February 23, 2011 | Road Trip Wednesday,The 4-1-1 on Me

Road Trip Wednesday is a “Blog Carnival”, where YA Highway‘s contributors post a weekly writing or reading-related question and answer it in on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

You’re more than welcome to participate! Just answer the question on your own blog, and leave a link to it in their comments.

Topic #57:What do you want to know about writing and getting published? Post one question on your blog, then visit other RTW blogs and offer up your advice to their question. Hopefully, all RTW participants will get a handful or more answers to their question.

In light of this post, I want to know two things: 1) How do I go about finding an illustrator? and 2) What is the best way to publish a graphic novel?

February 23, 2011 | Draven Atreides,The Fiction Project

I’m participating in the The Fiction Project. This project is sponsored by The Art House Co-op and is an opportunity to tell stories in a different way by fusing text and visual art. After traveling across the country, the Fiction Project will enter into the Brooklyn Art Library‘s narrative collection, archiving my story to share with the public. My chosen theme is “It Must Be”. In light of this project, I’m allowing Draven Atreides, the MC from my YA series, to take the lead each week via word prompts from Sunday Scribblings.

This week’s topic: food

I love to eat, even though it’s not all good for me. I’m 16. So sue me. Today, I’m going to give you my Top Ten Favorite Food Stuffs

10. Restaurants: Olive Garden, Baja Fresh, Cheesecake Factory
9. Desserts: strawberry cheesecake, apple pie, pumpkin pie
8. Drinks: Sprite, Shirley Temples, strawberry ANYTHING
7. Snacks: string cheese, popcorn, yogurt’n'fruit
6. Chinese Food: wontons, chow mein, white rice
5. Mexican Food: carne asada, enchalada, tostada
4. American Food: cheese or veggie pizza, hotdogs, fries
3. Italian Food: pasta, garlic bread, bruschetta
2. Soul Food: chicken, cornbread, deviled eggs
1. Food Allergies: green beans, string beans, some milk

And there it is…

Technorati Tags: The Fiction Project, Brooklyn Art Library, Olive Garden, , Baja Fresh, Cheesecake Factory, Sprite

February 21, 2011 | DA Series: The Graphic Novel,Draven Atreides, Teenage Informant Series

I’ve decided to turn the DA series into a graphic novel and have just now started the process of trying to turn the first two stories into more of a script format. The guy that’s helping me, Bryan, is creating his own comic book right now, too Section 1138. I let him read Book One of the series, so he could give me his opinion on how I should start.

I had a meeting with him and his illustrator, Hana, this morning.

I can’t tell you how nice it is to actually be talking with other creative souls. I gave Hana a little background info about what I was trying to do and gave her the story to read. Based on what B and I were talking about, she doodled two character sketches right on the spot! It was very cool. It was nothing like what Draven looked like, of course, because she didn’t know, but she just drew what came to mind.

I keep thinking that there’s some correct form to use, like the “right way” to write a graphic novel, but there’s not. Bryan did give me some great pointers, but he basically just said to write the way it feels right to me. Which is kind of how I was writing the novels.

In preparation, I ordered a YA graphic novel by Richard Sala, CAT BURGLAR BLACK

I haven’t read it yet, but I plan to.

Bryan also gave me homework to do: Take the first 5 pages of these three comic books:

Brightest Day: Birds of Prey (Gail Simone and Ed Benes for DC Comics)

Astonishing X-Men: XenoGenesis (Warren Ellis and Kaare Andrews for Marvel Comics)

G.I. Joe #24 (Dixon Atkins for IDW Publishing)

and write a script. Eeep!

I think it’s just to see what I come up with. But I think it’s also to give me an idea of the set-up of a comic book (panels, speech bubbles, etc) as well as the illustrations (is it something I would like, etc.) So today, based on a comment Bryan made, I went to Borders and bought some manga books. Apparently, Draven and her crew, at times, speak too much like they’re adults, so I need to get into the mindset of teens. Hence the purchase of:

Ouran High School Host Club Books 1 and 2 by Bisco Hatori for Shojo Beat Manga

and

High School Debut Books 1 and 2 by Kazune Kawahara for Shojo Beat Manga

A girl hanging out in the book section there told me that the Host Club books are pretty funny. I’m not a fan of the illustrations, though. I want my novel to be in color and the illustrations to be drawn differently.

I’ve never read manga before. And I’ve never read comic books. The boxes looked too confusing. These manga books are going to be interesting because you open from the back, but still read from left to right like a book. That’s going to take some getting used to, to be sure.

But I want to do this right. And I’m looking to finally do something with this series. I feel like I’ve been talking about this series forever–since 2004, really–and it’s taken me a long time to figure out what I want to do.

I think a graphic novel is the best way to go.

I’m waiting for the Draven site to go live and when it does, I’ll be posting my process into the world of graphic novels on there. Until then, I’ll report here with posts under “DA Series: The Graphic Novel.”

And so the journey begins…

Technorati Tags: Richard Sala, CAT BURGLAR BLACK, Brightest Day: Birds of Prey, Gail Simone, Ed Benes, DC Comics, Astonishing X-Men: XenoGenesis, Warren Ellis, Kaare Andrews, Marvel Comics, G.I. Joe #24, Dixon Atkins, IDW Publishing, Ouran High School Host Club, Bisco Hatori, Shojo Beat Manga, High School Debut, Kazune Kawahara, Shojo Beat Manga

February 18, 2011 | A Royale Pain,Dance Jam Productions,Road Trip Wednesday,Secrets and Kisses

Road Trip Wednesday is a “Blog Carnival”, where YA Highway‘s contributors post a weekly writing or reading-related question and answer it in on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

You’re more than welcome to participate! Just answer the question on your own blog, and leave a link to it in their comments.

Topic #56:How do you pick our titles?

When I write books, I normally have a title and character names chosen. Titles always come to me first and then I write around that. Kinda weird, but it seems to work for me.

Simplistic as it is, if you read SECRETS AND KISSES and DANCE JAM PRODUCTIONS, you really will be reading about secrets, kissing lessons and a dance show. LOL. My stories tend to be like that. Now, the DA series is a little bit different. Kate Hart mentioned that her titles tend to have more than one meaning. I’m finding that the titles in the DA series are going to be like that. Book One, A ROYALE PAIN, refers to Draven’s first case involving a spa called The Royale Treatment Day Spa. But it also refers to what happens if you end up using a particular product from there. Book Two, THE FAMILY JEWELS, sounds like a porn movie—or an erotica novel—about male genitalia, doesn’t it? Yeah, no. In this case it’s just about a family of jewel thieves.

I think one of the best things about being writer is coming up with a title. What’s funny is that I have a list—somewhere—of book titles! They’re either a song title, a song lyric or a phrase I overheard that just stuck with me. But they all resonated with me somehow, so I wrote them down to use for later.

Now, if writing the actual story came just as easily, I’d be golden.

February 13, 2011 | Life in General,The 4-1-1 on Me

My Dad sent this to me and seeing as how it’s Black History month, I thought “How appropriate.”

I’m Not Giving My Black Back

I’m Not Giving My Black Back! I’m not giving up my greens or my grits or saying “girl” and putting my hands on my hips. You see…Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair and I’m not giving up Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hammer, Mary McLeod Bethune, Sojourner Truth, Madame C J. Walker, Toni Morrison, or Dr. Maya Angelou, ’cause you see, I am a phenomenal woman and I’m not giving my black back.

I’m not giving up my crown, waves, braids, curls, locks, kinks or scarves. I’m not giving up sitting in Ma’s kitchen eating peach cobbler or sweet potato pie and hearing her ask me, “How you doing baby”?

I’m not giving up going to “You Buy, We Fry” on Fridays, or barbeques on Saturday playing bid whist, spades and slammin’ those dominoes. I’m not giving back Harriet Tubman‘s train, Soul Train, Coltrane or the midnight train to Georgia. Now, you can meet me at the function at the junction but I still won’t give up B.B. King, the Whispers, Fancy Ms. Nancy, Lena Horne, the Philadelphia Sound, Motown or the Temptations.

Cause you see, it’s the way we do the things we do, like building the pyramids that still stand made by our forefathers’ hands where the diamonds, oil, silver and gold are buried in our rich dark land.

I’m not giving my black back! I’m happy being happy with my wide slim hips and my wide nose and the rich melanin in my skin. I love putting lotion on my ashy legs (preferably the body butter from The Body Shop).

Oh, I’m happy being nappy and being in the skin that I’m in. I won’t deny or forget my ancestors who lay in a wet grave at the bottom of the sea in the Middle Passage from slave trade.

And I won’t give up on our youth of today who still need a way made. I won’t give back Miles even though he didn’t smile. I won’t give back Marvin Gaye, Richard Pryor, Phyllis Hyman, Billie Holiday or Billy Eckstein, Jackie Robinson or Jackie Wilson.

I won’t give back the electric slide, Alvin Ailey, Bojangles or Debbie Allen. You think I’d give up reading my Jet, Ebony, Essence, Emerge, Black Enterprise, Heart and Soul or Upscale magazines? For we are a colorful people.

Like Curtis Mayfield sang, we are a people that are “darker than blue.” We are honey, cinnamon, mahogany and chocolate. We are REDD Fox, James BROWN, Barry WHITE, The Mothers of the Church dressed in WHITE, The Color PURPLE, the Lady Who Sings the BLUES and we are Al GREEN with love and happiness.

Oh, NO… I’m not giving my black back!

I’m not giving back Maxine (Waters), Martin, Medgar, Malcolm, Mandela, Marley, Marcus, Muhammad Ali, Michael (Jordan) or the Million Man March. I’m not giving my black back.

AMEN!

Technorati Tags: Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hammer, Mary McLeod Bethune, Sojourner Truth, Madame C J. Walker, Toni Morrison, Dr. Maya Angelou, Harriet Tubman, Soul Train, Coltrane, B.B. King, the Whispers, Fancy Ms. Nancy, Lena Horne, the Philadelphia Sound, Motown, the Temptations, The Body Shop), Marvin Gaye, Richard Pryor, Phyllis Hyman, Billie Holiday, Billy Eckstein, Jackie Robinson, Jackie Wilson, Alvin Ailey, Bojangles, Debbie Allen, Jet, Ebony, Essence, Emerge, Black Enterprise, Heart and Soul, Upscale, Curtis Mayfield, REDD Fox, James BROWN, Barry WHITE, The Color PURPLE, Al GREEN, Maxine (Waters), Michael (Jordan)