there may be awful words....but what if at the end, the character learns that people really are equal, that hate doesn't solve anything? Why would we keep this from kids? Why would we keep these lessons from PEOPLE? Even if the character doesn't arc well enough to learn their lesson, as a parent, teacher, person...why not engage with the person reading the book;


Did you like it?
Why?
Do you agree with the way this character thinks?
Why?


Dig deep, give advice. Books give a great platform for launching conversations. Every time I see someone with a book, I ask what they're reading, if they like it, what it's about, if they're on GoodReads..etc. (It might just be because I'm a huge nerd....) 


But what if these stories help save someone? Why would we keep this hidden away?


Anyway, I pulled up the lists for the 90s HERE and the 00s HERE. Here are some of the books that either I've read or currently own and will read some day:

90s:
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
The Giver, by Lois Lowry
My Brother Sam is Dead, by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
Goosebumps (series), by R.L. Stine
Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous (My teacher, Mrs. Watchorn totally made me write up a permission slip for my mom to sign so I could read this book so she could have a clean conscious. It is an amazing book...)
Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George
Fallen Angels, by Walter Dean Myers
The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut (Side note, may have almost cried the day I found out he died. I loved this man)
The Face on the Milk Carton, by Caroline Cooney
Where’s Waldo?, by Martin Hanford
The Drowning of Stephen Jones, by Bette Greene


00s (Without the titles mentioned above)
His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman 
Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson 
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey
The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini 
Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Green 
Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold 
Cut, by Patricia McCormick 
Grendel, by John Gardner


Moral of the story is, I love books...Like I love them. When I get published, I'd like to some day make it on the banned books list, because I will then I feel like it'd cause me to write more, and more. I'd be on a stupid list with a lot of other amazing authors and best yet, PEOPLE. 


So, to those of you who read what's banned:


Keep reading strong.

The Query Letter

I secretly think that all writers hate these with a fiery passion. Personally, I enjoy the places that are all, "Let the work stand for itself, we don't care about your merit." It might be because I'm lazy, or because I'm afraid what I'm saying won't be good enough...Either way, I hate query letters.


For those of you who don't know, the query letter is essentially the pitch. It says "Hi, I'm Lynne Schmidt. This is the novel I wrote, this is what it's about, and here is my publication record." It also has to say "I've done research, I know what you're looking for, and you're looking for me," without being so pretentious. 


Some places allow simultaneous submissions (you're allowed to submit to more than one agency), some don't. You have so much homework to do before you can even think, "This is where my work is going." It's hard because aside from doing all of that, you have to edit your 190+ page novel and make sure it's perfect so when/if they say "Hey, I'd like to see what you have to offer," you can say, "Okay, here it is!"


It's also hard because some places reject you flat out if you don't have enough publication experience. (Read previous blogs, I'm pretty amateur.) I'm trying constantly to bulk up my resume, but that's also difficult because now I have to edit those stories or poems, wait the 3-6 months for the response period, and then update all of my information. I'm also submitting like crazy to competitions, but I also am lacking funds to be able to do so. All of this tires me out, constantly. 


Key things to have in your query letter:
*Genre--Contemporary, sci-fi, magical realism
*Word Count--Make sure it's complete and polished!
*Correct spelling of agent/editor
*Plot and examples; don't just say "And then tragedy strikes..."--Tell the person what happens, "Then, when X's sister dies in a car accident..." 
*Aim for it to be about 250 words
*Brief bio--"I've had publications in the following literary magazines....I received an MFA from... etc"
*Comparisons to your work--However, DON'T claim to be the next Stephen King, Stephenie Meyer, J.K Rowling
*Contact information


Other than that, be sure to read the SUBMISSION GUIDELINES for each and every agent you query. Some want five pages, some want ten, some want none. 


There are two agents I'm looking pretty heavily into right now. Well, really one because she seems amazing. I keep talking to everyone about her as though she's my best friend, when I've never met the woman *that sounds stalkerish, my bad*. I love her personality, her online presence, what she's looking for....it all fits. I want to go to Starbucks with her and drink coffee. Honestly, I would be honored to have her, or any agent. You want to feel like you know these people, like you would have a good WORKING relationship with them.


I'm finding myself constantly wanting to jump the gun and just submit to someone already. But that's stupid and that's how you get rejected. I'm forcing myself to be patient, to look over my query letter when I'm bored and out of work. When I have no creative juices flowing, I edit my novel. When I have NOTHING to offer, I annoy the people I've been sending my stuff to to re-edit.


But, as I stated earlier, I get tired out. So it's time for bed :)