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December 15th, 2009
Teen Author Challenge, Week 22 – Juggling the holiday chaos
Exclusive TAC Quote of the Week
Teen Author Challenge It’s that time of year. With the various holidays, year-end chaos at work, finals for those still in school… this is crunch time, baby. But there are ways to continue making progress even when things are super crazy. Here are just a few of them. 1) Write in bits and bites This doesn’t necessarily mean writing while eating (though it can!), it means trying to write a little here and a little there as time allows. Many of us can’t allot large chunks of time right now, but that doesn’t mean we can’t write at all. Try setting a goal of writing as much as you can for 20 minutes or 45 minutes or whatever you can manage. It doesn’t work for everyone, but you may be surprised at what you accomplish. 2) Brainstorm at odd times I know. There are lots of odd times this time of year. 3) Give yourself a break If this time of year wears you down like it does most people, cut yourself some slack. That doesn’t mean giving yourself permission to slack off, but do be kind to yourself and do your best. This hectic period will come to an end, just like it always does, and you can get back to your normal routines. In the meantime, pat yourself on the back for the progress you do make whether it’s new pages or new ideas. It’s all good. Buzz Tip of the Week I love this post from agent Jessica Faust on what an agent really does. As the title of the post indicates, they do a lot more than just sell books. A good agent is worth his or her weight in gold AND chocolate. And that’s sayin’ something. http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/2009/10/agents-do-more-than-sell-books.html Your Weekly Challenge 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!
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 I mean is, use those times when you’re just being idle to doing something productive for your story. I keep a notebook with me in my purse so when I’m stuck in the long checkout lines at stores, I can jot down ideas for the story I’m working on. I’ve come up with some neat twists and a couple of zingy one-liners when the only other thing I could’ve been doing is wondering why they didn’t have more people manning the cash registers. I think that was time well spent.
I found this challenge and started it late however catching up was easy to do. This whole challenge was a great idea and I’m so glad your doing this for us Kay! It’s been difficult to write during the holidays however I did manage to make a rough (extremely rough) draft of what I think is going to be my first chapter!
I actually have two things I’m trying to write. One is for a challenge and I did good and wrote about 2000 words the other day. I had been stuck on that one so it was nice to write again on it cause time is almost up for that one.