Mark your Calendars: Next Game June 2nd!

YES, WIBIJ?!, is the game where you follow the clues to very cool blogs, and if you do it fast enough, or leave the best comment out there, then you win an award! Next game posts Wednesday AM, sign up to play when the clues begin posting (1pm eastern time zone) for the fast race. OR wait to play without the pressure! Also, more cowbell please!

And for your entertainment, who says you can't tame lions?

The Official Recap and Award Ceremony

Recap (presented by Tina)

Wednesday's game, what a beautiful thing?! Well maybe not, but here is how it all went...


Wednesday game morning dawned with Heather busting a move writing the clues. Jon and I scrabbling about the New England terroir seeking a fine metaphor for the phrase before J heads out to sprinkle the clues and the game begins. And la de da all is good. Thinking it's a relaxed game today. Dena not playing until the late game, Kris is the only one there on time and yes, different than last week, but oh well here we are with a book to give away and nothing better to do. Soon enough, Crystal Cook, Jeff, and sarahmullengilbert join the game. 


But Blogger's acting up. We think she may have ate something she shouldn't have, you know with all the different folks around the tent, there is no accounting for what this gal might get into. But she seems hungry swallowing comments, burping up extra spaces. It's getting ugly around here. But then we get to the end, the last clue, here the pressure's on folks, and the lovely blanks at the top of the page and the clues are not adding up. How do you make a phrase from that gobblygook? Kris, who was sorting through the evidence, ready to submit (we had already sent her through the hoops and the gallant player that she is, returned to go through the hoops again) alerted us to the discrepancy:


Kris said...
Just checking - are the phrases for #2 and #6 supposed to be the same?


Can you imagine what it was like in our green room (read: google chat room)???!!!
Ahhh ha! Have we said, it takes a whole blogosphere to raise a game??


Here is what Kris and Crystal did to cheer us up:
Kris said...Don't worry, from the stands here, it all looks like part of the show.
Crystal Cook said...You guys are doing great, I don't even know how you would organize all this, it's pretty amazing :)


Aren't they lovely?!


Well, luckily Jon was wearing his Tarzan suit for the performance. And you know exactly how that is! He went swinging off the fiber optics on his way outa here--we've got this tent wired!--and spread around the correct glitter.


Here is what he said on his return:


Jonathon Arntson said...
Ahem. Is this thing on?


Okay, I messed up and posted the wrong clue at one of the blogs. Like Kris said, were there supposed to be two WRITERS MAKE? No, there were not.


And the players keep coming: Kate, Elana Johnson, Creations By Lyndsay, Serenissima, Dena Daw


The stops are blogs of folks that recently met up at NESCBWI this past weekend, a little WIBIJ trickery: bringing together a real community, virtually. Or (strike that, reverse it) bringing a virtual community together, in real life (IRL)? :

Stop #1 Laura Pauling Exercising the Write to Ramble:

this new hampshire gal explores funny middLe grAde

Underwriting her fiRst drAft, then expanding her trade

she connects WRITEing with life; brings us tips on craft

at her blog, where you've found that you've already laughed.

she helps all to practice the EXERCISING piece

TO RAMBLE, to write, to draft, to increase

the knowledge as a writer, to learn, to grow

she's a wonderful writerly friend in THE know.

Stop #2 Nandini Notes From New England

this NEW ENGLAND gal writes of india and the mystery

of an unlucky girl, born under the wrong sign in history.

but math and horoscopes collide to provide

a sliver of opportunity when she can wed--the wrong guy.

she also collaborates with enchanted inkpot,

and writes middle grade adventures with an interesting plot

of kids taking NOTES FROM a reincarnated cat

to restore world balance and the book of life-stat.

Stop #3 Martha Calderaro Writer, poet, roving pen

this new england gal MAy be a wonderful friend

who keeps tuRning up again and again

THank goodness for whAt coinCidence cAn do

alLowing, DEteRmining, ARranging Our view.

you'll find her penning poetry and writing books,

walking and biking to explore n.e.'s nooks

visiting LIBRARYs on her ONE-CARD TOUR

allowing each spot to show her something more.

Stop #4 Kate Messner Kate's Book Blog

GIANNA postpones projects from beginning to Z

she'd rather run, than identify leaves fromTHE tree

a SPITFIRE, her grandmother has hold of her heart

will she FALL, will she race, will she complete her part?

an enemy, a friend, and complications abound

in the last moment, can all OF those leaves be found?

a BRILLIANT idea is necessary now.

can gianna fulfill her duties somehow?

Stop #5 Kris My Writing Journey

this new england gal writes sports books for girls;

with a golf backdrop in which her ya unfurls.

realistically written, ready for agent eyes

she knows ALL ABOUT THE 'how' to revise

down to EARTH, easy to relate

her for-hire book is fresh, informative, great

all SIGNS point to yes, before CAPSTONE's done

you'll learn about the earth, stars, moon, and sun.

Stop #6 Anna Staniszewski Author of Books for Children and Young Adults

she dips her pen in enchAnted ink

wants to make you imagiNe, to make you thiNk.

ya fantAsy, dystopia, fairy tale fun

she'll do it all before she's done.

stop by her blog, you'll soon underSTANd

the importance of world building for your land

and how characters can be written to jump and pop

with her kind support, your pen won't stop!

The phrase had a high level of difficulty, clearly as we, here under the tent, had a hard time making it come out correctly, and presumably we wrote the thing.

These Nor'Easter writers make the perfect storm of kidlit talent.

And there you have it. They sure do! Thanks to our lovely hosts!

Finishers with correct phrase and all that Jazz:

Kris

Crystal Cook

Elena Johnson

Lyndsay

Awards Ceremony (presented by Jon)

Thank you, Tina, for making me relive that experience.  :)

Wednesday's was fun, despite my follies, and the awesome comments you guys left prove it!

At Laura's blog

Jeanne(Serenissima) - social media
necessary marketing
or is life too short?

(That'll be my excuse, Jeanne!)

 At Nandini's:
 Crystal - Coolness in the eyes of your ten year old! That's the best :) It sounds like you had such an awesome time, it's so great to be with other writers who 'get' you.

Kris - I was at the conference, too! I'm super impressed you were able to revise during the conference -- I was completely wipe out, physically and emotionally from it! But it was incredible. It must have been cool to be a driver, even though it was too much time on the road. All those creative people in a small space.

Jeanne - i'll draft to my strengths
revise to my weaknesses
and whine to my friends

(You read my mind, Jeanne.)

At Martha's

Kris - I’m with you! I got totally mushy fangirl when I met Kate Messner and shook Cynthia Leitich Smith’s hand. Such cool talent and awesomely inspiring writers. I’m not sure if zoologists have the same level of awesome, but I might be wrong.  Allyn and Marlee’s talk had me all excited to put away my YA novel (well, not quite) and pull those old PB manuscripts off my computer. Maybe someday!  (I struggle with this everyday!)

Jeff - Getting Dentists to pay attention at conferences must be like pulling teeth since they only like to talk when they have someones undivided attention (i.e. when they have their hands in your mouth).Better that than feeling burned out like the home appliance manufacturers feel after their conferences.
Worst of all are the zoologists. I hear they spend their weekends getting monkeyed around!
(Jeff - You captured the true spirit of WIBIJ?!  Well done!)

Jeanne - dentists learn the drill
appliance guys get plugged in
writers just want booze ;->

(A fact that I consistently prove on a daily basis)

At Kate's

Lyndsay - I'm a teacher, too! I love how books place you right in the heart of history. Fiction that shows how life was at a certain time is so important to be correlated with history lessons. Have fun wrapping up your school year!

Jeanne - this sounds worth reading
if one line could sell a book
varnished faces would

At Kris's

Sarah - What a great quote! One thing I learned at our Iowa SCBWI conference is "if you slap a cute dog on any cover, it'll sell like hotcakes." And lots of good writerly things were learned too :)
How awesome that you're playing along with W.I.B.I.J.! This was my last clue to figure out and I saw your picture up top and was like, hey, she looks familiar :)

Kate - I've often heard of the first draft as the "down draft" cause you have to just get it down. Then the second draft is the "up draft" because you clean it up. I think your write to your strengths, revise to your weaknesses moto fits in with that. It's all a process and nobody can expect it to be perfect in the first go around.

(Srsly, Kate, words I need to start living by!)

Elana - Oh, that's great advice. The best thing I've heard recently is "You can do hard things." It's something I tell myself every day.
How lame am I, quoting myself? LAME.

Jeanne - hey, wait a minute
you had to find your own blog?
a conspiracy! ;->

Dena - Okay obviously all of my writer friends are in New England. Where the crap are all my REDNECK writers?!?!?! Seriously?! All of you guys are up north!!
GREAT advice about putting away a manuscript for a couple of weeks. It's crazy what a difference that makes. It's like I'm looking at it with fresh eyes!

(I'm not in New England and I am very redneck.  No, srsly, I forgot to wear sunscreen on my run yesterday.)

At Anna's
Crystal - Attack mode! Battle cry! Huzzah!! WIP, you may now fear me!

Excellent motivation, I’m with ya.

(This is the Crystal that sends me inspirational emails every week?)

Elana - Good luck with your goals. *insert battle cry* I’m with you! I will write a lot this week. How’s that for specific? Ha!

Jeanne - no more excuses!
i’ll start my next manuscript
and eat more salad

Dena - Yes Yes! I need the powers of the bunny!!!!! I have taken a break because I’ve been reading a buttload of YA books, but I have had a PB ready for submission for about a month now and I have yet to submit it! I must harness the powers of the bunny and get on it immediately!

(I have learned so many things about Dena via WIBIJ, nothing more prevalent than her affinity for the word 'butt'.)

Award Ceremony

Despite the mix-up, we have winners!

Best Comment has never been harder to award.  There were so many great options showing support, wit, and writing love. But the difficulty of the phrase made it easier to narrow. With her haiku-like comments, Jeanne wins the award for Best Comment!  She embodies so much fun in her comments and they make me smile when I am far from my computer.  Thanks, Jeanne.

First place was a nail biter since my mess-up left the players in a disoriented state. The first place winner finished after telling me what I had done wrong and cheering us along as we fixed the problems.  Yes, Kris is the winner of 1st Place AND a free book!  Kris, you get to pick out of these books.  Thanks and nice work!

Nor'easter Race #6 (Presented by Heather)

Newcomers, welcome to W.I.B.I.J.?! We appreciate you taking time out of your day to join our community. Two weeks ago, we had our first prize game and two new players won both prizes! I hope you feel inspired to have fun and give the following authors some love! And if you're new, here are the directions:

Welcome friends from far and near,

Thanks for coming; for being here.

First, some business, before we play,

Disqualification for all who stray!

Sign in at the comments down below,

New clues, every 10, after you go.

Leave Respectful words at each new place,

Stay On Blog Topic--or you're out of this race.

Collect Jon's clues from the comment pile,

Visible by their CAPITAL style.

Return again, comment that you're done,

Submit your phrase, maybe you've won!

There's not much more for you to know.

Welcome to the circus; away we go!

New England, today, is the place to be.

Follow the clues; writing friends you'll see.

We wish you good luck as you google to play.

A Nor'easter is brewing at WIBIJ today!

Jon's SECRET PHRASE:

_ N o r' E a s t e r _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .

*if you end up with some words twice in the secret phrase,

then go back to stop #6 and find Jon's second comment there.

Clue #1 @ 1:00 PM EST

this new hampshire gal explores funny middLe grAde
Underwriting her fiRst drAft, then expanding her trade
she connects WRITEing with life; brings us tips on craft

at her blog, where you've found that you've already laughed.

she helps all to practice the EXERCISING piece

TO RAMBLE, to write, to draft, to increase

the knowledge as a writer, to learn, to grow

she's a wonderful writerly friend in THE know.

Clue #2 @1:10

this NEW ENGLAND gal writes of india and the mystery
of an unlucky girl, born under the wrong sign in history.

but math and horoscopes collide to provide

a sliver of opportunity when she can wed--the wrong guy.

she also collaborates with enchanted inkpot,

and writes middle grade adventures with an interesting plot

of kids taking NOTES FROM a reincarnated cat

to restore world balance and the book of life-stat.

Clue #3 @ 1:20

this new england gal MAy be a wonderful friend

who keeps tuRning up again and again

THank goodness for whAt coinCidence cAn do

alLowing, DEteRmining, ARranging Our view.

you'll find her penning poetry and writing books,

walking and biking to explore n.e.'s nooks

visiting LIBRARYs on her ONE-CARD TOUR

allowing each spot to show her something more.

Clue #4 @ 1:30

GIANNA postpones projects from beginning to Z

she'd rather run, than identify leaves fromTHE tree

a SPITFIRE, her grandmother has hold of her heart

will she FALL, will she race, will she complete her part?

an enemy, a friend, and complications abound

in the last moment, can all OF those leaves be found?

a BRILLIANT idea is necessary now.

can gianna fulfill her duties somehow?

Clue #5 @ 1:40

this new england gal writes sports books for girls;

with a golf backdrop in which her ya unfurls.

realistically written, ready for agent eyes

she knows ALL ABOUT THE 'how' to revise

down to EARTH, easy to relate

her for-hire book is fresh, informative, great

all SIGNS point to yes, before CAPSTONE's done

you'll learn about the earth, stars, moon, and sun.

Last Clue @ 1:50

she dips her pen in enchAnted ink

wants to make you imagiNe, to make you thiNk.

ya fantAsy, dystopia, fairy tale fun

she'll do it all before she's done.

stop by her blog, you'll soon underSTANd

the importance of world building for your land

and how characters can be written to jump and pop

with her kind support, your pen won't stop!

Feeling Stuck?? GOOGLE something with CAPITALS!! Check out the Everything Else You Need To Know Page.

Game is open until 1PM Thursday, EST.

STAY TUNED FOR RECAP AND AWARD CEREMONY ON FRIDAY @ 1PM EST!!!

Who will win Best Comment? Who will win first place? YOU? Get googling!

Mark your Calendars: Next Game May 19th!

YES, YOU HAVE MADE IT!
To WIBIJ?!--the game where you follow the clues to very cool blogs, and if you do it fast enough, or leave the best comment out there, then you win an award!

Well, at next Wednesday's game (in just one week), there's still a possibility you can WIN A BOOK! But we have decided to keep this circus trick up our fancy sleeves. We are watching for awesome moments and we will wait to give it away until we know the time is right. This is instinct, folks!

Show your best CARNIVAL FACES. Come watch Blogger jump through hoops.

YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!!!!
And you never know what may happen at our next award ceremony.

So PRACTICE UP, google about, check out our EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW PAGE.
Get your game on. And, just one click over, at Tina's blog, participate in the discussion: What Should WIBIJ Do???

Show us your best CARNIVAL FACES.

You are our people and we love you.

Official Recap and Awards Ceremony!

We never know who is coming and we can't see you when you are here. We have your words, and that is all. The fantasy that we cling to is that J is out and about spreading glitter in the form of comments and H and I are back home holding down the tent. And you come for the greatest, most friendly show on earth. Thanks for making it true!
So Heather got a chance to pick Casey's brain(thanks Casey for the feedback and the awesome support). And I got a chance to pick my own and these were the things that we came up with: We want to create a place where folks could discover new blogs and new books, a place for people to come together to see each other and be seen.

The work of this blog is transparency. It has promotional possibilities, educational, and social. The point is to come here and be. To SEE each other. To provide a map to the inconceivable, the writer's blogosphere. We do the research and gathering, but it only works when you come and pay attention. And that includes paying attention to your neighbors. They are the stars. The stops. The players. The cheerers-on. Thanks for letting that begin. Stay around and let us see where it goes.


And help us do it better. Like Casey, give us your two cents. Leave it in the comments. Find the feedback form along the side. Submit your questions in the Ask Us Anything form. Join us in our circus ring, perform or have the circus come to your town. We would love to see you, sign up your blog and describe it for us. We will design our clues and a theme just for you. Maybe someday you will do it for us. This is a community and we love you people!


Heather's rhymes awesomely capture the beauties of our Debut Run # 2. Go check out these brainchildren, buy them, sign up, and love up their authors.

STOP 1:

sarcastic and funny, and a bit of a sleuth
an outsider, a newbie, a little uncouth
living in quiet, he takes his Days Dark
lip reading secrets, mystery's lark.

death comes a knockin' while on the school trip,
so smiley and he, into truth, take a dip.
uncovering secrets, about everyone
much wit is revealed before Hamburger's done.
The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin Josh Berk

STOP 2:
she's charmed and she's popular--until her last Fall

seven do-overs in total as death does a stall

day, by day, by day, she retries
her mistakes, her wastes, her life, her lies.

Before moving forward she first must move back

and put meaning within everything that did lack
again and again and again she must right
the flaws in herself and the dark for the light.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver


STOP 3

random facts have a calming effect on the day
when the school bell rings out--one's expected to play
with the anomalous mass of bully and friend
which is which? it's so hard to know in the end.

Reinvention makes sense, as do numbers galore
and inventions and science they never did bore
one Thomas Edison or, one eddy, at all
and learning social cues puts you ahead of the ball.

The Reinvention of Edison Thomas by Jacqueline Houtman


STOP 4
19th century america was enthralled with the sisters,

real foxes and tricksters of mrs. and misters.
cracking knuckles and joints, they pretended the Dead

were speaking aloud, "We Hear them," they said.

never caught in the lie until love came to call
the guilt of their life catches up with them all
or at least with the one who stands to lose most
is it possible to give up your life for fake ghost?

We Hear the Dead by Dianne Salerni


STOP 5

not a book to be searched or one title to read
but a different debut coming out of the seed
a forum to chat, to play and to Talk
no need to bring anything, Tracy supplies Chalk.

whether writing that draft or that pesky revision
Crossing out adjectives, beating into submission
or seeking for agents, or just wanting to find
other like minded writers of your very own kind.

Tracy Edward Wymar of Crossing Chalk and his new message board Chalk Talk.

The Race:
Drama at the tent: squealing with each new arrival, puking bunnies and tutus and donkeys, disruptive neighbors(DARN THEM), and for added difficulty, Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall bearing googlable similarities to Fallen by Lauren Kate(who knew!). Charmed by cheerers on, hearts rising to our throats at pleas of help, the tent was a tense and tumultuous place. WE LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!!!!!

The fast racers all rolled into Tracy's at the same time and then returned to unscramble the phrase: Here Ye, Here ye, free books to the witty.

Finishers:
Crystal Cook
Sarah Mullen Gilbert
Jeff Baird
Casey McCormick
Kelly Freaking Polark
Dena Daw
Kris Asselin
Serenissima (aka Jeanne)
Elana Johnson

Congratulations to all! We have heard that these clues were hard! As was the unscrambling!

Favorite comments:

At Josh Berk's blog:

Casey:

Has anyone told you how awesome you are lately? Yes? I thought so. (Awesome, Casey!)

Kelly:

Most excellent vlog of MBT Theater, Sir Josh.
My only wish is that the tune "Boob Sweat" makes it to Itunes so I can purchase it and play it over and over until it becomes one of my Top 25 Played songs. (Knowing Kelly, the threshold a song would have to pass to be in the top 25 most played songs in her iTunes is like 8,000.)

At Lauren Oliver's blog:

Elana:

Oh my heck. My desk is my dining room table too. Tablers unite!! (It's all about the lingo!)

Laura:

I'm wondering what you do on the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh days too? :) (Me too! She's a writer and a superhero. She's probably dating Clark Kent Jr. too.)

Dena:

My day is much less interesting than yours, I'm afraid. Flying to New York to promote my best seller book is way overrated. Not to mention the book signing I did for all of those people waiting in the rain...camped out and what not. Then I had to drag my butt out of the Hilton and to a conference to be recognized and honored with awards and applause...god, how boring. All I really wanted to do was sit in my private sauna and have a margarita or two. Oh well, I guess I'm off to do that now.... (I maybe believed her for like a split second)

Jeanne:

A mango, an egg
and a salute to the Sun,
So different from me,
and my pop tart on the run.

(She was channeling the true spirit off W.I.B.I.J.?!)

At Jacqueline Houtman's blog:

Dena:

My granddad used to fry spam for breakfast and have it with eggs. Yum. But I wouldn't recommend that...he also ate squirrels. (I can't decide which part is funnier, that Dena's own grandfather consumed her greatest fear or that squirrels are her greatest fear. Now, I know she's going to go into a long-winded comment about how I have irrational Kabourpphobia (Yeah, that's right D, my fear has a name!) but pincers are so much scarier than fur ball tails! -J) (It's awesome that Dena can bring squirrels into almost all WIBIJ games)

Jeanne:

The "AM" in SPAM stands for HAM.
That much I can see.
But with SPIT and SPLEEN and SPECIMEN,
The "SP" frightens me.

(And again)

At Dianne Salerni's blog:

Sarah:

As for the question [Have you ever been on a date stranger than this?], I don't know if it was technically a date, but my husband and I spent Valentine's Day milking cows :) (Holy cow, that's romantic! And gross ;)

Jeanne:

Nooky near the dead,
Some find that hot?
Um, I dunno,
Well, okay, why not?

(And again!)

At Tracy's blog:

Jeanne:There's a guy I know,

A miserly fellow,
He keeps armpit-stained shirts,
and dyes them yellow.

(And yet again!!)

Thank you, again, to everyone who participated and commented!

And now, the moment you have all been waiting for:

THE AWARDS CEREMONY!

(Presented by Jonathon)

The top spot and first place, by a few moments goes to...

Crystal!

Best comment was extremely hard to choose. There were so many great comments, as you can see above. One person totally brought it and made us proud. We couldn't choose just one because all were so impressive! The winner of best comment is...

Jeanne!

Heather removes her rhyming top hat: Serenissima is AWESOME with the rhyming clues. I BOW TO HER RHYMING AWESOMENESS!


Crystal and Jeanne please email us with address information and a book chosen from this list.

But what of the crafty third book we have to give away you may be asking? Not so easy to distribute! We answer. You are all are so fantastic! Encouraging, tweeting, commenting with brilliance! Hmm, who gets the third? Just because we are tricky and hoping to see more of you here, we will give it away at the next WIBIJ game in two weeks! Be there (HERE) or be square!