Saturday, July 8, 2017

Nova Ren Suma: Finding Your Own Unique Voice: Taking Risks and Being True to Yourself As a Writer

Nova Ren Suma is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of the YA novel The Walls Between Us, which was a finalist for an Edgar Award and was named a Best Book of 2015 by The Boston Globe, NPR, School Library Journal, the Chicago Public Library, and The Horn Book.


Nova will be speaking about finding your own unique voice, that's not the voice of your character but your own voice, the one you put out into the world.

Nova's journey to find hers came from great doubt.

DOUBT

Something we all can relate to. This is where it all starts for Nova.

Nova wrote her third book 17 & Gone at a time when she was doubting herself as a writer, a time when she was trying to figure out where she fit in the YA world. There was a lot of noise in her head that came from the reaction to her previous novel Imaginary Girls which changed how she approached the writing.

While writing 17 & Gone, Nova found herself writing for everyone else rather than for herself. The decisions she made were fear-based. It made the writing difficult.

In writing her most recent book The Walls Around Us, Nova made many promises to herself, ultimately to write only for herself. In doing so, this book has brought her the most success and even became a New York Times bestseller.
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"Readers respond when you're not trying to do what you think they want you to do, but when you do what feels most genuine to you."

The leap to be herself was the best thing for her career.

3 ways to dig out of a rut:
Be unique
Take risks
Be True


To Be Unique
Use your influences and inspirations
Be distinct to you
Let yourself have fun
Use what fascinates and excites you
Give the story your full heart


Some unique, risk-taking books full of deep truths.

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coming in Oct '17



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