2001 (Second Helpings #16)
One of the challenges of writing a series–especially a sort of accidental, non-serial series like mine is turning out to be–is coming up with creative ways to quickly summarize the important events from the previous books without getting all Sweet Valley High about it. (Did devoted readers of SVH, those of us who had followed the Wakefield twins from SVH#1 Double Love all the way to um, SVH#595892763 Everyone Finally Dies need to be reminded that Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield were golden blondes with aquamarine eyes, perfect size sixes [which would be totally dieted/edited down to size 0 by today's skeletal standards] who wore the 14K gold lavalieres they received on their sixteenth birthdays etc. etc. etc. in EVERY SINGLE BOOK IN THE SERIES?)
I had what I thought was a very clever idea for summarizing Sloppy Firsts in Second Helpings: Jessica would do it via her college application essay. But this would be no mere college application essay, oh no! This would be a college application essay that summed up the first book in the series through the exclusive use of forced descriptions fitting the acronym–readers of yesterday’s (retro)blog entry…just wait for it…you’ll enjoy it–SAT. See, for Jessica Darling, mastering the SAT (test) was easy. But these SATs (from her life) were so much harder to overcome.
My editor was like…Um, no.
She was right.
