Diary of a Word Nerd

My YA Manuscript is ON THE BLOCK

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Julia Tomiak / 7 Comments

My fiction writing first went public thirty years ago. I was a freshman in high school, sweating at my desk while my English teacher read several short stories to the class, including mine, a tragic piece about a boy whose best friend committed suicide. Fortunately, my classmates liked the story, and it made it into the school literary magazine.

Now here I am, many years later, still pulling words into something I hope resonates with readers. Today, the first page of my young adult manuscript, REDEFINED, is up at Miss Snark’s First Victim. I made it into the ON THE BLOCK contest, along with 23 others, which means I’m putting my writing out there for readers and writers to critique. On Tuesday, November 10, agents will bid on manuscripts they want to read more of.

Hopefully, if the stars fall into line and my character’s voice is strong enough and the conflict is clear enough, an agent, or maybe two, will ask to read more of my work. It’s not a guarantee of publication, but it’s a giant step in the right direction, my work in front of agents’ eyes.

Did you know it took Kathryn Stockett five years to find an agent for The Help? The road to publication isn’t for wimps. Thank goodness I’m stubborn. And I have supportive friends. 😉

Word Nerd Request

If you feel inclined, please stop by Miss Snark’s blog, read my first page, and offer a critique. My novel is a young adult contemporary, which means it’s about real kids with real problems. It’s similar in style and content to something written by Sarah Dessen or Morgan Matson. I won’t dare to compare myself to John Green, but there are literary references, as in his books.

Here’s the log line- publishing speak for a 1-2 sentence summary of the book. (Do you know how hard it is to summarize a book in two sentences? )

Seventeen year old Cat craves a social life, but a neurological disease is wrecking her mom’s health and her uptight dad wants her to stay home to help. When Cat falls for a guy who understands family weirdness, she must stand up to her overprotective father or lose the boy she loves.

Word Nerd Suggestion

If you enjoy writing, please follow Miss Snark’s blog. She offers valuable advice and support, as well as several contests each year to help you get your work out there.

Can you recommend any other online contests or writing sites? I’m also a big fan of K.M Weiland.

If you have any good luck mojo, please send it my way. 😉

Thanks!

Improving vocabulary

What Does Peripatetic Mean?

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Julia Tomiak / 4 Comments

Welcome to Wondrous Words Wednesday, a meme for word nerds who care enough to look up words they don’t know. Join Kathy at Bermuda Onion to learn more new and interesting words.

My word today comes from the YA contemporary Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson. Emily’s best friend Sloane has mysteriously disappeared at the beginning of the summer. The only thing Sloane left behind for Em is one of her crazy “to do” lists, which includes items like:

Kiss a stranger
Go skinny-dipping
Steal something
Break something
Dance until dawn
Hug a Jamie

Since You’ve Been Gone is a fun read about getting out of your comfort zone and learning to take chances. Here’s the word nerd word:

Sloane and her parents lived the kind of peripatetic existence- picking up and moving when they felt like it, or when they just wanted a new adventure- that I’d seen in movies, but hadn’t known actually existed in real life.

peripatetic \ˌper-ə-pə-ˈte-tik\ adjective from Greek peripatein to walk up and down, discourse while pacing (as did Aristotle), from peri- + patein to tread

related to walking
moving or traveling from place to place

Example:

Maria lived a peripatetic life after graduation, selling kids books while seeing many different parts of the country.

Note: Peripatetic can also mean “Aristotlean”, as Aristotle reportedly paced a lot.

Word Nerd Workout

Suggest a synonym for peripatetic. Mine: itinerant.

Thanks for “playing”!

How to encourage reading/News from book business/Words and Technology

How Kaya Thomas Used Technology to Solve a Bookish Problem

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Julia Tomiak / 3 Comments

The Internet is a blessing and a nightmare. We have access to so much information, but, also, we have exposure to distressing things that we don’t have much control over, such as the refugee crisis in Europe or the latest shooting here at home.

News outlets and social media seem to flourish on the sensational, but I much prefer the positive stories about people using all of this information around us to do good things. Give me the inspiring over the scandalous any day.

With that in mind, let me introduce you to Kaya Thomas. She’s a computer science major at Dartmouth University who saw a problem and used her brains and her ability to access information on the web to fix it.

Thomas always loved to read, but as a young girl, she struggled to find books with characters she could relate to – people of color who were more than just a stereotype. Thomas was, in her words, “black and nerdy.” She wanted to read about girls like her.

Unfortunately, many library displays and popular book lists don’t feature books written by people of color that feature characters of color. Thomas eventually discovered that plenty of books like that have been published, she just needed a better way to find them. And so did other readers.

In the summer of 2014, Thomas used her knowledge of programming to create the App WE READ TOO. Basically, the app helps readers find books with diverse characters. Readers can also suggest books to be added to the database.

Thomas hasn’t stopped with the app. She wants to empower other girls of color and help them embrace technology. She says on her site:

Knowledge is power and coding is an outlet to create technology that makes positive impacts on communities.

Girl power! If you’re interested in creating apps or learning more about technology, no matter what your gender or ethnic background is, Thomas suggests visiting these sites:

I’m also going to put in a plug for Girls Who Code, a nonprofit striving to close the gender gap in technology and engineering.

To learn more about Thomas, visit her website or this interview with her on Innov8tiv.com. You can also learn more at the We Read Too Facebook page .

Can you help me grow more good news on the Internet? Please share this story through social media, and, even better, tell us about another “feel good” story in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by!

Awesome Young Adult Books/Improving vocabulary

What Does Ensorcelled Mean?

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Julia Tomiak / 13 Comments

Who says YA literature isn’t sophisticated? I’ve already had to look up two words in my latest read, Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson. It was nominated by YALSA to be one of the Teens Top Ten books of 2015.

If you like to learn new words, join in the Wondrous Words Wednesday meme, where Word Nerdy bloggers share new words we’ve learned from reading.

Here’s one of the words from Since You’ve Been Gone, a contemporary realistic YA novel about one girl’s quest to find her mysteriously missing best friend:

They didn’t think about the fact that [the old Victorian] was pretty much falling down, that it was three stories and drafty, shockingly expensive to heat in the winter and, with central air not yet invented when the house was built, almost impossible to cool in the summer. They were ensorcelled with the place.

ensorcell \in-ˈsȯr-səl\ verb from French en + sorcerer from ensocier

to bewitch or enchant

Word Nerd Workout

Use ensorcell in a sentence. For example,

The White Witch ensorcelled Edmund with her Turkish Delight.

Thanks for getting nerdy with me today. Don’t forget to check out Wondrous Words Wednesday!

Awesome Young Adult Books/How to encourage reading

Teen Read Week 2015

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Julia Tomiak / 7 Comments

Do you know teens who read? Better yet, are you a teen who reads? How about a book lover trying to get a teen to read?

All of you need Teen Read Week – which is happening right now, Oct 18-24, 2015. Created by YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association), Teen Read Week encourages teens to read and visit their library. The theme this year is “Get Away @ Your Library.”

Teen Read Week Activities

Unfortunately, my local library isn’t doing anything for Teen Read Week (maybe I should tell them about it). But here are some cool ideas I found for activities on the official site:

“Page-to-screen” after school movie and discussion of film adaptations of popular books.
Teen author conferences
“Caught Ya Reading Day”- students caught reading at one high school will get candy. (My daughter would love this!)

Reading Recommendations

Here are some things to help teens find good books to read:

The YALSA Teen Book Finder App – This app allows users to search for books by title, author, or genre, find the books at their local library, and share about them on social media. Pretty cool! I’ll probably get it.
YALSA’s Teens’ Top Ten Each year, teens vote for their favorite books. The voting closes Oct 24, but this is a great place to get reading suggestions. Check out the Teens’ Top Ten site to see this year’s 24 nominees and winners from previous years. Popular titles for 2015 include:
- To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before
- The Bane Chronicles (for fans of The Mortal Instruments series)
- My Life with the Walter Boys
- Since You’ve Been Gone (my current read- it’s good!)
YALSA’s Facebook Page

Where do you go to find great teen reads? If you follow a blog or Facebook group geared to YA, I’d love to hear about it.

Now, it’s time for me to go volunteer at the Book Fair at my son’s school. Have a great weekend and happy reading!

Improving vocabulary

What Does Anhedonic Mean?

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Julia Tomiak / 6 Comments

My daughter and her BFF were debating how to spell the name of the grumbling old donkey from Winnie the Pooh. Would you know? It’s tricky. Try it right now. I can wait.

Photo Credit: Ashley via flickr CC-BY-ND

While looking up the spelling of Eeyore (did you get it right?), I came across anhedonic. Hubby the doctor had to explain it to me, and as soon as he finished I shouted “WORD NERD WORD!”

For more word nerdy words, visit Kathy at Bermuda Onion. Every week she hosts the Wondrous Words Wednesday meme in which bloggers share posts about new words they’ve learned. Join the fun!

Wikipedia (mind you, I went there for spelling, not fact checking) describes Eeyore as:

a pessimistic, gloomy, depressed, anhedonic, old grey stuffed donkey who is a friend of the title character, Winnie-the-Pooh.

Anhedonic \an-hē-’dä-nik\ from Greek a- (without) + hēdonē = pleasure

Characterized by an inability to experience pleasure in normally pleasurable acts

I should have guessed – the opposite of hedonism! Hubby says this is a medical term often used with patients who have depression.

Word Nerd Workout

Think of another anhedonic character from media or real life, or use anhedonic in a sentence.

I hate it when my friend Martha brings her anhedonic roommate out to dinner with us; she’s so pessimistic she makes my burger taste bad.

Your turn, and don’t forget to join in the Wondrous Words Wednesday meme.
Thanks for getting nerdy with me today!