tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84423552976254387302024-03-06T02:10:27.713-05:00Y(A)? Cuz We Write!Two cousins joining forces to battle revisions, fluctuating waistlines and family reunions.Pam Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09872183610393667619noreply@blogger.comBlogger375125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-52181818091474932532014-03-06T12:42:00.000-05:002014-03-06T12:42:06.556-05:00New York Newbies…What We Learned Writing Song of the Day: "School Spirit" by Kanye West<br />
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We made it back from New York in one piece. While the weekend started off, how should we put it, ANNOYINGLY, we learned a few things. Like to hear it? Here it goes…<br />
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<ul>
<li><b><span style="color: #674ea7;">Don't travel along the east coast by plane in the winter:</span></b> This is probably THE most important take away from the entire trip. No. Really. It is. </li>
<li><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>Ngram Viewer:</b> </span>Author Elizabeth Wein shared this site during her keynote talk. It's used for those of us who write historical fiction--you can check how often historical words and phrases shows up in books during a certain time period using this site. Read more about Elizabeth's keynote <a href="http://scbwiconference.blogspot.com/2014/02/elizabeth-wein-keynote-bearing-witness.html">here</a>.</li>
<li><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>Make sure your story has an emotional and physical ending</b></span>: Having TWO endings makes your story that much more complex and allows for a better resolution--from Jack Gantos's keynote.</li>
<li><b><span style="color: #674ea7;">You can become a writer EVEN after being arrested!</span></b>: Seriously Jack Gantos did it! Read more about his keynote speech on the SCBWI blog <a href="http://scbwiconference.blogspot.com/2014/02/jack-gantos-keynote-ny14scbwi.html">here</a>.</li>
<li><span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>When writing historical fiction, use objective research:</b></span> Diaries are an easy go to, but they aren't always accurate--use recipes, logs, obituaries, things that are based in fact. This was said by Kendra Levin of <a href="http://www.us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/publishers/yr/viking.html">Vikings Children's Books</a>.</li>
<li><b><span style="color: #674ea7;">Don't make writing like a bad first date: </span></b>Adding too much back story in the beginning? Would you want a second date with that guy? This was said by <a href="http://www.anicarissi.com/">Anica Rissi</a>, editor at <a href="http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/Home/ImprintBooks.aspx?TCId=120&SIId=9452&ST=7">Katherine Tegen Books</a></li>
<li><b><span style="background-color: white; color: #674ea7;">Find a mentor</span><span style="color: #351c75;">:</span></b> Try and find someone a little more successful than you to look up to, someone you aspire to be like--advice from Sara Shandler, <a href="http://alloyentertainment.com/">Alloy Entertainment</a>. (Is Veronica Roth okay to look up to??? )</li>
</ul>
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That's what we learned. What about you? <span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>What are some new writing tips that you've picked up lately?</b></span></div>
Marquita Hockadayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931541485018513281noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-73351102209433726432014-02-17T09:00:00.000-05:002014-02-17T09:00:00.837-05:00We're In New Yooork...Well, Almost!<b><span style="color: #351c75;">Writing Song of the Day: "Empire State of Mind" Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys</span></b><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOq9nAuBPO0n633Vk0GDNUkZlm6k-73T6ZQdCBnOsRgs33ThA7eB7HJvGeZwc1n1Gfsx9zsx5sUCDwEEFuW3hO_0XUXqyMN4ZIgMqCMm0-B5Rlrsck8nleamQ3kGCshYqa-VuxcrwNr6qE/s1600/images.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOq9nAuBPO0n633Vk0GDNUkZlm6k-73T6ZQdCBnOsRgs33ThA7eB7HJvGeZwc1n1Gfsx9zsx5sUCDwEEFuW3hO_0XUXqyMN4ZIgMqCMm0-B5Rlrsck8nleamQ3kGCshYqa-VuxcrwNr6qE/s1600/images.jpeg" height="60" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken from: <a href="https://www.scbwi.org/events/15th-annual-scbwi-winter-conference-in-new-york/">SCBWI</a></td></tr>
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Yep, you read that right. We're about to take our SECOND trip to New York. The first didn't really count since it was one of those day trips on a bus. This time, we're gonna spend a WHOLE weekend there. And we're gonna be amongst our brethren, other writers! We are attending our very first, SCBWI New York Conference.<br />
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While we've gone to the LA conference four years in a row, we wanted to change things up this year and try out the New York winter conference. We're hoping to take in NY on Friday, experience the whirlwind conference on Saturday, and hop back on the plane Sunday. The goal of attending the conference is to get our mojos going again. With the hectic schedules of our lives, our writing has definitely suffered. We want to get to work on revising our 2013 NaNo novels and hopefully the panels and keynote speakers will inspire us to get our crap together.<br />
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Don't worry, we'll tweet and Instagram throughout the weekend and give you a brief wrap up when we get back next week. Yes, we've given you promises before on this blog that we haven't kept...but this one we promise to keep. Promise. We swear on all that is Joseph Gordon-Levitt. And you all know how we feel about him!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_sv6pGf1UfhWR1mxXjQ94_40KGnCVjUFhhJUBUUYH5Qtj3QoQRpbZU2gWElPI4z97JYfn8AC_yr9rPCI3t_hOiiavnrGRdQj79Llni-5EGBtLy4E-_9fPBSZ0W1y1FKdPaBzZKVMaFdu7/s1600/JOSEPH-GORDON-LEVITT-COVERS-OUT-OCTOBER-20132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_sv6pGf1UfhWR1mxXjQ94_40KGnCVjUFhhJUBUUYH5Qtj3QoQRpbZU2gWElPI4z97JYfn8AC_yr9rPCI3t_hOiiavnrGRdQj79Llni-5EGBtLy4E-_9fPBSZ0W1y1FKdPaBzZKVMaFdu7/s1600/JOSEPH-GORDON-LEVITT-COVERS-OUT-OCTOBER-20132.jpg" height="320" width="234" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken From: http://fashionvertigo.com/joseph-gordon-levitt-covers-out-october-2013/</td></tr>
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Marquita Hockadayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931541485018513281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-59018341285880264632013-12-05T09:00:00.000-05:002013-12-05T09:00:08.269-05:00Cuz We Write: The Remix<span style="color: #351c75;"><b>Writing Song of the Day: "The Phoenix" by Fall Out Boy</b></span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg874om2LDgdmUxvW4oMfNXCluKGwcILg_pMjT21tjqmyTwludWCWtJI8hwbBXRoD8jvECDY06rXI5LbAZq78A7ZfbFChlb-Rr3mTPXg_oCGkut00JZ6SSU1XNDrnSux14J01BwH7wJeqGF/s1600/change-same.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg874om2LDgdmUxvW4oMfNXCluKGwcILg_pMjT21tjqmyTwludWCWtJI8hwbBXRoD8jvECDY06rXI5LbAZq78A7ZfbFChlb-Rr3mTPXg_oCGkut00JZ6SSU1XNDrnSux14J01BwH7wJeqGF/s320/change-same.jpg" width="295" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken from <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2012/08/17/3-things-you-can-do-to-change-peoples-behavior/">Forbes.com</a></td></tr>
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This seems vaguely familiar, huh? Don't adjust your blog roll...wait, is it even still <i>called</i> that?<br />
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Anyway, <b><span style="color: purple;">WE'RE BACK</span></b>! And we're all changed and new and shiny. We're ready to get back into this blogging thing and keep you guys up-to-date on our lives because we know you care.<br />
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We're so close to 2014 and with that in mind, we've been remixing our lives since last spring. How so? Well, if you really wanna know...<br />
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<ul>
<li>We left our former jobs! That's right, we got out of the classroom and the school building. We're both working on <b>doctoral </b>degrees (Pam full time at <span style="color: purple;">The College of William and Mary</span>, Quita part time at <span style="color: purple;">Old Dominion University--</span>shifting to<span style="color: purple;"> The George Washington University</span>) and Quita took a promotion to work in a school system's administrative offices. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>We changed our eating habits--once again. All summer, and throughout the fall, we tried eating clean. It worked well at first (we both lost around 7-8 pounds) and then we gained all of that weight back. Something wasn't clicking so we've gone back to a low carb lifestyle. So far, so good.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>AND, did you see our new banner? Yeah, that was created by our second sistah from another mistah, <a href="http://prettypeacockpaperie.com/">Natalie Henry</a> (recently featured The Huffington Posted for a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/27/hunger-games-wedding_n_4352439.html">Hunger Games themed wedding</a>--ahhh!) and it's perfect for our newly remixed minds.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Finally (and this is one we wanted to tell you about a month ago) we <b><span style="color: purple;">rewrote</span></b> both of our very first novels for NaNoWriMo this year. Pam worked on a new version of <b><span style="color: purple;">WANTS </span></b>to get to know her characters again and Quita revisited a novel set in the 1960s called <span style="color: purple;"><b>CHASING MANSON</b></span> (a novel adaptation of a screenplay we actually wrote together). </li>
</ul>
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Whew! That's a lot of changes...Oh! And another big one--we moved for the SECOND time within four months. We just can't stay settled. Who knows, in a few months we may be updating you all on more changes.<br />
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So there you have it. All of our changes. <b><span style="color: purple;">What have you remixed in your life lately?</span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: purple;"><br /></span></b>Marquita Hockadayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931541485018513281noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-51566298006222008542012-11-16T08:00:00.000-05:002012-11-16T08:00:06.819-05:00NaNo Update #1<span style="color: red;">Writing Song of the Day: "Half Alive" by Secondhand Serenade</span><br />
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So, we stole this idea from the awesome <a href="http://katyupperman.com/">Katy Upperman</a>. We had planned to give you all weekly updates on our NaNo novels but...well, we were doing ALL THE THINGS in addition to writing our NaNo novels. Since we both have crossed over the halfway point (woo hoo!), we felt this was a good time to let you all know how we're doing...<br />
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<strong><span style="color: purple;">Pam's Update: </span></strong><br />
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<strong><span style="color: purple;">Progress (word count or a general status update):</span></strong> 26,404<br />
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<strong><span style="color: purple;">Current Mood:</span></strong> Hungry. A bit overwhelmed. But, surprisingly, I still like my story.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: purple;">Inspiration:</span></strong> Not a quote from anyone--but this is the first time during NaNo that I've written a story that I ACTUALLY believe that I'll return to and revise. In fact, I can't wait to start revising it!<br />
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<strong><span style="color: purple;">Goals as of Today:</span></strong> I usually try to reach at least 2000 words, but I'm a little stuck. So tonight, I plot a little more and make up the word count over the weekend.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: purple;">Recent Favorite NaNo WIP Bit:</span></strong><br />
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<em>“I see you didn’t have to go far for your costume.” I tug at his basketball jersey. I actually</em> tug <em>it. I guess a beer and a half does wonders to my confidence.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Brandon shrugs. “Lots of kids want to be basketball players when they grow up.”</em><br />
<em><br /></em>
<em>“Lots of kids want to be Brandon Lane when they grow up,” I correct.</em><br />
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<strong><span style="color: purple;">Non-NaNo News (because life DOES go on):</span> </strong>Well, Quita and I had the AWESOME opportunity of seeing one of our favorite actors, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, in person (more on that next week)! In less exciting news, I injured my foot in an accident last month, and it's still bugging me. Alas, I have to report to the doctor next week to see what's going on. Boo.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: purple;">In my downtime (ha!) I’m reading:</span> </strong>I've been starting and abandoning lots of novels lately--with hopes that I can return to them once I get some extra time (because THAT will happen). I most recently cracked open Ellen Hopkins' adult novel, <em>Triangles</em>. So good so far!!
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<strong><span style="color: blue;">Quita's Update:</span></strong>
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<strong><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;"><br /></span></strong>
<strong><span style="background-color: white; color: blue;">Progress (word count or a general status update):</span></strong> Over 26K
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<strong><span style="color: blue;">Current Mood:</span></strong> Agitated that I can’t just write and instead must be responsible. However, I am also getting excited about where my novel is going.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: blue;">Inspiration:</span></strong> Two words: Five Guys.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: blue;">Goals as of Today:</span></strong> I want to try and get at least 4k done by the end of this weekend.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: blue;">Recent Favorite NaNo-WiP Bit:</span></strong><br />
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<em>“What do you know about voices?”</em><br />
<em><br /></em>
<em>Walker tapped his chin. “Like cartoon voices? I’m pretty sure I know who talks Bart Simpson.”</em><br />
<em><br /></em>
<em>Kenzie laughed. “No…like, voices, voices.”</em><br />
<em><br /></em>
<em>Walker stopped walking and stared at Kenzie. “Like, voices in your head and sh*t? Like schizophrenia?”</em><br />
<em><br /></em>
<em>Kenzie continued to walk, already regretting that she said anything to Walker.</em><br />
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<strong><span style="color: blue;">Non-NaNo News (because life DOES go on):</span></strong> We just saw JGL <span style="color: red;">LIVE </span>last night. Also, I’m working on finding more internship opportunities in the publishing world.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: blue;">In My Downtime (ha!) I'm Reading:</span></strong> <em>Rage Within</em> (Dark Inside # 2) by Jeyn Roberts. Proving to be just as good as the first book!<br />
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<span style="color: red;"><strong>Both of Our Updates:</strong></span><br />
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<strong><span style="color: red;">You should read this blog post:</span> </strong><a href="http://bigglasscases.blogspot.com/2012/11/shady-business.html">Shady Business</a> by the uber smart literary agent, Sarah LaPolla. A very informative look at the legitimacy of newer agents and publishers. <br />
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<strong><span style="color: red;">Gratuitous Photograph (because we love ‘em!):</span></strong><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLYa9E-SGZ382W2dDvUlMMdsAX6zWm4pn2yWlqagXW1UbmqGbj65O61zeoaPqCjJiNm0iuUT3hoYnSezZKkZ6M2q3gwj3ekt47Zz4PQqNrvlSC-GmO_bmzQR3xK_cwAuHfLC279dPQ7wI/s1600/JGL+Guitar+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLYa9E-SGZ382W2dDvUlMMdsAX6zWm4pn2yWlqagXW1UbmqGbj65O61zeoaPqCjJiNm0iuUT3hoYnSezZKkZ6M2q3gwj3ekt47Zz4PQqNrvlSC-GmO_bmzQR3xK_cwAuHfLC279dPQ7wI/s320/JGL+Guitar+(2).jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joseph Gordon-Levitt at The National in Richmond, VA (11/15/12)<br />The moment where Quita lost it & cried...</td></tr>
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<span style="color: red;">For all of our fellow NaNo-ers out there, how are you doing? For the non NaNo-ers, what have you all been up to?</span>Pam Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09872183610393667619noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-70749117223398511292012-10-31T22:05:00.002-04:002012-10-31T22:05:27.040-04:00R.O.A.D.M.A.P. to NaNo Success!<span style="color: red;">Writing Song of the Day: "Maps" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHo8LqdMN9PGXw6TLJynntdh2rxb7jNWuqwa1BmBXwLm2jye3C6DA0JfGlq8gxWJl42tSzxYy47kwv-9k3q3tsbUHjZCkf8qsr4lOhWUg-0wMVJQuCU9U3xQVhgiooEHQC0ye1mFyMGbzn/s1600/nanowrimo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHo8LqdMN9PGXw6TLJynntdh2rxb7jNWuqwa1BmBXwLm2jye3C6DA0JfGlq8gxWJl42tSzxYy47kwv-9k3q3tsbUHjZCkf8qsr4lOhWUg-0wMVJQuCU9U3xQVhgiooEHQC0ye1mFyMGbzn/s200/nanowrimo.jpg" width="143" /></a></div>
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It's that time of the year, peeps. No, we're not talking about Halloween. Or the rush of holiday commercials that will soon clog our TVs. We're talking about NaNoWriMo!<br />
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Can I get a woo hoo?!<br />
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*crickets*<br />
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Yes, Quita and I are cray cray enough to give it another go--if only for our beloved reward at the end (more on that later). Earlier this week, we tweeted some tips to be successful for all of you daring NaNo-ers out there--so of course a blog had to follow.<br />
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And now we give you our...<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWYkCMk-1GLIsh-MHy9InBt7eWwCXMkgER5sbl6S7eEIQN8LOf3mmMmncAdE9uNs9VOulCtxjDwVf_VhlGU7X6DeXUJFoDof9K-sgJWook8qQRDOWLQf0ZATQW-XqzMhu7E8zM9W2AHRLh/s1600/Fantasy-Road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWYkCMk-1GLIsh-MHy9InBt7eWwCXMkgER5sbl6S7eEIQN8LOf3mmMmncAdE9uNs9VOulCtxjDwVf_VhlGU7X6DeXUJFoDof9K-sgJWook8qQRDOWLQf0ZATQW-XqzMhu7E8zM9W2AHRLh/s320/Fantasy-Road.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture Taken From: <a href="http://hattanenterprises.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Fantasy-Road.jpg">Hattan Enterprises</a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>ROADMAP</b></span> <span style="color: purple;"><b>to NaNo Success</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>R =</b></span> Read. Read everything. Read within your genre. Read outside your genre. Heck, read the back of a cereal box. Ideas can come from ANYWHERE.<br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>O =</b></span> Outline. After you get your idea, give it some bones. Plot--even if it's just the first few scenes. You have to start somewhere.<br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>A =</b></span> Add buddies. Hey, you're going to need friends to push you along and keep you on track. Quita and I are great dictators, er, I mean, MOTIVATORS. Our NaNo usernames are pharris81 and mhockaday.<br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>D =</b></span> Details. Add some meat to your outline. Think more about your characters, and make sure you know your ENDING (believe me, this is key).<br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>M =</b></span> Make time. Not gonna lie, I pretty much have something to do every minute of the day. But try twenty minutes before work, twenty more at lunch, ten before dinner. Before you know it, those words will pile up.<br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>A =</b></span> Abstract. Ever had to write a research paper? Well, an abstract is the summary paragraph listed before an article. If you're able to summarize your story, you'll have a better idea of where you're headed.<br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>P = </b></span>Prize. Just when you feel like giving up, think about that reward you have waiting for you when you reach the finish line. Sure, you'll have the first draft of a novel--but give yourself a little something, something extra. Our yearly tradition is THIS:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqWf0Kd8R7t1hp1Ryr7UugT4HWcr4EZsfu9ia14nG14fsktpGkIYjiNtu73pYm_0WQ6iHUA6KrjhKSgb8KzUr9uv5gvdwXs02PKMRZ2VMaJ5Nosz4D77UJlM5thmYVtUvcYPbuFJqjqqGN/s1600/five_guys_burgers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqWf0Kd8R7t1hp1Ryr7UugT4HWcr4EZsfu9ia14nG14fsktpGkIYjiNtu73pYm_0WQ6iHUA6KrjhKSgb8KzUr9uv5gvdwXs02PKMRZ2VMaJ5Nosz4D77UJlM5thmYVtUvcYPbuFJqjqqGN/s320/five_guys_burgers.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture Taken From: <a href="http://media.thenewschronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/five_guys_burgers.jpg">The News Chronicle</a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>Yum. So what are you waiting for? Get started and good luck!</b></span>Pam Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09872183610393667619noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-14752690444157471812012-10-22T08:00:00.000-04:002012-10-22T08:00:12.587-04:00End of Watch: The Buddy Story<span style="color: red;">Soundtrack Song of the Day: "You're My Best Friend" by Queen</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>We love writing and reading YA more than most things in life, but one of the things that comes close to our love for all things YA is watching movies and TV. Sooo, we've decided to combine those loves on this blog. Every Monday we are going to share a recent movie that we've viewed and what we learned about writing from said film.** </i></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYzyoDr26HRz6Kke_9n6dAPTyR_UC32Y2ZJG8sSKQk21iqgRbeFvab995yyaTNbGFZseUVNVxyvjqKXLWfIPac-6AOtxU29x0e6jbL8hzFtrrdctuC0ZsDQzVQ3uxArXJh15n3QqkAtNIm/s1600/EndofWatch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYzyoDr26HRz6Kke_9n6dAPTyR_UC32Y2ZJG8sSKQk21iqgRbeFvab995yyaTNbGFZseUVNVxyvjqKXLWfIPac-6AOtxU29x0e6jbL8hzFtrrdctuC0ZsDQzVQ3uxArXJh15n3QqkAtNIm/s1600/EndofWatch.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture Taken From IMDB</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>End of Watch</i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Logistics: Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Pena, Anna Kendrick, and America Ferrera</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: orange;">IMDB Says:</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><i>Two young officers are marked for death after confiscating a small cache of money and firearms from the members of a notorious cartel, during a routine traffic stop.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">We Say:</span> <i>End of Watch </i>is about two young officers and their friendship. The viewer gets to see their relationship play out as they deal with life, the trials of being a cop, and the joys of having someone you can rely on.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Writing Connection</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Buddy Story = Giving your novel heart. This is especially true for middle grade novels (which we are getting more and more into lately). In MG novels, the buddy connection is like the romance/love connection in a YA novel. Think back to when you were in 6th grade. Friends were EVERYTHING! And as much as we like to think we grow up and stop caring about what others think about us, we all still want to feel that buddy/friendship connection with someone. That's the heart of <i>End of Watch</i>. Yes, there's action, romance, a kickass plot--but underneath it all, it's about the friendship between two guys. Adding this connection in your novel will kick up the emotional factor that much more and keep your readers hooked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Links:</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.endofwatchthefilm.com/">End of Watch- Official Site</a><br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1855199/">End of Watch-IMDB</a><br />
<a href="http://www.endofwatchthefilm.com/">End of Watch- Facebook</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now Watch This:</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mf2K9GzgiF0" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Have you seen <i>End of Watch</i>? How often do you place close attention to the friendships and how they grow/falter in your MG or YA novels?</span></b><br />
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<i style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 14px;"><b>**This blog is not limited to ONLY discussing the relationships of movies and writing, however this will be the weekly feature that you can ALWAYS expect.</b></i>Marquita Hockadayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931541485018513281noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-37294469202744739562012-10-15T08:00:00.000-04:002012-10-15T08:00:17.229-04:00Looper and Layering Plots<span style="color: red;">Soundtrack Song of the Day: "Have Love Will Travel" by the Black Keys</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7H5o0_ky3nH3f378Zks9BZPxr6IhMTu9g6iI2kMFCCdZh4AoVELcRRVN09fCGeS10FN5GI5uRyClegcyMBq6FSzh1uFMIyT3yW2HxkI5LERSL-7Hc9yIzFQH_jWPmXN-qCmiTMqIjK8Iq/s1600/Looper-Trailer-Previews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7H5o0_ky3nH3f378Zks9BZPxr6IhMTu9g6iI2kMFCCdZh4AoVELcRRVN09fCGeS10FN5GI5uRyClegcyMBq6FSzh1uFMIyT3yW2HxkI5LERSL-7Hc9yIzFQH_jWPmXN-qCmiTMqIjK8Iq/s320/Looper-Trailer-Previews.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken From: <a href="http://screenrant.com/looper-international-trailer-2-joseph-gordonlevitt-bruce-willis-kofi-182809/">Screenrant</a></td></tr>
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We won't pretend that we were not on a looooong hiatus, but we also don't want to bore you with the details of WHY we've been away. We'd much rather discuss the future of this blog--which we hope will interest you much more!<br />
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We love writing and reading YA more than most things in life, but one of the things that comes close to our love for all things YA is watching movies and TV. Sooo, we've decided to combine those loves on this blog. Every Monday we are going to share a recent movie that we've viewed and what we learned about writing from said film.** <br />
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This week we begin with:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;"><b><i>LOOPER</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Logistics:</span><br />
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Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Jeff Daniels<br />
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1276104/">IMDB Says:</a> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gun awaits. Someone like Joe, who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by transporting back Joe's future self.</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;">We Say: </span>The movie is full of bad-assery. From JGL, to Bruce Willis, even to Emily Blunt. The trailers and the interviews will make you think that you'll get bogged down in the sci-fi-ness of it all, but no--the heart of the story is what gets you in the end.<br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Writing Connection: </span></div>
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Layering Plots- A novel will not survive on one plot alone. If that's all you got, you may be better off penning a short story or a novella. More importantly, a YA novel will not survive with one plot. Teens are complicated, puzzling, and always changing--a YA novel should follow suit. Without giving away too many details, the various plot twists and turns that occur in <i>Looper</i> will keep you intrigued, engaged, and in tune with the characters. The movie begins with a possibly unlikable character who has one goal and then progresses to include more characters with even more goals that cause complications and forces the character to change. This = layering plots!<br />
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Okay we don't want to spoil it for everyone, so if you haven't seen it yet, go watch <i>Looper</i> and see how it's done!<br />
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Links:<br />
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<a href="http://www.loopermovie.com/">Looper- Official Movie Site</a><br />
<a href="http://loopermovie.tumblr.com/">Looper- Tumblr</a><br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1276104/">Looper-IMDB</a><br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/hitRECordJoe">JGL Twitter</a><br />
<a href="https://en.twitter.com/Loopermovie">Looper Movie Twitter</a><br />
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Now Watch This:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2iQuhsmtfHw" width="560"></iframe>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span>
<b><span style="color: red;">If you have seen Looper did you make any connections with the film and writing? Do your novels usually have several plots?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><b>**This blog is not limited to ONLY discussing the relationships of movies and writing, however this will be the weekly feature that you can ALWAYS expect.</b></i></span>Marquita Hockadayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931541485018513281noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-28934759350470933712012-07-06T18:18:00.000-04:002012-07-06T18:18:56.093-04:00Writing Vacay # 1- Novel Revision Retreat 2012<span style="color: red;">Writing Song of the Day: "Vacation" by The Go-Gos</span><br />
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We know we've been MIA, but it's our lazy summer days--that have been not so lazy with part time jobs and all that stuff--but we are squeezing in time to do some writer-ly things! About two weeks ago, Pam and I attended our regional SCBWI's novel revision retreat. This is the first of three writing vacays we have planned this summer.<br />
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This retreat included numerous sessions with Executive editor, <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/">Wendy Loggia from Delacorte at Random House</a> and author, <a href="http://www.tracybarrett.com/">Tracy Barrett</a>. The sessions focused on writing with accuracy, how to revise, what to do when you're stuck/scared to revise, and Wendy even walked us through some edit letters.<br />
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Not only did we have a great time with the actual writing/revising exercises and sessions, but we also had fun meeting and conversing with talented writers. There was wine, S'mores, dormitory style lodging (that included bugs galore) and more wine. The best part of the trip for us? When we got to have about a 45 minute conversation with Tracy Barrett and Wendy Loggia that ended with us deciding that we would pursue admission to Columbia's publishing certificate program next summer. Wendy was so down to earth and gave us great advice about going after what you want while you still can. It was inspiring and exciting!<br />
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Here are a few pics from the weekend:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQcd66nvx3csLVuvEvrO5Ae4M1DkRnzMSsa7_KLvBYUfvBTRHG9UGZXxh-LcNbOYklDdrTeb5zXNv_jafI4G0YxzGvbobhdhf3eQ9GpD-itKmyzF-KnkoXPixhXCTzFs6Hntw8JZvYIYUI/s1600/tracyandwendy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQcd66nvx3csLVuvEvrO5Ae4M1DkRnzMSsa7_KLvBYUfvBTRHG9UGZXxh-LcNbOYklDdrTeb5zXNv_jafI4G0YxzGvbobhdhf3eQ9GpD-itKmyzF-KnkoXPixhXCTzFs6Hntw8JZvYIYUI/s320/tracyandwendy2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: blue;">Tracy Barrett and Wendy Loggia getting ready for First Pages Panel</span></i></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga1AzN2gKjVxg8fetD-W-urPWOFNgu7Vfzn7B7ImPQHVQB-PtrumybiOFBHxxzkXAcs7OSehJMpT99TFcH6AzBcsnLSZLs0xMWXLtKA6Al4I0F6JgUinx52qlVVUTcWI6TEjKcINoaJ-x3/s1600/retreatlodging.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga1AzN2gKjVxg8fetD-W-urPWOFNgu7Vfzn7B7ImPQHVQB-PtrumybiOFBHxxzkXAcs7OSehJMpT99TFcH6AzBcsnLSZLs0xMWXLtKA6Al4I0F6JgUinx52qlVVUTcWI6TEjKcINoaJ-x3/s1600/retreatlodging.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><i>Our view in Richmond, VA!</i></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLatkM2gX6GxgDX_VR38watk_GkykGMyKyW5_5P95X3A-4ewk4O0XfEZmnZ0TELBZR0XE_MpP_BuTPsmGY6M6dECvNbYJCDalGl9Y2nfbE6gdXoF-BESEiJaxEP-J7w7A8M90SpSlvd-IK/s1600/lodgingretreat2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLatkM2gX6GxgDX_VR38watk_GkykGMyKyW5_5P95X3A-4ewk4O0XfEZmnZ0TELBZR0XE_MpP_BuTPsmGY6M6dECvNbYJCDalGl9Y2nfbE6gdXoF-BESEiJaxEP-J7w7A8M90SpSlvd-IK/s1600/lodgingretreat2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><i>The side of our dorm room in Richmond, VA--the one with all the bugs :(</i></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgog4s5JXtN_BWCH0d9GLc7u25ccpMltYONOXmiAGTle8XWZxTPjPV1Tduq97ZhIm6FBlkAfOP4BurQFDnUVE3a4Ai2b1hXlNniVlmWtyHHq3Aeis-UdmhBQxA9a_ByUaRT2-RL9gCcRsYN/s1600/wendyandtracy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgog4s5JXtN_BWCH0d9GLc7u25ccpMltYONOXmiAGTle8XWZxTPjPV1Tduq97ZhIm6FBlkAfOP4BurQFDnUVE3a4Ai2b1hXlNniVlmWtyHHq3Aeis-UdmhBQxA9a_ByUaRT2-RL9gCcRsYN/s320/wendyandtracy2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: blue;">Tracy Barrett and Wendy Loggia give us their Ten Revision Tips</span></i></td></tr>
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All in all--good times, good advice, and good wine! We can't wait to attend WOA 2.0 with our writer friends and of course, LASCBWI! More to come from those writer vacays, later.<br />
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In the mean time, <span style="color: blue;">what have you all been up to this summer?</span> <span style="color: red;">Oh, and while you're here---why not check out our new page: <a href="http://seepamwrite.blogspot.com/p/cuz-we-editmanuscripts.html">Cuz We Edit...Manuscripts</a>!</span><br />
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<br />Marquita Hockadayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931541485018513281noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-84828904296597147362012-05-24T08:00:00.000-04:002012-05-24T08:00:16.257-04:00May We Tell You Something About...Our AWESOME Contest Winners??<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;"><b>Reading Song of the Day: "Because I'm Awesome" by the Dollyrots</b></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Throughout May (every now and then), we will be participating in the <strong><span style="color: blue;">Blog Me MAYbe</span></strong> blogfest, which you can learn more about </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #b5653b; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://babblingflow.blogspot.com/2012/04/blog-me-maybe.html">here</a></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;">. </span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-dRbN8EvPvHMJ2ysMCv9yLwhv6HBsEzNRaZpQiZykIrVwUoTEJvssmXIQPeqXA0XptMig6t4RTLoe5L9ChsXBYVBKaCCEk7xdArKb9yLmCcugysuUCKyLGOjhFZdMSSO87Z3ccaEQziaL/s1600/Winner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-dRbN8EvPvHMJ2ysMCv9yLwhv6HBsEzNRaZpQiZykIrVwUoTEJvssmXIQPeqXA0XptMig6t4RTLoe5L9ChsXBYVBKaCCEk7xdArKb9yLmCcugysuUCKyLGOjhFZdMSSO87Z3ccaEQziaL/s200/Winner.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo taken from:<a href="http://gimmethescooppreviews.blogspot.com/">Gimme The Scoop</a><br /></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">As promised, we're here to announce the winners of the contest. First of all, thanks to those who took the time to enter and win one of TWO SIGNED copies of Jaime Reed's <i>Burning Emerald</i>, the third book in the Cambion Chronicles. If you want to know more about Jaime check out last week's <a href="http://seepamwrite.blogspot.com/2012/05/may-we-tell-you-something-aboutjaime.html">contest post</a> and an interview we did with her back in August <a href="http://seepamwrite.blogspot.com/2011/08/exclusive-interview-with-debut-author.html">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Okay, without further adieu, we are going to tell you about someone else! More precisely, TWO someone elses (yes we totally made that up). What are we going to tell you??? Well, here'e something....</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">JESS and MELANIE are now both winners of signed copies </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">of</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: orange; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: large; line-height: 18px;"><i> Burning Emerald!</i></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-Xt43B_nlq4kreBiF-g8WfLsTpFjjNeOedoTqcQWs3ontN-2Y6x_0yANHbnVl2_Evw8Myt1bN-hBSIkrHoFbIassmZD-5JTBJUE83KNWqhOYDHoiUDKWMp0vajYNXUjmzCoUrJLodJC1/s1600/confetti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-Xt43B_nlq4kreBiF-g8WfLsTpFjjNeOedoTqcQWs3ontN-2Y6x_0yANHbnVl2_Evw8Myt1bN-hBSIkrHoFbIassmZD-5JTBJUE83KNWqhOYDHoiUDKWMp0vajYNXUjmzCoUrJLodJC1/s1600/confetti.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Taken from <a href="http://vabeachquilter.wordpress.com/2009/07/31/julys-contest-ends-today/confetti/">VaBeachQuilter</a></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Ladies, we will be in touch with more details soon!!! Congrats!</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4e2800;">And for the rest of your lovelies, just to throw the question out there (and hopefully we'll get a few responses) </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">what kinds of contests do you all prefer? </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4e2800;"> A contest where you just comment, one that involves a form (with extra points for Twitter etc.), OR one with a creative writing assignment? Also, do you like to win free signed novels, writing utensils, candy/other edible goodies, etc? </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Thanks and your responses are greatly appreciated!</span></span>Marquita Hockadayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931541485018513281noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-59517507735100007092012-05-17T08:43:00.000-04:002012-05-17T10:46:52.206-04:00MAY We Tell You Something About...Jaime Reed (and a CONTEST!)!!<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Reading Song of the Day: "People Are Strange" by The Doors</span></b><br />
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So we've been rather absent to our lovely blog. Instead of giving you a LONG boring list of excuses, we decided to treat you all with a CONTEST!<br />
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We're giving away TWO copies of Jaime Reed's <em>Burning Emerald</em>, Book Two of The Cambion Chronicles. If you haven't checked out <em>Living Violet</em> (Book One)--umm, what are you waiting for?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCpK05D9pbBxxS-ADE8_5yL7GrP4g021DO1bM8tU8RvPHy64xE4hMJMh1r0OAG2QZ1dYwokiV5nbZWSV8FEWJ82RByuDB3-ab9YrpKDZKRRjq9bRYkm4c2tsFTBhWvtm7ppLIggRiUD0Mh/s1600/Me-now.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCpK05D9pbBxxS-ADE8_5yL7GrP4g021DO1bM8tU8RvPHy64xE4hMJMh1r0OAG2QZ1dYwokiV5nbZWSV8FEWJ82RByuDB3-ab9YrpKDZKRRjq9bRYkm4c2tsFTBhWvtm7ppLIggRiUD0Mh/s320/Me-now.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken from<a href="http://dearteenme.com/2011/10/21/dear-teen-me-from-author-jamie-reed-living-violet/"> dearteenme.com</a></td></tr>
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As a special treat, Jaime wrote about a real life supernatural occurrence in her quaint town:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Strange Encounter by Jaime Reed</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">I can say that I’m a bit like the character, Sam in the respect that nothing much happens in my quiet town. With little to do, the imagination runs wild and we dream of cool stuff happening and if lucky, make a career of writing about it. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Williamsburg, VA is rich with history and everyone has at least one ghost story to share. Some of those stories have been passed down and have become a test of courage to explore on a dare. I personally don’t believe in ghosts, and I’ve never had any encounters of the paranormal except one. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">When I was seventeen, a friend of mine whose father had died took me to the grave site to pay her respects. I agreed, under the assumption that this visitation would occur in the daytime, not at twelve o’clock at night. This made less sense at seventeen than it does now, but there I was, riding shotgun in her car, trekking through the more rural areas of Virginia with no streetlights or cell phone.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">When we finally got to the cemetery, she kept the headlights on in the car so we could see our way through the maze of graves. She lit some candles and knelt in front of her father’s headstone. While I kept a look out for police and creepy groundskeepers, I noticed her talking to the grave. Not just a simple prayer or some fond farewell, but a full-on conversation, answering questions only she could hear and nodding her head in confirmation. Suffice to say I was thoroughly freaked out and was ready to leave. She lingered a few more minutes before we walked back to the car.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">When I asked her who she was talking to, she just shrugged and said her dad. As she pulled out of the parking spot, the headlights hit the cemetery, outlining trees, grave stones and surrounding buildings. Then the lights fell on something black and almost flat against the scenery. This dark silhouette took the shape of a man and stood directly behind a headstone, the same one my friend was kneeling in front of moments ago. It didn’t move, but things that stand still can be just as frightening as things that don’t. The car turned and the headlights swept away from the grave toward the road leading out of the cemetery. Though I couldn’t see the shape any more or was even sure if what I saw had eyes, I knew beyond all logic that it was watching us leave.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">I never told my friend what I saw nor did I ever return to the cemetery. It doesn’t take much to spook me, but that event was sufficient to where I now avoid cemeteries at all costs. And I sure as hell would never go there at night. Some people run toward the bazaar and crave the excitement that comes with the unexplained, but I’d rather write about it in the safety of my home…with the lights on.</span><br />
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Spooky stuff, Jaime! <br />
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On to the contest...all you have to do is leave your name and email address in the comments. That's it. We'll pick one winner at random. <br />
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BUT-- <br />
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We'll choose ANOTHER winner if you leave a comment with your own real life, spooky tale. The comment that creeps us out the most wins the other copy. Oh, yeah, <b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">AND BOTH COPIES WILL BE SIGNED!!!</span></b> You have until <b>Tuesday May 22nd at MIDNIGHT EST!</b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Again, TWO winners. Spooky comments. Let's do this! :) </span></b>Pam Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09872183610393667619noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-81339445392227630852012-05-08T08:00:00.000-04:002012-05-08T08:00:11.494-04:00MAY I Tell You Something About...Um, US?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Revealing Song of the Day: "Swagger Like Us" by M.I.A ft. Jay-z, Kanye West, and T.I.</span><br />
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<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Throughout May, we will be participating in the <strong><span style="color: blue;">Blog Me MAYbe</span></strong> blogfest, which you can learn more about </span><a href="http://babblingflow.blogspot.com/2012/04/blog-me-maybe.html" style="background-color: white; color: #b5653b; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">here</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">. </span></i> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6N4AzYApE977xrYG25tJS8qZI2SZN9lDam8WrT-TmYrFXjmZLARM16rVsf8rRp1kVSwRQo1dDwvXYvZAI9whXaUe8NSjPSihvvgTJKN32PjqOr6_DfzEmTe4aYwaBf2M8y7a2LVwNJ8wZ/s1600/printable-gift-tag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6N4AzYApE977xrYG25tJS8qZI2SZN9lDam8WrT-TmYrFXjmZLARM16rVsf8rRp1kVSwRQo1dDwvXYvZAI9whXaUe8NSjPSihvvgTJKN32PjqOr6_DfzEmTe4aYwaBf2M8y7a2LVwNJ8wZ/s320/printable-gift-tag.jpg" width="320" /></a>It's Tuesday. And according to this blogfest that means today is all about us. Meaning, we have to talk about ourselves. If you know anything about us, we kinda don't enjoy doing this. I don't think most writers do. That's why we create characters and new worlds, to escape from who we are. But, alas, we've joined the blogfest and we vow to follow the rules. Lucky for us, a new bloggy pal of ours tagged us awhile back.<a href="http://rachelwritesthings.blogspot.com/"> Rachel</a> tagged us in a game of 11 questions. This is a good way to tell you something about us!</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: red;">1. What are the top three books in your TBR pile?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #741b47;">Pam:</span> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11735983-insurgent"><i>Insurgent</i> by Veronica Roth</a>, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8755776-city-of-lost-souls"><i>City of Lost Souls</i> by Cassandra Clare</a>, and <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12022765-when-you-were-mine"><em>When You Were Mine </em>by Rebecca Serle</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: inherit;">Quita: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11735983-insurgent"><i>Insurgent</i> by Veronica Roth</a>, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10407279-deadlocked"><i>Deadlocked</i> by Charlaine Harris </a>, and </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">2. Who is your top book boyfriend, dare I say husband?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #741b47;">Pam:</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Hmm, tough one. I get book crushes like ALL the time. Right now, I'm leaning toward Cricket from <em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9961796-lola-and-the-boy-next-door">Lola and the Boy Next Door</a>. </em>He's so adorkable (wait...do people still say that?)!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: inherit;">Quita: Hands down Cole from Maggie Stiefvater's <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6654313-linger"><i>Linger </i>and <i>Forever</i></a>. Hmm, maybe not hands down b/c I loves me some Four from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8306857-divergent">Veronica Roth's <i>Divergent</i></a>. Can I have a tie?</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">3. If you could have written any YA book in history, which book would you choose and why?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #741b47;">Pam:</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Goodness, another toughie. Right now, I'm leaning toward anything written by Courtney Summers, Steve Brezenoff, or Ellen Hopkins. They're geniuses!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: inherit;">Quita: Omigod. So. Many. Of. Them! I can't choose just one. There are FIVE that really stand out. I really wish I wrote <i>Divergent</i>, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11595276-the-miseducation-of-cameron-post"><i>The Miseducation of Cameron Post</i> by Emily M. Danforth</a>, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6380296-liar"><i>Liar</i> by Justine Larbalestier</a>, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8712290-recovery-road"><i>Recovery Road</i> by Blake Nelson</a>, and <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4052117-what-i-saw-and-how-i-lied"><i>What I Saw and How I Lied</i> by Judy Blundell</a> (sorry if I cheated).</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">4. If you could live the life of any book heroine, who would you choose and why?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #741b47;">Pam:</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">I have a feeling that Quita's going to agree with me, but any book written by Stephanie Perkins. She has a way of making her girls so relatable--and she brings setting to LIFE! I want to live in Paris for the first half of the year, and San Francisco for the second. :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">Quita: I don't envy the lives of most of the heroines from the books that I read, and since I'm one of the last people on the planet to have read Stephanie Perkins'<i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9961796-lola-and-the-boy-next-door"> Lola and the Boy Next Door</a></i>, I'd have to say Anna from <i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6936382-anna-and-the-french-kiss">Anna and the French Kiss</a></i>. I mean, who wouldn't want to go to Paris for school and fall in love with a sexy, smart English boy?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: red;">5. Choose one: your book is a literary masterpiece with tons of critical acclaim but very, very lacklustre sales, or your book is a blockbuster of a novel with millions upon millions of copies sold but others question its quality and it is nearly universally bashed in the writing community, a la Twilight. There's no in between choice (Nice try!)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #741b47;">Pam:</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Yikes! No clue. On the one hand, I wouldn't mind the money that books like <em>Twilight</em> would bring (being able to actually make a living from writing? Yes please!). But also, I would love for my colleagues to actually, you know, respect me. I choose John Green! His books are successful AND well loved by critics. Wait, is that cheating?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: inherit;">Quita: That's just not fair! I don't know, sometimes me and Pam both get a little over the bashing of novels like Twilight. Just because it's not a literary masterpiece doesn't mean it's not a good book and that it didn't do wonders for the YA community. So, yeah, I'd go for a book like Twilight because it changed so many people's lives and it had a huge impact on our community.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">6. If you could have a super power of any literary hero/heroine, which would you choose and why?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #741b47;">Pam:</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Umm, next question please. (*is clueless*)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: inherit;">Quita: This is a hard one. I don't really want super powers at all, but if I had to choose (from a book that I've read) I'd choose Briony's power from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8299165-chime">Franny Billingsley's <i>Chime</i></a>. Not sure why--could be because it was such an awesome book. I don't want to explain too much, cause then I'd give away the book for those who haven't read it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">7. You're stranded on a desert island with just one other person. For life. It's a fellow author. Who is the author and why?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: inherit;">Pam:</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">I'd go with my cuz, Quita. She's already familiar with my weird habits, and I hers. But hopefully we'd get rescued soon because we'd like...attack each other after the third or fourth day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: inherit;">Quita: It would obviously be Pam. Not like I wouldn't want to be with any of my other fellow writers, but of course I'd bring my cuz and other half b/c she might keep me sane for a day or two on the desert island. Then we'd probably kill each other...</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">8. You're forced to re-live one day of your life over and over again for eternity. Which day would you choose and why?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #741b47;">Pam:</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">This is strange that this is one of the toughest questions. I've yet to experience the really "happy" moments--such as getting married or having a baby. It would probably be some moment with my family--or maybe when I found out that Sarah wanted to represent me. :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: inherit;">Quita: Wow...this is a great question. I find it kind of sad to admit that I haven't had many days that I'd like to re-live. If I had to choose one it would be the last time I was out with my dad (and the rest of the fam), having a good time dancing. </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">9. If you could be invisible for one day, what would you do with your time?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #741b47;">Pam:</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">READ!! And WRITE!! Due to the day job, I have so little time for doing two of the things I love the most. And maybe peek in on some hunky celebs. Wait, is that weird...?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: inherit;">Quita: I would read and write all day with no interruptions. I'd also stalk the BLEEP out of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Alex Pettyfer, Channing Tatum, and all the rest :D</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: red;">10. If you had to be reincarnated into an animal, which would you choose and why?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #741b47;">Pam:</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">Um, eww. Next question please...</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: inherit;">Quita: Ugh. I hate animals--well </span><span style="color: #38761d;">except</span><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: inherit;"> my dog, of course :) I guess I would choose an ape or a monkey because at least they have opposable thumbs.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">11. If you had to rename yourself, which name would you choose? And if you have a pen name, it doesn't count! Pick again.</span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #741b47;">Pam:</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;">It feels like I've answered this before...I think I said Nadine Hunt or Nadine Shelton. Nadine's my middle name (which I despise, so I'm not sure why I'd use it), Hunt's my mother's maiden name, and Shelton's my dad's first name. Or maybe I'd just call myself John Green. :)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: inherit;">Quita: I would name myself Sherie (my middle name Sha-ree) Hunt. It's a little easier than my "government" name and it will fit better on a book spine!</span></div>
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So, the way this is supposed to work is that we tag more of you to play along. However, we thought we'd cheat a lil' bit (why stop now?) and open this up to ALL of you! Go ahead and play...if you dare. *insert maniacal laughter here*Marquita Hockadayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931541485018513281noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-78116717999500963422012-05-07T08:39:00.000-04:002012-05-07T08:39:29.564-04:00MAY I Tell You Something About...Our First Drafts!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRpOirIglCbs9Wzfo0HHhHY8hFnmfwtGmwuleRYge-vxj1LcPJIK0Hla01nET2lHiuBVd4kA287AfSlM4gbX5H-ZC9uRC909BSBU6OyR8WkQBsVEnJpj7tEvUyMEEqyPcdZG-x2PoZqSsC/s1600/writers-block.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="254" mea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRpOirIglCbs9Wzfo0HHhHY8hFnmfwtGmwuleRYge-vxj1LcPJIK0Hla01nET2lHiuBVd4kA287AfSlM4gbX5H-ZC9uRC909BSBU6OyR8WkQBsVEnJpj7tEvUyMEEqyPcdZG-x2PoZqSsC/s320/writers-block.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Taken from <span id="rg_hr"><a href="http://rodneygainousjr.com/">rodneygainousjr.com</a></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Writing Song of the Day: "For the First Time" by The Script</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hello lovelies! Throughout May, we will be participating in the <strong><span style="color: blue;">Blog Me MAYbe</span></strong> blogfest, which you can learn more about </span><a href="http://babblingflow.blogspot.com/2012/04/blog-me-maybe.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. Since Mondays are all about telling you something dealing with writing, Quita and I thought we'd share some info about our new WIPs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You see, we've been planning for WEEKS to complete a brand new WIP during the month of May--kinda our own self-imposed NaNoWriMo. We were going to give ourselves most of April to finalize our ideas and begin plotting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And then April passed, and we still hadn't settled on which stories we wanted to work on. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I fluctuated between writing a companion novel to the last YA I completed, a dark story revolving around a love triangle, and a humorous tale about two exes setting up each other on blind dates. Quita kept deciding between writing a supernatural historical story, or a contemporary thriller. But no matter how many times we plotted and tried to start the first chapter, nothing seemed to stick. These ideas were dying to get out of our heads, but the execution was always lackluster.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finally, this past Sunday, we vowed to just write nonstop for two hours to see what we come up with. I've now settled on writing a contemporary YA retelling of Hansel and Gretel, and Quita's creating a historical YA about the bootlegging scandals in the 1920s (I think that's the decade--hey, she's the history buff, not me). With all of our recent whining, we finally found stories that we're excited to write.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The downside? In order to meet our self-imposed deadline, we have to hold off on reading <em>Insurgent</em>--as well as <em>City of Lost Souls </em>for me. :(</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The upside? Once May 31st hits, we'll have some awesome novels waiting to be read--not to mention a juicy burger from Five Guys. If you've been a long-time follower of this blog, you know how much we loves us some Five Guys.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How are all of you doing with your writing? Any new stories you want to share with us? Also, do you have hard time, too, deciding which project to work on next?</span>Pam Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09872183610393667619noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-35599185533946367662012-04-30T08:00:00.000-04:002012-04-30T08:00:07.404-04:00Z is for...Zombies, Angels, Werewolves, And Other Things That Distract from Contemporary YA<b><span style="color: red;">Controversial Song of the Day: "Zombie" by The Cranberries</span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">For the entire month of April, we'll be participating in the </span></em></span><span style="color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em><a href="http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Blogging from A to Z Challenge</span></a></em></span><span style="background-color: white; color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><em>. Our theme for the month? <span style="color: red;">CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS IN YA</span>. Check out the link above for other awesome blogs participating. </em></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken from <a href="http://www.bibliogrrrl.com/2012/01/02/tbr-january-2012/">bibliogrrrl.com</a></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Zombies, vampires, werewolves, ghosts, angels and demons...where does it all end?! Let's get one thing straight, we LOVE our paranormal novels...Pam's a big Cassandra Clare fan (like on stalker status almost) and I love the <i>Shiver </i>series and all, but we are contemporary lovers at heart. And sometimes, only sometimes, we feel like contemporary YA often takes a backseat to the paranormal and dystopian/apocalyptic novels out there. So, we're ending the A-Z challenge with something that is not necessarily a controversial topic that you find in YA novels. BUT we do think that contemporary novels are often overlooked for several bigger and larger concept books.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">We write contemporary novels with real teen voices about problems that teens go through now (not saying that some of the big concept books DON'T have real teens and real teen problems), and we want these books to make a come back! </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Here are a few contemporary novels that we think are shining examples of why contemp books are AMAZING!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">*<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3521484-cracked-up-to-be"> <i>Cracked Up to Be</i> by Courtney Summers</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11870085-the-fault-in-our-stars"><i>The Fault in Our Stars</i> by John Green</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11595276-the-miseducation-of-cameron-post"><i>The Miseducation of Cameron Post </i>by Emily M. Danforth</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6936382-anna-and-the-french-kiss"><i>Anna and the French Kiss</i> by Stephanie Perkins</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Let us know if we're wrong, PLEASE! Do you think contemporary novels are just as raved about and praised as the big concept paranormal or </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">dystopian/apocalyptic novels?</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> </span>Marquita Hockadayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931541485018513281noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-32133382662874543552012-04-28T08:00:00.000-04:002012-04-28T08:00:08.081-04:00Y is for Yearbook Superlatives: Cliches in YA<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Controversial Song of the Day: "Paper Cliche" by Action Action</span><br />
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<span style="color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em>For the entire month of April, we'll be participating in the <a href="http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/" target="_blank">Blogging from A to Z Challenge</a>. Our theme for the month? <span style="color: red;">CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS IN YA</span>. Check out the link above for other awesome blogs participating. </em></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Taken from </span><a href="http://www.ryan-patrick.com/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">www.ryan-patrick.com</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Imagine a world where the jocks and cheerleaders rule the school. Where quiet loners are shoved into lockers at every turn. Where the rank in popularity is apparent by the seating arrangements in the cafeteria.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You say this world doesn't exist anymore? I say you're right...kind of.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No, the cliches from the eighties don't exist anymore, and I think that the new <em>21 Jumpstreet </em>movie does a fantastic job of proving this. It isn't so cool to be--well, <em>cool</em>. The students that go against the grain are in now--the ones that love the environment and want to do well in school.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But only in some areas.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've worked in public schools for six years, and let me tell you, you can walk into a classroom and notice which students are popular and which are not. It's not always apparent. The popular kids aren't wearing letter jackets, and the outcasts aren't in trench coats or eyeglasses. But that divide is there--it's just more subtle.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are some YA novels that take a look at cliques:</span> </div>
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<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6482837-before-i-fall" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before I Fall</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Lauren Oliver</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/890143.The_Clique" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Clique</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Lisi Harrison</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9541839-popular" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Popular</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Alissa Grosso</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8685622-here-lies-bridget" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here Lies Bridget</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Paige Harbison</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2164402.How_Not_to_Be_Popular" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How Not to be Popular</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Jennifer Ziegler</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How do you all feel about cliches and cliques in YA? Do you think they still exist in real life?</span>Pam Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09872183610393667619noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-69655165879299858802012-04-27T08:00:00.000-04:002012-04-27T08:00:15.425-04:00X is for...eXams, AP Classes, and Geeks, Oh My!<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Controversial Song of the Day: "Tested and True" by Secondhand Serenade</span><br />
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<em><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the entire month of April, we'll be participating in the </span><a href="http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Blogging from A to Z Challenge</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. Our theme for the month? <span style="color: red;">CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS IN YA</span>. Check out the link above for other awesome blogs participating. </span></span></em><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmgB76ywZCJK5s9TNuCqQbovyC6IGMlocXmFtU3zLbLsu7Bu0lTHds1xNL0-vI9ZY8dE_1XviIk31oSql56dA0YepWREpEcR6k68OEr_UOAymDD2HXYIl1bygv1Lq9DdG51FWyyb5zjVY/s1600/Geek_in_Pink_by_Tymethia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmgB76ywZCJK5s9TNuCqQbovyC6IGMlocXmFtU3zLbLsu7Bu0lTHds1xNL0-vI9ZY8dE_1XviIk31oSql56dA0YepWREpEcR6k68OEr_UOAymDD2HXYIl1bygv1Lq9DdG51FWyyb5zjVY/s320/Geek_in_Pink_by_Tymethia.jpg" width="242" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Taken from </span><a href="http://elanorascorner.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">elanorascorner.blogspot.com</span></a></td></tr>
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First of all, yes--we totally copped out on the letter "X."</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With that said, let me tell you something about Quita and me. We both took honor and AP classes in high school; we were both in chorus in middle school; we'd almost cry when we got a "B" on an assignment; our ideas of fun was visiting the guidance office during lunch to look at the college brochures. Were we geeks?</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Probably.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But so are PLENTY of other people in high school. They study for the SATs to get a near perfect score. They play the tuba in band like its running out of style. They run for office in the Student Council Association with the same fervor as a prom queen/king campaign. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So where are all the novels about these students? My Project J features a very unconventional leading man. Jonah plays the trumpet, constantly speaks of his love for Harvard University, and tutors his classmates to prepare for the SATs.</span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have heard plenty a debate about the lack of honor classes mentioned in YA novels, so I scoured the Internet to show some geek pride:</span> </div>
<ul>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12087573-bad-taste-in-boys" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bad Taste in Boys</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Carrie Harris</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9961796-lola-and-the-boy-next-door" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lola and the Boy Next Door</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Stephanie Perkins</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38980.The_Princess_Diaries" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Princess Diaries</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Meg Cabot</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6261078-the-geek-girl-s-guide-to-cheerleading" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Charity Tahmaseb</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11325353-awkward" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Awkward</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Marni Bates</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'll be honest...it took me a while to conjure up this list. <span style="color: red;">Did I leave any novels out? Also, what are your thoughts on including "smart" or "different" characters in your writing?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*<span style="color: red;">BTW, we by no means think that being smart makes you a "geek." We just love the word. :)</span></span>Pam Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09872183610393667619noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-12879136141105302472012-04-26T08:00:00.000-04:002012-04-26T08:00:04.988-04:00W is for...War<b><span style="color: red;">Controversial Song of the Day: "This is War" by 30 Seconds to Mars</span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">For the entire month of April, we'll be participating in the </span></em></span><span style="color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em><a href="http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Blogging from A to Z Challenge</span></a></em></span><span style="background-color: white; color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><em>. Our theme for the month? <span style="color: red;">CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS IN YA</span>. Check out the link above for other awesome blogs participating. </em></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHv8n5EpAvkIGE-MDoACiDzhsKfuFHhaueLHXJx00ElHK46dT7iZZYRwnLKyO1IG-9RBWRwpN0mRaw25TwczW5l6IchJYUDtkkB1m_KBxb8kX19dOWi6edzm2Kybk-XGq-NqTlGZXKNZy/s1600/F1.medium.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHv8n5EpAvkIGE-MDoACiDzhsKfuFHhaueLHXJx00ElHK46dT7iZZYRwnLKyO1IG-9RBWRwpN0mRaw25TwczW5l6IchJYUDtkkB1m_KBxb8kX19dOWi6edzm2Kybk-XGq-NqTlGZXKNZy/s320/F1.medium.gif" width="284" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken from <a href="http://nas.sagepub.com/content/24/5/204.extract">nas.sagepub.com</a></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">War is definitely a topic that teens should read about. Not only to know the history of their country, but also to understand what their peers go through if they are part of the military (several teens are enlisting in the military since they can sign up when they are 17 and due to incentives like the GI Bill) and they are involved in a war. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Not only do teens need books about war and the military because of their peers, but also because they may be the child of someone who serves in the military and may be sent to war. Pam works with several teens who are in military families and they struggle to adjust to new environments and usually act out when a parent is deployed. Having a novel they can turn to can make them feel a little more comfortable with this part of their life.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">A few novels that may help them deal with either being in a military, coping during times of war, or the aftermath of war are:</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">* <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6450026-back-home"><i>Back Home </i>by Julia Keller</a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">* <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/91357.The_Devil_s_Arithmetic"><i>The Devil's Arithmetic</i> by Jane Yolen</a></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">* <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6659042-out-of-the-blue"><i>Out of the Blue</i> by S.L. Rottman</a></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">* <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6413338-purple-heart"><i>Purple Heart</i> by Patricia McCormick</a></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">* <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/484143.Soldier_X"><i>Soldier X</i> by Don L. Wulffson</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Do you think that teens need to read novels where war and the military are front and center? Have you written anything that revolves around wars and/or the military?</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>Marquita Hockadayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931541485018513281noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-39147376146137526962012-04-25T08:00:00.000-04:002012-04-25T08:00:11.078-04:00V is for...Violence<b><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Controversial Song of the Day: "Violence" by Blink 182</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: orange; line-height: 18px;"><em>For the entire month of April, we'll be participating in the </em></span><span style="color: orange;"><em><a href="http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/">Blogging from A to Z Challenge</a></em></span><span style="background-color: white; color: orange; line-height: 18px;"><em>. Our theme for the month? <span style="color: red;">CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS IN YA</span>. Check out the link above for other awesome blogs participating. </em></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYWl68fVsgclKU_Js1bHgz8RqXDBlxxBL4M7XH93G3msCHlQBmqWR1VXx9igFXgByZsi6BX0yGBGifxm5NHTWXXe4e-Zxe5kgJkz-pjJByCGZuL2Ean44-cAydYL70fEu3W8VAP4w9ZpJ/s1600/ViolenceSchool_en-Lottein_schools_III_small-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYWl68fVsgclKU_Js1bHgz8RqXDBlxxBL4M7XH93G3msCHlQBmqWR1VXx9igFXgByZsi6BX0yGBGifxm5NHTWXXe4e-Zxe5kgJkz-pjJByCGZuL2Ean44-cAydYL70fEu3W8VAP4w9ZpJ/s320/ViolenceSchool_en-Lottein_schools_III_small-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Taken from <a href="http://www.coe.int/t/dg3/children/violence/violenceschool_EN.asp">coe.int</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">We've discussed violence a few times on this blog thus far. We've talked about <a href="http://seepamwrite.blogspot.com/2012/04/b-is-forbullying.html">bullying</a>, <a href="http://seepamwrite.blogspot.com/2012/04/h-is-forhate-crimes.html">hate crimes</a>,<a href="http://seepamwrite.blogspot.com/2012/04/t-is-forteen-suicide.html"> teen suicide</a>, <a href="http://seepamwrite.blogspot.com/2012/04/m-is-formurder.html">murder</a>, <a href="http://seepamwrite.blogspot.com/2012/04/g-is-forguns.html">guns</a>, and <a href="http://seepamwrite.blogspot.com/2012/04/c-is-forcutting.html">cutting</a>. So, what else could we possibly have to say?? Well, violence as a whole obviously exists in teens' lives and therefore, some YA novels often portray this violence. Yet, there are naysayers who do not want their children reading these books because it either has too much fighting, killing, or general gratuitous violent behavior. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">However, let's not forget that violence can be witnessed just by turning on the news or reading a newspaper or magazine. Some YA books may include violence, but it's nothing that teens are already witnessing on a daily basis.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Here are a few novels that include violence on a large scale:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">* <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7938275-the-hunger-games-trilogy-boxset"><i>The Hunger Games</i> (trilogy) by Suzanne Collins</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">* <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7670661-rage"><i>Rage</i> by Jackie Morse Kessler</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">* <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10637838-dark-inside"><i>Dark Inside</i> by Jeyn Roberts</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2954411-living-dead-girl"><i>Living Dead Girl</i> by Elizabeth Scott</a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Do you have violence in your writing? Do you think too many YA novels have an abundance of violent behavior?</span>Marquita Hockadayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931541485018513281noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-25745022458053372762012-04-24T08:00:00.000-04:002012-04-24T08:00:02.102-04:00U is for...Unreliable Narrators<span style="color: red;"><b>Controversial Song of the Day: "Liar" by Henry Rollins Band</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">For the entire month of April, we'll be participating in the </span></em></span><span style="color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em><a href="http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Blogging from A to Z Challenge</span></a></em></span><span style="background-color: white; color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><em>. Our theme for the month? <span style="color: red;">CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS IN YA</span>. Check out the link above for other awesome blogs participating. </em></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC8CvgSmav5OQE1oEEdc176dBFHibM8b2m1_CiUD_eMoqjJHuHkCMKwpapENFZaKknUEqAhL2zXkpVTZ3EPrB0f9x_zbMS1UJivSaEjwQz_7V6_DLzybeHW3cCGk42P1xYOqRubvjO4Eig/s1600/unreliable-narrator-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC8CvgSmav5OQE1oEEdc176dBFHibM8b2m1_CiUD_eMoqjJHuHkCMKwpapENFZaKknUEqAhL2zXkpVTZ3EPrB0f9x_zbMS1UJivSaEjwQz_7V6_DLzybeHW3cCGk42P1xYOqRubvjO4Eig/s320/unreliable-narrator-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo taken from<a href="http://litreactor.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/header/images/column/headers/unreliable-narrator-2.jpg"> litreactor.com</a></td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Unreliable narrators are a rare commodity in novels. Mostly because it's so hard to get this kind of character right. The writer must create a character that readers will empathize with, even when they are aware that the narrator is not completely honest with them.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">Although some don't enjoy reading novels where the MC is lying to them throughout the entire story, these people DO exist. So, why can't we write about them? Working in education, we come across teenagers who are compulsive liars. Some of them going as far as telling stories that could harm another person's reputation. Notice, we said we come across teenagers--not just ONE! Since these people are real, it is only fair that they are represented in novels.</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are a few books where they are:</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">* <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6380296-liar"><i>Liar</i> by Justine Larbalestier</a></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18px;">*</span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5107.The_Catcher_in_the_Rye" style="line-height: 18px;"> <i>The Catcher in the Rye</i> by J.D. Salinger</a><br />
*<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/307652.Inexcusable"> <i>Inexcusable</i> by Chris Lynch</a><br />
*<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8591107-the-unbecoming-of-mara-dyer"><i>The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer</i> by Michelle Hodkin</a><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">Do you get mad when you read a novel with a narrator who fibs a lot? Does your own novel have an unreliable narrator--in a sense, are ALL narrators unreliable?</span>Marquita Hockadayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931541485018513281noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-32904404250108238772012-04-23T08:00:00.000-04:002012-04-23T08:00:04.490-04:00T is for...Teen Suicide<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Controversial Song of the Day: "Never Too Late" by Three Days Grace</span><br />
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<em><span style="color: orange;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the entire month of April, we'll be participating in the </span><a href="http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Blogging from A to Z Challenge</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. Our theme for the month? <span style="color: red;">CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS IN YA</span>. Check out the link above for other awesome blogs participating. </span></span></em><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitUPMW4gfFUQDyRAItOrhPJwBno4UCZze9nekvyvBgbX4lrWnftuxNFQJbkADcfqDvktApDFLRx-Jy7BAYlq66E8L5jW45rucvfFO2nWkBhUFvGgw4MpwMOo2SbPGVBjDMkmJv5w1yh4nu/s1600/teen_suicide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitUPMW4gfFUQDyRAItOrhPJwBno4UCZze9nekvyvBgbX4lrWnftuxNFQJbkADcfqDvktApDFLRx-Jy7BAYlq66E8L5jW45rucvfFO2nWkBhUFvGgw4MpwMOo2SbPGVBjDMkmJv5w1yh4nu/s320/teen_suicide.jpg" width="313" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Taken from </span><a href="http://epicalliance.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">epicalliance.blogspot.com</span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Did you know that suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for people between the ages of 15-24, and the 4th for people between the ages of 10-14 (for other teen suicide statistics, please click </span><a href="http://teensuicidestatistics.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">)?</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I was in high school, a close friend of mine ended her own life after breaking up with her boyfriend. When Quita was in high school, one of her ex-boyfriends also committed suicide. We couldn't believe it--we didn't <em>want </em>to believe it. But since we know it can happen to anyone--not just to people on TV--this is a topic near and dear to our hearts.</span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We work with teenagers everyday, and since I'm a counselor, I'm constantly on preventative alert. People joke all the time about how dramatic teens are, but any thoughts of hurting themselves is something I do <em>not </em>joke about. When one of my students was wrestling with the idea of suicide, I recommended a book to him (after alerting his parents and using several other counseling interventions, of course). Here are a few YA titles (or books with teen characters) that deal with teen suicide:</span> <br />
<ul>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1217100.Thirteen_Reasons_Why" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thirteen Reasons Why</span></a></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> by Jay Asher</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10916.The_Pact" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Pact</span></a></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> by Jodi Picoult</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6373717-hold-still" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hold Still</span></a></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> by Nina Lacour</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6609549-by-the-time-you-read-this-i-ll-be-dead" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead</span></a></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> by Julie Ann Peters</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7422080-girl-parts" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Girl Parts</span></a></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> by John M. Cusick</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Have you ever written about suicide in any of your novels? What other books would you add to this list?</span>Pam Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09872183610393667619noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-61055284925288736392012-04-21T08:00:00.000-04:002012-04-21T08:00:41.406-04:00S is for...Sex (or Shudder) in YA<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Controversial Song of the Day: "I Just Had Sex" by The Lonely Island ftg Akon</span><br />
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<span style="color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em>For the entire month of April, we'll be participating in the </em></span><a href="http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em>Blogging from A to Z Challenge</em></span></a><span style="color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em>. Our theme for the month? <span style="color: red;">CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS IN YA</span>. Check out the link above for other awesome blogs participating. </em></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Q7CIvRl0amRu5lcMjEl4hAJO6ZiwAUFc6Oiq4XbKBYEGVor-OL6GNGtzUHSs-xQtY6C8FFF58Y55GaW1oN2jMQKJWhrhUed78bktp7h-p2qJWH1-jRA9fR72n9eMVX3WQ80i59xPmXgS/s1600/kissing-couple-photography.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Q7CIvRl0amRu5lcMjEl4hAJO6ZiwAUFc6Oiq4XbKBYEGVor-OL6GNGtzUHSs-xQtY6C8FFF58Y55GaW1oN2jMQKJWhrhUed78bktp7h-p2qJWH1-jRA9fR72n9eMVX3WQ80i59xPmXgS/s320/kissing-couple-photography.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken from wallpapersup.net</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The "S" word. We've hit some heavy topics over the past few weeks, but sexual content in YA is probably the issue that most gets critics up in arms. And for good reason.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Neither Quita nor I are parents yet, but we have a niece who's an avid reader. And she's also tall and gorgeous and recently started dating. Before Gorgeous Niece reached dating age, we had no qualms about including sex in our manuscripts. In fact, there were some areas in my manuscript, <em>Wants</em>, that got a bit too hot and heavy--to the point where I had to simmer down the scenes during revisions. I didn't get what the big deal was--until Gorgeous Niece got her first boyfriend.</span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Don't get me wrong. Quita and I aren't prudes now--and we definitely trust our niece enough to know that she's not going to run out and do EVERYTHING our characters do--but unless you're writing YA erotica, there has to be some tact in handling these moments. And these moments SHOULD be there, depending on your characters (come on, most teens DO think about sex), but you have to think about your audience. Your novel may not ever reach teens if you give a play-by-play of what goes on between the sheets. Quite honestly, most <em>adults</em> don't even want to read anything too graphic.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With that said, here are some YA novels that handle sex in varying degrees:</span> <br />
<ul>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6931356-the-duff" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The DUFF</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Kody Keplinger</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41666.Girl" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Girl</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Blake Nelson</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7600924-forbidden" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Forbidden</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Tabitha Suzuma</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4268157-perfect-chemistry" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Perfect Chemistry</span></a></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> by Simone Elkeles</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4570679-going-too-far" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Going Too Far</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Jennifer Echols</span></li>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How comfortable are you with writing sex scenes in your novels? With that said, how comfortable are you with READING sex scenes (or allowing your teenager to read them?)?</span>Pam Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09872183610393667619noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-24984374813225458722012-04-20T08:00:00.000-04:002012-04-20T08:00:10.327-04:00R is for...Religion<b><span style="color: red;">Controversial Song of the Day: "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M</span></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><em><span style="color: #ff6600;">For the entire month of April, we'll be participating in the<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_2035594326" style="color: #b5653b; text-decoration: none;"> </a></span></em></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><em><span style="color: #ff6600;"><a href="http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/">Blogging from A to Z Challenge</a>.</span></em></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><em><span style="color: #ff6600;"> Our theme for the month? <span style="color: red;">CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS IN YA</span>. Check out the link above for other awesome blogs participating.</span></em></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image taken from <a href="http://ufvcascade.ca/2011/03/09/belief-column-what-is-the-purpose-of-religion/">ufvcascade.ca</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">I was baptized when I was younger...then when I got to college I was convinced that I wanted to be Buddhist. I was never very religious to begin with. So, when I learned about the other religions besides Christianity that were out there, I wanted to explore. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Me and Pam settled on Buddhism and even bought the little statues and a book to teach us what to do. Now, we're considering transcendental meditation. It's not like we don't believe in God--we just struggle with religion and what it all means (mainly because we disagree with so many things that Christians often tell us is wrong--i.e. homosexuality and only eating fish on Fridays).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">If we still struggle with religion and what it means in our daily lives, then imagine how teens may feel. I teach several teenagers who are adamant about their faith, and I think that is wonderful, Yet, I also know a huge group of teens who battle with their religion and figuring out if it truly should be a defining factor of their lives. And as a side note, not all of these teens that I speak of are Christians. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">I don't think there are enough novels for young adults that deal with religion, yet the ones that do are often glossed over because the topic of religion is one of those things that no one wants to touch.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Here are some novels that are brave enough to discuss religion:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">*<i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6440071-losing-faith">Losing Faith</a></i> by Denise Jaden</span></span><br />
<i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">*<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10429092-the-girl-of-fire-and-thorns">The Girl of Fire and Thorns</a></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> by Rae Carson</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">*<i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9541241-bestest-ramadan-ever">Bestest. Ramadan. Ever</a></i> by Medeia Sharif</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">*</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10752154-faking-faith">Faking Faith</a></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> by Josie Bloss</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">*</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/529099.Strange_Relations">Strange Relations</a></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> by Sonia Levitin</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Does your novel deal with or incorporate religion? Do you think faith is something that teens find important?</span>Marquita Hockadayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931541485018513281noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-21920433286489054922012-04-19T08:00:00.000-04:002012-04-19T08:00:16.420-04:00Q is for...Quiet Novels<span style="color: red;"><b>Controversial Song of the Day: "Quiet in My Town" by Civil Twilight</b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><em><span style="color: #ff6600;">For the entire month of April, we'll be participating in the<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_2035594326" style="color: #b5653b; text-decoration: none;"> </a></span></em></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><em><span style="color: #ff6600;"><a href="http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/" style="color: #b5653b; text-decoration: none;">Blogging from A to Z Challenge</a></span></em></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><em><span style="color: #ff6600;"> Our theme for the month? <span style="color: red;">CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS IN YA</span>. Check out the link above for other awesome blogs participating.</span></em></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #4e2800; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ae9I4JwLxOokqRvn9YcF_r-QsT3Qml9XzjRWedoCn3U7FhyNQrikV3LIFS1qsUwM0fkb2NnXh6fVzYLEv3PXpW4MenW9qdbrdT3ec8RZKYHFgQuXSo8hwbQJvlcIOlIF7YvN4xptMNO5/s1600/quiet1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ae9I4JwLxOokqRvn9YcF_r-QsT3Qml9XzjRWedoCn3U7FhyNQrikV3LIFS1qsUwM0fkb2NnXh6fVzYLEv3PXpW4MenW9qdbrdT3ec8RZKYHFgQuXSo8hwbQJvlcIOlIF7YvN4xptMNO5/s200/quiet1.gif" width="187" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken from <a href="http://almightydad.com/">Almightydad.com</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Quiet novels are our best friends. Don't get us wrong, we LOVE some of the novels that get mad love, but there's nothing like discovering a gem that no one else has really paid attention to yet. It makes it <i>that</i> much more special. Quiet novels don't quite fall under the same category as our previous posts on controversial YA topics, but we find it important to add in this series because we feel like these books are often overlooked. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Here are a few of those novels that we think should be more "loud":</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">*<i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41666.Girl">Girl</a></i> by Blake Nelson (or anything else by him for that matter!)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">*<i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8574517-like-mandarin">Like Mandarin</a></i> by Kirsten Hubbard</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">*<i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6929996-the-absolute-value-of-1">The Absolute Value of -1</a></i> by Steve Brezenoff</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">*<i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9441988-marcelo-and-the-real-world">Marcelo and the Real World</a></i> by Francisco X. Stork</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">All of the novels above are loved by some, but we feel like they should be loved by MANY. Again, nothing against the novels that people are gaga over (because we're totally gaga over them, too) we just want to make sure that the quieter novels out there are getting love, also.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">So, did we leave something off of the list? Do you get frustrated over a book that you KNOW should be uber popular, yet it isn't?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>Marquita Hockadayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931541485018513281noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-6809253615415046672012-04-18T08:00:00.000-04:002012-04-18T08:00:11.808-04:00P is for...Peer Pressure<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Controversial Song of the Day: "Under Pressure" by Queen</span><br />
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<em><span style="color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the entire month of April, we'll be participating in the </span></em><a href="http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/" target="_blank"><em><span style="color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Blogging from A to Z Challenge</span></em></a><em><span style="color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. Our theme for the month? <span style="color: red;">CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS IN YA</span>. Check out the link above for other awesome blogs participating. </span></em><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQwo-fMgScZH-M8HCy1wp1TrR_-it9eYofe6BjERuWHFddZX4MdZ6bGZDGR6M8EHThBo2btYstv0hDnWoUyjVRxNV4OK_BUG0WLcEo9h7x0rMe8_90n1lzhPs0vTBsuH3tg0Z97bnfwJ1/s1600/peer-pressuer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQwo-fMgScZH-M8HCy1wp1TrR_-it9eYofe6BjERuWHFddZX4MdZ6bGZDGR6M8EHThBo2btYstv0hDnWoUyjVRxNV4OK_BUG0WLcEo9h7x0rMe8_90n1lzhPs0vTBsuH3tg0Z97bnfwJ1/s320/peer-pressuer.jpg" width="318" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Taken from cathykeir.co.uk</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'll let you in on a little secret. Sometimes on Twitter, I'll see that everyone loves a certain movie and/or actor, or hates a certain movie and/or actor--and I'll feel the EXACT opposite. What should I do? Go against the grain, or just keep quiet? More often than not, I do the latter.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">See, even as a *mumbles age*-year-old woman, I still buckle under peer pressure. Of course, the affects of peer pressure reached its peak when I was a teenager--when I laughed at someone else's expense even when I was crying for them on the inside. Or when I used my mom as an excuse as to why I couldn't attend a party (especially when I knew that "bad things" would be at that party).</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Both Quita and I see some of our "good" students do something silly all because their friends told them to. Peer pressure does not discriminate; it doesn't care about your gender, race, or class. As teens, we were ALL susceptible to it. And here are some novels that take on this topic:</span> <br />
<ul>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6624871-some-girls-are" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some Girls Are</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Courtney Summers</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22232.Stargirl" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stargirl</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Jerry Spinelli </span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Before-I-Fall-Lauren-Oliver/dp/0061726818/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334514785&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before I Fall</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Lauren Oliver</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6628317-freefall" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Freefall</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Ariela Anhalt</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3280805-carlos-is-gonna-get-it" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Carlos is Gonna Get It</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Kevin Emerson</span></li>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Does peer pressure play a significant part in your writing? Were you easily influenced as a teen?</span>Pam Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09872183610393667619noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-72023924633985327882012-04-17T08:00:00.000-04:002012-04-17T08:00:17.077-04:00O is for...Outdated Pop Culture References<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Controversial Song of the Day: "You're So Last Summer" by Taking Back Sunday</span><br />
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<em><span style="color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">For the entire month of April, we'll be participating in the </span></em><a href="http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/" target="_blank"><em><span style="color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Blogging from A to Z Challenge</span></em></a><em><span style="color: orange; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> Our theme for the month? <span style="color: red;">CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS IN YA</span>. Check out the link above for other awesome blogs participating. </span></em><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbA0QA5d5DTRv5J0BKdrhGB0uUXCU7HYDee0Yk5snAw7zfgEyUDN_9SFN78JdipGYgJLqlkJrYiid2GwXi8ZDX2Sm1fwegxBaQG_5Usxsomxhgsz4q4RSo9uYm7fVg6efa9Hc2CKgR4HnE/s1600/pop-culture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="265" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbA0QA5d5DTRv5J0BKdrhGB0uUXCU7HYDee0Yk5snAw7zfgEyUDN_9SFN78JdipGYgJLqlkJrYiid2GwXi8ZDX2Sm1fwegxBaQG_5Usxsomxhgsz4q4RSo9uYm7fVg6efa9Hc2CKgR4HnE/s320/pop-culture.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Taken from mariashriver.com</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dang! Sike! That's the bomb! These are just a few of the gems that Quita and I would say when we were in middle and high school. I recently told one of my students that something they did was the bomb, and they just blinked at me. It was the same confused look I received when I mentioned Freddy Kruger and the Cabbage Patch Dolls to them. And that's when I realized:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm old.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So slang and pop culture isn't necessarily controversial--but it is something we have to be careful when writing our own YA novels. For example, I started writing Project J almost 2 summers ago, and my lead character mentioned the Wii Fit Board. When I started revising it again a few months ago, I paused at that reference. Um, don't people use Kinect now? And don't get me started with how often I mentioned Facebook in stories. Sure, it's still "hot" now--but we all know what happened to MySpace (RIP).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think what's more frustrating is when I go through great details to remove these references from my own manuscripts, and then see them pop up in published books (albeit, GOOD books). What's this? Teens REALLY still listen to Death Cab for Cutie and think that James McAvoy is hot?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yet, there are some novels that stand the test of time by not mentioning any pop culture or creating their own slang. Here's a few:</span><br />
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<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/169756.Feed" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Feed</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by M.T. Anderson</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44353.Weetzie_Bat" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Weetzie Bat</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Francesca Lia Block</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1162022.On_the_Jellicoe_Road" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the Jellicoe Road</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Melina Marchetta</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5107.The_Catcher_in_the_Rye" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Catcher in the Rye</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by J.D. Salinger</span></li>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Can you all think of any other "timeless" YA novels? How do you all feel about pop culture references in your writing?</span>Pam Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09872183610393667619noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442355297625438730.post-36582225736399012252012-04-16T08:00:00.000-04:002012-04-16T08:00:07.605-04:00N is for...No Diversity<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Controversial Song of the Day: "Ordinary People" by John Legend</span><br />
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<span style="color: orange;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the entire month of April, we'll be participating in the </span><a href="http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Blogging from A to Z Challenge</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Our theme for the month? <span style="color: red;">CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS IN YA</span>. Check out the link above for other awesome blogs participating. </span></i></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Taken from diversity.uno.edu</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Over a year ago, Nicola K. Richardson wrote an aspiring guest post on YA Highway about </span><a href="http://www.yahighway.com/2011/02/writing-race-in-ya-guest-post-by-nicola.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Race in YA</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. So inspiring, in fact, that I had to write my own post about it </span><a href="http://seepamwrite.blogspot.com/2011/02/our-take-on-race-in-ya.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I won't repeat myself but, simply put, if you look at the YA bestsellers list, there is a GREAT chance that those novels do not feature a minority protagonist. Don't get me wrong, I love those books. I'm counting down the days with the rest of you for <em>Insurgent</em>, and I'd read ANYTHING by John Green--even if he was just balancing his checkbook. But novels with minority leads usually release on a much quieter scale (and we'll be talking about "quiet" novels later on in the week).</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, does the lack of fanfare for minority leads scare Quita and me? Quite frankly--sometimes. So much so that I used to be scared to have a major character that was just black--they always had to be mixed with some other race. However, Nicola's post changed my mind about that, and I did change an important character in Project J to African-American--and the response to the novel has been pretty great so far. My readers don't care if my character is black or not--they were just entertained.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's a look at some awesome YA books with minority leads:</span> <br />
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<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12363795-living-violet" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Living Violet</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Jaime Reed</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6380296-liar" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Liar</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Justine Larbalestier</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/693208.The_Absolutely_True_Diary_of_a_Part_Time_Indian" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Sherman Alexie</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11235712-cinder" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cinder</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Marissa Meyer</span></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8423931-under-the-mesquite" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Under the Mesquite</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Guadalupe Garcia McCall</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">*Thankfully, a few of the novels listed above did receive the "hype" they deserved.</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So what are some of your favorite racially diverse novels? Does writing characters outside of your race scare you?</span>Pam Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09872183610393667619noreply@blogger.com10