Certifiably Awkward Author...

I'm YA author Marni Bates and I enjoy reading and geeking out. So...I think I'm going to have a whole lot of fun here!

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Undeniably sweeeet. #Doable

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Busted. #Doable

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Everyone reads advice books like this, right? #Doable

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Every book should come with a cookie! That's totally #Doable, right?

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So honored to be included in Deborah Reber's FANTASTIC new book, DOABLE: The Girls' Guide to Accomplishing Just About Anything!

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Robert Arneson titled this piece 'Bowee Wowee' possibly because 'Internet Troll' was already taken.

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My coffee is extra pretty today! My barista buddies are the best!

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Obviously I've been a very good girl this year! And yes, if I am interrupted while writing, I may put you in a book and kill you...

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Ratniss volunteers as tribute! This might be the best gift I have ever given.

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I get knocked down but I get up again... Kidding. I totally tripped myself. It was a beautiful triple klutz landing though!

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My barista buddies are the best!

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My new heroine might be getting this tattoo right now...

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Just chilling with my bookplate when I should be writing...

[veronikelly-mars-deactivated201]

Men write universal stories. Women write stories for girls. Men write Literature. Women write chick lit. Even in a world where women do publish in heavier numbers than men do, they are underscored, underseen, and undervalued. Twilight is and will remain a crucial part of YA’s history — YA’s female-driven history — despite or in spite of the fact it doesn’t garner the same praises that those held up as idols within the community do. Men like John Green become symbols of YA’s forward progress and Seriousness as a category, whereas Stephenie Meyer gets to be a punchline.

A Censored History of Ladies in YA Fiction (via meggannn)

[thearetical]

Everyone lies about writing. They lie about how easy it is or how hard it was. They perpetuate a romantic idea that writing is some beautiful experience that takes place in an architectural room filled with leather novels and chai tea. They talk about their ‘morning ritual’ and how they ‘dress for writing’ and the cabin in Big Sur where they go to ‘be alone’—blah blah blah. No one tells the truth about writing a book. Authors pretend their stories were always shiny and perfect and just waiting to be written. The truth is, writing is this: hard and boring and occasionally great but usually not. Even I have lied about writing. I have told people that writing this book has been like brushing away dirt from a fossil. What a load of shit. It has been like hacking away at a freezer with a screwdriver. I wrote this book after my kids went to sleep. I wrote this book on the subways and on airplanes and in between setups while I shot a television show. I wrote this book from scribbled thoughts I kept in the Notes app on my iPhone and conversations I had with myself in my own head before I went to sleep. I wrote it ugly and in pieces… …Most authors liken the struggle of writing to something mighty and macho, like wrestling a bear. Writing a book is nothing like that. It is a small, slow crawl to the finish line.

Amy Poehler, in her preface to “Yes Please” (via thearetical)

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Happy birthday to one of the coolest people I know! Love ya @Erica_ORourke!

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Coffeeshop lurking is a skill, guys! And I've been practicing since 2003...