What's in a word?

It's that time of year when almost everyone is making resolutions for the new year. I even made a post of my goals for 2012 last week on the Tangled blog.

Then this past Tuesday I read a truly inspiring post over at fellow YA author Katy Upperman's blog. Katy had read a post on Erin Bowman's blog that referenced yet another author, Jessica Corra. Jessica has for several years now decided against resolutions and instead chooses a Word of the Year. Jessica actually got the idea from another person, but you get the gist. Good ideas travel.

After reading Katy's post, I was hooked. The idea of choosing one word to represent what you want and what you will aim for in the year just makes sense. It didn't take long for my own word to surface. It too just makes sense.

BELIEVE

It's from the quote that has propelled me to begin and keep writing:

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. Eleanor Roosevelt

These words are my laptop background. They stare at me from a magnet on my refrigerator. The word "believe" is something I've been telling myself to do for years.

So that's what I'm going to do. In 2012, I'm going to BELIEVE.

If you already choose one word of the year for yourself, I'd love to hear what it is. And if you're new to this idea like I was, I'd love to hear your thoughts and if you decide to participate.

Goals for 2012

As you may nor may not know, I am one of the writers that blog over at Tangled Up In Words.

Today I talked a little about my goals for 2012 and since I'm furiously trying to be productive today, I'm just going to link you to that post instead of sharing all of my goals here. Plus, the Tangled girls are kind of awesome. I'd like you to meet them!

Check it out:

New Goals for the New Year

2011 In Review

This year has been a busy one. In January I started revisions on the YA novel I'd finished back in October 2010. I spent the next few months trudging through that mess and was pretty close to finishing it when I realized I couldn't get past the issues in the novel. It needed to be reworked. It needed a makeover. Badly.

So in May I began rewriting that novel from the beginning. While I was able to keep the main characters, most of the novel was totally scratched. It was terrifying and wonderful at the same time. It felt right. The changes I was making were working, things were making sense and I was falling in love with the characters all over again. It was exactly what I needed.

Once again I spent the next few months writing. I finished the first draft in the summer and have been working on revisions ever since.

Throughout the months I somehow managed to gain several amazing crit partners. They have kept me in check when I freaked out, they've read and re-read scenes and have always been willing to offer suggestions when I needed it most. And most importantly, they've kept me sane. I don't know what I'd do without them and I feel so unbelievably blessed to have them be a part of this journey with me.

Also, I read 95 published books this year. I was aiming for 100, so I'm pretty proud of how close I came.

Oh, and I have a shiny new idea ready and waiting for me once my current WIP is complete. I'm hoping to start that one in earnest sometime in January. Fingers crossed!

Overall, I'd say this has been a great year. I've learned a lot when it comes to writing and as the year is winding down, I'm finding myself grateful for all the ups and downs I've experienced with my novels and characters.

I'd also like to send a very warm thank you to each and every one of you who actually read this blog. I'm still struggling with what to say about writing and myself without just talking about myself all the time. So I appreciate you hanging in there with me.

This is for you:

Here's to hoping that you all have a wonderful and safe New Year!

Road Trip Wednesday: Best Books of the Year

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 on YA Highway, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

You can participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.

This Week's Topic

RTW is combining with Highwayer Sarah Enni's End-of-the-Year blog carnival, and asking:
What were your top five favorite books of 2011? 

 This is such a hard question since I read nearly 100 books this year, and fell in love with so many of them. Narrowing it down to five isn't easy, but I've given it a shot. The following list is in no particular order. Each of them kept me on my toes in different ways and kept me reading well past my bedtime or "Okay, I really need to write right now time!"

 The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin 

Haven by Kristi Cook

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout 

Clarity by Kim Harrington

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

I'd love to hear what your favorite reads of 2011 were. Please leave a link to your blog in the comments.

Road Trip Wednesday: Where do you buy your books?

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 on YA Highway, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

You can participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.



This Week's Topic:
Where do you buy most of your books? No one is judging! 

I buy my books pretty much anywhere. I'd say the majority of my books are purchased from Barnes & Noble and Amazon, but if I'm in a grocery store (it happens to me more often than you'd think!) and they have a book that catches my eye, I'll buy it there. I'm one of those people who buys books on a whim, so if it looks good and it's right in front of me, I'll usually buy it right then. I'm not exactly known for my patience when it comes to books I want to read.

So what about you? Where do you buy your books?

It's Not You, It's Me

Before I starting writing I had real life friends. I wanted to go out to dinner and shopping. I wanted to get out of my house and breathe fresh air. I enjoyed their company and looked forward to anything they wanted to do. What happened, you ask?

Writing happened. Imaginary friends happened. Drafting and revising and drafting again happened. Now all I ever want to do is write. I think about my characters all day long and live for the moment I kiss my children good night so that I can perfect their story. I sneak a few paragraphs here and there throughout any day that I can, but most days I can't get anything considerable done until my children are fast asleep. This means the nighttime hours are my writing time. And my writing time is very, very valuable to me. So much so that I get annoyed when I have to leave my house to do something else. (I know it's horrible. I'm ashamed.)

But it's like I'm possessed. I have this undying, unwavering, unending need to finish this book. I absolutely have to do it. And when I'm away from my characters, I'm not even enjoying myself because all I can think about is how much time I'm wasting NOT writing. As I said before, I'm not proud of this. I know it's not fair to the real life friends. So I've decided to write them this letter, this formal apology for my lackluster friendship skills as of late:

Dear Real Life Friends,

It's not you. It's me. Honest. I have a disease, an addiction to something you can't yet see, but is entirely real inside my head. I hear voices. These voices are telling me a story and I can't seem to rest until I've written down every word of what they have to say. I know this must sound ludicrous and maybe even a little nutso, but it's true.

I know that you're wondering what happened to your spontaneous and exciting old friend, and well, I just wanted you to know that I'm still here. Somewhere inside of me is still that same friend that you know and love, she's just a little possessed at the moment. It's not that I don't enjoy your company. I do. Or at least, I did. But I know, just know with all my heart, I'll still love your company once I finish this book. I swear it.

I just need a little space right now. Some time to work things out in my head would really be helpful. I hope you can forgive me. I promise to come back to you someday. Just...not right now. I still have 66 pages to revise. And then I'll probably revise it one more time for good measure. But one day in the future, I'll show my face again. Honest. 

Truly,

Your Dear Old Friend

Do you think that will earn me forgiveness? If not, maybe a little funny from one of the most hilarious shows of all time will help? 

It's Okay to Love YA

I just spotted this on another YA writer friend's blog, and well, it totally deserves sharing. If you haven't already been following Sarah Enni, you should. She's already awesome, but some day you're going to want to say you "knew her when." 

Anyway, take a look at this sign she found in her local bookstore: 

Isn't this awesome? Be sure to check out Sarah's original post HERE.