Away For the Day!

Tomorrow I will be out of town. It's the much anticipated trip to the oral surgeon's office so that my daughter can have her wisdom teeth cut out. She's had quite the imagination this afternoon. I'm a little inspired by her level of creativity. She feels that we should donate this surgery to some other teenager who is unfortunate and in need. When that didn't work, she seems to have contracted a sudden cold and may be too sick to travel. What if her nose is stopped up and she loses too much oxygen and has brain damage because the nurses didn't know her nose was stopped up? Then there is the fear of dehydration, after all, she cannot consume a Coke for the next 12 hours and humans are not able to function, apparently, without it. I did not know this, so as you can imagine, I'm now fearful of her possibly shriveling into a giant prune by tomorrow morning. So, keep your fingers crossed that all goes well and I will be back tomorrow night to catch up on all of your amazing blogs. I wouldn't want to miss anything. Oh-and lets hope there is not a shortage of Coke and potato soup for the wee one when this whole thing is over with. Happy Weekend Everyone!

Stalking the Masses!

Happy Tuesday*wave from the chaise* Before my post, I thought I'd recommend yesterday's Pub Rant from agent Kristin Nelson. Still have a red spot on my forehead after reading this one. FYI-If you've done this before, close your lap-top or move the keyboard before you slam your head into it. If you don't do this, the space bar will leave a weird looking mark and you'll look like a dork.
Now, with that said, onto today's post:
As writers, we create new worlds, characters, and images that entertain and inspire the minds of our readers. At least that's what we're hoping for. Doesn't always turn out that way but that's the goal. We all have different ways of conjuring up a story. But where do your characters come from. At times, I feel like I'm stalking the masses. I find myself watching people in the check out line, at the gas station, a restaurant. Don't worry, I'm not wearing dark sunglasses, whilst hiding behind a magazine, shrouded in a gaudy scraf . I save those outfits for surveying my teenagers on Saturday nights-that's different.  Wherever I may be, I'm always making a mental note when I see a peculiar twitch, an exaggerated grimace, a blank stare, a comical mishap. The list could go on forever. It's as though my brain never takes a break. I'm not sure if this is a blessing or a curse. But all of it comes together for me when I'm inventing the personalities of my characters and I love watching them evolve before my eyes. How does this happen for you? Do your characters favor you and your own idiosyncrasies? Are you stalking the masses too? Let me know how you tick or if I'm just really weird. Trust me, it's been said before.

*For Rob*

We all have a support group of some sort. A friend who edits your work or offers to proofread your masterpiece for free-all while offering words of encouragement along the way. I'd like to say thanks to the guy who threatened to gouge out the semi-colon from my lap-top with a screwdriver. Worry not though, he's moved away and the lap-top is safe until he comes to visit. Thanks Rob, we miss you already and this is for you-;) Oh and; hugs to you; and to Carol. :-)

No Crossdressing Required Unless Preferred.

A happy but dreary Monday to you all. At least it's dreary here-Blah. I'm happy though, in spite of the rain, and that's always a good thing. Most of all, today I'm happy to be a chain blogger, celebrating a milestone for a very special group I'm fortunate enough to be a part of. It's called YA/Crossover- a group full of super-talented writers within the Writers Digest Community. You couldn't ask for a better group of supporters when it comes to your work and we've just surpassed 100 members (happy dance).The focus of the group is to shed some light on what we feel is a growing demand within the Young Adult genre-the YA Crossover. Anyone who writes YA has heard the publishing definition of what age a protagonist should be in order to be deemed a young adult novel, if you haven't, it's usually between 13 and 18, although, this opinion varies amongst agents and publishers. The YA Crossover is more on the lines of 18 and the early twenty's. The sub-genre focuses more on ones journey into adulthood rather than ones journey through high school, but can still have all the challenges most teenagers face, like homework-only it's from college, or struggles with love-only it's edgier and sometimes more provocative (ooo-lala), and it can even have a few mythical creatures from time to time, amongst other issues a young adult may encounter while taking those first steps into adulthood (Yikes). The group is a great place to be if you need any information to help with your work. There is always advice to be shared and when you start to feel like a failure, they'll give you a kick in the keester if need be, but most importantly, they will be there as your biggest fans on the day all that perseverance truly pays off.  Weather you write YA, read YA, or not, we invite you to join our group of growing friends. After all, there's strength in numbers-aye.

Sick and Tired?

Hello to everyone and I hope you will excuse my absence over the past two days. I've been consumed with revisions, reading, writing, a date day with the hubby, and off on a 130 mile adventure to the oral surgeon. My 16 year old daughter is ecstatic that her wisdom teeth have decided to become impacted. She's glowing to the point of inspiration (although it could be inflammation)and I'm certain it will be all she can do to contain her excitement between now and next Friday when they cut them out. Rest assured people, my devious mind is already at work. I can't wait to put broccoli in the blender and I'm going to throw in some peas too, she'll never know. She best be an angel all week, or I swear she'll be drinking brussel sprouts through a straw. I can't be trusted with a blender. I just can't.
So-now onto what I was really going to blog about. The writing world is full of opinion (shock) and thus everyone has their own preferences when it comes to reading and writing. But what are you totally sick of? It doesn't have to be genre, although, I'm sick of people who read non-fiction or poetry blabbing that they're sick of vampires. Well-duh! You never liked them to start with. Go back to reading Ann Coulter and Frost (not knocking Frost-his work is AWESOME)and leave the rest of us tucked cozily away in nether-land. We like it here! So, are there not enough monsters, too many shape-shifters? Are you sick of vampires? What about beautiful people, or clumsy little girls who wish they were popular? Or-I know, how about serial killers stalking unsuspecting women at night-in parks for Christ sake("shudder")?Personally, I'm not. I would love a mix up though. Like-what if we could have a slightly overweight vampire who talks with a lisp and has learned to survive on milk, only to discover he's lactose intolerant, and now has to struggle between his allergy and killing innocent human beings. Oh-but then as fate would have it, he stumbles upon a slightly overweight goddess divine who happens to be a speech pathologist, and she's standing right there in the soy milk section of a supermarket("Awe"). They fall madly in love over a carton of Lactaid and live happily ever after. Now that's a vampire novel I want to read! Okay-now your turn. What are you sick of.

One Sentence? For Real?

Okay, so you've completed your first manuscript, and now you would much like to see it in print. Ah, but there is the query part (sigh, manuscript seems to grow arms and shrug). Not to worry though, you've been reading query shark, the query tracker blog, queries that agent's have been so kind to post, queries that author's have been so kind to post. You've joined a critique group like WD Query Critique. You've been doing your homework (manuscript seems to grow little feet that pat the floor impatiently). You're on your way though, and soon that query is going to be nothing short of stellar. You can feel it. Oh but wait, you need one more sentence. And this particular sentence is extremely important. You must be able to sum up your entire story with one sentence (rude little manuscript that is starting to look like a fiend, topples over on the hardwoods and laughs profusely). What now? How can this be done? Not only do you have to master what seems like the impossible but your own manuscript has turned against you. What has the world come to? Okay, so how have each one of you been able to master this part of the writing craft. While I wait for your answers, I'm going to go to the fridge for some decaffeinated tea (might need to back off the coffee a bit) and retrieve my manuscript out from under the chaise;)

YAY! Follower 21

I'm so excited to have the fabulous Elana Johnson as my 21st follower. She is a YA author-among other things, and has an awesome blog here. I highly recommend it. Her debut novel POSSESSION is scheduled to be released in the summer of 2011 by Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster). I can't wait to read it. I think we should all have a drink to celebrate her debut and listen to inspirational songs by Bette Midler. Should we start now or wait for the day of actual release? I say both! After all, we can all be flying like eagles people! Be the wind Elana.