Happy Banned Books Week!

      It's Banned Books Week so let's all take a moment to celebrate all the books that took a risk and called society out. To all the authors who realized that innocence isn't protected by ignoring evil, but by standing up to it. And a special shout out to all the people that protected these books and people's, especially children and teenagers, right to love them (I'm looking at you librarians.)

Here's a list of my favorite banned books:

1. To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee
Commonly challenged for descriptions of rape and use of racial slurs. "Well, duh," said every literary professor  ever.

2. Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Banned for descriptions of drug use and sex. You think that might be the point?

3. Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Can we all just acknowledge how ridiculous it is that a book about protecting childhood innocence is banned to protect children's innocence?

4. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The irony here does not need stating.

5. Looking For Alaska by John Green
I'll let John Green himself explain this one in possibly the most majestically titled Youtube video ever: I Am Not A Pornographer

Happy Endings?

                Obligatory "Sorry I haven't done a proper post in forever" explanation ahead. Long, boring story short: school and work are the greedy friends who monopolize my time and refuse to share me with anyone else. So don't blame me, blame them. Unsurprisingly, most of what I think about revolves around my classes. We just finished Oedipus Rex in AP Literature and as if I didn't have enough homework and lack of sleep to brighten my day, the play's resolution is heartbreaking. Another long story short: there is one less pair of eyes by the end of the play.

                This got me thinking; I've never read a Young Adult novel with a tragic ending. I didn't find the Hunger Games trilogy ending all that happy and The Fault in Our Stars wasn't full of kittens and rainbows, but did they give me the same rip-out-my-heart-so-I-can-just-die-already feeling that Oedipus Rex or the Great Gatsby did. If Young Adult novels are bitter at all, they are bitter sweet. So my question is, would a completely tragic ending in a book written for teenagers work?

                A lot of YA deals in escapism, allowing teenagers to forget about the stress of the real world for a few chapters. The stories may have fear, pain, and danger, but they don't launch the reader into a world more hopeless than their own. That's not to make YA literature sound shallow. It deals with unbelievably hard topics, from eating disorders to death and suicide. Only the characters are meant to serve as inspiration, to show that these problems can be overcome. But would a book with no light at the end of the tunnel still be a good read? Would it sell? I don't know the answer, but if anyone has any examples of this, feel free to comment.

P.S. I'm now on Twitter @EmmaSchmidtke

It's Here!

After several uploads, two days, and one tearful meltdown, my novel has been posted to Amazon through Kindle Direct Publishing. It costs $2.99 and can be purchased here.

The Making of a Cover

     My friend Maggie, an ammeter photographer, came over around noon today, camera in tow. We walked down a trail to a nearby lake and roamed until Maggie found a spot without a branch or a weed out of place. I crawled through what was very likely poison ivy-infested grass to get to a pile of rocks that looked like it was placed there for us.
     I stood there, looking out at the lake, imagining that I was the main character of my novel. I told myself that my best friend had just died and now I had to look out at the world and somehow make sense of it all, alone. Maggie was taking pictures of me from behind, so my acting probably did no good, but we managed to get two or three acceptable shots.
     Then we figured there was little left to do except photoshop my hair red, like my main character's. Being as inexperienced in graphic design as we were photoshop, this took about three hours and four cans of soda. Eventually, we achieved the shade I had envisioned and picked a font somewhere in between mystery novel and chic-lit.
     It turned out amazing and has only gotten me more excited for this whole process. I'm planning on publishing my novel through Amazon within the next few weeks and will probably charge somewhere around $2.99 for it. Here's the cover:

A Few Favorite Books On Writing

     When you're a writer, one of the hardest things to do is ask for help. Unfortunately for writers, you cannot be a good one without help. But if you're like me, you feel much more comfortable seeking advice behind the pages of a book then in front of a person. So I've compiled a short list of books on writing, in order of where they belong in the creative process.

1. Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook by Ellen Potter and Anne Mazer

     This book is for the newest of beginners. It says so on the book flap. It fully covers all the basics, from creating characters to developing voice. If you are just getting started with writing or want to brush up on the core elements, this is the book for you.

2. Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass

     I revisit this book whenever I'm about to embark on a huge rewrite. Maass covers all the elements that make ellegent writing what it is, the rules that one forgets while they are caught up in the first draft. The book includes step by step workshops to make any manuscript the next hit novel.

3. Advice to Writers: A Compendium of Quotes, Anecdotes, and Writerly Wisdom from a Dazzling Array of Literary Lights by Jon Winokur

     Unlike the previous two, this book offers less concrete advice and more relatable witty tidbits. It includes hundreds of quotes from famous authors that will invoke a giggle or a knowing sigh from every writer.


P.S. The self-publishing is definitely going ahead at this point. A photographer friend of mine is coming over on Friday to take a photo for the cover. Stay tuned for updates.  

Self Publishing: Vain or Indie?

     So obviously (I say obviously because you would have already been informed by a post full of many exclamations) I have had little success in the publishing game. I have received seven rejection letters from agents I've queried and complete silence from the rest. It hasn't exactly been the highlight of my summer.

     Through pretty much the entirety of my writing process, people have been suggesting self publishing. I was always hesitant. I completely believed in the "vanity publishing" stereotype. Self publishing was for the writers who would rather blame greedy publishers than admit their own shortcomings. I was also afraid of pushing my writing out into the ibis of the word wide web, without an editor or an agent to provide a guiding light.

     But the article, "Self Publishing: Here to Stay?" by the Huffington Post changed my mind. Self publishing is not vain, it's indie. It offers writers creative freedom from commercialism. Some self-published books do go on to be very successful, but I have learned to think of my writing in a different way. What I want out of publishing is to give as many people as possible access to my writing and the indie press may be the way to do it.

Top Five FREE Apps For Writers

     So my computer finally bought the farm. It was a sad day, especially since we had been together since the eighth grade. What was not sad about it was that it gave me an excuse to buy an iPad mini. I can still use my family's computer for printing and all other things that require a bigger hard drive, but this iPad is light, portable, and completely adorable. The only major problem I have is the lack of Microsoft Word. So I did some research into the best free writing apps out there.

5. DraftPad

     What this app should be used for is exactly what it says in the title: drafts. There's no fancy formatting and for some reason the email feature puts all the text in the subject line. But if you're just planning on typing away at the beginning of your writing process, this is an excellent app. Copy the text and email it to yourself for future editing and check your history to find previous drafts.

4. Notebook +

     Basically the same features as DraftPad, only with a notebook-themed design and easier access to multiple documents. And you can draw and add pictures from your photo library. Unfortunately, I don't have a stylus yet, which is what would really add to this app. Use the notebooks to hold your stories, poetry, or whatever or do some creative brainstorming complete with visual aids.

3. Google Drive

     Okay, so the Google Drive/Doc website has its fair share of issues (although recently I believe that it's gotten a lot better.) However, the  app for iPad is effective and allows you to share your documents on your iPad/iPhone with your computer.

2. Werdsmith

     I have no idea what the mustache has to do with anything but this app allows you to view multiple documents, set projects with word goals, and create your own profile for online access. On second thought, the mustaches do make the app very aesthetically pleasing.

1. A Novel Idea

     This is probably my favorite app on the iPhone or iPad, period. It offers you the ability to save every detail of that story bouncing around in your head. Create profiles of novels, characters, scenes, and general ideas. And it's password protected. Your musings are completely safe.

P.S. The Tale of the Tulips: A Heartbreaking Story of Pride, Passion, and Petals, coming to a book store near you.

P. P. S. None of these apps have a tab function, so pro tip: five spaces equals one tab.