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October 20th, 2009
Teen Author Challenge, Week 14 – The big “What If?”
Happy NCTE National Day on Writing! (And yes, I keep wanting to say “of Writing” too.) Exclusive TAC Quote of the Week
Teen Author Challenge, Week 14 As you cruise along with your writing goals, it’s not uncommon to hit an occasional snag in the story. One of the best tools I’ve found for those times when I can’t figure out what to do next is the simple question: What if…? – What if she was an only-child instead of the oldest of seven? – What if he thinks his friend is trying to help but his friend is actually trying to sabotage the project? Or for plotting issues… – What if instead of going to a fancy restaurant for their first date, he takes her to a hoedown and Miss Prim and Proper eats her first barbecue pork sandwich… getting it all down the front of her new blouse? Or even for shaking up the entire story… – What if his dad isn’t really his dad? Try playing What if? the next time you need a little help on where to go next with your story. And have fun! Awesome agent Kristin Nelson of Nelson Literary Agency shares her philosophy behind why she posts her deals in Publishers Marketplace’s Deal Lunch. The post is from a while back but it’s a fabulous look at some of the reasons agents do and don’t post sale news. How did you do on your writing last week? Comment below with your weekly results from last Tuesday through today so we can cheer your progress! And give the “What if?” game a try if you think the story could benefit from it!
Go forth and be creative!
Entry Filed under: Paying It Forward,Teen Author Challenge |
Project FMGM proposalCOMPLETE! 
A 16 year old outsider gets tapped to join a secret society of good populars dedicated to defeating the mean girls of the world.
On shelves now! IndieBound   I’m the author of teen fiction that I wish was based on my real life. My debut novel    
 #1 – GOOD GRIEF by Lolly Winston #2 – THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins #3 – CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins #4 – THE NAUGHTY LIST by Suzanne Young #5 – THE MAGICIAN’S ELEPHANT by Kate DiCamillo #6 – WINGS by Aprilynne Pike #7 – EIGHTH GRADE SUPERZERO by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich #8 – THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE by Kate DiCamillo #9 – HOW TO TRAIN A DRAGON by Cressida Cowell #10 – THE SEASON by Sarah MacLean #11 – THE SEVEN RAYS by Jessica Bendinger #12 – WHISPER by Phoebe Kitanidis #13 – SHADOW HILLS by Anastasia Hopcus #14 – NIGHTSHADE by Andrea Cremer #15 – MOLLY MOON’S INCREDIBLE BOOK OF HYPNOTISM by Georgia Byng #16 – GRACELING by Kristin Cashore (This is a second reading which is super rare for me. One of my all-time faves!) #17 – FIRE by Kristin Cashore #18 – THE REPLACEMENT by Brenna Yovanoff #19 – HEIST SOCIETY by Ally Carter #20 – NEED by Carrie Jones #21 – BRIGHTLY WOVEN by Alexandra Bracken #22 – CAPTIVATE by Carrie Jones #23 – PROPHECY OF DAYS by Christy Raedeke #24 – THIS WORLD WE LIVE IN by Susan Beth Pfeffer #25 – THE LOST SYMBOL by Dan Brown #26 – PLAIN KATE by Erin Bow #27 – THE OVERTON WINDOW – by Glenn Beck #28 – THE THIEF by Megan Whalen Turner #29 – PARANORMALCY by Kiersten White #30 – THE DUFF by Kody Keplinger #31 – MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins #32 – ONLY THE GOOD SPY YOUNG by Ally Carter #33 – THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB by Elizabeth Eulberg |
What a perfect day for a little writing inspiration:
That quote by Sarah Quigley holds so much truth. Often when I sit down to write, I get so discouraged because nothing comes out the way I want it to or I don’t think what I write is ever good enough. I’m definitely my biggest enemy when it comes to writing.
Isn’t that a great quote, Michelle? And it’s so true. Sometimes we just have to hush our internal critic and give ourselves permission to write stinky pages. Seriously. Because we can always fix them. Always.
Well, I followed through on last week’s post and made myself a calendar to check off writing (and other things for each day). It’s good. I can see exactly where my time is going and I wonder what I did all day when I can’t say that I wrote, exercised, cleaned, or did something else.
That said I did ok, but not great last week. On the up side, my kitchen is now freshly painted! I think I might re-outline my book. The what if game might help…
Hooray for your calendar, Cari! And hey, if you can keep writing and still get your kitchen painted, that’s a huge win in my book. Have fun with the “What if…” game!
I actually did over my quota last week, which was good because I don’t think I’ll be able to reach 7000 words this week.(Life’s been getting in the way…) but hopefully by next week it’ll be back to normal…
Hope everyone is having a great week….
Caitlin
Way to go, Caitlin!! Going above and beyond is a huge accomplishment. As long as you keep writing steadily, don’t worry too much if your week-to-week production varies a bit. It happens to everyone (that crazy little thing called life).