Voices of YA

Thank you Molly Looby and Raimey Gallant for tagging me!! And thank you Caitlin Lambert  for creating the Voices of YA tag!!

Here are the rules!

1 Thank the person who tagged you

2 Link to the original creator

3 Answer the ten questions

4 Tag at LEAST TWO other YA writers/bloggers

ABOUT THE WRITERS:

What draws you to YA?

YA feels limitless. It doesn’t have to fit into a certain box and can basically be about anything. 

Describe your writing process. Do you like outlines and structure, or seeing where the story takes you?

My writing process is not structured by any means. I don’t really do outlines. I do a lot of  writing my ideas out by hand in an actual notebook. When I write my ideas out, I let them flow and write whatever comes to mind. Later, when I am typing up my story on Scrivener, that is when I process my notes and make them make sense. 

How long have you been writing? Where are you in your journey?

I have been writing, according to my mother, since I came out of the womb. I only have one book published, The Best Mixtape I Have. It was self-published shortly after NaNoWriMo a few years ago. It is horrible and not at all edited. I do love the story line, but I wish I wouldn’t have rushed it. I just wanted to enjoy the free copies that I received from finishing NaNoWriMo. I am currently working on a book that I am definitely taking my time on and hopefully I won’t self-publish. 

What do you need to write? Coffee? Music?

I need my notebooks and music. Coffee is nice but isn’t a requirement. Music is a requirement, however. I have a special soundtrack that I listen to when I write. I’ll share a sample:

Contagious - The Night Riots 

The Night We Met - Lord Huron

Silvertongue  - Young the Giant

Do You Remember - Jarryd James

If you could offer one piece of advice to another writer (other than "don't give up"), what would it be?

Don’t ever let anyone tell you how it is for you. Whether it be a friend, an agent, a publisher, if making certain changes makes you feel uncomfortable or if you feel like you are destroying your story, do only what you feel best. Now, I am not saying that agents and editors don’t know when changes need to be made, but sometimes you have to go with your gut. You know your story and you know how it needs to be told.

ABOUT THE BOOKS:

What book still has you reeling from its plot twist? (*no spoilers please*)

I can’t really think of any…

What books are you most anticipating for this year?

It was The End of Oz by Danielle Paige, but I kind of already dug into that book and finished after a day. 

I am also looking forward to The Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts. Here is an official synopsis: In Bastards, we follow Tilla, an intrepid but surly cast-off of Lord Kent of the Western Province, who raised her as a baby but more or less shrugged her off once he discovered his trueborn children. But when a visiting princess chooses to sit with Tilla and other kingdom bastards at a royal dinner, everything starts to change. Especially when Tilla finds herself helping to safeguard the princess’s life as rebellion brews.

In your opinion, which YA book/series has the most unique premise?

I like the Dorothy Must Die series by Danielle Paige. I love the reimagining of The Wizard of Oz and how Paige mixes teen angst with a classic story.

What is your all-time favourite quote from YA lit (I know, I'm cruel)?

“So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.” - The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky. 

What book do you most hope will have a movie adaption?

The Black Witch by Laurie Forest. The book is beautiful and I would love to see it played out.

Thanks again for my tag! I am tagging DJ Humphries and Amy Laurel!

Fifty Shades of Once Upon a Time

I want to preface this post by saying that I am not anti-fanfiction. In fact, my current obsession, The Dorothy Must Die series, is fan fiction. But, I sometimes wonder... do authors (including myself) have no more original stories to share? I'm sure that isn't the case. I mean, borrowing from other authors is a tale as old as time. Yet, I can't help but notice, even with TV and movies, everything seems to be a retelling or re-imagining these days...

I feel like Hollywood has always had a penchant for reimagining previous movies and remaking them or turning them into TV shows. The writing world may have done the same thing, but more in the form of publishing new editions of novels, not reworking them. But, it feels like the moment Fifty Shades of Grey was published and the moment Once Upon a Time hit the small screen, that stories started to be reimagined. Especially fairy tales...

I was browsing books at Barnes and Noble the other day and noticed that there were so many books based on fairy tales. My mind immediately went "this is the Once Upon a Time effect." Disney has a set of novels written from the villains point of view. (I will be reading Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen, thanks to Prime Reading.) I saw Marissa Meyer's The Lunar Chronicles which twists fairy tales and makes them as dark as they were originally. I picked up Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige because I'm a sucker for all things Wizard of Oz and was intrigued by an evil Dorothy. I also saw The Storymakers books by Betsy Schow (these seemed ridiculous to me and the back matter put a nail in the coffin of me reading it,) where Dorothea wears Hans Christian Louboutin heels and her parents are stuck in Kansas. As much as I liked the play on words with the shoes, the reimagining felt like it was just along for the fan fiction ride.

So, have we gone too far? I mean, at least Fifty Shades of Grey tried to distance itself somewhat from it's source material. Honestly, if I hadn't known it was fan fiction, I might not have put it together. I love that fan fiction has opened a path to creativity for so many, a path that has lead to some amazing writing and original stories. I don't want it to go away, but should we, as authors, try harder to make sure our stories can stand on their own even if they are a result of fan fiction?

Where Do I Begin?

Sometimes being told you can write about what ever you want makes it difficult to write about anything. So, here are some writing prompts to help you on your NaNoWriMo journey:

1. After accidentally killing the hero, you (or main protagonist) must embark on an adventure to complete his/her quest.
2. Write a story about a hitman for the supernatural. Why do the supernatural need a hitman? Well, sometimes ghosts need revenge before they can rest in peace.
3. Write about someone finding out that Earth is actually just an insane asylum for the Milky Way.
4. Every 100 years the seven deadly sins meet up for a tournament, the tournament determines which sin will plague the human race until the next tournament comes around.
5. Use the first line of your favorite nursery rhyme as the beginning a very dark narrative.
6. Write a story, that as it ends, the main protagonist realizes that they were the villain all along.
7. Write a story about a world where dreamcatchers have to be emptied of the nightmares they catch once a year. Who empties them and what does that person see?
8. Write a story that takes lace immediately after a tragedy, but never once mention the tragedy. Let your readers discover it themselves.
9. Write about a world in which heartbreak causes physical breaks and fissures to the earth's landscape, creating cracks in pavement and valleys. Write about the heartbreak that caused the Grand Canyon.
10. Every full moon an extra hour is added at midnight and only a few people get to experience it, write about the witching hour, what happens and who gets to live it.
11. Write a story the involves a countdown. Start with 10 and countdown to 1 or use time (10 hours until... 30 minutes until...)
12. One day you (the main protagonist) notices a new key on your keychain, you have no idea what it unlocks, but you are determined to find out.

I hope that these prompts help inspire you to write your story. Remember, the world needs your novel.

Tomorrow I will give you some visual prompts to further inspire you and help you with your NationalNovel Writing Month journey.

To Read or Not to Read?

Sometimes people find it hard to read a book and to work on their own story during National Novel Writing Month. I completely understand why, reading a book while you are writing your own story can cause you to mimic it and that can be problematic, but reading can also be a learning experience.

If you do choose to read while working on your NaNoWriMo novel, read books that are completely different from what you are writing about. If you are writing a Sci-Fi war novel try reading a period romance novel. Let the other genre inspire you to get more creative. You should also read books that were horribly written so that you can learn what not to do. Fifty Shades of Grey is one I recommend for reading when you want to see how not to do dialog tags or repetition. It's also a book that proves you need to do more research if you are writing about something that you have little knowledge of. 

I would suggest limiting the amount of time you read during NaNoWriMo. A good book can be hard to put down so you should really focus of your own story during November and only read when you need to take a break from writing. 

Tomorrow I will post some writing prompts to give you some inspiration. Have a great day!

Writing Prompts

Sometimes all you need is a little inspiration. These are writing prompts I have collected over the years from classes and friends. Most of the time the prompts are a couple sentences that help to get the creative vibes flowing your way. Some are just suggestions on how to start your story or an idea for a story. I hope these help!

1. A walk through the woods helps me relax and release some tension, the fact that I am dragging a body behind me should be irrelevant.

2. Write a story that starts with a word you pick out of the dictionary at random.

3. His/Her voice brings back memories of dark rooms and broken bones.

4. They sent me because I do not exist.

5. Write about a world where you can purchase bottled emotions.

6. When I said, "Whatever helps you sleep at night... I didn't mean this!"

7. At birth, everyone has the date they will die tattooed on their arms. You were supposed to die yesterday...

8. Write a scene that happens immediately after a tragedy, but never mention the tragedy.

9. I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on glass. I got up and looked out my window, there was no one outside. I heard the knocking again and turned around slowly. The knocking was coming from inside my mirror.

10. In all the time I have lived alone in this house, I swear I have closed more doors than I have opened.

11. "Hey, there is a picture of you sleeping on your phone," he said, handing me my phone. I looked at the picture, my heart dropping into my stomach. "I live alone," I whispered.

12. Write a story that takes place in 60 minutes.

13. This was the night I finally understood why people fear silence.

14. Thirty years ago, you convinced a killer not to murder you because you would "change the world". Now the killer has come back to check your progress.

15. They had been recruited when they were young and desperate.

16. Everyone is forced to wear a warning label, what does your label say?

17. Write an overly descriptive piece about your current surrounding.

18. Sooner or later, everyone leaves.

19. Listen to a song and write a short story about it.

20. "The stars are that way captain," he said, pointing at the empty sky.

I hope these help to give you all some inspiration and get your creative juices flowing!

In my next post I will have some pretty awesome visual prompts!

NaNoWriMo Winners Who Have Made It

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called "Le Cirque des Reves," and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway--a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love - a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per-formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. (Summary from GoodReads)

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (Author ofEleanor & Park, currently being adapted into a movie)

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan...

But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words... And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind? (GoodReads)

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (Also, a major motion picture)

Orphaned, penniless, Jacob Jankowski jumps a freight train in the dark, and in that instant, transforms his future. 

By morning, he's landed a job with the Flying Squadron of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. By nightfall, he's in love.

In an America made colourless by prohibition and the Depression, the circus is a refuge of sequins and sensuality. But behind the glamour lies a darker world, where both animals and men are dispensable. Where falling in love is the most dangerous act of all...(GoodReads)

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris--until she meets Étienne St. Clair. Smart, charming, beautiful, Étienne has it all...including a serious girlfriend.

But in the City of Light, wishes have a way of coming true. Will a year of romantic near-misses end with their long-awaited French kiss? (GoodReads)

The Darwin Elevator by Jason M. Hough

In the mid-23rd century, Darwin, Australia, stands as the last human city on Earth. The world has succumbed to an alien plague, with most of the population transformed into mindless, savage creatures. The planet’s refugees flock to Darwin, where a space elevator—created by the architects of this apocalypse, the Builders—emits a plague-suppressing aura.

Skyler Luiken has a rare immunity to the plague. Backed by an international crew of fellow “immunes,” he leads missions into the dangerous wasteland beyond the aura’s edge to find the resources Darwin needs to stave off collapse. But when the Elevator starts to malfunction, Skyler is tapped—along with the brilliant scientist, Dr. Tania Sharma—to solve the mystery of the failing alien technology and save the ragged remnants of humanity. (GoodReads)

Persistence of Memory by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (Author of the Den of Shadows Series, The Kiesha'ra Series, and many more)

Sixteen-year-old Erin Misrahe just wants to be like everyone else in her new school. But Erin has more to worry about than passing AP Chemistry or making friends. In times of stress, she has always been overcome by her alter ego, Shevaun, whose violent behavior wreaks havoc on those around her. Erin can never remember anything about these episodes, and she’s grateful to have been spared them for a while.

But when a protective friend comes back into Erin’s life, he insists that Shevaun is a vampire who actually exists apart from Erin. Shevaun has dangerous allies, like the handsome witch Adjila—and they’re determined to sever Shevaun’s connection to Erin once and for all. (GoodReads)

My next post will have more motivation for writing, not just for National Novel Writing Month, but for yourself.

Location, Location, Location

When is comes to picking a location I suggest going with what you know or inventing a whole new place all together. If you're simply faking it, your reader will know. I personally love setting my stories in Kansas City, Missouri and the cities/towns within it's metropolitan. It's my hometown and I love it. I still end up making up somethings, like street names, apartment complexes (both names and where they are located in the city), but typically I keep it real.

I like writing what I know. I love mentioning the Royals, Gates BBQ, The Plaza, Crowne Center, Hallmark, my fave radio station (96.5 the Buzz), and local beautiful parks (English Landing Park, Case Park, White Alloe Creek, Line Creek Park and Trail).  I seriously love my town and everything that makes it unique.

I do, however, invent places sometimes. I have never been to New Zealand but if I have a character who happens to be from there, I research the area 100% but make up the name of a small town and sprinkle it with bits of my research to give it an authentic sound. I also make sure the name I make up isn't too similar to a real place.

The problem with writing about somewhere you have never been is that if you make glaring mistakes, your readers will notice and it will take them out of your story.

There is a TV show on ABCFamily called "Switched at Birth", it takes place in the Kansas City area, mostly in Mission Hills, KS. On the show there is a place called East Riverside and it's the dangerous part of town. In the real world there is no East Riverside, just Riverside and its not at all dangerous. This is why when you make up a name, you shouldn't pick one that is actually in the area. Honestly, I can't watch the show. Whenever they mention the horrible "East Riverside" I can't help but roll my eyes.

So, with location, it's best to write what you know. That doesn't mean you shouldn't write about London or Budapest, but make sure you do thorough research. Or book a flight and get good hands on research, I mean, why not? A story may just be hidden inside of you that won't come out until you visit it's birth place...

I have more to say on location and setting, but I will save that for another post and another day.