Ann O'Kelly ~ YA Author (...to be)

But what makes a writer? A person that writes!

I just finished reading this post, apparently from a week or so back, and it made me smile with rejoice.

What Is A Real Writer? 

Gosh, I just love posts like that, that make me feel better about my crappy output of words. I love to write, don't get me wrong. I love to read and write and create stories in my head and trey to get them somewhat out onto paper.

Is it just me, or does the process of writing seem to kill the story?

When I have an idea in my...

…I’ve been watching a lot of football lately. As in movies and TV shows. As in I’m now going through the episodes of NBC’s Friday Night Lights.

Yes, I’m well aware that the show is over. Yes, it would have been smarter to follow the show when it actually was on. But, well what is the fun in that?

I’ve also been re-watching Varisty Blues, Rudy, and even AirBud-the football and basketball versions. Being a girl, I never played football. At least not in school. I had a pretty good air ...

It’s almost Super Bowl Sunday!!

Every year, I know I’m not the only one looking forward to this. I am, however, one of those girls that will watch forthe Half-Time Show and commercials.

Not This Year Baby!

TheGiantsArePlaying!TheGiantsArePlaying!TheGiantsArePlaying!

(Is it suped up or souped up?!? I’m not sure. I’ve always thought suped.)

There is such a thing about seeing your team reach the highest platform. I’m so excited!!!

We’re not big on football in my house, but we d...

I know the saying says once, but I won’t try anything once. That’s just nutty! I could list at least twenty things off the top of my head that I would never, ever try.

Candy isn’t really one of them. Unless they’re candy coated once-alive things, like the roaches and crickets and things you sometimes here about in the news. Not trying that, thanks!

Cake is another thing I would try, but I HATE Guava, and it’s a popular Hispanic filling. So popular that sometimes, people don’t th...

Last week, it happened again.

Mostly, I welcome this radical change. It pumps me up like only chocolate, baking, and a good run can.

Of which, of course, I’m talking about a new idea.

Ideas are like rain drops. They came many, sometimes unforecasted, sometimes inevitable. They can either brighten your day, or ruin it with no repair.

I like getting new ideas, because the fresher the idea, the more notes I can jot down. Sometimes, an idea ends up being an addition to an already establishe...

In the last month, the year has come and gone. Unbelievable.

As a "writer" (chuckle, chuckle), I've done less writing, more running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Yes, that's very cliche of me. But, it completely feels appropriate, especially with the headaches that the Holiday Season tends to bring about. *So much so that I might have wished I had my head cut off* I've also given birth to more plot bunnies than is possible to conceive into writing.

My poor, ignored, older plot...

Some days are just near impossible to start.

Funnily, some days never seem to end. Some moments leave you trapped, even after the fact.

And amongst all of that chaos, while you’re teetering between stopping to smell the daisies and curling inside a fireplace, cleverly hidden behind the nearly decorate Christmas tree, you’re supposed to spare a thought and write.

Sometimes, even if you find the time to write, your mind is in it and your schedule is free, people and things still find a w...

I promise not everything in writing comes from small children, or my niece and nephew – but it does come from what you’re experiencing and what is important to you. And those two certainly top my list.

My nephew is in love with apples currently. Now don’t get me wrong, he and his sister are bananas over bananas too, but he can finally say apples. And he’s been saying it over, and over.

And over.

It’s his favorite word at the moment, and even when I’m not around them, I can’t ...

Stories have the mission of taking readers to other worlds, be they in a different time, galaxy or just down the block. A writer’s burden is to create these worlds, fill them with characters and prod them into life.

Easier said than done.

If you have read a book and thought that if was something that can easily been created, heck you can do it better! Well, yeah maybe. No one is going to tell you not to try, but as soon as you decide to take that route, you will learn how easy it really i...