RIP YA Author Ned Vizzini

I haven't written for a very long time because I've been busy with my jewelry business, as well as Novel No. 2. However, I had to say something when I heard the devastating news about author Ned Vizzini's death.

A few months ago, I wrote about how much Mr. Vizzini inspired me. I never met him personally, but he was the friend of a friend and I love his work -- especially his books BE MORE CHILL and IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY. Mr. Vizzini's writing was funny but poignant, and at 32 he died way, way, too young.

I wish he knew how much his writing meant to his reader, and how much he was respected in the literary and entertainment world. My heart goes out to his family, friends and loved ones. I'll always consider him to be one of my favorite authors.

Writing A Novel: Finding The Conflict

One of the great things about having writer friends is that they'll help you view your own work in another way. Take my good friend, Amy. She's a really talented middle grade novelist and always have something constructive to tell me about my books.

We met earlier this week and shared some issues and concerns that we're having with our latest works in progress. One of her characters plays flute so she had a lot of music questions for me. I then read aloud the beginning of my most recent chapter.

"That sounds like a lot of information, a lot of exposition," she noted as soon as I'd finished reading. "I think that it would work better if you wove that information into a conversation between the main character and her mom."

At the time I wasn't so sure that I agreed, but decided to try it. And you know what? She was absolutely right! The section flows a lot better, plus I added in a really nice scene that highlights the close relationship between Sadie and her mother. In this case, Amy was right on the money.

Amy also had some general advice for me that's really made me think. She explained that whenever she comes up with a plot or situation, she tries to deepen the conflict; she doesn't want an easy answer. In other words, she doesn't want stuff to happen without examining how each character is affected; she really gets into the personal aspects of each situation and keeps from making things plot-driven.

I think that I do this in my writing, as well, but I liked the way that she put it. I also liked that she asked me all of these nitty-gritty questions about my characters, such as why I decided to call the male lead "Griffin" -- and I was able to answer everything! We're similar in that we put a lot of thought into our characters and their backstory and motivation. That's probably why she and I have been such close friends for so many years; because we think alike.

It's one thing to get an opinion from a friend, but I so appreciate having someone who can dissect my writing and force me to examine the details. I'm looking forward to our next brainstorming session!

Meantime, please read and review REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.

Greetings From California -- New Twitter Address!

Hello from sunny California! We're having a great time in Los Angeles. The weather is gorgeous and we're missing the "Frankenstorm" Sandy that's barreling toward the East Coast. Seems like we picked a good time to get out of town.

My cousin lives in a beautiful Spanish-style ranch with nice, open rooms. She and her husband have two dogs and an African Gray Parrot -- and the bird and I are roomies! Their guest room also doubles as the room where the parrot's cage is kept, so I got to sleep with the bird last night (not in the bed; he was safe in his cage). When I awoke this morning, the bird was staring right at me.

Last night, I had a couple of odd experiences. First, I was jolted awake when I heard an electronic voice barking at me from beneath the mattress. I thought tht I was going crazy -- or the house was haunted. But when I woke a bit more, I realized that it was one of those toys that says things. I managed to dislodge it and it stopped talking to me, but man, did that freak me out. I then woke again around 4 a.m. and could see a single bright star when I looked out the window. I didn't expect to see any stars in Los Angeles, so this one was super bright. I'm thinking that maybe it was Venus?

Once we were up for real, we spent the day relaxing, reading, writing and puttering around the neighborhood. We're having a barbecue tonight and I'm going to reunite with a couple of my old pals from Soap Opera Digest. I worked with these guys for 14 years so it's going to feel weird seeing them with me no longer working for the magazine. Still, we'll always share a bond because we went through something together that not too many people can understand. Tomorrow, I'm seeing an old childhood friend who is also in the publishing industry. It's cool to be surrounded by so many other writers.

Meanwhile, some exciting news -- I finally set up an official Naomi Rabinowitz Author page on Twitter, so I'm no longer using my jewelry page for book tweets. My handle is simply @NaomiRabinowitz Check in and follow me so you can get news on me and my book!

And you can still get REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD for 99 cents!