Kristi at The Story Siren has started a blogging phenomenon called the 2010 Debut Author Challenge. Bloggers, reviewers and YA and MG book readers register on her blog and sign up to read at least 12 (up to as many as you wish) novels by new authors.
It's amazing to see how many challenge participants have already selected titles from the Class of 2k10! I see Under My Skin is popping up on a few! I'll be donating an ARC, as well as a bit of SWAG, for the challenge. ;)
If you're a YA/MG fiction junkie, check out the challenge and get ready for a year of amazing, hip, funny, freaky, historic, romantic, beastly and NEW voices. This is such a cool way to promote reading, new authors, and the love of a good story. There's no deadline to joining, so check it out!
If you feel like I do, you are happy you finished NaNoWrimo but are a little tired. After writing 50,000+ words in the month of November, the last thing you want to do is write some more. Here's the catch. If you want to be a published author one day, or already are, you know that you can't just stop. Sure, breaks are healthy and much needed but when the book is fresh in your mind, now is the time to finish it!
Think of NaNoWrimo as draft zero. Draft zero you ask? Why not draft one? Well, if you go back and read what you wrote during those 30 days, you will understand. At least, for me this is the case. NaNoWrimo is such a marathon, it's hard to get 50,000 words that are useful out of it. The way I look at it, I now have a great block to build on. My draft zero will make my first draft all that much easier!
Through the last month, I have realized what will work and what won't from my original idea and synposis. I've learned what my characters are all about, the good and the bad. The picture is clearer, my characters can now stand alone with pride, personality and a voice.
Despite throwing away a lot of words from November, in the end, it will make my novel better. I hope you all feel the same.
For those who didn't hit 50,000, don't worry. It isn't so much about the amount of words, it's that NaNoWrimo got you to put your butt in the seat and write SOMETHING. Even if you wrote a few thousand words, perhaps that is a few thousand more than you would have. If it helped you with your story, than it was worth it!
So, congrats to everyone! Take a few days off and rest, but back to the grindstone before you lose your momentum! Oh, and for the record, I wrote 50,109 words (or 50,112 in Word) and a few chapters away from finishing draft zero! :)
I can't believe it's almost that time, but December 1st doth approach and the Class of 2k10 has some awesome stuff planned. Our beautiful website is live and waiting for you to discover 23 debut YA and MG authors with amazing stories to dig into for 2010.
Check out the author bios, book blurbs, covers, reader guides and trailers. The site is packed with literary goodness. I'll also be featuring 2k10 authors here on YAedge...I promise, you'll get insider information on this new crop of must read titles. ;)
2k10 will be hosting a month long Grad Party for the Class of 2k9 authors - watch for book giveaways and swag contests!
The class is planning to do some high profile author panels during Book Expo America in New York (May 2010) - if you're in the area, we'd love to have you hang with us. Watch out 2010, here we come!
Wow, NaNoWrimo went fast this year! I can't believe it is the last weekend of November. I hope all of our US readers had a safe and fabulous Thanksgiving yesterday. I know I did. :)
Week 4 is a breeze, regardless of where you are in your word count. You know where you stand and you know what is ahead of you. Your word count is staring you in the face, challenging you to find a way to get to the end with 50,000 words. It's all about buckling down, opening up Write or Die and cranking the rest out. I know that's what I have to do this weekend.
Speaking of my story, I've come to realize I have just that, a story. It may not be written great and there might be slow moving points that need to see the chopping block before they make it into another draft, but it's nice to have something. So far, I have 42,180 words and probably only a few thousand are worth anything. That's okay, it's not like I thought I would have a beautifully crafted novel after 30 days of writing like a madwoman. Instead, I have learned so much about my plot and characters. It was nice to have a synopsis to fall back on, but I let my characters lead the way, regardless if it was in my original plot breakdown. It's freeing, yet nice to have that crutch.
I must now buckle down with the rest of you and write my heart out. I have a little less than 8,000 words to write in the remaining 4 days. Easy, right?
Good luck to everyone out there! I know you can all do it. For those of you who won't be hitting 50,000 no matter how hard you try, don't worry. If NaNoWrimo got you to put you butt in the seat and write even a few words, it was worth it!
Next week, I'll wrap up November with NaNoWrimo. Can't wait to hear all of your journeys this month.
Don't forget, we give a YA book to a random follower once we hit 30 followers to the blog. Just click the follow button in the side bar for your chance to win!
With my book launching in a few months I’ll all keen to get out in the world and do some presentations as a debut YA author. Earlier this year I did a few low key school visits, a public library teen book club visit and an online chat with teen readers at TeenRC. Those first dips in the author circuit pool will hopefully come in handy. But the thing is – I don’t want to be one of those authors.
If you’ve ever sat in on an author visit that’s going south – you know the ones I’m talking about - the author who never quite connects with his/her audience (however small or large). There’s a distance, a pretension that comes through loud and clear and no amount of high wattage smiles or scripted jokes can mask it.
Working in school and public libraries, I’ve been on the organizational side of an author visit – I know the value of a grounded author, one who is approachable, stays generally on topic and can put the crowd at ease with the appropriate level of goofiness or dramatic intensity as the occasion warrants.
I’ve seen authors choke at school visits (not physically, but you know what I mean) – they’re just too afraid to be silly, to be kid-friendly, to make mistakes. And then I’ve witnessed a whole gym full of kids from kindergarten to grade six absolutely enthralled at the retelling of childhood foibles that later became the basis of a writer's work. (I’m speaking here of Canadian author, Sigmund Brouwer, who wowed students and staff during an hour-long presentation we’ll not soon forget - if you ever get the chance to hear him speak....jump on it!).
So here’s to a debut year of author bookings, a year of goofing around, accidentally offending people (I tend to do that), of getting a few things right and a whole bunch of stuff wrong. If any of you have tips for the newbie, I’m all ears.
See below on how to win a free YA book, but first we discuss NaNoWrimo!
I can't believe it's week three of NaNoWrimo already. Does that scare anyone else? I'm practically shaking in my boots...or Converse actually.
All in all, week three has been a success so far. I have yet to write today (today being Thursday afternoon) and I'm at 30,291. I was able to fill gaps and grow my characters while writing like a madwoman. I hope to come close to 35,000 today since I won't be able to write Friday-Sunday. At this point, I'm happy with my progress, despite realizing that I will have to rewrite the whole thing over again. That's what NaNo is for, right? Developing your ideas and characters before making the next draft pretty. Make sure to share how you're doing in the comments section.
Our frequent visitors may have noticed that we've placed a YAedge Follower widget in the sidebar. If you aren't following us already, please do so! Once we hit 30 followers, I will be giving away one YA book* to one lucky random follower. For every 30 followers, a new book will be available to win (one free book at 30, then 60 and so on)!
I hope everyone has a great weekend and hits their NaNoWrimo goals!
*I have yet to decide what book that will be, but will keep you updated.
Take a break from NaNo, just a teeny one, and check out this update on the progress of the Class of 2K10.
In less than a month, the Class of 2K10 website and plan for world domination will unfold! The site has a fun passport theme with vintage images/tones – I just know you’re gonna likes it. ;) If you want to get ahead of the launch, we have a blog, Facebook page and Twitter profile - come and hang with us. You won’t want to miss our December long “Grad Party” sending the Class of 2K9 off in style.
We have several titles to launch in January, so we’re coming out of our corner swinging. In the meantime, here’s the promo trailer that the fabulous, amazing, stellar Madison at M2 Productions created for us. Enjoy the sneak peek at 23 must reads debuting in 2010!
Kristi at The Story Siren has started a blogging phenomenon called the 2010 Debut Author Challenge. Bloggers, reviewers and YA and MG book readers register on her blog and sign up to read at least 12 (up to as many as you wish) novels by new authors.
