Thursday, May 24, 2012

Truth is More Adorable Than Fiction



Girl writes love letter to fifth grade sweetheart. Boy finds letter in his closet eight years later. Boy reminisces, asks girl to prom. Girl says yes. 'Awww'-ing ensues.

This. Is. Too. Cute.

Check out the full story on The Huffington Post.

Join the conversation: Do you have any mementos from a childhood crush? How did you get it & what did you keep? I'd love to hear your stories!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Stuff For Writers: Manage Your Own Agenda



We all write for a reason, and everything we write has an underlying message.


Romeo & Juliet - Holding grudges leads to death.
Lord of the Rings - Power corrupts.
Hunger Games - Fight the Power!


I'm being facetious, but you get what I mean. Theme is a huge part of story. But please, I beg you, do not let your plot suffer at the hands of your message.


Stuff For Writers: Around the Internets



Random things I like & love, shared with you!

-Hunger Games BARBIE?!? NOOOOOO!

Katniss would melt this thing down, sharpen the end, and turn it into a shank! Although I'm pretty sure Peeta would sleep with it at night... And, ok, if I'm totally honest, a *little* part of me wants one. But it just seems so WRONG!
http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/04/09/hunger-games-katniss-everdeen-barbie/

-Double Take Photos

I like looking at pictures for inspiration, and these remind me that sometimes when you're reading a book, what you think you see isn't what's really going on. Those are my favorite stories, where you're completely convinced that one thing is happening, but then you realize that it's something else, and all of the facts still make sense. This first picture made me stare for like two minutes. My brain was so sure something crazy was going on. Then when I finally got it, it was like 'Ohhhhh! DUH!'
http://boingboing.net/2012/05/22/fun-gallery-of-double-take.html

-Will Smith does Fresh Prince Rap on Talk Show

Just because Will Smith is awesome, and the Fresh Prince is awesome, and I love most things nineties and throwback, here's Will Smith rapping the theme to 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' on The Graham Norton Show earlier this week.
http://rapfix.mtv.com/2012/05/21/will-smith-raps-fresh-prince-theme-song/

-Ryan Gosling, Liteary Agent

Totally saved the best for last. Ryan Gosling. As a literary agent. Fictionalized, of course. But hilarious nonetheless. This Twitter account is my new best friend. He says things like "Hey Girl, you write, I'll take the kids to Cold Stone. That chapter: you finish it. Sundaes: we'll bring you one."  "Hey Girl, I'm mailing you your line edits. Realized I wrote Ryan + your name in the margins a bunch. Sorry. Sometimes I daydream at work" The hilarity/awesomeness of this page is too much for me to even describe, so go see it for yourself. *internet swoon*
https://twitter.com/#!/goslinglitagent

Indie Spotlight: Hush Money



Susan Bischoff's Hush Money is THE book that finally convinced me indie books were cool. I'd flat-out laughed at the idea/suggestion that I would ever self-publish, because I was a purist, an aspiring author who was going Big Six or Bust. Then I found a little (well, actually, there's nothing little about it) novel called 'Heroes For Hire.'

And it totally blew my mind.

A Wedding At the End of the World



Catching up on some blogging today. Just for fun, I thought I'd post my entry for Jillian Dodd's That Wedding Contest. Which I totally did not win. My entry was...different, to say the least, so that wasn't a big surprise. (See the winners here.) The challenge was to write about your dream wedding, but I've already had my dream wedding in real life, and the thought of writing a traditional wedding scene bored me. So I went waaaay outside of the box. And into the zombie apocalypse.

Before & Ashley (His Side)

The full story is told from more than one perspective, but I've decided to go ahead and post the 1/2 that's finished.  I should warn you, it will probably be more fun to read it all together since this 1/2 has major spoilers for the other side, but it's still a fun read on its own.  In the near future, I'll finish the other and put them together. 



The girl had landed in the grass, face up.
Yemi told himself not to get involved, that he needed to lay low until he found a way home. But no one else was checking to make sure she was okay. And he couldn’t sit still any longer.
He hopped over the side of the wagon and peered down at her still form. She’d been pretty from afar, but up close she was stunning, with high cheekbones, full lips, and copper skin that reflected light like a prism. Then she opened her eyes, and for a moment, he forgot to breathe.
‘Brown’ didn’t do them justice. They were more like molten lava, drizzled with caramel and sprinkled with flecks of gold.
Then she spoke. “Uh. Hi.”

OMGOSH! *Takes deep breath* I have escaped the writing cave.



So, I finally finished Before & Ashley. Sort of. This post deserves more time than I can give it right now (seeing as it 2:50 AM and my To Do list is still super massive), so I will expand later. But here are the basics:

These last few weeks have been insane. I've been absent from my blog & Twitter, and am WAY WAY late in posting Before & Ashley for the following reasons:

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Coming Soon...

Indie Spotlight - Susan Bischoff's Hush Money &
Stuff For Writers - Manage Your Own Agenda

A bit behind on blogging this week, between some personal stuff and the fact that Before & Ashley keeps MORPHING LIKE SOME SORT OF ALIEN MONSTER my schedule is somewhat out of wack right now. But I haven't abandoned my poor, lonely blog. They're coming. :)

In the meantime, enjoy this photo which answers the question - What if the male Avengers posed like the female one?  (via http://twitpic.com/9i8dcn)


Friday, May 4, 2012

Freewrite Friday!: Handsome Clover

So not in the mood to do this tonight. Frantically working on an overdue story, still editing a blog post I've been working on all week, and have barely started packing for tomorrow's 8 AM flight. But the show must go on. This is gonna be done quickly and probably a whole hot mess. But here goes nothing.

Handsome Clover

“I made it to the end of the rainbow. This gold is mine, fair and square.”
The leprechaun frowned. “But you’re not supposed to be able to see where the rainbow goes. The ends should fade away into a fine, invisible mist.”
“Yeah, well, I do and they don’t. So let go of the pot and let’s both get on with our lives.”
“No!” For someone only two feet tall, the leprechaun was surprisingly strong. He gave the sturdy iron pot a tug, but I wasn’t letting go. This gold was gonna pay for my nose job. And then Bradley Strandler would have to notice me. I’d heard it a million times – “You could be so pretty if it wasn’t for that nose” – and I was ready to take matters into my own hands. Just as soon as I got this pot out of the leprechaun’s hands.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Laptop Addicts Anonymous

So I found this on a Tumblr about being a law student, but I think this picture applies to writers too. Some of us (*raises hand*) take our laptops everywhere.


Weigh in. 

What are the strangest places you've taken your laptop/spotted someone else using theirs?


Get a Hobby! Seriously...



In order to be inspired, writers need material. And while most of us have millions of pages of material already stored in our heads (especially if you had an awkward childhood), there's so much more to be discovered. And the world is changing. The only way to stay current, especially with YA trends which change at the speed of light, is to get out into the world and see what's going on.

I'll illustrate my point with personal experience. One of my hobbies is improv (I practice with a group out here in Miami and have done a few shows). And I've found that in a lot of ways, improv has helped me to become a better writer. I've got to make up stories and characters and think on my feet. I have to be creative and keep the action going and the plot exciting. And I'm learning what I need to do to keep an audience engaged as I tell a story.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Before & Ashley - Coming Soon



Soooo, Before & Ashley was supposed to be posted today. That was the plan. But during my final read through, I had an idea that I could not pass up on. It's improved the story monumentally. However, that means I won't be finished today. Instead, I'll be posting it tomorrow or Thursday.

 I hate not doing what I said I would. Ugh. So, since I didn't make my deadline, I've decided to post Before & Ashley for free! I seriously doubt that anyone in real life was actually checking my blog with bated breath, looking for it, but in the case that that is actually happening anywhere outside of my imagination, offering the story for free is my peace offering. More info soon!

Exciting News!

I feel like this woman today:

 Why? 

Because I've just had my first blog feature! Sandra at SSBookFanatics has generously hosted Words With Friends for a promo. Free, no strings attached, just a great person being really nice and sharing her resources. And she's willing to do it for you too! Find info on how to get your book promo'd here.

And check out her promo for Friends With Words here.

I'm famous! All drinks on me! (As long as you're asking for water with lemon)

;)