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April 23, 2013

National Picture Book Writing Week (AKA NaPiBoWriWee) May 1-7, 2013

Filed under: NaPiBoWriWee — Tags: , , — paulayoo @ 1:17 pm

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Hi! Just a quick blog to say that from May 1-7, 2013, I will be hosting my fifth annual NATIONAL PICTURE BOOK WRITING WEEK (AKA “NaPiBoWriWee”) event at my other blog site here: http://paulayoo.com/napi

So I will not be posting any blogs at this regular blog site (http://paulayoo.com/blog) until NaPiBoWriWee ends.

To find out more about the event, go here: http://paulayoo.com/napi and follow me on TWITTER @paulayoo 

We also have a store with new souvenirs here: http://www.cafepress.com/napibowriwee2013

Hope to see you at NaPiBoWriWee 2013 soon! Until I return to my regular blogs, remember – HAPPY WRITING! WRITE LIKE YOU MEAN IT! :)

 

January 1, 2013

Happy New Year 2013!

Filed under: Writing — Tags: , , , , , — paulayoo @ 2:21 pm

Happy New Year 2013 from me & Oreo, Beethoven & Charlotte!

HAPPY NE W YEAR! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! 

What is everyone’s New Year resolutions for 2013? What are your writing goals? What do you hope to acccomplish for the year? Please COMMENT below with your writing projects/goals/dreams for 2013. I’d love to hear what everyone is up to!

My story is still the same… I’ll be busy this year in the writing bat cave working on a few TV and movie script projects as well as a couple of new book ideas. I hope some of the hard work I did in 2012 will pay off soon in 2013. I’ll keep everyone posted, and until then, my fingers are crossed! :)

I’ll try to blog when I can – I usually try to feature writing craft articles, interviews with authors and book giveaways, foodie recipes, and of course, self-indulgent cat blogs. I’ve had to pull back on my blogging recently because of all the writing deadlines I had last year. Thankfully I can still post on Twitter on a more regular basis, so between my blogs, you can keep up with me on Twitter @paulayoo (and you can follow my cats @oreothecatyoo). :)

I’m hoping to wrap up a few deadlines for the month of January, and then hopefully I’ll be back to a more regular schedule of blogging. Until then, I hope everyone has a marvelous 2013. Keep in touch with me on Twitter and you can also keep up with my monthly schedule featured on my website’s home page “YOO INK” column.

And don’t forget, my annual NAPIBOWRIWEE (National Picture Book Writing Week) happens this May 1-7, 2013. Stay tuned for new blogs about that coming up in the next month or so. (For more info on last year’s event, check out this introductory blog: http://paulayoo.com/napi/?p=368) You can keep up with my NAPIBOWRIWEE 2013 plans via this NaPiBoWriWee-specific blog: http://paulayoo.com/napi/

I also posted a new 2013 blog about the May 1-7, 2013 National Picture Book Writing Week event here if you want more details: http://paulayoo.com/napi/?p=436

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If you have time, please COMMENT on this blog and let me know what projects you plan to work on, writing-wise. I wish everyone the best of luck with your writing goals this year!

Until the next blog, as always, remember… HAPPY WRITING! WRITE LIKE YOU MEAN IT! HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013! :)

 

May 8, 2012

My YA Novel GOOD ENOUGH debuts in Paperback Today! May 8, 2012!

Filed under: Good Enough — Tags: , , , , , , , — paulayoo @ 10:29 am

GOOD ENOUGH by Paula Yoo (HarperTeen paperback edition May 8, 2012)

I am proud to announce that my YA novel GOOD ENOUGH (HarperCollins 2008) has just been released in paperback by HarperTeen. The paperback release date is TODAY! (May 8, 2012)

GOOD ENOUGH was also chosen as one of the books for the New York Public Libraries SUMMER READING 2012 list! For more info on this program, go here: http://www.summerreading.org/index.html

The entire summer reading list for 2012 is here (just click on the Teens link): http://www.summerreading.org/content.html

(Keep reading after the break to find out more about the GOOD ENOUGH paperback release, as well as other updates and breaking news…)

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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 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! :)

February 13, 2012

MUSIC MONDAY: Another Great Deceivers Gig This Saturday Feb. 18th!

Filed under: Music — Tags: , , , , , — paulayoo @ 5:13 pm

The Great Deceivers, a King Crimson Tribute Band!

Welcome to MUSIC MONDAY! Just a brief blog to remind everyone that my band, THE GREAT DECEIVERS (a King Crimson tribute band) has a gig this Saturday February 18th at Paladino’s in Reseda at 8 PM. For more info, go here: https://www.facebook.com/events/242043365878985/ and here: http://www.paladinosclub.com/Calendar.html#0218 We’re playing with a crazy lineup – bands include a Dio tribute band, a Black Sabbath tribute band, and a Motorhead tribute band. Hmmmm. Maybe you should bring some earplugs! :)

My February has been pretty busy with writing in the batcave. So this month is rather blog-lite. But some quick updates:

– WRITER OF THE MONTH: SARA WILSON ETIENNE: Don’t forget to check out my Q&A with Sara Wilson Etienne, debut YA novelist, whose YA novel HARBINGER was just published by Putnam. We’re featuring a signed galley contest with Sara – please comment on my blog here: http://paulayoo.com/blog/?p=1258 or email me at paula at paulayoo dot com to be included in the drawing. Winner will be announced in a Writer Wednesday blog on Wed. 2/29/12!

– NAPBIOWRIWEE: Yup, National Picture Book Writing Week is coming up in a few months. I’ll be making some huge announcements about this year’s event next month, so please stay tuned. To find out more about this fun event, go to my blog here: http://paulayoo.com/napi/ and check out this article from last year: http://paulayoo.com/napi/?p=11

Well, time to go back into the writing (and violin) batcave. Until the next blog, remember… HAPPY WRITING! WRITE LIKE YOU MEAN IT! :)

 

December 24, 2011

CAT SATURDAY (“CATURDAY”): Happy Holidays & Merry “Catmas” 2011!

Filed under: Pets,Writing — Tags: , , , , , , , , — paulayoo @ 3:39 pm

Happy Holidays 2011 from Paula Yoo, Oreo, Charlotte & Beethoven!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND MERRY CATMAS! :)  Welcome to a special CAT SATURDAY (AKA “CATURDAY”) blog! I hope everyone is having a fantastic December. I’ve had a fantastic year with the newly remodelled website http://paulayoo.com as re-designed by my website guru Greg of http://webheadlabs.com/! Thanks again to Greg for his amazing redesign of this website. I also have had a great year with the third annual NATIONAL PICTURE BOOK WRITING WEEK (AKA “NaPiBoWriWee”) – please stay tuned for future updates for this year’s May 1-7, 2012 NaPiBoWriWee event. And special thanks to all the guest authors who graciously participated in Q&A interviews and donated autographed copies of their books to our signed book giveaway contest drawings!

BLOG UPDATES: Please visit my blog in 2012 for future guest book author Q&A blogs including a January 2012 WRITER WEDNESDAY Q&A blog and book contest with sci fi author LEV AC ROSEN (“ALL MEN OF GENIUS,” Tor ’11) and a spring Q&A blog with author/journalist SCOTT MARTELLE (“DETROIT: A BIOGRAPHY,” Chicago Review Press ’12). In the meantime, you can follow me on Twitter (@paulayoo) and you can also follow my cat Oreo, too (@oreothecatyoo)!

TV/BOOK UPDATES: As many of you know, I was a producer on the wonderful SyFy series EUREKA. We wrapped our show in late August of this year. Our fifth and final season of EUREKA will air in 2012, so please stay tuned for more details. I’ll be sure to blog more about our final season once SyFy announces the official airdates. Until then, you can keep up with the show here: http://syfy.com/eureka As for me, I’m just taking the time off to finish writing some scripts and new books (both children’s picture books and novels – one middle grade novel and an adult novel) before I hopefully find my way onto another TV series as a writer/producer. I also substitute teach (I’m certified K-12 in the LA public school system) so I’m enjoying the chance to bond again with my young students (it’s also great “research” for my children’s book writing!) :)

MUSIC UPDATE: My band, THE GREAT DECEIVERS (a King Crimson tribute band) has gigs Fri. 1/20/12 at Universal Bar & Grill & Sat. 2/18/12 at Paladino’s. Stay tuned for future music blogs with more details!

MORE RANDOM ACTS OF CAT CUTENESS: And as a special treat, below are photos and youtube video links of our attempts to put these Santa caps on my cats Oreo, Beethoven and Charlotte for our annual holiday greeting e-card. Oh boy, let’s just say it was NOT an easy task and right now NONE of my cats are talking to me. They are all sulking under the bed. :P Enjoy the photos and best wishes for everyone in 2012! HAPPY HOLIDAYS! :) And remember… HAPPY WRITING! WRITE LIKE YOU MEAN IT! :)

(Please continue reading after the jump to see more “Merry Catmas” photos! LOL!)

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August 24, 2011

Writer Wednesday: 2011 SCBWI Conference & NaPiBoWriWee Wrap Up!

Filed under: Writing For Young People — Tags: , , , — paulayoo @ 8:45 am

 

Time for another "Writer Wednesday" blog!

Hi! Welcome to WRITER WEDNESDAY. I know it’s been a few weeks but better late than never… here is my wrap up blog about the 2011 Society of Children Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) national conference!

As many of you know, my life has been pretty crazy busy as I help wrap up our fifth and final season of EUREKA which airs Mondays at 8 PM on SyFy. (I’m a Producer on this show). So I had to go on a “blog vacation” this summer and haven’t had a chance to post my weekly daily-themed blogs.

Fortunately, I’m back! So for this week’s WRITER WEDNESDAY blog, I figured I would FINALLY post pictures from the annual SCBWI conference. Because of my schedule, I was not able to attend the conference. Instead, I stopped by over the weekend to see some friends and reunite with some of the wonderful writers who participated in my annual National Picture Book Writing Week (aka “NaPiBoWriWee”). (NaPiBoWriWee blog here: http://paulayoo.com/napi/ and info here: http://paulayoo.com/napi/?p=11)

For more info on SCBWI and the conference, check out these links:

http://www.scbwi.org/

http://www.scbwiconference.blogspot.com/

(Keep reading after the jump to find out more about this year’s conference!)

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August 1, 2011

2011 SCBWI Conference & NaPiBoWriWee Reunion!

Filed under: Children's Picture Books,Writing For Young People — Tags: , , , — paulayoo @ 8:45 am

National Picture Book Writing Week - NaPiBoWriWee - 2011!

Hello! This week, I will NOT be posting my usual daily blog schedule. Instead, I’m preparing for the upcoming SOCIETY OF CHILDREN BOOK WRITERS & ILLUSTRATORS conference happening this August 5-8, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Beverly Hills. I also will be hosting the annual NaPiBoWriWee reunion at this conference and tweeting live during the event…

(Keep reading after the jump for all the details!)

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May 25, 2011

Writer Wednesday: NaPiBoWriWee 2011 Greatest Hits!

Filed under: Writing — Tags: , , — paulayoo @ 9:00 am

Time for another "Writer Wednesday" blog!

Hi! As promised, here is the first of what will be a weekly installment every Wednesday at 9 AM (PST). I will be posting a “Writer Wednesday” blog about writing.

I often teach creative writing at UCLA Extension’s Writers’ Program. I posted a lot of writing craft blogs on my NaPiBoWriWee blog during the annual National Picture Book Writing Week that I host every May 1-7. (You can find out more about that event at the NaPiBoWriWee link on my homepage.) These writing craft blogs were very popular at this year’s event, so I plan to repeat some of them here and keep that going. So every Wednesday, you’ll be seeing a blog focusing on a writing craft issue or I will post some thoughts on any breaking news in the publishing industry/children’s book world. I am also a member of the Society of Children Book Writers & Illustrators, so I’ll be sure to post any writing events and conferences they host that I think you might be interested in! I will also post some writing prompts for those of you who are “blocked” or procastinating on your projects!

My first Writer Wednesday blog is a “greatest hits” blog. During May 1-7, 2011, I hosted National Picture Book Writing Week (AKA “NaPiBoWriWee”). I posted daily blogs about writing craft issues (plot, theme, point of view, hero’s journey, genre) as well as some wonderful guest author and picture book illustrator interviews.

For those of you who missed NaPiBoWriWee, I put together a list of all these blogs for you to pursue at your leisure.

(Keep reading after the jump for the list of writing topics, guest authors, and links!)

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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