Hello all,

I've been watching this tag corner all of my friends, and now it's my turn!

The wonderful Florid Sword @ A Writer's Song has tagged me for The Voices of YA tag. Thank you, dear friend! Check out her post here. She's got better answers than I do :).

The original author of this tag is Caitlin Lambert, and her blog is here. You should definitely go check it out, she has a lot of great articles for authors just beginning their journey.

Might as well get the rules out of the way...

1. Thank the person who tagged you. (Done!)
2. Link to the original creator. (Done!)
3. Answer the ten questions (getting there, be patient....)
4. Tag at least 2 YA writers/bloggers (at the bottom!)

Onward!

About the Writer:

1. What draws you to YA?

While I read middle-grade books for the longest time, I figured it was time to take the next step up when I was beginning college. Though I'm amazed at the amount of "bad books" that are called YA fiction. (#RebelliousWriting).

2. Describe your writing process. Do you prefer outlines and structure or seeing where the story takes you?

I'm a very weird blend of both.

A story idea initially takes me, but I can't write it out until the story is in a neat outline. My muse usually won't write the story in order though. Therefore I tend to write in a "vignette" kind of style - having a bunch of mini scenes and stitching them together.

3. How long have you been writing? Where are you in your writing journey?

My first written stories started appearing in middle school. I started writing seriously in high school and it's been an on-off relationship until fairly recently.

In terms of writing journey: I've not been published yet. I've shared a couple of short stories on The Rebelling Muse. I have 3 short story WIPs, and 3 active novel WIPs. I'm taking the next step by entering into some writing contests (Camp NaNo and Rooglewood) to get some more structured practice.

4. What do you need to write? Coffee, music?

Music is a must. Need to get my soundtrack together so I can get the right emotions on the paper.

Tea is a bonus. A ready supply of snacks is also rather useful.

And I need a cooperating muse. Which I don't get that often, apparently.

5. If you could offer a piece of advice to another writer (other than don't give up) what would it be?

Build yourself a network of like-minded authors/bloggers and continually build it. These writers provide a wonderful critique and support team all rolled into one.

One trick to build blog traffic and your network that my little sis taught me was to sign your comments with your name and your blogs URL. And the more comments you make, the more the network builds over time. I comment much more as Catherine from The Rebelling Muse than I do Farm Lassie from Frugally Fancy; and the sharp difference of the stats between the two blogs is astounding.

About the Books:

6. What book still has you reeling from it's plot twist? (No spoilers!)

I'll be totally honest.....I'm really really good at figuring out plots and how they're going to end up. I love clever plot twists though.

The last one that left me totally reeling wasn't one in a book, but one in a movie.


via GIPHY

YES, THIS ONE

I SWEAR I NEVER SAW THIS ONE COMING.

DISNEY, HOW CAN YOU BE SO CRUEL????


7. What books are you anticipating this year?

Any new clean and wholesome YA novel. LOL. I'm not up on the current trends yet. I need to raid a library....

8. In your opinion, which YA book had the most unique premise?

The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet by Stephanie Morrill

From Amazon.com Check out the Book Here

Let's put it this way, you don't normally find YA books that are centered around a YA author. And this one did a smashing job of portraying a young teenage writer breaking out onto the YA scene. This book really inspired me to get more serious with my writing, and the process involved in doing so.

9. What is your favorite quote from YA literature?

This one from Eragon by Christopher Paolini.


10. What book do you most hope that it will have a movie adaptation?

Kilmeny of the Orchard by Lucy Maud Montgomery

from Amazon.com Check out the Book Here

This book is a really really really really really sweet book!!!

I got introduced to this book via Librivox (a dramatic version), and it is now one of my favorite books.

The protagonist comes from a really hard household. She often escapes to an old orchard, where her violin becomes her voice. One day, a young schoolteacher comes wandering by...augh it is such a good book, can't tell you anymore for fear of spoilers.

That ends the Q&A!

The two bloggers I tag are Ivie @ Ivie Writes and Anna @ A World Through Her Heart
(Anna - I won't be offended if you wait till after Camp is over to tackle this one).

And now I'm off to do some last-minute blogging on Frugally Fancy before Camp NaNo swallows up all of my writing words.

Scribblingly yours,

Catherine