Friday Fun: Seven (More) Random Things

This week, Cheryl Riefsnyder mentioned my blog and paid me some nice compliments, passing on the "Stylish Blogger" award. Thanks, Cheryl! Cheryl's blog has interesting posts on topics I haven't come across all over and over again, like games in middle grade fiction and creating characters that lie.

Anyway, in the spirit of the award, I'm going to tell you seven random things about my writing (since this blog is about writing). FYI, other random writing-related things about me are here.

1. Beginning when I was a middle grader myself (and through my teens), I used to write a family newspaper full of amusing, exaggerated "news" stories about family members (and they all had made up names).

2. My first published book was Sarah's Pet for Unibooks of Korea.

3. My favourite writing notebook is a 14 x 22 cm spiral sketchbook. I stick a book pocket inside the front cover to hold pencils. I also glue in interesting tidbits from blogs and quotes I find inspiring.

4. My current dream is to get a MG novel published.

5. I didn't think I'd enjoy blogging (or know what to say) but I like the way it helps me connect with other writers and the writing community. Plus, I've learned so much about writing from other people's blogs that I've become addicted.

6. I worked on the first round of revisions for my current project while on vacation last summer. I can't stop myself from waking up an hour or two before everyone else, so I'd quietly get out the laptop and work in the hotel room while they all slept.

7. I'm always amazed at the ideas that come to me when I force myself to write by bringing only my notebook somewhere that I have to wait (e.g. while my kids are at a lesson, on a long drive in the car).

I know I'm supposed to pass this award on to other people, but I don't like to obligate people to participate (and I hate leaving out all the other blogs I enjoy...if that's you, please don't feel bad that I didn't mention yours). So, I'm just going to list a  random selection of seven interesting blogs I've found:

Brooke Favero's Somewhere in the Middle has a great Friday roundup related to writing MG (and other bits of wisdom during the rest of the week).

Smack Dab in the Middle - A group of middle grade authors are sharing their thoughts on writing middle grade, with some interesting insights and inspiration.

Deanna Barnhardt has a cool Friday feature on writing-related Firsts.

Falling Leaflets by Jess has great writing links and tips.

Susanna Leonard Hill's blog is down-to-earth and makes me feel good every time I visit.

I've found some great resources at Writing While the Rice Boils by Debbie Maxwell Allen.

I've only recently discovered Wendy Delfosse's blog, but I love her writing style and the posts I've read are thought-provoking.