Fictional Following

My number 1 aces at YA Highway have posed a BRILLIANT question for this week's Road Trip Wednesday. They are asking, what fictional character would you follow if they had a Twitter account? Ooooh, how cool is that???? I am Twitter obsessed so this question couldn't get any better for me. I have a few literary characters whose tweets I would love to follow! Check it out below:

1. Micah from Justine Larbalestier's Liar. Why? She would have the most outrageous tweets and I would never know if they were the truth or not :)
2. Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Why? Because she is uber cool and says some of the wittiest things.
3. Melinda from Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Yes, she doesn't have much to say but whenever she does speak, it is sooo profound
4. Austin from Pamela Harris' soon-to-be-published-because-it-needs-to-be WIP Wants. Why? The dude is swaggerific- like forreals ;)
5. Alcide the werewolf from Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series? Why? Because he seems so sweet and hot at the same time.
6. Last but not least, Edward Cullen from the Twilight series...why? Because I stalk Robert Pattinson, therefore, I must stalk Edward Cullen. Makes sense right???

Who would you legally stalk on Twitter????

Musting Advice

My title sounds like this post is going to be about how to get yourself musty- what I attempted to do was a mash up of music and writing...bad idea- noted.

Anyway, the weekend drained me! I feel like a zombie robot- hey, has anyone written a book about zombie robots yet? Wouldn't that be badass???

Anyway, I always have energy for my aces, so I'm back on Music Monday to discuss the beautiful relationship of music and writing. I was doing some research on how many other blogs/sites out there discuss the use of music in writing and I stumbled upon this jewel of an article. Here, ginettewk12 (her username) discusses how you can best use music when working on fiction. She outlines steps in order to get the most out of music. I am going to do my own variation on her list! Feel free to check out hers to linked above by the word- jewel :)

Getting the most out of music when writing:

1. Turn on your music, be it iTunes, Rhapsody, or an old fashioned stereo (cough- loser-cough).
2. Whatever song is on, listen to the music/lyrics- what are they telling you? Is it a bad pop song that is begging to sound like Britney Spears about being "tamed?" OR is it is a rap song talking about picking up the entire earth and placing it on someone head? Whatever it is about- use it! Take those lyrics and think about writing your characters into those situations. What would your teenaged protagonist be like if they were locked in a cage and needed to get out, or if they were so frustrated that they wanted to attempt to cause bodily harm to someone?
3. If you are using iTunes or something like it, create a playlist that fits the mood of your novel. Let the songs play as you type and allow the music and lyrics to determine what decision your character is going to make, or where the next scene will take place
4. Create playlists for each of your characters- if they have key parts in the novel and you want to create a distinct voice for each of them- make a playlist that seems like would be on their iPod and play it whenever you are writing scenes or dialogue for that character
5. FINALLY- Repeat all of the above. If you play this music over and over each time you write- yes, you will grow to hate the song, but it will get you used to writing on a regular basis.

Okay- that's it for my musting words of wisdom. What do you think about these 5 points of advice?

Also, go check out a contest from recently signed Frankie Diane Mallis- she just signed with Laura Rennert from Andrea Brown Literary Agency and she is giving away something uber cool if you're a fan of the Hunger Games trilogy. Why are you still here? Wait! Comment on my blog first and then go check out the contest- and make sure you tell her I referred you!!!!

Casey Fever!

Okay, aces- at first glance this may seem like it has nothing to do with my writing----and well, maybe it doesn't- but if Casey doesn't get enough votes tonight and ends up going home on Wed., I think I may cease to exist.

Dramatic? Yes. True? No.

But, I need YOUR support, your help! I think Casey James (listen to this performance is you don't think I'm right!) is the most talented person to grace the American Idol stage in some time. Okay, so in your opinion he may not be AS good a singer as David Cook, or Chris Daughtry- but the man is GORGEOUS and he can blow! Watch him sing "Don't" on AI here. Who else could make a Shania Twain song so sexy???!!!

If he goes home tomorrow, I will not only have lost faith in the AI system, but I will also have lost my will to go on- which in turn makes me lose my creative juices, which in turn makes me stare at my computer screen and wonder what the hell I should write.

Long story short, if you ever want to read my brilliant work, Casey James MUST survive on AI. It's that simple. I will tweet his number later on tonight so you all can vote for him...I know that you will because you realize that the fate of the publishing world relies on this one night.

I have CASEY FEVER! Do you????

**Disclaimer- NOTHING- not even Casey James- will take away my desire to write. This is just my evil, yet clever, ploy to get more votes for the best artist on American Idol right now.**

Music Monday: Book Scores!

What's up aces???? So, I went to see A Nightmare on Elm Street this past Friday ( I told you guys I was going!!!!) and it was exactly what I expected- suspense, drama, a REALLY scary part here and there, and a killer score.
This got me thinking...if my book could have a musical score, what would it sound like? I know that some people make book trailers and I can only assume they use some type of music during the trailer, but I'm thinking more along the lines of an actual song/score that I would hear while reading my novel.

Of course my POS Chasing Manson is heavily influenced by 60/70s music so it's easy for me to think of several songs while I am re-reading and re-writing. However, I am talking about an OVERALL song/score. Now that I think about it, I am sure it would be "Riders on the Storm" from the Doors. It might even be an instrumental version- but the lyrics/music of this song are haunting enough to the be the theme song of my novel.





What about you? If you had to choose a song or score that embodies your novel(s), what would it be?

BTW- Casey McCormick is giving away a really cool prize on her blog- go check it out!

Nightmare...on MY street!

It's a shame b/c the man frightens the CRAP out of me, but I am MAY-JOR-LY excited to see the new: A Nightmare on Elm Street. I mean, I used to hide out in a bedroom when my cuz and my sister would watch creepy, old, evil Freddy Krueger.But I can't wait to go see this new one (today at 4:15 !!!! ). I think it's because I love to scare myself (and about a year ago, I made a goal to try and see every scary movie EV-AH created). What does this have to do with writing?

Well, since I am such an avid fan of suspense and thriller, and well, scaring the shiznit out of myself, I think watching a few scary movies will help me to write my own suspense filled scenes in my novel. I know, I know- books are supposed to be better than movies- and most of the time they are, but I don't think it hurts to take some pointers from those lovely gems, right? So, basically- this is a post about my passion for scary movies and the fact that I get to see one TODAY! YEAH!

Tell me, do you write suspense? And if so, what helps you to push along those scenes in your novel/short story? If not, have you ever THOUGHT about a scene from a movie to help you write any genre of fiction?

The Best. Book.Ever-well, this month :)

My aces over at YA Highway have come with an interesting question once again for their road trip Wednesday. The question? What is the best book you have read this month? How awesome is that? So, I haven't read as many books as I would like this month, but I did happen to finish one that is AH-MAZ-ING! It is Justine Larbalestier's Liar.


This novel is pure genius. It starts off with an unreliable narrator that promises to tell us, the reader, the truth about the events that have occurred in her life. What is so cool about this novel is that you think it's about one thing, and it is, but then it's also about something else- something BIG (I know this sounds vague, but I don't want to give away any twists!). It is written in three parts, and not in chapters, but under headings- like "Before," "After," "My Family History," and "School."

If you haven't read this book yet, GO GET IT! It is soooo good- not only is it a great "love" story in a sense (and I'm not talking about your normal love story here) but it's also thrilling, and mysterious. It made me laugh, cry, cringe, and shudder. Liar has everything YA readers/writers would want in a novel. It has come to be one of my favorite books of all time. So, not only is it the best book I read this month, it is one of the best books I have EVER read.

If you don't already, follow Justine Larbalestier on Twitter and visit her blog (linked through her name). I just ordered and received How to Ditch Your Fairy and that promises to be just as good. So excited to read it! What's the best book you read this month???

Y is it sooo hard to write Historical YA?

So, I just ordered Fever 1793 from Laurie Halse Anderson and will read it soon to get a grasp on how historical YA should be written. WHY? Because she is a freakin' awesome author, and because I am trying to work on a historical YA novel of my own! It is going to be about a 15 year old boy who's 18 year old brother goes off to fight in World War I- all while Spanish influenza (the disease that killed more people than the Black Plague) comes on the scene and spreads rapidly! I am having a little trouble writing it though. WHY?
First, stop asking so many questions!


But if you must know, it's because I am too lazy to look up information. Every time I type a sentence, I have to pause and think- hmmm, did they have *insert random object here* OR did they say *insert brilliant line here* back then? Don't get me wrong, I love, love, love history and I LOVE researching. But when I just want to write, I don't feel like researching at the same time.




So...here is my question, if you are writing historical YA (even if you aren't your advice would be great!), do you get your words out and fact check later? OR do you do all the research first and then base your story from there?