NaNo Update #1

Writing Song of the Day: "Half Alive" by Secondhand Serenade

So, we stole this idea from the awesome Katy Upperman. 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...

Pam's Update:

Progress (word count or a general status update): 26,404

Current Mood: Hungry. A bit overwhelmed. But, surprisingly, I still like my story.

Inspiration: 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!

Goals as of Today: 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.

Recent Favorite NaNo WIP Bit:

“I see you didn’t have to go far for your costume.” I tug at his basketball jersey. I actually tug it. I guess a beer and a half does wonders to my confidence.

Brandon shrugs. “Lots of kids want to be basketball players when they grow up.”

“Lots of kids want to be Brandon Lane when they grow up,” I correct.

Non-NaNo News (because life DOES go on): 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.
  
In my downtime (ha!) I’m reading: 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, Triangles. So good so far!!  

Quita's Update:  

Progress (word count or a general status update): Over 26K

Current Mood: Agitated that I can’t just write and instead must be responsible. However, I am also getting excited about where my novel is going.

Inspiration: Two words: Five Guys.

Goals as of Today: I want to try and get at least 4k done by the end of this weekend.

Recent Favorite NaNo-WiP Bit:

“What do you know about voices?”

Walker tapped his chin. “Like cartoon voices? I’m pretty sure I know who talks Bart Simpson.”

Kenzie laughed. “No…like, voices, voices.”

Walker stopped walking and stared at Kenzie. “Like, voices in your head and sh*t? Like schizophrenia?”

Kenzie continued to walk, already regretting that she said anything to Walker.

Non-NaNo News (because life DOES go on): We just saw JGL LIVE last night. Also, I’m working on finding more internship opportunities in the publishing world.

In My Downtime (ha!) I'm Reading: Rage Within (Dark Inside # 2) by Jeyn Roberts. Proving to be just as good as the first book!

Both of Our Updates:

You should read this blog post: Shady Business by the uber smart literary agent, Sarah LaPolla. A very informative look at the legitimacy of newer agents and publishers.

Gratuitous Photograph (because we love ‘em!):

Joseph Gordon-Levitt at The National in Richmond, VA (11/15/12)
The moment where Quita lost it & cried...

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?

MAY I Tell You Something About...Um, US?

Revealing Song of the Day: "Swagger Like Us" by M.I.A ft. Jay-z, Kanye West, and T.I.

Throughout May, we will be participating in the Blog Me MAYbe blogfest, which you can learn more about here. 

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. Rachel tagged us in a game of 11 questions. This is a good way to tell you something about us!

1. What are the top three books in your TBR pile?

Pam: Insurgent by Veronica Roth, City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare, and When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle

Quita: Insurgent by Veronica Roth, Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris , and 

2. Who is your top book boyfriend, dare I say husband?

Pam:  Hmm, tough one. I get book crushes like ALL the time. Right now, I'm leaning toward Cricket from Lola and the Boy Next Door. He's so adorkable (wait...do people still say that?)!

Quita: Hands down Cole from Maggie Stiefvater's Linger and Forever. Hmm, maybe not hands down b/c I loves me some Four from Veronica Roth's Divergent. Can I have a tie?

3. If you could have written any YA book in history, which book would you choose and why?

Pam:  Goodness, another toughie. Right now, I'm leaning toward anything written by Courtney Summers, Steve Brezenoff, or Ellen Hopkins. They're geniuses!

Quita: Omigod. So. Many. Of. Them! I can't choose just one. There are FIVE that really stand out. I really wish I wrote Divergent, The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth, Liar by Justine Larbalestier, Recovery Road by Blake Nelson, and What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell (sorry if I cheated).

4. If you could live the life of any book heroine, who would you choose and why?

Pam:  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. :)

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' Lola and the Boy Next Door, I'd have to say Anna from Anna and the French Kiss. I mean, who wouldn't want to go to Paris for school and fall in love with a sexy, smart English boy?

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!)

Pam:  Yikes! No clue. On the one hand, I wouldn't mind the money that books like Twilight 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?

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.

6. If you could have a super power of any literary hero/heroine, which would you choose and why?

Pam:  Umm, next question please. (*is clueless*)

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 Franny Billingsley's Chime. 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.

 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?

Pam:  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.

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...

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?

Pam:  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. :)

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. 

9. If you could be invisible for one day, what would you do with your time?

Pam:  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...?

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

10. If you had to be reincarnated into an animal, which would you choose and why?

Pam:  Um, eww. Next question please...

Quita: Ugh. I hate animals--well except my dog, of course :) I guess I would choose an ape or a monkey because at least they have opposable thumbs.

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.

Pam:  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. :)

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!

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*

We're Back...and in FULL EFFECT!

Social Networking Song of the Day: "LOL :)" by Trey Songz

You read that title right. We're here and ready to stomp all over social media.  Not only are we back and ready to take the interwebz by storm, but we also are ready to hold another contest! I mean, we did cross 300 followers a while back.

We're no contest virgins, but this time we wanted to offer a prize that's a little different--we are going to give out, TWO, count them, TWO query critiques! Wanna know more??? Watch the following video:

Yep, you heard us right (that is if you could understand my words through all of my mumbling). My agent, Jennie Goloboy, and the owner of Red Sofa Literary Agency, Dawn Frederick, are BOTH willing to critique two query letters. Pretty awesome, right?

And if that's not enough, we are going to throw one more prize in there--just for kicks. This isn't mentioned in the video, but for those of you who are already agented, how would you like a TEN DOLLAR gift card to Barnes & Noble. We just keep making your life better, huh? All you have to do is fill out the form below and show us a lil' love on our social media takeover scheme. Not hard. At all. Oh, and make sure you enter before Sunday March 18th, 8 PM EST!

'Kay? Thanks, bye!

RTW: Words With Friends

Writing Song of the Day: "More Than Words" by Frankie J

Wednesday: I used to HATE spelling this word in elementary school. I would never get it right. But now, I'm cool with it. Mainly because it means it's Road Trip Wednesday day with the ladies of YA Highway. And guess what we're talking about this week: WORDS!

The Highway-ers wanna know:

What words do you absolutely hate? Which ones do you adore?

As writers,  of course there are several words we adore! As of late these have been our favorites:

Now on to the hate, here are a couple of words that we cannot stand to say/hear:

What about you? What words do you absolutely love and hate?

Free Friday: The Movie We WISH We Created

Viewing Song of the Day: "Movies" by Alien Ant Farm

Another Free Friday post, you guys! That means two things: 1.) The weekend is among us, and 2.) At midnight we can FINALLY get The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 on DVD...

But before I begin my swoon fest over Mr. Pattinson, we want to share with you the movie that has been on our mind ever since we saw it last weekend--that movie would be Chronicle.

Our review? Here it is in a just a few, simple words:

GET OFF YOUR A** AND GO SEE IT!

This movie is amazing. Full of all of the wonderful things that makes a movie work: good story, great characters that the viewer can relate to, a villain that you love and understand, an unlikely hero, visual goodies, action, and heart. I mean, what more can you ask for?

Chronicle had us excited and envious at the same time. Days after watching it we can't stop repeating: Man, we wish we wrote this story!!!

So, for those of you who have not seen this masterpiece, check out a clip below.

Oh, and this weekend we may be seeing The Vow. Why? Two words: Channing. Tatum. 'Nuff said :)

What are your plans this weekend? Hope you have seeing Chronicle high on that list!

Free Friday: Personality Tests for Your Characters!

Revising Song of the Day: "Cult of Personality" by Living Colour
You know that feeling you get when you bump into an old crush? A part of you is excited to see him--to check him out, see how he's aged, get those butterflies all in your stomach. However, there's also the chance you'll be a bit terrified: Oh my God, why did I EVER check him out? Look how he's aged! I shouldn't have had that omelet for breakfast...
Yeah. That's kind of how I feel about revisions. I'm either going to open up the manuscript and get all giddy like a middle school girl...or I'm going to want to puke all over my keyboard (thankfully, the latter has never happened. Yet.).

As you probably can tell, I'm strapping on the fingerless gloves and diving back into revisions for Project J. I've always struggled with plot--so during my first few rounds of revisions, I focused on climaxes and conflicts and resolutions, oh my!

But then I lost my character.

That's right--I struggled with my main character. I NEVER thought I'd have trouble with character, but when I zoned in on plot, I forgot about letting my protagonist guide the story.

So what did I do? I popped open an issue of Writer's Digest and read a great article by Mike Nappa, "Skill-Builders for Fiction Writers." One of his suggestions was to complete personality tests for your characters. I thought: hey, I'm a writer. I'm a counselor. This should be fun!

And it was. I knocked a couple of those babies out, and soon I remembered what it was that I loved about my main character, Jonah. I remembered who he was and what he wanted and how he thought--and the butterflies were still there! So, I thought I'd share some of my faves:

Personality Type: This quiz only has 4 questions, but it reveals if your character is an introvert or extrovert. A thinker or a feeler. A scheduler or a freestyler. Pretty cool.

The Stress Test: Allow your character to pick 3 pictures. The one he/she does NOT choose reveals what he/she is stressing about. Great way to figure out potential conflict.

Driving in a New City: Your character gets lost with his/her partner. How does he react? This is awesome in seeing how your character interacts with others.

I could go on and on and on with all the cool quizzes that can help figure out your character, but instead I'll direct you here so you can choose more of you own.

So what do you think? Can personality tests help you with revisions?

Say What?

Reading Song of the Day: "Say It To Me Now" by Glen Hansard

Wednesday. Middle of the week. Road Trip Wednesday with the ladies of YA Highway. All the best things. Today they want us to:

Write a dialogue between two of your favorite YA characters.

So. Hard.

This would have been fun if we had the energy to come up with this post in more time than one day. We're running on fumes that are not quite creative...so, instead, we're gonna show you what most dialogue in YA novels consists of:

First: Conflict

Second: Conflict solved...people are happy for awhile. Alas, not for long...

Third: More conflict and we're left waiting for the next book OR dreaming up a happy ending. Unless, of course the book is by Stephanie Perkins or John Green AKA Masters of Delicious Dialogue!

 So, this is what happens when our brains can't function. We promise to be more creative next time! What do you guys think dialogue in YA novels is like?

A Writer's Guide to A Day Off

Writing Song of the Day: "The Lazy Song" by Bruno Mars

Yesterday was MLK day and not only is it a day to celebrate the legacy of a wonderful man, but it was also time that we got to stay home from the day jobs. Which made us think: How SHOULD a writer spend an entire day off from their day job?

Notice the word "SHOULD". We actually spent our day at the dentist, working on stuff for part time jobs, and driving around Virginia Beach/Norfolk, VA. If we had our way though, these are the top five things (in no particular order) that we would've done with our day off:

1.) Sleep: You can never get enough of this. And sometimes, writers get a lot of ideas from their dreams. *coughs* Wants *coughs*

2.) Play on Scrivener/Outline New WIP Ideas: Scrivener is full of amazing. And we're getting a lot of outlining done on new WIPs with this program. All we need is the time to actually use it more.

3.) Revise previous manuscripts: The work doesn't cease after getting an agent. We both have revisions to work on with In Limbo & Project J.


4.) Read: We're pretty sure this doesn't need an explanation.


5.) Watch TV/Listen to Music for Inspiration: Believe it or not, we get a lot of ideas from watching TV shows and movies. Also music helps us get into our characters' heads and allows their voices to come out on the page. It may seem like we're wasting time--but no matter what we're doing, we're always thinking like writers.



What do you think? Is there something else a writer should do when they have time off from the day job??


Psst...hey, you...yes, you. Make sure you stop by our blog Thursday January 19th. Susan Dennard is guest posting and you can enter for another chance to read her ARC of Something Strange and Deadly. Check out Holly's post from yesterday for more details!

RTW: What's in a Name?

Writing Song of the Day: "Say My Name" by Destiny's Child

Woo hoo! Once again it's Wednesday, which means once again we get to join the lovely ladies of YA Highway for their Road Trip Wednesday question. This week they want to know:

If you couldn't use your own name, what would your pseudonym or penname be?

Okay, is it weird that I thought of this answer before...like, A LOT? I would love to write in more than one genre, so I assumed that while I establish myself as Pamela Harris, I may want to try something else out under a new name. I have two choices: Nadine Hunter or Nadine Shelton. Nadine because, well, it's my middle name (I know--ugh). I chose Hunter because my mom's maiden name is "Hunt," and I chose Shelton because that's my dad's first name.

Quita used the same formula to pick a penname (sorry, I got too lazy to spell the other word again). She would use either Sherie Hunt or Sherie Levitt. Sherie is her middle name (pronounced like the French word cherie--her mother just tried to get all creative). She chose Hunt because, again, that's her mother's maiden name (our moms are sisters--get it?), and she chose Levitt because of Joseph Gordon-Levitt. She said, and I quote, "Out of all my celebrity boyfriends, his last name sounds the best with my middle name."

Don't worry--me and the rest of the fam are already fitting her for a straitjacket.

What about you all, peeps? Have a name you'd like to use? Which name do you think we should use if given the option?

Our 2012 Writing Resolutions!!

Writing Song of the Day: "The New Year" by Death Cab for Cutie

Okay, we get it...we're about 5 days late in making New Years Resolutions, but we figure better late than never, right?

This time last year, we created 2011 Writing Resolutions (check those out here). This year, we decided to see if we met those goals while including ones for this year. Make sense? Yeah, not really, but we'll take a stab at it anyway.

Pam's Writing Resolutions:

1. Last Year: Revise the ending of Wants.
This Year: Done and done. Well, for now anyhow. Unless an awesome editor believes it needs more work. ;)

2. Last Year: Complete my 2nd YA manuscript and send to beta readers in the Spring.
This Year: Well, I did complete Project J, but it was a little later than usual. Either way, my lovely beta readers helped me get it all nice and pretty to send to my agent. Woo hoo!

3. Last Year: Revise my supernatural YA WIP (my 2010 NaNo project).
This Year: Yeah...that didn't happen. HOWEVER, I did recently read it and it has way more potential than I initially thought. Since I won the Scrivener program, I think I may play around with this story a little this year and see if I can make it shine.

4. Last Year: Outline my 3rd contemporary YA novel.
This Year: Umm, I KILLED this goal. Not only did I write the first draft of another contemporary novel for NaNo 2011, but I also just started outlining my 4th idea. Boo yeah! This year, I'd like to revise the NaNo novel, and finish the 1st draft of the 4th idea. :)

5. Last Year: Write at least 500 words a day.
This Year: Yeah...that didn't happen. However, this year, I'd like to write at least 3 times a week...even if I'm just jotting down ideas or creating character worksheets. I usually kick writing-butt during my summer vacay, too.

6. Last Year: Read at least 2 YA novels a month.
This Year: Okay, that didn't happen either. This year, I'd like to read all of the books I put on my 2012 Debut Author Challenge list, and a handful of sequels that I'm anticipating (I'm looking at you, Insurgent).

7. Last Year: Read 6 adult fiction novels.
This Year: Nah, I think I failed this one, too. This year, I'd like to read at least 3.

8. Last Year: Get a book deal.
This Year: Well, no announcements yet, but I have a great agent and some awesome beta readers in my corner. I'm WAY more optimistic this year compared to last year, so we'll see. :)

Quita's Writing Resolutions:

1. Last Year: Complete my 1st contemporary YA WIP by February.
This Year: Boo yeah! I annihilated that one. I completed the novel around the spring of 2011--close enough to February, right?? This year I plan to finish the first draft of my new historical.

2. Last Year: Nab an agent with my historical YA, In Limbo.
This Year: Right before the year ended, I did just that!! And now we're gonna work on the book proposal and see if we can get me one of them book deals!

3. Last Year: Revise my supernatural YA novel by April.
This Year: Nope--no such luck. BUT I do plan to revise this (it was my NaNo 2010 novel) by the end of spring this year. After reading through it, it's not that bad actually.

4. Last Year: Complete me and Pam's YA idea inspired by Inception.
This Year: Nope. That didn't happen either. Neither one of us has had the time. BUT I hope we can revisit it at some point this year.

5. Last Year: Read more historical YA.
This Year: Hmmm, I think I read a total of three historical YA novels. Yeah, I need to work on that. Maybe I'll give myself an actual goal this year...I will try and read at least 5 historical YAs before the end of 2012.

6. Last Year: Read more adult fiction.
This Year: Didn't do this one, either. I will try and get more in this year, though--definitely. At least 2 or 3.

7. Last Year: Plot a new WIP by early June so that I can finish a draft over the summer.
This Year: This didn't happen either. I was too busy revising my other novels in order to complete # 2 :) But I'm already outlining a new historical and I plan to revise my contemp NaNo from 2011.

8. Last Year: Write SOMETHING each day.
This Year: Yeah, right. With a full time job and two part time jobs--not gonna happen. But like Pam said, writing something at least 3 times a week will work. Even if it's a quick short story or a scene for a new idea.

9. Last Year: A book deal.
This Year: Uh, no--but see # 2!

Whew, that was a lot! Have you all set any writing goals for this year yet?

RTW: Come Sail Away With Us

Daydreaming Song of the Day: "Daydreamer" by Adele

It's Wednesday, AKA the best day of the week for daydreaming and completing a Road Trip post from YA Highway. Okay, maybe not the best day for daydreaming, but the topic this week makes us do just that. This week, the ladies are asking us:

Describe your dream writing retreat. Where would you go? Who and what would you bring?

Funny that this question is coming up right when we're considering taking a writing retreat in the summer. If we had things our way and didn't have to worry about money, this is what we'd do.

Where We'd Go:

Beautiful St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands (Close runner up: A quiet area--not desolate--but quiet, somewhere in Italy).

Who We'd Bring:

We'd bring, each other- DUH, also our lil' sis Racquel, our Weekend of Awesome pals, Alicia, Erinn, Kat, and Holly (not pictured), and our buddy Megan (also, not pictured). Hmm, we need some pics with these girls...

Racquel, Pam, Quita

 Erinn, Kat, Quita, Pam, Alicia

What We'd Bring:

   

iPads:  'Cause we're kinda obsessed with them. And also because they will be full of musical inspiration, novels to read (for the times we're stuck on what to write), and hopefully (by that time) the Scrivener App.

Netbooks/Flash Drives: For writing. Nuff said.

Moleskin Notebooks: For those moments that we need to jot down something we might forget later.

Novels: Actual ones that we can hold in our hands--because some novels MUST be held.

A Couple Writing Resource Books: Books like Fill-In-the-Blank Plotting by Linda George, Writing and Selling The Young Adult Novel by K.L. Going, and Cheryl Klein's Second Sight: An Editor's Talks on Writing, Revising, and Publishing Books for Children or Young Adults 

Forms of Lubrication (get your minds out of the gutter!): Lotion for Pam & Chapstick for Quita. Also Sun Tan Lotion--'cause ya know, sometimes we'll have to go on the lovely St. Croix beaches to relax before getting more writing done.

Colored Pens: If we're revising a printed draft.

Candy and snacks: To refuel and whatever other excuses we can think of to eat all the bad things.

And,um,some adult beverages: Hopefully these will be provided by the wonderful people at our luxurious Virgin Islands resort...for free.

Oh and we also wouldn't mind bringing a nice, smart (and HOT) island boy back home with us :D

What about you? Where would you go and what would you bring with you??

YA Superlatives Blogfest: Best in Show

Reading Song of the Day: "Best For Last" by Adele

Here it is, folks. The LAST day of our YA Superlatives Blogfest. *sheds a tear* Don't know what the Class of 2011: YA Superlatives Blogfest is all about yet? Still?? Okay, go here for more info. Also, please make sure to check out our posts from earlier this week to see our other choices.

Of course, we go out with a bang. We pick the cream of the crop, the big enchiladas, the...okay, we ran out of cheesy analogies. But, we ARE picking the Best in Show...so check out our choices below:

Favorite Cover:

Um, really?

Need we say more?

Cutest Couple:

Tie: Sam and Grace in Forever by Maggie Stiefvater and Lola and Cricket in Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. We almost wish we were characters in these authors' next novels just to have these kind of romances. :)

Most Likely to Succeed (Or, pick a Printz winner!):

Tie: Brooklyn, Burning by Steve Brezenoff and Recovery Road by Blake Nelson. Both male authors. Both kick major prose ass.

Most Likely to Make You Miss Your Bedtime:

Tie: Divergent by Veronica Roth and Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts. We thought about calling into work to finish these books. Seriously.

Best Repeat Performance:

Tie (Hmm, noticing a trend?): Forever by Maggie Stiefvater and City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare. As you can see, Quita LOVED the Wolves of Mercy Falls series--and Pam wants to be best friends with Cassandra Clare.

Romance Most Worthy of an Ice Bath:

Tessa Gray and Will/Jem in Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare. That's right--homegirl got lucky twice. And the scenes were HAWT!

Pair Most Likely to Stay Best Friends Till They're 80:

Clary and Simon from City of Fallen Angels. Okay, I know we've been showing a TON of love for Ms. Clare, but there's also a TON of love between these two characters.

Breakout Novel (Fave Book by a Debut Author):

Divergent by Veronica Roth and Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts. Both dark, both intense...both we can't stop raving about.

Best Old-Timer (Your fave read of the year, published BEFORE 2011):

Tie: Boy Toy by Barry Lyga and Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry. Umm, why didn't people tell us how incredible these books were?

Most Likely to Make a Grown Man Cry:

A Need So Beautiful by Suzanne Young. Because the story IS beautiful...and really makes you not take your life for granted.

Most Pleasant Surprise:

Possession by Elana Johnson. Usually not Quita's reading fare, but now she can't wait for the next one.

Most Creative Use of a Love Triangle:

Tessa, Will, and Jem in Clockwork Prince. Yes, Cassandra Clare again--but usually we can't help but think the girl in the middle of a triangle is a...well, skank. It's so easy to empathize with Tessa.

Sleeper Hit (Book You Wish Had Been Hyped More):

Recovery Road by Blake Nelson. Quita can't stop loving on Mr. Nelson, and she wished more people would do the same.

And now we get to pick our own superlative category...

BOOK WE'RE MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2012:

Insurgent by Veronica Roth. Believe us, there are SO MANY books we want to gobble up next year...but we HAVE to find out where the talented Ms. Roth is taking her story next.

Well, that was fun. It was great to look back at the books we loved this year, and now we can't wait to see what 2012 will have in store. Hopefully, you all know the drill by now. Did we leave any of your faves off our list?

YA Superlatives Contest: Elements of Fiction

Reading Song of the Day: "Elements" by A Fine Frenzy

Okey dokey, Day Three of the YA Superlative Blogfest is among us! Days one and two were full of awesome, so we hope to continue the fun today. This time we're looking at the elements that make up GREAT fiction. 

Great fiction includes settings that make you want to be there with the characters (or sometimes the setting is done so well you DON'T want to be there), characters who are interesting and finales that knock you back on your ass. All of the books we've included here have at least ONE of these elements. Check it out!

Most Envy-Inducing Plot (Or, the plot you wish you’d thought of yourself.):

Divergent by Veronica Roth and XVI by Julia Karr

*Clever, thought provoking, and realistic. We spent HOURS talking about how we wished we created these plots!*

Most Wonderful World-Building:

Divergent by Veronica Roth and Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

*Believable and intriguing worlds that couldn't have been built from anything other than the minds of geniuses.*

Most Formidable World (Or, the setting you most definitely would NOT want to travel to.):

Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts

*Would YOU want to live in a world where humans are turning into murderous loons? Didn't think so...*

Wanderlust-Inducing (Or, the setting you’d happily travel to.):

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins 

*Perkins has a true gift for setting--with her sensory details she makes us want to visit every place she ever writes about!*

Loveliest Prose:

Brooklyn, Burning by Steve Brezenoff

*The book is full of words that move the reader and also move the story along--without being boring.*

Best First Line:

"Lucy hunched over the corpse and felt a tiny bubble of hysterical laughter gurgle up." From Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari.

*In Pam's words--this is just "demented" enough to make us intrigued!*

Most Dynamic Main Character:

Kid in Brooklyn, Burning by Steve Brezenoff

*You don't know Kid's gender. Can't get more dynamic than that.*

Most Jaw-Dropping Finale:

Three Way! Possession by Elana Johnson,  The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin, and City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare.

*Each one of these endings had us saying: What the BLEEP? We can't wait for more!*

Best Performance in a Supporting Role:

Cole in Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

*As mentioned before in yesterday's post--this dude has may-jah swag. And he played a pivotal role in the end of this trilogy. He also made Quita's heart go pitter-patter.*

Best Use of Theme:

Divergent by Veronica Roth

*How we react to our fears truly define us--and this book drives that point home. Ah-may-zing!*

That's it--those are the 2011 books that we felt embodied these elements of fiction. Did we miss something along the way? Let us know so we can add those books to the To Be Read Pile ASAP!

YA Superlatives Blogfest: Popularity Contest

Reading Song of the Day: "Popular" by Lil' Wayne featuring Lil' Twist

It's the SECOND day of the AWESOME YA Superlatives Blogfest! You can still join in the fun! Click here for more info on what needs to be done to participate. Also, if you missed out on Day One, check it out here.

Okay, now that all the logistics are out of the way...let's go ahead and discuss popularity plus high school/teenagers. They kinda go hand in hand, right?? The YA novels in 2011 definitely gave us characters who fit into the standard superlative categories for popularity--and we're gonna prove it!

Alright, enough talking, let's get right into the Popularity Contest!

Class Clown: 

David Gershwin in How I Stole Johnny Depp's Alien Girlfriend by Gary Ghislain

*Dry and witty--and so likable. We'd sit next to him in every class!*

Most Likely to Become a Rock Star: 

Mandarin in Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard

*She goes by her own rules.*

Mostly Likely to Start a Riot: 

Puck in The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

*He'd be the most amused by it.*

Biggest Flirt: 

Chloe in Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

*And she doesn't even apologize for it!*

Fashion King and/or Queen: 

Lola in Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

*She wants to be a fashion designer-duh!*

Girl You’d Most Want For Your BFF: 

Tie between Gretchen in Sweetly by Jackson Pearce and Isabelle Lightwood in City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare.

*Gretchen is strong & faithful to friends & family/ Isabelle kicks a** and she'd stick up for Pam in a fight*

Boy You Wish You’d Dated in High School: 

Tie between Cole in  Forever by Maggie Stiefvater, and Cricket in  Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins.

*Cole is the epitome of rock star sexy--he just has swag/Cricket is nerdy & sensitive...and just awesome!*

Most Likely to Become President: 

Tie Between Meghan Chase in The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa and Aries in Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts.

*For Meghan--Duh, look at the title of the book!/Aries took control in a dire situation.*

Quirkiest Character: 

Lola in Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins.

*How many other girls do you know who want to wear a Marie Antoinette dress to their school dance?*

Villain You Love to Hate: 

Nate Gray in Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare.

*Ok, this guy has no redeeming value--he just made a bada** villain.*

Favorite Parental Figure: 

Tie between Luke Garroway in City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare and Geoffrey Beck in Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

*Luke loves Clary just like she's his own- awww!/Beck was smooth, intelligent, and did what he had to do for his family.*

Coolest Nerd: 

Seth from The Liar Society by Lisa and Laura Roecker

*He  does whatever he can for Kate to help her solve the mystery (computer nerdery is involved)...and he was so flipping SWEET!*

Popularity Contest done! Did we miss someone--overlook the person that you KNOW deserves to win one of the above categories?? Let us know!

YA Superlatives Blogfest: Head of the Class

Reading Song of the Day: "Best of You" by Foo Fighters

Happy Tuesday, lovelies! I hope everyone is well-rested and well-fed from their holiday festivities. We couldn't wait to get to zumba class to shake off all of those Christmas cookies--and we still have New Years Eve to indulge. Gulp.

Anyways, today we get to start the uber-fun, uber-awesome YA Superlatives Blogfest! You may have remembered Quita mentioning it here. The topic today? Head of the Class--or our fave books in each genre. Enough yapping, let's get to the books:

Favorite Dystopian:

Divergent by Veronica Roth. Hands down. We didn't even have to argue over this choice.

Favorite Science Fiction:

Across the Universe by Beth Revis. We admit it--we didn't read much sci fi this year. But we're pretty sure we'd still choose this one.

Favorite Fantasy:

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater. This is considered fantasy, right? Right?

Favorite Contemporary:

Recovery Road by Blake Nelson and Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. Drastically different. Equally awesome.

Favorite Action/Adventure:

Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts. A page-turner if we've ever seen one.

Favorite Historical Fiction:

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare. The setting, the language...the awesome.

Favorite Comedy:

How I Stole Johnny Depp's Alien Girlfriend by Gary Ghislain. Hilarity ensued.

Favorite Mystery:

The Liar Society by Lisa and Laura Roecker. Nobody does whodunnit better than these sisters.

Favorite Romance:

Lola and the Boy Next Door. Pam never swooned so much in her life.

Favorite Paranormal Romance:

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare and Forever by Maggie Stiefvater. These ladies almost make you want to fall in love with someone not quite human.

Favorite Family Drama:

Brooklyn, Burning by Steve Brezenoff--AKA, Pam's new favorite author.

Favorite Genre Bender:

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin. We have NO CLUE how to define this book. Other than it kicks ass.

So, there it is. Our first installment for the YA Superlatives Blogfest. Do you see any of your faves in there? Anything we should have chosen instead? :)

12 Days of Revision: A Christmas Carol!

Carolling Song of the Day: Check out the one below!

We've bought all our Christmas presents, put up our tree, and are about to begin our holiday break from the day jobs. Needless to say, we're feeling a little festive. So we decided to share a little carol that only writers can appreciate:

The 12 Days of Revision!!
(Sung to the melody of...well, you know)

On the twelfth day of revisions, my beta gave to me...

12 packs of Post-Its

11 sugar comas

10 songs for musing

9 friends assuring

8 hours "Scrivening"

7 authors tweeting

6 coffees brewing

5 A-HA MOMENTS!!!

4 colored pens

3 synonyms

2 fingerless gloves

And a port-a-ble PC!!!!!!

So, did I leave anything out fellow writers? Please leave your thoughts below. Oh, and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!