Word Count Wednesday

I have done some writing and as of right now I have 36,581 words. I have 5,419 words to go until I make my first challenge. I think the key here is to actually get up after I go to bed and just write. No distractions. Peace and Quiet. I'll do that this week and see how much I get done.

YA LIT CHAT... (New Link)

Check out this site! For all you YA writers, this site looks AMAZING. 

Progress...er, not so much.

Okay, I have to be honest. Pages written? 0. Words written? 0. Someone slap me? Oh wait, my sister already did that. Okay. 7,500 words before I can read my books that are NOW on the way. They are going to taunt me with their fabulously designed book covers. Got to get to work!

GEORGIA MCBRIDE: Watch out for these Newbie Writer No-no's (YA)

"I read a lot of manuscripts–some partials, first chapters, first 250 words, fulls and everything in between. I don’t read nearly as much as agents and editors but the difference is that the ones I read are ones I’m asked to analyze and discern how to fix what may be wrong.
I’ve noticed a pattern in what I’ve read to the point where I think it’s time for me to talk about the common mistakes I see new writers make–relative to writing young adult literature. I hope this helps!" Read the rest at Georgia McBride's Blog!

Woke up and wrote some...

I didn't write anything all day and my characters were ticked off at me. Nagging buggers. I ignored them all day as I was cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, job searching, yapping away, mothering, and finally when I was snuggling down in my covers ready for sleep, sleep did not come. Nope. My characters wouldn't stop whining, "Write you lazy ol' woman! Novelists, write! And you have to write about me, me, me!" Grr. And yet, how I love them. They dragged me out of bed and got me writing (about them of course) and before the clock struck 12 and my carriage turned into a pumpkin, I actually wrote 1,000 words. Woohoo. 6,500 words to go to get to my first challenge of 42,000 words before the end of October.

A fabulous site for all things YA...

YA Highway! Awesome resource full of great info from YA authors!

How to land an agent...

Check out Jody Hedlund's post on how to get your foot in the door here.

And the plot thickens...

Everything that I have written in the past week has deviated from my outline. Twists and turns. Where the heck are my dear Jade and Christian heading off to? Writing is a funny business. You plan and plan and plan and then your lovely characters decide NOT to listen to you. Little devils :) Perhaps that is a good thing. I'll have to see how THEY decide this story will unfold.

Word count

I've got 34,500ish words. And stumped. I wrote 2,500 words within two days and then the words stopped coming. I have to write 7,500 more words before I can have a margarita and read my new books. Onward!

Never published? Have a complete, polished YA novel?

Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers is pleased to announce The Twenty-Ninth Annual
Delacorte Press Contest for a First Young Adult Novel. GO AND ENTER! (http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/writingcontests/)

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Read it, loved it. Go thou and do likewise. http://www.theinfernaldevices.com/

My 1st Challenge

Okay, so I need to put some words on paper. Motivation? Well, amazon.com is mailing me both Lauren Kate's Torment (http://laurenkatebooks.net/) and Becca Fitzpatrick's Crescendo (http://beccafitzpatrick.com/) by the end of October. As motivation, I will not let myself read either book until I have at least written 10,000 more words. Books in hand or not. No 10,000 words=no reading. Ouch. If I start posting about how fabulous the books are before I have gotten to 42,000 words... I give you permission to virtually slap me. Tough love. Okey Dokey. Here goes!

This week's Agent Spotlight from LR

FROM LITERARY RAMBLES:
 
This week's Agent Spotlight features Holly McGhee of Pippin Properties, Inc.
 
About: "After a twelve-year career in book publishing, with positions ranging from assistant to advertising-and-promotion director to executive editor, Holly M. McGhee founded Pippin Properties, Inc., an agency devoted to the management and representation of the finest authors and artists at work today. Her fascination with making books began in 1991, when she was appointed Associate Publisher for Michael di Capua's imprint at HarperCollins." (Link)
She is also the author of JUST DESSERTS, DESSERT FIRST, and other upcoming titles under the pen name Hallie Durand.
Status: Accepting submissions.
What She's Looking For:
"Pippin Properties, Inc. is an agency devoted primarily to picture books, middle-grade, and young adult novels, but we also represent adult projects on occasion. We are always on the lookout for writers and illustrators who take the challenge of creating books seriously and are willing to give the publishing world nothing less than their very best." (Link)

Read more about this agent at the fabulous blog by Casey McCormick: http://caseylmccormick.blogspot.com/

1st post about my Novel... Let me give you the 411 ;)

Hello, ladies and gentlemen! Well I wanted to write out the stats of my novel thus far for public record (and so I remember... a year of sleepless nights with a baby does a number on your memory;)
So here goes:
Genre: Young Adult Urban Fantasy
Title: Blood and Tears
Today it is weighing in at 125 pages. Roughly 32,000 words. The *Goal* is around 65,000 words. Seems like forever away, but I'll get there with time and who knows when the novel will actually decide to be done. 50,000 words? 115,000 words? Who knows. We'll see. Well there you have it! My novel in a nutshell.

It begins!

As an aspiring novelist, I have been searching cyberspace for precious nuggets of information about the fabulous world of writing--the good, the bad, the ugly. This little corner of the internet will be devoted to sharing the resources I find as well as be an outlet for my sanity as I write my first novel. Need writing prompts? Want to know how to land an agent? Write a query letter? Overcome writer's block? Check back and see where I link up to... there are some awesome bloggers/websites/workshops and as I learn about them, I will share them with YOU. So prepare for some rants and ramblings of a first time novelist as well as connect with some other fantastic people spread across the web. Thanks for joining me for the ride!