Susane Colasanti - Journal

It's a week of thanks, which means that it's a good time to give back. Kind of like how my Gram always put special cookies out for everyone on Bingo night when it was her birthday, but on a larger scale. I'm talking about giving back by serving the community. I hope that my books help readers feel less alone and feel better about their lives in some small way. But there are lots of other ways I can contribute to society.

Ever since I was a kid, I've had a passion for volunteer work. I was a Girl Scout from Brownies to Leader-In-Training. In the summers, I was a candy striper. I trained as an EMT. Then Ryan White died and I knew I would be an AIDS activist. In college, I volunteered with ActionAIDS as a buddy and home helper. After I moved here, I became an educational outreach volunteer and curriculum developer for GMHC, the captain of my school's AIDS Walk team, and the arts and crafts director at a camp for kids affected by HIV and AIDS. There were a bunch of other short-term things over the years as well.

And then...I just got overwhelmed. I was teaching and writing and totally exhausted trying to do both. Something had to change. I took a hiatus from volunteering, telling myself I'd go back in a year. Five years later, I'm ready to return. I wasn't sure what my new volunteering would focus on. I thought about reading to children at the hospital or to older people at the senior center, returning to the Girl Scouts as a leader, working with Big Brothers Big Sisters, or mentoring. Then I found a wonderful organization that assists local seniors. The idea of working with them felt right. So I'm applying to be a shopper and escort, which mainly involves helping clients get to the doctor, grocery shopping, and running errands. Regular readers know that I don't do winter, but the thought of someone being unable to get out for groceries when it's cold breaks my heart. A lot of older people here are all alone. I would walk through all kinds of frozen precipitation if it means that someone will be taken care of.

Here's why I'm talking about this. If you've been thinking about volunteering, now is the time. I really regret those years I let slip away without doing more. Time can be sneaky like that. So take control. You can find volunteer opportunities in your area at Do Something or Volunteer Match. We can all find room in our lives to help make the world a better place. The world needs you.

There's this force that drives me to always be working towards my goals. It keeps me wanting more, always moving ahead, always thinking about the next goal I want to reach before I even reach the one I'm working on. This drive is good and bad. It's good because it keeps me going, even when I don't feel like going anywhere. When you're your own boss, you have to be in charge of your own work schedule. Being an organization freak definitely helps. And loving what I do makes me excited to start working (not every day, but almost every day). Lara Zeises recently discussed this issue on her blog. It seems to be on our collective mind.

The drive is also bad, in a way. Because most of the time I'm so busy moving on to the next goal that I don't take the time to appreciate the one I've just accomplished. I always want more. I never feel like I'm doing enough.

It's strange, really. Before I signed my contract for When It Happens, I thought just getting that one book published would be enough to make me happy. Everything else after that would be a bonus. But it's not like that at all. My fourth book will be published next year and I feel like I'm somehow behind. Comparison can be dangerous. So instead of comparing myself to other authors, I try to learn from them. My favorite authors are my role models, not my competition.

Back to the collective mind. I was thinking about this stuff last weekend, kind of feeling sad about things, when I saw this tweet string on John Mayer's Twitter:

Okay. This week? We're going on a diet. All of us. But this is a diet of a different kind. We're going to regulate the habit of unhappiness.
3:52 AM Jun 22nd from TwitterBerry

We will make the conscious decision to make the most of what we have and pine for nothing. No undefinable need or vague despair. Enough!!!
3:55 AM Jun 22nd from TwitterBerry

If you don't like it, FIX IT. If you can't fix it, PLAN B it. If you like it and want more, RESPECT IT. Clean straight lines of living.
3:59 AM Jun 22nd from web

He woke me up. Why was I sitting around feeling all sad about things I want so badly that I don't have? I mean, we all get like that sometimes, but enough. No matter how bad things are, they could always be worse. And the things that I do have are pretty freaking amazing. Paul Simon said, "The thought that life could be better is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains." It's one of my favorite lyrics. This drive connects us. It gives us hope. It makes us work towards creating a better life. As you're moving forward, just remember to take some time to appreciate everything you have and all of the wonderful things you've already accomplished. They're pretty freaking amazing, too.

If I couldn't be a science teacher or a teen book author or a closet organizer, I would probably be an urban planner. I have serious love for New York City, especially its green architecture and parks and all the ways in which it interacts with the people living here to enhance our lives. The idea of creating a Zen space out of a desolate area is fascinating. That's why the High Line makes me so happy.



There's an old elevated subway line running from the West Village into midtown. For years it just sat there. But now it's been transformed into the High Line, a new green space with amazing views and lots of vegetation. All of the plants are indigenous, grown from preserved seeds. Trees, grasses, shrubs, and flowers were all planted around the old train tracks:



It's a sweet place to relax. I love having peaceful places like this in the middle of a busy city. It's a totally rejuvenating experience! There are lounge chairs that roll along the original rail tracks. There's a wading pool you can walk across in the summer. A huge glass wall overlooks the street below. Benches are spread out. Every little section has its own theme going on. And all of the lighting is placed along the railing to reduce the amount of light pollution, which will rock on clear nights.

Since the High Line is elevated in an area with few obstructions, the views are incredible. You can check out the awesome surrounding architecture in a way that's impossible from street level...



...or just watch sunset on the Hudson River :



Yay for reclaimed materials! Here's more info about the High Line's design and history.

There's another pre-blog tour interview with me at Innovative Teen. Click on over to find out my favorite scenes from When It Happens and Take Me There.

The mourning doves are back! I love these guys. Their sound always mellows me out. Combined with all of the pink flowers around here, I'm totally loving spring.



Another fun spring thing is watching New Yorkers. Most of us usually walk around really quickly without looking up much. But these are the days when New Yorkers slow down a bit and take time to look up, all smiling. There's so much to notice when we look up. Cool water towers, interesting window designs, vintage print on buildings that used to be stables and printing presses and stuff.



It's a whole new way to see the city. Walking around in the spring breeze is enough for me, but some people are rejuvenating spirits by offering bouncy rides at random subway stops. They're free.

Trivia time. Did you know that "A Whiter Shade of Pale" has been the most played song in British public places over the past 75 years? Me neither. Dude, I was so obsessed with this song at one point. It was the kind of thing where, before iTunes, you had to go out and buy the whole CD for that one song you loved. In this case, it was pretty much the only good song on the CD. So worth it at the time.

Enjoy the magic of your Monday. Take some time to notice a spring thing in your world!

Sometimes readers ask me what the hardest part about being an author is. My job has two main parts. One part has to do with the things that don't involve writing books, like blogging and social networking and writing back to readers (all of which I love, by the way). Within the writing books part, I would have to say that a few things about the process are not so easy.

One of the most challenging things about writing a book is translating feelings onto a page in a way that captures exactly what I want to say. Or transforming an image into words so that you can see exactly what I do. Parts of feelings and images are usually somehow lost when words enter the equation, so I worry about how much of these intangible qualities disappear. I don't like writing long descriptions, so the challenge is to make you feel exactly what my character is feeling with as few words as possible. Those words must be chosen very carefully.

So how do I identify which words to use? Music helps. I played the Cure over and over while I was writing When It Happens and I believe it shows in the story. There's such an intensity associated with the Cure for me. When I hear the same songs now that I obsessed over in high school, all of the emotions I want to capture come rushing back, which makes them much easier to write about. If you're feeling what you're writing instead of trying to write about a feeling you're imagining, your writing will be more authentic.

Images also work, whether they involve actually visiting a place or just visualizing it. There's something about [summer evening, sunset, warm breeze, city lights] that inspires me. This feeling doesn't have a name. It's the combination of happy and intensity and exciting and the possibility of everything. If I want to share this feeling with you in a scene, I might walk along the river and watch the streetlights and the sunset reflecting off building glass and the sky changing colors and all the windows and try to write how the experience feels. John Mayer does stuff like this, too. This is why his music enriches my life in so many ways - I get exactly what he's feeling behind his words. So it's cool to discover that our writing process is similar.

Here's something John is working on now. For inspiration, he physically put himself in the scene he was trying to write about. He calls it "California Fleetwood Mac sunset post-shower going out window down new Summer hopeful." And I know exactly what that feels like.

So here's how they fit about 40 authors into the Biggest Teen Book Author Signing Ever yesterday at Books of Wonder. We were divided into three groups for signings. I was in the first group for 40 minutes and then I got to mingle with readers. I was seriously stoked to meet everyone.

These girls rocked the house:



I got to sign jeans! Heck yeah! This was such an excellent idea that I was kind of bummed I didn't think of it myself. My artistic skills were psyched to be used for something other than scrapbooking.

Hayley wanted me to sign her dictionary:



Her directions were to pick my favorite word, mark it, and sign. Another totally brill idea! I was like, "You know which word I'm going to pick," and she went, "Love has already been taken," and I was all, "Dang it!" So I picked peace, another quality word.

Renee was there!



She's the winner of the Waiting for You contest where I asked you guys to write part of a key scene for the book. She had the most adorable idea. I hope she likes what I did with it.

Fellow Degrassi fan Jeremy was rocking this shirt:



We were both hardcore fans of the old Degrassi. He's even been to Degrassi Street, but when I visited Toronto that street was pretty far from the main city area (same with the school they film in), so I didn't go. I asked the concierge if the Dot was a real place and was sort of laughed at. You can see half of Mitali on the left. She professionally documented the entire event, so I'm looking forward to her pics and comments.

Then I got all fangurl on Blake Nelson. I love love love his books. If you haven't read any Blake Nelson yet, I recommend starting with Girl. You will be hungry for more. We've met before and he knew who I was, so he already knows I'm a serious fan (although I'm sure I still managed to scare him with my intensity). Here's an action shot of me talking to Blake (blurry from all the action!):



Yeah, we stand around having conversations and such. We're tight like that. Sometimes we even go dancing:


I heard a rumor that we're doing this huge signing again next year, so if I didn't have a chance to see you I hope you can make it then!

Welcome to spring! Today is the day I look forward to all winter. It is the vernal equinox. It's all sparkly rainbows and sweet sunshine.

Only, it's snowing out. A bit. There are flurries.

See, here's the thing. The first day of spring doesn't mean that temperatures are instantly in the 60s. There are factors involved. It's just that I already put my boots away and I will not be taking them out again until, hopefully, December. Boots are part of my Warming Plan*.

Warming Plan:

1. Knee socks (with stripes, hearts, or smiley faces).
2. Boots (Rocket Dog)
3. Hat (must stretch down enough to cover ears; preferably containing a large pom-pom)
4. Scarf (soft and fluffy; may wear two if temperature is below 20 degrees)
5. Gloves (extra-long to cover arms halfway to elbow)
6. Coat (need to get a puffy one for extra insulation without looking like a marshmallow)

*To be implemented every single day of winter, with exceptions for unlayering on freakishly warm days.

It's such a relief not to wear all of this stuff every time I go out. Walking around in jeans and a T-shirt is delicious. As much as I'd love to bust out the flip-flops, I can't immediately shift to my first choice of footwear. That's okay, though, because I just got these:



Converse was my first love. They were all I wore in college. I had every single color and wore them until they pretty much fell apart. Now I'm loving the Rocket Dogs. These are so cute! It may not feel like springtime today, but it's officially a new season. I am past the Warming Plan. The flurries will not psych me out. And there is a revision to finish, so my vernal equinox blog celebration must end. Happy day to you!

I'm loving that CNN and Facebook provided a way for me to watch the inauguration of President Obama. It would not have been the same just listening to NPR. I am so excited to have a president who knows how to improve the world. This is the thing that has always impressed me most about him.

President Obama's speech was just as amazing as I expected. He was extremely clear about the most important issues that need attention right now: achieving peace, lowering insane health care costs, improving school quality, and using a lot more renewable energy. I loved how he announced that it's time to "restore science to its rightful place." Other fave parts:

"We have chosen hope over fear."

"The time has come to choose our better history."

"Imagination has joined a common purpose."

"We cannot be broken."

"We can shape an uncertain destiny."

This is our time. "It's time to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off." This is the beginning of a better era, "a future of peace and dignity." It's a "new era of responsibility."

Congratulations. We are the ones we've been waiting for. This is our day to rejoice.

Your TGIM thought of the day is brought to you by bokeh. Bokeh is a photo effect I've always loved, but I didn't know there was a name for it or even a whole practice of creating photos with blurry lights. Photos of round, fuzzy city lights rock my world.

Taylor-Tomorrow is a master of bokeh. She creates gorgeous photos that speak to me, like this one.  This photo is right out of Take Me There, and even inspired a quote from the book.

Taylor says, "I don't live in the city, but it feels like home to me." That's exactly how I felt growing up in New Jersey, pulled from across the water by the energy of New York City. Thanks for sharing your amazing talent with us, Taylor! It's always a happy day when I connect with a kindred spirit.

Welcome to longer daylight hours! The winter solstice was yesterday and that was the day with the least amount of daylight (about nine hours here in New York). Daylight hours will only be increasing by about two minutes per day until June 21, but those minutes will soon add up to equal happier times. Note to my plants (who are all huddled around the one window that supplies them with enough light to live): You can do this!

December 20 was Serendipity Day.  Otherwise known as Serendipity Do-Da Day.

My gourds have passed on.  I love assembling a plethora of gourds every fall.  I had these two where the bright orange stripe on one matched the bright orange of the other, who had dark green patches to match the other's dark green stripes. Coordinated gourds rock.  Also in hibernation is the Colasanti Tree.  Luckily, Eric Luper sent me the last photo of my tree before all of his leaves fell off this fall:



One way to celebrate the winter solstice involves burning a Yule log.  This ritual symbolizes welcoming in light after the darkness.  It represents entering a brighter time in life and a fresh new year (with no mistakes in it, Anne of Green Gables fans).  If you don't have a whole log with leaves wrapped around it to burn, that's okay.  You can create your own ritual by burning paper.  You know how certain negative thoughts have been bothering you this year?  Those thoughts limit you from living your ideal life.  So you can write them all down on paper, then burn the paper to represent letting go of these limiting thoughts and opening yourself up to the possibilities of everything the new year offers.  Let's bring in positive energy with the sunlight!

I miss real cards. Remember those? The kind that used to arrive in the mail in an actual envelope with a stamp on it? There's just something about seeing someone's handwriting and holding a real card that connects you to a person in a stronger way than getting an e-card.

Now, I have definitely been known to send an e-card or five. I like those hoops&yoyo ones. But I love picking out some cool stationery, selecting which pen to use, and actually writing a real note. Last year at this time, I was all twarked up in a big snit over how everything is virtual now and no one sends real holiday cards anymore and everything is about the impersonal email approach as pseudo-connection and blah blah blah. I didn't even send out my usual holiday cards. There was sadness involved.

This year, I've taken it back. I want to reconnect like back in the day (which wasn't even that long ago). I want to spread the love. So I sent out my holiday cards. They are very real. Plus, they have glitter, and the world absolutely needs more glitter.

Long live real cards!

I still keep crying.

Random things I didn't even notice before affect me strongly now. I saw a peace sign in a window and cried because an end to this horrible war is in sight. I saw a family on the subway and cried because those parents will be able to afford medical care for their kids. I saw a teenage girl walking down the street and cried because she has the right to choose when (or if) she will become a mother.

I cry out of relief that this world will become a better place.

President Obama is the next great leader we have been waiting for. So many phenomenal role models have been taken from us, role models who have a powerful influence on us to this day. Martin Luther King, Jr. John F. Kennedy. John Lennon. We have been crying out for our next great leader. Even the trees are crying out. This is a victory for all living things. For our entire planet.

I wish Dr. King could see that his dream is coming true. I wish Madelyn Dunham could know that we have elected her grandson to move us in the right direction. Somehow I think she did know.

America has exceeded my expectations. Like Michelle Obama, I am the proudest I've ever been of my country. I'm proud of the record turnout of voters, the volunteers who dedicated their lives to this cause, and the incredible passion you've had to elect a true leader.

You are part of history.

You have made real change happen.

You are why I hope.


More Obama victory cartoons

Best.

Day.

Ever.

Greetings on this most auspicious day!

On 8.08.88, I was 15 years old.  That summer I was in Italy, and 20 years ago today I made some wishes as I watched a total lunar eclipse.  I wished that I would be happy when I grew up.  I wished that the people in my life would get me.  And I wished that I would be doing something with my career to help other kids like me feel better.   I hoped that 20 years later on 8.08.08, these wishes would come true.

Thoughts are powerful things.  Powerful thinking influences your actions and manifests in reality.

Do something magical today.

The only thing that can drag me away from polishing my revision of book three today is Manhattanhenge.  That's where the sunset will be perfectly framed at the western end of each street running east to west.  The setting sun will illuminate every single cross-street in Manhattan for the last 15 minutes of daylight.  So tonight I will go observe Reason #824 of why I heart NY.  Neil deGrasse Tyson, Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, explains the phenomenon.