Why Summer Slacking Isn't All Bad

I officially switched into summer mode last week during a family beach vacation in North Carolina. Here's the view from our balcony (photo taken by my hubby with his iPad2--which I have to admit is pretty cool):

I didn't write a single word the entire week, but I didn't feel guilty about it either. In fact, after falling asleep one night to the sound of crashing waves, I dreamed a cool new story idea that I'm really excited about. For me, down time fuels my creativity and re-energizes me. It also gives me more time to read, which hopefully makes me a better writer.


As this is my son's last week of school, I know I'll soon be spending more time at the pool than at the computer, and I'm okay with that. I tend to do my biggest spurts of writing in the fall and winter, while I spend most of my summer outdoors. Come September though, when my kids are back in school, I'm ready to crank out pages again. I know some writers write almost every day of the year, no exceptions. Some are published authors with contracts and deadlines, and others are driven by different motives. I love writing and will always do it, but for now, I'm fine with finishing one book per year. And spending summers with my kids? Priceless.

What about you? Any other cyclical/seasonal writers out there? Any die-hard writers who think I'm a total slacker? 

In Memorium

The Sisters in Scribe hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day. If you get the chance, take a minute to remember all of our fallen military who gave their lives for our collective freedom. We wouldn't be grilling burgers, drinking beer, and hanging out with friends today if it weren't for them. The picture below is from Arlington Cemetery:

Friday Book Recommendation: The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st ed edition (September 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780060530921
• ISBN-13: 978-0060530921

From NeilGaiman.com

Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place-he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their timely ghostly teachings-like the ability to Fade. Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are things like ghouls that aren't really one thing or the other. This chilling tale is Neil Gaiman's first full-length novel for middle-grade readers since the internationally bestselling and universally acclaimed Coraline. Like Coraline, this book is sure to enchant and surprise young readers as well as Neil Gaiman's legion of adult fans. 

*************

This was the first Gaiman book I've read and it was awesome! Charming with just the right amount of creepy, and fantastic illustrations to go along with it.  I've had it for a few years and was a little hesitant to pick it up--I don't read a lot of MG and it is written in third person (I much prefer first).  I'm kicking myself for not reading it sooner. It's one of those books that is so well-written you don't recognize the tense it's written in, and like Harry Potter (I am not comparing it to HP) it's one of those stories that both teens and adults will love.  It is definitely a must-have book. 

Visit Neil's website, find him on facebook, or follow him on twitter. 

Treasure Hunt, Self-Edit Style!

While I’m waiting for notes on my WIP from my Scribe Sisters, I’ve been doing some research on things, including agents, revisions, candle making, how to properly skin an animal (don’t ask), and I’ve come across some gems. 

Mostly on the revision thing.

Cheryl Klein, an editor at Scholastic, has this fantastic recap of a talk she did for an SCBWI conference on revising and self-editing. The full speech is also there for your reading pleasure.
http://www.cherylklein.com/id21.html

Literary agent Natalie Fischer (Bradford Lit) recently posted a great recap of her talk at an SCBWI event on the revision process.
http://adventuresinagentland.blogspot.com/2011/05/ponder-polish-perfect-how-to.html

YA author Holly Cupala (Tell Me a Secret) has compiled a huge list of posts from various authors, illustrators and industry pros on revision!
http://www.hollycupala.com/2009/08/revision-tips-galore.html


Hopefully you find these links as useful as I have. Happy revising!


*****
In other news, if you haven't seen the amazing book trailer for Carrie Harris's debut BAD TASTE IN BOYS, go do that immediately! Our own Valerie Kemp created it!

On Trends

Since I'm soaking up some sun and beach time this week, I'm going to point you to an awesome article on trends by uber-agent Mandy Hubbard.  No, trends aren't something you want to chase trends, but it's always helpful to know what they are. Enjoy, and I'll be back next week.

Contest Monday

Author Cynthia Leitich Smith has fascinating interview and crit oppourtunity with Egmont USA Publisher Elizabeth Law up on her blog. Which, if you're not following her blog yet, get over there NOW and do it, it's an amazing resource for writers!

Read the interview and enter to win a 30 page manuscript critique from Elizabeth Law HERE. Ends 5/31

Adventures in Children's Publishing is celebrating new releases this week by giving away two of them! Win AWAKEN by Katie Kacvinsky and THE A CIRCUIT by Georgina Bloomberg and Catherine Hapka. And while you're there be sure to check out their interview with several of the authors releasing this week including debut authors Tessa Gratton and Brian Farrey (also editor at Flux), and Elizabeth Scott! ENTER HERE (And check back there tomorrow for even more giveaways!) Ends 5/26

Know of a good contest? If so, fill in the info below:

Friday Book Recommendation: SHADE by Jeri Smith-Ready

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse (May 4, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781416994060

Love ties them together.
Death can't tear them apart.

Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last.

Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone.

Well, sort of.

Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan’s violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.

It doesn't help that Aura’s new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.

As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart…and clues to the secret of the Shift.

****

This book is fantastic! And the sequel SHIFT was just released, so when you finish SHADE, you don't have to wait long for more. And you'll want more. I found nothing cliche about the story, and the world it's set in is entirely original. No stagnant paranormal romance here. If you like paranormal, you should definitely give this book a try.

If you'd like a signed copy, Order from Constellation Books

Picture of Jeri signing my copy at Books of Wonder in NYC!

You can find more about Jeri Smith-Ready at her website, or follow her on Twitter. 

Visual Inspiration

When I get stumped in a project, or just need to get back in touch with my characters, I turn to music, something that fits the characters or the mood of the scene I'm writing, and www.weheartit.com.

If you haven't wasted spent some time browsing the collection of images there, you totally should! I've found so many that are PERFECT representation for my wip. Like this one, for example:

That is so completely Jack and Charlie! It could only be more perfect if her dress was green. Really, this post was an excuse for me to share that picture with you. The downside is that I have no idea who the owner is. Is it yours? 

What's your favorite procrastination inspiration exercise?

Failure Isn't Everything

One of my favorite quotes ever (and unfortunately I can't remember where I heard it, a movie I think) is:

"If you're going to fail, fail spectacularly."

And no, that doesn't mean do a crap job. It means go for it. Don't hold back, or play it safe, in the hopes that you won't make a huge fool of yourself if you get it wrong.

If you shoot for the middle, all you'll get is mediocre. That and the knowledge that you could've tried harder but you didn't.

So the next time you sit down to write, or work out a plot, or anything else in life, ask yourself. Am I doing everything I can to make this great? Am I trying to make my story fit in with what everyone else is doing?

Is there a crazy idea you have for a story that in your gut, you know it could work, but you're afraid to try it? Are you shoving it aside to write something more mainstream/"now"/generic? Ask yourself it that's really what you want to do, and if it's not, go for it. And even if you fail, it will be the kind of glorious failure that shows your heart, and what's wrong with that?

A Lesson in Perseverance

Those of you who follow me on Facebook might have already seen this link I shared a few days ago. I loved this story because it reminded me how much perseverance can pay off. The link refers to the story of Kathryn Stockett, who wrote The Help. This book was one of our picks for book club, and it was amazing--one of the few books that our whole group loved.

But 60 agents didn't love it. In fact, one agent described her writing as "tiring." If she hadn't queried that 61st agent, our book club might never have had the honor of reading such an amazing story. Besides perseverance, Ms. Stockett also continued editing the book based on feedback from her earlier rejections. The book that 61st agent read was likely a very different version than the one the first agent read. But it still serves as a reminder about how subjective tastes can be.

Also, I'd like to point out that some published authors will tell you 60 rejections is nothing. Some queried 80, 100 or even 150 agents before finding their perfect match. They didn't give up. I'm not saying you shouldn't move on to a new manuscript at some point, but don't sell yourself short. As Ms. Stockett and tons of other authors out there will tell you, hard work plus persevering in the face of long odds can reap huge rewards.

What about you? Any tales of writerly perseverance you'd like to share?  

Contest Monday Featuring Help Write Now!

And we're back! Blogger ate my Thursday post and wouldn't allow Kristi to post on Friday, but it looks like everything is back to normal. Whew!


The writing community has come together once again with auctions to generate funds that will go directly to the American red Cross to help with disaster relief for those affected by the recent storms and flooding in the US. Visit HelpWriteNow.blogspot.com for details on how you can donate or bid on the amazing writing/book related items up for grabs!

The ladies at Adventures in Children's Publishing are hosting a fabulous Middle Grade prize pack giveaway! Books included are: Fibble: The Fourth Circle of Heck by Dale E. Basye, The Golden Ghost (A Stepping Stone Book(TM)) by Marion Dane Bauer, The Door in the Forest by Roderick Townley, and The Forever Crush (Pink Locker Society) by Debra Moffitt. Winner will be announced on Thursday. Details at ACP blog.

The Bookshelf Muse featured author Janet Gurtler on the blog, talking about the importance of voice in your novel, along with a giveaway of Janet's YA novel, I'm Not Her. Read all about it here.

Reading Teen is giving away an ARC of Divergent by Veronica Roth. Ends June 1st. Check that out here.

Author Gail Carriger is hosting a facebook contest. If you have facebook, all you have to do to enter is join her new group. Up for grabs is a signed copy of the French version of Soulless and your pick of Soulless, Changeless, and Blameless in either American English or the UK versions. Ends midnight Thursday, May 19th. Go here for full details.

Not a contest, but Write On Con is hosting a "trifecta of awesome" chat tonight! Editor Molly O'Neill, Agent Joanna Stampfel-Volpe, and agent Michelle Andelman will be chatting live at www.writeoncon.com at 9pm EST. Topic TBA. Deets here.

The Road To Success

Today I'm going to point you to an article I read recently and found very helpful:

9 Things Successful People Do Differently by Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D.

Halvorson points out that most of us have a hard time figuring out what it is that makes us succeed when we succeed and therefore that makes it hard for us to repeat the process on each new project or goal. I had never thought about it this way but I think it's so true. When things go surprisingly well, we tend to think we "got lucky" but I truly believe that LUCK = PREPARATION + OPPORTUNITY so that means it's got to be more than just showing up, right? But rarely do we stop and ask ourselves why something we did worked. We just rejoice in it.

One of my favorite things on the list is: Focus On Getting Better Rather Than Being Good

Such a good idea, and SO hard to stay focused on. So if you've got a few minutes, I highly recommend checking out the link!

WINNERS!

Thanks again to all who entered our epic pitch contest, and a huge thanks for the uber-awesome Sara Megibow for judging. The entries were so good, she couldn't pick just one winner. All 3 winners will receive a critique of the first 30 pages (double spaced, 12pt font) of their ms. *insert drum roll* The 3 winners are:

THE BLUES by Marquita Hockaday

WAYWARD ONE by Lorelie Brown

DUST TO DUST by Kalen O'Donnell

Congrats to our winners!!!! I'll email each winner later today with instructions on how to contact Ms. Megibow with their submission.

Contest Monday with ARCs and a Kindle

Happy Monday! First of all, we wanted to say how impressed we were by all 100+ entries we received for our pitch contest with Sara Megibow. I'm really glad I'm not Sara right now. The winners will be announced in the next day or two. Congrats to everyone who entered--it takes courage to put your work out there! Now, on to some contests.

The lovely Natalie Parker is giving away tons of ARCs in her Bloody Magical Contest (and a copy of Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton which I'm dying to read). Hop over to her blog, Nataliesee's Journal, for the details.Contest ends Wed. May 11th.

Adventures in Children's Publishing is giving away a copy of Calli Be Gold by MG author, Michele Hurwitz. Winner will be announced on Thurs.

This just in...Nathan Bransford is giving away a Kindle in celebration of his book release. Contest ends: Wed. at 7pm Pacific time.

Any good contests out there I missed? If so, fill in the info below:

Contest of Epic Awesome With Agent Sara Megibow!

As promised, we bring you the official contest thread for our first ever agent-judged contest!


UPDATE: Sara just told us she is so impressed with these that she'll read the first 30 pages of THREE winners!!
This contest is now closed to entries. Stay tuned for Sara's top picks!

Meet the awesome agent who's agreed to be our first judge!
Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary Agency!

Sara is the Associate Literary Agent at Nelson Literary Agency. She's actively and enthusiastically acquiring new clients!

Nelson Literary Agency specializes in representing young adult and middle grade, science fiction and fantasy, romance (all genres except category or inspirational), commercial fiction, women's fiction (including chick lit) and high concept literary fiction.

Sara is particularly interested in "contemporary YA and MG novels - stories set in the real world, preferably with a multicultural or historical aspect." And would also "love to work on more science fiction and fantasy books." She loves "fantastical stories - especially when they are unique and beautifully written," and says "My favorite young adult reads in 2010 were ASH by Malinda Lo and THE DUFF by Kody Keplinger."

For those of you that don't write YA, Sara also likes romance books that are "super sexy and intelligent" and commercial fiction that has "a unique story and superior writing."

Some of Sara's clients and their upcoming books include:
Miranda Kenneally - SCORE (Sourcebooks, December 2011)

Allison Rushby - SHOOTING STARS

Jennifer Shaw Wolf - BREAKING BEAUTIFUL


And now for the best part, THE PRIZE. Sara has offered to review the first 30 pages of the THREE manuscripts whose pitches she liked the most!


How it works:
This contest is for COMPLETED POLISHED MANUSCRIPTS ONLY. If you wouldn't want an agent to read it yet, don't enter.

You have 140 characters to pitch your novel. NO ABBREVIATIONS--if the word is "When" please do not give us "whn". You may use numbers (16 instead of sixteen) but no abbreviated words. We have a great post with examples of elevator pitches in the archives, but remember, 140 characters ONLY. This includes punctuation and spaces. If you can not fit it in a tweet (hence the term "twitter pitch"), your entry will be disqualified. It's tough, but you can do it.

We will only accept entries in the genres that Sara Megibow represents. (See her bio above.)

While following our blog and spreading the word about the contest is not required, and won't get you any extra points, we would greatly appreciate it. The more the merrier!

Please put your entries in the comments of this post as follows:

Name:
Title:
Genre:


140 character pitch.


Entries will be accepted until 11:59 pm ET Saturday, May 7th 2011. Any entries submitted after that time will be disqualified.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS about the contest, please ask them in the announcement thread from Monday. We would like to keep this post for entries only.

Only one entry per person.

**UPDATE**

It has been brought to our attention that some of you are receiving emails from a third party. We are not affiliated with any third parties, and we apologize if these emails have inconvenienced you in any way. We will not be contacting winners via email, we will simply post here on the blog. If you would like to remove your entry, to delete your email, and submit again, you are welcome to do so before the entry window closes at 11:59pm May 7th.

Again, we apologize for any inconvenience.

Sara is thus far very pleased with your entries! Thank you all!

Charlaine Harris in NYC

Tuesday night I hopped on the Harley (on the back--I'm not that cool) and rode into Manhattan with my husband for the release and book signing of DEAD RECKONING, book 11 in the Southern Vampire Mysteries (True Blood) by Charlaine Harris. I will admit, I was a little bit starstruck. Most of the pictures that my husband took, I'm making crazy faces, or squealing like the fangirl that I am. So I'll just share these ones with you.

I took my smaller camera, which takes kind of crappy pictures, because I went on the bike and my big camera is...big.

That is me on the right in the tan sweater.

Charlaine Harris was the author who got me back in to reading. The minute I picked up DEAD UNTIL DARK, I was hooked in the world she'd created, and totally in love with her characters. Because of this, I started writing. I even named my protagonist in my current WIP after Charlaine. Her books are for adults, and I write YA, but I didn't chose YA. It chose me, I suppose (in fact this is the ONLY adult series I read, ha!). There are so many great YA authors who have inspired me, but when I look back, Charlaine and Sookie were what made me realize I was a writer. My favorite quote from this signing was from Harris: "Writers are born, not made." She didn't mean that you're born a great writer, you do have to write and learn how to write well. 

Charlaine answered questions for about thirty minutes and then for the next two hours or so she signed books. She is a signing machine. By the time she got to me, about an hour into signing, her signature was still perfect. During the Q & A fans asked the general questions about her writing process, which now consists of a lot of the business side and not as much writing as she'd like to do, how much coffee she drinks (three cups in the morning), and how she feels about the differences Alan Ball made between the books and the show (she thinks he's fantastic, and she wishes she had thought of Jessica).

The thing I found most interesting was that, despite the fact she'd written mysteries for years before she wrote the first Sookie Stackhouse novel, it took two years for her agent to sell it. Mainly because nobody knew where to put it on a shelf. When she wrote the book, she thought it would be fun to have a mystery series that involved the supernatural, melding mystery and urban fantasy together. Then she thought if she threw in a juicy sex scene for Sookie, she could get the romance readers too. And when the question "Where do we shelve this?" came up, Harris said "everywhere". A logical answer, for sure!

It was an amazing opportunity for me to be able to meet her. Her Sookie novels have inspired me in so many ways. I do believe it is important for writers to read and gather inspiration from "the masters" of literature, especially in your chosen genre, and not only the current super hits (Sookie, Twilight, Harry Potter, etc), but the thing that inspires me most about Charlaine Harris's Sookie novels, is just how much I love them. How immersed in that world I become when I sit down to read. That is what I want to do to readers. That is what is so inspiring. And that is how I knew I was a writer.

 Have you had the chance to meet some of your favorite authors? Who inspires you?

***
Tomorrow is the big day! We open up for entries into our first ever agent participant contest! So perfect those twitter pitches, and we'll see you tomorrow!

Wednesday Book Recommendation - Blood Magic

It's my week to rec a book and since Friday we're opening up our AWESOME TWITTER PITCH CONTEST WITH AGENT SARA MEGIBOW (which you're totally entering right?) I figured I'd rec a book today. So here's my pick:


BLOOD MAGIC by Tessa Gratton
(releases May 24, 2011)

Everywhere Silla Kennicott turns she sees blood. She can't stop thinking about her parents alleged murder-suicide. She is consumed by a book filled with spells that arrives mysteriously in the mail. The spells share one common ingredient: blood, and Silla is more than willing to cast a few. What's a little spilled blood if she can uncover the truth? And then there's Nick—the new guy at school who makes her pulse race. He has a few secrets of his own and is all too familiar with the lure of blood magic. Drawn together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick must find out who else in their small Missouri town knows their secret and will do anything to take the book and magic from Silla.

Why You Should Read This Book: First let me say, don't let the title fool you. There are no vampires (or any other paranormal creatures) in this book! What there is in this book is lots of magic, (it's so real that you can see it like a movie, and you'll want to try it just to see if there's magic in your blood too. Or... maybe that's just me.) There's also steamy kisses, a peek into a fascinating descent into evil, a real girl with real problems who doesn't need a boy to save her, steamy kisses, and my most favorite thing in a book, a plot that keeps you on your toes and guessing all the way until the very end! (And did I mention steamy kisses?) I really loved this book and the world it created it. I'm already salivating for the companion novel!

So if you haven't added BLOOD MAGIC to your must read list. There's still time! BLOOD MAGIC releases May 24th.

Underdogs

I'm a sucker for underdogs. If you ask me who I want to win in any given sports match-up, I'll usually ask who's supposed to win and then I go for the other guy (unless it's my favorite team, but they're never supposed to win and are permanent underdogs--sorry Chiefs). My hubby and I watched The Fighter this weekend (based on a true story), and though I loathe boxing and am not a big fan of violence in general (well, unless aliens, space monkeys, or vampires are involved), I loved the movie. Part of it was that the movie focused as much on him as a person as on the fighting (and the family dynamics alone make this a must see), but what hooked me were the odds. Because they were stacked against him and his crack addict brother from the get-go. And he won anyway. 

 Remember the Titans (also based on a true story) blew me away and is one of the few movies I'll watch every time I catch it on t.v. This coach had to win every single game to keep his job and fight racism while doing it--I get chills just thinking about this movie.

I realize these are sports related examples, but I think sports lends itself well to the underdog theme. Remember, the Boston Red Sox coming back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Yankees and win the 2004 American League Championship (pure awesome). Or the one-armed catch that helped the Giants beat the Patriots in a Super Bowl outcome no one expected (never mind that the receiver later shot himself in the leg).

I'll bring this around to young adult books (and try to curb my use of parentheticals in this post--geez). The underdog theme might involve the MC fighting back against a tyrannical government in a dystopian society (a la Uglies, The Hunger Games, The Giver, Possession), or the MC is an average human attempting to survive/defeat the all-powerful paranormal creature (Need, Twilight, Hush Hush), or they're attempting to defeat normal, real-life issues like death and high school (If I Stay, The DUFF). Chances are, if the odds seem insurmountable and like there's no way the MC can succeed, it's my kind of book.  

What about you? What are some of your favorite underdog stories? (They can be either books or movies, and I swear that's my last use of parentheses for this post).


Also, in case you missed our Epic Contest of Awesome announcement, check out the details on the pitch contest judged by the wonderful Sara Megibow from Nelson Literary Agency. We're awed and humbled by our amazing followers and wish you all luck if you enter!

Agent Contest of Epic Awesome!

*****THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED!*****

If you would like to enter, please follow this link.

Today we're excited to announce that we're having our very first agent participant contest! Woohoo!

This Friday, May 6th at 10 AM EST, we will open up for entries in our first ever twitter pitch contest!

Meet the awesome agent who's agreed to be our first judge!
Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary Agency!

Sara is the Associate Literary Agent at Nelson Literary Agency. She's actively and enthusiastically acquiring new clients!

Nelson Literary Agency specializes in representing young adult and middle grade, science fiction and fantasy, romance (all genres except category or inspirational), commercial fiction, women's fiction (including chick lit) and high concept literary fiction.

Sara is particularly interested in "contemporary YA and MG novels - stories set in the real world, preferably with a multicultural or historical aspect." And would also "love to work on more science fiction and fantasy books." She loves "fantastical stories - especially when they are unique and beautifully written," and says "My favorite young adult reads in 2010 were ASH by Malinda Lo and THE DUFF by Kody Keplinger."

For those of you that don't write YA, Sara also likes romance books that are "super sexy and intelligent" and commercial fiction that has "a unique story and superior writing."

Some of Sara's clients and their upcoming books include:
Miranda Kenneally - SCORE (Sourcebooks, December 2011)

Allison Rushby - SHOOTING STARS

Jennifer Shaw Wolf - BREAKING BEAUTIFUL


And now for the best part, THE PRIZE. Sara has offered to review the first 30 pages of the manuscript whose pitch she liked the most!

How it works:
This contest is for COMPLETED POLISHED MANUSCRIPTS ONLY. If you wouldn't want an agent to read it yet, don't enter.

You have 140 characters to pitch your novel. NO ABBREVIATIONS. So be crafty, you have four days to come up with the perfect pitch for your book.

We will only accept entries in the genres that Sara Megibow represents. (See her bio above.)

The full rules will post when the contest officially opens. Entries will open at 10am ET Friday and close at 11:59pm ET Saturday May 7th.

In other contest news:

Maggie Stiefvater is having a GIANT FOREVER TRAILER CONTEST in which you can win awesome things like an early copy of FOREVER and an ARC of THE SCORPIO RACES (aka Secret Novel). And tons of other goodies! So go check it right now!

As always, if you have a contest you'd like to share, post the link in our Mr. Linky!