Amanda Hocking

Amanda's Blog Post

the lovers, the dreamers, and me

September 24th, 2009 by
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I would gladly spend the rest of my life watching Jim Henson films. If this writing thing doesn’t pan out, I’m totally going to puppetry school. And if this writing thing DOES pan out, I’m totally setting up scholarships so other people can go to puppetry.

The magic that Jim Henson created in unparalleled.

Ditto for John Hughes, but at least I don’t have to watch films with CGI Molly Ringwald. Although, I did just see Jennifer’s Body, but really, that would be more of a bad take on Kevin Williamson than a bad take on John Hughes.

At any rate, Switched was my best attempt at combing my favorite elements of Jim Henson and John Hughes. My biggest inspirations, specifically, I’d say would be Labyrinth and Willow (not Henson, but in the same vein) and Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink. I didn’t recreate anything scene for scene, as I shouldn’t. That’s called plagiarism, not inspiration.

But I think I took the feel. Its not quite as magical as Jim Henson, cause I’m not quite that magical. I think I can be more so in the following books.

But I think if you were to read it, you wouldn’t be surprised to know that I spent the last few weeks watching muppets, John Hughes, and Heroes. I want magic, but realism, and I like my focus to be more character centered than fantasy. The fantasy is important, but its the characters that drive it.

At any rate, I finished my final final edits on Switched. My mom proclaims it as the best thing I’ve ever read and utterly brilliant. At times like this, I wish her opinion counted for something in the publishing world. She hasn’t liked a lot of what I’ve written, though, and she is really impressed with the turn my writing has taken.

It’s more simplistic. Less dirty. And more focused on the things I love. I love what I write about. I’m not trying to exorcise my demons anymore. I’m trying to get people to experience the happines I feel. To live in the world I live in, that makes me so completely happy.

I love what I write. I love this book. With Switched, I think I took an original take on a story, one that people haven’t before. I cast things differently. Maybe the formula is a little familiar, but there’s a enough new elements and changes that it can stand out against everything else around it.

So… please please please let me get what I want.

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