The #VoicesOfYA Tag

   The has got to be one of the coolest tags ever created. Caitlin is the maker of it, and Audrey is the one who tagged me - so many thanks to them both! I'm excited for the chance to ramble and rant about all things YA fiction ...

What Draws You To YA?

   The voice. The way it can twist and whirl and send your mind spinning and falling until you're not even sure if you can can come back - until you're not even sure you want to come back, because why would you after that story? The feel and the sound and the way YA voice gets from my brain to the page (or from the page to my brain) is one of the many things that draws me to YA. 

   And ... then there's the characters (if you didn't guess that I was going to say that, you haven't been around me long). They're beautiful and incredible heartbreaking and they can teach you things about the world. Both the crafting and the reading of people that aren't real, but should be, is what draws me to YA.

   Gracious that was a ramble. And only half of what I really wanted to say, so you may or may not get a whole post about this later on ;). 

Describe Your Writing Process.  Do You Like Outlines And Structure, Or Seeing Where The Story Takes You? 

   Whoo, boy. My process is so complicated, I think you'd go nuts to hear it - mostly because it changes with every. Single. Book. I never know what's going to happen! But I almost always know where I want to start, and I always know where I want to end! It's a start xD.

   Let's go with my process for Killing Snow (my unfinished WIP), shall we?

   I started with a zero draft, then I thought up a rough outline of what Killing Snow should look like so that I knew how to stitch those pieces together (I don't remember if I wrote it down or not). After I pieced the first draft together, I edited it into a second draft, then edited the third draft, etc. (I'm sure there was more outline scratching and restarting in there somewhere - I had a lot of plot holes). Until I got to the fifth draft. I stopped full out after the fifth draft and wrote a very long outline to turn Killing Snow into a novel (during this whole process so far, it had been a novella).

   So all of that is what has already happened - and now I'm using that outline to try and tame a very, very feisty story called Killing Snow. It's not working very well. I'll get back to you on it xD. 

How Long Have You Been Writing? Where Are You In Your Journey?

   I've been writing since I was ... ten years old, I think? But I started realizing that publishing young was a thing getting serious about my writing when I was about thirteen. I'm in the 'I could be so close' part of my journey, because I'm hoping to start researching literary agents and publishing houses at the beginning of 2018, along with the pros and cons of self publishing. But I've been writing for about six years, which is insane. THE ROAD IS LONG - but I'm in it to win it xD.

What Do You Need To Write? Coffee? Music?

   A brain that is mostly fully awake (which is a rarity), and preferably a plot bunny or two. I love music, but only if I can find something that really really fits the mood of what I'm writing, and that's hard to pinpoint sometimes. Gel pens, though - I cannot even think about handwriting without a gel pen. I will refuse. I will quit. I will full-out stop and wait to get my gel pens. Even though handwriting is not really my forte (I type my words if I can), I do still love it, so I always have quite a stock of gel pens ;). 

     Honestly, what I need to write changes on my mood. Who can tell. (but a thunderstorm is always nice *shrugs*)

If You Could Offer One Piece Of Advice To Another Writer (OTHER THAN "don't give up"), What Would It Be?

   My word - I love encouraging writers, so it's hard to pinpoint one piece of advice, but let's give it a shot ...

   Do you love writing? Don't quit. Do you love writing? Then God's got a plan for your words. Do you love writing? Then there is a reason for what you do. Never doubt yourself.

   Never doubt yourself.      

   Don't quit if you're having a hard day - or a hard week - or a hard month. If you love words, then you love them for a reason. Don't doubt yourself as a writer. Dry spells are hard enough to drive a writer to tears and frustration and doubt, but you'll come through. Doubting yourself is okay for a time, and we all go through it, but then you've got to let get. 

   Don't doubt yourself as a writer - you've got this.

What Book Still Has You Reeling From Its Plot Twist?

   Good gracious. I've read so, so many books that have plot twists big enough to make me drop the book and wonder if it really happened or not! But the most recent book I read that had a giant plot twist was Heartless (Marissa Meyer), and the Out Of Time (Nadine Brandes) series. Both of these had jaw-dropping plot twists in them. Well, okay, I predicated the plot twist in Heartless, but I didn't actually think it would happen!

   I'm still reeling from all these books, you guys. Read them.

What Books Are You Most Anticipating For This Year?

   Ooh, another hard question. There are so many epic books coming out this year! But I'm majorly looking forward to The Evaporation of Sofi Snow (Mary Weber), The Girl Who Could See (Kara Swanson), and Renegades (Marissa Meyer).

   Perfect eye-candy right there, you guys. I would almost buy these for their covers alone xD.  

In Your Opinion, Which YA Book/Series Has The Most Unique Premise?  

   I'm trying to chose a book that's a little more recent here ... and I'm also trying not to mention Heartless and the Out Of Time series again (go figure) ... huh. It's hard because there are certain books that are super super unique, but because they are so unique, they then kind of started a trend and became not-so-unique because everyone is copying them xD. I could go on and on and on about YA books with unique premises, but I'm going to say Illusionarium (Heather Dixon), because I've been thinking about it lately. That book is incredible, and I love it so much.

What Is Your All-time Favorite Quote From YA?

   Don't ask me such questions, what is wrong with you people? I have SO many quotes that I love from YA books, and I could probably fill five posts with them (... maybe I should do a post of them at some point ... *has ideas* xD)! But one that I ran over recently was this one from Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire ...

   "If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." 

   (spoken by Sirius Black, from Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire)

   It keeps rolling through my head - and I finished the book (for the third time, maybe?) a couple days ago - and I can't get it out. But I think it's pretty true ;).

What Book Do You Most Hope Will Have A Movie Adaption?

   But don't most movie adaptions just ruin the books? Okay, well, if you could assure me that the movie would be as good as the book, A Branch Of Silver, A Branch Of Gold (Anne Elisabeth Stengl), Entwined or Illusionarium (Heather Dixon), and A Time To Die (Nadine Brandes) would be some of my choices. And all the gazillion other books I've ever read xD. 

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I Tag ...

   Abbie @ Abbiee

   Jonathan @ Fishing For Ideas 

Mary @ Sunshine And Scribblings
Rebekah @ Rebekah's Remarks

 - any and all of you who write and love YA fiction -

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   Gracious, this post got long! And I really want to expand more on some of these questions - so I suppose you guys will have to put up with some more posts on YA fiction later, huh? ;)

~ Savannah Grace

   How long have you been writing? What books are you looking forward to this year? Do you write YA fiction?