Behind the Scenes of Life By Committee

Behind the Scenes gives you a closer look at the process of writing a manuscript. This edition features Corey Ann Haydu and her manuscript Life By Committee. Corey Ann Haydu is a young adult novelist living in Brooklyn. She earned her BFA in theatre from Tisch School of the Arts and her MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. Corey loves writing in cafes, reading in bars, and walking all over New York City. She is also passionate about cheese, pilates, and feminism. Her first novel, OCD LOVE STORY, came out in July 23rd from Simon Pulse. Her second novel, LIFE BY COMMITTEE, comes out Summer 2014 from Katherine Tegen Books.You can read Corey's humiliating teenage diaries at formerselfproject.blogspot.com and more info on Corey and her books at coreyannhaydu.com. Follow her on twitter (@CoreyAnnHaydu), where you can watch her struggle with the writing of her next novel.

Inspiration for Life By Committee:

The film Love Me If You Dare, mountains of Vermont, used books, mismatched tables and chairs in cafés, lattes, red Mary Janes, the blue glow of a computer screen, Belle and Sebastian's "Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying," and The Secret Garden.

About Life By Committee:

"My next novel is Life By Committee. It’s my second contemporary YA novel, this time narrated by Tabitha, a Vermonter with a case of serious loneliness after having been ditched by her friends who think she’s “changed” too much in the last few months. Tabitha’s loneliness drives her to do a lot of things she doesn’t understand—things that aren’t all that nice and things that aren’t all that safe. Secret things. But it’s when she joins a mysterious online community that her life truly becomes not her own. Her deepest, darkest secrets might get exposed, her behaviors get more unpredictable, and to protect herself she has to commit fully to a new way of life and her new online friends. A story about looking for community, fighting loneliness, taking risks, and the intense need to keep your secrets."

A piece of Corey's writing process:

" For me, the key to a successful writing life is getting out of my apartment. I have a great apartment. And a cute dog. And an office, even, where I planned on doing lots of work. But. The reality is, I can’t work from home. Not successfully, not regularly, not enjoyably. I get distracted and bored in my home. I let myself off the hook. I watch terrible reality TV. I play with my dog and eat lots of cheese. I do not write. I do not get in the zone. So I’ve learned that I have to write at cafés. Once I’m out of my apartment, I actually get work done, I’m suddenly accountable. Not to mention I can listen in on strangers' conversations when I get bored, or imagine that all the other writers in the Brooklyn cafés I frequent are noticing every time I glance at twitter instead of my latest manuscript. I can imagine that something interesting might happen (and it’s New York! If you’re out of your home, something interesting really MIGHT happen!) and I can feel like I’m part of the world, even though writing is actually a pretty lonely pursuit. Lots of afternoons I wish I could stay home. Especially when it’s raining or snowing or worst of all at 99% humidity. But I’m not that writer. And accepting what kind of writer you are, what kind of tools, however strange and annoying they may be, you need, is a huge step in being a successful, productive writer. Or artist of any kind, I’d imagine."