Contest Monday featuring HOUSE OF NIGHT

For all you HOUSE OF NIGHT fans out there, a HUGE contest is going on where you can win the entire set of House of Night books by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. Check out the Facebook page here for the deets. Contest ends: Jan. 29.

Also, check out Steph Su Reads where there's info about a chance to win lunch with the HOUSE OF NIGHT authors in honor of the release of AWAKENED, the newest title in the series. The winner gets a 3 day/2 night trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma!

Feel free to post other contests in our Mr. Linky below:

Happy Monday!!!

2011: Where I've been and Where I Want to Be

2010 brought many great things for me. Some of them personal, some of them writing related. Since this is a writing blog and not a bore-you-to-tears-with-my-personal-life blog, I'll stick to the latter.

2010 Highlights and what I've learned from them.

I finished revising my first novel, and promptly decided that it was horrible and would never be seen by anyone but my scribe sisters and I, started a few drafts for different works that I didn't pursue, and then I found my gem. I wrote it, and I rewrote it, and I rewrote it again, and I'm still revising it. I've learned so much from this manuscript, not just about sentence structure, plot, characters, etc. But also about my own writing style, my voice, and the mark I want to make as an author.

I entered it in few fun contests (and won, woohoo!) which landed me with partial/full requests. From those I learned a lot about what works and what doesn't in a novel opening, and that fiction is very subjective.

Watching Sisters in Scribe grow to having over 400 amazing followers! Our group has really come together over the past 12 months. We've grown as partners, learned each others habits and styles, and you lovely readers have been with us every step of the way. We're very grateful for your continued support.

Writing with Tangled Fiction has taught me more than I could have hoped for. I've learned I can write under pressure, I can meet strict deadlines, and I can still produce quality fiction that I am proud of.

I feel that I've come a long way as a writer, and I owe a lot of that to my scribe sisters.

Hopes for 2011!

I want to finish revising my current WIP and start submitting it to agents.

I want to draft another manuscript.

Of course I would love to sign with an agent, but my biggest goal for 2011 is to do my best, to grow as much as I can as a writer, and to write the best book that I can.

Happy 2011!

2011: No Resolutions - Just Goals

I don't make resolutions. (Um... anymore.) I think they're too broad, they don't bend to real life situations. I'm the kind of person that needs to feel like they're making progress, and I work better when I have a set of conditions to meet, so for me it's all about setting goals.

Last year I was coming off the high of finishing my very first complete draft of a novel. I set some HUGE goals that I now know were not just overwhelming, but also misguided.

2010 was a difficult year for me in many ways, and an amazing one in many others. A death in the family left me unable (both literally and emotionally) to write or revise for about two months. I entered into that long dark tunnel called "revisions". Where I learned that no matter how good you think your first draft is, there are always thousands of ways to make it better. And some of those ways take a full revision before you can see the path to them.

So where am I as I start 2011?

After an extremely busy holiday season I am FINALLY reaching the end of what turned out to be an almost complete rewrite. I have learned A LOT about story structure, plot, and character arcs. Much more than I would've thought possible in a revision.

From my revisions I've learned a lot about myself as a writer, my tics, and ways to make my next first draft a much better starting point. (Also, Scrivener changed my life when it comes to story, plot, research, and chapter organization!)

I have felt the pain of killing my darlings and the joy of having a CP fall in love with my favorite character.

I've fought the pull of shiny new ideas, found ways to stay focused (although this will be a continuing battle for me, no matter how excited I am about a project) and discovered that I CAN write on demand and turn out something I'm proud of (thanks Tangled Fiction!)

I have made some truly awesome friends who get my obsession over writing and YA.

And I have been humbled and honored by some very kind and encouraging words about my writing.

So what are my goals for this year?

Last year I wanted to bang out the really rough first drafts of two novels. This year that's not good enough for me. I want to complete one really well thought out, solid first draft.

I want to make my current ms the absolute best it can be before it goes out into the world.

I want to write more short stories and on a regular basis, which okay, is a given thanks to Tangled Fiction. But I want these to be stories I'm proud of, not stories I make excuses for like "well, if I had more than a couple days, this would've been awesome!"

As a whole, I just want to keep getting better at writing by actively pursuing ways to do so. Whether it's conferences, retreats, challenging myself to styles/genres I've never written before, whatever.

And of course, I want 2011 to be the year I sign with the perfect agent for me and my book!

What about you? Are you going full steam ahead with a list of resolutions? Setting small goals? Did 2010 turn out like you thought it would?

2011: Can It Top Last Year?

Happy 2011 to all of you! I hope your holidays were relaxing and joyful. I'm not crazy about all holidays (seriously, who came up with Valentine's Day?), but I do love the start of a new year. Maybe it's because of the concept of fresh starts and new challenges. Maybe it's because every year has been better than the one before, and I've had some pretty great years. I'm not big into resolutions (the same way I'm not into dieting or exercise), but I do love challenging myself. So, I'm listing my writing challenges for the year and would love to here yours as well. First, here's what I loved about 2010.

Some of my favorite writing highlights from 2010:

• starting this blog with my awesome Sisters last Dec., and watching it grow over the past year, to over 400 followers! We are so grateful to have you reading our blog, and every comment makes us smile.
• winning a Dear Lucky Agent Contest and an agent pitch contest with my first YA novel.
• finishing the first draft of a 2nd YA novel at the end of 2010, and being really proud of how it turned out (well, for a first draft anyway)
• the amazing support and encouragement in our critique group...I couldn't do it without them!
• the fabulous community of writers, bloggers, book-lovers, etc. out there. You're all wonderful!

Writing Goals for 2011:

• Revise the heck out of 2nd YA novel (hope to have my second draft finished by the end of Jan.)
• Attend PPW conference again in April.
• Get more comfortable with Twitter
• After another critique and revision of 2nd YA, begin to query
• BIG HUGE GOAL FOR 2011: SIGN WITH THE PERFECT AGENT FOR ME. (There, I said it. I really hope to have an agent by the end of this year. I realize that goal isn't totally under my control, but I think with some revisions and polishing, I have a decent shot.

Overall, I had a great 2010, so can 2011 beat it? Absolutely. Here's hoping that everyone has a year filled with magic and wonder. What about you? What are your reading and/or writing goals for the new year?

Contest Monday with Winners!

We have winners! Out of a total of 204 entries from 69 different entrants! You guys rock!



Winner of THE MAZE RUNNER is Fi-Chan!

















Winner of THE DEMON KING is Theresa M!

Winner of WAKE is Dari!

We have your mailing addresses, so you don't need to do anything else. If you didn't win this one, don't worry! We will host many more giveaways in the future! As always, thank you guys for entering! We <3 you!

If you know of any contests for reader or writers, let us know!