Introduce Yourself Here!

Icebreakers are known to:

Create a positive group atmosphere
Help people to relax
Break down social barriers
Energize & motivate
Help people to "think outside the box"
Help people to get to know one another

Tell us about yourself. Who you are, and what you write! Tell us anything you want us to know. :))

So, to help break the ice with introductions, I'll begin:

I'm Candy, and I'm from Brenham, Texas. I write a little of everything, from Picture Books to Adult Non-Fiction. I have lots of irons in many fires. I love reading and writing YA because it can be racy, yet safe and romantic, yet innocent. I am in love with writing, blogging, tending to my roses, teaching yoga, and being a mom. I'm also a huge fan of the Starbucks Cafe Soy Misto. (And one day, I want to have lunch with Janet Evanovich.)

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Hope Roberson on October 22, 2011 at 9:20am

I left teaching to stay at home with my son eight years ago. I started writing as an outlet, my body was exhausted every day but my mind was left spinning. I wrote my first book (now in a box in the attic where it belongs) over a few years when I got the free time between my son and my newborn daughter. A couple years ago I started my YA novel, writing it a completely different way, and am almost to the point of queries. Now that my kids are both in school, I am going back to teaching so I will now be a part time teacher and part time writer, pretty ideal :)

Permalink Reply by Candy Fite on October 25, 2011 at 2:50pm

Yay, Hope! Get that novel out of the attic and read it...who knows, it may be wonderful!! Welcome to the group, and jump on in. We'd love to hear from you around the discussions. :))

Permalink Reply by Lauren Michelle on November 17, 2011 at 8:35am

Hello, I'm Lauren, but I go by Ren for short. I am currently unpublished, but that is something I'm constantly working on. I'm a student at the University of South Carolina getting ready to graduate in May - finally! - and I plan on applying for the MFA program there (fingers crossed!). I currently have three ideas for novels I'm working on: one fully-fleshed idea, one semi-fleshed idea, and one vague idea. So, if I ever do get published I could at least say I have two other books in the works! ;) I typically write in a literary style, but I like incorporating tastes of other genres into my writing in a way that still comes off as literary. So, I guess those would be elements. However, I don't typically consider myself linked to any one genre. When I get an idea for a story, I go with whatever works best for that idea.

Permalink Reply by Candy Fite on November 23, 2011 at 7:16am

It's nice to meet you, Ren! Congrats on your (very soon!) future graduation. What an accomplishment! Welcome to the group, and we look forward to getting to know you better! :))

Permalink Reply by Autumn on November 23, 2011 at 1:27pm

Hi Ren ~ welcome to the site and the group! :) Congrats on your grad ~ I'm interested to hear more about the 3 ideas you've been thinking about, and I'm the same: I go where the idea leads me. :) I look forward to getting to know you better. :)

Permalink Reply by Tarah Dunn on December 10, 2011 at 6:10am

Hi, I'm Tarah. I live in Northampton, MA with my daughter, dog, and cat. I received my M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Florida in 2008, but since then, I've discovered my love for writing YA lit. I finished a novel that I'm querying, so that's very anxiety inducing. But I decided to dive right into my next novel, which is a YA paranormal thriller/horror, and I'm having fun with it. I'm excited to connect with other YA writers!

Permalink Reply by Candy Fite on December 11, 2011 at 9:42am

Hi, Tarah! It's so nice to meet you! Feel free to start a discussion if you'd like. It seems we're a little busy lately, but we love connecting with other YA writers, too! Jump on in. :))

Permalink Reply by Jacynth Rich on December 12, 2011 at 11:31pm

Hello all! I'm Jacynth Rich, and I'm writing my first young adult novel. It's tentatively entitled UTTERANCE and I'm blogging the first draft as I pen it down.

When I'm not dealing with the labor pains of fiction writing, I work as a grant writer in the Bay Area. I write under a pseudonym , am totally addicted to Twitter right now, and am looking forward to learning from others in this group!

Cheers,

J.R.

twitter.com/jacynthr

http://jacynthrich.wordpress.com

Permalink Reply by Chenoa Fawn on December 16, 2011 at 11:07pm

Hello all, I'm Chenoa Fawn and I've just joined She Writes. I write across genres and muse about the journey over at: http://chenoafawn.wordpress.com/ Stop by and say 'hi' :)

Permalink Reply by Candy Fite on December 18, 2011 at 8:53pm

Welcome, Jacynth & Chenoa to the Writers for Young Adults! I plan on taking a tour of your blogs soon. Please feel free to start a discussion on our main page. Keep in touch, and let us know if you have any questions. :))

Permalink Reply by farzana on January 5, 2012 at 6:59am

i'm farzana and a member of multiple other groups on She Writes. i am considering an idea for a YA book - really just mainly notetaking and researching right now but thought i could get my feet wet by learning about the field first through this medium. i'm looking forward to learning from you all!

Permalink Reply by Georgia B on January 6, 2012 at 6:40am

Hi All,

My name is Anne, full-time mom of 3 little girls for the past 6+ years. I have a undergrad degree in English but pursued and earned my professional counseling license before staying at home with my kids. While being a therapist gave me a lot of satisfaction and invaluable life experience -- and I ultimately plan to go back to it -- if I were to seriously evaluate my dream job it would be to write. So, I'm neglecting my kids :) and taking a shot at it, writing whenever I have a spare minute. I am about 70 or so pages into a first draft for a YA novel.

I'm trying to get it all down quickly, without going back to edit anything, taking Anne Lamott very seriously when she described "shitty first drafts." I was feeling like I had a good sense of my teenager's voice until my husband innocently revealed to me that I am TWO DECADES older than my main character. Wow, hadn't thought in terms of decades. So, that is what I'm struggling with right now. Understanding teenagers today vs. teenagers in 1996. I'm trying to read a lot of current YA fiction to help out.

Looking forward to being a part of this group. You all sound amazing and I hope to learn a lot!

Anne