Cuz We Write: The Remix

Writing Song of the Day: "The Phoenix" by Fall Out Boy

Taken from Forbes.com

This seems vaguely familiar, huh? Don't adjust your blog roll...wait, is it even still called that?

Anyway, WE'RE BACK! 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.

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...

• We left our former jobs! That's right, we got out of the classroom and the school building. We're both working on doctoral degrees (Pam full time at The College of William and Mary, Quita part time at Old Dominion University--shifting to The George Washington University) and Quita took a promotion to work in a school system's administrative offices. 

• 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.

• AND, did you see our new banner? Yeah, that was created by our second sistah from another mistah, Natalie Henry (recently featured The Huffington Posted for a Hunger Games themed wedding--ahhh!) and it's perfect for our newly remixed minds.

• Finally (and this is one we wanted to tell you about a month ago) we rewrote both of our very first novels for NaNoWriMo this year. Pam worked on a new version of WANTS to get to know her characters again and Quita revisited a novel set in the 1960s called CHASING MANSON (a novel adaptation of a screenplay we actually wrote together). 

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.

So there you have it. All of our changes. What have you remixed in your life lately?

S is for...Sex (or Shudder) in YA

Controversial Song of the Day:  "I Just Had Sex" by The Lonely Island ftg Akon

For the entire month of April, we'll be participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Our theme for the month? CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS IN YA. Check out the link above for other awesome blogs participating.

Taken from wallpapersup.net

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.

 

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, Wants, 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.
 
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 adults don't even want to read anything too graphic.
 
With that said, here are some YA novels that handle sex in varying degrees:

• The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
• Girl by Blake Nelson
• Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
• Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
• Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols

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?)?

L is for...LGBTQ

Controversial Song of the Day:  "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry

For the entire month of April, we'll be participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Our theme for the month? CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS IN YA. Check out the link above for other awesome blogs participating.

Taken from delireum.deviantart.com

So one day, Quita and I went to the movies (which could be ANY day because, well, we love movies). I was waiting for Quita to get some popcorn when in walked this lovely lesbian couple. They came in, holding hands and clearly in love (you could tell by the way they kept smiling at each other). After one of the employees took their tickets, he then proceeded to laugh loudly and call his co-workers. All of them laughed and pointed at the ladies, and then had the nerve to look at Quita and me to see if we, too, would join in with the taunting.

 
We never took another step in that theater.
 

LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Questioning) issues in YA have always been important to me. In fact, I wrote guest posts about this topic in detail on both YA Highway and Elizabeth Scott's blog. The manuscript that landed me Sarah LaPolla as an agent was all about girls who find out their respective boyfriends are in love with each other. The contemporary YA I just finished revising is all about my male narrator developing feelings for his school's most vocal lesbian. Quita even makes sure to include LGBTQ characters in her stories, as well.

 

Why do we do this? The same reason we write about black characters, and white characters, and biracial characters, and overweight characters, and characters with illnesses and disabilities.

 

Because they're real.
 

We like to write about real people. So we'll keep plotting "coming out" stories (which, I'm sorry, there's NEVER enough of), or tales where we just happen to have a bisexual character because we're being authentic. And here are a few novels that feature LGBTQ characters:

• Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
• Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
• Keeping You a Secret by Julie Anne Peters
• Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez
• Ash by Malindo Lo

Do you all include LGBTQ characters in your own writing? What are some of your favorite novels that feature LGBTQ characters?

E is for...Eating Disorders

Controversial Song of the Day: "Eet" by Regina Spektor


For the entire month of April, we'll be participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Our theme for the month? CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS IN YA. Check out the link above for other awesome blogs participating.



We all have to eat. Some of us enjoy doing it so much that we create our daily schedules based on our meals *coughs* Pam and Quita *coughs*. But believe it or not, there are several people who don't partake in the pleasures and joy of food and eating like others. These are the people that we identify as having an eating disorder. There are various types of eating disorders; however, Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia nervosa, and Binge-eating disorder are the most common. (taken from a Bing article sponsored by MayoClinic.com)



Did you know...?


*Anorexia nervosa is estimated to affect 1 in 100 adolescent girls


*The approximate age when young girls become anorexic is 13.75, and the range is 10 to 25 years old


*About 6% of girls between 13-19 are thought to have Bulimia nervosa


*76% of people with eating disorders began their disorder between 11 to 20 years of age.


Statistics taken from: teeneatingdisorders.us and teenhelp.com

The numbers may not be as shocking as some of the other stats we've given you this week, but in my opinion even 1% of the population being afflicted with an eating disorder is more than enough. These stats show that eating disorders exist and there are people who suffer from it--which means authors should not be afraid to write about it.

In Pam's novel, Wants, one of her characters suffers from a slight eating disorder. Her teen character is a dancer, with pressure from her mother to be the perfect size. As educators, we are all to aware of teen girls feeling pressure to look like the "perfect" women they see on TV and in magazines. We need writers, like Pam, to put a face to eating disorders, make teens aware that there are people who suffer just like them, and give them possible solutions to this growing problem.

So, while we wait to thumb through Wants, what other novels can you read that shine a light on eating disorders?

*Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

*More Than You Can Chew by Marnelle Tokio

*Skinny by Ibi Kaslik

*Perfect by Natasha Friend

*Kim: Empty Inside: The Diary of an Anonymous Teenager by Beatrice Sparks

What do you all think about eating disorders in YA--is it something that definitely should continue to be discussed? Did we miss a book that we should have on this list?

D is for...Drinking

Controversial Song of the Day: "Drank in my Cup" by Kirko Bangz


For the entire month of April, we'll be participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Our theme for the month? CONTROVERSIAL TOPICS IN YA. Check out the link above for other awesome blogs participating.




DRINKING. Something that most of us probably indulged in before we were 21--yet, we act surprised to hear that today's teens are guzzling alcohol like it's soda.


Did you know...?


*Nearly 72% of students have consumed alcohol by the end of high school; 37% have done so by eighth grade


*56.2% of underage drinkers report that they drank in someone else's home; 29.6% reported that it occurred in their own home.


*During the past month 26.4 % of teenagers drank alcohol and among them 17.4 % participated in binge drinking


Statistics taken from: http://www.sadd.org/stats.htm

As Pam mentioned in Sunday's post about addiction, the bad rap that YA gets from critics is largely based on drug use and alcohol consumption. However, YA writers create worlds that teen readers will relate to. Contemporary writers have to produce material that is accurate and reflects the culture that we live in. Unfortunately, as demonstrated by the statistics above, alcohol consumption among teens is normal.

We both work with pre-teens and teenagers and we hear rumors about parties where alcohol was the star. In schools across America, students are getting suspended from bringing alcohol TO the building! It's happening, people!

So, as writers we keep it real. In our novels, there is drinking. In Pam's novel Wants, a character's band plays at a club with a bar where a friendly bartender gives him a break. In her second novel, Project J, her main character gets associated with beer through an awkward keg stand. It's sad to say...these things happen!

There are several novels where drinking happens (probably most contemporary YA novels to be frank), but here are a few where drinking plays a central role:

*Recovery Road by Blake Nelson

*Party by Tom Leveen

*So, Save Me by Kim Mitchell

*Freaked by J.T. Dutton

What do you all think about drinking in YA? Is it necessary or is it something that can be left out? Speaking of being "left out"...got any books to add to our list?

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?

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??

How That Bee-yatch Irene Did Some Good

Writing Song of the Day: "Hurricane" by 30 Seconds to Mars

REJOICE! Me and Pam finally have our power back and we can get back to blogging. This is the order of things that we missed during our 48 + hours of no power:

1.) Lights
2.) TV and Internet
3.) Hot food
4.) Air conditioning
5.) TV and Internet

Did we mention TV and Internet??

During that time of no power due to the evil wench, Irene, we were able to come up with some positives. Without having the distraction of aforementioned TV and Internet, me and Pam were able to accomplish some writerly things. And because of that we present to you....

The Writer's Survival Kit During a Power Outage:
(The kit that all writers must have when a big storm or other natural disasters are headed their way)

At least TWO fully charged laptops: If you don't have them charged then go to the nearest relative/Starbucks/book store that has working electricity and charge them up! You need two just in case you can't find another charging source...oh and keep the power turned OFF while you're not using them!

Your smart phone--charged: This way you can stay in touch with what's going on with the writing world through Twitter and e-mail. You car goes with this one. If you're like me and Pam and you have a car charger then that will definitely come in handy :)

Your jump drive: Hopefully you already have one with all of your ideas, WIPs etc. saved on it. Make sure you keep saving to it just in case your battery dies on laptops one and two.

Reading material: Whether it is fiction or nonfiction. Both Pam and myself got in a lot of reading using our e-readers and candle light. Pam started reading Boy Toy by Barry Lyga and I began the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead . Also Pam read more of Wants before she sends it back to her super agent,and I read some of Writing and Selling the YA Novel by K.L. Going. You MUST have at least two books on hand and if you have an e-reader, make sure that's fully charged, too.

Notebook(s): When those bright ideas hit you (hopefully when it's bright outside, or else write by flashlight) and you run out of battery.

Snacks: Hopefully power snacks like granola and fruit...but more realistically Cookies and Cream Ice Cream (you have to eat it before it melts), Famous Amos Chocolate Chip cookies, Lays Baked Barbecue Chips, Pretzels, Peanut Butter Crackers, etc.

And of course batteries, flash lights, candles, and ice: Keep the lights shining for reading and writing, and the ice to keep that ice cream good and frozen--at least for two nights!

That's it! Go ahead and start creating that kit. Oh and just like always, we're open to suggestions, so, what would you add to this list?

RTW: Chipping The Block

Writing Song of the Day: "Writer's Block" By Royce Da 5'9 ft. Eminem

It's Wednesday and guess what happens for us tomorrow?? We go back to work *cries, kicks, screams*.

But in the mean time, we're hanging out with the ladies of YA Highway for another Road Trip Wednesday. This week's topic is:

How do you beat writer's block?

We have two major steps that we go through in order to kick writer's block a**. They go a lil' something like this:

1.) Leave it be. You know the saying: a watched pot doesn't boil? Well a mulled over, stared at, stalked manuscript will also not write itself. If we're stuck, we leave that idea alone. Whether it's writing something else (a poem, a short story, plotting a new idea), exercising, or our favorite past times, eating, and watching TV :)

2.) Talk it out. Just like when you're joints are achy and you have to shake them out...when a story is blocked, just talk it out. Preferably with your amazing writing partner/cousin. Don't have one? You can hire me or Pam for the job :) Really, this works wonders. Pam worked out a major revision point for Wants just by talking about it out loud to me.

We're always looking for more advice, peeps. What do you all do to beat writer's block?

MFA = Mutha Bleepin' Awesome!!

Writing Song of the Day: "Lesson Learned" by Ray LaMontagne

Sorry we've been MIA this past week again. You see, Quita and I just "graduated" with our MFAs in creative writing. So why "graduate" and not graduate? Because even though we presented our theses and marched across the stage, we still have to defend our theses to a panel. Yikes. And that's an understatement.

There's been a lot of buzz lately over whether or not an MFA is really worth it. My lovely agent, Sarah LaPolla, recently wrote an awesome blog post that gives other suggestions in case you're not willing to shell out the dough for an MFA degree. Hmm, where was this list 2 years ago? But I digress...

Quita and I have been through so much with this program, but we wanted to narrow it down to the TOP 5 THINGS WE'VE LEARNED THROUGH MFA-DOM:

THING #1: RED INK IS YOUR FRIEND

This program truly, TRULY taught us the importance of revision. As an undergraduate, my idea of revising was to change a verb to an action verb ("He STRODE to the door" is much better than "He walked to the door"). But I have to admit, submitting the first few chapters of Wants to my modules probably helped me nab my agent. I understood why it worked better in 1st person POV, and why the voices needed to be more distinctive.

THING #2: NOBODY'S OUT TO GET ME

There's an inside gag between Quita, Racquel, and me involving the movie, Karate Kid. It's all based on a critique I received from one of my classmates. At the time, I was highly insulted, but once I allowed his feedback to marinate, I understood what he meant: avoid cliches. There's no point of getting defensive during a group critique. Everyone's in the program to become better writers, not to bash your creative mojo.

THING #3: ENOUGH WITH THE EXCUSES!

At first, Quita and I thought we were SO misunderstood because only a handful of our classmates wrote YA. "They just don't get it," we'd cry out to each other, wiping our tears with Five Guys fries. But you know what? Good writing is good writing--it doesn't matter if you're writing a coming of age story, or about a 77-year-old widower reentering the dating scene. We were there to improve our craft. Period.

THING #4: PICK UP SOMETHING DIFFERENT FROM THE BOOKSHELVES

I've read a few books during the MFA program that I would have NEVER read on my own. Some of them I ended up loving, others I wanted to hurl out of a window. Overall, I loved the challenge. I've been reading so much YA lately, which I love--but I also enjoy trying new things. This is a habit I'll be sure to continue.

THING #5: LOOK...PEOPLE!

We've all heard that writing is solitary work, so I wasn't expecting to actually make friends with anyone in the program (plus, I had Quita. I guess she's my friend even though we're related). But I actually got a bit weepy on graduation night knowing it would be the last time I may actually see some of my classmates. What I loved most about my 10-day residencies was just talking books and writing to people that loved them as much as I do. I did make some lifelong friends, too--including our lovely adopted sis, Racquel, who we started Black Fox Literary Magazine with!

So yeah. The money was totally worth it to us--not to mention we'd love to someday get the opportunity to teach writing to others, and the MFA degree can aid in that (of course, you also need a solid publication history, but that's just logistics, darling).

Any of you in an MFA program or considering applying to one? What are you most looking forward to learn?

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. :)

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?

A Juggling Act...and a Winner!

Juggling Song of the Day: "Get Busy" by Sean Paul

So...I have a TON of things I need to do:

1. Finish my thesis by the end of May.

2. Work on more revisions for Wants.

3. Work on revisions for Project J so that I can send it out to betas (and then to my lovely agent).

4. Read Hannah Moskowitz's Gone, Gone, Gone so that I can mail it to the next reader on the ARC tour (I've started it...and it's BRILLIANT thus far).

5. Prepare material for my Weekend of Awesome writing trip (which I can't WAIT for, by the way).

6. Prepare material for my SCBWI novel retreat, which takes place the following weekend after WOA.

7. Start working on scheduling for next school year.

8. Breathe.

So, why am I blogging instead of tackling any of the above items? Well, to whine to my lovely followers, of course. Oh, and to announce the winner of Crystal Allen's How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy. Without further ado...

The winner is:

KO!!!!!!

Congrats, KO! Expect an email from us shortly. Oh, and any advice on how I can tackle this To Do List would be greatly appreciated. :)

99th Page Blogfest!!

Reading Song of the Day: "99 Problems" by Jay Z

This is IT you guys. Quita and I are joining some of our writer buddies in the 99th Page Blogfest. Basically, we show you all page 99 of one of our WIPs, and you all let us know if you'd continue reading or not. Cool, right? Right? Oh, and be sure to click here for other Page 99 madness!

Here we go...

Pam's Excerpt

This is an excerpt from my baby, Wants. As some of you may know, this is told from 4 POVs. All you need to know for this scene is that Alicia is insecure and having doubts about her relationship with her boyfriend, Austin:

My heart leaps to my ears and pounds right against my skull. I fold my arms across my chest, but my breasts get that swollen feeling again. “Um, what?”

“You're breaking up with me, right? I could hear it in your voice over the phone.” He lights up and takes a hit. “I'm used to it. Just didn't think it would be this soon.”

His voice shakes, but I can't tell if it's from sadness or the weed. The room seems to sway and I have to spread my legs to keep steady. My eyes land on the Rebel Without a Cause poster hanging right above Austin's headboard. Great, I forgot how much he liked James Dean. “Why do you like me?”

I expect him to flinch or do something else comical, but he just puffs on his joint. “Really?”

“Really.” I spread my arms, revealing me in my size fourteen glory. “I don't look like everyone else.”

“Neither do I.”


“You know what I mean.” I try tucking a strand of hair behind my ear but it just bounces back. “You could have anyone.”

He nods. “Probably.”

I remember in ninth grade, Sarah Bishop slapped him in the auditorium right in the middle of freshman orientation. I never knew what happened, but I really wish she was here right now.

Quita's Excerpt

This is an excerpt from my yet to be titled (b/c you know I suck at titles) contemporary YA mystery. Blake Farmer is trying to figure out what's happened to his best friend who he hasn't spoken with in over four days. He is speaking with the school's heartthrob football star who was rumored to have seen Blake's friend at a party two nights before.

I roll my eyes and huff. “Can we skip all the bullsh**? When did Kyle get there?”

“Oh, yeah. He came around midnight. David had just decided that he would sell to us, though. Kyle walked in when David had his goodies all laid out on the table. I mean, you should have seen Kyle’s face.”

I could imagine. One thing that Kyle hated more than people in general, were people who went back on a deal. David was never supposed to sell to the high school kids, that was their truce.

“When Kyle saw that, he just went off. He started going in on David—I mean, hard. Calling him a lying sack of sh** and saying that he would ruin him. It was ugly.”

“Let me guess...you got in the fight.”

Jaron shakes his head. “Not at first. I mean, I like Kyle and all…” Jaron coughs a little. “But when he started going at my girl, I had to say something.”

“He went off on Kendall?”

Jaron nods. “Big time. Said she was a slut and asked what she has to do to get her brother to buy her all those nice things. Kendall almost slapped him. Like I said, Kyle’s a good dude. I didn’t want to do anything, but he accused my girl of like, incest or whatever. I couldn’t let that fly.”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing. I just pushed him a little,” he answers, avoiding eye contact.

Omigod! We did it!!!! : ) So, what'd you think???

The End? Now Roll the Credits!

Revising Song of the Day: "Waiting For the End" by Linkin Park

So this month I've been delving into another round of revisions for Wants based off suggestions from my super agent. She provided input for a few minor changes throughout the manuscript; however, our biggest concern is the ending.

Beginning and endings of novels are always tricky. For beginnings, you want to give readers just enough to pull them into the story (click here for my post on a Finger Lickin' Chapter 1--but make sure you're not hungry!). But endings are different--you want to make sure you wrap up the major conflict and show that your protagonist has changed since the beginning. Some people like happily ever afters--where the heroine rides off into the sunset with her love interest on a horse (or a lawn mower if you're a fan of Easy A). Others prefer a little intrigue, where they can make their own conclusions of what the characters may do next (in my head, Breaking Dawn never happened. It was just a feverish dream Bella had after getting food poisoning).

Writers have to understand that not every reader is going to be satisfied with their endings, but I think it's good to take a look at some common ones in many novels. And since I'm currently trying to eat a little better, I won't torture myself with another food analogy. Instead, I'll choose another love: movies.

WARNING: The rest of this post contains spoilers--but I hope you read it anyway. :)

The Never-Ending Story
You know this type of movie. It's where you start packing up your things to leave the theater only to discover (gasp!) that there's still another half hour or so left in the movie! What happened? The main character made amends with his mom/lover/mortal enemy, so what else do we need to know? I heard a few people grumble about how The Social Network could've ended much sooner. After we saw how Mark Zuckerberg "betrayed" his friends and classmates, what else was there to see? We knew they all ended up in court.

Pro: If you choose to go this route, readers may get a chance to see more character development...

Con: ...but then they may start hating your character. To the point where they're bellowing to the sky: "For the love of God! When will this thing end?!" Confession: this is my problem. Hopefully, I didn't make my agent and beta readers pull out too much of their hairs before they reached the last page.

And They Lived Happily Ev...

Fan of the abrupt ending? Well, this is the conclusion for you. This is where you're leaning forward in your seat to see what may happen next...and then the screen goes black. Fans of Inception know what I'm talking about. Dom finally returns from dream purgatory and gets to see his kids. He spins his lucky token--then blackness. Both times I saw this in the theater, the audience let out a collective groan and then laughed.

Pro: The laughter meant most of the audience was impressed. By choosing this ending for your novel, you're not spoon-feeding your readers. You're allowing them to interpret what may or may not have happened. Which leads to interesting debates. Which leads to more people wanting to read what you may have next up your sleeve.

Con: Or you could just really piss them off. If you don't set up enough foreshadowing or clues throughout your novel to indicate what could happen, you might just come off as a little lazy.

Ha! Joke's On You!

Ah, so this is the famous twist-ending--director M. Night Shyamalan is a huge fan. If you've ever seen The Village, you'll know that the audience was led to believe the characters lived in this tiny, well, village...set some time in the past. But as the protagonist ventures through the big, bad, scary woods, we find out that they actually live just outside of an urban city...set in the present day. Ha ha! Funny, right?

Pro: As long as you're free from other twist cliches, you have the potential to do something really groundbreaking here. Just make sure the seeds of a possible twist are present somewhere in your manuscript or...

Con: ...again, you may piss readers off. It's absolutely cool to keep readers guessing, but you don't want to come up with a completely far-fetched ending. If it seems to come out of left field, then readers may wish bad things upon you and your first-born child.

I'm not saying one of these endings are better than the others. Again, you have to decide what feels authentic to your story. So what type of endings do you prefer? Do you have trouble deciding your ending?

RTW: Best Books of 2010...and The Longest Title in History!

Reading Song of the Day: "The Humpty Dance" by Digital Underground

It's Hump Day again--but instead of doing the Humpty Dance, we're joining the awesome ladies of YA Highway for another Road Trip Wednesday. This week they want to know: what are the 5 best books in 2010 and/or how would you sum up your 2010 in a book title?

We struggled more than usual with this one. Asking us to pick our favorite book is like asking us to pick our favorite cupcake! Then there was the whole confusion if we could include books that we read in 2010, but weren't published in 2010. To make our lives easier, we decided to just go for novels published in 2010--and these "six" made the cut:

5. Tie: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan and Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Quita and I were about to thumb wrestle to determine what would take this spot, but since her thumb is freakishly larger than mine--I settled on a tie. Why WG,WG? Can you think of a better YA dream team than Green and Levithan? Not to mention that it predominantly features gay characters--whom I plan on including in every single one of my novels in some capacity. Quita chose Linger because the writing was basic but beautiful, and just as I (Quita) think Pam does in Wants, Stiefvater was able to successfully balance out four, count them, four main characters. Also, the ending had me yearning for the release of Forever.

4. Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

I cannot get more fan girly over Ms. Summers. Her prose is direct and to the point, and she seems to understand the high school world better than most authors (which is odd, because I think she has admitted that she didn't attend one for long). The girls in this novel are brutal, but as a school counselor, authentic to the whole teen experience. I'm sure Fall For Anything would have been ranked on this list had I had a chance to read it. :(

3. The Absolute Value of -1 by Steve Brezenoff

When I mention this book to people I have a huge smile on my face--which is weird because the story is kind of tragic. It follows the point-of-views of 4 different teens (just like my baby, Wants) as they grow apart. Each voice is distinctive, and the subject matter doesn't shy away from grit. I cannot wait to see what Brezenoff has next up his sleeve.

2. Room by Emma Donoghue

This is the only adult fiction title to make it on our list. Why? Because, sadly, these types of stories are featured on the evening news frequently--but we've never heard it told like this. We both fell in love with Jack, the 5 year-old narrator. What's scary to everyone else is home to him, and his innocence will just break your heart.

Now drum roll please....

1. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Wow. Just...wow. Quita and I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Oliver at a conference before either of us finished reading this novel, and she's so lovely that we wish her years and years of success. However, she won't need luck if she continues writing like this. It's nice to read a story in which the "mean girl" is the protagonist. We get to see Sam Kingston redeem herself, and we laughed and cried along with her as she went through her personal journey. Can you see why we're giggly over Oliver's next book, Delirium?

With our best books out of the way, it's time to sum everything up with a title: Before I fall into a lingering state where some girls are the absolute value of -1, I hope I still have room for Will Grayson.

Okay, that was terrible. But we're awful with titles, that's why we asked you all for help before. :) Do you all have any faves from 2010?