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My goofing off part of the pie would be considerably larger, sadly.

Yes, well...pie slice sizes may definitely vary. :) (Actually, I'm extremely lazy and just re-use the same drawing for all the pie charts...)

Funny how writing always gets a small slice, no matter what else the other slices are! It's like it's too powerful to take up the majority of our time. ;-)

Cute Twitter pirate!!! Must. Have. Also, interesting links, especially the imposter article.

I like the Twitter pirate, too. I will look forward to your roundups - I think this is a good way to keep neat links from vanishing into Twitter (which is why I stole the idea from Tasha in the first place ;-))

Agreed, Jen--I've definitely been disappointed on multiple occasions when I've gone back to my Twitter feed to look for a link I posted and found it had evaporated.

LOL!

I'm guessing Bella was happier at the end of her series (I didn't read past TWILIGHT but heard the subsequent details from others) than Katniss was at the end of hers.

She was much happier, once she recovered from the rather unnatural childbirth. (I, alas, was not, since Book 4 spent about six chapters solely on their wedding.)

Thank you so much for supporting Operation Teen Book Drop and the GLW Ballou Book Fair! :) #rockthedrop

FLOW CHART!

The endless loop of revision ...

Why is even my writing beginning to resemble this????

It's inevitable. :)

I don't have a single method. It depends on what I have to do and what the project is like.

I generally try to fix the big stuff first and then move on to the little stuff. But I had to reverse that during one revision of my last project.

To me, the value of all the tools and advice is that there isn't one single thing that works for everyone every time. So the different tools give us things to try when we're stuck.

For the first time ever, I've read quite a few of the nominated books. So, I'm pretty pleased with the selections. They're all very deserving.

WOOT WOOOOT!
So, so, SO many good wins. What a tough, tough year, but what a great-looking list! And now I feel justified in starting the sequel to THE FALSE PRINCE today - ☺☺☺

ANALYSIS: Or you just happen to love paranormal and are lucky enough to be born in its golden age!

Oh, fine. I suppose. :)

"...but watch your back."
Bwa-hahahah! Indeeed...

Thanks for the heads up!

Thanks for the shout out, guys!

To answer your question, my TBR pile is so stupid big I don't know where to begin.

Really.

But I wanted to tell you to keep On Golden Shore - no need to return - and also that my review for it was starred by Booklist. It's that good!!!

Oh my. I know you read fast, but wow! This is a huge pile of books.

And um, guys? I tagged you for a bloghop over at my dusty blog today. *ducks*

The questions may not be the type you like (I had so much trouble with the "where did your idea come from" that I re-wrote it way too many times) but I thought this may provide another place for you to tell the internets people your fabulous books in the wings.

I have two TBR shelves as well as a TBR pile--on the floor. And then there's a library stack. I could probably read one of the books in the time it would take to go through all the TBR books and list them.

I've read Magic for Beginners. I believe I liked it at the time.

Colleen: Awesome re: The Golden Shore (and your review!!).

Yat-Yee: I'm heading over to your blog right now to check this out (late...because I'm slow...)

Gail: Glad to hear Magic for Beginners was good!

Thanks to you, I added Gadget Girl to my wish list. It sounds great!

Cool! I'm looking forward to it, too. It's very near the top of my pile...virtually speaking, anyway, since I have an ebook review copy. :)

*snort*
The mordant wit...
The reminds me of Isabella Rosselini's Green Porno... bedbug sex, frog sex, random facts... they do indeed fascinate some. I can see Tech Boy has a future in nonfiction.

So, yeah, of course I clicked on your link there...and then of COURSE the first thing I clicked on was "What's Your Green Porno Name?"

Evidently I am...wait for it...
MOLLY PUFFER.

HAHAHA!

Apparently I, too, have some interest in nonfiction...

I love how the author's significant other is so realistically rendered. "Uh ... cool." It's the perfect balance between, "I'm going to be supportive here because I love you," and, "For the sake of all that is holy, PLEASE don't tell me more about whatever you are researching!"

Sadly, that situation is based on reality...not the frog sex part, though. I only wish I could be researching frog sex.

Just the parental visit would have meant at least a day off for me.

Happy upcoming birthday. And get some rest!

Thanks, you guys. :) Yep, parental visits usually tire me out, if nothing else because of the massive amounts of house cleaning I have to do beforehand!

I have engaged in long discussions about this topic. So thank you. This lightens the mood! Will have to pass this toon alone.

I'm so happy when I can be topical. :D Seriously, though...this does seem to be an ongoing point of stress and/or debate!

Wow. Great stuff!

Your new cover is beautiful!

Thank you!! :)

You can keep rerunning that toon as long as my desk keeps looking like this. So, in other words, forever.

Happy holidays, Wonderlanders!

Happy 2013, Tanita (and other Wonderlanders). I've missed you!

Happy new year, everyone!

I think I made two comments last week. That's...what?...Thirty-three below goal?

I made one comment so far today (obviously not counting this one)...so...yeah.

I am struggling with it, so am glad to get an easy comment in here about the struggle of it all.

I can't do a detailed outline either. I have a general idea of what happens and what the climax is, and subplots develop naturally as I go. Sometimes I find out the climax is different from what I thought. I just use general rules as I go, like: the MC should be challenged on his biggest flaw; something should happen in every scene; there should be a goal or an unanswered question driving the forward momentum.

Ack! Blogger just ate my comment.

Let's see if I can remember what I wrote...I find it very reassuring that others are non-outliners, too. Once Tanita and I saw Walter Dean Myers speak at an SCBWI conference, and he has this whole complicated scene-by-scene grid thingy that really freaked us out.

I usually do something similar to what you're talking about, in that I try to remind myself that every scene needs an arc and should accomplish some purpose, and I try to keep that purpose in mind as I write. Not sure how successful I am, but I guess that's what revision is for!

You picked a lot of my favorites, especially the graphic novels--all of which I've read (and in fact learned about because of this blog).

Well, yay! I like to spread the gospel of the graphic novel. :D

I'm still a little horrified that I haven't read WONDERSTRUCK when I've heard So. Much. About. It.

:sigh:

I just got my copy back from my mom. I can save it for you & lend it you next time we see each other...

Thank you for the shout-out. :-)

Wait! Wait! I need a Quirky Neighbor!

Oh no! I just realized BOTH our WIPs have a Quirky Neighbor. *Twilight Zone theme song*

I guess Goth is quirky... but don't say that near any Goth persons...

The neighborhood watch lady could also be the quirky neighbor?? I dunno - I think she's less quirky than originally written. Now she's just nosy.

Oh. We need a Nosy Neighbor option, too...

This is hilarious. You are hilarious. As always.

In real life, I don't have a sidekick, a love interest, or a nemesis.

Sincerely,
a plucky, sassy, loyal girl.

*chortles*

It's OK; I don't have a sidekick (unless you count my cat) or a nemesis, either.

But yes, now I'm wishing I'd included Nosy Neighbor! Especially considering how widespread they are in real life.

Congratulations to Tanita!!!