I used yesterday as a day of mourning for Miss Snark. 🙂

Actually, I’ve been hard at work on my second young adult novel and am about 55 pages into the first draft. I’m a little behind where I’d like to be, but it’s a decent start.

My dad brought home an Indiana newspaper yesterday from a trip he took and the paper had an interview with Meg Cabot. She wrote that she based all of her books on experiences that happened to her. She saved all of her childhood diaries and got ideas from rereading those. She told an interesting story about how she was once accused of spray painting a wall at school and she used that idea in one of her books. It was a very interesting interview and I had never heard those things about her before.

Question: Did anyone keep diaries/journals as a kid and if so, do you still have them?

My answer: Yes and yes! I have all of them and when I go back and look at issues that were so ‘big’ to me as a kid, I shake my head. Ah, youth. 🙂

On a very sad note, Miss Snark is gone. The blogging world just got a bit darker.

Anyway, I’ve been sick for 3-4 days now and haven’t been doing much. I can’t remember the last time I was sick, so I guess it was due time or something. 🙂

While lying on the couch, I did start to lurk more on writer forums. Specifically, Verla Kay and Absolute Write.

The question from today’s very short post is….do you visit writer forums? If so, which ones?

Today, it’s all about, for lack of a better phrase, book pimping. 🙂 Recently, I’ve read (and heard about) some stellar YA novels and I wanted to point them out and see if anyone else had suggestions.

I just finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for the second time and this time, as a writer, I paid much more attention. It’s amazing that for 870 some pages, Rowling keeps the plot moving and weaves effortlessly through several stories all without allowing the story to drag. That’s worth notice for sure. I read it in 3 days, so that says something about keeping a person hooked!

Now, I’m reading That Girl by Sarah Dessen. It’s my second Dessen as I read Just Listen a few months ago. I love her realistic voice and it’s the kind of writing I’d love to emulate.

I tried to stick to my “one YA and then one adult book” plan, but that hasn’t worked so far.

If you’re looking for good summer reads, check out Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress and Graffiti Girl. Both are new books and definitely deserve a look. 🙂 Diana Peterfreund’s Under the Rose is due out in June and that’s on my must read list.

That concludes the book talk for this week. 🙂

Any books that you’re looking forward to reading?

I’m feeling a little under the weather today (just a cold and sore throat) and I’m probably going to take a break from the book and cuddle up on the couch and read today. If I’m feeling better by the weekend, I may hit the beach but we’ll see.

On a non-writing note, this morning I “found” one of my best friends that I lost touch with about 5 or 6 years ago on MySpace. We’re in contact again and what an amazing feeling! Usually, I don’t use MySpace to look up old friends, but this was something special. We spent hours together every day and when I moved, we promised to stay in touch but life got in the way. I’m thrilled to have you back in my life, Amy!

Anyone else ever find someone via the Internet?

Yesterday, I took a break on my novel and did a few things I’ve been putting off including housework and getting 200 pages into HP 5. Ah, nice! 🙂 For most of the day, I felt guilty that I wasn’t working on my book and it kept nagging away at me. Of course, by day’s end, I was able to realize the value of a break and I feel refreshed and ready to get back to work today.

What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re taking a break from writing? The Grey’s Anatomy season finale tonight perhaps? 😉

Hey guys,

Check out this petition to stop the ban of Maureen Johnson’s The Bermudez Triange in an Oklahoma library.

Thoughts anyone? I think it’s a disgrace to ban books in 2007 and am in fully support of people who are writing letters to help Maureen’s book stay in the library. Jen Lyn Barns wrote a letter and if you have time, at least sign the petition.
_______________________
Hi,

I wanted to draw your attention to this important petition that I recently signed:

“NO BOOK BAN IN BARTLESVILLE”
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/bartlesvillenobanworld?e

I really think this is an important cause, and I’d like to encourage you to add your signature, too. It’s free and takes less than a minute of your time.

Thanks!

Florida is under seige this week. The Sunshine State has made world news for the past couple days due to the fact we have our 200 wildfires burning right now. Last week, my town was covered with a layer of smoke. Headache causing, nausea inducing smoke. We’re on a ration as to how often we can water lawns and wash cars because we’re in such a drought.

No, this doesn’t have anything to do with writing, but it certainly affects writers. I’ve been doing lots of writing this week in front of the TV and staying tuned to the news. With subtropical storm Andrea churning a few hours away it seems like it’s going to be a busy hurricane season, too.

Now, I’m wishing for snow. 🙂 Does weather affect your writing? Do you write better in a particular weather pattern?

Since I don’t have an official deadline on book 2, I decided to make one for myself. I want to write at least 5 pages a day for 5-6 days a week. Hopefully, with a target in mind of 200 pages, that’s a decent goal. I like to give myself deadlines and I think that keeps things moving.

Five pages seems to be a reasonable goal. Nothing too outrageous, but it’s still enough of a push that it should accumulate rather fast. I’m starting that goal today because I didn’t type enough yesterday. Before I knew it, it was 8pm and time for American Idol! Yep, I got sucked in this year. I haven’t watched the show since Kelly Clarkson won and then I started watching the hilarious auditions at the beginning of the season and have continued to watch. Jordin all the way! 🙂

What goals do you set for yourself, if any? Or do you write in mad spurts, never sure what will come out?

Tomorrow’s topic: controversy over YA book banning and the uproar over Maureen Johnson’s The Bermudez Triangle.

I’m finally, officially finished with my first young adult manuscript and am cleared to move on to book two. I’m about 1800 words into the new book and it’s feeling great. New characters, new setting, new issues and different goals. At first I felt feelings of “Oh no! I don’t want to leave my old characters behind yet. I’m not ready!” and then those feelings slowly morphed into “Ah, but I like meeting new characters” and now I’m completely invested in my new YA mss.

Over the car ride to the beach on Sunday, I wrote a synopsis of my first screenplay and am giving it a deeper outline on note cards today. There’s serious debate (already!) going on in the Script Frenzy forums as to how many times one should revise a screenplay if it’s not agented. Everyone has some interesting arguments.

Script Frenzy has a writer’s profile like NaNoWriMo and it asks you to answer “my film is X meets Y.” I’m still struggling with that one.

And, I just started reading the first Shopaholic and am now madly in love with Sophie Kinsella’s writing. Seriously.

It’s Monday again. It seems like it’s always Monday sometimes! I’ve got a lot of new projects for this week. The first thing I have to do this morning is send off my article to Romance Writers Report that’s due July 5. I kept putting it off until I was finished with school and I finally got it finished yesterday.

Next, I’m going to finish watching DVDs on Yellowstone National Park and on the Western wildlife and setting. Since my next YA book is going to be set out West, I needed more information and visuals on the Western states.

Yesterday, my family and I went to Bald State Park’s beach. The park was amazing and people can spot bob cats, bears, bald eagles, sea turtles and a dozen other wonderful creatures. I spotted dozens of horseshoe crabs, blue crabs and fish, but none of the other creatures I listed above. The beach had a great sandbar and you could walk at least 1/2 a mile into less than knee high water out into the ocean. Brilliant. 🙂

What are everyone’s plans for the week?