Proof it!

I am at the tail end of my edits for my latest novel. It's taking forever, but I think it is shaping up well. For a while there it all seemed like one big hot mess. However, words have fallen into place, the plot has come together, all the pieces of the puzzle that make up a novel seem to be fitting for now. Today, in my quest for any editing help, I came across this great blog post:http://tammysalyer.wordpress.com/2012/02/17/how-to-avoid-the-red-pen-of-death/ It is a wonderful post on proofreading effectively. Hope it helps!

Go Ahead! Build Your World!

So, I have been very busy writing lately. I am on the tail end of completing my latest novel, which really required me to create an entirely different reality and world. It was a long, arduous process filled with many hours of thinking and sleepless nights imagining what this world and these characters would be like. Therefore, it would seem that this link, http://www.sfwa.org/2009/08/fantasy-worldbuilding-questions/, referred to me by one of my favorite blog sites now, the steampunk blog STEAMED at http://ageofsteam.wordpress.com/, has come a bit too late. Still, it is always beneficial to check yourself against the experts' idea of how a world should be built, just in case you forgot those tiny little things, like whether your characters sweeten their drinks or if their buttons are glass or metal or what their favorite curse word is. What I've learned most of all in this process is that the details matter. A lot.

If you are building your own world now, good luck, good writing, and I hope this link helps!

New Post at YA Fusion and a Chance to Win $500!

Check out the latest post on YA Fusion. If you are handy with a video camera and have the inclination to whip together a book trailer, $500 could be yours!

http://yafusion.blogspot.com/

Win an advanced copy of ARTICLE 5!

One of my fellow bloggers, Kristen Simmons, is giving away an advanced copy of her soon-to-be-released novel, ARTICLE 5. To win a copy, go to her latest blog post on YA Fusion:

http://yafusion.blogspot.com/

Good luck!

My Award-Winning Young Adult Story is Now Live!

My YA short story in verse, "Him," which won the HUNGER MOUNTAIN Katherine Paterson Prize, is now up on the Vermont College of Fine Arts HUNGER MOUNTAIN site. I'm proud of what the judge had to say about my very edgy (yes, that's a warning), contemporary piece.




“From the start, Him took me to a different world. The writer is one of those rare talents who can create a realistic setting and characters with few words. Aside from those attributes, I felt an instant compassion for the flawed main character, despite her bad choices. That is no easy task. Bravo!” —Kimberly Willis Holt, 2011 judge



If you'd like to take a read, here's the link:

http://www.hungermtn.org/him/

Laurie Halse Anderson Shakes Her Literary Stick at The Wall Street Journal

http://madwomanintheforest.com/stuck-between-rage-and-compassion/

So the link above is Halse Anderson's response to The Wall Street Journal's article on how YA is corrupting teens. Though she wants to come out with claws out and teeth bared, she maintains composure and offers up validation for current, contemporary YA writing that delves deep into kids' issues. Love her!

Dear Editor "First Twenty Pages Critique" Give-away!!

Dear Editor is doing it's darnedest to helping out us writers by giving away another critique. Here's the link, folks:



Use it and spread it on!http://deareditor.com/2011/10/17/re-%e2%80%9cfree-first-chapter-critique%e2%80%9d-giveaway/