Miss me? Find me!

Hi aces :) If any of you follow me- but do not follow Pam Harris then you don't know about our new and improved site!!! This post is to let you know that Marquita Marks has closed now and a new blog baby has been born! Go to Y(A)? Cuz We Write! to see me and my cuz's new blog! YEAH!!!! See ya there :)

Dumb Disappointment

Yes, aces- I am disappointed in the winner of American Idol (is it just me or is that Carrie Underwood song HOTTT?) last night, but if you know me, you know that's because I thought Casey James should go away with the title- but alas, that's not the case- so moving on.
I was thinking about my disappointment and also thinking about the Flash Forward (finale I HOPE) that is coming on tonight. And I realized, WHO writes that show??? Or maybe I should blame the actors instead of the writers, but either way- the show is kinda whack. Just in case you never saw it- please check out this remixed version of one of the lines from the show.



Now, I ask you- why are some of us still struggling when we can write better material than this? My thought process led me to this question I would like to ask all of you- do you ever feel like you are dumbing down your writing in order to get published/sell your novel(s)?

Music-al Monday! Book Musicals

Hey aces :) It's yet another (dreary,dark in VA) Monday and I am fresh from NO Sleep due to the fantabulous Lost series *weep* finale. I had a strange dream at one point - it might have been a daydream even- and it made me think about musicals. No, you do not want details as to what my dream was about. Anyway, it got me thinking- which novels would make great musicals? And I'm not talking the obvious ones- like novels based on mythical creatures and/or novels about true love. I'm talking about obscure novels that would ROCK as a musical.

For example, John Grisham's A Time to Kill. Imagine this: cold court room, prosecution lawyer is pacing back and forth. He is making a nice rhythm with the click of his slick black dress shoes. The judge bangs his gavel to the beat.

The African American fathers stands and sings, "Hell yeah, I think they deserve to die- and I hope they burn in hell!"

Beautiful? Yes. Disturbing? A little.

But you get my point. Some novels would make brilliant musicals. Another one that comes to mind is Lord of the Flies by William Golding.The costumes and scenery for that would be rock hard!

Or think about if Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (if it already hasn't been) was made into a musical. Wouldn't that be bad ass?









This idea can't be that far-fetched, Greenday already has a flipping musical! Can you think of a novel that would rock as a musical???

BTW- the answer to my *oh so wrongly done* 6 truths and a lie post- I never knew, nor do I want to know, how to knit. So, that is the thing that is not true about me.

Tat-Tat-Tatted Up!

It's that time again! My aces at YA Highway have given yet another stellar and thought provoking question for this week's Roadtrip Wednesday. I have been trying to push myself to get a tattoo for the past two years now. And for good reason- it would be to remember my late father. My entire immediate family (mom, older sister, and younger brother) all have theirs, but I am too much of a wimp to git 'er done! So...I am enjoying this week's question. What tattoo would I get to celebrate my book's success OR what tattoo would I get to celebrate my favorite book?

Of course if I every really get the courage to get a tattoo- the first one will be an ode to my dad, but in the meantime I want to play around with this topic! I'll start with the first part of the question, if one of my books is ever successful- only one is complete so I will use that for this post-I would get devil horns AKA the rock symbol. Why? Because my POS Chasing Manson is a 1960/70's music (mainly rock) love fest. The novel is not entirely focused on rock n roll, but the chapter and section titles are all pulled from song titles during that time period so it seems only fitting.

And as for a tat to celebrate my fave book??? Oooh...hard one. I have so many fav books right now! I guess I would have to get the mickingjay from the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins- most def!

And I would want something to rep. Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates and stay tuned- you might see Q_P_'s (the main character in the novel) playlist up here one Monday! Maybe I can get something like a rattail- read the book, NOW, if you wanna know why I chose that. I could write about this forever. There are so many others that I can think of- fangs for the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris, a baseball bat for Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim, and a gavel for The Associate by John Grisham. All great books and totally ROCK HARD tattoos ideas!

What would you choose for a tattoo?

I Got An Award *Wipes Tears*

Really, I feel like I just won a blogger version of a Golden Globe. She likes me, she really, really likes me! The "she" I am referring to? Why, none other than the Blue Lipstick Samurai! She gave me a "Creative Writer" Best Blog award. Granted I share it with some other cool cats at the moment, my cuz, Pam Harris, and the wonderful Tabby Catt. But still, it ROCKS to get this award. The really awesome part about it? First I get to pass it on, and I will pass it on to: the lovely Sarah Enni with her always inspiring blog, Jessica Byam who loves to share her insight, and Stina Lindenblatt who just got an array of fabulous blog awards..And second, I get to tell you 6 truths and a lie and see if you can guess which one is a lie. It's like Christmas day for a writer! My evil brain is now at work. Can you figure out my lie?

1. When I was younger I ran into a 4 * 4 log of wood that hung out of the bed of a truck. Ever since that day, I can't remember a lot of stuff.
2. In my spare time I knit sweaters, blankets, etc for pets and babies.
   
3. On my very first trip to England my room was infested with labybugs.
4. I stalk Casey James, Robert Pattinson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Eminem, and Ashton Kutcher on a daily basis.
5. I used to have to run from someone referred to as "The Naked Clown," during my childhood in the "ghetto".
6. My novel (POS Chasing Manson) already has a screenplay written for it.
7. I love to eat grape jelly on sausage biscuits- YUM!
   

Tell me- which one do you think is a lie?

BTW- Way back when I was despondent about blogging b/c no one would follow me *sigh* my lovely cuz, Pam Harris passed on the Sunshine Award to me too. I just wanted to give her a shout out for thanking of me way back when :)

Music Monday: Character Playlists

Hey aces! It's time for music again- so pump up the volume! Yes, I did just use that archaic phrase, but I am cool enough to make it swaggerific again. So, last week I talked about tips on using music in your writing and included a list. In that list, I told you all to make playlists for your characters in order to help you better understand that character's voice and write their scenes. Therefore, I thought I would give an example of playlists for a few literary characters that we all might know. Ready for it! Here we go!

Bella's Playlist (Twilight)

1. Obsessed-Mariah Carey (Song to Jacob :) )
   
2. Crush- Jennifer Paige
3. Bubbly- Colbie Callat
4. '03 Bonnie and Clyde- Jay-Z feat. Beyonce
   
5. The Only Exception- Paramore
6. Clumsy- Fergie
7. All Around Me-Flyleaf
   
8. Crush on You- Lil' Kim feat. Lil' Cease
9. 3- Britney Spears (Ha ha!)
   
10. My Life Would Suck Without You- Kelly Clarkson
    

Melinda's Playlist (Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson)

1. Don't Speak- No Doubt
2. More than Words- Frankie J (originally written/recorded by the rock band Extreme)
3. Another Brick in the Wall- Korn (originally by Pink Floyd)
4. Talk Show on Mute- Incubus
5. Enjoy the Silence- Depeche Mode (Re-makes by HIM and Tori Amos)
6. Numb-Linkin Park
7. Drop the World- Lil' Wayne feat. Eminem
   
8. Our Lips are Sealed- The Go-Go's
   
9. Silence- Portishead
10. Cleaning out my Closet-Eminem
    

Micha's Playlist (Liar by Justine Larbalestier)

1. Liar-Rollins Band

That's the only song for this one because I wanted to expose you all to this rare, precious jewel of a song- please check out the link. My cuz Pam can vouch for the beautiful-ness that this song possesses :)



Can you think of any literary characters whose playlist you would like to create?

YA Writing Tips

Hey aces :) I wanted to share with you another article from the Writer magazine that I read this past week. I usually don't get a whole lot of info from the Writer that I can use myself, but this past issue seemed like it was catered to me!

There is an article written by Nora Raleigh Baskin where she spells out six tips for writing young adult (YA) novels. Nora is a Middle Grade/YA author who also teaches at Gotham Writers' Workshop. Some of her books include, Anything but Typical about a 12 year old autistic boy, and All We Know of Love about a girl who's mother walks out on her and she goes on a journey to find her.

If you are a not a subscriber to the Writer magazine, and you still want some inside info, check out my blog from time to time b/c when I find really cool articles I will definitely share with my fellow writers!

Without further adieu here is what Ms. Baskin says about writing YA novels:

1. Get your POV right- the perspective needs to be immediate. The teenager will not relate to an adult looking back as much as they would relate to the here and now.
2. Make sure the character's age suits the audience- middle grade novels should deal with kids in middle school, while young-adult novels should deal with high-school aged characters. Baskin says that most high school students read adult books too, so the real audience is somewhere between 7th and 10th grade. Your character needs to learn, grow, an change during the course of the novel
3. If your figure out the voice, the language will come- while writing the first draft, figure out what kind of voice you want your character to have and the sentence structure, vocabulary, and even plot structure will follow.
   
4. Don't shy away from touchy subjects- As a general rule middle-grade fiction does not actively involve sex and drugs, but YA can be on pretty much any topic. They are no bounds-sexuality, homosexuality, abuse, drunk driving, incest, or rape are all topics that are considered "acceptable" for YA fiction. ( I find this slightly debatable- I think some people still shy away from some of these topics).
5. Don't get preachy-No one wants to be taught a lesson while reading fiction (unless it's a fable or something) Writers don't need to answer the questions- we should raise them.
6. Write hopeful endings- Most YA novels leave readers with at least a glimmer of hope. Don't drill in lessons or give warnings, but allow for possibility.

At the end of the article there are helpful links and here are some of them you should check out:

Young Adult Library Services Association

Interview, Podcasts with YA authors and agents

Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (which I am a member of and I am attending the LA conference this summer! YEAH!)

I hope this helped you if you are writing YA or Middle Grade- and as I said, these are mainly Nora Baskin's words/tips- however, I agree with most if not all of them. What do you think about her tips? Would you change any of them?