Operation Overdrive has come to an end. Sort of.
I started this month with a big idea: to write a 75,000 word novel, posting daily blog posts, poems and videos. 31 days to do an awful lot of work, whether I did the novel or the daily posts. Attempting to do everything, that was where I fell behind.
And, life got in the way. But that's okay. That will happen.
I don't consider Operation Overdrive a failure, however. Quite the contrary. I think, with everything I did, it's been a success of sorts. I've managed to get back to blogging in a way that makes me happy. I've managed to put out a lot of poems, some of which were quite popular as far as my little poetry and prose blog is concerned, and I've managed to get back my confidence in front of a camera for my YouTube channel.
I've also discovered that I can't force myself to write a book if I only end up feeling guilty about not doing anything else.
Is this a problem for the dream of being a writer? No. It's a problem for any future attempts at NaNoWriMo in any way, shape or form. At least, not when the word count target is set to 150%.
The issue, you see, was trying to balance the workload when I was finding myself at my busiest, when I was working more hours in the bookshop, and when the sun was actually shining in Ireland. (Honestly - we had a weird summer.)
I know that I can write a novella in a week.
I know that I can write a non-fiction book using all of my spare time during a busy period.
I now know that I cannot dedicate a whole month to a book, while doing everything else in my life that I don't have any control over - like work, or babysitting, or burning up in the heat - because I will only tire myself out.
Part of the issue, for me, has been sleep, though. I haven't gotten much lately. We're talking the past couple of months. Since the sun started shining brightly in the morning, I haven't been able to sleep on past six most of the time. But this is after going to bed at twelve. I was drained, and that made me too groggy to start work earlier. The end result was guilt. Guilt at doing anything that wasn't writing. Guilt that carried over into the book. Guilt at trying something new.
And that last one? That's where the biggest issue for me was this month. I bought a new camera, my first DSLR. I wanted to take photographs. I wanted to practice, to get better, to really improve upon the very basics of photography that I had. And every time I did that - guilt.
Bad. Very bad.
That's why I left the book behind. I made a conscious decision, when I found myself incapable of writing the book because of how badly I felt for not doing it as much as I should have, to drop it. Not forever. Just until I get a couple of things in order. I have other books to write. I want to practice my photography more.
Operation Overdrive finishes today, officially, but the aftermath is this:
I want to write blog posts more often. I want to record videos more often, and I want to put more effort into them than a direct upload. I want to write poems with greater purpose for ParagraVerse. I want to set up a photography blog - and a business - and I want to get out more to take photographs. I want to write a couple of books that have been on my mind for a long time, and I want to continue to write my novel.
The month is over, but the desire to create, and the aspiration that I began with, they've only grown stronger.
Showing posts with label novel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label novel. Show all posts
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
How Do I Plan My Book?
This week, 25 Ways to Beat Writer's Block is free on the Kindle. To celebrate that fact, we're going to look at some of the basic questions new writers ask. Previously, we looked at whether you should plan your book. If you're going to, let's now look at how you might do that.
How do I plan my book?
While I have a whole book on this topic - I'm that much of a fan of planning a book before writing it - this post can serve as a short master class for beginners. This practice works for more than just novels, too. All we're going to do is break down your book into scenes.
Step 1, figure out some key events in your book. These are the ones you most likely thought of when you were thinking about your book. Before I plan a book, I can already see some scenes in my head, like two characters meeting for the first time, or (as is the case with many short stories I write) a setting that sticks out because of how unusual it is.
How many key events you can imagine depends on how many ideas you've had for your book before this point. Don't worry, we're going to fill in the gaps soon. What we need before we do that, though, are a beginning, and an ending.
Your book will fill in the events between what happens at the very start, and what happens at the very end. If you're planning to write a series, it helps to know how the whole thing will end before you begin, and how many books you want to write.
Say, for example, you're writing a trilogy. You need three powerful scenes to end each of your books on, that are natural endings to each part of the story, as well as concluding the individual tale contained in the book.
When you have your beginning and your ending(s), then we can move on to Step 2: filling in the gaps. Start with the scenes you have already. What needs to happen for your story to progress from one scene to another. For example, in the first Harry Potter book, we begin at Privet Drive, and later find Harry at Hogwarts. If we took those two key events/scenes to begin with, we then need to figure out what happens between each point.
Do that with each scene or idea you have, jotting down briefly what sort of event would lead to the next scene. Harry needs to get his invite to the school, so that has to happen. But, because we know the Dursleys don't want him to be a wizard, they'll try to keep the letter from him. To deal with that, the invitations keep coming, pushing the family away from the house, to the cabin where we meet Hagrid. You get the idea: each time you decide what needs to happen next, figure out what other steps need to be taken to keep the story moving from one scene to the next.
By the time you reach the end of your book, you should have a lot to work with. Break it up into chapters - use the larger events as a guide to where the chapter breaks will be.
Step 3: write it out neatly, and add in more detail if needed. I usually write out a paragraph for each scene in the book, but that's up to you.
If you want more information on planning a book, you can check out my ebook Planning Before Writing.
You can also find 25 Ways to Beat Writer's Block on Amazon, currently available for free download while the promotion lasts. Read more about it below.
Have you ever struggled with writer’s block? Have you sat at your desk, looking at your work in progress, wondering what to do with a character who just won’t budge, or a poem that just won’t take form, or an article that just won’t work for you? Have you ever joined thousands of authors in the search for a way to beat writer’s block?
From the author of Planning Before Writing comes a solution to the problem of writer’s block: 25 ways to tackle one of the biggest issues facing writers, each with an exercise to help you to develop as an author and improve your writing skills.
With exercises to suit every writer, and drawing on over ten years’ experience in the craft, 25 Ways to Beat Writer’s Block is a must-have reference for your collection.
Available on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HYMVZJ2
and Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HYMVZJ2
How do I plan my book?
While I have a whole book on this topic - I'm that much of a fan of planning a book before writing it - this post can serve as a short master class for beginners. This practice works for more than just novels, too. All we're going to do is break down your book into scenes.
Step 1, figure out some key events in your book. These are the ones you most likely thought of when you were thinking about your book. Before I plan a book, I can already see some scenes in my head, like two characters meeting for the first time, or (as is the case with many short stories I write) a setting that sticks out because of how unusual it is.
How many key events you can imagine depends on how many ideas you've had for your book before this point. Don't worry, we're going to fill in the gaps soon. What we need before we do that, though, are a beginning, and an ending.
Your book will fill in the events between what happens at the very start, and what happens at the very end. If you're planning to write a series, it helps to know how the whole thing will end before you begin, and how many books you want to write.
Say, for example, you're writing a trilogy. You need three powerful scenes to end each of your books on, that are natural endings to each part of the story, as well as concluding the individual tale contained in the book.
When you have your beginning and your ending(s), then we can move on to Step 2: filling in the gaps. Start with the scenes you have already. What needs to happen for your story to progress from one scene to another. For example, in the first Harry Potter book, we begin at Privet Drive, and later find Harry at Hogwarts. If we took those two key events/scenes to begin with, we then need to figure out what happens between each point.
Do that with each scene or idea you have, jotting down briefly what sort of event would lead to the next scene. Harry needs to get his invite to the school, so that has to happen. But, because we know the Dursleys don't want him to be a wizard, they'll try to keep the letter from him. To deal with that, the invitations keep coming, pushing the family away from the house, to the cabin where we meet Hagrid. You get the idea: each time you decide what needs to happen next, figure out what other steps need to be taken to keep the story moving from one scene to the next.
By the time you reach the end of your book, you should have a lot to work with. Break it up into chapters - use the larger events as a guide to where the chapter breaks will be.
Step 3: write it out neatly, and add in more detail if needed. I usually write out a paragraph for each scene in the book, but that's up to you.
If you want more information on planning a book, you can check out my ebook Planning Before Writing.
You can also find 25 Ways to Beat Writer's Block on Amazon, currently available for free download while the promotion lasts. Read more about it below.
From the author of Planning Before Writing comes a solution to the problem of writer’s block: 25 ways to tackle one of the biggest issues facing writers, each with an exercise to help you to develop as an author and improve your writing skills.
With exercises to suit every writer, and drawing on over ten years’ experience in the craft, 25 Ways to Beat Writer’s Block is a must-have reference for your collection.
Available on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HYMVZJ2
and Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HYMVZJ2
Monday, September 16, 2013
Now and Then
About a year ago, I began my final year in college. Now, I have friends doing the same thing. While their first day provided them with opportunities to catch up, to cheer, to drink tea in each other's company and to plan a year's worth of events in the Clubs and Socs calendar, I slept in.
What a weird parallel.
It's truly sunk in, now, that college is over for me. Rather than getting to see my friends five days of the week, I have to get one of them to let me into the building the next time I'm in the area. I can't just wander on in myself at any time of the day.
Work, while sometimes-exhausting, is finally providing me with the opportunity to work more hours, though, which is nice. So, rather than spend my days at home pretending I have the motivation to write all day every day, I get to earn money selling books and magazines and newspapers and stationary to people during the day, and moonlight novelling when I get home. What a life it is.
That sentiment was almost entirely true, too. In reality, I haven't been writing too much lately. Tonight's the first time in a while that I wrote some fiction. Okay 'some' is an understatement. I set out to write 2500 words, and I did. I have a target for myself, to write and edit a novel (of 75,000 words) in a month. It's not impossible, but it will be difficult.
Let's break down my week: I usually work at least two days. Sometimes up to four. These days, if they're early starts, leave me with an evening to write. An evening allows me about two to three hours to write.
When I'm not working, I have one day that's almost completely written off for family stuff. (I'm going to try test that theory this week, but that's probably going to be the case.) That leaves two days to do something. What I'd like to do is actually get out of the house at least once per week that isn't just for the cinema, so we'll see how that plays out. That leaves one day to write.
If I worked all day, I could - in theory - crank out five thousand words in a day without feeling like I've lost a whole day. I'd still have time to eat and to watch some television.
The latter is the problem: it's too easy to watch something just for the sake of it. What's worse is that I've been doing it instead of reading, when reading is exactly what I set out to do. I think in those cases I need to use my iPod instead, since it's the background noise I want from the television.
Going by this half-assed template for a week, I still have enough time to write the book. The editing is the more difficult part to include in the plan, because it could take a long time. I have a deadline, damn it!
As well as this Book-in-a-Month business, I'm also hoping to read a book a week. That's not too difficult in theory, so long as I stay away from repeats on television. I'll still watch new shows - like the season finale of Supernatural, and Agents of SHIELD when it begins - but I'll probably stay away from something I've already seen if it can be helped. Plus, I've got breaks in work to read during. A full day in work gives me an hour lunch and a half-hour break to read (and drink tea), and that's how I've been getting through a couple of books lately, but I need to give reading some more time during the day.
Let's put all of this into context with last year. I was writing my Research Paper last year. When I finished that, I immediately set about writing a short, quick and hopefully humorous play for Drama Soc. I had a couple of days to crank out a twenty minute script.
Funnily enough, I kind of plan on doing the same thing once I've done the book in a month. I've got it in my head again to write a play, and to actually send it in to theatre companies for production. Wouldn't that be wonderful, to have a play on stage? Anyway, it's an idea. It's an idea without an idea for a play, but it's there, and it'll grow and by the time the book is finished I might have an idea of what to write about.
Following that, it's just a case of trying to get my creative juices going. If I do a repeat of what I did today, it'll mean beginning to write the play after only five minutes of planning. Seriously - that's all the planning that's going into this novel. I've been mulling it over in my head for a long time, after an idea from a few years go became this one. I'll probably have to plan it a little more formally soon, to get some idea of where it's going, but for now I've got this book that's planned on a single A4 sheet of paper, in barely-legible hand-writing, as a mind-map. Sometimes I write out a thorough plan - especially for something that's to be written in such a short period of time - but for this I want to see what happens when I just let go.
That, I think, has been a problem. Trying to control too much, and then not doing anything. So, I'm letting go. I'm writing with a half-plan, I'm reading a variety of different books, and I'm going to allow myself to relax about life a little bit, while I'm still allowed. I couldn't do it last year, but things are different now. I'm different.
What a weird parallel.
It's truly sunk in, now, that college is over for me. Rather than getting to see my friends five days of the week, I have to get one of them to let me into the building the next time I'm in the area. I can't just wander on in myself at any time of the day.
Work, while sometimes-exhausting, is finally providing me with the opportunity to work more hours, though, which is nice. So, rather than spend my days at home pretending I have the motivation to write all day every day, I get to earn money selling books and magazines and newspapers and stationary to people during the day, and moonlight novelling when I get home. What a life it is.
That sentiment was almost entirely true, too. In reality, I haven't been writing too much lately. Tonight's the first time in a while that I wrote some fiction. Okay 'some' is an understatement. I set out to write 2500 words, and I did. I have a target for myself, to write and edit a novel (of 75,000 words) in a month. It's not impossible, but it will be difficult.
Let's break down my week: I usually work at least two days. Sometimes up to four. These days, if they're early starts, leave me with an evening to write. An evening allows me about two to three hours to write.
When I'm not working, I have one day that's almost completely written off for family stuff. (I'm going to try test that theory this week, but that's probably going to be the case.) That leaves two days to do something. What I'd like to do is actually get out of the house at least once per week that isn't just for the cinema, so we'll see how that plays out. That leaves one day to write.
If I worked all day, I could - in theory - crank out five thousand words in a day without feeling like I've lost a whole day. I'd still have time to eat and to watch some television.
The latter is the problem: it's too easy to watch something just for the sake of it. What's worse is that I've been doing it instead of reading, when reading is exactly what I set out to do. I think in those cases I need to use my iPod instead, since it's the background noise I want from the television.
Going by this half-assed template for a week, I still have enough time to write the book. The editing is the more difficult part to include in the plan, because it could take a long time. I have a deadline, damn it!
As well as this Book-in-a-Month business, I'm also hoping to read a book a week. That's not too difficult in theory, so long as I stay away from repeats on television. I'll still watch new shows - like the season finale of Supernatural, and Agents of SHIELD when it begins - but I'll probably stay away from something I've already seen if it can be helped. Plus, I've got breaks in work to read during. A full day in work gives me an hour lunch and a half-hour break to read (and drink tea), and that's how I've been getting through a couple of books lately, but I need to give reading some more time during the day.
Let's put all of this into context with last year. I was writing my Research Paper last year. When I finished that, I immediately set about writing a short, quick and hopefully humorous play for Drama Soc. I had a couple of days to crank out a twenty minute script.
Funnily enough, I kind of plan on doing the same thing once I've done the book in a month. I've got it in my head again to write a play, and to actually send it in to theatre companies for production. Wouldn't that be wonderful, to have a play on stage? Anyway, it's an idea. It's an idea without an idea for a play, but it's there, and it'll grow and by the time the book is finished I might have an idea of what to write about.
Following that, it's just a case of trying to get my creative juices going. If I do a repeat of what I did today, it'll mean beginning to write the play after only five minutes of planning. Seriously - that's all the planning that's going into this novel. I've been mulling it over in my head for a long time, after an idea from a few years go became this one. I'll probably have to plan it a little more formally soon, to get some idea of where it's going, but for now I've got this book that's planned on a single A4 sheet of paper, in barely-legible hand-writing, as a mind-map. Sometimes I write out a thorough plan - especially for something that's to be written in such a short period of time - but for this I want to see what happens when I just let go.
That, I think, has been a problem. Trying to control too much, and then not doing anything. So, I'm letting go. I'm writing with a half-plan, I'm reading a variety of different books, and I'm going to allow myself to relax about life a little bit, while I'm still allowed. I couldn't do it last year, but things are different now. I'm different.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Adapting
Today something occurred to me while watching Buffy: I can adapt a short story I wrote a few years ago into a full-length novel. That might need some explaining. For instance, how does Buffy the Vampire Slayer come into it at all?
Rewind back to 2007/2008. A Buffy re-run came on television while I was trying to come up with an idea for a short story for The Literary Den Book of New Fiction 2008. Willow was talking to the First, before knowing what it was, and once of the First's lines triggered the story in my head. Just like that, I had my idea for a short story.
I loved that story. I really did. It's not perfect, but I think I can work with a larger (much larger) word count now, with some added disturbances and oddities and madness to throw into the mix to create a much darker and held-together story. I can also give it a much better title than What's in the Box? I'll be honest, when I was 16/17, that sort of title seemed cool to me.
How things change, right?
Anyway, I think that's something I can consider for the next while, turning that idea for a short story into a darker tale, and a longer tale, and really create the story I'd wanted to tell then in greater detail and with greater skill. I've grown as an author since then. I've grown as a person, too, and a lot has happened since then, and I think I can create a much better story now than I could when I was a teenager.
That's significant for me, because when I was fifteen I was convinced that my very first novel was going to be a bestseller. Without the editing. Without realising that different publishers looked for different things. Without realising that the book wasn't written very well. And I don't like it's title anymore.
That's obviously another book I can work on, though neither of these are near the top of the To Be Written pile. I have other books to work on, first, and other things that need doing. I think the whole "sorting out my life" thing has to happen sooner rather than later. (Okay, that makes it sound like I did something to screw up... I just finished college and did quite well with my exams and research paper and teaching placement... I didn't exactly screw up in that department.)
Basically, I need some stability in my life before I try to write a dozen books at once. And even then that's not a good idea. But sure, at least I have things to work with, and a game plan. First, I adapt to life as I know it. Then, I adapt my stories.
Rewind back to 2007/2008. A Buffy re-run came on television while I was trying to come up with an idea for a short story for The Literary Den Book of New Fiction 2008. Willow was talking to the First, before knowing what it was, and once of the First's lines triggered the story in my head. Just like that, I had my idea for a short story.
I loved that story. I really did. It's not perfect, but I think I can work with a larger (much larger) word count now, with some added disturbances and oddities and madness to throw into the mix to create a much darker and held-together story. I can also give it a much better title than What's in the Box? I'll be honest, when I was 16/17, that sort of title seemed cool to me.
How things change, right?
Anyway, I think that's something I can consider for the next while, turning that idea for a short story into a darker tale, and a longer tale, and really create the story I'd wanted to tell then in greater detail and with greater skill. I've grown as an author since then. I've grown as a person, too, and a lot has happened since then, and I think I can create a much better story now than I could when I was a teenager.
That's significant for me, because when I was fifteen I was convinced that my very first novel was going to be a bestseller. Without the editing. Without realising that different publishers looked for different things. Without realising that the book wasn't written very well. And I don't like it's title anymore.
That's obviously another book I can work on, though neither of these are near the top of the To Be Written pile. I have other books to work on, first, and other things that need doing. I think the whole "sorting out my life" thing has to happen sooner rather than later. (Okay, that makes it sound like I did something to screw up... I just finished college and did quite well with my exams and research paper and teaching placement... I didn't exactly screw up in that department.)
Basically, I need some stability in my life before I try to write a dozen books at once. And even then that's not a good idea. But sure, at least I have things to work with, and a game plan. First, I adapt to life as I know it. Then, I adapt my stories.
Friday, May 17, 2013
A Story That Sticks
It's finally happened: when I thought I was done with a story, it came back.
About two years ago, I wrote the first draft of a Sci-Fi novel called Bliss, with planned sequels in mind. I considered that book complete. At least, the story was complete. Part of me considered writing a novella set during the time of the novel to explore one aspect of the tale that isn't of real importance for anything else going on.
But that's not what I'm talking about here. I had that idea way back when I actually finished writing the book. I didn't actually write that novella - college will get in the way like that - but I still have it in mind.
I'm digressing. Yesterday, as I was getting ready to go to college for an exam, it struck me: a revised ending for Bliss. Don't get me wrong, I liked how it ended. It felt complete. I'll obviously have to change things a bit when I write the new ending.
Thing is, it's a whole extra section to the book. Several chapters, of actual significance.
How I didn't think of it before, I don't know. I think I was wondering how to make certain things work for later in the series when the idea actually popped into my head. I was quite proud of it, actually, but I won't know how well it works with the rest of the book until it's actually written. (I need to plan it, still, but it should be easy enough to make a natural progression from where I left off.)
Ideas don't usually come to me like this when I feel like a story has been finished. The only time an idea has ever stuck around for a while is with my many attempts to write a story with superpowered characters. I get ideas, I try to work with them, and inevitably I give up on the book.
The last time I was happy with an idea that I was working on was with The Jump, and that didn't last long. I didn't really plan the book too well to work with, or plan for sequels.
I'm planning a superhero novel at the moment - or, I was, for a while, and I need to get back to it - so hopefully that'll finally produce something close to what I've been trying to write since I started out writing. Early attempts resulted in being rip-offs of X-Men or Heroes. Even The Jump was veering on being too-close-for-comfort.
It's difficult to deal with such problems when the market already has a lot of different stories out there. However, I think what I'm working on now is coming closer to original than anything else, insofar as a superhero novel can be original.
We'll see how that works out, but for now I need to deal with the idea that won't stop hanging around for Bliss. I'm dying to actually get it written! On a related note, how did I get to be the person who writes these stories?
About two years ago, I wrote the first draft of a Sci-Fi novel called Bliss, with planned sequels in mind. I considered that book complete. At least, the story was complete. Part of me considered writing a novella set during the time of the novel to explore one aspect of the tale that isn't of real importance for anything else going on.
But that's not what I'm talking about here. I had that idea way back when I actually finished writing the book. I didn't actually write that novella - college will get in the way like that - but I still have it in mind.
I'm digressing. Yesterday, as I was getting ready to go to college for an exam, it struck me: a revised ending for Bliss. Don't get me wrong, I liked how it ended. It felt complete. I'll obviously have to change things a bit when I write the new ending.
Thing is, it's a whole extra section to the book. Several chapters, of actual significance.
How I didn't think of it before, I don't know. I think I was wondering how to make certain things work for later in the series when the idea actually popped into my head. I was quite proud of it, actually, but I won't know how well it works with the rest of the book until it's actually written. (I need to plan it, still, but it should be easy enough to make a natural progression from where I left off.)
Ideas don't usually come to me like this when I feel like a story has been finished. The only time an idea has ever stuck around for a while is with my many attempts to write a story with superpowered characters. I get ideas, I try to work with them, and inevitably I give up on the book.
The last time I was happy with an idea that I was working on was with The Jump, and that didn't last long. I didn't really plan the book too well to work with, or plan for sequels.
I'm planning a superhero novel at the moment - or, I was, for a while, and I need to get back to it - so hopefully that'll finally produce something close to what I've been trying to write since I started out writing. Early attempts resulted in being rip-offs of X-Men or Heroes. Even The Jump was veering on being too-close-for-comfort.
It's difficult to deal with such problems when the market already has a lot of different stories out there. However, I think what I'm working on now is coming closer to original than anything else, insofar as a superhero novel can be original.
We'll see how that works out, but for now I need to deal with the idea that won't stop hanging around for Bliss. I'm dying to actually get it written! On a related note, how did I get to be the person who writes these stories?
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Competitions, Publications and Performances
While I can't be certain as to how my employment status will look for the coming months (aside from the weekend job in the bookshop!), it seems that I'm feeling a bit more prepared, really and truly, for writing competitions, for publications, and for performances. I have tended in the past to avoid them, partially out of a lack of time to consider themed-stories or poems due to college assignments, partially out of fear of being judged.
The first is much easier to get past. After this month, I will have nothing more to do for college. Until such a time that I can actually afford to do a Masters programme, I won't have any such assignments to hand in anymore. I'll have, at the least, evenings to myself. With these evenings, I'll finally have the time to consider submitting something. Within a group I run on Facebook, I've been gathering a little list of publications to consider submitting to. Even just having the list is a comfort.
It's not just short stories and poetry, though. I've been thinking it through, more and more over the last few years, and I'm getting to the point of being mentally and emotionally ready to submit to a publishing house. I've done it once in the past, when I was fifteen, and there was a distinct problem with that: I convinced myself that the book was ready, when I wasn't even at that point myself. (The book also needed a lot more editing than it had gone through. A LOT. I won't deny that at all.)
Now, though, I feel ready. I feel like I can actually submit a book - and I know which one - for publication. I won't be talking about that much from here on out until such a time that I actually have good news to share, though. Aside from the book still needing some work, I don't want anybody getting the impression that it's not worth publishing because one editor or agent didn't consider it suitable enough.
It's all part of one big movement for myself. I've never felt ready for somthing like this like I have now. I'm even considering competitions that have an entry fee, if I can write something that I think is suitable. That's a large step for me. I don't often put money on the line for anything. I'm not a gambler. I never really have been. Putting my money on the line for a competition is going beyond my comfort zone. I guess I never really trusted myself before now.
That's where we meet the fear of judgement.
I don't think I'm alone in that. It's not quite a lack of confidence in my ability (that's partially why I avoid submitting much, but I've managed to overcome that on a few occasions for publication purposes). I think it has more to do with the person on the other end of the submission process, knowing who will be reading what. That's put me off for a long time.
Then I entered the Heart in Mouth competition, on a whim, and that actually turned out okay.
Making that shortlist was a major deal for me. It gave me some confidence in myself. It took away some of the fear of submitting short stories and poetry to competitions and magazines. There are a lot of opportunities out there for someone to submit something, especially if they write across several different forms of writing like I do.
As for performance... I think the anxiety has gone out of it. Having gotten on stage both for fun and for the competition, I've gotten a bit more comfortable doing it. I know I still have a long way to go - it's still beyond my comfort zone - but I know what I need to do to help myself improve. It'll be a while before I attempt actually getting listed as performing - the open mic will do, thank you.
So, there we have it. I'm much less scared now than I was even this time last year. I can't say how well I'll do in all of this, but it's a good first step to get myself emotionally ready for this. The writing will come a bit more naturally, I think.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Guest Post, by Ian Mac an Ghaill: Words, Worlds, and Gaiman
Today, I've got the pleasure of hosting a guest blog by my terribly literate friend, Ian Mac an Ghaill. He's an aspiring author, something of a genius, and while you won't hear it here, he has one of the coolest voices in the world. He's currently working on his first novel.
I'll pass you over to Ian as he talks about words, worlds, and Gaiman.
***
That is a story in itself; told in the first person, present perfect continuous tense, establishing the embryo of a plot (protagonist tells stories) while giving some information about the character (given to reflecting on previous and current actions) and referring to the limits of the protagonist’s experience. It is not a very sophisticated story though. I could not fill 1000 pages with it (unless I wrote each word to be REALLY BIG). It’s also a true story, an autobiography.
When I was very young I decided to write a book. The book had 3 stories (3 that I remember, in any case). I wanted the story typed, like a real book. I think that I was writing by that stage but I can’t be sure and for many years my writing was largely illegible so this may have been common sense on my part. Anyway, I told my stories to a tape recorder and my Dad duly typed them up on a typewriter. Each story was about a paragraph long but the book contained several more pages of illustration (I may add that a face made up of a crude circle with dots for eyes and a line for a mouth was the pinnacle of aesthetics in these illustrations) and I was delighted with what lay between the cardboard covers.
This was my earliest independent attempt at writing a work of fiction. I believe that I have improved since then. I have at the very least written longer works with more complicated vocabulary, whether they are actually better or not is subjective. The longest piece I have ever written is just over 10,000 words and arose as a kind of ‘Marvel’s Spider-man/David Gemmel’s Drenai’ fanfic hybrid but most of what I write is between 1000 and 3000 words. Most of my story-writing has been for essays at school but I always harboured the desire to write an epic.
Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Rowling’s Harry Potter, Nix’s Old Kingdom, Colfer’s Artemis Fowl; these were the fictions I wanted to emulate. With one exception (noted above) attempts to do that tended to fizzle out, wasting away because I lacked the necessary craft and diligence to nourish them; my enthusiasm wasn’t enough to sustain them. I never gave up on my ambitions but I stopped trying to make novels appear through sheer force of will.
Then I discovered the stories of Neil Gaiman. I had been in the habit of only reading long fiction; the longer the better and the bigger the world, the more I wanted to know about it. I changed the way that I looked at reading and writing. That seems a grandiose and yet pointless statement; everything that I read or write changes how I read and write but Gaiman’s writing stands out to me as the catalyst for a new reaction to how I understood stories.
He used language in such interesting ways that I could not do other than notice. He even changed writing-styles within stories. Word-choice and sentence structure suddenly came into focus for me in a way that they had not before. For some reason the importance of language and style in writing had not quite clicked with me in the same way before.
There is a reason to choose the word ‘rob’ over the word ‘steal’ or ‘eldritch’ over ‘strange’. ‘Déja vu’ means ‘already seen’ yet English writers often use the French formulation. Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy were both writers of fiction in 19th century Russia but they wrote very differently. Having said that, maybe Dostoyevsky writes exactly like Tolstoy and the exactitude is lost in my English translations.
I also started reading short fiction, which gave me a better idea of how to pace and structure narratives. I changed the way I approached my school essays (they were now short stories, not stories cut short) and writing short stories changed how I approached longer ones. I am in the process of writing a novel at the moment (not as far as I’d like to be, unfortunately) and I write each chapter as if it were a short story by itself. If nothing else, this makes each foray into writing seem more manageable.
That is the story of how I write stories and how I came to write them in the way in which I do. This may or may not be of any use to anyone and what works for me will most likely not work for anyone else in exactly the same way. I don’t know of any infallible rules for writing and I do strongly believe that there are none.
Joyce’s Ulysses proved that you don’t even need an easily intelligible language or much of a plot. I obsess over synonyms and the mechanics of wording. You don’t have to. You can just write the first words that come into your head. J.R.R. Tolkien was marking exams when he wrote “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit” and he had no idea what he meant by writing it.
Write what you like or write what you feel compelled to write. Break whatever rules of writing seem necessary. Write.
Friday, December 30, 2011
My Top 13 Books of 2011
Stealing an idea from Pinkies Blog I have My Top 13 Books of 2011. Most were published before 2011, but having only read them this year, my experiences with them can be considered fairly new. Why thirteen and not ten? Take a look at book one on the list (which is, otherwise, in no particular order.)
Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes, by Maureen Johnson. She was one of those authors I was following on Twitter before ever having read her work. Funny, insightful and responding to tweets from her fans, I had to give her a read. And I loved it. This is one for the YA fans, full of adventure, a bit of romance, an awkward teenager (weren't we all one?) and lots of travelling.
Will Grayson Will Grayson, by John Green and David Levithan. I'll admit, I was a little bit worried about this one, given I had never read anything by the latter, but that didn't stop me giving it a read and falling in love with it. I love the ideas around friendship, the acceptance of people who are different, the excitement of the idea of the Tiny Cooper's musical and the sense that I wanted things to go well for everyone, if Will Grayson would just stop being an idiot. Again, one of the YA fans.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky. Can I pronounce his surname? No, but I can try! Did I love the book? Indeed I did. I was in dire need of something that might remind me of John Green's books, remembering his other three books too well, still, to read them again. So I Amazoned them, found what other people were buying, and found this one. It's a little bit weird, and the character can be a little bit annoying, but then I realised something: I can also be a little bit annoying. (Understatement?) A good book, though not as similar to John Green's books as I thought it might be.
All My Friends Are Superheroes, by Andrew Kaufman. I think I found this book in the same way as Chbosky's novel, though I can't be sure. It's a short book about a man who has a lot of friends, all of whom are - you guessed it - superheroes. Except, you know, they're not. Not really. You'll understand when you read the book, and I highly suggest you pick it up ASAP.
Everyman, by Philip Roth. A lecturer of mine, and head of the English Department in my college, recommend Roth to me as an author, just generally. I had seen his latest novel, Nemesis, in the shop where I work, but as much as I loved the look and the idea of the big yellow hardback, I was not willing to spend the money I didn't have on it. So I went looking for another book, and found this. A fairly short read, kind of depressing, but highly enjoyable.
Raggy Maggie, by Barry Hutchison. While he released a couple of books this year (one of which I still haven't even bought! Shame!), this one still stands out for me as his book of the year. Yes, it came out in 2010. No, I didn't get it until February. It was freaky in all the right places, and really made me look at toys in a different light! A fantastic children's horror that will scare the adults in the house! Don't miss out on the fun!
The Warlock, by Michael Scott. Definitely one of the best books in the series. With everything coming to a finish, I was drawn in to the building climax. I love his system of magic, his mix of myth and history, the realism of the settings (since he describes real-world settings as exact as he can). I just really love this series! Plus, I got to interview him about it later and find out his little secrets!
Sh*t My Dad Says, by Justin Halpern. I'm not one for biographies, really, but I saw this book and had to give it a shot. Easily one of the funniest books I've ever read, without losing the warmth and comfort of the father-son relationship that becomes more evident as the book goes on. You really get a sense of what his dad is like from his little quips about everything in life. I read it in one sitting, which I'd previously only done with Harry Potter books when I was obsessed with them!
Plague, by Michael Grant. With this series getting creepier by the instalment, the FAYZ is falling apart. Well, not literally. But you get the point. Dystopia is just about all it's cracked up to be, when hunger, power-outages and bad politicians are the least of your problems! This is a series to watch, as society is pulled apart piece by piece.
One Red Paperclip, by Kyle MacDonald. Again, a biography. I saw this one when it first came into my shop, way back when, and did't buy it. It went off the radar, I could never find it, and then my brother got it for me online. It's a fantastic little book, full of enthusiasm and excitement, adventure and Canada. God I love Canada! This one's worth checking out just to see how someone goes from a paperclip to a house in a year!
Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life, by Bryan Lee O'Malley. Yep, a graphic novel! I loved the film, and then I found the book, so I had to get it. Had to. Literally. I couldn't stop myself picking it up and paying for it. Some dark, nerdy force had taken over and made me buy this book, then made me laugh with all the humour of the film in book form, with hilarious looking characters and a whole load of crazy. And chords to the songs. Oh yes. It's that cool. Definitely read it and watch the film. It will change your life.*
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This was on my reading list in first year in college (and I'm old now - third year!) but I couldn't get into it. Then John Green (yes, that guy who wrote the book mentioned above) encouraged all of Nerdfighteria to read it. And I did. And I loved it. And I John agreed with the points I made about the American Dream in the comments section of the video on YouTube. And I am aware that there are far too many conjunctions in this paragraph. But that's enthusiasm for you. Loved this book, and even though the ending can be a little bit odd, it's worth the read (even if you just want to read about the worst case of drunk driving in literature.)
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. Unlike Pinkie, I have no problems mentioning a book I read for college. It was on our Gothic module, and while it took me a long time to read (because of the plethora of assignments popping up throughout the year... and a trip to France) I loved every bit of it. I made a point of reading it every morning with a cup of tea on the bench outside the college as a way of starting the day, until it got too cold and wet to continue doing that. Once you get used to the way it's written (there's a narrated story, within a narrated story, within a letter), it's a very enjoyable book, and it's no wonder it's lasted this long. What surprised me most was the way in which Hollywood has distorted the idea of Frankenstein over the years, making him out to be a blood thirsty monster from the off-set. To really understand the monster, and to get an insight on humanity that's as true now as it was when Shelley wrote the novel, you have to read this book.
Next year, I'll have lots of books to read that I've been really looking forward to. Expect a lot of excitement online when John Green's latest book, The Fault in Our Stars arrives at my house, as well as a look at Michael Scott's adult horror, Barry Hutchison's Doc Mortis, Herman Melville's Moby Dick and Maureen John's The Name of the Star, just to name a few. 2012 is going to be a big year!
*May not actually change your life.
Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes, by Maureen Johnson. She was one of those authors I was following on Twitter before ever having read her work. Funny, insightful and responding to tweets from her fans, I had to give her a read. And I loved it. This is one for the YA fans, full of adventure, a bit of romance, an awkward teenager (weren't we all one?) and lots of travelling.
Will Grayson Will Grayson, by John Green and David Levithan. I'll admit, I was a little bit worried about this one, given I had never read anything by the latter, but that didn't stop me giving it a read and falling in love with it. I love the ideas around friendship, the acceptance of people who are different, the excitement of the idea of the Tiny Cooper's musical and the sense that I wanted things to go well for everyone, if Will Grayson would just stop being an idiot. Again, one of the YA fans.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky. Can I pronounce his surname? No, but I can try! Did I love the book? Indeed I did. I was in dire need of something that might remind me of John Green's books, remembering his other three books too well, still, to read them again. So I Amazoned them, found what other people were buying, and found this one. It's a little bit weird, and the character can be a little bit annoying, but then I realised something: I can also be a little bit annoying. (Understatement?) A good book, though not as similar to John Green's books as I thought it might be.
All My Friends Are Superheroes, by Andrew Kaufman. I think I found this book in the same way as Chbosky's novel, though I can't be sure. It's a short book about a man who has a lot of friends, all of whom are - you guessed it - superheroes. Except, you know, they're not. Not really. You'll understand when you read the book, and I highly suggest you pick it up ASAP.
Everyman, by Philip Roth. A lecturer of mine, and head of the English Department in my college, recommend Roth to me as an author, just generally. I had seen his latest novel, Nemesis, in the shop where I work, but as much as I loved the look and the idea of the big yellow hardback, I was not willing to spend the money I didn't have on it. So I went looking for another book, and found this. A fairly short read, kind of depressing, but highly enjoyable.
Raggy Maggie, by Barry Hutchison. While he released a couple of books this year (one of which I still haven't even bought! Shame!), this one still stands out for me as his book of the year. Yes, it came out in 2010. No, I didn't get it until February. It was freaky in all the right places, and really made me look at toys in a different light! A fantastic children's horror that will scare the adults in the house! Don't miss out on the fun!
The Warlock, by Michael Scott. Definitely one of the best books in the series. With everything coming to a finish, I was drawn in to the building climax. I love his system of magic, his mix of myth and history, the realism of the settings (since he describes real-world settings as exact as he can). I just really love this series! Plus, I got to interview him about it later and find out his little secrets!
Sh*t My Dad Says, by Justin Halpern. I'm not one for biographies, really, but I saw this book and had to give it a shot. Easily one of the funniest books I've ever read, without losing the warmth and comfort of the father-son relationship that becomes more evident as the book goes on. You really get a sense of what his dad is like from his little quips about everything in life. I read it in one sitting, which I'd previously only done with Harry Potter books when I was obsessed with them!
Plague, by Michael Grant. With this series getting creepier by the instalment, the FAYZ is falling apart. Well, not literally. But you get the point. Dystopia is just about all it's cracked up to be, when hunger, power-outages and bad politicians are the least of your problems! This is a series to watch, as society is pulled apart piece by piece.
One Red Paperclip, by Kyle MacDonald. Again, a biography. I saw this one when it first came into my shop, way back when, and did't buy it. It went off the radar, I could never find it, and then my brother got it for me online. It's a fantastic little book, full of enthusiasm and excitement, adventure and Canada. God I love Canada! This one's worth checking out just to see how someone goes from a paperclip to a house in a year!
Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life, by Bryan Lee O'Malley. Yep, a graphic novel! I loved the film, and then I found the book, so I had to get it. Had to. Literally. I couldn't stop myself picking it up and paying for it. Some dark, nerdy force had taken over and made me buy this book, then made me laugh with all the humour of the film in book form, with hilarious looking characters and a whole load of crazy. And chords to the songs. Oh yes. It's that cool. Definitely read it and watch the film. It will change your life.*
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This was on my reading list in first year in college (and I'm old now - third year!) but I couldn't get into it. Then John Green (yes, that guy who wrote the book mentioned above) encouraged all of Nerdfighteria to read it. And I did. And I loved it. And I John agreed with the points I made about the American Dream in the comments section of the video on YouTube. And I am aware that there are far too many conjunctions in this paragraph. But that's enthusiasm for you. Loved this book, and even though the ending can be a little bit odd, it's worth the read (even if you just want to read about the worst case of drunk driving in literature.)
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. Unlike Pinkie, I have no problems mentioning a book I read for college. It was on our Gothic module, and while it took me a long time to read (because of the plethora of assignments popping up throughout the year... and a trip to France) I loved every bit of it. I made a point of reading it every morning with a cup of tea on the bench outside the college as a way of starting the day, until it got too cold and wet to continue doing that. Once you get used to the way it's written (there's a narrated story, within a narrated story, within a letter), it's a very enjoyable book, and it's no wonder it's lasted this long. What surprised me most was the way in which Hollywood has distorted the idea of Frankenstein over the years, making him out to be a blood thirsty monster from the off-set. To really understand the monster, and to get an insight on humanity that's as true now as it was when Shelley wrote the novel, you have to read this book.
Next year, I'll have lots of books to read that I've been really looking forward to. Expect a lot of excitement online when John Green's latest book, The Fault in Our Stars arrives at my house, as well as a look at Michael Scott's adult horror, Barry Hutchison's Doc Mortis, Herman Melville's Moby Dick and Maureen John's The Name of the Star, just to name a few. 2012 is going to be a big year!
*May not actually change your life.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
After a few days...
So, I started NaNoWriMo. It was originally my intent to pull out of the competition, but Bliss got the better of me. I'm now over 7000 words into the novel (added onto what I wrote during the summer - only a slight cheat in picking the same novel!) and, thankfully, less than 13K behind what I should be on. I have time to write this weekend, since I don't have anything I need to do any of my college work, and I have a rough plan. More importantly, I know where the novel is going outside of this rough plan, which has been ignored for the most part up to this point anyway.
The novel has taken on greater depths since I started writing it. For a start, the characters are a little more believable, there are more of them (the original plan called for four characters; I now have seven main characters) and they have more interesting stories behind them. Braddock is trying not to follow in his father's footsteps, while also trying to make himself known in the scientific world; Lyo is trying to start a family after leaving her own behind to marry Braddock; Alastair is trying to prove himself as a scientist in a city that praises Braddock's family; Michelle is trying to continue the research of her late parents into solar and nuclear energy; Andy is trying to prove himself to his community; Bliss is trying to find her place in whatever world she ends up in; and the Mother Muse is trying to give the world her greatest gifts, through a warped sense of delivery.
Add to that the ecological and ethical issues that various characters face, the struggle of faith in the world, and the impending desecration of a world without love, and you've got Bliss. I was proud of my ability to actually plot the novel, initially; the first plan was based on the singles of Muse played in order. That has, obviously, changed, since most of the elements of that plan no longer make sense: Lyo wasn't part of it then, and she's important now. That's what I'm more proud of: actually altering my novel to write something worth reading, something more creative than the novelization of twenty four singles.
I have a lot of work ahead of me, though. As much as I love the novel, it will require a lot of perseverance to actually write 50K in 20 days. 30 is difficult enough! However, I think I've already beaten my fail of a 2010 attempt, so that's a plus.
Building on my Camp NaNoWriMo experience is definitely the only way I'm going to get this done. I have to take advantage of the fact that I get into college about two hours before lectures, bring my laptop in every day with my charger and my plan that I will ignore, and block out all sound with music for at least an hour. Every day I have Drama or a workshop, I have to stay behind in college, anyway. At lunch time, I will go to the library and get my assignments done. There are only three for the main modules left, so that won't be too bad.
The real problem is this teaching programme we have to do in college. That'll take up a lot of time, I think. Especially since I can't find anything about the assignment we're expected to do. No deadline date, no details on what we're actually supposed to do, nothing.
Can I scream? I think I'm going to scream. Or drink tea.
Anyway, back to the novel. After a few days, I'm well under way to getting this done. If I'd started at the right time, I wouldn't be in any trouble. With So much to write before I'm even caught up, I have to write an average of 2250 words per day to finish on time. Otherwise, at the rate NaNoWriMo think I'm writing (as in, if I'm writing from day 1), I'll finish in January.
That feature is always fun for me. The more I write, the closer than date gets. It makes it look like I'm doing a lot more work when an hour of writing knocks off a month of time it should take for me to finish.
Anyway, my plan is to just keep on writing. I want to finish, mostly because I wanted to finish the book before Christmas anyway, and partially because I want to get the five free copies CreateSpace are offering to winners. I love incentive, I really do.
I'll still be writing my pep talks - Week 3 is the week people hate their novels and feel like giving up - but I'll have to focus a lot more time on writing fiction. If I can catch up, I'll also have to write a short story for something in college. There's a day of NaNo gone out the window! I might write it on my way to Croagh Patrick on Wednesday.
Only a few hours before I can get back to writing Bliss. It's going to seem like such a long time...
PS You can track my progress here.
The novel has taken on greater depths since I started writing it. For a start, the characters are a little more believable, there are more of them (the original plan called for four characters; I now have seven main characters) and they have more interesting stories behind them. Braddock is trying not to follow in his father's footsteps, while also trying to make himself known in the scientific world; Lyo is trying to start a family after leaving her own behind to marry Braddock; Alastair is trying to prove himself as a scientist in a city that praises Braddock's family; Michelle is trying to continue the research of her late parents into solar and nuclear energy; Andy is trying to prove himself to his community; Bliss is trying to find her place in whatever world she ends up in; and the Mother Muse is trying to give the world her greatest gifts, through a warped sense of delivery.
Add to that the ecological and ethical issues that various characters face, the struggle of faith in the world, and the impending desecration of a world without love, and you've got Bliss. I was proud of my ability to actually plot the novel, initially; the first plan was based on the singles of Muse played in order. That has, obviously, changed, since most of the elements of that plan no longer make sense: Lyo wasn't part of it then, and she's important now. That's what I'm more proud of: actually altering my novel to write something worth reading, something more creative than the novelization of twenty four singles.
I have a lot of work ahead of me, though. As much as I love the novel, it will require a lot of perseverance to actually write 50K in 20 days. 30 is difficult enough! However, I think I've already beaten my fail of a 2010 attempt, so that's a plus.
Building on my Camp NaNoWriMo experience is definitely the only way I'm going to get this done. I have to take advantage of the fact that I get into college about two hours before lectures, bring my laptop in every day with my charger and my plan that I will ignore, and block out all sound with music for at least an hour. Every day I have Drama or a workshop, I have to stay behind in college, anyway. At lunch time, I will go to the library and get my assignments done. There are only three for the main modules left, so that won't be too bad.
The real problem is this teaching programme we have to do in college. That'll take up a lot of time, I think. Especially since I can't find anything about the assignment we're expected to do. No deadline date, no details on what we're actually supposed to do, nothing.
Can I scream? I think I'm going to scream. Or drink tea.
Anyway, back to the novel. After a few days, I'm well under way to getting this done. If I'd started at the right time, I wouldn't be in any trouble. With So much to write before I'm even caught up, I have to write an average of 2250 words per day to finish on time. Otherwise, at the rate NaNoWriMo think I'm writing (as in, if I'm writing from day 1), I'll finish in January.
That feature is always fun for me. The more I write, the closer than date gets. It makes it look like I'm doing a lot more work when an hour of writing knocks off a month of time it should take for me to finish.
Anyway, my plan is to just keep on writing. I want to finish, mostly because I wanted to finish the book before Christmas anyway, and partially because I want to get the five free copies CreateSpace are offering to winners. I love incentive, I really do.
I'll still be writing my pep talks - Week 3 is the week people hate their novels and feel like giving up - but I'll have to focus a lot more time on writing fiction. If I can catch up, I'll also have to write a short story for something in college. There's a day of NaNo gone out the window! I might write it on my way to Croagh Patrick on Wednesday.
Only a few hours before I can get back to writing Bliss. It's going to seem like such a long time...
PS You can track my progress here.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Review - Lies
When Michael Grant first released Gone, I was really excited for it. When he released Hunger, I was equally excited. When he released Lies
, I was excited but busy, and it sat behind the till in work for about six and a half months untouched. I finally bought it and read it, which the excitement for Plague building up, because the latter was due out in the near future (FYI, it's out now!).So, with so much excitement for the book, I had a few expectations. Naturally, Grant and his publishers built on this excitement with the combination of his count-down chapters and the awesome blurb on the back of Lies that made me want to read it even more. Already being a nerd and falling in love with superpowers from an early age, a YA series about kids with powers and all sorts of demolitions occurring in an adult-free society was just the sort of thing I needed. The series escapes the normals of reality while maintaining certain degrees of realism: the kids of Perdido Beach need: food, health care, a government and power. The latter is actually both power in the new society and electricity, both of which come lacking for many.
So what did you think of the book?
Overall, a pretty damn fine novel! Even apart from the other books, this is a brilliant story. Focusing on the idea that the kids need honesty and that lies are very easy to spread, the whole of the FAYZ (Fallout Alley Youth Zone) is susceptible to dishonesty. Everything is in imbalance, and I love it! As readers, we're allowed to know some of the lies and truths, while others remain a mystery to us until the other characters find out what's going on. We're allowed to figure some stuff out, too, ahead of time, but ultimately it's not until the end that the lies begin to unfold entirely for us. Which really just makes you want to keep on reading!
All the while, the diverse range of characters and what they want just keeps everything going. More lies spread, more truths are upheld and typical of Grant more battles are fought. But the more the series goes on - and this is book three - the more we see into the minds of the cast of characters, and the greater the dangers become for them. While they could deal with the loss of the adults, and they found ways of dealing with the hunger, they're suddenly split by themselves. And, from what I can discern of the later books from titles and the trailer for Plague, things are only going to get worse, and new and greater troubles arise in the FAYZ. Naturally, the Big Bad of the series - the Darkness - will be at the heart of these troubles.
How did this book compare to others in the series?
In my opinion, it's the best one yet. While I loved the concept of Gone, that's still carried on in this book, along with the hunger problems. Grant doesn't just ditch old problems, so I'm assuming the books will only get better assuming he doesn't get worse. But as Lies begins the psychological breakdown of the kids of Perdido Beach, it reaches a new height. And of course, the implications of the book's countdown - revealed in its early chapters - become increasingly more problematic as the book goes on.
Who do you recommend the book to?
I sometimes respond with "everyone". Not this time. Obviously, if you liked the other two books, you'll love this one. And obviously if you liked my review, I encourage you to get the book - and probably the other two if you haven't read them already. If you like superpowers, this book gives them an interesting twist, and if you're interested in looking at the fall of a society gradually, then definitely check out the series! Other than that, if you like dystopian novels and/or Sci-Fi, you'll like the Gone Series
. (i.e. this series of books).Looking forward to Plague?
Is the pope catholic? I can't wait to finally get my hands on it. Though that probably won't be for a while.
____________________
Some housekeeping: I have exams in May, which I will be busy studying for, so assuming I won't have time to write reviews of the novels I have to read before my English exams, I'll be writing my last review until June next week. This also assumes I won't take time off to read for pleasure. I will, probably, but not during May.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Review - I Am Number Four
.
Okay, so Pittacus Lore isn't his real name; he's a pseudonym, a combination of the minds of Jobie Hughes and James Frey. And as for the significance of the title - the cover of the book tells the very simply story behind that: there were nine aliens, three are dead, and John Smith is next.What made you pick this up?
Well, there was this little thing in a free magazine that described this book as being Smallville meets Heroes. Um, yes please! I didn't quite get it at first, but the alien thing kind of does it. Also, working in a bookshop and seeing the delightful cover (the UK one is black with the same orange symbol as on the cover shown to the left, and gold writing for the cover and author - very cool!) every single day I was in work was too tempting. So I bought the book, after reading quite a bit of it in work to (a) fall in love with the story and (b) crease the spine a little bit.
How does this compare with other, similar books?
Okay, in terms of plot and the idea, I prefer this book. It's a lot stronger, because it doesn't leave a lot of doubt for everything happening - as in Gone, where you're not sure what's happening. However, the character's aren't as loveable as I've found people to be in other books, and I wasn't as fond of the style of writing, but there was technically nothing wrong with the writing, or the characters. It was just how I felt about them.
So... was it enjoyable?
Oh yes, very much so. I think if I had a choice about the matter, I wouldn't have stopped reading it at all. Only thing is I had to work... and eat... and sleep. And I think my family have this thing where I'm supposed to talk to them at least once every couple of hours. The book was almost too good to put down. But yeah, like I said, life goes on. Unfortunately.
What can we expect from this series?
Well, if you believe the rumours, five more books. And if you believe IMBD, a movie. Yes, a movie. It's in post-production, due out in February 2011 (as far as I know.) Staring Alex Pettyfer as John Smith and Dianna Agron as the delightful Sarah. (So there's a reason for the girls and a reason for the guys to go see it!) I recommend reading the book before the movie comes out, of course. I hate knowing the plot in adaptation mode before I read it, and now you have lots of notice! And who knows, there may be a whole load of popularity around this series after the movie - get there first!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
NaNo '10
There are two weeks to go until NaNoWriMo 2010, and I still don't know if I'll definitely be taking part. It would mean writing a lot of college stuff over the midterm break, which I am more than happy to do, and using lunch times that would otherwise go wasted on writing the novel and juggling all my other college work. It would mean using every last available minute writing the book, in between the nights out I am determined not to miss and the teaching practice material I have to put together... like 30 lessons and three schemes of work...
Aside from the whole 'having another first draft' thing, I have another motive for taking part - I need to get the voice of the narrator in Meet Sam back into my head, and the only way to do that is to write the second book in the trilogy, Love, Sam. So between now and November 1st I need to plot that book and write two essays of 1500-2000 words and two sets of tutorial work... fun times!
It can be done, though. I get off college at half four on Mondays. I can write for an hour or two without jeopardising my college work. On Tuesdays, I'm in until half five. Sometimes later. The nights are touch-and-go. I have a long lunch, though, so I could write then. Wednesdays I'm off at half four again, with a long lunch, too, and no one goes out on a Wednesday. Thursdays are strange: every second week I get off at half two, while the other weeks I get off at half four. I can write on the half two days, but the nights out are always on Thursdays. Fridays are touch-and-go; I don't know, as of yet, whether or not I have work every Friday after college. I get off at twelve, though, so I could spend time writing then - a few hours' work and a few thousand words. Saturdays I work, usually for six hours. I also do my tutorial work on Saturdays... But that shouldn't stop me doing work on the novel. Sundays I have four to six hours, too, in work, and again I can do work before and after.
However, I have to do a lot of reading for college, too. I need to read a tragic play and write an essay on it, and write a coursework journal based on the films we watch on the late Tuesdays. I have three essays due in in November - one of which I would want to write most of during the October break - and I have four tutorials to prepare work for during the month, too. And, again, my schemes of work. Fun... I need to do work for those, too. I need to read for three essays and three schemes of work. It may kill me.
But what about the book? Okay, if I use Write or Die I can get about 400 words done every ten minutes. So in an hour I can get - roughly - 2400 words done. If I wrote for one hour - like this - every day in November, I would get 72000 words done in the month. This is more than enough. I will most likely write less. I imagine it will turn out closer to 55000 words, because even if I wrote like this all the time, I would not write every day.
Do I have a plot..? Not exactly. I have a general idea but nothing too substantial. Which is bad, for me. For a book of this length and for such a short period of high-stress time, I need a plan. I will probably work on this during the week - likely before my next drama workshop. I have my characters already, anyway. I have written about them on this blog, previously. I can come up with a story that fits them all in that doesn't avoid the direction I want the book to take. This will, hopefully, have some of the same humour as Meet Sam while also getting down into this really dark level of the human psyche, which was my intention for this book all those months ago when I first thought of it.
I suppose, though, with my idea I have somewhere to aim for. I have thought processes that need to be explored, places that need to be visited narratively, and people that need to influence the mind and emotions of Samuel Emily Richards.
Am I excited? Oh God yes. Lets get ready to WriMo!
Aside from the whole 'having another first draft' thing, I have another motive for taking part - I need to get the voice of the narrator in Meet Sam back into my head, and the only way to do that is to write the second book in the trilogy, Love, Sam. So between now and November 1st I need to plot that book and write two essays of 1500-2000 words and two sets of tutorial work... fun times!
It can be done, though. I get off college at half four on Mondays. I can write for an hour or two without jeopardising my college work. On Tuesdays, I'm in until half five. Sometimes later. The nights are touch-and-go. I have a long lunch, though, so I could write then. Wednesdays I'm off at half four again, with a long lunch, too, and no one goes out on a Wednesday. Thursdays are strange: every second week I get off at half two, while the other weeks I get off at half four. I can write on the half two days, but the nights out are always on Thursdays. Fridays are touch-and-go; I don't know, as of yet, whether or not I have work every Friday after college. I get off at twelve, though, so I could spend time writing then - a few hours' work and a few thousand words. Saturdays I work, usually for six hours. I also do my tutorial work on Saturdays... But that shouldn't stop me doing work on the novel. Sundays I have four to six hours, too, in work, and again I can do work before and after.
However, I have to do a lot of reading for college, too. I need to read a tragic play and write an essay on it, and write a coursework journal based on the films we watch on the late Tuesdays. I have three essays due in in November - one of which I would want to write most of during the October break - and I have four tutorials to prepare work for during the month, too. And, again, my schemes of work. Fun... I need to do work for those, too. I need to read for three essays and three schemes of work. It may kill me.
But what about the book? Okay, if I use Write or Die I can get about 400 words done every ten minutes. So in an hour I can get - roughly - 2400 words done. If I wrote for one hour - like this - every day in November, I would get 72000 words done in the month. This is more than enough. I will most likely write less. I imagine it will turn out closer to 55000 words, because even if I wrote like this all the time, I would not write every day.
Do I have a plot..? Not exactly. I have a general idea but nothing too substantial. Which is bad, for me. For a book of this length and for such a short period of high-stress time, I need a plan. I will probably work on this during the week - likely before my next drama workshop. I have my characters already, anyway. I have written about them on this blog, previously. I can come up with a story that fits them all in that doesn't avoid the direction I want the book to take. This will, hopefully, have some of the same humour as Meet Sam while also getting down into this really dark level of the human psyche, which was my intention for this book all those months ago when I first thought of it.
I suppose, though, with my idea I have somewhere to aim for. I have thought processes that need to be explored, places that need to be visited narratively, and people that need to influence the mind and emotions of Samuel Emily Richards.
Am I excited? Oh God yes. Lets get ready to WriMo!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
SAND
SAND, or: Summer, Assuming Nothing (Dis)Improves. This is what I am calling my intended summer; assuming nothing gets worse for me, and assuming nothing drastically improves very suddenly, I have a set plan for my summer months. It involves organised chaos, time and words. Lots of words.
These are all fairly well linked attributes of my three and a half months off; organised chaos is interwoven with time, and is part of the process of creating words. Time is vital to achieve words. Words are the offspring of organised chaos and time, and can actually create different worms of them. Yeah... I'm a bit weird that way.
Okay, the plan for the summer. I know you're all dying to know this. Let's take this as one big plan, with smaller sub-plans that interrupt other plans (organised chaos in practice!). There will be, in the social way of looking at things, a trip to the zoo, about a dozen trips to the cinema, four poetry nights, far too many nights out (the sort of things that will make my bank account angry), and more than a few trips into town to meet more than a few people, though not all at the same time. Ever.
That's one sub-plan. Another is writing. Writing a lot. James told me not to. He said, "Well don't spend all your time doing it." No, I will. Well, in accordance with the plan. The plan that insists on my writing being interrupted by friends. Damn them. Damn them to their happy little place that I wish I could stay in for longer than I do. Damn them there twice! (hey cool, I typed that without even looking at the screen, let alone the keyboard!)
The writing will consist of a number of things; it has sub-categories of its own! There will be the editing of Meet Sam, en masse until it's completion. During this time, there will also be the planning and writing of two novels: Dignity and Love, Sam. About two people know about Dignity (the aforementioned James, and Liam, because it was his Facebook status and his hilarious stories that inspired the idea of the book!). About one person knows about Love, Sam. That's Monica. I told her because she insisted on a sequel to Meet Sam, and then suddenly there was one. And another one. I don't know how that happened. There might also be the writing of a third novel, written entirely in letter and diary format, with another author. She's a very good friend of mine, so it could be very interesting! And then there's all the poetry I might write, because poems attack my brain spontaneously. And the plays I might write. And the short stories. And the auto-biography I've had in my head (a letter to my younger self), that, if I complete it, will be sold online.
And, believe it or not, there's more. I plan on trying to learn the ukulele. I have one, just sitting there like a beaten puppy, begging not to be hit by the door again as I open it. I know, what a cruel analogy!
And that's my summer. My whole summer in its entirety. I'll have to take a leaf from Liam's book and keep a record of everything I do during the summer. Every little detail, every little anecdote. Everything that can be fictionalised and used in Dignity or The Sam Richards Trilogy. This is SAND. As it is written, so it shall be. (and due to the nature in which in what written, just about anything can happen!)
These are all fairly well linked attributes of my three and a half months off; organised chaos is interwoven with time, and is part of the process of creating words. Time is vital to achieve words. Words are the offspring of organised chaos and time, and can actually create different worms of them. Yeah... I'm a bit weird that way.
Okay, the plan for the summer. I know you're all dying to know this. Let's take this as one big plan, with smaller sub-plans that interrupt other plans (organised chaos in practice!). There will be, in the social way of looking at things, a trip to the zoo, about a dozen trips to the cinema, four poetry nights, far too many nights out (the sort of things that will make my bank account angry), and more than a few trips into town to meet more than a few people, though not all at the same time. Ever.
That's one sub-plan. Another is writing. Writing a lot. James told me not to. He said, "Well don't spend all your time doing it." No, I will. Well, in accordance with the plan. The plan that insists on my writing being interrupted by friends. Damn them. Damn them to their happy little place that I wish I could stay in for longer than I do. Damn them there twice! (hey cool, I typed that without even looking at the screen, let alone the keyboard!)
The writing will consist of a number of things; it has sub-categories of its own! There will be the editing of Meet Sam, en masse until it's completion. During this time, there will also be the planning and writing of two novels: Dignity and Love, Sam. About two people know about Dignity (the aforementioned James, and Liam, because it was his Facebook status and his hilarious stories that inspired the idea of the book!). About one person knows about Love, Sam. That's Monica. I told her because she insisted on a sequel to Meet Sam, and then suddenly there was one. And another one. I don't know how that happened. There might also be the writing of a third novel, written entirely in letter and diary format, with another author. She's a very good friend of mine, so it could be very interesting! And then there's all the poetry I might write, because poems attack my brain spontaneously. And the plays I might write. And the short stories. And the auto-biography I've had in my head (a letter to my younger self), that, if I complete it, will be sold online.
And, believe it or not, there's more. I plan on trying to learn the ukulele. I have one, just sitting there like a beaten puppy, begging not to be hit by the door again as I open it. I know, what a cruel analogy!
And that's my summer. My whole summer in its entirety. I'll have to take a leaf from Liam's book and keep a record of everything I do during the summer. Every little detail, every little anecdote. Everything that can be fictionalised and used in Dignity or The Sam Richards Trilogy. This is SAND. As it is written, so it shall be. (and due to the nature in which in what written, just about anything can happen!)
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Busy Body's Blind Wish
I hope that title confused you... Let me explain now. I'm the Busy Body in question. For the last few hours, the time set aside for my dinner excluded, I've been planning a novel. The title, for now, is Blind Wish. No, it's not a novel about eye-sight, or anything really to do with eye-sight besides observation and general vision.
I'm not here to tell you all about my novel, however. It's not written, not even a little bit, and therefore doesn't qualify to be blogged about. What does qualify, however, is the method I used to plan it!
Some of my Twitter followers remarked on the idea; I used PowerPoint. That's right, the presentation tool! Each slide was a chapter, except two slides that were a single chapter. I had two characters whose viewpoints would be followed, and I could move the chapters about as freely as I wished. Eventually I just planned in order of where they'd be in the story. However, I think you get the idea. I had complete freedom!
At the bottom of the screen in PowerPoint is the notes section. Conveniently, you can also print these notes with the presentation! So I can print out the general jist of the story, and some extra notes on each chapter, and voila, I have my plan all done and easily accessed!
I found the software really easy to use, so if you're a writer who wants to try plan a novel but you don't know how, give it a shot. Use a slide a chapter, or a slide a scene if you prefer, and use the notes at the bottom (well, mine's the latest version - I don't know where they are otherwise) to add in a little more detail. It's easy to read, easy to co-ordinate, and you can change it easily whenever you want!
Tomorrow I'll have to print it out and bring it with me to lunch. A friend of mine loves that I write, and this new planning method may get his interest!! Until next time, dear reader, goodbye! And thanks for reading!
I'd like to take this chance to point out that my blog now has my videos on the top of it if you want to find them easily. Just saying...
I'm not here to tell you all about my novel, however. It's not written, not even a little bit, and therefore doesn't qualify to be blogged about. What does qualify, however, is the method I used to plan it!
Some of my Twitter followers remarked on the idea; I used PowerPoint. That's right, the presentation tool! Each slide was a chapter, except two slides that were a single chapter. I had two characters whose viewpoints would be followed, and I could move the chapters about as freely as I wished. Eventually I just planned in order of where they'd be in the story. However, I think you get the idea. I had complete freedom!
At the bottom of the screen in PowerPoint is the notes section. Conveniently, you can also print these notes with the presentation! So I can print out the general jist of the story, and some extra notes on each chapter, and voila, I have my plan all done and easily accessed!
I found the software really easy to use, so if you're a writer who wants to try plan a novel but you don't know how, give it a shot. Use a slide a chapter, or a slide a scene if you prefer, and use the notes at the bottom (well, mine's the latest version - I don't know where they are otherwise) to add in a little more detail. It's easy to read, easy to co-ordinate, and you can change it easily whenever you want!
Tomorrow I'll have to print it out and bring it with me to lunch. A friend of mine loves that I write, and this new planning method may get his interest!! Until next time, dear reader, goodbye! And thanks for reading!
I'd like to take this chance to point out that my blog now has my videos on the top of it if you want to find them easily. Just saying...
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Baibai Sci-Fi
Okey dokey, here we go! I've given up. Not all together, just on one thing. It's a Sci-Fi writing competition. My entry was going to be something similar to Geneticide (which in turn is similar to Heroes) but I just can't do it! It's not possible. My attention can't stay with it. I can't visualise the characters. Nothing is working in it. I don't even have a plan. It's one of those novels that can really afford to end as a long story, but not publishable. Ever. It never would have reached 80 thousand words.
However, my writing is not all dead. I've still got Meet Sam to edit this summer, and another novel to write. It's a YA fantasy that will tear away all the premises about fairytales, myth and of course, "Good VS Evil." I'm keeping it's name a secret for now, but it's going to be good. I know, I've been dreaming about it.
See, that's how I plan sometimes. I just dream it. Unlike a friend of mine, Andy Walker, I can't make out loads of character notes. I simply wouldn't know where to begin. I just imagine everything happening instead. I do what feels right. And I do that wonderous thing: I write what I know!
It's something people always forget to do. They start something far more complex than their heads can comprehend. If I asked some people about what they wrote, they wouldn't have an answer. They just wouldn't know. This ficticious world they've created is limited to what's been written down, in the book. I can't do that. I know so much about this story, because it's been in my head for over two years, unwritten.
Sorry, that's not entirely true. It's been written. About three chapters of it. And they're useless now, because the tale has changed. The very fabric of time and space has been torn apart since then. The protagonist is younger, but he's not quite "evil" like he used to be. Okay, I know I'm trying to get away from that point, so here we go... he's what people would call "good" if they read the story, but in truth, even the "good guys" can be bad. They make decisions, have morals and live to an ethical standard. Mostly. There's the Big Bads that accompany all YA Fantasy that don't quite like being told what to do.
You see, there is no such thing as good and evil in this story. It's all about Power, and those who seek it. How they go about their mission is what defines them under one of the two words, based on the standards of ethics in the world. But then, killing millions is a bit bad, isn't it?
So there you have it, my guideline. It's not much, is it? Not for you, anyway. You won't know what the story's really about. That's the idea. But you know what it's not and that's important.
However, my writing is not all dead. I've still got Meet Sam to edit this summer, and another novel to write. It's a YA fantasy that will tear away all the premises about fairytales, myth and of course, "Good VS Evil." I'm keeping it's name a secret for now, but it's going to be good. I know, I've been dreaming about it.
See, that's how I plan sometimes. I just dream it. Unlike a friend of mine, Andy Walker, I can't make out loads of character notes. I simply wouldn't know where to begin. I just imagine everything happening instead. I do what feels right. And I do that wonderous thing: I write what I know!
It's something people always forget to do. They start something far more complex than their heads can comprehend. If I asked some people about what they wrote, they wouldn't have an answer. They just wouldn't know. This ficticious world they've created is limited to what's been written down, in the book. I can't do that. I know so much about this story, because it's been in my head for over two years, unwritten.
Sorry, that's not entirely true. It's been written. About three chapters of it. And they're useless now, because the tale has changed. The very fabric of time and space has been torn apart since then. The protagonist is younger, but he's not quite "evil" like he used to be. Okay, I know I'm trying to get away from that point, so here we go... he's what people would call "good" if they read the story, but in truth, even the "good guys" can be bad. They make decisions, have morals and live to an ethical standard. Mostly. There's the Big Bads that accompany all YA Fantasy that don't quite like being told what to do.
You see, there is no such thing as good and evil in this story. It's all about Power, and those who seek it. How they go about their mission is what defines them under one of the two words, based on the standards of ethics in the world. But then, killing millions is a bit bad, isn't it?
So there you have it, my guideline. It's not much, is it? Not for you, anyway. You won't know what the story's really about. That's the idea. But you know what it's not and that's important.
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