8 Commonly Misused Words

I have a problem. Her name is Pinterest.

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Pinterest, meet my followers. They are all fabulous and I heart them. Followers, meet Pinterest. She's a total time suck, and yet I love her oh, so much. Seriously. She's like a virtual collage for EVERYTHING YOU COULD EVER THINK OF. And, let's be serious, who doesn't love a good collage?

What's that? You already know Pinterest? I should have known. Pinterest, that little minx, really gets around.

Want to know if you're a Pinterest addict? Here are the top ten signs you might have a problem... (Number 1 FOR THE WIN.)

So, um, I thought maybe I'd put my addiction to good use (okay, fine, that's kind of subjective--or maybe even nothing more than an excuse--in this case) and share some of the things I find. Like for instance, today, I've got this handy little guide for 8 commonly misused words. And, okay, most of these are easy peasy lemon squeezy --but confession? Yeah, I didn't actually know complement was a word. I've used compliment both ways forever. Whoops. And fewer and less get me every. single. time. (Which, for a former math teacher is kind of ridiculous . . . )

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Tada! See, you learned something. Or maybe you didn't. But let's just pretend you did, okay? And that all my time wasted spent on Pinterest is very beneficial for my wellbeing AND yours.

:)

Oh, and if you want to see my boards (hehe, it sounds dirty but IT ISN'T), you can find me HERE.

Have you succumbed to the big P(interest) yet? Or are you being strong and holding  out??

Most recent pin to make me giggle:

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RTW: Writing Superpowers . . . and Kryptonite

I'm a long time lurker for YA Highway's Road Trip Wednesdays--and I've been telling myself that one of these days I'll jump in. So . . .

*jumps*

For those who don't know, Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

Today's topic: What are your writing and publishing superpowers (drafting? beta-reading? writing queries? plotting? character creation? etc.) -- and what's your kryptonite?

I had no trouble pinpointing my areas of kryptonite! But when it came to my writing superpowers? Totally different story. Because I still see a lot of room for improvement with every strength I have. So I got kind of stuck. (You'll soon see that this is not quite uncommon, ha!) THANKFULLY, I have my CP Cristin on speed dial. Or, wait . . . Is speed dial even a thing anymore? She's in my favorites, which, you know, is probably a cooler way of saying it. Anyway, she came to my rescue and suggested some things I could use.

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My superpower? Teen voice! I'm proud of this because, considering I write for teens, it's a pretty important power to have. Maybe because I was a teacher for a while, and a youth leader--or maybe because I'm still not entirely sure what my "adult" voice is--but teen voices come very easily to me while I write.

Cristin also recommended pacing, but I'm just going to talk right over that one, because some days I really can't tell . . .

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And my kryptonite? Oh mans. I'd have to say it's world building. Which, for a fantasy/paranormal writer, is unfortunate. I'm working on it, though! I didn't realize quite how big of a weakness it was until recently. But, honestly, that discovery was priceless.

Here's the thing: I have no problem coming up with fun and different concepts for my WIPs. Like my current story, oh how I love it. I have these awesome (imo!) characters with these . . . unique aspects and with these . . . unusual, um, abilities. (Heh. Could I be anymore vague? <--Chandler Bing voice.) This story's been in my head for a looooong time. And when I finally started writing, it flew out of me. In the beginning, anyway. But I got stuck over the summer. Super stuck. Not able to write at all stuck.

Then in September, I went on a writing retreat and after lots and lots and lots of discussion (seriously, thank goodness for CPs and writing friends with brains to pick) I discovered my problem was my world building. I wasn't able to continue writing--even though the story was outlined (the high points anyway)--because while I have these super special characters, I wasn't keeping what makes them so special prevalent throughout the story. The way their uniqueness impacted the way they functioned in our world wasn't fully enough developed.

*ENTER TONS OF BRAINSTORMING*

*And--dramatic sigh--a complete restart to the project*

Which, yeah . . . Holy a lot of work, Batman. (Or, I guess Superman, considering today's topic!) But it was so, so, so worth it.  Because you know what? I'm completely back on track. And maybe--after all this work--world building will grow from my kryptonite into another superpower.

What about you? What are YOUR writing superpowers and kryptonite? And don’t forget to visit YA Highway to see how the other Road Trippers answered today’s question!

WAIT! Don't go yet!! 

ATTENTION!!! 

Have you stopped by Jessica Love's blog today? No? WELL YOU SHOULD. She has some HUGE NEWS!!! 

Hola :)

So, I know, it's the truth: I have been seriously neglecting Babbling Flow. It's not on purpose. And it's definitely not YOU. It's me. I swear. It's just I have this . . . you know . . . life. And it kind of gets in the way sometimes.

Well, okay. It's not always life. Sometimes I have a few hours where I *could* blog, but I choose to catch up on tivo instead. (See, I'll always tell you the truth.) It's not a crime or anything. But it can feel like one. To me anyway. Because I miss you guys. And now. Here I am. Writing in these choppy sentences. For no reason.

*stops all the choppy*

I'm just trying to say I'm back--kind of, anyway. Insofar as I am going to make an effort to update this place more often. It's not like I've run out of things to say. (Although . . . another truth: Sometimes it feels like I don't talk about important enough things. But I have plenty of silly left to share. That counts, right?)

So. Here are some of the things that have been on my mind of late:

1. Are any of you watching Revenge? (One of the aforementioned tivoed shows.) Dude. It's awesome. I am so, so, so digging it. And I swore I wouldn't pick up any new shows this season, because I don't even have enough time to watch my usual favorites. I want to be writing with my free time, yanno? But the hubs watched the first episode and convinced me I would like it (even though he doesn't watch anymore) and I. am. hooked.

2. How the heck is it November already? Not that I'm complaining. October was crazy busy. But still. It's NOVEMBER. And on that note, did you know Karen Hooper's book, Tangled Tides, is coming out THIS MONTH. Or that you can pre-order it (here)? I may have already ordered one. Or five.

3. I'm going to ALA Midwinter with Cristin and Cambria. I'm sure I'll post about it again closer to the date, but in an early opportunity to make me even happier than I already am--are any of you guys coming too? (Ugh, of all places, it has to be Dallas. I mean, nothing against the city per se, but I'm a fairly hardcore Redskins fan, which means I hate the Cowboys. So it could get . . . awkward.)

4. That's it. I'm cutting myself off right here. I could grow this list longer than three items, but let's take baby steps, shall we? For now, I'm leaving the ball in YOUR hands. Tell me how you are and what you're up to! How's life these days?

xoxo

WFC (Year 2 . . . of many to come) AND a First Line Critique!

Ah, WFC. What to say, what to say?

I am battling the dreaded con crud, which has made my mind just a little fuzzy--and I'm scared I'll forget to tell you about something or someone awesome that you should know about . . .

SO. I've decided that instead of a long post about this year's World Fantasy Convention I'll just sum it up in these simple words:

It.

      Was.

                 Awesome.

No. You don't get it.

Like seriously awesome.

I could tell you about the guy who said he was going to curse us, or astrally project into my friend Holly McDowell's dreams to turn them into nightmares. (Um, cray-cray anyone?) Or about how the hotel concierge sent us three times--THREE--to places that were actually closed. (Liquor store? Check. Breakfast joint? Check. Sushi place? CHECK.) Or how Andrew Smith really knows his scotch. (Well, I don't actually know because I was too much of a wimp to try, but STILL. According to everyone else.) Or how Carolina Valdez Miller and I wowed everyone with our *amazing* duet rendition of Kelly Clarkson's "Because of You." (Amazing is a codeword for horrible, but let's keep that between us, shall we?) Or my secret friendship handshake with Amber Van Dyk. (It's not even a real handshake, that's how secret it is!) Or discovering that Matthew MacNish is even sweeter in real life than online. (He will be my friend forevah. Even if I have to force him!) Or getting swept away by another one of Brad Beaulieu's readings. (Because, dude. The guy's books are just. so. good.) Or when Rob Ziegler told me he thought I looked like I was 24. (Um. He was so far off. And for that, I will heart him always.) Or . . . I could probably ramble on for pages and pages and pages. 

But  those things? They're only a few examples of why WFC is so great. Seriously. I've gone to a lot of conferences the past couple years, but WFC has been my favorite every time. It's not even because of the panels, though I went to some great ones. Or because, yanno, Neil Gaiman was a guest of honor. (I didn't stalk him, like some people I know, but I did see him out and about a few times. It was cool.)

WFC is so special because it's a constant reminder that we're all in this together. People are friendly and genuinely interested in each other's careers. There is so much laughter and so much fun. It's the complete sense of community. Everyone's there because they write or read fantasy, and for me--someone who has so few non-writer friends who enjoy genre fiction?--it's like heaven. Constant chatter about books, industry, writing, buzz . . . It doesn't get better than that.

Sadly, I had so much fun that I kept forgetting to take pictures. I'm beyond bummed that I missed out on capturing the fantastic moments I had with everyone else, too. But here are the few I snapped along the way:

With Carol, my heart.

And Shannon, whom I couldn't survive without.

And my roommate, Jess, who IS tiny and absolutely adorable!

So, um, anyone who knows me knows I'm a pretty strong advocate for Bellinis. 

Enjoying them here with Carol, Holly, Rae, Jane, Rob, & LK!

One more shot with Holly & Rae, who were two of the first writers I ever met in real life and will always have a very special place in my heart. <3 <3 <3

But like I said, I took way too few photographs. I'm dying to introduce *all* of my fave WFC people with you guys--so below are my WFC friends (some new, some I've had for years) linked to their twitter profiles. From there you can find their websites and their books and . . . just their general awesomeness. Because, trust me, these are good people. Each one is a blast and a half and well worth getting to know. 

Alexia Chamberlynn

Alistair Kimble

Amber Van Dyk

Andrew Smith

Brad Beaulieu

Carolina Valdez Miller

Chance Morrison

Elena Solodow

Griffin Barber

Holly McDowell

Jane Kindred

Jay Franco

Jessica Corra

Kiersten White

LK Gardner-Griffie

Marsha Sisolak

Matthew MacNish

Myke Cole

Nancy Lambert

Rae Carson

Rob Ziegler

Shannon Messenger

Simon Larter

Stephanie M. Lorée

Victoria Schwab

And oh, look at that. This post turned out long anyway. . .

In any case, I can't wait for WFC 2012. It's in Toronto next year. Who's coming with me???

PS. For all you YA writers--we're having a First Line Critique Day at YA Confidential! Check it out HERE.

Winners!

I just got back from World Fantasy Convention (holy awesome time, batman!) and I'm sooooo trying to catch up with everything! (Con post coming soon though, promise!) So, I'll make this brief :) 

Winners

Dark Eden by Patrick Carman

Charlotte Williamson

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Zoey Talbon

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

Shannon O'Donnell

Tempest by Julie Cross

Elle Strauss

Congratulations! Send me your mailing addresses (you should receive an email from me asking for them) and I'll get the ARCs out to you ASAP!

And DON'T forget your promises to spread the word about everything you love about these books!

xoxo