Free Friday: Shall I Compare Thee...

Reading Song of the Day: "Nothing Compares To You" by Sinead O'Conner

It's hard out there for a writer. No, I'm not just channeling the infamous rap lyrics from Terrence Howard's critically acclaimed movie, Hustle and Flow. I'm talking about competitive book titles. Like Pam discussed last Wednesday, there are always books out there that seem similar to your idea...and when you're trying to sell your book you need to know what your competition is.

And that's where I'm at with my book, In Limbo, right now. My awesome agent, Jennie Goloboy, and I are trying to come up with books to compare to my 1918 interracial love story/adventure novel. Who knew that the search would be so hard? So far, I've come up with the following books as comparable titles:






Laurie Halse Anderson's Fever, 1793 (for the epidemic element)












Karen Hesse's A Time of Angels (it's also about the Spanish Influenza in 1918)

Anna Godberson's Bright Young Things (because it's about two teenagers who leave home in search of something more)


But the major thing that these books are missing is a black female protagonist. Hmmm, isn't this a problem that we've been hearing/talking about for a while now in the YA field? I have Pam to thank (my Alpha reader) for giving me this unique edge to my novel b/c, as I've said before, SJ was once white. Since I made that change, it has made it very hard to find a comparable book that is very close to the premise of In Limbo--which is a good thing, but when you're trying to fill in the competition section of your Book Proposal, it's a little frustrating.

With that being said, do you guys think you can help me out? Know of any YA historicals that have a black female protag who falls for a white boy??

What the BLEEP is a Book Proposal???

Writing Song of the Day: "One Step Closer" by Linkin Park

Hey! You guys remember this post? The one where I was so excited that I got an agent? I was ready to delve into the next step. Getting published! I  mean, that's every writer's goal, right? We want someone besides our family and friends to read our words and love them. And believe me, after you write the book, there's so. Much. More. Work. To do.

Hence the title of this post. After I got my lovely agent, Jennie Goloboy of Red Sofa Literary, I was so excited to sit back and wait for her to sell my book. But then I asked, what do we do next? And I got this response: Well, now we get some historians to check the historical validity (okay, that makes perfect sense), and then you need to start working on the book proposal.

My response: HUH? What even GOES in a book proposal? And do I HAVE to write it??? I mean, that's a nonfiction thing, right? RIGHT? Please say, right!

Well, it turns out--no, it is not just a nonfiction thing. And my agency prefers for their fiction writers to pen a book proposal, as well. They feel as if this will persuade the editor to want your book even more.

So, back to the question at hand. What IS a book proposal??? Jennie directed me to the book, Write the Perfect Book Proposal by Jeff Herman and Deborah Levine Herman,  to help me figure this out. From flipping through this book and visiting various sites, I found out there are a couple of key elements that need to go into a book proposal.

Elements:

Overview: I pretty much used my query letter--just spruced it up some.
Author Bio: Speaks for itself :D
Competition: Find books that publishers may be able to compare your book to. Then tell why your book would fly off the shelves.
Promotion: How will you promote your novel? Editors like to know that you're going to put in some leg work to sale your novel as well. So, what kind of print media can you use to your advantage? What about online media, giveaways/contests, conferences, and appearances. Think about all of the ways that you can help sale your book.
Synopsis: We all work on these at some point when we're writing our novels, anyway. I used the same one that I worked on for a year and changed a bit of it.

I know, right? After I read that, I looked like this:

Then I figured. What the hell? I'll just go for it and see where it takes me. After I finished the first draft and sent it off to Jennie, I got a revised version from Jennie and Dawn Frederick (owner of Red Sofa Literary Agency). And then I looked like this:

But then I sat down and spent two days working on revisions and I think it's A LOT better. Now I feel like this:

And my draft is in the capable hands of my agent. Now, I wait and see if there's anything else to change.
I have to say, after I finished two drafts of my book proposal, it's not as bad as it sounds. Sure, it's a lot of work, but it's also a good way to show that you know your novel like the back of your hand, and also that you are willing to work on the "business" side of the publishing world as well as the creative. Even if you do not have an agent yet, I'd say it wouldn't hurt to do your own mini version of a book proposal. That way if you choose an agency that has their authors do book proposals-- you're already one step ahead!

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!

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?

Omigod...Quita has a FLIPPING Agent!!

Celebrating Song of the Day: "I Celebrate the Day" by Relient K

WOW--after two years of querying/revising/editing TWO manuscripts, I can FINALLY report that yes, the title of this post is correct. I HAVE AN AGENT!!! Over a year ago, Pam gave you this post on how she got her agent (the awesome Sarah LaPolla of Curtis Brown LTD), so I figured I'd do the same. If you'd like to hear my story...here it go!

I started writing at a young age. I gave you all a sneak peak of my first completed novel (that I wrote at age 15), but then I got practical. I realized if I wanted to make lots of  money, I needed to finish high school and go to college. So, I did...and then I got my degree and became a teacher. Yep, I thought I'd be rolling in the dough from that career. As my fellow educators know, no such luck. Anyway, I digress. Back to my writing journey. Me and Pam got serious about our childhood love of writing and applied for MFA programs. As Pam recounted on her post, we got in and she was told from a literary agent that she has a knack for teen voices...so why not write young adult? She told me and was like, "hey, you usually write in teen voices, too." And from there we began our foray into the wonderful (and I mean, WONDERFUL) world of young adult. Then my first novel was born...

December of 2009: I finished writing a novel based on a screenplay that me and Pam wrote together. Said novel was not my best friend. I kept trying to stick to the screenplay. HOWEVER, I did get a full request from a literary agency with this novel. But, lit agency NEVER responded...

Jan/Feb. 2010: While waiting for news about other manuscript, I began to come up with ideas for a new novel. All I had was these few sentences: Syl Huston is a 15 year old living in Philadelphia in 1918. The year that the Great Influenza has hit the United States. His older brother 18 year old Ricky Huston has enlisted in the United States Army and is sent to fight in Germany- he sends home letters that open up each chapter.

Begins in September 1918- Syl is in school and is called to the principal’s office. There he learns that his aunt, who lives with him has just been taken to the hospital and is in severe condition.

April 2010: Finished my first draft of In Limbo (title was switched to Hysteria briefly). This draft consisted of just Syl--who gets sick and spends the second half of the novel in his bedroom while people visit him. In one word: LAME. Thanks to my alpha/beta reader, Pam, this was quickly changed.

August 2010: Finished second draft--still a little lame, but I felt it was ready to query. WRONG--nothing but rejections. I got a few partial requests, but NO fulls. Pam read again and suggested that I make the love interest black--something to change things up.

October 2010: New draft! And this time my love interest, SJ, is BLACK. And she and Syl have a goal. I also have another beta reader, Ann, read this draft. She loves it, but gives a few suggestions. I take them.

December 2010: Another new draft--this time Syl has religious issues (don't ask where THAT came from...). I query again. I also began the first draft of my contemporary--convinced that agents do not sign debut authors with historical novels.

January 2011: I get my FIRST full request!!! And it's from an agent who LOVES historical- woo hoo! Alas, she passes...

February 2011: I whine, whine, whine about not getting an agent. I do some work on the contemp and query that. I get a couple requests for the contemp and shelve In Limbo while my betas read and let me know WHY it continues to suck.

June 2011: Me and Pam attend our regional SCBWI Novel Retreat. There we get a moment of clarity--why not make In Limbo a dual POV novel??? That might up the tensions, the stakes etc. Pam also suggests that I have one of the couple really not like the other--after all they are interracial and it is the early 20th century. Sooo...I work hard on both of those ideas and send it off to my betas again.

July-September 2011: Feedback from betas and hardwork to get the manuscript JUST RIGHT.

Late September/Early October 2011: I re-query those agents who had slight interest in In Limbo, and I go to QueryTracker.net (QueryTracker, I HEART you) and search for all agents interested in historical YA novels. There's quite a few...so I weed through them and find the ones who seem like they really, truly love historicals. That's when I see the name...Jennie Goloboy of Red Sofa Literary Agency. Not only does she WRITE historical novels herself, she also has a freakin' PhD in American Civilization from Harvard!! I queried her on September 27th, 2011--she answered a short six days later. She said she is intrigued and wanted to read the first three chapters. YES!

October 2011: I continued to query my contemp. and had a full & partial out for that, too. But Jennie got back to me on October 10th, saying she enjoyed it and wanted to read the full. OMIGOD!

Then on the 18th, Jennie wrote back and said she loved the manuscript overall, but had a few things she wanted me to look at and change. I agreed--so I worked on the revisions right away.

November 2011: On November 20th, 2011 I sent back the revised version of In Limbo. On the 30th, Jennie wrote back and said she really enjoyed the revise and resubmit...then asked if there was a time we could talk!!!

December 2011: WE TALKED! She offered--I wanted to accept right away. Jennie LOVES my novel, she loves history--what more can I ask for? But I had other material out. I had to give those agents a chance to read and decide if they loved my work enough. After all was said and done...I signed with Jennie on December 20th, 2011! 

AND NOW? NOW I have an agent!!! 

That was A LOT...and I don't blame you if you skipped some parts. I can get a lil' long winded sometimes. Sorry :( Anyway, I hope reading about my "journey" gives you all some insight into the work that it takes. In Limbo didn't get agented until I wrote 10 (YES, TEN--granted some of the drafts had small changes, but still) various drafts of it. It takes work, people...lots of it.

Thanks for reading :D

Countdown to NaNo: Choose Your Idea!

Brainstorming Song of the Day: "I Choose" by The Offspring

Happy Monday, lovelies! You may be asking why I'm so stoked at the start of the work week. Well, that's because we're just TWO WEEKS AWAY from NaNoWriMo! Can I get a woot woot?

Last week, Quita outlined what we were going to do to prepare for NaNo. And our job last week was to actually choose our idea. Simple enough, right? Well, not quite. Let's break it down for you:


Pam's Idea: Last year for NaNo, I wanted to get out of my contemporary YA comfort zone. So what did I do? I wrote about fairies. And you know what? I had a blast.


After writing Ins and Outs this year (AKA, the WIP formerly known as Project J), I wanted to return to my darker roots--and I'm not talking about my hair. Ins and Outs was more of a funny ha ha story about a possibly serious topic. I had fun writing it, but I felt like getting a little moody again.


I saw a Twitter conversation that my agent had about Bible retellings, and it hit me--I wanted to write a story featuring a teenaged Cain and Abel! But wait--there's more. Since NaNo's all about getting out of my comfort zone, I knew I just didn't want to write straight up contemporary. So not only am I writing a Cain and Abel retelling, but I'm adding a magical realism twist. And that's all I'm telling you guys about it right now--but just know I'm SO EXCITED to get started!


Quita's Idea:

Like Pam, I tried to get out of my comfort zone last year, as well. I wrote about djinns or genies. And it's the WIP I've hated the most. I don't think fantasy or paranormal is my strong suit. Also, after revising the mess out of my historical, In Limbo, I knew I didn't want to go there again--especially not for NaNo.

Then I read an article in my People magazine about a boy who was abducted and I realized, I haven't read any YA books about boys who get kidnapped and what happens to them. Thus, my idea was born. But of course I want to do more than that, so my story is about a teenaged boy who was once abducted but is now free--only his family can't deal with what happened so he's sent to a boarding school. That's all I'm gonna give for now. You can find out more next Monday when we talk baby plots!

So what about you all? Have you chosen your story ideas for NaNo yet? Please share with us below!

BTW, add us as a buddy when that function works again! Pam is pharris81 and Quita is mhockaday!

RTW: Our Writing Journeys...And Boy Are Our Hands Tired!

Writing Song of the Day: "Tie My Hands" by Lil Wayne ftg Robin Thicke

Can you believe that the ladies at YA Highway have hosted 100, count it, 100 Road Trip Wednesday posts?? Well, they have! And this week, in honor of reaching the 100 Mile Marker, the ladies want to know:

How has your writing journey gone so far?

You mean, we get to shed light on our successful (okay not always successful) writing stories thus far? Don't mind if we do!

Pam's Response:

Wow, where do I begin? I have definitely been on a journey since I participated in my first RTW. First of all, this blog began as a solo venture, but then I joined forces with my annoying/lovable/most-awesome-person-in-the-world cousin, Quita. Second, I've written three, count them, THREE YA novels: one is a hopefully funny contemporary that I'll soon be revising, another is a supernatural modern tale about fairies that I wrote for NaNo 2010. And the third? Well, the third is my baby, Wants. And why is it my baby? Well, because it landed me the incredible Sarah LaPolla, who has just put my shiny new version of said baby back on submission (fingers crossed).

So what lies ahead? Well, I'm trying NaNo again this year, and I'm possibly delving back into my dark, contemporary roots this time around. I have a couple of ideas for future novels scrawled in my journal, so now I just have to find out which one is calling me next. Oh, and even though I graduated with my MFA in creative writing this past summer, I actually have to defend my thesis, gulp, TODAY. Wish me luck!

Quita's Response:

Since I began to take my writing seriously (about two or so years ago now) I've completed three novels, and "graduated" from my MFA program (for which I wrote a collection of short stories). Two of my novels have been through the ringer numerous times. My historical, In Limbo, is completely different from its first draft (which I wrote over a year and a half ago). It's moved from a single POV story about a white boy in love with a white girl, to a two person POV novel--and that white girl is now African American. Two agents have a full of this manuscript at the moment, one of which seems like she's REALLY excited about it--we'll see where that goes.

My other novel, The Blues, a contemporary mystery (I began writing this one a year and ten days ago), came close with three agents and finally one requested a revise and resubmit. I'm still working on the revise part. The final novel was a NaNo project--my foray into the world of paranormal/supernatural and I hated it. I think I'm just not good at telling those kinds of stories--at least not in one month. Maybe if I try and revise it, it might be okay...you never know. Now I'm on my way to taking another shot at NaNo--this time with a quiet story, and I'm gearing up to defend my MFA thesis next week. WHEW! I think that's it.

Now that you know all of me and Pam's bidness, how has your writing journey been so far?

RTW: This Seems Familiar

Writing Song of the Day: "Deja Vu" by Beyonce

It's Wednesday which means road tripping with the ladies of YA Highway. This week they're asking us:

What themes, settings, motifs, scenes, or other elements do you find recurring in your work?

I was a little lost on this one at first, but then Pam pointed out that we have discussed certain elements that continue to show themselves in ALL of our writing.

Pam's Answer:

Okay, my answer is really strange because:

A.) I'm a daddy's girl.

B.) My dad is pretty much awesome and

C.) Did I say I'm a daddy's girl??

With that being said, the recurring element that pops up in both Wants and Project J is daddy issues. My major characters either have a physical or emotionally MIA pop. Now that I think about it, this could stem from the fact that my dad was in the military for most of my childhood and he was gone for at least a year when he fought in Desert Storm.

Quita's Answer:

The recurring element that surfaces in my writing would be literally killing some of my darlings. For some reason I kill every single one of my character's best friends. Not just the associate they talk to in school sometimes--their best friends. In both In Limbo and The Blues the killing of the best friend serves major purposes, but still--I don't know why this keeps happening. It's not like I want to kill people--it just seems like the right thing to do. Wow. That sounds pretty creepy...

Your turn! Tell us what keeps popping up in your writing??

Let Us Be Your Motivation!

Inspiring Song of the Day: "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey

Hey, all. We hope you had a great weekend. Us? We've been revising, revising, getting prepared to move, more revising, preparing to work on our thesis presentation, and revising some more. And, well...we're overwhelmed. Like, totally. Because we're feeling so down w/ the load of all of the aforementioned, we motivated ourselves by watching one of our favorite videos. Then we thought: Why not show it to our loyal and lovely followers?

Take a minute to watch this vid, and then try and tell us it doesn't put a smile on your face...

Are you smiling, yet? We KNEW it!

Okay, now for the somewhat sad part of this post. Once again, we haz to go on a blogging hiatus, peeps. Why, you ask?? Well, let us illustrate:

Working on our thesis presentation (due in August *pulling our collars*).
Revising In Limbo and Faking It, AKA Project J (like scrapping major parts, line editing, re-working kinda revising).
Compiling our FIRST issue of Black Fox Literary Magazine with our co-editor and lil' sis, Racquel.
Oh, yeah--and moving into a house in TWO WEEKS!


We're deeply sad to say that something had to go, unfortunately that something is blogging. But, fear not we shall return July 25th, 2011. And we should be able to give you all our full attention :)

So, make sure you come back and see us then! In the mean time, what are you guys up to??

Love ya all!!!!

RTW: Share the Inspiration...and a Winner!!

Inspiring Song of the Day: "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper

Yay! It's Wednesday again, which means we're joining the amazing chicas at YA Highway for Road Trip Wednesday! Here's what's on tap this week:

Share some images that inspire your WIP(s). We've done this topic before, but it's been quite a while, and pictures are always fun.

I don't think we shared pictures last time, so we decided to finally take a stab at it.

Pam's Pic:

During my last revision round of Wants, I decided to give one of my protagonists, Savannah, a dance icon since dance is so important to her. I researched a few famous dancers, and I decided to use Broadway choreographer, Twyla Tharp:

This is the picture that Savannah keeps on her bedroom mirror. She sometimes talks to Ms. Tharp when she's upset. Okay, I know that sounds crazy but...never mind, I think Savannah is a bit crazy. :)

Quita's Pic:

During my second round of revisions for In Limbo, Pam suggested that I look up pictures of the early 1900s so that I could get a better feel for the time period. Since the novel is based around the Spanish Influenza, I looked for pictures that showed the impact of the disease on society:

This pic demonstrates the severity of the disease and how many people were affected. It still sends shivers up my spine.

So, those are the pictures that inspire us. Do you all use pictures for inspiration?

But wait...there's more! The winner of How I Stole Johnny Depp's Alien Girlfriend is.....

Erinn!!!!

Okay, so she's our Weekend of Awesome bud, but we promise you this wasn't rigged! Erinn, we'll be emailing you shortly. :)

WIP Snapshot: The Blues

Writing Song of the Day: "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash


First off, Happy Fourth of July all!!! We're glad that you took a moment to stop by the blog! As Pam mentioned last week, we took this idea from Caroline Tung Richmond (remember follow her blog !), who has admitted that she stole this idea from super author Kiersten White. Basically, they both gave details on their current works-in-progress. Just like Pam did here last week, I'm going to attempt to break down one of my two current WIPs.

Ready?? Here goes!

Title: The Blues--I hate titles. Like, loathe them. But there's a place of significance in the novel called The Blues, plus it pretty much conveys the mood.

Genre: Contemporary YA (with some mystery elements)

Pages: 256 (double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman Font)

Chapters: 22--some are as long as seventeen pages, others as short as five. I might need to fix that...

Word Count: 56,838--I always have the issue of adding more to my work. In Limbo started at 52,000 and after revisions is at 60,334. Hope I can do the same with The Blues.

Draft Time: I started writing the very first version of this September 2010 and got serious about it in December, right after NaNoWriMo. I wrote about thirty pages in third person, and played around with two POVs, then I gave up and worked on In Limbo. THEN, I came back to it in February 2011 and completed the first draft right around March 2011, the second draft at the end of April and I'm working on the third now.

Origin: It all started because I wanted to write a contemporary YA after being in historical mode. Then I went to a conference (Hampton Road Writers Conference in September 2011) and set in on a session about writing an effective mystery. I already had a main character in mind and an idea of a relationship with him and a girl...then I added in the mystery element and started writing from there.

Random Facts:

• In the beginning of the novel, Blake's (the MC) history teacher always shows videos. This came from hearing about teachers that do this...and we've even enountered teachers who show TV episodes for no apparent reason.



• Margo's name (Blake's love interest) was Millie at first...yeah, Margo's not that much better--but Millie, really?



• After reading Ellen Hopkin's Crank (per Pam's recommendation) I decided to make crystal meth the central drug in The Blues.



• Blake and his Ma are Italian mainly because I was trying to teach myself Italian and I wanted to throw in phrases every now and then :)



• Blake is somewhat of a low class computer genius because I like to think I'm pretty handy with electronics, even though I'm not--at all.



• Blake drives a two door light blue Chevy Cavalier POS (remember this means piece of sh*t)...because I drive a two door white Chevy Cavalier POS.

Okay, there it is. I have The Blues out with two betas right now and can't wait to delve back into revising it. Just as Pam asked last week, we'd love to hear about your writing. So, how goes it?

***BTW-- That smashing new header on our blog? Yeah, that comes from the lovely Jess at Jest Kept Secret. Thanks, girlie--we LOVE it!!

RTW: When You're Strange

Researching Song of the Day: "People Are Strange" by The Doors

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

This Week's Topic:
What is the strangest/weirdest thing you've ever researched (for your novel/WIP)?

We often find ourselves typing in questions and topics to Google or Bing pretty much every time we sit down to write. Seriously, what did people DO before the Internet? Anyway, even though we do this often, there have been a couple times where we realized: hmmm, this is pretty strange...

Pam's Answer:

While writing Wants, I had to look up the proper spelling of painkillers--that may look a little strange to someone browsing my computer history. Oh! And when I wrote (and completed, thank you very much) my NaNo WIP on fairies, had to research mythical fairy homelands--and of course how to kill a fairy. So, to an outsider looking through my computer, I look like a painkiller addict who wants to kill fairies. Nice.

Picture Taken From: http://www.foreveryoungadult.com/wp-content/upload/2010/08/fairies.jpg

Quita's Answer:

While writing In Limbo, I had to look up causes and cures for the Spanish Influenza. I had to look up how it spread, what kind of symptoms one would show etc. The symptoms were pretty gross--and I looked at pics of victims *shudders*. But, I guess the strangest thing I had to research was how to kill someone with a blunt object. In The Blues, Blake has to figure out who murdered his best friend who was killed with a blunt object. I had to make sure that was possible. So, if the police were to search my computer after someone is killed with a blunt object, I might be in trouble...

Picture Taken From: http://images.sodahead.com/polls/000904139/GO187_answer_3_xlarge.jpeg

Tell us, what the strangest thing you had to research?

It's Time For Something Real!

Writing Song of the Day: "Real World" by Matchbox Twenty

I just recently finished Judy Blundell's National Book Award Winner: What I Saw and How I Lied and I LOVED it!

Not only was the plot engaging, but the MC Evie was relatable yet mysterious, and likable. I read a few historicals before this novel, but I must say Blundell did a great job of weaving in historical details without spelling out- "Hey, this story takes places in the mid 1940's right after the end of World War II!" And I was in complete awe.

As a matter of fact, reading this made me want to go back to my baby, In Limbo. I'm re-plotting the novel and revising it now. And I must say, I am falling in love with it. I queried In Limbo and got a couple of bites, but no offers of representation--that made me think. I was getting response from the queries but not from the fulls or the partials. I guess that means I need to look at the actual WRITING. So, that's what I'm doing. But it made me think--what makes a realistic historical young adult novel interesting? Does it need mystery, romance, a love triangle, murder?? Why is steampunk (check out our blog post here on steampunk novels) gaining so much popularity when there are some fantastic realistic historical YA novels to be read?

This made us think--let's ask our bloggy pals! So, we take these questions to you: What makes YOU want to read a realistic historical YA novel (or adult novel)? Why would you choose a steampunk novel over a realistic one? If YOU could play agent, what would you look for in a realistic historical YA when considering to represent it?

***BTW- Steampunk novels are awesometastic. I am not saying they are not great--just saying I needs to know what to do with my realistic. Help!***

Pay It Forward Contest

Thankful Song of the Day (Does that even make sense???): "Thank You" by Alanis Morissette

There are certain people in this world who are just "good". These people are going to be (hopefully) recognized all over the blogosphere this week thanks to Shelli over at Market My Words.

Shelli is putting on an awesome contest this week in which she will choose ONE person to recommend to her agent Alyssa Eisner Henkin at Trident Media Group. Go here to learn more about this awesome contest!

In the spirit of paying it forward (and entering the contest) I am going to name a few people who have helped me thus far in my writing career. Here they are!

Of course my Alpha, Beta, Zeta (?) reader. No, I'm not talking about a sorority (although I think this would be a cool name for one!) I'm talking about Pam! My cousin/sister who always reads my work first, second, third...and last. Pam reads my synopsis, queries, pitches, Twitter pitches, you name it, she's read it and she fixes it! It's strange whenever I write something and she HASN'T read it. I trust her eye and I trust her. PERIOD.

We like similar subject matters so I always want to know what she thinks about my plots, characters, and dialogue, and she doesn't hesitate to offer advice--and believe me, she's not easy on me just because I'm her cousin. She keeps it real and my writing is better because of it. Also, she supports me with chocolate, French Fries, and adult beverages. :)

The YA Writing Community that I've discovered through Twitter and blogging. There are certain people who help me more *cough* recent blogfest counterparts *cough* but overall, the entire YA writing community is very supportive of one another. We offer book suggestions, we give support and advice, and we always, always have cupcakes/chocolate on hand to send through Twitter. :)

Ann Braden who I found through SCBWI's discussion boards. I was in search of a Beta reader for In Limbo and Ann, who is a former middle school history teacher, jumped at the chance. She read my manuscript within a week and e-mailed it back with extensive and extremely helpeful notes. I couldn't have queried (and gotten some positive responses) without Ann's help.

Other writing friends that I've made through my MFA program at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Especially certain people that me and Pam have added to the family. You all know who you are, especially you, Racquel, our little sister :) Without their support and critiques in workshops, I also would not be at the level I am today with my writing.

Okay, I think that does it. Who would you like to thank for helping you with your writing? Also, remember this is all part of a contest--go check it out!

What did they say??

Revising Song of the Day: "Try Again" by Aaliyah (Check it out on our Rock With Us tab)


I'm revising the mess out of my historical YA, trying to make it pretty for querying...but I'm in that level (pun intended--my manuscript is called In Limbo, tee hee!) that kinda sucks. The fact checking level.

I have to make sure I'm not using present day slang and phrases. For example, I wanted to talk about music and I automatically wrote CD player, then record player...then I looked it up and realized that in 1918 they called them phonographs. Which then leads to what did they call the records they played on them? Records, Vinyls, Albums? It all gets really, really shaky. So I tried to look up slang/English language in 1918. I didn't find anything that different but there were a few key phrases that I made sure to throw in...

Rotary dialing = Dialing on a (Home) telephone (so archaic, right!)

Fooling = joking around

Neat/Cool/Swell = well...neat, or cool, awesome etc. :)

Sweetheart = Girlfriend/Boyfriend ie going steady

Colored = African American

Soda pop = obviously, soda

Denims = jeans

And it goes on and on...

The words weren't all that different--some of them we even use today. I guess the point is to make sure that I don't have one of my characters say/do anything that is too 21st century and also watch out for making the material too dated. I am hoping to have a book that is obviously historical but that can be relatable for every generation. Is that too much to ask???

What about you, lovely readers? If you write historical how do you get past the fact checking slump? If you read it, what are some great books that you can think of that are timeless?

Our 2011 Writing Resolutions!!

Writing Song of the Day: "We Need a Resolution" by Aaliyah featuring Timbaland


Oh. My. Goodness. We've made it--2011, peeps! It just looks weird typing it. I have to say, I'm a little disappointed. Where are the flying cars?

Besides that, Quita and I are uber-excited. This is the first time in a while that I've truly been optimistic about the New Year. Good things are on the horizon, I can feel it. We have our standard resolutions: eat right, exercise more, yadda yadda yadda. But for today's post, we really wanted to focus on our writing resolutions for 2011. So, without further ado...

Pam's Writing Resolutions

1. To revise the ending of Wants by the end of January and submit it to my super agent.

2. To complete my second contemporary YA manuscript and send to beta readers by March/April.

3. To revise my supernatural YA that I wrote for NaNo and see if it has any kind of potential (it's weird, but I've actually missed the characters. Maybe I do have something there...)

4. To settle on an idea for my third contemporary YA manuscript and outline it by this summer.

5. To try to write at least 500 words each day. If I can't reach that goal, then to NOT go more than three days without writing anything.

6. To continue to support the YA community by reading TONS of books. I'm shooting for at least 2 each month. Work and school will get in the way, but I'm determined to keep up with my reading.

7. To read more adult fiction. Reading Room was a revelation. I've been ignoring too much awesome writing outside YA, and I really miss Jodi Picoult, Stephen King, and Brett Easton Ellis. I would love to read at least six adult titles this year--one every other month.

8. Finally, wishful thinking, to get a BOOK DEAL. I know, I know--this isn't the most important thing, but it's been my dream since I could hold a crayon in my hand to see my name on the spine of my own published book. 11 has always been my favorite number, so maybe 2011 will be my year. :)

Quita's Writing Resolutions:

1. To complete my first contemporary YA manuscript by the end of January/early February.

2. To nab an agent with my historical YA manuscript, In Limbo.

3. To revise my NaNo supernatural YA manuscript by the end of March/early April--it's so lame, but maybe I can make something happen from it.

4. To complete our shiny YA idea inspired by Inception.

5. To read as much as possible so that I can continue to learn (especially more historical YA--The Book Thief, Fever:1793, and What I Saw and How I Lied, here I come!)

6. Ditto to Pam's adult fiction comment. I'm working on John Grisham's The Confession now.

7. To plot a new contemporary (or historical) YA by early June so that I can write it over the summer.

8. Again, ditto to Pam's comment about writing at least 500 words a day, or just writing SOMETHING each day.

9. Oh...and this might be complete wishful thinking since I don't even have an agent yet, but I wants me a book deal, too :)

Tell us, have you set your writing goals yet??

Here We Go Again!

Revising Song of the Day: "Again" by Janet Jackson


As you all may know (b/c you are our loving and loyal followers) Pam and I have completed manuscripts. Pam has just finished her fourth round of revisions for Wants, and I am still teaching myself how to revise In Limbo (my beta reader...Pam, is working her magic now!). It is almost too perfect that we set in on a revision session during the SCBWI Mid Atlantic conference this weekend.

Andrea Tompa of Candlewick Press led an incredibly helpful and in depth session on what you should do after you complete your first draft. Although Pam missed a small portion (because she was getting a one on one manuscript consultation with Emily Van Beek from Folio Jr. -- a division of Folio Literary Management-- go girl!), we still learned lots that we want to share with you.

So, do you feel like this b/c you don't know how to revise/edit?

Don't worry, we'll help you out...

But we can't tell it all (copyrighting and all that) so we'll give you a brief synopsis in a few steps:

1. Complete the first draft. (duh)
2. Save the first draft as...well, first draft. Or you can use alphabets (my personal fave) for example, my first draft of In Limbo is called In LimboA. After Pam gives me feedback, I'll open a new document and call that In LimboB.
3. Put away the first draft for a while.
4. Take it out of it's hiding spot and look at it with a fresh pair of eyes.
5. Now while you look at your first draft consider the important questions that you learned in elementary school...who, what, where, when, why, and how.
6. Ask yourself and make sure it is conveyed who your characters are, and why the reader should care about them, what is happening in your story, where and when is it happening, why does your character do what they do (what are the stakes) and finally how are you telling your story (what is the POV, do you have good voice, what tense)?
   
   

LAST STEP: Finally, complete a more thorough edit. Check your draft to make sure it is clear, consistent throughout, grammatically correct, straight to the point, and that all dialogue is believable, and not full of exposition.

With these steps, you no longer have an excuse. So, go...revise! I was inspired to go back to my first POS (piece of sh*t) Chasing Manson, after sitting through this session. I know it'll inspire you :)

BTW, please feel free to share any of your revising techniques that may have been left off of this list.

RTW: Shall We Compare Thee to...

Writing Song of the Day: "All the Same" by Sick Puppies

It's come to it again, our aces over at YA Highway have created yet another clever Road Trip Wednesday topic. This week, they are asking us for comparable authors/books to our own works.

I think we've talked enough about our manuscripts, Wants is Pam's completed manuscript written in four different POVs. It is a contemporary YA novel surrounding four students who end up connected in a very unlikely manner. My complete manuscript, (tentatively titled) In Limbo is a historical YA set during 1918 in Pennsylvania during the end of WWI and the flu pandemic. When faced with the question of finding comparable authors/books- I automatically want to just name my faves and pretend to be just like them....

Alas, that's not the question. So, here it goes!

Comparable to In Limbo: Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

How does it compare to my manuscript??

Fever, 1793 is written in first person POV, it is set in Philadelphia, each chapter starts with a date, the disease (yellow fever) is a monumental (almost a character w/in itself) one that killed numerous people in one city, and the young protagonist deals with the pitfalls of a disease that is destroying everyone in its path.

Comparable to my writing: Besides Laurie Halse Anderson (yeah, right- like anyone can say they write like her) I also want to write like Walter Dean Meyers (another big one- I know).

Why??

Both of the authors write historical and contemporary YA, they write character driven novels that put an emphasis on human emotion and allows the plot to come along for the ride. Also, both authors write about varying topics from slavery, rape, school shootings, racism, eating disorders, and the perils of growing up in general.

Comparable to Wants: The Absolute Value of-1 by Steve Brezenoff

How does it compare to Pam's manuscript?

Grief? First love? Pot? And multiple POVs? It's like Steve Brezenoff was in Pam's head when writing this awesome debut--no wonder she loves it so much!

Comparable to Pam's writing (at least she wishes): Courtney Summers (pictured) and Elizabeth Scott

Why??

Both authors write realistic fiction, they use authentic teen voices, and they use spare prose. In other words, they don't BS...they cut to the chase, while the managing to keep the writing beautiful!

So, tell us- what writer/books do you compare your writing to???

RTW: First Lines

Reading Song of the Day: "The Catalyst" by Linkin Park

It's that time again, time to go traveling with our YA Highway sistahs :) This Road Trip Wednesday focuses on the first line of books. They want to know, what are some or our favorite first lines? The ladies even go so far as to let us show off our own snappy, witty, wonderful first words!!!

We shall start with the best (or maybe we just want to get it out of the way before you read the really great first lines from published authors)--the first lines of our own manuscripts. For Pam's manuscript Wants, her first line is:

"It's not that I'm ugly or anything ."

Brilliant! But she may be changing it.

Quita's first line for the manuscript In Limbo is:

"I'm in hell."

Engaging- but probably could use a little something more.

Finally, on to the wonderful works of fiction that we wish we could gobble up. Some of our favorite first lines are:

"When I was little, my dad used to tell me, 'Will, you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose.'"
-Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Greene and David Levithan


"Imagine four years. Four years, two suicides, one death, one rape, two pregnancies (one abortion), three overdoses, countless drunken antics, pantsings...But everything you do here counts. High School."
-Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers
"They say that just before you die your whole life flashes before your eyes, but that's not how it happened for me."
-Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver





"I was born with a light covering of fur. After three days it had all fallen off, but the damage was done."
-Liar by Justine Larbalestier

"So she tells me, the words dribbling out with the cranberry muffin crumbs, commas dunked in coffee She tells me in four sentences. No, five."
-Wintergirls by Laurie Halse AndersonSo what are some of your fav first lines? And feel free to share the first line of your WIPs or manuscripts as well.