Jared from Homeroom, and Other Resolutions

On New Year's Eve, people make resolutions about things they want to change or accomplish in the coming year. Ya know, things we think we'll never actually do, like finish writing the Great American Novelization of My Life—Part 3, ask out Jared from homeroom, be nicer to my frenemy Allie (even though she’s always hanging out with the losers from audio/visual), be nicer to the losers from audio/visual…You get the idea. All these aspirations are very healthy and important.

But I have a more fun suggestion: Make some resolutions to accomplish before New Year's Eve. And make one of them about your writing. After all, there’s no time like the present! Oops, did I just say present? Anyway, amidst all your holiday-present shopping, present unwrapping, present exchanging for better presents, present revelry, present comparing, present overloading…you will probably have some time on your hands. I mean you don't have homework over BREAK, do you? Oh, you do? Well anyway…make some plans! For example:

BY NEW YEAR'S EVE I WILL:
1) Complete first draft of my current project, entitled __________, and post on the Forums here for feedback.

2) Discover a teen book I don't know anything about and read the whole thing from cover to cover, then log onto the Forums here and tell the rest of us about it!

3) Find someone to kiss at midnight—preferably someone who understands my passion for writing and reading. And who is not related to me, which rules out Mom. Oh, yeah, then log onto the Forums here and describe in vivid detail. :)

Happy writing, happy reading, happy holidays everyone!

What are some of your resolutions?

Lexa Hillyer
Associate Editor, Harper Teen

It's Only Just Begun…

Now that the first phase of the first ever HarperTeen FanLit contest has ended, I know some of you are thinking…what's next? Here you've all stretched your wings, joined a community, and, of course, written incredible stories! I'll miss reading your creative takes on Jane's life—whether she's fighting Cheez Whiz or saving the world—from week to week.

And…this sounds weird, but I think I'll miss Jane, too! She's been awkward, funny, and real from day one—and that's thanks to your writing! Good job, too, with the side characters—the tug-of-war between handsome and problematic Max and geeky but lovable Dave caused many discussions at our editorial table (as well as on the forums)! And that's how I can tell you guys are all such good writers—Jane, Max, Dave, and Melinda came alive to us.

But, now, what's next? First, I think you deserve a well-earned break—a time to reflect on what you've learned (and maybe get some sleep)! But, after that, I encourage each and every one of you to pick up your pens (or turn on your laptops) as soon as you've digested your holiday treats. Because the number one thing I hear from writers is to keep on. Keep on writing, sharing, discussing, and reading. Keep on being inspired by others. Keep on creating worlds and characters you love. And remember: The What I'm Working On Forum is open and ready for business, as are your other message boards—to keep you connected.

And on that note, keep on writing to us at HarperTeen FanLit. We love to hear your feedback on this contest and what you want to see next!

Naomi Rothwell
Editorial Assistant, HarperTeen

Whew! That Was Fun!

And so we've reached the end of Jane's story—and what a way to finish things! There were so many great endings to choose from—Jane ended up with Dave in a lot of them (aw, Dave), but she ended up with Max in quite a few, too. At least once, she didn’t wait for Dave to kiss her—but took the kissing into her own hands. Jane even ended up dead in a chapter (poor Jane). But in our winning chapter, time stopped long enough for Jane to learn some advanced magic so she could vanquish Melinda once and for all. She thought she'd lost Dave there for a sad and scary second, but he came around and the chapter ended with a kiss. Thanks, Scarlet, for giving our story such a sweet and satisfying ending.

Although this is the end for creating Jane's story, this isn't the end for HarperTeen FanLit! We're going to keep the Forums up, so you can still share your writing and chat with the friends you've made over the last couple of months. We love the community you helped us to create here—and by "you" I mean every single person who wrote a chapter or commented on the stories or posted on the forum or who did all three—and we want to keep giving you the encouragement and insight into your favorite authors' lives we've been sharing. So we'll be posting new blogs and writing tips, too.

Stay tuned for news in the next few weeks about the publication of the e-book you helped create—and be on the lookout for more ways you can participate in HarperTeen FanLit. Meanwhile, feel free to send us any thoughts you want to share about the event—what you liked, what you thought we could've done better…anything at all (as long it relates to HarperTeen FanLit). And as soon as we know anything about whether we'll be doing another writing event, you guys will be the first to know.

So congrats to Scarlet, for winning this week's chapter, ARose1123 for winning the Fox Webisode prize, Dorkysokerchick for winning the trip to meet us at HarperTeen (I hope you don't mind if we call you Lisa when you're here) AND to everyone who participated. HarperTeenFanLit wouldn't have been the same without you.

See ya real soon, I hope.

Farrin Jacobs
Executive Editor, HarperTeen

The End?

What makes the endings of some novels so good? So good that you make yummy noises as you turn that last page and everyone on the train stares at you and you have to pretend you're humming to your iPod (even though you're not even wearing your iPod?) So good that you flip right back to the beginning and start again?

I think it's the fact that the beginning is in the end and the end is in the beginning.

Huh?

What I mean is that the best authors put clues to the end of the story in the very beginning of the story and vice versa. Think about Ella Enchanted, with Ella finally breaking the curse that has haunted her for the whole book. Or Pride and Prejudice, which gives us a romantic wrap-up that echoes the first line: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Or Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle, which brings us the narrator ending the story of her life—which she has been writing in notebooks from the beginning—with these words: "…only the margin left to write in now. I love you. I love you. I love you."

The best novels never really end, they simply bring us back to where we started, only now we are illuminated, surprised, thrilled, moved, gratified, even changed.

As this particular phase of the HarperTeen FanLit contest comes to a close, I hope you've been illuminated, surprised, moved, and even changed. And I hope that you're prompted to go back to the beginning—that is, to write the next amazing story. And stick around—the folks at HarperTeen FanLit have some more fun stuff in the works.…

You guys rock!

What's your favorite novel ending?

Laura Ruby
Author of Good Girls

Making Soup

Today I made soup. I didn't actually want to eat soup, and it was White Bean Provencal Soup—a type of soup nobody in my family (including me) particularly cares for, including my younger brother, who was coming over for dinner. But it suddenly became clear to me that before I could possibly write one word more of my current book—the one I have been struggling to finish—I needed to make White Bean Provencal Soup.

As I chopped and measured, simmered and reduced, I started thinking that making soup is kind of a metaphor for writing a book. Lots of stuff goes in it and you have to keep checking, tasting, changing the proportions to make it work. As you just stand there stirring, you begin to appreciate how the individual ingredients affect one another, the oil and heat sweetening the bite of the onion, the beans thickening the broth as they soften—just as each change in a character's motivation, action, or history affects everything else in the book.

But actually that was mostly a rationalization. I was making soup because I didn't know how to get from where I was stuck to the ending I needed. Though both can make me cry, chopping an onion is much quicker than creating a plot twist.

The problem with soup is that it just sits there simmering for a couple of hours, after the initial burst of action—so I was forced back into my chair, where I belonged, to write again. It's 11:30 P.M. now. What do I have to show for my day's work? Negative fifteen pages, a new subplot that may propel me in a way I didn't see coming through the scene I've been avoiding to the final chapter of my book, and a Tupperware half-full of surprisingly tasty (though perhaps under-salted) White Bean Provencal Soup. Plus, now, a note to you.

All in all, a decent writing day. How about you, my fellow writers? What did you make today?

Rachel Vail
Author of You, Maybe

Beauty and the Bea-holder

When I was twelve, my best friend and I, who were totally competitive with each other, submitted poems for a writing contest. Hers was about believing in your dreams, and mine was about living in a cottage with whacked-out pet gnomes. Mine got an honorable mention (umm, I think every poem that got submitted did), but my friend won a trip to Florida to meet Bea Arthur from a show called The Golden Girls. What Bea Arthur has to do with poetry I don't know, but naturally, in addition to being (ugghhh) happy for my friend, I was seething with envy and the stink of failure. It should have been me and Bea, maybe eating cookies together, definitely trading gossip while sitting in the Golden Girls’ cool Miami deco kitchen, shouldn’t it?

Reading the submissions for this contest, and the vastly varying reactions from other readers, reminds me of what I was just beginning to figure out then: "Writing love" is soooo subjective.

I don't know whether my friend was a better writer than me or not (totally possible), or maybe the judges were just more fond of dreams than gnomes (that's also totally possible). Rumor has it that in the basement of HarperCollins there's a carbon copy of a rejection letter to Herman Melville saying that the manuscript for what would eventually be his most famous work just wasn't as good as his other books, and that the editor would have to pass. And wasn't there something like that with Harry Potter, too? I bet it happens all the time.

If you didn't win this writing contest, or if some people had some less than desirable things to say about your work, here's what I'd suggest: weigh the comments and think honestly—do they have a point? If they missed your point, was there a way you could have made it a little clearer? Use whatever you agree with to leverage your writing to the next level. Discard what you don't need. Keep working. And remember that whole "beauty and the beholder" phrase—it's overused for a reason!

Have you ever felt someone judged your writing unfairly? Or missed the part of your story you thought was most special? How did you deal?

Jodi Lynn Anderson
Author of The Secrets of Peaches

And So We Near "The End"

It was another tough week for the Top 10ers, with chapters locked in combat until the very end. One minute "Spells and the Single Witch" seemed poised to take the lead, another minute "Broken Glass" was sitting pretty at the top... It seems like every story had its time at the top at some point during the voting process. But the FanLit community has spoken, and Lisa's "The Incredibly Confusing Triangle of Who's On My Side" is your second-to-last chapter.

Beyond the top 10 there was a lot of creativity and humor as usual. I mean, a time travel bubble? What a fun idea! We even got a glimpse of what mirror life (with a pineapple) would be like. Plus so many different combinations of good guys and bad guys — we had Melinda = good, but Max = bad; Dave and Max switching places; Emily popping in for some sisterly witchiness...

Making a guest appearance on the panel and choosing a pick made me realize how HARD it must be to decide on those author picks and to write helpful, thoughtful comments every week. I wish I'd had to time to comment on every story in the top 10 — because they were all impressive in different ways. All of you guys who read and comment on a ton of a stories — you're my new heroes.

Before I go, I just wanted to say a couple things about the next AND LAST chapter, so pay attention:

   1. We're raising the character limit for this final round. That's right. You'll have 300 extra characters for this chapter. Use them wisely.

   2. Remember that this is it. End of story. Literally. So be sure to tie up any loose ends. And don't throw any brand-new plot twists or characters into the mix. Think about some of your favorite endings and what made them special to you. Maybe even go read some last chapters from your favorite books to see how those authors wrapped everything up.

Good luck, everyone! Can't wait to see how the story ends.

Farrin Jacobs
Executive Editor, HarperTeen

Beginnings

Here's the question I get from about 75% of the aspiring writers I hear from: "I have lots of good ideas for beginnings, but I hardly ever finish anything. How do I solve this problem?" I say: Terrific! You're on the right track. This happens to all writers. I probably have hundreds of beginnings that never went anywhere. They were really good beginnings, too. But after I finished writing that excellent starting scene, I sort of petered out. What should come next? What would be in the middle? How would it all end? I didn't know. So I'd put my great beginning aside and wait until I got an idea for another great beginning.

This is fine. Stack up those beginnings—that's my advice. And sooner or later, if you're really meant to be a writer (not everyone is), you'll write a beginning so powerfully intriguing that it will draw you on into the rest of the story. You'll write the next scene, and the next. Maybe you'll even get a glimpse of the ending way up ahead. The novelist E. L. Doctorow puts it like this: "Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."

Jeanne DuPrau
Author of Car Trouble

The Doldrums

This is what seamen of old called a place of no wind where they couldn't sail forward. It's also the perfect word for when you've slowed right down with your writing—and it's where I am now. I've started a new Gothic book, and I did some serious research for it, sleeping in a creepy four-poster bed in a haunted 900-year-old mansion. After that, I wrote like a demon. But now I have to introduce the evil hero and what I think of as The Confusion, and I just haven't mulled it over enough yet. The Doldrums are OK (and mulling it all over is OK). It’s an important part of writing.

Try not to focus too much on getting published. Focus on writing. Keep a diary that doesn't have to be written every day—write down fears, fights, hopes, confusion, everything. Writing something down is naming it, and when you name something you start to know it.

It's absolutely wonderful to have your stuff published and get paid for it—but it would be the same stuff if it didn't get published! It's the writing itself that matters.

Let's discuss!

Kate Cann
Author of California Holiday

Daring to Dream

I was just out of college when I dared to admit to the guy who would eventually become my husband that I wanted to be a writer. "It'll never happen," he said.

Years later, I told him when I started working on my first novel. And he said, "You'll never get published."

When I received my first rejection, he said, "You'll never get published, but I think writing is good therapy for you."

First of all, I didn't realize I needed therapy, so that came as a surprise to me. Second of all, I'd had enough of his negative vibes. "You've never even read what I've written. How can you say that I'll never get published?"

"Oh, I’m sure you're a terrific writer," he said, "but do you know how many people want to get published? The odds are against you."

"Oh, if you're just spouting statistics," I replied, "I'll get published."

Writing and getting published has nothing to do with mathematical formulas. It has to do with the power of dreaming, believing in your characters and your stories, and perseverance. Sure, there are wonderful writers who never will get published, but they keep writing anyway, and they keep trying. I once heard that Dr. Seuss had 58 rejections before he sold.

In Trust Me, Jessica's dream is to be the very best camp counselor ever. When she's paired up with Sean Reed, a guy who's been nothing but trouble, she's determined not to let him stop her from reaching her goal—and that means learning to work with him.

As you're working on your writing, you may run across those who don't believe in your dream the way you do. Don't be discouraged. Obviously, they've never dared to dream a dream as large as yours is. Dreaming big can be scary. But a dream can also be very rewarding when it comes true.

Have you ever had to deal with someone who didn't believe you'd achieve your dream?

Rachel Hawthorne
Author of Thrill Ride

Do You Believe?

When I first decided I was going to be an author, I got slammed. Slammed by so many people who rolled their eyes and said, "Oh, you'll never get published. It will never happen."

You know what? It made me mad. What right did anyone have to tell me I couldn't achieve my dreams? But at the same time, it made me doubt myself. Were they right? Was I wasting my time? Were my dreams nothing but fluff?

But I refused to listen to their criticisms and their doubts. I focused on what I wanted and what I knew I was capable of doing, even after I'd written 18 manuscripts and had 150 rejections. No one believed I was could do it. Except me.

And then it happened. I finally sold a book! And I've sold fifteen more since then. Why did I sell? Because I believed in myself and refused to let anyone take my dreams away.

What about you? Have you had anyone tell you that your dreams are stupid, or that you'll never succeed? How do you stop yourself from listening to them? How do you make yourself believe in yourself when things look grim?

Stephie Davis
Author of First Kisses 2: The Boyfriend Trick (Coming soon!)

The Choice Is Yours

Because all my books are choose-your-own-ending, it's got me thinking a lot about making choices. The act of writing is full of choices. Choose your main character. Choose his or her name. Choose their locale. Choose what they eat for breakfast. Choose the guy or girl they like. Choose whether or not that guy or girl likes them back. Choose, choose, choose!

Man is that ever a weird word when you keep saying it over and over again…

Sometimes these choices are easy. You just know your main character is a Delilah. She's got Delilah written all over her. She couldn't possibly have any other name. Good. Done. Delilah it is. But other times, the choices are difficult. Say you've written a few pages about Delilah and you're getting to really like the girl. She's spunky. She's got heart. She's got this incredible outlook on the world that you, listening to your emo soundtrack in your over-worn PJs, with your drapes drawn and your black light humming, just do not possess. You want to see Delilah succeed. You want to see her master her superhero powers with ease, smack down the bad guys, save the world, and win the guy. But you know that letting her do all that without throwing a few real obstacles in her way wouldn't make for a very interesting story, so you're faced with a choice.

You can lead Delilah down the primrose path, tra-la-la-ing her way to the prom queen tiara and the commendation from the President, or…

You can mess with her big time. My suggestion? Always, always mess with her. Have her say the wrong thing, make a wrong turn, cross the wrong person. Give her a big load of crap to deal with and see what she does with it. Let her overcome some adversity, climb a few mountains, untie a few knots. She may make some mistakes along the way, but we all do. She'll be all the more human and likable for it, and your story will be that much more humorous, heart-breaking, and real. I'm not saying she can't succeed in the end—that she can't master her superpowers, smack down the bad guys, save the world, and win the guy. Just maybe not all four. Or maybe not all at the same time.

That's what series fiction was made for.

Happy Writing!

Kendall Adams
Author of Hook Up or Break Up #1: Love Is Random Too

Only Two Chapters Left!

When I was reading the top 10 this week, I couldn't believe how amazing they all were. Seriously. I was reading them and thinking, "Holy crap. These are fantastic! We have so many potential winners in here." So, congratulations to Shea for beating the tough competition. What impressed me most about the chapters was how well-paced they were. When we came up with the prompt, we knew it wouldn't be easy, considering the word limit (I know, you hate the word limit, but we had to do that — imagine if you got invites to read 30 stories and they were all 5,000 words long), but you all rose to the challenge. I also loved how different all the stories were this time and how you were careful about weaving in details from the previous chapters.

Even beyond the top 10, I could see a marked improvement and I loved the different choices you all made. Some choices made for humorous moments (like the character who just couldn't get Jane's name right) and others for different family dynamics (like Emily being helpful) — but they were all unique and made me even more excited about this contest and about reading future chapters. (I mean, not only is it fun, but you're all improving from week to week. How cool is that?)

So, close the window with this blog in it, please, and get back to writing already. And remember: Jane's story is almost over (only two chapters left!). But for our next winner the story could be just beginning.

Farrin Jacobs
Executive Editor, HarperTeen

The Terrifying Truth

The first line of my first novel was: "My dad drinks too much and my mom eats too much, which pretty much sums up why I am the way I am." As you might imagine, my parents were mortified. Their daughter publishes her first book and this is what she has to say?? All I could reply was, "Mom, that's not you! You have brown hair. My character is a blonde!" As for my dad, well, I didn't have to say much because he good-naturedly called to say he put my book down after the first five words. Dad has always been funny and fairly thick-skinned.

Telling an honest story without slamming people I love has been my biggest challenge as a fiction writer. I'm not saying my novels are all autobiographical. Far from it. But the only way I know how to write is to spill my guts through my characters…however embarrassing, revealing, exhilarating, or terrifying it may be. I figure, if I've felt like that, you probably have, too. Or at least something similar.

So next time you write something, make yourself a promise: Always tell your truth. Whatever it is. Even if (especially if) it's embarrassing, revealing, exhilarating, or terrifying. Write your view of the world. It's the only absolute guarantee of originality. And if it seems like you're describing a real person, always, always, always change their hair color!

Any thoughts? Be honest!

Mary Hogan
Author of The Serious Kiss

It’s a Confidence Thing

So I've been asked to post a blog on the HarperTeen site—as an author? Is this really happening to me?

You see, when I was your age, I wouldn't have dared admit that I longed to be a writer. For a girl like me from a small (very small) town, it seemed like too big a dream. I thought that to be a writer, you had to be a genius—like Charlotte Brontë. Or failing that, you had to be sophisticated, glamorous, and miraculously intelligent. Anything but me.

What I was really telling myself was that I didn’t have the confidence to try. So I admire you guys with the guts to submit your work to this competition. You’ve made the first step!

Where did I eventually find the confidence to dig out my hidden scraps of stories and let them grow? When I realized I had to get on with it now, and not just dream about it. When I had the support of my fantastic husband. When I knew I had life experience that I wanted to write about. When I allowed myself to think of writing as fun, not some impossible goal. And then I wrote The Actual Real Reality of Jennifer James, in which the heroine finds her own inner confidence by surviving a series of comical mishaps on a reality TV show.…

Have you got the confidence to say, "I’m going to be a published writer?" If not, where are you going to find it? Are the people around you building your confidence up, or bringing it down?

Gillian Shields
Author of The Actual Real Reality of Jennifer James

On Writer's Block

I have a confession. Very recently, I suffered from a devastating bout of "writer's block." I include the quotation marks to imply (unsubtly) that I'm not a huge fan of the term. In fact, I dislike the term so much that until this summer, I refused to acknowledge that it even existed. I scoffed at colleagues who claimed to have suffered from this…whatever-you-want-to-call-this-awful-thing.

Then I caught it. It starts insidiously. I used to tell people who asked: "Come on! If you're having trouble writing, crack open a novel—just read—and you'll get inspired!" I still believe the advice has some validity, at least when not proclaimed by me with an idiotic smile. But when I found myself reading fourteen hours a day and writing zero hours, I became concerned. (On the plus side, I did read a lot of great books.) It's sort of like those "Expect Delays" signs you see on the highway when you've already been stuck in traffic for five hours…Yeah, no kidding. We're delayed.

So now I pose: Have any of you ever suffered writer’s block? Please share. You know…if only to make me feel better about myself.

Daniel Ehrenhaft
Author of Drawing a Blank

The Writer's Life

Writers need to live the writer's life not only when they're writing, but even when they're eating dinner, riding the bus, and talking to their friends on the phone. But how is a "writer's life" different than anyone else's life?

Writers have to pay attention. As a writer, you have to be the person in the room mentally jotting down the interesting exchanges between people, and the way the light falls on the wall-to-wall carpet. The great writer Henry James said, "Be one on whom nothing is lost." How?

First, look around yourself in search of new things, all the time. Listen for startling ideas, bits of information. Watch people to see what kinds of quirks make them unique. Carry a notebook and write down your observations immediately before you forget them. Be alert for moments when something ordinary, like standing in a line, seems suddenly strange: Those are the times when the curtain is torn for just a moment between yourself and a bigger reality. And that's where writing comes from—that place where you and the bigger world intersect.

Start your writer's life today, and send me a post telling me what surprising things you noticed!

Laura Kasischke
Author of Boy Heaven

Three Chapters Down, Three More to Go

That's right, everyone, we're at the halfway point and the submissions are getting better and better. It's great to see that we have some regulars hitting the top 10 week after week, but it's also really cool that each week, the top 10 has some new faces (er, screennames). It shows that everyone really does have a chance in this competition and hard work pays off. Just look at this week's winner, MerryDay. She was So Close last week, but was edged out in the final voting. Did she give up? Nope. She came back this week with an even stronger chapter, scoring two author picks, and the popular vote. Not too shabby.

Speaking of So Close, although they didn't make it to the top 10, the ThisClose chapters in this round had a lot of fantastic qualities, like strong openings (including a proposed club with Rip Van Winkle — very funny), creative ways to explain talking to the mirror (Energy Expulsion, anyone? Apparently it's all the rage), and astute methods for getting rid of Dave (the mirror using every negative thought Jane has ever had about Dave was a particularly smart tactic — clever, realistic and heartbreaking all at the same time).

So, enjoy your Thanksgiving leftovers while dreaming up brilliant chapters for Jane's continuing story.

See you next week (and can't wait to see where Jane ends up).

Farrin Jacobs
Executive Editor, HarperTeen

Where Did That Come From?

The first day of my 7th-grade English class, the teacher assigned us a short story to read. The next day, we had a quiz. The first question was, "Who is the author of the story?"

I didn't know. It had never occurred to me to think about who wrote the things that I read. I just sort of assumed that books and stories magically appeared on shelves for me to pick up. Like milk. I mean, who drinks milk and thinks about the cows who made it, right? You just buy it and dunk your Oreos in it.

That short story was "The Lottery," and the author was Shirley Jackson. Once I knew her name, I started thinking about her. What was she like? Why did she write "The Lottery" (which, if you haven't read it, is only the best short story ever)?

Later, I read a biography of Shirley Jackson and found out a lot more about this fascinating writer. Then I went back and re-read a lot of her work, looking for ways her life found its way into her books. And I've done it with other authors I love: John Steinbeck, Flannery O'Connor, Carson McCullers, just to name a few. Knowing something about the people who write the books that are important to you can make reading them a whole new experience.

Something else happens when you learn more about the authors of your favorite books—you see that they're real people. Just like you. Sure, some of them have unusual lives. But most of them are people who simply see the world in extraordinary ways and write about it. And that's what writing is, putting your story on paper and letting people know how you see the world.

Who are some of your favorite authors, and what can you find out about their lives? And, more important, what do you have to say about the world you live in?

Jenny Collins
Author of First Kisses 3: Puppy Love (Coming soon!)

What I'm Thankful For

It's Thanksgiving, and you know what that means—being thankful…for pumpkin pie.

I'm also thankful that there are so many amazing books for teens out there. As much as I loved those girl detectives and wacky blonde twins, I always felt like there was something missing from the teen section of my bookstore when I was younger.

Now, that section is huge. There's something for everyone, and it's all so good. Even now that I'm an "adult," I still shop in the teen section for all the fantastic books. I'm thankful that when I do, I only get weird looks once in a while.

I'm also thankful for this contest, because now you guys get to create exactly the kind of fiction you want to find in the bookstore—a story you've tailor-made, through voting and writing, to be exactly right for you. I didn't think anything could be better than pumpkin pie, but this might beat it. Or at least tie.

So, thank you, FanLit members! Keep writing and voting! And tell me—what are you thankful for this year?

Amanda Maciel
Editor, HarperTeen

luv/h8

Hey guys and gals!

I'm working on my latest book, Waking Up to Boys (the title's kind of a pun, since the main character, Chelsea, is a kick-ass wakeboarder), and I'm thinking a lot about, well, boys. You may notice that the word "boys" is in the titles of most of my books. So maybe I'm a little boy-crazy, no surprise there!

Anyway… In the book, Chelsea's big conflict is this love-hate situation she's got with a (ridiculously hot) wakeboarding instructor. She is head-over-heels for him, but thinks they could never be together because he's just as competitive as she is. And if she spends too much time staring at his biceps while he drives the boat, she's likely to fall heels-over-head into the lake.

And then I got to thinking about all the great romances based on the love-hate dynamic…Elizabeth and Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, Patrick and Katarina in 10 Things I Hate About You, oh it's great stuff. Seriously, if you're ever stuck in a story, try writing a love-hate relationship—it doesn't have to be romantic (it works on friends, family, you name it!), and it's got a built-in objective (what you love) and obstacle (what you hate) all in one. Sweet!!!

So then I thought about FanLit, and writing in general, and how the love-hate thing kind of applies here, too. I mean, you all love writing—that's why you're here! But at the same time, it's tons of work and you have to face things like rejection, or self-doubt, or editors who want to change everything you liked about your book in the first place.

But, like when you meet the right someone, no matter how wrong for you they may seem, you just know. And it's the same thing with writing. You have to deal with all the angst and with those "hatas" telling you that you should choose a more stable career (like becoming a lawyer) or better yet, that you should marry rich. And you have to go to crazy lengths to overcome your own fears and insecurities and toss your pride to the wind. But it's worth it, to be doing what you love. Right?

Ever had a love-hate relationship? Spill the beans!

Hailey Abbott
Author of The Secrets of Boys

A Majorly Great Writing Lesson

I didn't think of it myself; a writer friend of mine figured it out, then shared it with me.

"It's not 'write what you know,'" she told me. "It's 'write what you love.'"

At first I thought, that can't be right. Everybody knows you can only write accurately about something that you've lived through or experienced firsthand.

But then I realized something: I can tell, when I'm reading a book, whether the author loved what s/he was writing. And when authors do love what they write, those books are the ones that sweep me up and take me into their world. And it's true that when I write something I don't love, I get bored and quit. Whereas if I love what I'm working on, I get in a frenzy to learn all I can about how a football player's hip pads are attached, or how much blood a vampire can drink before his victim passes out. If I love my story, I'm only happy when I'm immersed in the same world that my characters live in.

So it turns out my friend was 100% right.

Which imaginary worlds or characters do you love?

A. M. Jenkins
Author of Beating Heart: A Ghost Story

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

Like most authors, I'm often asked where I get my ideas. One of my novels was inspired by a movie I had seen. Another was inspired by an article in a magazine. Another time it was a "What if?" question that popped into my head. Sometimes I'll come up with a title first and try to create a plot around that.

For my novel Is He Or Isn't He?, the premise of the book was given to me by my editor. She called me up and said, "Would you like to write a book about two best friends—a gay guy and a straight girl—who both develop crushes on the new guy at their high school and they don't know if he's gay or straight?" Of course my answer was yes!

From that point, it was like building a house. Who would the gay guy be? Who would the straight girl be? Why were they friends? As the questions kept popping into my head, so did the answers. I'd scribble them down, and soon I had pages of notes which I then shaped into an outline.

So, where do you get your ideas?

John Hall
Author of Is He Or Isn't He?

Color Me Impressed

And you guys were worried about writing in a funny first-person voice. Pfft. I can't tell you how many times I laughed out loud while perusing the submissions. There were so many funny descriptions, exchanges and situations. You all are an impressive lot.

What's especially neat about this week's top 10 is how varied the group was. We had writers from age 21 on down to 14 – and, not only did we even have a 16-year-old guy among the ranks, but that guy won. (Congrats, Jesse!)

One of the great things about HarperTeen FanLit is that the story can truly go anywhere. Whatever pops into your head and then out onto the page (er, screen) can dictate what happens to Jane. In the winning chapter, Jane skipped a year of her life. But this week’s ThisClose chapters included a game of hoops, some helpful acrobatics (backflip into Max's arms, anyone? Or perhaps sliding down the stairwell railing is an easier way to go?), the Wicked Witch of the West, a clairvoyant, friends and family members who aren’t exactly solid... Basically, a lot of really fun, inventive stuff.

So, keep those chapters coming, everyone. The prizes are awesome, sure. But what's really important is that Jane can't find out what happens next unless you help her!

Farrin Jacobs
Executive Editor, HarperTeen

I Spy

Most of the writers I know have at least one bizarre habit. One locks his manuscripts in the freezer so that, if the house burns down, at least his work is safe. Another refuses to speak a word until she’s finished her ten pages of the day. As for me, I spy on people. I know it’s wrong, but I just can’t help myself; I spy, I snoop, I eavesdrop, and then – even worse – I write down everything I’ve learned.

I think I started spying after I moved to New York and started riding the subways, which are always populated by a great collection of characters: people fighting or making up, people on their way to dates or visiting the city from distant continents. In fact, several of the people I’ve spied on in the subway have become characters in my books – the teenage boy with the septum ring and the violin case, the well-dressed woman accusing her boyfriend of liking someone else.

Watching people and listening to them trains me to pay attention to the way real people act, the things they say, the way they approach the world. It’s fascinating, and it’s great research for a writer.

Have I been caught? Sure. Yelled at? Um, once or twice. But I think that, in order to create believable characters, it’s worth the risk of embarrassing myself and even invading someone else’s privacy a little bit. I tell myself it’s valuable investigation work – but even if it weren’t, I don’t think I’d be able to stop. Strangers are just too interesting to ignore!

Have any good spying stories?

Jessie Elliot
Author of Girls Dinner Club

I Thought I Had Pickles

Instead of working on this book that’s due yesterday, I thought I'd write a little bit about FANS. First, I gotta say that writing for me is like this: You spend day after day alone in your small house/apartment/shanty (depending on how well your books are selling), but usually we are talking shanty, developing the habit of saying things out loud like "I thought I had pickles." You turn the book in to your editor and avoid your e-mail for a few days because you're not sure how one can get fired from being an author, but you're pretty sure it happens via e-mail. You sit on the stoop and look very cynical and world-weary, which you imagine is a writerly way to look. Then, if things are going well, your editor tells you your book is great and you feel really good until the idea occurs to you that because you are such a mediocre writer they must have stuck you with an editor who has no idea what he/she is doing (note to my editors: sorry).

So, you may ask, what does this have to do with fans?

Because somewhere between writing and the long process in which you begin to see your book in stores and wonder, who is the person who actually wrote that because I do remember something about someone in pajamas with crazy hair, but it certainly couldn't have been me, there is a genuine, bright, true and lasting moment, and that is when you meet (or hear from) someone to whom your book means something. I doubt many fans realize how much difference they make to the writers they like. I'm here to tell you, it matters more than just about anything else. So thanks for being book fans.

How do you feel about sharing your writing with other people?

Jodi Lynn Anderson
Author of The Secrets of Peaches

Take that, Writer's Block!

Homer: Marge, I'm confused. Is this a happy ending or a sad ending?
Marge: It's an ending, that's enough.

Whenever I think of Writer's Block, I’m always reminded of this exchange at the end of one of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons.

I'd love to tell you that I wake every morning, fresh as a petunia, and the words just pour out onto the page with no problem. No way. We’ve all suffered from a case of W.B. You reach that point where you can't, for the life of you, think of anything to write down. Whether it's an email to a friend, a blog (wink, wink), or your continuation of The Peril of Persephone. You've got Max and Jane alone in a room together and then... BLANK. The Creativity Gods pull the rug out from under you.

So, though I'm not expert, I thought I'd pass along my Top Four Ways to Whip Writer's Block.

1) Napping – Seriously, who doesn't love a good nap? Sometimes the best thing to do when you can't go on is to lie down and let your subconscious take care of the rest. You may just wake up with that great idea at your fingertips.

2) Vomit on the Page/Screen – Don't worry, I'm speaking figuratively here. If you take me literarily, it'll be very messy and you'll probably end up with a malfunctioning computer. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to just write whatever comes to mind. Get it down, even if it feels like you're just vomiting on the page, and revise later.

3) Do Jumping Jacks – If you get out of your writer's chair and begin doing this, make sure you're all alone. You don't want to be labeled the "freak" of the household. But there's nothing that clears the head like cardio. So pick your poison: pilates, yoga, jumping jacks, or Tae Bo.

4) Chatter with Best Friends – Go to coffee. Or lunch. A little giggling goes a long way. Maybe someone will say something that strikes a chord or gives you an idea or maybe you'll see someone at Starbucks who looks exactly like the character that's going to move your story along to its fantastic finish.

Anybody else have any tips?

Anyway, keep writing. And when you're finished, pat yourself on the back. Because Marge is right. Writing is hard. Just getting to the end is enough of an accomplishment.

Jennifer Anne Kogler
Author of Ruby Tuesday

On the Chopping Block

Okay, this can only be 200 words, which brings me to my advice:

Cut. It. Out.

Yes, you.

Do not be afraid to cut stuff that you've written, if it isn't working for your story.

Think of your non-working scene or character as someone tall sitting in front of you at the movies. That person might be great, funny, hilarious even, or maybe not so much, actually, but so what. He or she is in your way! And you totally want to see the movie, not the back of someone’s head.

You can't ever be so in love with what you've written that you can't let it go for the benefit of your BIG story. Cutting is like setting your work free. You open up this big hole in your book, which is scary. The area needs to be roped off so your characters don't fall into it.

Leave it for a few days. See what happens. See what emerges to take its place. See what other scenes and characters can now breathe.

Now. How do you feel about your powers to create, destroy, and re-create? Kinda...goddess-like?

(Wait--should I cut that last part...?)

Catherine Clark
Author of Icing on the Lake

One Chapter Down… the Whole Rest of the Story to Go!

Wow. I mean, really, wow. When we started this whole HarperTeenFanLit thing, we knew it was going to be fun. We thought for sure it would be popular. We hoped we'd get some great submissions... But over 2,000 chapters??? What a happy surprise! You guys are the best.

I'm sure you could tell from watching the top 10 battle royale, where three of the chapters were pretty much locked in one-point-difference combat the whole time, that this can be a close race. You have no idea just how close. You know all about the top 10 though; I want to spend a little time talking about some of the other chapters. So many good submissions came in and of course they couldn't all make it to the top 10. Among the elements of the thisclose chapters were a bikini malfunction, a clown troupe, an Evil Clan of cheerleaders, a mysterious ring, Mirror Max, a water-resistant Jane, some Chickettes, the story told from Max's point of view... and too many more fantastic ideas to call out. Don't be discouraged if your submission didn't make it this time. Each chapter is a brand-new round in the game, and yours has as good a chance as anyone's to make it to the top this time.

As you start on chapter 2, keep in mind what's already been established: the characters, the story, the tone. Just because you're not EllaEnchanted, this week's winner, doesn't mean you can't carry on her story. The fun and the challenge is to take what she started and develop it further, putting your own spin on it while making sure that it reads like a new chapter in the same story. Remember: This is your story. You and you and you and you and... well, you get the idea, right?

Now get writing. This story isn't going to write itself!

Farrin Jacobs
Executive Editor, HarperTeen

It Takes Two

We know, we know: the word "coauthor" sounds weird. Peeps don't get it. Well hey, that's because it is weird. Writing together can be challenge or it can be easy—it all depends on the team's sensibility. Just because it's different, don't let that stop you and your BFF from cowriting a story or novel or movie together! Here are some frequently asked questions from our book tours and readings and maybe the answers will clarify the process and inspire you to team up with a pal and make your funny observations, romantic stories, adventures, or fantasies available for others to share.

I don't get it—How the eff can two people write together?

Crazy-sounding, right? But we think alike in so many ways and can literally complete each other's sentences. Our method basically could not exist without e-mail. Before writing each novel, we sit down together and map out a really succinct, air-tight outline—usually about 20 pages, with the entire story, each little plot turn, etc. Then we get crackin'—each will do a chapter and e-mail it to the other. Then, because we do not get bruised egos, we give each other free reign o' the red pencil and edit the chapters to our hearts’ content. The result is a layered voice with both of our styles everywhere and people really can't tell who wrote what.

So without e-mail people can't write together?

No. In fact, when we started our first project together, a crappy indie film called Intern that went to Sundance, we wrote it side by side on Carrie's mom's dining room table. We took turns typing and walking around the room. That method was actually more fun because we'd laugh hysterically as we'd basically act out the conversations and dialogue. But realistically, it does take way more time. It's much faster to bang out a chapter solo without distractions and laughter, and then have the other person edit and then add their own chapter.

My BFF and I spend all our time together. Does that mean we could cowrite something?

Sit down to craft that outline and make sure you truly think the same way. There are plenty of close friends—even sisters—who love and adore each other to death, but may not be cut out to be writing partners. The voices have to be very similar, so you literally can weave together the two styles and have the end result be seamless. But if you have someone who completes your thoughts, writing can be twice as fun!

Jill Kargmanand Carrie Karasyov
Authors of Bittersweet Sixteen

Hollaback, Girl! We’re All Ears

Writing a magazine feature is kind of a strange plan when you think about it. There's something a little off. I write it and you read it, each of us in a solitary vacuum. You tell other people if you liked it. But not me. I'll never know if a) you read it; b) you liked it; c) what it made you think about; d) if it had any impact on you whatsoever. I could spend hours crafting what I think is the world's most flawless sentence but really, who cares (except me, maybe). Which is why, when we planned the recent relaunch of ELLEgirl.com, I jumped at the chance to change the way editors, writers, and readers relate to each other.

On the new site, when a writer posts a story, readers can instantly say exactly what they think of it, share it with friends, or talk to each other about some of the issues raised in the story. And, as an editor, I can learn from readers' responses! It seems so simple, yet this is the first time as an editor that I can finally get on the other side of that wall to talk with readers. Now that makes some sense, I think. Maybe I'll write about it…good idea?

How do you feel about getting feedback on what you write about?

Anne Sachs
Executive Editor, ELLEgirl

You Are Staring at a Blank Page

"Ha, ha, ha!" the blank page laughs. "What have you got, chicken??!!!"

Do not be intimidated by the blank page, though, for you have Ideas. And everyone knows how dangerous those can be. You are powerful, persuasive, armed with a pen—okay, a keyboard. While many believe you are unresponsive, ungrateful, and worst of all…undressed, and it’s past noon on a Sunday, thoughts swirl in your head. Little do they know that these thoughts hold massive influence, that they are unrelenting vortices of energy behind your bedroom door, and you are going to change the world with your words, because they hold…The Truth.

The Truth about that girl who accidentally-on-purpose bumped into you yesterday in Hallway A, or how half your sophomore class deserves little mustaches drawn on their yearbook pictures. Mwa-ha-ha-ha…

But then, The Voice of When You Were in Kindergarten and Fell Down in Front of a Whole Class of Second Graders as They Laughed at You creeps in. This voice loves to torture you, make you feel like you cannot write. But you know The Truth—that you can write. Because you are. Because you think. Because you are an Author, and nobody has to validate this for you. You’ve always been one, ever since you started writing in that diary with a real lock and key, even before you signed up for this writing contest on HarperTeenFanLit.com.

So send The Voice into Time-Out, and show the Blank Page who’s in charge.

You are.

So do it.

Get writing.

Gaby Triana
Author of Cubanita

What I Know

I write about a pretentious world. But the truth is that I'm actually a basic kind of girl. So of course a lot of people have asked me why this is what I choose to write about. Well, I'll tell you. I grew up surrounded by extremely rich people, and I have to admit that sometimes I had a very hard time sorting out what was really normal for the rest of the world. Most people don't go shopping for a car at sixteen, and when they can't decide between two, buy both. Right? But that was something I saw . . . a lot.

This was the world I knew about, and as I got older I started to realize that it was filled with incredible stories, too many to go untold—and only someone on the inside could do them any justice. I really wanted to capture as much of that world as I could and as many of the people in it as possible. As I writer, I learned that to make a story work, I had to use what I know. So I took all the juicy details from my life and thought about all the crazy characters I've known—myself included—and gave them all my own twist.

"If your characters are based on real people, which one are you" readers ask me all the time. "Are you Liz or Adrienne" Well, it's not as simple as that. I love to think I'm like Liz: cool, responsible, elegant, and organized. But one look at my closet will tell you I'm actually a big chunk of Adrienne: messy, flirty, and spontaneous. And I guess I have a little bad-girl Cameron in me, too—I certainly know my way around the accessories floor at Bergdorf's like Cam, and yes, I know a lot of famous people. But unlike Cam, I'm a good friend and I value honesty and decent behavior. I've definitely learned that getting what you want isn't as important as keeping what is real and grounded in your life, no matter how crazy that life is.

But as true as a lot of the stories are, the most important thing to remember is that I didn't only write "Confessions" to tell you what I know, but also to give you a good time. I wanted to show you a world most people never see and share the real-life lessons that I learned (like Liz and Adrienne) way too late: value your friends, stay loyal, and keep a good head on your shoulders.

Oh, and only hit Barneys during the warehouse sale, and NEVER forget to moisturize.

Victoria Ashton
Author of Confessions of a Teen Nanny #3: Juicy Secrets

My Best Friend Is a Superhero, and All I Got Was This Lousy Near-Death Experience

Willow Rosenberg. Neville Longbottom. Calvin O'Keefe. Lilly Moscovitz. Logan Echolls (dreamy sigh).

Sure, they're not the ones who save the world or inherit the kingdom. They're not the stars of the story (although sometimes they might think they are!). Imagine if your best friend was Buffy or Harry or Mia—you'd probably be thinking, ruh-roh...I might be a sidekick!

But being a sidekick doesn't necessarily mean you're boring, right? We love them all because the authors (or TV show writers) made them hilarious or surprising or adorable in a way we hadn't seen before. They're not empty nobodies who only say: "You're so right about how to kill that vampire" or "No, it doesn't make you look fat." They have personalities of their own. So take a minute and think about your smaller characters. How can you make them as fun to write about as your hero?

Some things to think about:

What are they obsessed with?
Who do they love? (This could be the answer to the first question, too!)
Do they have any secrets they're hiding from the main character?
Would they want to be the hero of the story, if they could?
What makes them mad?
Why are they friends with the hero? (Or. . . why are they not?)
What would their theme song be?

Of course your hero/heroine is the first character you have to develop. . . but don't forget the little people! I love writing about these side characters because they can be as funny or weird or important as I want them to be. Think about Jane's friends, or her annoying sibling, or the mysterious Max. What makes them unique, too? (Do any of them also have paranormal powers?)

Who are your favorite supporting characters? They can be from books, TV, or movies. What made them stand out? Why do you like them? Who in your life would make a great supporting character in a story?

Tui Sutherland
Author of Avatars, Book One: So This Is How It Ends

Amazing Writers!!!!

I really admire all of you for joining this contest—writing is SO hard! I guess that's why I'm an editor instead of an author : ). I thought I'd share a little about my own writing endeavors...

I once signed up for this comp class where we'd read and discuss each other's short stories. I had an easy time telling OTHER people what would make their writing better, but when it came to my own stories, there is no pretty way to say this: they sucked. I got really embarrassed whenever it was my turn.

One was supposed to be about this guy who finds out his girlfriend is cheating on him. At that point in my life, I hadn't exactly had a billion boyfriends. (I was shy!) Now I can safely say that I had NO IDEA what I was talking about in that story. I think the best praise I got was that I described the girl's eyelashes well. So, yeah, writing what you don't know? That was mistake #1.

Anyway, the teacher would call me into his office and say things like "Now Lexa. What would Lexa say if she read Lexa's story?" I'd be like "I don't know. I guess that's why I'm TAKING YOUR STUPID CLASS." He never helped me learn how to make my stories better, he just made me feel like an idiot.

Mistake number 2? Caring what he thought.

I finally went to another teacher I liked and I told her how frustrated I was. She said it isn't your fault if you don't click with a teacher. Kinda like relationships—they just don't always work out. You have to move on. So I signed up for a poetry class the next year. And I even got a couple of my poems published!

Then I got a job at HarperCollins that I LOVE. So all I'm saying is, keep on trying and if one thing isn't working, move on to the next. . . song lyrics, movie reviews, epic verse, whathaveyou!

Did any of you ever have an experience that made you think you should just give up?

Lexa Hillyer
Associate Editor, HarperTeen

Making Plans

Once there was a girl who had a thing about planning. She hated having a set itinerary for Saturday night, and it annoyed her that school had to stick to a schedule. The girl's cousin, who mapped out everything in her life to fifteen-minute increments, made her break out in hives. She didn't like planning out her novels, either. While her writer friends often told her that they already knew the endings of novels they just started, she wanted the stories to be in control, as free as plastic bags caught in the wind. Knowing what was going to happen was boring, structured, predictable. So like her parents. Of course, it took her sixty times longer to finish a story. But that was the artiste way, right?

And then. . . someone bought her book project—a complicated book project with four main characters, a mystery, a killer, a stalker, tons of secrets, and flashbacks from past to present. She got a deadline and had to figure out a bunch of things fast. It didn't take long to realize that the plastic bag in the wind thing wasn't going to fly.

Outline, a voice whispered in her head. Just try it. So she reluctantly did. And within a few hours, she had mapped out chapter one. And two. And three and six and eleven. The outline helped her figure out how the characters would get from A to B, and it gave her moments to work toward. It didn't stifle her artistic process. And she got the book done on time.

OK, the girl is me. Now the outline and I are kind of friends. Sometimes I use an outline a lot, intricately planning each chapter. Other times I jot down just a couple of sentences to keep my story on track. It's not like the outline has solved all my problems—I still get stuck on plot, and sometimes I outline a story that, when writing, I realize doesn't work. And just because I write an outline doesn't mean it has to run my writing like a controlling boyfriend. I might think of a better scene that's not in the outline, and I just go with it. I use a 70-30 rule: 70% of my story sticks loosely to the outline, 30% can veer off somewhere else, if needed. And I'm not even breaking out in hives.

Do you outline your stories? Or do you like to just let stuff happen?

Sara Shepard
Author of Pretty Little Liars

The Other Characters in a Writer's Life

There are many characters you will meet in your career as a writer, not all of them on the page. Here are a few to watch out for:

The Encouraging Teacher
She sees your ink-stained form hunched over your Hilroy composition notebook and she says, "I do believe you're going to be a writer, Susan Juby!"
Keep her words close to your heart. You may need them later on.

The Less-Encouraging Teacher
He'll say things like, "Susan, would you please stop writing and pay attention or you're going to fail the quiz on equivalent fractions. Writing won't get you into college!"
He may have a point. So keep writing, but pay attention in math class.

The Concerned Parent
"You're going to be a what? In other words you're planning to live at home forever. Could someone PLEASE get me an aspirin?"
Don't worry about concerned parents. They'll come around, especially if you eventually move out. And pass your math exams.

The Discouraging Friend
"I didn't get your story at all. Are you sure you want to be a writer?"
Disregard. Note time and location of insult in order to remind so-called friend about it later, when you get published and win major literary award.

The Supportive Friend
"I loved it! OMIGOD you are a genius!"
Cultivate this friend like the precious flower she is, but keep in mind that she might not be completely objective. Temper her comments with those of the Less-Encouraging Teacher.

The Disinterested Publisher
"Thank you for sending us your work. Unfortunately, due to the volume of submissions, we are no longer accepting unsolicited manuscripts."
Weep quietly when not raging against the unfairness of it all. Then disregard and do things like participate in the HarperTeen FanLit project.

The Editor Who Eventually Publishes Your Work
"I love your story and we would like to publish it. I do have a few suggestions, however."
Dance, sing, shout with joy. You have found your greatest ally. Send flowers to the Encouraging Friend and get to work on your revisions.

The Reader Who Doesn't Like Your Story
"Dear Ms. Juby, I really didn't care for your story."
Rejoice that the hater got to read your story at all!

The Reader Who Loves Your Story
One of the most important characters you will meet in your whole writing life.

I have a whole group of people who read my stories at different stages (the most important, of course, is my editor). Who do you ask to read your work? Who encourages you in your writing—and who doesn't?

Susan Juby
Author of Alice MacLeod, Realist at Last

Unleashing Your Inner Artist

Happy Halloween, Guys and Ghouls!

When I was young and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always replied, "an actress." However, if I had just looked no further than my last name for a profession, which in German means writer, I would have saved myself a lot of time—and my parents a lot of money! I finally discovered the one thing that gave me the buzz that performing did—writing.

I'd always written in my journals about dreamy guys I had mad crushes on—but those were for my eyes and throbbing heart only. When auditioning for a part, sometimes I'd write my own monologues to prevent me from being the hundredth girl that day to recite, "Romeo, Romeo," to some half-snoozing director. I'd write scenes or stand-up comedy or create characters off the top of my head in improv—anything that would relate to acting.

Looking back, how could I have known that performing was the very thing that would help me write novels? I realized telling jokes helped me write jokes in my books, and the split-second timing and quick thinking of improvisation prepared me for writing on deadline!

When I wrote my first novel, I got to be EVERY character—and also decide how the story began and ended. How freeing! I'm not suggesting a would-be writer must be Broadway Bound, but taking an acting class, auditioning for a school play, or maybe just reading a script out loud can inspire a fresh outlook to a story or character that has been sitting on the shelf or tucked away in a notebook.

The arts can teach you helpful lessons and provide tools that are useful for writers, such as following your dream, thinking outside the box, and, most importantly, being able to handle rejection. Additionally the arts, hobbies, and even other professions are ways to unleash the creative inner writer in you. Singing, playing an instrument, sculpting, painting, drawing, or crafts—whatever it is that speaks to you—do it!

What art form or medium inspires you with your writing?

Ellen Schreiber
Author of Vampire Kisses 3: Vampireville

That All-Important First Sentence. . .

I decided to blog about first sentences because first sentences are super-important.

When I was a teenager sitting in math class, I'd hide my notebook under my binder and pen the first lines of my immortal novel. . .

"It was April, and everywhere, the blossoming forsythia foretold that spring was about to arrive."

I never got much further than that. With such a boring sentence, where did I have to go? So, I decided to be a singer instead.

(Obviously, this isn't where my story ends)

Fast-forward a few years to when I tried writing again. I took a workshop with a great writer, Richard Peck, and he said, "A first sentence should make the reader ask why." That means it should leave readers with questions, so they'll read on. It should thrust the reader into the story. A lightbulb moment for me!

One of my favorite first sentences is from Little Women: " 'Christmas won't be Christmas without presents,' grumbled Jo, lying on the rug." I immediately wanted to know why Jo had no presents. And who can forget, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . ."?

I tried it, and it worked. My favorite first sentence I've written is, "I should never have come back to Miami." Questions? Yes. Why did he leave Miami? Why did he come back? Why shouldn't he have? Waaaay better than the "blossoming forsythia" thing.

What is your favorite first sentence of a book you've read? Your favorite first sentence you've written?

Alex Flinn
Author of Diva

Winning the Cookie

When I was 18, a freshman in college, I signed up, on a whim, for a playwriting class. Best decision I ever made. (Well, other than saying yes, a few years later, to brunch with the cute brilliant guy I'd had a crush on all through high school. . . and then yes again, when he asked me to marry him. . . )

But back to playwriting.

I had always been pretty good at writing. I wrote well enough to develop some impressively bad work habits, like leaving papers until the night before, or not doing the reading before writing the paper. Until playwriting class.

The professor, Doc Murphy, was one of the best teachers I've ever had. Every week we all had to write something, a scene, a character study—and then we'd vote; whoever's work was judged best would win the chocolate chip cookie Doc Murphy brought in. Man, did I want that cookie.

The problem was, you didn't get the cookie for cool adjectives, varied sentence structure, smooth transitions. Doc Murphy, bald, cross-eyed, an iridescent scarf knotted nattily around his neck, would demand, "Astonish me." He said that a first draft was just for puking up your first idea, and that of course it would be boring, trite, full of clichés; by your twentieth draft, if you were really lucky and working hard, you might reach mediocrity! That's where the fun would begin, he said, because that's when you hone your characters from flat, bland stereotypes into astonishingly particular individuals, with passionate needs, complex pasts, hidden flaws, implosive secrets.

Writing became exciting, athletic even. I wrote lists—lists of questions for my characters to answer, possible names, needs, enemies. . . I wrote and wrote, better scenes and sketches than I'd ever written before in my life.

I astonished myself with the turns my plots took, with the depths my characters began to reveal to me. I even got Doc Murphy to open his mouth in a pucker of astonishment, twice.

But I never won the damned cookie.

What I got was, of course, much more valuable—a method of writing that pulls me deep, deep into my stories. John Steinbeck wrote of one of his characters that he "got into a book, crawled and groveled between the covers, tunneled like a mole among the thoughts, and came up with the book all over his face and hands." That's how I write. That's what I love about writing.

Yeah, yeah, but it would've been so sweet to win the cookie.

I'm still trying, I guess. How about you?

Rachel Vail
Author of You, Maybe: The Profound Asymmetry of Love in High School

There Are No Subliminal Messages in This Post

Hi superfantastico pals and also pals I have Not met yet! Do you hear that sound? It's the sound of the sands of time triCkling down untiL tomorrow when its gostartwritingtime! Can't wait to see which plot wins, and I'm super excited to read what you come Up with. Since mine is the last post before the Deadline, I thought I'd give some sErious and practical writing advice.

Only I don't really know any. So instead, I present to you my own personal Three Steps to Better Writing program, guaranteed to make your writing sizzle!

1. KINKOS: Be a copy cat!
Like an artist learning to draw from a live model, one of the best ways to develop your ear and eye for detail is by studying people and then trying to capture what you've seen and heard in writing. Since that is called stalking when you do it to strangers, it's best to do it to people you know. So spend a day copying your friends from life onto paper.

You can tell a lot about a person's character based on how they speak, but to capture that in writing can be tricky and requires practice. The teacher's pet's "Oh, please!" is different from your friend the sarcastronaut's "Oh, please." The same is true with physical descriptions of people. A "button-down avec pearls" would register as preppy, while a "skull tank with pearls" reads more goth-debutaunt. (What? That is too a style statement!).

Just like you can suggest a space of great depth in a drawing just by showing two lines coming together on the paper and the brain fills in the rest, you can suggest a Guy of Great Depth by saying, "His bangs fell over one eye as he read Kafka." In other words, two details should be enough to help your reader picture the rest of the character.

2. —ITOS: Fill your grill.
Writing is hard work. In addition to feeding your brain by stalking.copying your friends, you must feed your stomach with snacks. For this, I recommend substances from the —itos food group, such as Doritos, burritos, Tostitos, Fritos, cupcakeitos, mini-pizzaitos. . .

3. SPECIAL SAUCE: Make the ordinary extraordinary.
Sentence structure is like the spice that variety adds to life. Sentence structure is important. Sentence structure will play a large part in how much a reader likes your work. Sentence structure means how you organize your words. Sentence structure should be varied. Sentence structure that does not vary gets very boring and repetitive feeling and people stop paying attention. Sentence structure—hey, wake up! I'm not done!

See what I mean? If you write every sentence in the same way, people will nod off and then wake up with weird notebook creases on their faces and blame you. Think of writing as a hamburger, and varied sentence structure as the special sauce that makes it fascinatING and delicious.

There they are, my three steps. I Kan't stop feeling like I forgot Something important. . . Something I meant to say, somethING crucial. . .

Hmm. . . [EVEN] I can't guess what it could [IF THE PLOT IS] possibly have been. . .Was it [PARANORMAL] about ankle boots and [DON'T FORGET] whether they're totally Hot or totally Not? No, [TO INCLUDE] I don't think so. Was it. . .

[KISSING! ALL THE BOOKS THAT EVERYONE LOVES HAVE ROMANCE BAKED INSIDE THEM LIKE A SPECIAL SURPRISE. NO MATTER WHAT THE GENRE, HAVING PEOPLE FALL IN LOVE MAKES READERS FALL IN LOVE!]

Anyway, good luck! Make like a Super Soaker and have a blast.

P.S. I'm serious about the ankle boots though. H-h-hot? Or H-h-ho? What do you think?

Michele Jaffe
Author of Bad Kitty

Happy Endings for Everyone: The Joys of FanLit

So I logged on to the site and, of course, the first thing I do is go on the forum "Favorite Books and Authors" so that I can see how many people named me as their favorite author. With my heart in my throat I zipped through all 139 posts and found Six!! six mentions!!! Yessssss!!! Woo-hoo!!! Thank you to my six favorite readers!!

Now who are MY favorite authors? A lot of them are like yours. . . Stephen King, J. K. Rowling, J. R. R. Tolkien, Cecily von Ziegesar, Lisi Harrison, Leo Tolstoy, Jane Austen (Jane only got one vote—hey, I'm beating Jane! Woo-hoo!!), Dawn Powell, Evelyn Waugh, and P. G. Wodehouse. And when I say "favorite author," I mean authors whose books I have read and re-read to DEATH. As well as authors who I wish would write more books even though they are dead. You know?

Writing fanlit is great practice for any aspiring writer. When I was a teenager, I wrote Duran Duran meets Dynasty fanlit. The members of Duran Duran were part of a ridiculously rich and scheming family, with many affairs and scandals between them. It was an over-the-top soap opera, and part of me is a little bummed the "Gossip and Glamour" premise is pulling very few votes right now in the polls. C'mon people! Don't we want to read about catfights over Jimmy Choo bags?? I know I do!

And speaking of fanlit, I think part of the fun of writing it is being able to rewrite the endings to sad books. Like Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy. In the end of the trilogy, Will and Lyra can't be together. But in cyberspace—in fanlit—many fans have given them very happy endings, which makes me very glad. What books would you rewrite to give them happy endings?

Melissa de la Cruz
Author of Fresh Off the Boat

A Writer's Guide to Marathon Running

Writing a story is a lot like running a marathon. Of course, I've never run a marathon. Aside from the fact that they are 26 miles long and they have to wrap you in tin foil like a burrito when you're done so that your body doesn't cool down too fast and lump up like melted cheese . . . I don't know anything about running marathons. I am talking completely out of my butt here, marathon-wise.

But let's just go with how I imagine a marathon is run. Because you've all just started one in my head, and I want to you get to the finish line!

In my experience, writing a story tends to go something like this:

MILES 1-5, THE "FEELING GOOD" STAGE

When she first has an idea, The Writer feels like a bit of a genius. It feels like her head is glowing. "I really am the brightest bulb in the lamp," she says to herself. "And my light shineth over all and illuminaneth the darkness! The word I'm looking for is bright. That's what I am. Bright."

Because she is feeling so super-shiny-smart and fresh, The Writer gets right down to business. She writes and writes. She writes notes about what she writes. Oh, how she writes! Look at her go! She is so fast!

MILES 6-15, THE "WHY DIDN'T I JUST TAKE UP SCRAPBOOKING?" STAGE

The Writer has been going for a while now, but is now saying to herself, "Writing a story is a seriously long process. Why didn't I just start making something simple, like a pot holder? I could have made, like, a dozen potholders by now. Or I could have put all of my pictures into color-coordinated albums. But no. Not me. I had to start this story. And instead I am still working on this one paragraph that just WILL NOT DIE!"

Sadly, this is when a lot of people slow down or eventually give up their writing.

F. Scott Fitzgerald said, "All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath." You're alone, you feel like you are running out of air, and you're doing something weird. You've only gotten part of the way through it.

Keep going. Keep going if you feel shaky and think you can't do it. That's a sign that you're actually getting somewhere. You're tired because you've been working! Commit to finishing. Make yourself SWEAR to finish.

MILES 16-23, THE "PLEASE LET ME FALL INTO A SINKHOLE" STAGE

Things are starting to get to The Writer. Everything aches. She has committed to finishing her story, even if it kills her, which it definitely will. With every painful step, she hits a new problem. There's that page that doesn't want to be written, that character who keeps saying the wrong thing, and that really important part that she hasn't figured out yet, the one people call "the middle."

She's not going quickly, but she's taking it step by step. She is going forward, word by word. Sure, she wants to stop sometimes, but she doesn't.

MILES 24 AND 25, THE "I MIGHT ACTUALLY MAKE THIS" STAGE

"Wait," The Writer says to herself, looking over her pages in amazement. "Is this possible? Have I almost written my story?"

With the prospect of a finish line, she feels the blood coming back to her brain a little. Some of that early speed comes back. That annoying character suddenly stops acting like such a problem child. That impossible page starts to materialize. No, it may not be perfect, but it is there, and it is getting clearer every second.

MILE 26, THE GLORY MILE

The Writer doesn't feel the pain or the effort anymore. She is over the hump. The story feels like it is writing itself. And then comes the shocking moment when she realizes that it is done.

Writers do not get tinfoil blankets or medals when they are done writing. (Though I feel that we should. I would like these things. Medals and tinfoil blankets are shiny.)

But we do have our stories, which are better. So come on out, start writing, and don't stop until your story is done.

Love,
mj

Maureen Johnson
Author of 13 Little Blue Envelopes

Show the World What You Can Do

I often get asked, "When did you know you wanted to be a writer?" The truth is, I didn't know what I might do with my life until I met my high school creative writing teacher, a fascinating woman I'll call Ms. Mucous.

Unlike my favorite teachers, Ms. Mucous had a weirdly limited view of imagination. That is, she believed one's imagination should only be used to write stories about sweet and happy things, like puppies and kitties and rainbows. Now, I liked puppies and kitties and rainbows as much as the next girl. But I liked to write about ghosts, mermaids, evil twins and bad boyfriends. Ms. Mucous didn't think these unpleasant things were worthy topics. As a matter of fact, every day she would pick out a story or poem to read to the class, something she thought was particularly good.

She never read anything I wrote.

Ever.

As I sat seething in Ms. Mucous's class, my life's goal popped into my head. I thought: I'm going to keep writing. I'm going to show Ms. Mucous what I can do. I'm going to show the whole world.

It's amazing what motivates a person. For me, it's anger. For you, it could be love or sadness or just the possibility of it all. And that's what stories are: limitless possibilities. Who's in the story? What will happen next? How will it end?

Though stories feel so much like real life, they're also different from life. More dramatic, more magical, more exciting. More exciting than doing that group Powerpoint presentation on the constitution with those three lazy slobs from history class. Or spending a Saturday night babysitting your spoiled brat little brother, watching him blow milk bubbles out of his nose. Or having to skip homecoming because your Great Aunt May insists on taking you to the rubber band museum. Or listening to a stupid teacher blather on about puppies and kitties and rainbows.

What's even better: in the HarperTeen FanLit event, you guys discover the possibilities together.

Here:

• The girl can get the guy (unless she decides she doesn't need him).
  
• The girl can slay the dragon (unless she'd like to keep him).
  
• The girl can banish the witch (unless she'd rather hang out and learn a spell or two).

And the characters don't even have to be girls. They can be boys, cats, camels, fairies, ghosts, gnomes, gremlins, ants, or heiresses. They can live in haunted houses, glass castles, boarding schools, charm schools, or wizard schools. Your story can be set in caves or on mountains, on ships or planes or at the bottom of the ocean.

Your characters can:

• read minds (or)
  
• leap tall buildings (or)
  
• grant three wishes (or)
  
• kiss frogs (or)
  
• solve crimes (or)
  
• talk to trees (or)
  
• talk to the dead (or)
  
• move objects with thoughts (or)
  
• defeat nineteen ninjas armed only with a toothpick (or)
  
• fall madly, passionately in love (or)
  
• all of the above.

Best of all, you can write thinly-disguised versions of your very worst ex-boyfriends or creative writing teachers and then have them run over by runaway rickshaws (or herds of llamas, or angry punk girls on roller skates).

My point is, you can make anything happen. You can show the whole world what you can do.

Take that, Ms. Mucous.

Love & Luck,
Laura Ruby
Author of Good Girls