Saturday's child works hard for a living

(I was actually born on a Sunday, but I'm really bad at titles.)

Okay, I’m Saturday. Well, technically, I’m Laina, but I’ll be posting here on Saturdays.

Basic facts about me: I’m seventeen, eighteen in December (13th, what are you guys getting me?), I’m an only child, I run Laina Has Too Much Spare Time (which is a little dead right now, but I’m in the middle of revising so don’t judge, okay?), I tweet way too much and I’m addicted to Facebook games.

And now that all the boring stuff is done…

I am currently revising, revising, revising a paranormal YA novel which is slightly hard to explain. Basically, it’s about a girl with psychic powers, yada yada, and a boy, of course. Boys in books make everything better. It’s currently the longest thing I’ve ever written (yay) and I’m hoping that eventually it’ll be good enough to query for an agent with.

Because of course, my dream is that someday I'll be published and become some awesome combination of Rachel Caine, Robin McKinley, Maureen Johnson and Hannah Moskowitz.

Of course, a combination of those four people would probably bring on the apocolypse with all the awesomeness...

But a girl can dream, right?

So anyways, if you can't tell, I'm a little nervous about this. I babble when I'm nervous... and tired. For a long time, I didn't really talk about my writing. This was mostly before I got my computer because no one I knew wrote, unless it was for a school assignment and that doesn't count.

But then I got my laptop. Literally the first day I had my laptop, I opened a blank word document and started writing. Then, when I started book blogging, I realized that a LOT of other people wrote. And not all of those people were grown up and "real" writers. It was probably when I started tweeting that it really sunk in that it was okay to talk about my writing and no one would make fun of me because of my age.

Well, I'm babbling, and that’s about all I have for this week, so I'm going to sign off now.

See you next Saturday!

Peace and cookies,
Laina

P. S. Oh! And, guys, I've also written several suckish vampire novels. Maybe we all have :P

Hi, I'm Friday

I'm horrible at introductions, both in person and online. Generally, saying "Hi, I'm Chelsea" is my lean-back.

So. Hi, I'm Chelsea.

But for the purpose of this blog, I guess I'll talk about my writing. I have a blog over at thepageflipper.blogspot.com, where I review YA books and get up to general mischief. I love writing and I love reading, so writing about what I'm reading is only natural.

Laurie Halse Anderson is my writing idol, even though what I write is completely different from her.

I have a memoir coming out this Monday, August 2nd - it's part of the Louder than Words teen memoir series published by HCI. It's called RAE and is about living life as a teenager with anxiety.

I'm currently 18 and working on a YA fiction book that I love writing. I have another YA book on the back-burner at 20k and about fifty other ideas screaming in my head, so I feel like I'll be pretty busy for the next few years. At least until 2012 hits...(The world is supposed to end the DAY before my 21st birthday. My luck, right?)

I'm here to rant and rave to you about character development and world building and writing prompts and possible schizophrenia and dreams and inspiration, so if that sounds boring to you, you're probably in the wrong place. But if not, then welcome to my Friday abode and I'm happy to have you here.

Hi, I'm Kelsey

Miss Thursday here. I hope that throughout my posts on this blog, I can learn and help learn. Wow, that sounds so sappy, but it’s true. I’m Kelsey Sutton. 18-year-old writer and constant dreamer. Like the others girls on this blog, I’ve been writing and reading my entire life. I focus mostly on young adult fiction, but I do enjoy classics and biographies on occasion.

So far I’ve completed three novels. One of which I’m seeking representation for. One very horrible vampire novel I wrote when I was younger (Is there a theme here, Harmony?), one suspense, and one fantasy. I’m always working on something, and I’m always working on my voice and my style. It’s a vicious cycle.

What else… I suppose I should give credit to some of my life experiences. There’s aspects in my writing that I get from what’s actually happened to me. (But if you ever get a sample of my writing, please don’t think that I’ve been kidnapped or turned into a vampire). I grew up in Minnesota. Yes, the cold state. When I was 16 I was a nomad, moving from place to place. My adventures took me all the way out to California. I only stayed there a short time and eventually returned back to good old Minnesota.

Family-wise, I have a mom and a little sister. I see them once in a while, and it’s always fun. Career-wise, that’s nomadic, too. I’ve done everything from working at McDonald’s to being a housekeeper at an Inn to training dogs to working at a desk. Predictably, writing has been the only passion that stuck. It’s a pastime, it’s an escape, and it’s a way of life.

I love chocolate and music. I have a small Pomeranian, Louie, who stays glued to my side even if we’re going to the bank or the grocery store. People bend the rules for him because he’s so stinkin’ cute. I watch way too much television, read incessantly, and am always over-thinking things.

Well, that’s about it for my introduction. Check back every Thursday to hear from me. (And all the other days too, of course. These girls are just so full of wisdom and advice to partake and you won’t want to miss anything.) I have a blog of my own, so if you ever have an extra time on your hands, feel free to check that out, too. Also, I'm always looking to meet new people on Twitter.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY NINJA-KICK

Name: Jordyn

Age: 20, which means I'm definitely the oldest in the group, basically the big sister. Hiya.

Website: It's a YA book blog, http://tencentnotes.wordpress.com

Published? Though I'm still in the hoping-to-find-an-agent stage of things, I have been published in various other places. Like this essay I wrote when I was sixteen that ended up in a book called Red: Teenage Girls Write About What Fires Up Their Lives, edited by Amy Goldwasser. I also get to do occasional guest posts on IHeartDaily, and have had a few articles published on the Huffington Post. (This is my latest one. It was published yesterday. It's about friends, except not in a nice way. "BFF, WTF?")

Am Writing: Currently it's a contemporary YA (which, incidentally, is the genre I always write in) about two sisters, a pie shop, a barn, and various other things. I'm writing it in multiple POV, with both sisters as narrators, and it's sort of killing me so far. BUT I WILL PREVAIL. *does ninja-kick*

(This post is kind of boring, isn't it? I should spice it up with some PIRATE SONGS.)

ALSO I QUITE ENJOY THE TWITTER. YOU SHOULD FOLLOW ME IF YOU DON'T ALREADY.

The second introductory post!

Hey all, this is Tuesday speaking.

Actually, my name is Kieryn. I'll just be posting on Tuesdays. Which makes me introduction #2, doesn't it?

In list form, there are fourteen things you might find interesting about me.

1. My YA spy novel, Rain, is published by Quake, a division of Echelon press, which means that
2. I'm a published author!!!! and
3. I've done cool things like library talks and school visits and book festivals,
4. all while juggling homework and friends and lack of sleep because
5. I'm fifteen and in high school,
6. and I also take Taekwondo
7. (which I originally started as research for Rain)
8. and I like to swingdance and eat chocolate
9. (not necessarily at the same time)
10. and go on trips, like Caribbean cruises, and hopefully to Australia soon,
    
11. plus I'm going to do a half marathon in Disney with Team in Training for my sweet 16
12. and I'll be fund raising for that while doing all my school and author stuff (like blogging and twitter and facebook--like watching the Rain fan page!--and my website)
    
13. so I have to look hard for time to work on my 11+ works-in-progress
14. and I am a total marching band groupie because almost all my friends are in our school's band.

Also, unless there's a good reason, such as school or a trip to the Caribbean or a pressing story idea (like today), there is no way I'm ever up this early.

Looking forward to blogging on YA Lit Six!

Kieryn
www.kierynnicolas.com
www.kierynnicolas.blogspot.com

The First Introduction Post

There's one thing that I've always been bad at - introductions. I'm good with talking about myself but I'm never sure where to start with introductions. But, here goes...

Hi, I'm Harmony. I'm fifteen, almost sixteen, and have been writing seriously since I was in fourth grade. I used to pretend I was sick so I could stay home and write. In sixth grade, I bought the Writer's Market, took it to school, and spent any free moment highlighting potential agents.

Then I realized writing and getting published weren't quite as easy as I originally thought.

Fast forward six years and here I am reviewing books, running a book organization, and, of course, writing. Fortunately, I cyber-school so I don't have to fake sick anymore to write.

So far, I've finished two rough drafts - one very suckish vampire book that will never see the light of day again, and one contemporary YA that I may or may not bring out to revise. I'm currently splitting my time between two works-in-progresses - Untitled and Untitled 2. I don't talk about my WIPs much while I'm writing them because I'm superstitious about killing my ideas but I will say that Untitled 2 is very light and fun and Untitled is...well, not. I'll tell you more about them as I get farther along.

See you next Monday!

Harmony

Welcome to the YA Lit Six!

Welcome to the YA Lit Six! We're the newest group blog of writers out there. We range in age from fifteen to twenty and are at various stages of our writing careers - some are published and some haven't even started querying. This blog is our place to share the various highs and lows of writing, to support each other, and hopefully connect with and inspire other writers out there.

Starting tomorrow, we'll spend our first week introducing ourselves. Then, we'll be blogging on anything and everything writing-related. So, if writing is your passion too, we hope you'll follow us and share your insight as well.

-The YA Lit Six