Literary Circles: Blogger Interview with Melodie Wright!

Today I have a fabulous interview to share with Melodie Wright of Forever Rewrighting. Melodie is a YA writer repped by Tricia Lawrence of Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Her blog features Manuscript Mondays and Friday Funnies. I’ve been following her for several months now and have had the pleasure of enjoying her interviews with authors, her writing advice, and the cartoons and videos she posts at the end of each week which always provide a good (and much needed) laugh. Melodie lives in Palmer, Alaska with her husband and three kids. She has been blogging since June 2011 with her first post found here. She also LOVES to critique and graciously offers assistance if you need it. Read more here. If you haven’t already done so, check out her blog and follow her!

I love the title of your blog. It’s so perfect for you! Can you tell us a bit about your blog’s concept and what inspired you to start blogging?

I started blogging when Deana Barnhart hosted her Gearing Up To Get An Agent blogfest last July.  Because my plan was to start querying that fall, I needed feedback and the fest was a great way to get it…provided I had a blog. So I started one, after resisting for a long time. As a former journalist, I know all about the never-endingness of keeping a media monster fed. Since I love to revise, I came up with the title based on my husband’s name. His initials are R.E. so put those together with his last name and voila! Forever Rewrighting, bc it feels like we’ve been married forever. *grins*  (BTW, I hear Deana is hosting another GUTGAA this summer. If you’re querying, I highly recommend checking it out!)

What networking strategies have you used to build the lit community surrounding your blog?

Well, starting in honor of a blogfest was one way. I met other newbie bloggers who kept in touch for the first crucial weeks of posting, and I returned the favor. In fact, blogging is very much a reciprocal activity – the more I hop and comment, the more activity I get on my own blog. I also interviewed debut authors like you’re doing. And now I’m moving to more established authors, like Matthew Quick and Sarah Rees Brennan, who is awesome. I can’t wait to share her interview before UNSPOKEN comes out this fall.

Being a teacher, a mom, a writer, and a blogger are all demanding (and rewarding) roles. How do you fit it all in?

I teach in the afternoons, so I write in the early mornings when the kids are at school. After school, I tend to blog or critique or hop around friends’ blogs. Life happens and when it does, my blogging is what suffers. It has to. For me, my family and writing and job take precedence, as they should. That’s the case for a lot of bloggers. When things get too much, take a break! Everyone understands.

What do you feel is the most rewarding part about blogging?

Oh, the people! Hands down. They are why I keep blogging – just to ‘hear’ their voices when they comment. We are all on this journey together and it feels like we have blinders on sometimes. Blogging reminds me that somewhere, someone else is facing exactly what I am at that moment.

What is one of your favorite blogs? What makes it one of your favorites?

Hmm. It’s very hard to narrow down and there’s no way I’m picking just one. For sheer fun, it’s The Intern. For query contests, it’s a cross between Krista VanDolzer (Mother.Write.Repeat) and The Authoress (MSFV).  For sweetness, it’s Amy Sonnichsen (The Green Bathtub). For help to those of us in submission hell, it’s Mindy McGinnis (Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire).  For industry stuff,  YA Highway. For author awesomeness, it’s Maggie Stiefvater.  There are too many to list – and I feel guilty stopping there.

What current project(s) are you working on?

I just finished a WIP called RUNNING WITH WOLVES. You can read the blurb here. I LOVED writing this, and it’s killing me to put it aside for a month before I start the revision process. In the meantime, I’m waiting on betas for THE TALISMAN, which will go to my agent next month.  And I’m outlining a shiny new idea about the Olympic dive team, an ocean treasure hunt and a girl caught in the middle. Fun!!

Thanks for having me, Kimberly! It was an honor.

Isn't she lovely? Thank you Melodie for sharing your insight with us! It was a pleasure getting to know you better! I look forward to reading more from you!