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From Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree: Winnie the Pooh: Hum dum de dum, hum dum de dum,I am so rumbly in my tumbly. [hits head] Ooh! Time to munch an early luncheon. Hum de dum dum dum,Oh, I wouldn’t climb this tree,If a Pooh flew like a bee,But I wouldn’t be a bear… Continue reading Honey-Sweet Relief

It was my turn to choose for my book club this month, and I picked Story Engineering by Larry Brooks. You can find him over at his fantastic Blog for writers: Storyfix (and also find links there to purchase any of his books). I was a constant fixture on this site during NaNoWriMo month, eating up all of… Continue reading Story Engineering by Larry Brooks

I’ve given this topic quite a lot of thought lately, mostly because it concerns my current WIP. This past week I realized something that hadn’t occurred me when I was first plotting the story out (I use the word plotting loosely here): that my protagonist absolutely, undeniably HAS to lose her virginity for the mid-point,… Continue reading Yeah, let’s go there–Sex in YA Fiction

Antagonist=opponent, competitor, enemy, rival AKA The Villain He’s the monster under your bed, or in your closet, or in your head; the ghost of Christmas past, a disloyal friend, or a stepmother’s wrath; the ghoul chasing your soul, the zombie craving your flesh, the flaming eye, the pie in the sky, and the genie who… Continue reading WRITING VILLAINS

Some say truth is scarier than fiction. I have to agree. When I read the recent news article about a parasite turning honeybees into “Zombies”, I wondered if there might be something to the zombie apocalypse hype after all. Evidently, a parasitic phorid fly–Apocephalus borealis–hijacks the bees’ bodies, burrows into and nests in their stomachs,… Continue reading Zombie Apocalypse–for Honeybees

Long, long ago, in a world without e-book technology, way before the printing press, the world’s oldest book was made. I’m not talking cave drawings or clay tablets, which depict the first “writings”, but the very first official “book”. In 600 BCE the North Italian Etruscans created a book of 24-karat gold with six illustrated… Continue reading Books–A History

So, I’ve recently been watching the new ABC Television series “Once Upon A Time” with Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White (I won’t post the trailor here, since I’m already posting two movie trailers). All things fairy tale appeal to me, so when this show aired I knew it’d be a new favorite. The last episode included… Continue reading A Snow White Kinda Year

NaNoWriMo days 3, 4, & 5 have been a bit more challenging than the first 2 days, when my word count was right on par. One highlight for these past 3 days was attending my first regional “Write In”. The leader and ten writers showed up a local coffee shop Friday night where we all… Continue reading Embrace The Suck

Wow, for a new-bee (pun intended) at NaNoWriMo, I’m feeling pretty jazzed. This “write 1,700 words a day” thing is a whole new experience for me. Never before have I written to the ticking of the clock. But so far, the pressure has done me well. I’ve already achieved my quota for two days with… Continue reading NaNoWriMo–Days 1 & 2

October is the month for gearing up before NaNoWriMo hits like a storm in November. I haven’t participated in this yet (After 6 years of novel writing, I’m really late in the game!) I’ve already planned on setting my alarm extra early in the morning to pull this off while maintaining my “day job” and… Continue reading Preparing for NaNoWriMo

Check out Kristen Lamb’s blog post The Doctor is in the House–Novel Diagnostics for a great article on those ever-important first pages. She is also offering critiques for her winning picks. Her books: We Are Not Alone–The Social Guide to Media and Are You There, Blog? It’s Me Writer (love the twist on the Judy… Continue reading The Doctor is in the House

Publishing has certainly made a great shift. The annual San Francisco Writer’s Conference Contest is proof in the pudding. Changes were made in 2011 and will continue with the 2012 contest. Instead of the traditional format, the winner receives $30,000 in self-publishing and promo services. Let’s read that again, “self-publishing”. What used to be an… Continue reading Indie & E-Pub Revolution

Interview with debut author (and friend & crit partner) Susan Salluce, whose book Out of Breath is available on all e-book formats: ipad, Nook, Reader, Kindle, iphone, and soon to be available in hard copy. Out of Breath is an exploration of parental grief, addiction, compassion fatigue, and suicide; it’s the prodigal story of grace undeserved. Salluce’s expertise… Continue reading Susan Salluce, debut author of "Out Of Breath"

The past couple of months, I have immersed myself in research for my newest YA novel. I’d like to count time spent doing this as time spent “writing”, but that can be a dangerous conclusion to make. Hours spent researching, however helpful, are hours I’m not putting ink to paper for my book. That said, research is… Continue reading Swimming the Depths of Research

This post is a preview of what I will be routinely updating on my Events page. All contests are for NOVELS, and listings are geared toward those that accept Young Adult Novels. I can attest to contests providing great feedback, adding to your bio, and giving that ever-appreciated validation we writers seek. Aside from monetary gain,… Continue reading Novel Contest Rundown

“HOOKED” by Les Edgerton is getting my vote for another great writing resource. The book concentrates on the all important start of a story, and really identifying those key elements required to hook your reader and keep them reading all the way through. Three distinct aspects every writer should be able to identify in his/her… Continue reading Hooked

For the final week of the Gearin’ Up To Get An Agent Blog-o-Rama on Deana Barnhart’s Blog, writers are to post their first 200 words of a completed YA, MG or PB manuscript and hop around to each other’s blogs to give feedback. After using that feedback, we all submit our final versions for review,… Continue reading GUTGAA Week 4 Novel Critique Contest

I attended the 4 day writers workshop hosted by SCBWI this past weekend at the beautiful Dominican University in San Rafael. The wonderful Abigail Samoun, literary agent at Red Fox Literary, and author Suzanne Morgan Williams taught the workshops. With so many talented writers in attendance, it was fantastic to hear read-alouds and verbal critiques.… Continue reading SCBWI Summer Workshop

Brenda Drake Writes is hosting a blogfest where 4 awesome YA readers will be critiquing our work. Before we send in our “official” submissions, we post a log line and the first 250 words of our mss for other writers in the contest to critique. Entries for the contest are accepted until June 20th. Title:… Continue reading Auntie B’s Book Club Blogfest Contest

Week 2 of the Blog O Rama hosted by Deana Barnhart is under way with a Story Chain. We are given assignments and times to post by, basing our post on the excerpt(s) before ours, and each person has to come up with something in as little as 15 min. With the creative juices of… Continue reading Gearin’ Up to Get an Agent Blog O Rama–Week 2