21 Minus Blog Tour!!!

UPDATE: Finally have the official rules! Go here to fill out the form to win AWESOME PRIZES!!! :)

Hey, everyone! Guess what? 21 Minus starts TODAY!! :)

Here is a description of 21 Minus by Anna Waggener, the organizer of this awesome blog tour:

21 Minus is my attempt to bring together a group of fantastic young writers, all aged twenty-one or younger, and let them tell their stories via questions asked by their peers.  It will also feature some great giveaways (including an ARC of GRIM!) and should be lots of fun all the way around.

Now I am going to interview a young writer and let them tell their story... I am interviewing Mariah Irvin. You can find her blog here. This was a different kind of interview for me to do, because we didn't actually have direct contact with the interviewee - all the interviews were done through Anna, so it was all very secret... but that makes it fun! Anyway, on to the questions.




Mariah's blog header. Isn't it cute?

 What is the main reason you read? What is the main reason you write?

I can answer both parts of the question at once: because it makes me happy. They're both a huge part of my life and one without the other feels almost unnatural to me. I read to be a better writer and I write to be a better reader.

If you've moved away from reading YA, why? If you haven't, why not?

I read literature to switch things up sometimes. YA writing can be so emotional and engrossing I can walk away feeling completely drained, which, in a way, I love. There's nothing like YA, I love it and that's why I write it. But if I need a break or I want to study writing styles I'll switch over to my other love, classic literature.

How important to you is a book's cover, blurb, or review when convincing you to pick up a book and read it?

The blurb or review is pretty important, especially if I've never heard of the book before. A lot of the books I read come from recommendations from friends that have read the books and liked them, so if I'm going to pick up a book on a whim it's really got to sell itself! I'll usually read the first few pages, too, to get an idea of the voice and plot. Covers, though, I don't really care that much about. Yes, my eye will be drawn to a pretty cover, but a plain cover won't convince me that I shouldn't buy a book. I remember in 2009 I picked up "The Hunger Games" without a recommendation and the blurb had me interested right away, but the cover wasn't my favorite!

What does your handwriting look like? Do you think it matches your personality?

I can have really nice handwriting when I try, but most of the time it's stuck somewhere between print and cursive. When I think about it, I guess I could say that that resembles my personality; the things I put a lot of effort into usually turn out nicer and more worthwhile.

Where have you been that has given you the most ideas/inspiration for your writing?

It's funny, because I've done a lot of traveling, but I'm not writing anything right now that's based on a location I've been to, because usually a lot of my ideas come from everyday things. But, I went to China last year I started imagining all the things I could write about it. Someday, I'd like to write a historical novel about China.

What do you have to say about movies based on books?

I've probably had just about every opinion on this topic humanly possible at one point or another! I love working with cameras and interpreting words on a page into another medium. But even though movies allow so much more accessibility to those words, I always feel like something is missing. To me, it's like the book and the movie are completely separate things, so I'm able to fall in love with both, but never in the same way.

If you had to describe your latest WiP in one word, what would it be?
 
Escape.
 
Great interview, Mariah!

Now here's some places you should go... click here to go to Mariah's blog and find out more about her, and read the interview that she did for 21 Minus. Also go here to check out the awesome list of prizes Anna has for the giveaway, and then go here to Anna Waggener's blog to get all the information about the blog tour and giveaway - how you can win prizes, etcetera!

(So it turns out Nick Hight interviewed me! If you want to check that out, click here).

Have fun learning about all the other awesome young writers!

Where To Find Teens On The Web

EDIT: This post was written two years ago, and if you've spent any amount of time on the internet lately, you probably know it's a machine that changes in a snap. Some of these bloggers and teens don't blog anymore, or don't have an online presence anymore, or they have just grown up and are no longer teens. So be aware of that when you're clicking through the links! If I have time sometime, I'll try to make an updated list. Thanks! ~Alyssa

Is it even called the Web anymore? Wow I am supposed to be totally on top of all these terms... ANYWAY. Today I have decided to put a thing together of where you can find teens on the Internet (only a few of them, and they are mostly writers!) as well as some good posts to give you an idea of what teens think about books.

TEENS

-Taryn Albright, 18-year-old writer, blogger, reviewer. She also has an editing service with Kate Coursey called Teen Eyes.
-Aleeza Rauf, 17-year-old fun writer, blogger and reviewer who currently lives in Pakistan. My interview with her here.
-Audrey, a Young Adult who reviews YA.
-Blue Lipstick Samurai, otherwise known as Glenna. 17-year-old writer and blogger.
-Brittany, 13-year-old writer and blogger (host of Teen Writers Summer Blogfest I particpated in with a bunch of other teens.)
-Riley Redgate, 17-year-old writer and blogger. I've really enjoyed her blog in the short time I've been following. (And she has a penname, like me! Except hers is awesome.)
-Kate Coursey, 18-year-old agented writer, has editing service with Taryn Albright (for link, see above!)
-Laura, college student, also particpated in Teen Writers Summer Blogfest.
-Madeline Bartos, spunky young teenager with lots to say to help you get in the mind of a teen.
-Matthew Dodwell, teenage writer from Australia.
-Brigid Gorry-Hines, 18-year-old cool person.
-Noveltee(n), group blog by teenaged writers.
-Emilia Plater, 18-year-old agented awesome person. She likes unicorns.
-Steph Bowe, teenage PUBLISHED author.
-Brittany Clarke, 17-year-old writer and blogger. And I did a guest post for her.
-The Golden Eagle, (another penname!), teenage Chinese-American writer and blogger.
-Through The Book Vine, a book review blog by a Canadian highschooler.
-Amanda, 18-year-old aspiring author.
-Twin Moment, a blog by two teenage girls, Lizzy and Constance.
-Romi, a younger Australian teenager who blogs and reviews. (And writes. I am starting to see a pattern...)
-WORD for Teens, the most awesome book review site ever run by a teen.
-Rachael, 18-year-old writer and blogger.
-Nick Hight, teenaged writer and blogger from New Zealand.
-Yahong Chi, 15-year-old (?) writer, reviewer, and blogger. And Canadian.
-Gabrielle, 18 year old writer and blogger.
-Mint Tea and A Good Book, a collaborative teen book review site.
(If you have any suggestions for teens to add, just comment!)

Yes, there's more of us than you thought, right? Haha.

I really want to make a point here. You may not know this, but there are obviously (see above) a lot of teens out there, reading blogs and websites of YA authors. We know what you say, and our (er, my) ears perk up when anything about teenagers is mentioned. It's fine to talk about teens on your websites and blogs, but one thing that isn't acceptable is not having respect for your audience. (See the link below to read the awesome post on respect by Kiersten White). If you say something degrading about teenagers, or young people in general on your blog, I almost guarantee you that there ARE teenagers that will read what you wrote. The Internet is not a safe place to be mean. (Um... though.... 1. You should never be mean and 2. That includes not being mean to everyone, not just teens). I'm sure all you awesome peoples out there probably know all this stuff, but just a gentle reminder that teens could very well be reading your stuff, and if that makes you tweak the things you say on your blog, then good. :)

Now here's some awesome posts about what teens think about books, etc:

In case you missed some, here are all of the answers to your questions! (And even though this project is over, still feel free to e-mail me whenever with any questions you have.)

This post is a post that YA Highway did awhile ago that includes a bunch of information and links on book review blogs run by teens!

A Thought for The Day, by Laura on what she thinks of saying things like "at such a young age" and "for a teenager".

Check out the blog series Madeline Bartos did called Straight From Your Audience Member.

Here's a post by 13-year-old Brittany on what she thinks of books being called "the next Harry Potter".

Aleeza Rauf has a rant about why series are waaay overdone (and I kind of agree with her).

Also check out ALL the posts on Brittany's blog from the Teen Writers Summer Blogfest that she hosted this July. (There are links in each of her posts to all the other participants' posts.)

Check out all the awesome teen interviews that Paper Hangover does.

Here's a post by Riley Redgate about high school humor.

And some of my posts... more on the "show-don't-tell" concept and how it's similar to puzzles, basically a summary of what I think of books (kind of in response to that awful WSJ article a few months ago), what my teenaged brother has to say about books, and why I think characters are important in books.

I also really, really want you to read this post on respect by not a teen but an amazing person anyway, Kiersten White.

And, last but not least... the completely crazy post that I did awhile on back that includes a list of authors who published books as teens (there's quite a few, actually), another list of writing teens who have blogs/websites and a list of writing magazines and websites that teens can submit work to. All with links, o' course.

(If you have any links to posts that teens wrote about their opinions of books and reading, etc, then please post the link in the comments and I'll add it!)

I hope I helped you guys learn a little bit more about your audience this past week. Have a great rest of the week! (And if you have any suggestions for links to add to anything, just comment!)

Oh, and I would also like to thank everyone who shared about my contest thing on their blog or twitter, as well as everyone who asked questions. So thank you so much! I will now proceed to disappear for a few days before returning to my regular (er... irregular) postings.

*Just a note: all the links on the words "Teen Writers Summer Blogfest" go to different places! So make sure you click on each one!

Teen Writers Summer Blogfest

Okay I am going to QUICKLY tell you a bunch of things before I zoom off to my youth group to sleep overnight with those peoples at my church (it's a lot funner than you think).

1. I am going to participate in the Teen Writers Summer Blogfest where a bunch of teens are going to write some posts and stuff from July 1- 9. I am very excited about this! Also, if you are a teen, go to the link and definitely consider signing up!!!!

2. I went to the zoo today, and I took a bunch of pictures of the animals!! And I am going to post about them later, probably tomorrow or Sunday.

3. I am very frustrated but blogger is not letting me see my followers anywhere... so if you're new here/a new follower, comment or e-mail me (kazuntai101[at]gmail[dot]com) so I can get to know you or check out your blog!!!

THANKS A TON PEOPLE!!!

<3Gracie<3

MASS OF LINKS: Teen Writer Peoples, Teen Sites, and more Young Author Stuffs

EDIT: The internet is a rapidly changing place! Be aware that this was posted two years ago, and since then some of these bloggers have stopped blogging or don't exist online anymore, or are no longer teens.  Also some of the writing magazines have ceased to exist. However, there is a plethora of information out there about writing and teens writing, you only have to look. I would suggest getting on Twitter, that's where a ton of supportive writer teens hang out!

I am a teen, therefore I am drawn to other teens like me, who write, like me.  And it's awesome the leaps that teens can make in the publishing world when they put their minds to it and work their (our?) pretty little heads off!!

IF THEY CAN DO IT, SO CAN WE:
Writers who are not necessarily current teens, but got published at a young age!

Mariam Maarouf, who is currently 17 years old and lives in Alexandria, Egypt. Her first book is Rosie.

Australian author of Girl Saves Boy (whoops almost wrote "Boy Saves Girl") Steph Bowe is only 17 years old!

Veronica Roth, author of upcoming release Divergent (judging from all the hype, it sounds like it'll be good!!) is only 22. (Oh, I tried to find a wikipedia page of her that doesn't exist - it asked me if I really meant "Veronika Toth?")

Another Australian, Alexandra Adornetto was published when she was only 13! She is now 18, and still writing.

Flavia Bujor, French author of The Prophecy of Stones was published when she was 14.

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes at 14.

Cayla Kluver is currently 18, but was published when she was only 15.

Of course, Christopher Paolini, author of Eragon and such, was published (self-published, no less) at 19. He actually started writing Eragon, though, at 15.

Kody Keplinger was published when she was 18, and she is now 19 (I think). She is the author of The DUFF.

S.E. Hinton, introvert author of the amazing book that is now read in grade nine high school classes across Canada was 19 when she published The Outsiders.

Comedic Canadian author Gordon Korman was 14 when he published his first book with Scholastic, This Can't Be Happening At Macdonald Hall.

Another Canadian, Kenneth Oppel (author of the Silverwings series), was 18 when he had his first book published.

Jessica Dunn and Daneille Dunn started writing the first edition of A Teen's Guide to Getting Published when they were in eigth grade, and were published by the time they were 15.

Lara Fox and Hilary Frankel wrote a book about teens and parent communication called Breaking the Code when they were sixteen.

MORE SIGNIFICANT TEEN PEOPLE
Some actual teen writers who are trying to make it out there! (...in no particular order)

-Taryn Albright, 18 years old, of Seattle and part of the Noveltee(n) group!
-Aleeza Rauf, 17, from Pakistan, writer and reviewer and fun person.
-Emilia Plater, 17, who is represented by Suzie Townsend of Fineprint Lit. She is a cool gal. (And when I googled her trying to find her blog address, a wikipedia page of Countess Emilia Plater came up. Haha!)
-Britany Clarke, 17, I just started following so I can say much!
-Amanda Kurka, 17, who is inspiring, and likes red pandas.
-Kate Coursey, 18, and winner of the 2010 Scholastic PUSH Novel Contest.
-Anna W. Waggener, also winner of the PUSH Novel Contest but for 2008.
-Emery Grey, 18, and believes grey is spelled with an e.
-Kat Zhang, 17, soon to be published by HarperChildren's!
-Yahong Chi, 14 year old (I think) Canadian teen who reviews stuff!
-André Geleynse, 16 from Canada! Also part of Noveltee(n).
-I'm sorry but... me. :D I'm sixteen (seventeen as of today, actually) and Canadian!!

SO NOW ONTO WEBSITES AND COOL TEEN WRITER MAGS
-Teen Ink is a huge site where you can post work like art, poems, short stories, etc. Some of them are selected for publication in their monthly magazine, but there are TONS of submissions there.
-I am not familiar with InkPop, but I believe it is similar to Teen Ink in that you can post whatever writing for all to see. There is also contests. You'd have to visit the site to get more info, though!
-Speak Up Press is an online teen literary journal, looking for submissions of fiction, nonfiction and poetry from 13-19 year olds.
-The Claremont Review is an awesome magazine published twice a year that showcases amazing writing. I'm sorry but submissions are only open to Canadians, but everyone else should buy it just because the writing in this journal is so good!
-OH NO Okay I was going to post the link to the lovely Canadian What If? Magazine where I got MY first publication, but it's ENDING!! :( Sad face. Oh well. You can still check out some work on there, though.
-Every so often Paper Hangover, a newer blog on the writing blogosphere, will post teen interviews. They're kinda fun!
-Wet Ink Magazine is another Canadian arts magazine,written by and for teens! All of it is online, though. Check out the submission guidelines.
-Check out the new blog by teens, Noveltee(n)! All the contributors there seem really interesting from what I have gathered so far!

WRITING AS A TEEN
Along with visiting all the links above, there are lots of ways for young writers to get published without actually GETTING PUBLISHED. (The capital letters to mean, publishing a real book with a real publisher, agent, etc, etc).

Blogs are an awesome way to do that, but I find there are tons of teen writer ezines and magazines that love to publish young writers' works. To find them, you just have to look for them. (And when you find them, send the link to me so I can add it to this link mass!) Also if you look for them I'm sure there are tons of contests for young writers in the area where you live.

Another fun thing I like to do is e-mail authors, especially ones that aren't crazy famous like J.K. Rowling or Gordon Korman. They probably don't get as many e-mails so they'll be more likely to reply to you. This seems like a very little kid thing to do, but I like it. :)

So, teens (and other people too!), be encouraged! Don't give up! All these awesome guys didn't!

That said...


Please comment with suggestions of links and people that I can add to any of the above categories!!

*Note: the links for the authors that were published at a young age aren't necessarily blogs, but wikipedia pages or biographies because either I figure the main thing you'd want to know is more about them, or I couldn't find any other link!