It's the End of the World as We Know It...

Get ready for some change!

We here at the League are preparing for some changes on this site...

and we're going to take December off to work on it. 

But!

As you may or may not know, the world's due to end on 12-12-2012 (probably at 12:12am, no?) and in order to celebrate the apocalypse--after all, we are a dystopian blog!--we're holding our biggest contest yet!

What's the prize? 

Oh, you know, just signed copies of our books.

A SIGNED copy of the paperback of
Across the Universe by Beth Revis

A SIGNED copy of the paperback of
A Million Suns by Beth Revis

A SIGNED copy (either an ARC or hardback) of
Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

A SIGNED copy of the paperback of
Possession by Elana Johnson*

A SIGNED copy of the hardcover of
Surrender by Elana Johnson*

A free electronic short story,
"Resist" by Elana Johnson

A free electronic short story,
"Regret" by Elana Johnson

A SIGNED copy of the hardcover of
Crewel by Gennifer Albin*

A signed copy of the hardcover of
Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans

A SIGNED copy of the hardcover of
Starters by Lissa Price*

A SIGNED copy of the hardcover of
Ashen Winter by Mike Mullin*

A SIGNED copy of the hardcover of
The Other Life by Susanne Winnacker

One winner will be taking home 
12 books by all of us
here at the League!

And entering is super easy!
We want to know what you want from the League.
So the only required entry is for you to share your opinion.
What sort of things do you want to see from us?
Interviews? Reviews? Giveaways?
Let us know, and you're entered!

And because we're planning big things for the upcoming year,
we also have ways to earn extra entries by spreading the word about this website and our books.

And before we go any further, we also want to say:
THANK YOU.
Thank you, dear readers, for being with us so far on this journey.
Thanks for sticking around as we posted about apocalypses, robots, disasters, and more.
We hope to share many more crazy topics with you in the future!

To enter:
Just fill in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post!
Contest open until the end of the world,
or, in other words, 
12-12-2012 
:)

Contest is open internationally. Please note, the books denoted by an asterisk (*) will be signed for US winners only; if someone with an international address wins, they will be shipped the book directly from Book Depository.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you from the League

As November draws to a close, and 2013 looms ahead, I wanted to say thank you for all your support and participation in 2012.  We've welcomed new people, said goodbye to a few, and we have so much more planned for you in the coming months.  Stay tuned for announcements and updates as things are finalized.

Happy Holidays!

An editor on being edited

I wanted to introduce you all to Amy McCulloch for several reasons. She has a special perspective from being an editor who is about to also become an author (at a different publisher). Also, her book sounds amazing. And we share some countries in common -- I've had some of my best travel adventures in Africa and New Zealand. I hope to meet her in person someday, but for now, I'm enjoying her words of wisdom here. – Lissa

I’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember, and for all that time, that title has had to fit in around other aspects of my life. I’ve been a writer-and-student, a-writer-and-waitress, a writer-and-gap-year-traveller, and now I’m a writer-and-editor.

It was while working in my current job (as a commissioning editor of SF/F for a major London house) that I announced my book deal for the debut YA fantasy I’ve been toiling away at since university. Naturally, the first question that I’m asked now is: What’s it like to be edited, when your day job is editing other people’s work?

When I first got the deal, I had to keep the answer fairly non-committal. I would say, “Oh yeah, it will be fine... editing is great!” But since going through structural and line edits over the summer with my brilliant Random House editor, Lauren Buckland, I can now answer that question for real: It is really, really hard – but that has nothing to do with the fact that I’m an editor!

The funniest thing is most people’s assumption that because I’m an editor, my work won’t need editing. Shouldn’t I be able to do that sort of thing myself? That being my job and all... but that couldn’t be further from the truth!

In other people’s work, I’m always looking for key things: character development, plot continuity, world-building... But for some reason, when I’m looking at my own work, the blinkers go on and I have trouble seeing the forest for the trees.

I always think that if an editor has done their job well, almost everything they say, the author will already know (even if that’s way deep down inside). That is exactly what my editor did for me: her notes drew out all the elements of the book that I knew needed work, and told me to focus on them. That was the hard part. Coming out of a long day job (and that goes for anyone who works and writes!) and engaging that problem-solving side of the brain, which is different from the purely creative side, was definitely a strain. And also making sure that the logic of the world still makes sense after changing, adding or adjusting sentences is a particular peril when writing anything with fantastical or magical elements! The experience also put things in perspective for me as an editor too: sometimes a little comment that can seem like an aside – like “how did these two characters meet?” – can start a chain reaction in an author’s brain about how to further develop the story! The trick is to figure out the balance between addressing the problem and creating a whole slew of new ones.

Yet ultimately, I know I’m lucky. Every day I get to be immersed in story – whether it’s my own, or somebody else’s – and that’s been my dream from the moment I fell in love with reading. Writers-with-day-jobs out there: how has your day job impacted your writing, if at all?

BIO

Amy McCulloch is a girl of many publishing hats: author, editor, and reader. Originally from Ottawa, Canada, she currently lives in London, UK. Other than books, she is addicted to travelling, running and Starbucks coffee.

Her debut novel THE OATHBREAKER'S SHADOW is due June 6 2013 from Random House Children's Publishers. Find out more on her blog or feel free to say hello on Twitter. 

The Oathbreaker’s Shadow SYNOPSIS

Fifteen-year-old Raim lives in a world where you tie a knot for every promise that you make. Break that promise and you are scarred for life, and cast out into the desert.

Raim has worn a simple knot around his wrist for as long as he can remember. No one knows where it came from, and which promise of his it symbolises, but he barely thinks about it at all - not since becoming the most promising young fighter ever to train for the elite Yun guard. But on the most important day of his life, when he binds his life to his best friend (and future king) Khareh, the string bursts into flames and sears a dark mark into his skin.

Scarred now as an oath-breaker, Raim has two options: run, or be killed.

A gripping YA action-adventure fantasy, the first part of a planned duology.

Advice for Young Writers: Live Life

I was recently asked what my best advice is for young writers. Beyond read (a lot) and write (a lot), my main advice is to live life.

Travel (even if it’s just to the next town over), meet new people (even if it’s only Starbucks employees), run (even if you can only do it for a hundred yards), fall in love (even if the other person doesn’t love you back), knit a sweater (even if it turns out hideous), do stuff that scares you (even if it’s only doing any of the things on this list so far). 

The point is, by expanding our life experiences, we can make our stories and character interactions richer and more authentic. And even if you never finish your novel (or find an agent or a publisher), at least you lived life to the fullest you could.

Creativity Advice from CRACKED.com

So, I was cruising through my Google Reader feed last night, and I came across this article on CRACKED.com: "5 Workplace Annoyances That Can Boost Your Creativity." It's well worth a read. Although it is on Cracked, so expect some mild profanity and puerile humor. If that sort of thing offends you, don't click through. (Actually, if that sort of thing offends you, it may be best to stay off the internet entirely.)

It struck me that these apply to writers, too. So here's my reinterpretation of the five workplace annoyances as applied to writing:

5. You're more creative when you're tired or drunk

I once heard that Jack Prelutsky wrote all his poems in the middle of the night. It makes sense now. And all those legions of alcoholic writers? Now I get it. And resemble it.

4. Sarcastic people can help you generate ideas

The snarky main character has become such a fixture in YA that she's almost a cliche. Now I understand.  Sarcasm boosts creativity, writers need to be creative, therefore writers are more likely to be skilled with sarcasm. And to pass on this skill to their characters.

3. Constant annoying background noise helps you focus

Can we finally put the mockery of the coffee shop writer to rest? Silence is deadly--to creativity.

2. A sex-free mind is a creative mind

It turns out that thinking about sex activates the analytical parts of your brain, while thinking about love activates the creative parts of your brain. (Cracked cites this fascinating study.) Maybe there's a scientific explanation for what I always thought about during math tests. On the other hand, two words might explain my math-class daydreams just as well: teenage boy.

There's a wealth of incredibly moving YA literature focused on love. Whereas the few YA novels I've read that focus primarily on sex have left me, well, cold. Perhaps this study helps to explain why.

1. You're more creative when you don't get paid

Note to anyone from Tanglewood Press who reads this: I'm pretty sure I'm the exception to this rule. The more you pay me, the more creative I am.

Now that we've got that out of the way, what the authors of the study Cracked cites found was that art students who were intrinsically motivated did far better in their careers than those who were extrinsically motivated. The same is no doubt true among novelists. If you're in it primarily for the money, you're never going to make it through the inevitable rough patches--the years of trying to write a decent novel and sell it, for example.

On the other hand, I'm a little suspicious of authors who say they write only for themselves. Why put yourself through the flesh-wringing agony of trying to get published if you're only writing for yourself?

If you haven't yet, read the Cracked article--it's well worth your time. What boosts your creativity? Let me know in the comments please.

LEARN TO PACE YOURSELF

League readers, today’s guest blogger is Jennifer Rush. I read and blurbed her terrific, fast-paced YA debut Altered, which releases January of next year.  Learn from her advice on pacing – Lissa.

 

 

THREE TIPS FOR BETTER PACING

I started writing Altered before I really knew what it was I was writing. I knew I wanted to write a Jason Bourne type novel for YA readers, with lots of action, but with quieter moments interspersed throughout. It wasn’t until my agent went out with Altered that I learned it was technically a thriller. Up until that point, I’d always pictured thrillers as being a mix of Robert Ludlum and Michael Jackson’s zombie music video. Thriller was a genre I had little experience with. And one of the biggest characteristics of the genre is fast pacing.

 

As my editor said, “…the pacing is expected to be tightly-wound.” And before I started working with her, I had no idea how to tightly wind anything. It was only because of her, and her brilliant editing skills, that I was able to make Altered a better thriller. So, I’m going to share with you my top three tips for upping the pacing in your novel.

 

1. Never a Dull Moment

As my editor pointed out in my first revision letter, a large part of my action sequences were in the last third of my novel. She suggested I either move some action scenes closer to the beginning, or add new ones. Since I’m a visual learner, I used the notecard method and wrote out each chapter on one notecard. I also used different colored pens for different types of scenes. So, for example, action sequences were written in green.

When I spread the cards out and stepped back, it became immediately clear that my editor was right. There was a lot of green near the end, but far too much blue (what I considered “quieter” moments) in the beginning.

By adding notes in the correlating pen colors, I was able to balance out the scenes on the index cards before even tackling the revision. This helped immensely. And, despite the fact that I absolutely hate the notecard method, I’ve used it for every major revision since then. It works!

 

2. Cut the Grocery Shopping

This is an expansion of tip #1. Grocery shopping is dull. And it wasn’t until my editor pointed it out that I had an unusually large number of grocery shopping scenes. I knew my characters had to eat, but buying the food didn’t help the plot at all, and it certainly didn’t help the pacing.

 

If you find your characters doing mundane every-day things---shopping, sitting in a classroom, surfing the Internet---make sure it’s absolutely integral to furthering the plot along. If it’s not, CUT IT.

3. Never Let Your Characters Relax

Even if your characters have momentarily escaped the bad guy, even if they’re holed up in a cushy hotel room, do not let them relax.

 

Put yourself in their shoes---if you were hunted by someone, or your life was in danger, would you be hanging out on the couch watching TV? Maybe, maybe your friends and family have no idea you’re in danger, but that doesn’t mean you’ve forgotten about it.

Make your character jumpy. Make them check (and double-check) the locks on the doors. Make them toss and turn in bed. Make them set up booby traps. Something to remind the reader that even though there’s nothing dangerous currently in the room, there could be something lurking just outside a darkened window.

Jennifer Rush began telling lies at the age of five and was immediately hooked. Fiction was far better than reality, and she spent most of her teens writing (about vampires, naturally). She currently lives in Michigan with her husband and two kids and enjoys eating ice cream in her spare time. Altered is her debut novel. You can find out more on her website at www.jennrush.com or follow her on twitter @jenn_rush

Do Catholics Have Sex?

I'm probably lucky that I got to the National Council of Teachers of English convention in Las Vegas on the last day. I'm pretty sure that if I'd been here longer, I would have gotten kicked out by now.

Not five minutes after I arrived on the show floor today (Sunday, September 18th), a woman asked, "Does this book have sex in it? I teach at a Catholic school."

Without event thinking about it, I replied, "I'm fairly certain Catholics have sex, too." Obviously not my most politic moment.

I've blogged about sex in YA literature before. I still don't get it. Are those who object to it afraid that teens will imitate what they read? Any kid who imitated everything he or she read would have died before becoming a teen while trying the stunts that fill our middle grade literature. I'm pretty sure that re-enacting any Rick Riordan novel would be deadly.

Maybe they're afraid that the more teens know about sex, the more they'll be tempted to experiment? In fact, the opposite is true. The more teenagers know about sex, the more likely they are to delay sexual activity and to practice safe sex. This brings up an important point: limiting teens' access to books that realistically portray sexuality, increases the chances that those teens will have early and unsafe sex. Censorship hurts kids.

Maybe they're raising pristine children, untainted by any hint of sexuality. If there's any family out there without a television, radio, or internet access; well, okay, fine. That family (and only that family) might find something in YA literature that their children haven't already seen in far more graphic form. The rest of us have no such excuse.

Am I missing something here? What rationalizations do you hear for objecting to sex in YA literature? Let me know in the comments, please.