again and again and again

it's another road trip wednesday with the YA Highway gang! i always seem to miss these, so i'm happy to be playing along this week.

today's RTW question is: What themes, settings, motifs, scenes, or other elements do you find recurring in your work?

for some reason, this question makes me feel like i should recline on a couch and say, "well doctor..." - because it seems like recurring ideas/elements in a writer's work must say something about the writer herself.
so i thought i'd put that to the test with a mini-analysis of the common threads in my own writing:

only children
my MCs are often, if not always, only children.
okay, that's easy. i am an only child. it could be a case of "write what you know," and i know about only children and their relationships with parents. yep, this recurring element certainly does reflect me.

distant fathers
all of the books i've written so far and even the one i'm plotting next have fathers who are absent, emotionally distant or just straight-up bad guys.
well hmm. my dad and i are as close as can be. he's both my friend and my father, and we have no family dysfunction. so this recurring idea has nada to do with me. it's just something i apparently like to write about. huh.

socioeconomic status
whether rich or poor (often very rich or very poor), the social and economic situation of my characters' families often plays a role in their stories.
this recurring element probably has less to do with me and more to do with my observations of others. having always fallen pretty squarely into the middle class, i haven't lived either extreme, so maybe i write about those socioeconomic extremes because they fascinate me.

the internet
i write contemporary novels about teenagers. they use the internet. they practically live there.
this one has nothing to do with me and everything to do with reality.

fun topic! what are your recurring story elements? head on over to the YA Highway to play along! (link! click it!)

RTW: the battle of Plots vs. Pants

i haven't done YA Highway's Road Trip Wednesday in awhile. i also haven't blogged about plotting vs. pantsing for awhile, so it works out well that this week's RTW prompt is:

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

i always say, proudly, i am a plotter.
but perhaps i've been lying... to myself.

loosely defined, a plotter is a writer who has an outline with clear points/events in the story planned out ahead of time. a pantser is a writer who just sits down and starts typing, letting the story travel where it may.

i always figured i fell into the first category because i do, indeed, plot story points ahead of time and usually have an ending in mind.

but i don't outline like this:

Chap. 1
- MC meets love interest
- establish MC desire for adventure
Chap. 2
- meteor slams into earth
- MC faced with choice to rescue family or new love
Chap 3
- MC chooses family but is conflicted and sets out on mission to go back for his love... (AHA! Plot!)
Chap 4
- obstacle to finding his love
Chap 5
- more obstacles, subplot, etc.....

instead, i outline like this:

chapter1 - MC meets love on beach, says line about adventure and "y'know, like armageddon" that will come back to bite him. chapter2 - meteor hits earth - fast montage of scenes: grocery store mom, dad at bank, more?, zoom in to MC with girl - where at when meteor hits? park? then what happens? chapter3?4? mid-book scene: sees girl across the street, but blocked by soldiers and can't call out or will be shot on the spot. "her eyes reach mine, but they don't lock. and in an instant i see - they are not hers. instead of warm brown, these eyes are the ice blue of the taken." note - who are the taken? establish early on? chap 4 or 5? decide.

so really? is that an outline? or is that just me pantsing in short-hand?

maybe we can come up with a category for those of us who fall somewhere in between - PLANTSERS?

RTW: greatest literary couple

today is the 65th Road Trip Wednesday over on the YA Highway website.
(if you are a young adult writer and not already following YA Highway, you should really get over there right away!)

Road Trip Wednesday is a weekly blog carnival. every week, the highway folks post a reading or writing prompt and ask bloggers to write up a post to participate. i love reading what people come up with, but i've never participated ...until today.

the prompt for the 65th RTW is: "Who are your favorite literary couples?"
i couldn't resist. so here is my contribution:

valentine's day is near, so surely when asked about our favorite couples, we should think of the great loves of literature. Elizabeth & Mr. Darcy! Romeo & Juliet! Scarlett and Rhett!

or, in my case:

FRED AND GEORGE!

maybe it's because i'm revising my bromance, but this is the power couple that instantly came to mind when i saw the prompt.

Fred and George Weasley are my perfect pair. they finish each other's sentences; they can communicate without even speaking; they are less than whole without each other. few lovers can say the same.

this pair could have easily been swallowed up in such a huge family, but together - they stand out.

Mrs. Weasley: "You're a prefect? Oh Ronnie! That's everyone in the family!"
George: "What are Fred and I? Next door neighbors?"

and as much as they fiercely love everyone in that family, their first loyalty is to each other.

plus, of all the great couples in all the books in all the land, Fred and George lay claim, in my opinion, to the greatest "ride off into the sunset" of all time.

"STOP THEM!" shrieked Umbridge, but it was too late. As the Inquisitorial Squad closed in, Fred and George kicked off from the floor, shooting fifteen feet into the air, the iron peg swinging dangerously below. Fred looked across the hall at the poltergeist bobbing on his level above the crowd.
"Give her hell from us, Peeves."
And Peeves, whom Harry had never seen take an order from a student before, swept his belled hat from his head and sprang to a salute as Fred and George wheeled about to tumultuous applause from the students below and sped out of the open front doors into the glorious sunset.