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April 17, 2012

NaPiBoWriWee May 1-7, 2012 Update – http://paulayoo.com/napi

Filed under: Children's Picture Books — Tags: , , , , , — paulayoo @ 8:00 am

National Picture Book Writing Week ("NaPiBoWriWee") is this May 1-7, 2012!

PLEASE NOTE: This is my last blog posting for now at the regular blog site (http://paulayoo.com/blog)

From today until May 7, 2012, I will be posting daily blogs at the official NaPiBoWriWee site: http://paulayoo.com/napi

I will return to this regular blog on May 8, 2012, which also marks the debut of the paperback edition of my YA novel GOOD ENOUGH (HarperCollins 2008/hardcover; 2012/paperback). http://paulayoo.com/books-good.html

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So… what is NAPIBOWRIWEE?

“NAPIBOWRIWEE” is the nickname for an event called “National Picture Book Writing Week.” I started this event in 2009 to promote my latest picture book, SHINING STAR: THE ANNA MAY WONG STORY (Lee & Low ’09). My brainstorm was to challenge myself and others to write 7 picture books in 7 days. It was my attempt to stop procrastinating on all these fun ideas and outlines I had for various picture books that I never seemed to find the time to sit down and write a first draft. I was inspired of course by the famous NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month: http://www.nanowrimo.org/)

To my surprise, the event took off like hotcakes! :) People from all over the country and even internationally (France, Japan, Hong Kong, and even Egypt!) participated in the event. I featured fun Q&A blogs with published picture book authors and illustrators and even hosted book contest drawings and other prizes for our participants.

2012 marks the fourth year I have hosted NaPiBoWriWee. It’s been fun and I’ve enjoyed meeting many participants in real life at various SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators) events.

(PLEASE NOTE: It takes a LONG TIME to write and edit and revise and perfect a picture book draft. The point of my NaPiBoWriWee event is to encourage people to write FIRST DRAFTS of their picture book ideas. You CANNOT write a publishable perfect picture book in one day, let alone 7 drafts in 7 days, obviously. I am just encouraging people to attempt 7 picture books in 7 days so they can have 7 wonderful rough first drafts to revise later and perfect for submission later. Just wanted to make that clear so everyone is aware that I know that writing a picture book is a labor of love. This event is a fun event to encourage people to stop procrastinating and at least to get some rough drafts finished!)

Starting this week, every Wednesday I will feature a pre-NaPiBoWriWee 2012 blog to get everyone excited for the upcoming event, which will take place May 1-7, 2012. But please note – I have a DIFFERENT blog for NaPiBoWriWee. It’s located at the “NaPiBoWriWee” link you see at the  top of my website’s home page. Just click that “NaPiBoWriWee” link to read this year’s blogs. You can also bookmark that link here: http://paulayoo.com/napi

Our Pre-NaPiBoWriWee Blog Schedule:

Wednesday April 18, 2012 – CRAFT

Please visit http://paulayoo.com/napi to read a blog about picture book writing craft issues to get prepared for our May 1-7 picture book writing marathon!

Wednesday April 25, 2012 – Q&A INTERVIEWS

Please visit http://paulayoo.com/napi for a list of Q&A author/illustrator blog interviews I posted from last year’s 2011 NaPiBoWriWee!

Official NaPiBoWriWee Schedule:

Tuesday May 1st to Monday May 7th, 2012 – NAPIBOWRIWEE

Please visit http://paulayoo.com/napi for DAILY live blogging, prize contest information, special guest author/illustrator Q&As and more information about NaPiBoWriWee. We start writing at MIDNIGHT on TUESDAY MAY 1st and we STOP writing by 11:59 PM on MONDAY MAY 7th.

NaPiBoWriWee Store: You can also visit our store here to purchase your 2012 NaPiBoWriWee souvenir T-shirts, coffee mugs and journals! The new 2012 logos were designed by professional designer SANDY TANAKA. Participants have proudly worn their NaPiBoWriWee T-shirts at SCBWI events and I highly recommend the mugs and journals for your writing week. The journals are especially cute and fun to use to jot down your ideas and drafts in the “old school” way. :) STORE LINK HERE: http://www.cafepress.com/npbww2012

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Thanks for catching up on my blogs. Remember, I will be ONLY blogging starting next week at the NaPiBoWriWee blog from now through May 7th. Our NaPiBoWriWee event is this May 1-7, 2012. I’ll be blogging here: http://paulayoo.com/napi

For those of you who are participating in this year’s NaPiBoWriWee, please comment on my http://paulayoo.com/napi site (NOT here) about how you plan to prepare for the event. Everyone who comments on my blogs and/or emails me at paula at paulayoo dot com will be automatically included in our prize contest drawing!

Happy Writing! WRITE LIKE YOU MEAN IT! :)

April 16, 2012

EUREKA Season 5.0 Debut on SyFy Tonight! (April 16, 2012)

Filed under: Eureka/SyFy — Tags: , , , , , , — paulayoo @ 8:00 am

Welcome to SyFy's EUREKA Season 5.0 2012!

EUREKA! We’re BAAAACK!!!! :)

The fifth and final season of SyFy’s EUREKA airs tonight, Monday April 16, 2012, at 9 PM/8C on SyFy! I was a writer/producer for Season 4.0, 4.5 and 5.0 of this wonderful show. It was an honor and privilege to work with the awesome cast, crew, producers, and of course, the writers of EUREKA.

EUREKA is about a secret small town of genius scientists who work on classified projects for the government. We don’t have flying cars but boy do a lot of things go, um, awry with the experiments, and it’s up to our hero, Sheriff Jack Carter, to save the day. Carter may be the only one in town without a genius IQ, but his Everyman common sense always wins the day because unlike the geniuses, Carter can see the forest for the trees. It’s a very funny show with a lot of heart. We have appreciated our fan support from Day 1, and it’s been such a fun job. I really miss our EUREKA gang.

As a special treat for our Eureka fans, below is a list of links of blogs I have written over my past two years on the show, featuring fun on-the-set photos from my trips to Vancouver with the cast and crew of EUREKA, as well as blogs about the adventures we’ve had in the writers’ room. I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane.

And here’s a recent interview with EUREKA co-creator and executive producer Jaime Paglia, who says our final season is a “love letter” to our fans. Awww. http://blastr.com/2012/04/jaime-paglia-on-eurekas-f.php

(Keep reading after the jump for all the blog links!)

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April 15, 2012

Happy “Birthday”/”Gotcha Day” to Oreo!

Filed under: Pets — Tags: , , , , — paulayoo @ 11:23 am

Happy Birthday, Oreo! (Adopted April 15, 2008)

A quick blog to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my wonderful cat, Oreo. As many of you know, I think I am beginning to be more well known for my insane love of my cats versus my writing career. :) My cat Oreo even has his own Twitter page (http://twitter.com/oreothecatyoo) where he posts silly Tweets and pics about his adventures with brother & sister Beethoven & Charlotte. :) Anyway, this short blog is to wish Oreo a happy “birthday.” Today – April 15, 2008 – marks Oreo’s fourth year of adoption! I heard it’s also known as “Gotcha Day.”

Oreo and his minions! (Beethoven & Charlotte)

Oreo’s Story: In March 2008, a huge but very dirty black and white stray cat started hanging outside the screen window door of my old condo office. I fed him tuna because I did not own pets and that was the closest to cat food that I had in the kitchen. I was writing from home so we ended up bonding. I started going outside to play games with him, like holding up a shoestring so he could playfully paw at it. Then on April 15, 2008, this cat failed to show up one morning for his tuna. I panicked and burst into tears. I walked a mile around our condo, trying to find him. I came home, sobbing, and there he was, waiting for me outside my window door! I opened the screen door and brought him inside the condo. I called a friend who owned a cat cage. We brought him to the vet who fixed him up. The vet estimated that this cat was about 2 or 3 years old and definitely abandoned. I named him Oreo. And he has never left my side since as a healthy indoor cat who now has two siblings, Charlotte and Beethoven. He is about 6 to 7 years old now. Happy Adoption Anniversary/Birthday/Gotcha Day, Oreo. I love you so much!

Please remember to spay/neuter your pets. For more information: http://www.humanesociety.org/

Full disclosure: Okay, so sometimes Oreo needs a little help with his Twitter page (@oreothecatyoo)!

Oreo can't believe what I'm writing!

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Thanks for reading my self-indulgent Crazy Cat Lady blog! :) Happy Birthday Oreo! Stay tuned for a special EUREKA blog that will be posted on Monday April 16, 2012. Our final Season 5.0 debuts tomorrow night on SyFy. I’ll post a fun blog about my experience as a producer on EUREKA with some special tidbits on what we have in store for you this season!

And for those of you who participate in my annual “NAPIBOWRIWEE” (National Picture Book Writing Week), the dates are May 1-7, 2012. I’ve posted an initial blog here: http://paulayoo.com/napi/?p=342 Our NaPiBoWriWee Store is now open so you can get your 2012 NaPiBoWriWee coffee mugs, T-shirts, and journals! Our Store Link: http://www.cafepress.com/npbww2012 I will be posting more pre-NaPiBoWriWee blogs at the official site – http://paulayoo.com/napi – in the next several days, so stay tuned for that, too!

Until the next blogs, remember… HAPPY WRITING! WRITE LIKE YOU MEAN IT! :)

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Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story
Good Enough
Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story
Books by Paula Yoo