An irregular Update – Indefinite Holiday
27 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in 2011
Blogging has been a fun social experiment. However, I am taking some time off from it. I am taking an indefinite holiday until I am able to figure out how I want to incorporate blogging into my life. Thank you all who have followed me! It has been a great pleasure.
Allonsy!
NaNoWriMo Day 7 – training wheels
07 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
I’m doing NaNoWriMo for the third time, and at no other time of the year am I ever as productive in my writing as I am with NaNoWriMo. But I am also much more aware of my own writing than I was the first time I took the challenge.
I want my dialogue to be snappy and fun.
I want great scene descriptions.
I need to convey inner conflict as well as outer conflict.
And I need to do it all with balance.
It’s a tough act to manage. However, as I was writing a scene I let the dialogue pump out, get the conversation out there. I did what I was inspired to write. Without stopping to think that I needed to add dialogue tags or stage directions.
However, afterwards I went through and put in the tags and the scene description and it kind of felt like it was all gelling. If I had just had one or the other it would have felt lacking but together. I really like it.
Sometimes this is the way we need to write.
Don’t be afraid to go with what is working for you and go back and add in the bits that will round it out after. Drafting can be a lopsided practice. You focus on your strengths and the information that needs to make its way to the page NOW. But after, you get the opportunity to go in and balance it back out.
Shave off the heavy handed and put in more whimsical. Add some scene description to go with the dialogue. Add some dialogue to go with the description.
But most off don’t worry about these weaknesses in your draft. Your first draft is there to get you front point beginning to end. You wear training wheels and wobble from side to side. Don’t be afraid of needing the training wheels. You can take them off later.
NaNoWriMo Day 6
06 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
This month will lead to sporadic blogging at random days and times. Mostly it will consist of lessons I am learning during NaNoWriMo. As both a writer and as an ML.
However, for this month my primary goal is to write. No blogging till I have written. Heck I might not even let myself shower in the morning until I write.
For November, I give myself the opportunity to live the life of the writer. I put writing first. This is an early Christmas gift to myself. And I don’t begrudge myself this. I learn to live with dust bunnies and dirty dishes. It is strangely elating.
Every year I have walked away from NaNoWriMo having learnt a new writing lesson.
The first year was that I had three different stories I was trying to roll into one.
The second year is that I should have been writing an MG novel instead of YA.
This year – its still up in the air. But mostly I am trying to go with it. Have fun. If something isn’t working, I stop taking myself seriously and go with whimsical. If it feels wondery, that’s fine. I will find an ending later. This year is the year of go with what works and ditch what doesn’t.
And these are just lessons on the drafts themselves. They aren’t about how I write, or writing as a community, or writing as a lifestyle. There are so many ways that I learn and grow throughout NaNoWriMo and I hope that I can find the right words to communicate those to you.
But as much as I love playing with words, some concepts are bigger than them. They are emotional masterpieces that live on in our mind. That too is why I write. To try to find a way to capture that rawness, in words. Paint a picture in words. It’s a high and mighty challenge, one that many endeavor to take up. I hope that my words are worthy of it.
I give you Sundays!
20 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
I am no religious but Sundays are my religion. They are my one day off a week. I don’t clean my house on Sundays, I don’t go to the gym on Sundays. I don’t do anything that I don’t want to do on a Sunday. If I had a claw foot tub I might spend all of Sunday wrinkling like a prune with a good book. Lucky for me I don’t have one.
I sleep in. I read. I knit. I will walk the dogs. I meditate on random thoughts while walking the dogs. I get blogs set up for the week – if I feel inspired. I write – if the book is calling like a siren. I cook comfort foods if desired. I do not entertain unless compelled to. I wear comfy clothes and don’t worry about my hair and makeup. I don’t try to conquer the world and a grand to do list on Sundays. Sundays are my recess for the week.
I absolutely 100% refuse to feel guilty about this commitment to myself. Because that is what Sundays is, a date with me, where I court me.
I think sometimes we forget to do this. To give ourselves a break. We get so caught up in all of the balls we have up in the air and keeping them all there, that we don’t take the time to maintain our own sanity.
Therefore I give you Sundays. Make this your day. The day where you don’t do anything that you don’t want to do. The day where you don’t feel guilty about that to do list, or the fact that your hair is sticking out in a million different directions. The day where you cater to yourself.
And if you still have things left on your to do list, leave them. They can wait another day. You are not superman, nor should you be trying to live up to those expectations. You are human. You need rest and relaxation. And mostly you need a break from the guilt and stress that we pile on ourselves. Give yourself a break. You deserve it.
Waiting on Wednesday – Cinder by Marrissa Meyer
19 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.
Cinder by: Marissa Meyer
Release date: January 3, 2011
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (sub group of Macmillan)
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.
I’m not one normally for fairy tale retellings in book form. Movie form is another deal altogether, but there was something about this book that screams READ ME! Also I love a good Cinderella story. Add cyborgs and SIGNG ME UP!
Bad Taste in Boys by Carrie Harris
18 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in 2011, 2011 debut author challenge (YA and MG), 8/10, Book Review, Young Adult, Zombies!!
Book: Bad Taste in Boys
Author: Carrie Harris
Genre: Young Adult/Zombies
Synopsis:
Someone’s been a very bad zombie.Kate Grable is horrified to find out that the football coach has given the team steroids. Worse yet, the steroids are having an unexpected effect, turning hot gridiron hunks into mindless flesh-eating zombies. No one is safe–not her cute crush Aaron, not her dorky brother, Jonah . . . not even Kate!
She’s got to find an antidote–before her entire high school ends up eating each other. So Kate, her best girlfriend, Rocky, and Aaron stage a frantic battle to save their town. . . and stay hormonally human.
Reaction/Review:
This was a fast paced afternoon read. Which was exactly what I needed. Add to that a brainy MC with heart and some truly awkward teen moments and this was an instant win in my books. Did I mention the Zombies? There are Zombies.
Kate Grable (funny last name to be said by Zombies) is a science geek and wannabe doctor. On top of that she is epileptic. What she wants is to be less geeky, get the guy, and oh stop a zombie apocalypse, also hello Med school.. eventually!
And you know what, she gets all of that. With a little zombie gnawing action included.
I also thoroughly enjoyed her relationship with her little brother. You could tell they had the sibling squabbles but also that they genuinely loved each other. It felt true and fresh.
Final Thoughts:
This book has something to laugh about on every page. It’s fast paced, action packed, and it has characters with heart. It takes stereotypes and twists them. If you are looking for some funny zombie book that has heart, this is your book.
Rating: 8/10
Waiting on Wednesday – Crossed by: Ally Condy
12 Oct 2011 8 Comments
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.
Crossed by: Ally Condy
Publication Date: November 1, 2011
In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky – taken by the Society to his certain death – only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.
Cassia’s quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander – who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia’s heart – change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.
Pretties by: Scott Westerfeld
11 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in 2011, 7/10, Book Review, dystopia, Reading, Young Adult
Book: Pretties
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Genre: Young Adult/Dystopia
Synopsis:
Tally has finally become pretty. Now her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are awesome, her boyfriend is totally hot, and she’s completely popular. It’s everything she’s ever wanted.
But beneath all the fun — the nonstop parties, the high-tech luxury, the total freedom — is a nagging sense that something’s wrong. Something important. Then a message from Tally’s ugly past arrives. Reading it, Tally remembers what’s wrong with pretty life, and the fun stops cold.
Now she has to choose between fighting to forget what she knows and fighting for her life — because the authorities don’t intend to let anyone with this information survive.
Reaction/Review:
Have I said how awesome Scott’s Voice is. He takes this world and creates an easy to follow yet realistic linguistic style that adds to his world building. Bubbly!
He can also write one heck of an action scene in his world.
This book brings to the table a somewhat love triangle and an attempt to escape the prison of Prettyville. Add to that the wrist cuffs and it’s definitely most interesting.
Tally – MC who seams to need a heaping push in order to do anything.
Zane – yummy love interest that is both strong and flawed.
David – yummy underrated love interest that just doesn’t make the cut but also doesn’t come for the girl when he should have.
Shay – best friend who has every right to be pissed at Tally
Peris – previous best friend and potential first book love interest that was never followed up on in favor of pursuing David. Dropped to a secondary character with no real purpose.
This book still suffers from overwriting in some areas and a middle that sagged. I struggled to get through the last third of this book. Add to that a weird offshoot at the end with anthropological experiment. While I did like the inference to Rapunzel, it felt like a clunky odd addition to the novel.
Final Thoughts:
The book ended on another cliff hanger that makes me want to reach for the third book immediately. However, in trying to keep up with my reading goals for this year, I am going to have to pass on the rest of the series till a later date. I keep hitting a lag with this series around the middle and can’t pull through it. It might just be that I am in a reading slump. I certainly hope that’s the case.
Rating: 7/10
How do you manage your reading time?
06 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
Once upon a time there was this girl who fell in love with reading. And she read and she read and she visitor her library and she read some more. She did not know about book blogging or new releases. She was blissfully ignorant to only what her library had in store for her.
That was me when I was in highschool and even college.
Then sometime after I started paying attention to release dates for anticipated authors I already read.
And a whole tumbleweed storm later I am now on goodreads and on my blog I am participating in WOW and IMM.
I have over 400 books on my TBR shelf on goodreads. Participating in IMM this week and seeing how many books people have received I started to feel like maybe I was a slacker. Like maybe I wasn’t pulling my weight the same way I should be.
But then I started analyzing my time. I read during my lunch breaks and I read before I go to bed. And I read on Sunday Morning to finish whatever book I have been reading that week.
I used to be able to crank out 3 read books a week, but then that was all I was doing with my spare time. I then dropped down to 1 book a week, and then I got stalled on a book and it took me 3 weeks. I want to get back up to 2 books a week read. However, I also want to insure that I have a life too, besides work and reading.
How do you manage your reading time? And how many books to you read a week?
