Extras

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Publisher: Simon Pulse (2007)

Aya Fuse is obsessed with being famous. When she follows the Sly Girls, she uses her hovercam (everyone has hovercams to broadcast on their live feeds aka blogs) to uncover that they exist. When she discovers steel that may be death-making, she recruits her brother, Hiro Fuse (with a much higher face rank than her) to stop the possible destruction of humanity with help from a Tally Youngblood.

This book, like the rest of the series, starts slowly and introduces more slang and concepts to learn like “kick” meaning cool and “face ranks” which is the equivalent of having “hits” on your blog or site that make you “famous” in the country. The third half was a wicked ride; without ruining anything about the plot, some characters wear sneak suits that allow them to fly through the jungle!

Westerfeld’s social commentary on the obsession with being famous was illustrated vividly and realistically in science fiction fashion. Entertaining and captivating, this last story in the series seals the deal.

My Purpose on this Planet

While I was attending NYU, I took an Interviewing Strategies class in which part of our final project we had to complete the following sentence on an index card: “My purpose on this planet…”

Gloomy to Bright

My day started out well enough; I took the remaining two lessons from my driving school package prior to my road test at two p.m. After a shaky ninety minutes, I waited another ninety minutes to be driven to the road test site in Astoria, Queens.

The sky turned gray and the rain drops fell as I sat behind the wheel, prepared to pass my road test. I knew as soon as I signed my shaky signature on the evaluation sheet, I was done.

I didn’t signal when turning into the lane and I frakked up my parallel parking (which I had practiced that morning like five times!) and then I didn’t signal a few more times at the end. The inspector told me I failed and I stepped out of the car, head down in disappointment. My driving instructor was so wrapped up in his possible claim to fame of being cast on a reality television show about bad drivers that I received absolutely no consoling or pep talk for the next time. I wanted to cry.

When we returned to the driving school, I immediately rescheduled a road test and scanned my brain for anyone I knew that owned a car. Not many but I’ll make do.

I walked home slowly, trying to take in the sunshine; I even shared a smile with a guy as I walked home. He returned the smile and tried to “holla” at me but I kept walking.

When I finally reached my apartment, I wrote down how I was in a state of impotence. I tacked on everything that wasn’t going right in my life to my failed road test: rejections from MFA programs, how many people were following me on Twitter (like that really counted right now but when you’re in a funk, you bring it all in), keeping up with my blog, not writing enough, not reading enough, and the emotional turmoil I’ve been in the past few months. All of this had me in the worst head space imaginable.

My brother called and some of that space cleared. I needed to hear: “Yeah, you failed but you’re driving! You’ll do better next time!” which he provided and just like that, the fog had cleared.

Soon after, I met up with a friend to watch a free screening of Dinner for Schmucks and I was in a much better place. The film was entertaining enough to forget about the early afternoon but not enough to erase the remnants of my prior head space.

When I came home, I watched the President Obama interview on The View which was the brightest thing I needed to the start of a gloomy day. My inspiration and drive were re-ignited with Obama’s hope for America. Not many people may agree with everything he’s doing with the country presently but for the moment, his words and energy reached me and I was floating in positivity. The universe was talking to me; I was seeking comfort all day after the road test and I received it.

Funny how a television program, movie, quote, or book can change the mood of a person. This is why I write.

Open House at FDAC

Saturday evening, I attended the open house at the Frederick Douglass Arts Center on west 96th street (around the corner from Symphony Space).

Because of the World Cup, the crowd was very small and intimate.

When I walked into the communal space of Frederick Douglass Arts Center, I was welcomed by Laura Pegram’s warm smile, who is a workshop instructor for Short Story . I signed up for the two week Short Story Fiction workshop and had a lovely conversation about my writing background and everything else in between. When I mentioned my memoir writing, she introduced me to Michel Mariott, the writing instructor for both Memoir/Non-Fiction and Science Fiction, and I had another great conversation about the genre. His demeanor, passion, and support for writing motivated me to also enroll in Memoir writing but alas, my financial woes stopped me and I decided against it.

Soon after, their guest speaker, Zandile Blay, was on hand to discuss her rise to success, blogging, branding, fashion, being a writer, and provided tips for writers starting in the business. The majority of her dialogue was the same record I’ve been hearing at panels and people in the industry, as well as reading on writing websites and magazines. A writer has to “play the game” no different than an actor; this industry is saturated with bloggers, publishers, and journalists who all want to be known. In order to stand out, one must know his/her voice, stick with it, and be consistent. If a writer is passionate and wants “it all,” the writer will succeed. Zandile and I are the same age and she has accomplished so much from the age of 14 to now. I can say I look up to her and hope to be as entrepreneurial as she is. I’m only at the beginning stages but I know what I have to do; I just have to do it!

Overall, a wonderful afternoon spent with people in my writing community. I want everyone to know about this center and I’m sending them good vibes so they become as popular as Gotham (or more!).

There’s No Such Thing As a Wasted Story

I like the Writer’s Digest website because of the insightful articles, the writing contests, and the prompts.  The other night, I stumbled upon this simple gem of a piece titled, There’s No Such Thing as a Failed Story.

After reading the piece, I sighed a breath of relief. I’m on the right track. I’m writing, writing, writing…especially on this blog all the time. And I know that all the pieces I produce will end up leading me to the one piece that will knock my own socks off. I’m not there yet but in practicing and reading, I will get to where I need to be.

All the material I’ve been ingesting about writing has provided the motivation and support I need while applying to schools again for next year.  Additionally, all this knowledge makes it easier to pursue this career (you’d think I’d be scared away) but this solidifies my passion for sharing my thoughts with others and creating worlds. I know I have not gone on to write a fictional story since applying (talk about straight up resistance) but I will do it and when I do, ya’ll be the first ones to know.

How to Make Money from Blogging

On Thursday, I attended a Mediabistro panel sponsored by AOL called How to Make Money from Blogging.

The panelists: Stephen Lenz – Editor in Chief of Urlesque, Dorothy McGivney – Founder & Editor of jauntsetter, and Lockhart Steele – President & Publisher of Curbed.

The atmosphere and energy was buzzing with interest and intrigue.  The spectrum of aspiring and current bloggers varied from young twenty somethings (like myself) to seventies.  Additionally, there were a lot of folks plugged in to their laptops or phones prior to the panel. How technology has changed the way that people relate to one another; we just sit in our little bubble before the attraction or in this case, panel.  But in a way, this suited the audience because, I am in a bubble writing to anyone that’ll read this and I was there to find a way to make money from my bubble!

The panelists were all very helpful. Across the board, they all discussed that to write a blog, you must be passionate about what your topic.  Lockhart hires bloggers to write for him and shared an anecdote with us (by the way, his anecdotes were hilarious). He asked a potential blogger, “What do you enjoy writing about?” The response was “I’ll write about anything!”  His intention was to highlight that we should choose a topic and follow through; don’t half-ass it.

Another aspect about blogging they mentioned (which I should begin doing) is to identify the ecosystem your blog is a part of.  For example, I blog about writing.  I should be visiting other people’s writing blogs and sites and connecting with them.  The panelists talked about becoming a part of the ongoing conversation on your particular topic.  As a writer online, blogging is about connecting with other writers and the ever present (and growing) writing community on the Web.

This all leads to, “How do I make money from doing all this?”  Essentially, the more followers and visits bloggers receive from their blog, the more likely they will receive sponsorships from companies.  This also depends on the blogger’s brand and audience; the more fans and participation present on the blog, the more that companies will start to notice.

Overall, an informative panel for all bloggers.

After the panel, there was a huge opportunity to connect and speak to fellow bloggers as well as AOL bloggers from different industries.  I didn’t stay because my business cards weren’t ready with my blog url.  I hate being unprepared.  Next time, I’ll be on it.

Oh and another thing I learned – maybe other bloggers know this but this was news to me: traffic for a blog increases based on the consistency of blog posts one has.  Lockhart mentioned that his bloggers post about a dozen posts a day.  This is very daunting for someone like me that is unemployed but extremely busy doing other things (like tennis, copyediting class, traveling, working on my resume and cover letter, looking and applying for jobs) that takes up my time.  Lockhart responded to someone’s’ question about frequency in which his response was, “It really depends on the kind of blog you are writing.”  The more up to date one’s blog is, the more traffic the blog will receive.

Mediabistro is one of the finest writer/freelance websites with the best resources available.  I’m taking a Copyediting class from them and actually met a Career Counselor last fall due to a networking event in August.  This website has been wonderful to me and it will be to you as well.

The goal now? Two posts a day.  It’s not much but if I can get used to that number, I can expand and go from there.  Baby steps, my friends. Baby steps.