Revision and Quadratic Equations

Oddly enough, I woke up this morning thinking about how much revising a manuscript reminds me of solving quadratic equations. You remember those, right?

ax(squared)+bx+c=0

You shift things around until you get a single x on one side of (=) and everything else on the other.

And yes, I am a math junkie. One of those crazy people who joined the math team in high school, just for the fun of it.  

This is how revision feels to me: adding, subtracting, dividing, multiplying, simplifying--whatever it takes to get to the essence of the story. Great fun!

What does revision remind you of? 

BTW, if anyone knows how to get the "squared" symbol with a Mac, please let me know. I wasted  half an hour trying to find out and then gave up (as you may have noticed).

WHAT I'M READING THIS WEEK: Safe Haven (N. Sparks) Matched (A. Condie) Sugar and Ice (K. Messner)

Why I Read

This past week I noticed the interesting hashtag floating  around on Twitter and enjoyed the various responses to #WhyIRead

I've pondered that question for the past few days and thought of all sorts of smart and eloquent ways to answer. But the truth is very simple. . .

I read to be entertained.

But I must add a caveat. I read FICTION to be entertained. I read a variety of other things for very different reasons. Which means the answer is not quite so simple. 

Yet, when I read that question, what automatically popped into my head was "why I read novels". Why is that?

WHAT I'M READING THIS WEEK: Silent to the Bones (e.l. konigsburg) Shadow Spinner (S. Fletcher) Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters (N. Standiford) On Rue Tatin (S. Hermann Loomis)

Do You love YA Historical Fiction?

Last week I happened upon a wonderful post over at Yabliss.com which includes both a challenge and lots of information and links for lovers of YA historical fiction. 

http://www.yabliss.com/2010/11/ya-historical-fiction-challenge.html

YA historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, one I'd like to see grow (and I'm doing my part by working on a YA historical right now).

If you love YA historical fiction, or would like to find out more about it, I encourage you to hop on over to Sab's site and explore. 

WHAT I'M READING THIS WEEK: Mockingbird (K. Erskine) Feathers (J. Woodson) The History of Love (N. Krauss) Stitches (D. Small)