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Tag Archives: Gretchen McNeil

Be Your Own Muse

31 Tuesday Jan 2017

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Story, Writing

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Andrew Smith, consciousness, creative writing, Elizabeth Fais, Gretchen McNeil, Jessica Brody, Mariko Tamaki, muse, myth, Neal Shusterman, On Writing, On Writing - A Memoir of the Craft, Robert Frost, science of creativity, Stacey Lee, Stephen King, Story, writer, Writing

The Myth of the Muse

Muse ~ a person, or personified force, who is the source of inspiration for a creative artist.

A muse

For centuries, there have been accounts of writers and artists who looked to muses to spark imagination and fuel creativity. I hate to throw shade on anyone’s creative process, but creativity and imagination are not something you can get from something or someone else. The truth is…

There’s No Magic Feather … or Genie

That’s the bad news. Nothing, and no one, can magically imbue you with creativity. Grow up. It’s just not going to happen.

Creative mindIn Stephen King‘s book, On Writing – A Memoir of the Craft, he says just that: “There’s no magic feather” that will make you a good writer (or artist). It takes a certain amount of innate talent combined with a serious amount of hard work.

The good news is, you don’t need anything outside of yourself to be amazingly creative. You have a vast storehouse of creativity inside you. You just have to know how to access the limitless supply of ideas and raw imagination.

It’s like having your very own Idea Store…inside your head. You just might have temporarily misplaced the key that unlocks the door. Studies of consciousness and the science of creativity (yes, it’s a thing) show there is a Fort-Knox treasure of creativity inside us…just waiting to be tapped.

Activating Your Inner Muse

It’s great knowing you have a wealth of creativity at your beck and call, but you have to know the number. Here’s a few ways to find yours.

I’ve used the following methods, and (from my personal experience) they activate my inner muse. These approaches to unleashing creativity are also listed in the Forbes magazine article Science Continues to Show Us How to Be More Creative.

  • Performing routine tasks, such as housework or walking, allow the mind to wander so creative ideas flow in.
  • Being painfully bored also opens the floodgates of creative thinking. For example, having to wait for long stretches of time, like long airplane flights without a book to read or waiting in line at the DMV.
  • Having a regular meditation practice has shown to improve creativity. Meditation helps slow down the mind, which in turn opens the creative centers of the brain.

At a recent YA (young adult) novel conference, a young writer asked the panel of published authors how they get their creative ideas. Here’s how a few of the authors responded:

  • Gretchen McNeil — blow drying her hair
  • Stacey Lee — walking or dancing
  • Jessica Brody — staying off the internet and meditating before writing
  • Mariko Tamaki — listening to music or running
  • Andrew Smith — running
  • Neal Shusterman — traveling

Inspiration is Contagious

Why is inspired creativity important for writers? Because a writer’s emotions are woven throughout the tapestry of their stories. As Robert Frost said so succinctly:

No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.

When a story is infused with imagination, the reader is swept up in the fictional world and carried away. I think we’ve all had that magnificent feeling when reading a good book, becoming the characters and our real world drops away. That quality of writing can create a lifetime love of reading. And to me, that is an author’s true measure of success.

Boy's imagination while reading


LAST BLAST YAppiest WINNER! “Ten” by Gretchen McNeil & “Unremembered” by Jessica Brody

21 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Book Reviews, Giveaway, YAppiest, Young Adult

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Elizabeth Fais, Gretchen McNeil, Jessica Brody, Ten, Unremembered, YAppiest Day on Earth, YAppiest Giveaway

17 YA AUTHORS + DISNEYLAND = THE YAPPIEST DAY ON EARTH!

YAppiest Day on Earth icon


The LAST BLAST YAppiest Giveaway! is for

Ten, by Gretchen McNeil and

Unremembered by Jessica Brody. 

TEN ~ Gretchen McNeil

Ten teens. Three days. One killer.

Ten cover

UNREMEMBERED ~ Jessica Brody

The only thing worse than forgetting her past … is remembering it.

Unremembered cover

And the Lucky Winner Is…

… Drum roll …

~oOo~

Faith McLaughlin

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

*** Tosses copious amounts of sparkly confetti! ***

~oOo~

I’ll contact you via email in case you miss this post.

For a complete list of all the YAppiest Giveaways, go here.

Book Covers for Giveaways


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LAST BLAST YAppiest Giveaway! “Ten” by Gretchen McNeil & “Unremembered” by Jessica Brody

13 Monday Jan 2014

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Book Reviews, Fiction, YA, YAppiest, Young Adult

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Elizabeth Fais, Gretchen McNeil, Horror, Jessica Brody, Last Blast, Sci-Fi, Ten, Thriller, Unremembered, YA, YAppiest Day on Earth, YAppiest Giveaway, Young Adult

17 YA AUTHORS + DISNEYLAND = THE YAPPIEST DAY ON EARTH!

YAppiest Day on Earth icon

If you couldn’t make The YAppiest Day on Earth, never fear! The YAppiness keeps rolling with epic read giveaways by each of the 17 authors.

This is the LAST YAppiest Giveaway! And we’re going out in YAppy style, showcasing TWO awesome books: Ten by Gretchen McNeil and Unremembered by Jessica Brody.

For a chance to win a FREE copy of each of these books, see the “How to Win” section below. For a complete list of upcoming giveaways, go here.

TEN ~ Gretchen McNeil

Ten coverIt was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine? [Synopsis]

Ten teens. Three Days. One Killer.

If you’re a fan of suspenseful, fast-paced stories with a rising body count, look no further. Be warned! Once you start reading this thriller, you won’t be able to stop until the last page is turned.

UNREMEMBERED ~ Jessica Brody

Unremembered coverWhen Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe.

Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them.

Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget? [Synopsis]

The only thing worse than forgetting her past … is remembering it.

If you enjoy a face-paced, exciting read with well-developed characters, this is a story for you. Jessica Brody knocks it out of the park with the first book in the Unremembered series. I’m definitely looking forward to the next installment in this series.

How to Win…

NOTE: The FREE giveaway of a copy of this book is open to residents of the United States only, due to shipping costs. My sincere apologies.

  1. Leave a comment on this blog–explaining WHY you want to read this book— by midnight, January 19th (1 entry).
  2. Tweet about this giveaway, including #yappiest in your tweet (1 entry).

I’ll tally the entries and choose a winner, then announce it on this blog on Tuesday, January 21st. Good luck!

Stay tuned for the next YAppiests Giveaway!

Book Covers for Giveaways

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YAppiest Giveaway! ~ 7th Inning Stretch

02 Saturday Nov 2013

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Giveaway, YAppiest

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7th Inning Stretch, Baseball, Book Reviews, Chris Howard, Elizabeth Fais, Gretchen McNeil, Jennifer Bosworth, Jessica Brody, Rootless, Struck, Ten, Unremembered, YAppiest Giveaway, YAppy Dance

Taking a Short YAppy Break…

Ball games and shows have breaks, whether it’s half-time, intermission, or whatever.

The YAppiest Giveaways have been rolling out like clockwork at two a month since April. So far, that’s 13 YAppiest Giveaways! Which is awesome, but it seemed like a good time to give everyone a little bit of a breather.

Kind of like baseball’s 7th inning stretch…

Moose mascot dancing in front of the crowd at a baseball game

So get down with your YAppiest dance. We want you in true YAppy form for the final four (yes, 4!) YAppiest Giveaways! [image from morguefile.com]

Rootless, by Chris Howard
Struck, by Jennifer Bosworth
Ten, by Gretchen McNeil
Unremembered, by Jessica Brody

Stay Tuned…

The 14th YAppiest Giveaway — Rootless by Chris Howard — will be coming your way on November 15th!

Book Covers for Giveaways


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The YAppiest Day on Earth!

05 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by Elizabeth Fais in Disneyland, Fun, YA, YAppiest, Young Adult

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Carrie Arcos, Cat Patrick, Cecil Castellucci, Chris Howard, Disneyland, Elise Allen, Elizabeth Fais, Gabrielle Zevin, Giveaways, Gretchen McNeil, Jennifer Bosworth, Jessica Brody, Kasie West, Kevin Emerson, Lish McBride, Martha Brockenbrough, Rachel Cohen, Robin Mellom, Sean Beaudoin, Shannon Messenger, YA, YAppiest Day on Earth

17 YA Authors + Disneyland = Crazy Awesome Fun!

YAppiest Authors

3.30.13 Disneyland, Anaheim, CA

From left to right, back row first: Jennifer Bosworth, Chris Howard, Me, Lish McBride, Sean Beaudoin, Kevin Emerson, Elise Allen, Robin Mellom, Gretchn McNeil, Martha Brockenbrough, Rachel Cohn, Carrie Lawler Arcos, Gabrielle Zevin, Cecil Castellucci, Shannon Messenger, Cat Patrick, and Jessica Brody. (pic by moi)

~oOo~

The awesome Cat Patrick dreamed up this epic event: Seventeen young adult authors + bloggers, librarians, and book enthusiasts like me converged on Disneyland at 8:00 AM Saturday, March 30th.

Chris Howard, Indiana Jones Ride

The fun started as soon as we stepped through the gates of the Magic Kingdom… We rode rides, screamed, got drenched and/or stuck on rides (thanks to Tigger spilling honey on the Pooh ride), pretended we were pirates, ate chocolate, tacos, and more chocolate (though no chocolate tacos that I’m aware of). It was the best day ever! All shared with a group of amazing people who love books. (Chris Howard pic by Kasie West)

Anyone too far away to participate could (and maybe still can) order autographed books by these amazing authors through the  Mysterious Galaxy’s website.

Not to make you jealous if you didn’t know about this fab event (or couldn’t make it), but here’s a glimpse of what you missed…

Screaming, Reading, Silly Hats, and Prizes!

There was Tower of Terror screaming (pic by Jennifer Bosworth)…

Tower of Terror

Some were too busy reading to scream (pic by Kevin Emerson) … while others couldn’t help themselves (pic by moi) …

Reading and screaming on Splash Mountain

Silly hats happen to just about everyone at Disneyland, as Kevin Emerson discovered (Rapunzel pic by Cat Patrick)… Then there were the lucky dogs who won prizes (Sean Beaudoin pic by Cecil Castellucci)…

Rapunzel Hat and Hot Dog prize

And a Book Signing, Chainmail and All!

Anyone who couldn’t make it to the park could join the YAppy crowd at the 5:30 book signing at the Anabella Hotel, across the street from Disneyland. Mysterious Galaxy provided the authors’ books for sale. Autograph slinging ensued, followed by more food and drinks … and wouldn’t you know … chainmail! Compliments of a YAppiest fan who stopped by after attending WonderCon…

Chainmail Author Signing

Chainmail book signing

A sparring good time was had by all!  (pics by Cat Patrick)

More YAppiness & Giveaways Galore!

The YAppiest Day on Earth was soooo awesome, I’m going to keep the YAppiness rolling with reviews and giveaways of the books written by these crazy awesome authors — 17 in all. I’ll post two reviews per month (in alphabetical order by title), each with a FREE GIVEAWAY!

Yes, there is an ulterior motive. I’m hoping you won’t be able to resist joining the YAppiest bunch next year for even more outrageous shenanigans!

the YAPPIEST GIVEAWAY roll:

  1. Because It Is My Blood — Gabrielle Zevin
  2. Beta — Rachel Cohen
  3. Ditched: A Love Story — Robin Mellom
  4. Divine Intervention — Martha Brockenbrough
  5. First Day on Earth — Cecil Castellucci
  6. The Infects — Sean Beaudoin
  7. Let the Sky Fall –Shannon Messenger
  8. The Lost Code: Book One of the Atlanteans — Kevin Emerson
  9. Necromancing the Stone — Lish McBride
  10. Out of Reach — Carrie Arcos
  11. Pivot Point — Kasie West
  12. Populazi — Elise Allen
  13. Revived — Cat Patrick
  14. Rootless — Chris Howard
  15. Struck — Jennifer Bosworth
  16. Ten — Gretchen McNeil
  17. Unremembered — Jessica Brody

Stay Tuned for a chance to win one (or more) of these epic reads!

Book Covers for Giveaways


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