End of Watch: The Buddy Story

Soundtrack Song of the Day: "You're My Best Friend" by Queen

We love writing and reading YA more than most things in life, but one of the things that comes close to our love for all things YA is watching movies and TV. Sooo, we've decided to combine those loves on this blog. Every Monday we are going to share a recent movie that we've viewed and what we learned about writing from said film.** 

Picture Taken From IMDB

End of Watch

Logistics: Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Pena, Anna Kendrick, and America Ferrera

IMDB Says: Two young officers are marked for death after confiscating a small cache of money and firearms from the members of a notorious cartel, during a routine traffic stop.

We Say: End of Watch is about two young officers and their friendship. The viewer gets to see their relationship play out as they deal with life, the trials of being a cop, and the joys of having someone you can rely on.

Writing Connection

The Buddy Story = Giving your novel heart. This is especially true for middle grade novels (which we are getting more and more into lately). In MG novels, the buddy connection is like the romance/love connection in a YA novel. Think back to when you were in 6th grade. Friends were EVERYTHING! And as much as we like to think we grow up and stop caring about what others think about us, we all still want to feel that buddy/friendship connection with someone. That's the heart of End of Watch. Yes, there's action, romance, a kickass plot--but underneath it all, it's about the friendship between two guys. Adding this connection in your novel will kick up the emotional factor that much more and keep your readers hooked.

Links:

End of Watch- Official Site
End of Watch-IMDB
End of Watch- Facebook

Now Watch This:

Have you seen End of Watch? How often do you place close attention to the friendships and how they grow/falter in your MG or YA novels?

**This blog is not limited to ONLY discussing the relationships of movies and writing, however this will be the weekly feature that you can ALWAYS expect.

Looper and Layering Plots

Soundtrack Song of the Day: "Have Love Will Travel" by the Black Keys

Taken From: Screenrant

We won't pretend that we were not on a looooong hiatus, but we also don't want to bore you with the details of WHY we've been away. We'd much rather discuss the future of this blog--which we hope will interest you much more!

We love writing and reading YA more than most things in life, but one of the things that comes close to our love for all things YA is watching movies and TV. Sooo, we've decided to combine those loves on this blog. Every Monday we are going to share a recent movie that we've viewed and what we learned about writing from said film.**

This week we begin with:

LOOPER

Logistics:

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Jeff Daniels

IMDB Says: In 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gun awaits. Someone like Joe, who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by transporting back Joe's future self.

We Say: The movie is full of bad-assery. From JGL, to Bruce Willis, even to Emily Blunt. The trailers and the interviews will make you think that you'll get bogged down in the sci-fi-ness of it all, but no--the heart of the story is what gets you in the end.

Writing Connection: 

Layering Plots- A novel will not survive on one plot alone. If that's all you got, you may be better off penning a short story or a novella. More importantly, a YA novel will not survive with one plot. Teens are complicated, puzzling, and always changing--a YA novel should follow suit. Without giving away too many details, the various plot twists and turns that occur in Looper will keep you intrigued, engaged, and in tune with the characters. The movie begins with a possibly unlikable character who has one goal and then progresses to include more characters with even more goals that cause complications and forces the character to change. This  = layering plots!

Okay we don't want to spoil it for everyone, so if you haven't seen it yet, go watch Looper and see how it's done!

Links:

Looper- Official Movie Site
Looper- Tumblr
Looper-IMDB
JGL Twitter
Looper Movie Twitter

Now Watch This:




If you have seen Looper did you make any connections with the film and writing? Do your novels usually have several plots?

**This blog is not limited to ONLY discussing the relationships of movies and writing, however this will be the weekly feature that you can ALWAYS expect.

Writing Vacay # 1- Novel Revision Retreat 2012

Writing Song of the Day: "Vacation" by The Go-Gos

We know we've been MIA, but it's our lazy summer days--that have been not so lazy with part time jobs and all that stuff--but we are squeezing in time to do some writer-ly things! About two weeks ago, Pam and I attended our regional SCBWI's novel revision retreat. This is the first of three writing vacays we have planned this summer.

This retreat included numerous sessions with Executive editor, Wendy Loggia from Delacorte at Random House and author, Tracy Barrett. The sessions focused on writing with accuracy, how to revise, what to do when you're stuck/scared to revise, and Wendy even walked us through some edit letters.

Not only did we have a great time with the actual writing/revising exercises and sessions, but we also had fun meeting and conversing with talented writers. There was wine, S'mores, dormitory style lodging (that included bugs galore) and more wine. The best part of the trip for us? When we got to have about a 45 minute conversation with Tracy Barrett and Wendy Loggia that ended with us deciding that we would pursue admission to Columbia's publishing certificate program next summer. Wendy was so down to earth and gave us great advice about going after what you want while you still can. It was inspiring and exciting!

Here are a few pics from the weekend:

Tracy Barrett and Wendy Loggia getting ready for First Pages Panel

Our view in Richmond, VA!

The side of our dorm room in Richmond, VA--the one with all the bugs :(

Tracy Barrett and Wendy Loggia give us their Ten Revision Tips

All in all--good times, good advice, and good wine! We can't wait to attend WOA 2.0 with our writer friends and of course, LASCBWI! More to come from those writer vacays, later.

In the mean time, what have you all been up to this summer? Oh, and while you're here---why not check out our new page: Cuz We Edit...Manuscripts!

May We Tell You Something About...Our AWESOME Contest Winners??

Reading Song of the Day: "Because I'm Awesome" by the Dollyrots


Throughout May (every now and then), we will be participating in the Blog Me MAYbe blogfest, which you can learn more about here.  

Photo taken from:Gimme The Scoop

As promised, we're here to announce the winners of the contest. First of all, thanks to those who took the time to enter and win one of TWO SIGNED copies of Jaime Reed's Burning Emerald, the third book in the Cambion Chronicles. If you want to know more about Jaime check out last week's contest post and an interview we did with her back in August here.


Okay, without further adieu, we are going to tell you about someone else! More precisely, TWO someone elses (yes we totally made that up). What are we going to tell you??? Well, here'e something....

JESS and MELANIE are now both winners of signed copies 

of

 Burning Emerald!

Photo Taken from VaBeachQuilter

Ladies, we will be in touch with more details soon!!! Congrats!


And for the rest of your lovelies, just to throw the question out there (and hopefully we'll get a few responses) what kinds of contests do you all prefer?  A contest where you just comment, one that involves a form (with extra points for Twitter etc.), OR one with a creative writing assignment? Also, do you like to win free signed novels, writing utensils, candy/other edible goodies, etc? 


Thanks and your responses are greatly appreciated!

MAY We Tell You Something About...Jaime Reed (and a CONTEST!)!!

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

So we've been rather absent to our lovely blog. Instead of giving you a LONG boring list of excuses, we decided to treat you all with a CONTEST!

We're giving away TWO copies of Jaime Reed's Burning Emerald, Book Two of The Cambion Chronicles. If you haven't checked out Living Violet (Book One)--umm, what are you waiting for?

Taken from dearteenme.com

As a special treat, Jaime wrote about a real life supernatural occurrence in her quaint town:

Strange Encounter by Jaime Reed




I can say that I’m a bit like the character, Sam in the respect that nothing much happens in my quiet town. With little to do, the imagination runs wild and we dream of cool stuff happening and if lucky, make a career of writing about it.


Williamsburg, VA is rich with history and everyone has at least one ghost story to share. Some of those stories have been passed down and have become a test of courage to explore on a dare. I personally don’t believe in ghosts, and I’ve never had any encounters of the paranormal except one.


When I was seventeen, a friend of mine whose father had died took me to the grave site to pay her respects. I agreed, under the assumption that this visitation would occur in the daytime, not at twelve o’clock at night. This made less sense at seventeen than it does now, but there I was, riding shotgun in her car, trekking through the more rural areas of Virginia with no streetlights or cell phone.


When we finally got to the cemetery, she kept the headlights on in the car so we could see our way through the maze of graves. She lit some candles and knelt in front of her father’s headstone. While I kept a look out for police and creepy groundskeepers, I noticed her talking to the grave. Not just a simple prayer or some fond farewell, but a full-on conversation, answering questions only she could hear and nodding her head in confirmation. Suffice to say I was thoroughly freaked out and was ready to leave. She lingered a few more minutes before we walked back to the car.


When I asked her who she was talking to, she just shrugged and said her dad. As she pulled out of the parking spot, the headlights hit the cemetery, outlining trees, grave stones and surrounding buildings. Then the lights fell on something black and almost flat against the scenery. This dark silhouette took the shape of a man and stood directly behind a headstone, the same one my friend was kneeling in front of moments ago. It didn’t move, but things that stand still can be just as frightening as things that don’t. The car turned and the headlights swept away from the grave toward the road leading out of the cemetery. Though I couldn’t see the shape any more or was even sure if what I saw had eyes, I knew beyond all logic that it was watching us leave.


I never told my friend what I saw nor did I ever return to the cemetery. It doesn’t take much to spook me, but that event was sufficient to where I now avoid cemeteries at all costs. And I sure as hell would never go there at night. Some people run toward the bazaar and crave the excitement that comes with the unexplained, but I’d rather write about it in the safety of my home…with the lights on.

 
Spooky stuff, Jaime!
 
On to the contest...all you have to do is leave your name and email address in the comments. That's it. We'll pick one winner at random.
 
BUT--
 
We'll choose ANOTHER winner if you leave a comment with your own real life, spooky tale. The comment that creeps us out the most wins the other copy. Oh, yeah, AND BOTH COPIES WILL BE SIGNED!!! You have until Tuesday May 22nd at MIDNIGHT EST!
 
Again, TWO winners. Spooky comments. Let's do this! :) 

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*

MAY I Tell You Something About...Our First Drafts!

Taken from rodneygainousjr.com

Writing Song of the Day:  "For the First Time" by The Script

Hello lovelies! Throughout May, we will be participating in the Blog Me MAYbe blogfest, which you can learn more about here. Since Mondays are all about telling you something dealing with writing, Quita and I thought we'd share some info about our new WIPs.

You see, we've been planning for WEEKS to complete a brand new WIP during the month of May--kinda our own self-imposed NaNoWriMo. We were going to give ourselves most of April to finalize our ideas and begin plotting.

And then April passed, and we still hadn't settled on which stories we wanted to work on.

I fluctuated between writing a companion novel to the last YA I completed, a dark story revolving around a love triangle, and a humorous tale about two exes setting up each other on blind dates. Quita kept deciding between writing a  supernatural historical story, or a contemporary thriller. But no matter how many times we plotted and tried to start the first chapter, nothing seemed to stick. These ideas were dying to get out of our heads, but the execution was always lackluster.

Finally, this past Sunday, we vowed to just write nonstop for two hours to see what we come up with. I've now settled on writing a contemporary YA retelling of Hansel and Gretel, and Quita's creating a historical YA about the bootlegging scandals in the 1920s (I think that's the decade--hey, she's the history buff, not me). With all of our recent whining, we finally found stories that we're excited to write.

The downside? In order to meet our self-imposed deadline, we have to hold off on reading Insurgent--as well as City of Lost Souls for me. :(

The upside? Once May 31st hits, we'll have some awesome novels waiting to be read--not to mention a juicy burger from Five Guys. If you've been a long-time follower of this blog, you know how much we loves us some Five Guys.

How are all of you doing with your writing? Any new stories you want to share with us? Also, do you have hard time, too, deciding which project to work on next?