Continuing the Story Chain...

This week, I'm participating in Deana Barnhart's "Gearing Up to Get an Agent Blogfest" and we're having fun creating a story chain. My job is to:  Let us know what the MC's flaw is (the thing she tries to work through throughout the story), using these words: justify, bookcase, nostril.

To see the part that came before mine go to Fiction and Film.

Was she crazy? Dio shook her head, as if that would make the noise go away. Then she kicked the computer. The whine subsided. Stupid junk! Why couldn’t her parents spring for a newer model? As she started to type her password, it came to her. She’d make up a new name and a new personality. She could be someone else online, anyway. Someone with a better name, who’d have lots of friends. Someone who wasn’t such a freak.

To be totally convincing, she’d need help.

Racing down to her father’s study, she strode over to the bookcase. Where was it? It could be the solution to all her problems. It wasn’t really stealing if she just borrowed it for a while. There! The one with the purple cover. As she pulled it out, a rotten egg smell filled the air, making her nostrils burn.

“Ow, make it stop!” she cried, rubbing her nose.

The book fell open to a blank page. Giant words danced across the whiteness. They said:

Don’t think you can justify your existence by claiming to be popular. I know what you’re really after.

To see the next part of the story, go to Meghan Kirkland.

Happy reading! I can hardly wait to see how this turns out!

Three Good Things Book Giveaway Continues -- and a Winner!

Did you guess the title for my first "mystery" book giveaway?

Mockingbird by Kathy Erskine.

I know you're all dying to know who won, so (drum roll.......):

Congratulations to Barbara Watson!

I'll be sending an e-mail to get the scoop on how to send her the book. But, if you didn't win that one, don't give up!


The giveaway goodness continues!

I'll be giving away two more middle grade books, one "mystery" book a week for the next two weeks. For a chance to win, all you need to do is comment on this blog post. To make it a little more fun, you can get more chances to win by guessing the book title from the clues below. Are you ready?

Here's how you can win this week's "mystery" book:

Comment on this blog post. (1 entry)

Use these three clues to guess this week's book prize for 2 extra entries (+2 entries):

1. From the backcover copy:  Wishes are slippery things. You have to be very specific or you can get exactly what you wished for and still end up with nothing.

2. A couple of the sayings from this book are  "Never whistle on a boat" and "It's bad luck to change a boat's name."

3. Other books by the same author include: Happy Birthday, Hamster; Hot Rod Hamster; and Rules.

*Remember, all of the books are fresh new copies of ones I've read so far for my 100 book challenge.

The deadline for this week's giveaway is Saturday, July 16, 2011.

It Makes Me Smile #2

What a great first week of summer holidays this has been. I hope you had a great week, too! Here are a few of the little things that made me smile this week:

1. Tasting yummy, whipcreamy, sweet strawberry shortcake for the first time this season -- a real summer treat.

2. Drawing! I haven't done any sketching for a long time, but it's so cool to have the time to do something I really enjoy. I should make time for it more often.

3. Hearing the familiar voice of an old friend I haven't heard from in a long time.

4. Writing a bunch of new ideas in my writing notebook. It seems like since I've been on holidays, there's more space in my mind to be creative. Do you ever notice that? I think I've gotten at least one new idea each day.

5. Selling some things we didn't need and reclaiming the space they took up -- yeah!

6. For a writing-related smile, check out my post, 5 Tips for Revising a Novel, over at MiG Writers.


Did you do anything that made you smile this week? What would you like to have time to do that you just can't manage to make work?

****** Don't forget, I'm celebrating by giving away 3 "mystery" middle grade novels, one per week for the next three weeks. There's still time to enter to win this week's prize!*******

How Do You Get High Stakes in Your Novel?

I'm so excited to be part of Deana Barnhart's Gearin' Up to Get an Agent Blogfest!

One of the things I've been thinking about lately is related to plotting and stakes. I know it's essential to have something at stake for your main character. That is, something the character wants that motivates their actions. One of the comments I often get from my critique partners is that my character's motivations don't seem strong enough. I know this seems pretty basic, but I'd like to know more about creating "high stakes".

My question is: How do you know if the stakes are high enough? Do all the characters need some kind of stakes, or just the protagonist?

Sorry, this is really two questions (I'm an overachiever), take your pick!

****** In case you missed it, I'm celebrating by giving away 3 "mystery" middle grade novels, one per week for the next three weeks. There's still time to enter to join in the fun! *******

Three Good Things Giveaway & a Blogfest!!

Just a reminder that my three good things giveaway has started! I hope the clues aren't too challenging.

And while I'm thinking about giveaways, Deana Barnhart has some great prizes to go along with her Gearin' Up to Get an Agent blogfest. I've signed up to participate and I'm really looking forward to it!

Enter to Win: Three Good Things Book Giveaway!

They say that good things come in threes and I'm celebrating three good things:  reaching 100 followers, the start of my summer holidays, and finishing a solid round of revisions on Novel #4. I'm so excited, I want to pass along the goodness!

I'll be giving away three middle grade books, one "mystery" book a week for the next three weeks. To make it a little more fun, you can get more chances to win by guessing the book title from the clues below. Here's how you can win this week's "mystery" book:

Comment on this blog post. (1 entry)

Use these three clues to guess this week's book prize for 2 extra entries (+2 entries)

1. The first line of the book is: "It looks like a one-winged bird crouching in the corner of our living room."

2. A quote from the main character:  "I like things in black and white. Black and white is easier to understand. All that colour is too confusing."

3. This book won the National Book Award in 2010 and the author's initials are K.E.

*All of the giveaway books can be found on my 100 Book Challenge list for this year.

The deadline for entering to win mystery book #1 is Saturday, July 9, 2011. The title of the mystery book prize (and the winner) will be revealed on Monday July 11th, along with the clues for mystery book #2.

Friday Fireworks!

It's Friday. It's Canada Day. And it's the first day of my summer vacation! Woohoo!

I'll be back to my regular blogging about writing on Monday. Today I'm off to Toronto's Centre Islands to watch the Dominion Day Regatta.

Happy Canada Day!