The Winner Is . . .

This was such a fun contest and maybe I'll do it again in the future. Your responses were awesome. Some people wrote because they were good at it. Others did it to clear the voices in their head. Some wrote because they absolutely had to while others needed to prove they could. Your answers were funny and inspiring, moving and uplifting. Thanks to everyone for making this a great week for me. I did a random drawing, and the winner is . . .

Angie!

Congratulations, Angie! You won a $20 Barnes and Noble Gift card and a box of Twinkies!

Why I Write

This is it! The last day to enter! The prize? A $20 Barnes and Noble gift card, and more importantly, a box of delectable Twinkies. I am amazed at the response I've gotten for this contest. You guys rock! I wish I had two gift cards and 2 boxes of Twinkies to give away. But I don't, so make sure you've entered!

Now it's my turn to answer the question: Why do I write? And my answer is the weaksauce answer: because I love to! Yes. That is the reason I write and no other. When I'm at my computer and in the zone, typing away on the keyboard, I'm happier than a pig in, well, you know. I love to fill notebooks with a character's descriptions and idiosyncrasies. Their deepest darkest secrets and their hopes and dreams for the future. I love to use my whiteboard to scribble spiderwebs of possible plot paths and turning points. Then I love putting all those pieces together, watching as my characters come to life. To have a scene you've been working on fall into place is nothing short of magical. So there you have it. I write because I love it. Thank you so much to everyone who entered the contest. Good luck!

Win a $20 giftcard!!

First of all, if you weren't able to go to the New York SCBWI conference, you can check out their blog and get the scoop. It's almost as good as being there! Well, not quite, but it's the next best thing.

Also, I have 100 followers and I'm celebrating!! If you haven't entered my contest to win a $20 Barnes and Noble giftcard, and more importantly, a box of Twinkies, time is running out! Enter by Thursday at midnight, PST.

WIN TWINKIES!!

The Twinkies brought you here, didn't they? Bwahaha! They have the power to do that. So, how do you win a box? And also a super cool $20 gift card to Barnes and Noble? By answering the question, Why do I write? It's a simple question, but I don't want some weak sauce answer like, "Because I love to!" There's a gazillion posts on the horrors of querying, writing synopses, letting your house go to the dogs (or cats in my case), and neglecting society in general (I think I'm guilty of all four).

So, why do we do it?! Now is your chance to highlight the awesome things about writing, like that stupid grin you get on your face when you finish a scene. Make it something beautiful. And the next time you tell your neighbor you're a writer, and they look at you like you've got dead bodies buried under your house, send them the link to your post. Let's show the positive side to writing!! Feel free to take this to your own blog and give a lengthy reason why you love to write, just don't forget to post a comment telling me you've done so.

To be eligible, make sure you're a follower of my blog, AND leave your response to the question on this post. OR leave a link to your blog if you've posted your answer there. I'll have a random drawing next Friday, the 5th. If you blog or tweet about the contest, also let me know, and I'll give you an extra entry. Last, but not least, make sure there's a way I can contact you, whether through your blog or an email address. Because I'd hate for anyone to miss out on a WHOLE box of Twinkies.

Winners!

Go check out the Query tracker blog and throw some congratulations at my big sister, Amanda Sabourova who won 1st place, and all the other winners as well! Awesome job, Mandy! I'm so excited for you!

Wake Up!

Unplug week was pretty awesome, except I cheated a bit and did some facebooking. Yes, bad, but I was done with rewrites and chilling out a little. During unplug week, I read a book called Wake by Lisa McMann, and I recommend it (no, I wasn't paid to say that, and no, I didn't get the book for free). It was a very different, fast read, and I stayed up into the wee hours to finish it. Always a plus. If you get a chance, give it a try. And after checking out her blog, I see she has a nifty contest going on for dreamers, aged 14-18. Of course, I just barely missed that age bracket (ha!), but pass on the info to those who do fall within that range.

Blog Chain--Voice Lessons

For the blog chain this week, blogger extraordinaire Sarah asked the question: how did you discover your particular voice as a writer?

As with everything, I did it the hard way. I started out writing epic fantasies for adults, which I loved, but always felt something was a little "off." The first fantasy I wrote began with a grown up character taking care of an 11-year-old boy. By the time I got to the end of the manuscript, the boy had taken over the book. The sequel to that book ended up being entirely about the boy. The third fantasy I wrote involved a girl and a boy, who were supposed to be in their early twenties. My critique partner mentioned they thought it would be a good YA. Hmmmmm.

So I went against my instincts and wrote a hard-core fantasy with grown ups involved in actual grown up things. When I'd finished, I didn't query agents for it. Something was just so very wrong with the voice. I couldn't get into the head of the adult woman I had written about. That's not a good sign. I was beginning to see a pattern.

And that pattern got me thinking about my favorite books. Most were middle grade adventures with a boy protagonist. Even as an adult I gravitated toward those guts and glory, danger-around-every-corner middle-grade adventures. Was that my voice? Had it been hiding all along, and I just hadn't realized it? Do I have the mind of a pre-teen boy (yikes, that's a scary thought)?

I got really excited (not about having the mind of a pre-teen boy, but about discovering my voice) and almost instantly, a middle grade adventure with a boy protagonist unfolded in my mind. It fell into place. The voice flowed like alcohol at an underage drinking party. It was freeing. And I love, love, love the resulting book. I think of those other projects as voice lessons because when I look back at them, I see my voice struggling to get out. Since switching genres, my voice has finally found a home. What about you? How did you discover your voice?

Next on the blog chain, check out what the fabulous Shaun has to say about this topic.