Liz Writes - Elizabeth Briggs

Read These Books: Cinder, The Fault In Our Stars, Ditched

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 01:13:00 +0000

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you've all been having a wonderful 2012 so far. Mine has been busy, which is why my poor blog has been neglected. But I'm back, with three books I read in January that I want to share with you.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer - At first I wasn't sure I'd like this book. I mean, it has CYBORGS, which is a +10 in my world, but it's a Cinderella retelling which is a -5 (I'm just not a fan of retellings or fairy tales in general). But then I got an ARC and started reading, and completely fell in love. I adored Cinder, a smart, determined mechanic trying to get by as a 2nd class citizen due to her cybernetic implants. The world building is also great, and the fairy tale elements are blended perfectly into the story. If you loved dystopian but are a little burnt out now, definitely check out Cinder.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green - You've probably read this one, but if not, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? I rarely cry, but I sobbed so hard for the last few chapters of this book. And yet, the book is delightful, and funny, and hopeful too, despite the sadness. John Green is that one author who makes me question why I even bother trying to write books. He's just. so. good.

Ditched by Robin Mellom - After TFIOS, you probably need something light and happy, and Ditched is the perfect choice. Justina has an authentic teen voice, and she's super funny too. The book is told in flashbacks, as Justina tells her prom night disaster story to two ladies at the local 7 Eleven. The things that happen to her are hilarious, and the romance is so cute. I highly recommend Ditched for a Valentine's Day read, or anytime you want a laugh out loud funny book.

Have you read any amazing books so far in 2012? Let me know so I can add them to my TBR list!

Class of 2011 YA Superlative Blogfest: Best in Show

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 22:51:00 +0000

Today's Topic: Best in Show

Favorite Cover - Wither, because I love how all the elements on the cover make sense within the book. Runner up: The Future of Us, for the awesome use of binary!
Cutest Couple - Lola & Cricket in Lola and the Boy Next Door. Of course.
Most Likely to Succeed (Or, pick a Printz Winner) - Daughter of Smoke and Bone, for the lovely prose.
Most Likely to Make You Miss Your Bedtime (The book you just couldn't put down!) - I could list a dozen titles here (I'm really bad about this), but I'll pick Lola and the Boy Next Door because I never put it down except for bathroom breaks!
Best Repeat Performance (Your favorite sequel or follow-up.) - Fury of the Phoenix for a sequel, and Lola and the Boy Next Door for a companion book/follow-up. Both were as good as, if not better, than the first book.
Romance Most Worthy of an Ice Bath - Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. The romance is definitely scorching hot!
Pair Most Likely to Stay Best Friends Till They’re 80 - Emma and Josh from The Future of Us. How could they not?
Breakout Novel (Favorite Book by a Debut Author) - A three way tie between Across the Universe, Divergent, and Legend. I just can't decide.
Best Old-Timer (Your favorite read of the year, published BEFORE 2011.) - Little Brother by Cory Doctorow. To be fair, I re-read this book in 2011, but I loved it even more the second time.
Most Pleasant Surprise (The best book you didn’t think you’d like, but totally did.) - Forgotten by Cat Patrick. I'd read a negative review and thought I wouldn't like it, but I actually loved it!

Most Creative Use of a Love Triangle - Wither, for the polygamous marriage plus an additional love interest.

Sleeper Hit (Book you found so awesome you wish it had been hyped more.) - Clarity by Kim Harrington. More people need to read this one!

Today we're supposed to pick our own category for everyone to answer. My category is: Favorite Adult Novel of 2011, because we have to venture out of YA and MG sometimes right? Favorite Adult Novel of 2011 - Machine Man by Max Barry. This book is dark and hilarious and brilliant and disturbing and super geeky. There were many moments when I was reading along and had to stop to think, "WAIT, did that just happen? Did I misread that? Nope, that really happened. Whoa." This is a perfect book for engineers, scientists, computer geeks, robot fans, etc. What's your favorite adult novel of 2011? And that's it for the blogfest! Hope everyone has a wonderful New Years! See you in 2012!

Class of 2011 YA Superlative Blogfest: Elements of Fiction

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 23:48:00 +0000

Today's Topic: Elements of Fiction

Most Envy-Inducing Plot - The Future of Us. It's just such a fun idea!

Most Wonderful World-Building - Across the Universe. The claustrophobic world of Godspeed really comes alive in this book.

Most Formidable World (Or, the setting you most definitely would NOT want to travel to.) - Wither. Everyone knows what age they will die (I'd already be dead, yikes!), and women are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population going. No thanks.

Most Wanderlust-Inducing (Or, the setting I’d happily travel to) - Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Prague was described in such beautiful detail that you can't help but want to visit it.

Loveliest Prose - Daughter of Smoke & Bone. Laini Taylor is a master.

Best First Line - The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer: "My name is not Mara Dyer, but my lawyer told me I had to choose something." How can you not read on to see why she needs a lawyer and a psudonym?

Most Dynamic Main Character - Lola in Lola and the Boy Next Door. After my previous post I had to pick her!

Most Jaw-Dropping Finale - Divergent. I wasn't expecting a lot of the things that happen at the end!

Best Performance in a Supporting Role - Anna and Etienne in Lola and the Boy Next Door. Just because I was so happy to see them again.

Best Use of Theme - Divergent. I'm really bad at recognizing themes, but I liked how the themes here corresponded with the factions.

Tomorrow's Topic: Best in Show!

Class of 2011 YA Superlative Blogfest: Popularity Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 10:00:00 +0000

I'm participating in the Class of 2011 YA Superlative Blogfest, hosted by Jessica Love, Katy Upperman, Alison Miller, and Tracey Neithercott. For the next four days we'll be posting about our favorite 2011 YA books and characters.
Today's Topic: Popularity Contest
Class Clown - Sophie in Demonglass. I love her sarcastic humor. Most Likely to Become a Rock Star - Max, Lola's boyfriend in Lola & the Boy Next Door. He's the only character I could think of that's in a band... Mostly Likely to Start a Riot - Day in Legend. You'll have to read the book to find out why...
Biggest Flirt - Chloe in Shut Out. She's sort of a young version of Samantha on Sex & the City (aka, awesome).
Fashion King and/or Queen - Lola in Lola & the Boy Next Door. She believes in costume, not fashion!
Girl You’d Most Want For Your BFF - Lola again. She's a bit neurotic but she'd be cool to hang out with. And think of all the cool outfits she could make you!
Boy You Wish You’d Dated in High School - Cricket in Lola & the Boy Next Door. He's so nerdy cute!
Most Likely to Become President - June in Legend. Or maybe not, after the end of the book! Quirkiest Character - Lola! Or maybe Karou in Daughter of Smoke & Bone. They're both super quirky and fun. Villain You Love to Hate - Zhong Ye in Fury of the Phoenix. You can't help but like him, even though you hate him at the same time. Favorite Parental Figure - Both of Lola's parents in Lola & the Boy Next Door. They're so awesome! Coolest Nerd - Lola! Or wait, maybe Cricket. Hmm... can't decide.

Tomorrow's topic: Elements of Fiction!

Class of 2011 YA Superlative Blogfest: Head of the Class

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 18:34:00 +0000

I'm participating in the Class of 2011 YA Superlative Blogfest, hosted by Jessica Love, Katy Upperman, Alison Miller, and Tracey Neithercott. For the next four days we'll be posting about our favorite 2011 YA books and characters.

Today's topic: Head of the Class: I've read 25 2011 YA books this year, and these are my favorites. Yes, I got a bit creative with the choices for some of the genres, but I didn't want to repeat any books!

Favorite Dystopian - Legend by Marie Lu
I really enjoyed Legend, and thought it had one of the more believable dystopian worlds, which is why I picked it for this category.
Favorite Science Fiction - Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Space ships! Cryo tanks! Can't wait for the next one.
Favorite Fantasy - Fury of the Phoenix by Cindy Pon
I loved Cindy's world building, and the way she made us empathize with the villain of the first book.
Favorite Contemporary - Shut Out by Kody Keplinger
I wish Kody Keplinger had been writing when I was a teenager!
Favorite Action/Adventure - Divergent by Veronica Roth
Although this is a dystopian, I loved the action in this book and I'm dying to read the second one.
Favorite Historical Fiction - The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
I loved the fact that this book was set during the 90s, when I was a teenager!
Favorite Comedy - My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody This book reads like a movie! I could picture the entire thing in my head (especially the awesome ending).
Favorite Mystery - Clarity by Kim Harrington
If you loved The Body Finder, I think you'll enjoy this paranormal mystery too.
Favorite Romance - Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
I still can't decide if I liked this one better than Anna and the French Kiss. I loved them both.
Favorite Paranormal Romance - Forgotten by Cat Patrick
I loved the romance and the premise in this paranormal mystery.
Favorite Family Drama - Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles
This is technically a romance, but I also loved the family dynamics here. A great end to the series.
Favorite Genre Bender - Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Is it a paranormal romance? Is it a fantasy? An urban fantasy? Either way, it's beautifully written and I look forward to the second book.
Have you read any of these? Let me know which books are your favorites!
Tomorrow: the Popularity Contest!

Friday Five 12/16/11

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Gabby thought she could sneak in the luggage with the shirts.

1. I'm currently on a plane to the UK! Or maybe by the time this posts I'll already be there? Either way, I'll be in England and Wales for the rest of the year with limited internet access, so if you email me you might not get a response for a few weeks. I'll try to take some good photos, but the weather forecast says it will be raining most of my trip, so, we'll see...

2. The winner of my Legend giveaway was Dana Elmendorf! Yay! Look for more giveaways in 2012.

3. I started a tumblr (elizabethbriggs.tumblr.com), where I'm posting sci-fi pictures and other nerdy stuff. Let me know if you have one so I can follow you!

4. I also started playing Star Wars The Old Republic, which is an online game like World of Warcraft. Let me know if you're also playing! I'm Elira, a Jedi Knight on Beregen Colony. Sadly I won't be able to actually play until I get back from my trip.

5. Are you participating in the Class of 2011 YA Superlatives blogfest? I'm going to try to participate, and I can't wait to read all the entries when I get back.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Happy Holidays Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:58:00 +0000

I'm going to be in England and Wales for most of December, celebrating the holidays with my husband's family. But before I sign off until 2012, I wanted to do one last giveaway as a thank you to all my readers. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

I'm giving away one of my favorite books of 2011: Legend by Marie Lu. I have an ARC copy signed by Marie Lu at Comic Con, plus a matching Legend pin and magnet. I'll also throw in a bunch of other YA book swag for the lucky winner!

Contest is open internationally and will end at midnight on Monday December 12th. Good luck!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED - THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED!

Female Computer Geeks in YA?

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:43:00 +0000

Trinity, using actual hacking tools, in The Matrix Reloaded

One of the things I've focused on in my revisions is making my main character more believable as a computer programmer and hacker. This was a lot harder than I thought it would be, since I'm not a programmer or hacker myself!

To fix this problem, I asked my husband a ton of questions, and immersed myself in books featuring computer hackers so I can get an idea of how they think.

Here are some of the books I've read (or are next in my TBR pile):

YA:

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Brain Jack by Brian Falkner

Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks

Adult:

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

Neuromancer by William Gibson

Machine Man by Max Barry

If you're familiar with these books, you might notice a severe lack of female protagonists. In fact, I can't think of a single YA novel in which the main character is a female computer geek. I even asked around on Twitter, and no one could think of any - although many people said they would love to read about one!

Male or female, the computer geek (especially the hacker) is often relegated to the role of sidekick or love interest in most books, movies, and TV shows. But sometimes (especially with the rise of the geek in our culture) the male computer geek gets to be the hero of the story. Not so for the female geeks. Even the upcoming Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movie (based on the insanely popular books) features a female hacker, but she is not the main character. She's stuck in the sidekick/love interest role, despite being arguably more interesting than the main character!

What do you think: why are there no female computer geeks in YA? Is it time for the rise of the female computer geek? And if you can think of any more hacker books, let me know!

Halloween Spooktacular Winners!

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Thank you to everyone who participated in my Halloween Spooktacular contest with Natalie Lakosil!

Natalie has picked the winners:

The winner of the query and first 10 page critique is:

Athena Franco

VERY second close was the doll story; very creepy!

I do also want to make 30-page request to see (not critique): Kris’s house novel, when he’s finished it! If the connected-to-house story by Cortney is a novel and not just a short, I’d like to see 30 pages of that too.

Congrats to our winners! Please email Natalie at natalie@bradfordlit.com with the subject line of CONTEST WINNER (or REQUEST).

Again, thank you to everyone who entered. I really enjoyed reading all of your entries, and I hope to do another contest like this in the future!

Happy Halloween!

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:18:00 +0000

I'm back from World Fantasy Con and I am exhausted! But I had a great time and met so many awesome people, including authors I read as a kid, who inspired me to be a writer. I'll post some pictures later this week.

Have you entered my Halloween contest with Natalie Lakosil? I'll accept entries until midnight tonight, so keep them coming. I'm so impressed by all of your stories so far - I have no idea how Natalie will choose a winner.

Tomorrow is NaNoWriMo! I want to participate but I've been asked by an agent to make revisions on my novel (eek!). It's a great place to be, but I'm still sad I won't be writing something new. Maybe I'll be able to finish revisions in time to pull 50k words out of a hat. Ha! But if you're doing NaNo, I'm over there as lizwrites. If nothing else, I'll be happy to cheer you on!

Hope you all have a wonderful Halloween!

Halloween Spooktacular Contest with Natalie Lakosil

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:24:00 +0000

In honor of Halloween, I am hosting a spooktacular writing contest, with an awesome judge - Natalie Lakosil, an agent at the Bradford Literary Agency!

To enter, submit your spookiest, creepiest, most thrilling and bone-chilling 500 words. They can be made up just for the contest as a short story, or can be an excerpt from a longer piece (cliffhangers are okay!). Heck, Natalie says you can even do a super spooky query letter!

Natalie will choose a winner to receive a critique of a query and first 10 pages. Leave your entries below in the comments. Contest ends on Monday, October 31. Good luck!

Check out Natalie's bio below:

Natalie M. Lakosil* is an Assistant Agent at the Bradford Literary Agency. An honors graduate of the University of San Diego, California, Natalie holds a B.A. in Literature/Writing. She started as an intern at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency in 2007, after which time she left to write author profiles and book reviews for the San Diego Union Tribune. Finding that journalism was just not for her, she returned to work full-time at the Dijkstra Agency in April 2009, and started building her own client list in September of that same year. She made her move to the Bradford Agency in February of 2011.

Natalie's interests include talented, hard-working new authors with a fresh, unique voice and hook. Her specialty is commercial fiction, with an emphasis in children’s literature (from picture book-YA/Teen), romance (contemporary and historical), historical fiction, multi-cultural fiction, paranormal, sci-fi/fantasy in YA or romance only, fairy-tale/legend spin-offs, and “beautiful dark” novels. She will also consider select nonfiction (has to have a fantastic hook and an even more fantastic author platform) and that amazing project she never even knew she was looking for! She is always drawn to an open and positive attitude in an author, good grammar, and fantastical, engaging and sexy plots.

The Bradford Literary Agency is a boutique agency located in sunny San Diego, California. Founded in 2001, it is an editorial-focused agency that prefers to work closely with its authors in helping to build strong, sustainable careers.

Natalie blogs at adventuresinagentland.blogspot.com, and follow Natalie on Twitter @Natalie_Lakosil!

*Formerly Natalie Fischer

Friday Five 10/21/11

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 16:03:00 +0000

1. Ella brought you a raccoon.

2) On Monday, I'll be hosting a Halloween spooktacular contest with Natalie Lakosil, an agent at the Bradford Literary Agency, as the judge. Start thinking of a spooky story or an excerpt of 500 bone-chilling words or less, and you could win a critique of your query and first ten pages!

3) Next week I'll be off to San Diego for World Fantasy Con! This is my first time, and I'm really excited... although my initial impression that it would be "a smaller fantasy-themed Comic Con" may prove to be incorrect. We'll see. Either way, NEIL GAIMAN!!!

4) The weekend after WFC is Comikaze! This is a new comics convention, so I have no idea what it will be like, but I'll definitely be there at least one of the days. If you live near Los Angeles, check it out - tickets are only $12, so it's hard to go wrong.

5) November is almost here, and that means NaNoWriMo! I wrote a couple posts last year with tips, which you might find helpful whether this is your first time or your fifth.

Benefits of NaNoWriMo - in case you're on the fence about participating
NaNoWriMo Survival Tips - a few things I've learned after 4 years of doing NaNo that might help you
NaNoWriMo Last Minute Tricks - for when you're at the end of the month and need to squeeze out a few more words

Are you doing NaNo this year? Let me know!

Whiteboard Plotting

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:43:00 +0000

Yesterday I posted a photo on Twitter of my whiteboard plotting madness. A couple people asked me about it, so I thought I'd do a post about how I did it.

Whiteboard plotting is awesome because it's quick and easy, and you can erase anything that doesn't work. Of course, you need a whiteboard, preferably a large one. Luckily my husband is a big geek who insists that programmers need a giant whiteboard in their office. But you could also do this method with a corkboard and a bunch of index cards. I've seen other people do it with poster board, or pieces of paper taped to a wall.

Next, pick your outlining/plotting method of choice. I listed three methods that I like here, but you can use whatever you want.

I used Dan Wells' 7 steps for this exercise because they work great for outlining subplots and seeing how they intersect with the main plot. I also think it's a good method if you know the beginning and ending, but are confused on the middle (usually my problem).

So, I put up all 7 steps on the left side of the board (Hook, Plot Turn 1 and 2, Pinch 1 and 2, Midpoint, and Resolution). Then across the top I added 4 columns, each for a different plot:

1) ACTION - This is the main plot, involving the villain, the mystery, the explosions, etc. This is where bad stuff happens, and your character finds a way to save the day.

2) SUBPLOT - This is your main subplot. In my first book it was, "who is the traitor?" but it could be "conflict with parents" or "rivalry with mean girls," or whatever.

3) ROMANCE - Yep, the romance needs to go through the 7 steps too, whether you have a love triangle or not.

4) CHARACTER - This is important for seeing how your character progresses through the story.

You can add even more plots, or change these around, but this is what works for me.

Now you have all your columns up on the board, and it's starting to look like an Excel spreadsheet. Don't panic! Fill in the sections that you know. You'll probably realize you know a lot more than you thought.

Once you're done, step back and look at the white space. Now you can see what you need to brainstorm to fill in the rest. If you have other sections figured out, you can start to connect the dots. What do I need to get from this point to the next one?

Keep filling in the sections, even if you have to write something vague, or if you might change it later. Don't worry about being perfect. The nice thing about a whiteboard is that you can erase something if it doesn't work. Trust me, seeing those white spaces and filling them in will get your brain going, and before you know it, you'll have the 7 steps of all 4 plots figured out.

Once this is done, I take a photo and type everything up in Excel. Sorry, I love spreadsheets. You can use whatever method you like, but make sure you write it down somewhere else, in case your spouse/kid/cat comes in and wipes it off.

Have you tried anything like this? Do you think this method might work for you?

Writing the Dreaded Synopsis

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:56:00 +0000

Megan is working hard on her synopsis.

If you're planning to send your book to agents or editors, you need a synopsis. You've heard how evil they are, and how hard it is to write them. I'm here to tell you - it's not that bad!

After you've written and revised your novel a half dozen times, and tweaked your query for ages, I know that you can write a short summary of your book.

I'm definitely no expert, but I recently wrote my own synopsis. Here are my tips:

1) Don't stress too much over it! It's more important to have a great book than a great synopsis.

2) Focus on the main plot, and cut out everything else. You have to be ruthless, and it will feel a lot like killing your darlings. But you'll get over it, and find a way for the plot to make sense without all those details.

3) Have someone read your synopsis who has NOT read your book. They can tell you if anything is confusing, what you can cut, and what you should expand on. Then revise it, and have them read it again.

Here are some of the resources I used when writing my synopsis:

Synop-what? by Kathleen Ortiz of Nancy Coffey Literary

Tips on the Evil Synopsis by Sarah Goldberg, assistant at Fine Print Literary

The Sum of the Parts: Writing a Synopsis by author Janice Hardy

WriteOnCon: How to Write a Synopsis by author Jodi Meadows

Have you written a synopsis? Do you have any other tips? Are you dreading it?

Top 5 Books of 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 16:25:00 +0000

As part of Princess Bookie's contest craze, she's asking: what are the top 5 books you're most looking forward to in 2012?

This was a hard list to make, because there are so many amazing books coming out! I finally narrowed it down to these five:

1 Insurgent by Veronica Roth - Isn't this on everyone's top 5 list? Can't wait!

2. A Million Suns by Beth Revis - I loved the first and I'm dying to see what happens next to Amy and Elder. We need more YA set in space.

3. Incarnate by Jodi Meadows - Gorgeous cover, love the premise, this is the debut novel I'm most looking forward to.

4. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green - Already pre-ordered, of course!

5. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore - They revealed the cover for this at Comic Con, and said it would be out in 2012, but I don't see the cover anywhere online. Let me tell you, it was awesome.

What books are you most excited about in 2012?

Embracing Change

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 22:13:00 +0000

I recently had a revelation: I really like change.

I think the assumption is that most people dislike or fear change, but I don't. In fact, my favorite changes are big, scary life changes. The ones you've been dreaming about for ages, and are terrified of, but know in your gut need to happen. The kind that fill you with excitement and fear and sadness all at once, because you'll be leaving something behind and entering a new world.

A friend of mine is moving to a new city and starting a new job. Most people ask me, aren't you sad she's leaving? But the truth is, I'm more excited for her than anything, because she's following her dream. Yes, it is sad and scary, but also amazing. It's a new start.

I firmly believe there are three types of people: those who focus on the past, those who live in the present, and those who dream of the future. Of course everyone does all three, but I think we tend to do one more than the others.

My husband, in my opinion, lives in the present. He has a bad memory and rarely talks about the past, and is happy letting things work themselves out in the future without much planning. He can easily get lost in whatever he's doing at that moment in time.

In contrast, a coworker tells me stories every day of her previous job and how amazing it was, and how great things were when she was younger. She gets by at her job but isn't happy, and has no plans to change anything in her life. She's living in the past, without much interest in the present or the future.

Me, on the other hand, I'm firmly rooted in the future. I'm a planner and a dreamer. This is why my husband calls me the most impatient woman in the world. I dislike talking about the past, and I love movie trailers because they offer me a glimpse of the future. I enjoy the present, but I'm often daydreaming about what I want to do next.

I think this is why I embrace change. It's also why I enjoying reading and writing YA, because teens are going through so many big changes, and have uncertain futures ahead of them.

So that's my philosophical post for the year. What do you think: do you hate change, or do you embrace it? Do you live in the past, present, or future?

RTW: Best Book of August

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 16:51:00 +0000

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's the best book you've read in August?

I mentioned this before, but the best book I've read in August is Legend by Marie Lu. In fact, it's probably my favorite dystopian since The Hunger Games, and in my top five books for 2011.

I was lucky enough to meet Marie Lu at Comic Con and get an ARC of this book. I started reading it at 4am while waiting for the Chuck panel (as one does at Comic Con). I got about 90 pages in... and my husband stole it. The good news was, he loved it. The bad news was, I had to wait to finish it!

The story alternates between two point of views. Day is a smart, agile, criminal living on the streets. He's wanted by the Republic for all sorts of crimes, but just wants to protect his family. June is a super genius, and the Republic's darling. She's grown up in one of their elite military schools and her future is all planned out for her. Everything changes when her brother is killed, and she devises a plan to take down the person who killed him: Day.

I loved both characters, and thought the setting (a flooded, military controlled Los Angeles) was intriguing. The book doesn't end on a cliffhanger (thank goodness), but leaves plenty of questions for the next two books.

I've read a TON of dystopian and post apocalyptic novels in the last few years and this one really stands out above the rest. It broke through my dystopian burnout and made me remember what I love about the genre. It also felt a lot more believable and plausible than some of the others I've read this year. A Los Angeles half under water? A civil war between the states? Both of these things could happen.

This book combines all my favorite things: a kick ass girl and an equally kick ass boy, awesome world building, action packed scenes, and a touch of romance. You should definitely read this one when it comes out in November.

500 Followers Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:29:00 +0000

Sometime over the weekend I crossed over the 500 followers mark, which means it's time for an epic giveaway!

When I started this blog a little over a year ago, I was so excited to have 10 followers. I never dreamed I'd have 500 of them! To thank all of you for being awesome and sticking with me on this crazy journey, I have TWO prize packs to offer, with signed books and a ton of goodies I picked up at Comic Con.

Prize Pack 1: Adult Urban Fantasy

SIGNED copy of Total Eclipse by Rachel Caine, final book in her Weather Warden series
8 (YES, EIGHT) sampler books, featuring chapters from awesome Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi novels, plus sample chapters of the upcoming Blood Rights by Kristen Painter
11 bookmarks, including A Dance With Dragons (George RR Martin), Dead Reckoning (Charlaine Harris), and The Walking Dead
7 postcards, including True Blood, Game of Thrones, and The Alloy of Law (Brandon Sanderson)
3 pins: Soulless (Gail Carriger), Feed (Mira Grant), and Blood Rights (Kristen Painter)
2 temporary tattoos: My Life As A White Trash Zombie (Diana Rowland), and True Blood/Sookie Stackhouse tattoo pack
Other swag: Mercy's Garage air freshener (from the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs), What Would Lisbeth Do? bracelet (from The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson), Bullet flashlight keychain (Laurell K Hamilton), and an Alien in the Family magnet (Gini Koch)

Prize Pack 2: YA Paranormal

1 SIGNED copy of Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
Clockwork Prince t-shirt for Cassandra Clare's second book in the Infernal Devices trilogy (size L)
2 sampler books featuring chapters from YA paranormal novels, plus sample chapters of Forgotten by Cat Patrick, and The Seven Rays by Jessica Bendinger
Love Never Dies dvd book sample, featuring Fallen, Forest of Hands and Teeth, and more
11 bookmarks, including a holographic bookmark for The Morganville Vampires series (Rachel Caine)
7 postcards, including the Vampire Academy graphic novel (Richelle Mead), plus 3 postcard packs featuring the covers of a bunch of YA books
3 pins: Breaking Dawn, Desires of the Dead (Kimberly Derting), and Maximum Ride (James Patterson)
Other swag: Vampire Academy temporary tattoos (Richelle Mead), Desires of the Dead bracelet (Kimberly Derting), Ouroboros Society brochure (from The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller), and a Legend magnet (Marie Lu)

Yes, that is a crazy amount of stuff! To enter the giveaway, fill out the form below. You must be a follower, and you can choose one prize pack or both! Sorry, due to shipping costs, this is only open to people in the US. Giveaway ends in 2 weeks, on September 12. There will be two winners - good luck!

GIVEAWAY IS OVER - THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED!

Joining the Campaign!

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 23:12:00 +0000

I've decided to join the Writers' Platform-Building Campaign hosted by Rachael Harrie. I almost joined the previous campaign, but the timing didn't work for me, so I'm excited I can sign up this year. I hope to meet lots of other authors, and can't wait to see what the challenges are.

If you're interested in meeting other writers, you should check it out. But signups close August 31st, so don't wait!

RTW: Writer's Block

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:45:00 +0000

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: How do you beat writer's block?

This week's RTW is perfect, because I was already planning to blog about this. I have three specific tricks I use when I get writer's block, which might help other people.

1. Go back and look at whatever you've previously written. Sometimes if I get stuck, the problem isn't the next scene, but the one before it. I can't move forward until I find the problem and fix it.

2. Make lists. If you know something needs to happen (a major reveal, a plot twist, etc) but you're not sure what it is or how to do it, make a list of all the things that could happen. Keep writing things down, even if they're ridiculous, until you have at least 5 to 10 on your list. Now, toss out all the obvious solutions and look for the more clever, surprising, or interesting ones. Usually they'll be #5 or lower.

3. Pretend you're reading your book as if it was written by someone else. We're all writing the book we want to read, right? So if you're stuck, ask yourself what would you, as a reader, want to happen next? What would you hate to happen next? What would you expect, and what would surprise you? What would disappoint you?

And if none of these exercises work, there's always the shower! There's nothing like a nice hot shower to give you tons of ideas.

How do you get past writer's block?

Friday Five 8/19/11: WriteOnCon, Legend, & More

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:15:00 +0000

1. We haven't had a doggy photo in a while, so here's one of Nicki and Gabby. Look how cute they are in their favorite chair!

LOOK WHAT THEY'VE DONE TO MY CHAIR!

Ahem. Moving on.

2. As I'm sure most of you know, WriteOnCon was this week! It was amazing, and if you haven't checked it out, you need to. The main page has a ton of great stuff, and the forums are also rocking. It's a great place to post your query letter and get feedback, or find a critique partner.

Thanks to WriteOnCon I've made new friends, and two of my critique partners got requests from agents! Many thanks to all of the WriteOnCon organizers for setting up this amazing event.

Did you participate? Tell me about your experience!

3. Yesterday my blog and my dogs were featured on BookHounds. Thanks Mary! BookHounds is an awesome book blog with tons of giveaways, plus cute doggies, so check it out.

4. I recently finished Legend by Marie Lu, and it was amazing. I'd been having some dystopian burnout, and this book made me remember everything I love about the genre. I actually met Marie Lu at Comic Con and got an ARC then, but my husband stole it! He loved the book, and then I was finally able to get it back and read it. I'm really happy my husband loves YA too, but damn, don't steal a girl's book!

Anyway, Legend comes out in November, and you should definitely read it. So far it's my favorite dystopian of the year.

5. I have some really exciting things planned for the near future, including a giveaway, a blogfest for writers, and a Halloween contest judged by the wonderful agent Natalie Fischer. AAH I can't wait! More info soon!

LA SCBWI 2011 Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 22:44:00 +0000

The Los Angeles SCBWI conference was amazing! I met so many awesome people, saw a number of inspiring keynotes and workshops, and had a great time at all the parties.

There were so many brilliant keynotes this year. Libba Bray gave a hilarious talk about staying sane during revisions, Judy Blume gave a heart warming interview about her career, and Gary Paulson told us about his incredible life, from growing up as a street kid to racing sled dogs in Alaska years later.

In between keynotes, we attended different workshops hosted by agents, editors, illustrators, and authors. My absolute favorite workshop was by Laurie Halse Anderson, who really motivated me to stop "farting around on the internet" and quit watching so much TV. She said that we need to change the way we think from "I don't have enough time" to "24 hours a day is more than enough time." Her talk motivated me to give up TV and stay focused until I get this draft done. From now on I plan to picture her yelling at me whenever I need a kick in the butt. (I did this yesterday and wrote 2000 words. Totally works.)

You can read more about all of the keynotes and workshops on the SCBWI Conference blog.

Unfortunately I forgot to take any photos during the conference. I know someone took photos of me in my pajamas at the party, but now I can't remember who. So if you have any, let me know!

Luckily, I did find a photo of me with my writing buddy Rachel Searles and new friend Leigh Menninger at Pink Taco (taken by the lovely Debbie Ohi).

Why is everyone looking at the camera except for me? I have no idea. That's how exhausted I was by the end of the conference.

Now... back to writing. I can't let Laurie Halse Anderson down!

UPDATE! A pajama photo of me and Rachel and our new friend Dana Elmendorf!

Comic Con 2011 Wrapup

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Comic Con this year was AWESOME, but also exhausting. I got back Sunday evening and went right to work the next morning, and then this weekend I had a party and a concert, so I've had no time off at all to relax. Whew, I'm really tired! But it was all worth it, because Comic Con is my favorite five days of the entire year. Plus it was my birthday, and what better party could there be than with 200,000 other nerds?

I dressed up on Thursday and Sunday as Katniss. Unfortunately not that many people recognized it- although the people at the Lionsgate booth (the ones making the Hunger Games movie) did, so that was cool. Just wait, next year everyone will be dressed as Katniss!

I'm trying to look fierce, but I think I just come across as tired. Oh well.

On Saturday my husband and I wore our Nerd Herd costumes for the Chuck panel. Unfortunately, we forgot to take photos of them. Oof. I blame the fact that we woke up at 4am and then stood in line for 6 hours for the Chuck panel. (Yes, we are insane. But it was worth it.) I'll have to get dressed up in my costume again sometime and snap a photo. Bad Liz.

I didn't take many pictures this year, mainly because the media covers Comic Con so much now, and you can find great posts about it in other places. However, I did take a photo of my favorite costume: Hello Kitty Slave Leia with her Imperial handler.

And I got a shot of the coolest thing I saw outside of Comic Con, the giant rainbow unicorn dragon. It marched up and down the streets every evening with a huge entourage to promote Adventure Time.

This year I went to almost all of the YA panels, and they were amazing. First I went to the Magic & Monsters panel with Kim Harrison, Andrea Cremer, Anton Strout, Lev Grossman, Ben Loory, J. F. Lewis, and Diana Rowland.

Right after that was the No Damsels In Distress Here panel with Marie Lu, Chloe Neill, Jeanne Stein, Merrie deStefano, Carrie Vaughn, Seanan McGuire, and Sherrilyn Kenyon.

On Saturday I got to see the Diversity in YA panel, with Cindy Pon, Kiersten White, Dave Roman, Vera Brosgol, Gene Yang, Elizabeth Bunce, and Malinda Lo.

And on Sunday I went to the panel I was most looking forward to, the What's Hot in YA panel with Nathan Bransford, Andrea Cremer, Amanda Hocking, Tahereh Mafi, Stephanie Perkins, Laini Taylor, and Kiersten White. I love all of these authors (or want to read their books) so this was probably my favorite panel. (Picture below also includes Kami Garcia, who was on a panel later that I sadly had to miss.)

In between panels I bought a lot of stuff, such as the SDCC exclusive Domo, who looks like he is in the Nerd Herd (the one on the left is last year's Domo).

I also bought THE LAST My Little Pony they had. I felt bad for the people behind me, but IT WAS MINE MWAHAHA! I have the exclusive My Little Pony for every year I've been going, and I was ready to fight some cosplayers for it this year. I also got an Okami keychain cause it was the cutest thing ever.

And of course I got a ton of BOOKS! Some of which you can win soon, including signed ARCs.

The giveaway will be up once I've finished sorting through the swag, which might be a problem since Nicki has claimed it all for herself.

Next up: the LA SCBWI conference!

Off to Comic Con!

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Today I'm off to Comic Con in San Diego for the next five days! This is my 4th year going to Comic Con, and it's the highlight of my entire year. My husband can attest that during July it's pretty much the only thing I can talk (or think) about.

This year I'm wearing not one, but TWO costumes, because I've seriously gone off the deep end.

Last year, my husband and I wore Nerd Herd costumes from the TV show Chuck. Since this is probably the last Chuck panel we'll be donning our Nerd Herd costumes again this year.

I'll be wearing my Nerd Herd costume on Saturday for the Chuck panel and the Nerd Tweetup that evening. (If you're a fan of the show, you can read about last year's Chuck madness here.)

My other costume will be one that not as many people will recognize, but I'm hoping a few of the YA and book nerds will get it. I'll be going as Katniss!

Got the orange backpack, the mockingjay pin, and my husband even spray painted the bow silver. I styled my costume after the description in the book and the UK cover:

I haven't decided which day(s) I'll wear my Katniss costume yet. A lot of the book panels are on Sunday, but it's a shorter, quieter day, so I might end up wearing it Thursday and/or Friday too. Which means hand washing my clothes in the hotel bathroom again. Oh, the joys of costumes at conventions.

There are a lot of YA panels this year, and I'll be tweeting and taking photos all during the convention. When I get back I'll have an epic roundup, plus a giveaway or two (last year I gave away two giant boxes of swag).

And if you're going to Comic Con and see me there, say hi!

RTW: Inspiring Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Elizabeth Briggs) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 16:19:00 +0000

Bonus points if you can guess the movies (and TV show) that some of these came from!