Mishmash

In following with my blog description, here are my unorganized observations today.

There's a swallow's nest right outside my front door, where the wall meets the roof.  I don't know if this is a common occurrence, but for whatever reason, my family almost always has a swallow's nest by the door.  We had returning swallows at our old house too.  I suspect this is a new family of birds, although maybe they searched us out across town to find us again.  Maybe they lurrrrve us.  

My parents--The Chinese--say families that have swallows in the doorway have good luck.  We must be extraordinarily lucky people.  I like watching the birds.  They're actually very pretty, with their patterned tails and the splash of red under their chins.  Their nests are kind of hideous, made of mud and spit, I believe.

I woke up with horrendous allergies today.  My eyes are all swollen, and I've been sneezing up a storm.  I don't know why this is, as I haven't even stepped foot outside yet.  My body decides to wage war on itself for entertainment.

I wasn't thinking when I bought my Obama shirt from DC on Inauguration Day.  I still haven't worn it in public, because I live in a very Republican little town, and well...I've had my fill of being yelled at from when I canvassed in Indiana.  I just don't feel comfortable advertising my politics on my clothing, at least when I'm not purposely campaigning.  And most of my friends are Republican.  I should've thought of that.  But I am wearing it now because it is comfortable to write in, and I don't feel like changing when I go out tonight.  I suppose I'll have to get over it.  It seems like a waste to have bought a shirt and never get to wear it outside my home. People do make judgments on you based on what you wear and worse based on your politics. There is more to me, and more to everyone else, than party association.  Don't you think?  People forget this sometimes.  Politics are dumb.  Why did I choose this as my minor?

How do you feel about soft characters versus hard characters?  I am trying to make Meg a softer character, less sarcastic, less abrasive (less like me, in other words).  What qualities do you like in a character?  Does a character have to be likeable (I don't think Bella from Twilight is likeable, but I read her whole saga nonetheless) to be good?

I wrestle with these thoughts as I rewrite Chapter 3.  

Happy Friday!

--------Late Breaking Update-------

This surely comes as no surprise to anyone.  Is it sad I didn't care about the book industry until I started writing seriously?  Now I feel guilty every time I read a book and fail to buy it, like I personally am letting down the book industry.  And I think of the author who probably wants me to buy it, when I am instead looking at the first few chapters and then putting it down.  I have honestly made more of an effort to purchase books since January.  Poor book industry.  Poor writers.  :-(

The Real Me

Perhaps you have been deluded into thinking I am a calm, rational human being based on my blog posts.  This is a lie.  When I am writing late at night, I am a frantic, unsensible, unreasonable thing.  I turn into a dripping green mess of whining and other such unattractive behaviors.

This is how I feel upon reading my midnight gibberish rants.  And then the manuscript that happened while I was ranting. 

Here are some actual, unedited excerpts of what I said last night to my friend (editor) via Facebook message.  Verbatim.  You can't make up stuff like this.  

(My main character Meg is a spirit in the underworld--hence the references to death.)

11:38 pm

"Now I am somewhat tempted to try making grilled cheese sandwiches on my radiator next year. Because God knows that thing is attempting to set my room on fire anyway."

11:45 pm

"I'm just going to go ahead and blame my procrastinatory nature on the fact it is summer.  It's so much easier to write during the school year when you know you have to get up early to go to class. So you have to write instead of read Maureen Johnson's funny blog posts."

"I hate you, Meg.  You disgust me with your groveling!  Go die!  Again!"

12:05 am

"I hate Maureen for being so successful and funny.  Stupid successful funny people.  I bet they just wake up, get into the shower, and then notice a shiny, brand-new book on the ledge next to the soap.  And then it gets published, and everybody drinks champagne.  Then they write blogs and lie to the world, pretending like the book fairies don't deliver their books by magic."

12:21 am

On roadtripping to the YA author mansion - "And maybe we'll find the wing where Stephenie Meyer and J.K. Rowling eat ice cream sandwiches and do cartwheels all day in their piles of money and merchandise.  They probably laugh at the other YA authors, singing, 'We are better than you because we have midnight opening parties and movies.'"

1:01 am

"Okay...that was a lie.  It's 1 am, and I am maybe halfway done [with my goal of finishing the chapter].  I am such a procrastinator.  This is unconvincing crap.  If I were dead, I would never behave this way."

1:12 am

"OKAY.  I lied to you.  This is not coming out tonight.  Nothing in the world can make me finish crapping out this chapter.  Nothing except many tears, an injection of caffeine, the assistance of all nine muses and Poseidon, possibly Percy Jackson holding me at gunpoint/promising marriage, and a copy of Twilight, which I do not have, since Bekah stole it.  BUT.  I am getting up early (the definition of this word is questionable) to finish.  And get at least halfway through Chapter 3.  I will.  I don't think sitting here and staring at the screen is being very conducive. And I'll probably only churn out unintelligible garble anyway."

End.

This last part is funny to me, since most of what I said is unintelligible garble.  It's a wonder that half of what I wrote last night is even usable.  I did get 2,300 words, so it wasn't a total loss.  So you see, this is what I am really like.  You should probably be grateful you won't ever meet me in person, and only know the lovable, sane facade you see over the internet.

PS I do not actually hate Maureen Johnson.

Reboot

ATRS is saved.  I spent three hours working out kinks with my friend, which ended up turning into a total revamping of the whole book.  It's going to require pretty much ripping up the whole manuscript, other than a few key plot points from the first, but it's going to be a billion times better.  I'm really glad.  I've been stuck in a rut for nearly two weeks, having no idea where to go.

Now I do!

If this thing ever sees the light of day in a bookstore, Jessi is going to get a whole page of acknowledgements and undying thanks.

Have you ever talked over your novel with a friend and had a lightbulb moment where suddenly everything becomes clear?  I think I can write all night.  That's a new feeling.

How Do You Come Up With Your Characters' Names?

Lovely question courtesy of Rebecca.

Well, two of my works (and a possible idea for a third?) are at least vaguely based off Greek mythology.  Of course, then I don't have much of a choice in what my characters' names are.

In other things, I get to choose (which is more fun!).  Sometimes, the names come with the plot. Steam, an invention from a dream, had some names pre-made.  If the character is nameless, I do the lamest thing you can possibly imagine, and that is to go through an online list of names. Depending on the culture/setting of the book, I'll find a list of corresponding foreign names.  I really like French names, although curiously, I have no French-named characters.  I pick names based on how they sound.  If I like how it sounds, it's a winner. Special significance is nice, but if I have a character that is associated with the Water element, I will not go out of my way for a name meaning "water" or some such.

Another important part: connotation.  Some names already have a connotation, and I don't want to mess with that.  Zanna and Deeba are funky type names (Un Lun Dun).  If I have a dorky, awkward character, I need to pick a dorky, awkward name.  If you run too much against a name's connotation, you run the risk of giving readers a preconditioned idea of the character's personality.  For example, before I read Percy Jackson, I despised the name Percy.  Seriously, do you know any kid with that name?  The only kid I know is Percy from Harry Potter, and he's a total stuffy douchenozzle.  I didn't want to read a book about a kid who was a stuffy douchenozzle, so I didn't.  For at least a year.  My brother mercilessly reminds me it was he who recommended the series first, and I apparently told him it looked stupid.  That's an extreme case where a weird name completely turned me off from a book.  Of course, in the book, it is explained Percy is a shortened form of Perseus.  This makes sense.  But Perseus Jackson is also a pretty crappy name for a book.  

To avoid this whole problem, I try to find names that are unique.  Some names I've used: Simeon, Nic, Elladora, Niles.  These are not extremely popular names currently.  I intersperse some common names: Sarah, George.  This is so the whole book doesn't come chock full of eccentric names like I'm trying too hard to be artsy and original.  Furthermore, I picked Sarah and George because there are so many people and characters who have those names, it's hard to attach a preconceived personality to them.

Finally, I make an effort to pick names that do not sound similar (this is a general rule of thumb for most writers) to avoid confusion when reading.  At the very least, I pick names that don't start with the same letter.  Unless one of the characters dies way early or something.

Naming a character is like birthing a new person into the world.  Once someone has a name, he/she has a life.  Names are important.

Be sure to check out everybody else's naming process!

Monday: Gibber Jabber and Sometimes Helpful Nonsense

Tuesday: Meeeee

Wednesday: Lin Wang - Teen Writer

Thursday: Girl With A Notebook

Friday: Somewhere Nowhere In My Kingdom

------

Unrelated question: I am revising ATRS right now, and it's horrible.  Rewriting is huge, but there are so many problems I don't even know how I should approach this.  I could either go through front to back and rewrite that way, or pick out really, really bad scenes and redo them. But I'm also trying to work in some clarifications to the plot, fix some unconvincing motivations, etc.  How do you all prefer to rewrite?  Any kind of help is appreciated.

Of Discoveries and Delights

I thoroughly enjoyed Stein On Writing by Sol Stein.  I should read more craft books!  He had this thing called "The Actors Studio Method," which pretty much consists of giving two character confrontational intentions (he calls them "scripts").  I know this sounds obvious, but when I wrote dialogue, I kind of just let it go naturally.  I have since learned for good dialogue (and conflict in general), the writer has to understand both characters equally in terms of what they want (they should want different things).

This is difficult because in writing a first-person story, it's so easy to get immersed in the MC's viewpoint that I take her side for everything.  I have to remember to spend some time with the other characters too, especially the villain, who is currently getting shunned.

Yesterday, I ventured to Borders and bought Un Lun Dun.  You must understand, this is a rare thing for me.  I don't buy books I haven't read.  I buy books I've read, loved, and intend to reread often.  Or I buy books by authors I've liked before.  But by total coincidence, one of the books on display in front was Coraline by Neil Gaiman.  And I remembered the reason I originally thought Un Lun Dun might be good was because it reminded me of Coraline. Naturally, I bought the latter too.  I can't believe I hadn't bought it earlier, because it's one of my favorite books.  A quiet favorite.  One I don't think of when you ask me, but I get a thrill of excitement every time I see it.

So, here is my shameless plug.  If you haven't read Coraline yet, you must.  I first read it a long time ago, in junior high.  I have since read it hundreds of times, and it is the only book (along with the Narnia series) that gets better with each new read.  You have to admit, most books are greatest the first time, when you have no idea what's coming.  I love this book so much, and I hate horror novels.  Yes, Coraline is a horror story.  "Charming" is the last word I'd ascribe to horror, but Coraline is charming.

I wasn't scared the first time I read it.  I'd call it creepy, but I didn't think it was scary.  I don't know what it is.  This is a book that doesn't scare children but terrifies adults.  I get more freaked out the more I read it.  Last night, I was sitting in bed reading it at 1 am, and I had to stop because I would give myself nightmares if I kept going.  I'm glad I finally get to add it to my bookshelf.  It's had a spot waiting for it a long time.

What Are Your Strengths As A Writer?

This week's question was provided by Kim and a hard one to answer, because people generally think about their weaknesses, not strengths.  I had to think about this for a while.

1) Dialogue.  It's my favorite part of every story.  Each character speaks in a different way, and it's fun to play around with how a person says certain things.  It reveals personality quirks about someone better than anything else.  I guess it's easier for me to get into a character's thoughts by having them carry on a conversation.  Sometimes, I get a bit carried away and end up writing for pages, only to realize the entire chapter has been taken up by dialogue.  But dialogue is the most authentic part of writing for me.

2) Description.  When I write, I visualize surroundings, and especially in a fantasy-type piece, you need to let the reader know what the world looks like.  It's not a normal genre where most people know the looks, sounds, smells of a city.  What does the Greek underworld look like? It's all in my imagination, and I have to be decent at showing the reader what I see.

3) Critiquing.  I can look at my and other people's manuscripts and see where something falls a bit flat.  Seeing the problem is easy.  Fixing the problem is hard.  For me, anyway.  So I can mark up a first draft like no other, but the difficulty for me is rewriting.  

This is short, and I apologize.  My head is spinning right now, because I'm having a horribly unsuccessful time at rewriting the second chapter of ATRS.  In terms of technicality, it's better, but I feel like it doesn't have the same voice and charm as the first version.  The new version makes Meg into someone she's not, and she's less likeable.  It's pretty frustrating when the second draft is more lacking than the first.  I think I'll delete the whole thing and try again.  But not today.  So right now, I am of the mindset that I suck at everything.

Next week, the order will go:

Monday: Gibber Jabber and Sometimes Helpful Nonsense

Tuesday: Me

Wednesday: Lin Wang - Teen Writer

Thursday: Girl With A Notebook

Friday: Somewhere Nowhere In My Kingdom

Made that up; hope there are no terrible repeats.

Sometime during this long weekend, I want to put up some big things I learned from "Stein On Writing" by Sol Stein.  I hope that's not plagiarism?  He had a few good points I took to heart. Stay tuned.

The Next Step (Wheeee!)

I'm sorry I have such lame titles.  I literally sat here for like four minutes trying to think of something eye-catching.  I am far too addicted to this blog.  I've practically posted something every day this month. 

On the plus side, I guess I check Facebook way less, which is good.  Because my writing blog is more educational than Facebook.

Today, I bought "On Writing" by Sol Stein.  It's supposed to be a pretty decent craft book.  I visited my high school too, and my history teacher (who also writes) assured me every chapter was mind-blowing.  So he better not be lying, because now I fully expect a religious experience upon reading this thing.

More importantly, he said he would be my critique partner.  I've been looking for one, and I feel happier having someone I know than a random over the internet.  He's finished his first novel too, so we agreed to swap.  And he promised to be very critical.  I'm a bit scared, because I have a thin skin for that kind of thing, but I need someone to be mean so I can get better.

My high school teachers are so awesome.

For All You Writers Out There

Wanted to catch your attention.  I know a lot of writers probably follow the same couple of blogs, but if you haven't seen it yet, Agent Rachelle Gardner put up a new post today about honing your craft.  A bunch of published authors put up invaluable advice in the comments section.  I would highly recommend you check it out.

The general consensus seems to be:

1) Read more, you lazy bum.  

2) Go buy James Scott Bell books on writing.  

There are a lot of other good tidbits, of course.  Thank the good Lord for making me join the blogosphere.  What a great community!

At the Beginning, Again

I rewrote the first chapter of ATRS.  It was weird, because I haven't written in first person since finishing the first draft, and I haven't thought about Meg, the way she thinks, the way she behaves, very much since then.  It was a bit jarring to return to an old project, but also exhilarating. Rewriting will be quite different.  It's like getting to know an old friend all over again.  Familiar, yet unrecognizable.

The new version is better than the old, I think.  My writing has matured since then (it's amazing how going through 70,000 words can improve your style), so I hope it's better.  I cut out a horrible info dump and made the whole thing less graphic, since a lot of mothers complained about how they couldn't stomach it during the 1000 Words critique over on Authoress' blog.  I suppose, yes, it is YA, so I should tone it down.  Murder is never pretty, but murder of children is a billion times worse.  I was making myself sick reading it.

I also posted my fanfiction piece today and am rather irrationally proud of it.  I spent a lot of time re-splicing scenes and making it coherent as a storyline.  The whole theme changed, so it got a new title: "The Life and Times of Thalia, The Immortal."  Immortality is so fun to explore. I do a lot of fanfiction writing in present tense.  It's like chocolate.  I can't handle literary, existential writing for extended lengths (like in my novels), but one-shots make it palatable, so I go crazy with it.  

Donna Jo Napoli is the goddess of present tense and literary fiction.  Do you ever find after you've begun your commitment to writing (seriously) that rereading beloved books takes on a new significance?  I can't read anything without studying sentence structure, the placement of certain words, and how a story flows.  It's makes old books into new adventures.

One Lovely Blog Award

KLo was nice enough to give me this pretty, pretty award. It's my first one.  I'm so excited and grateful.  So, now I have to pass it down to ten other (female?) bloggers who I think have a lovely blog.  Okay, to be perfectly honest, I don't read a ton of blogs, so I may not get up to ten, but I'll do as many as I can. Maybe I should stop being so anti-social in the blogosphere.

1. Philosophy of KLo -- I don't care if it's illegal to re-award someone, and I don't expect her to repost it.  But I have to award her since I do read her blog every day.  She always has such cool topics.

2. Lin Wang - Teen Writer -- Member of the Blog Chain of Awesomeness who is younger than me but has her life together way more than I do.  Sometimes, I stare at her portfolio in amazement/envy.  I want to be motivated like her.  

3. Somewhere Nowhere In My Kingdom -- Member of BCoA who always has thoroughly entertaining posts.  I enjoy them.  I also like Canadians, as a general rule.  (Joking.  I love people all around the world equally, of course.)

4. Gibber Jabber and Sometimes Helpful Nonsense -- Member of BCoA (this is starting to sound like an exclusive club, no?) who must be an mind-blowingly fabulous writer, because all these agents are biting at her first manuscript.  One day, I'll be able to walk into Borders, see her book on display, point at it, and yell like a lunatic, "I knew her virtually before she was rich and famous!" ...Yeah.  Or something like that.

5. Girl With A Notebook -- Member of BCoA.  Firstly, her blog name is awesome, and I would like to steal it.  Secondly, she goes to IMSA (Math and Science Academy) and she's also writes. So I am jealous, because I am not good at anything outside the realm of humanities.  

6. Wuthering Life -- I love the idea of having a character do a blog post every week.  It's so fun to read.  Also, Sam is pretty cool for hosting the Virtual Write-In way back when, because I got a ton done that day. 

7. Tara Maya's Tales -- I like reading about her writing process, because I am a creeper like that. Also, if you check now, she has a delicious decent picture of Brad Pitt in "Troy" up.

8. Myth-Takes -- As if that's not the cleverest pun ever.  Danyelle is also super sweet and friendly, and her blog is the epitome of loveliness.

Er...there you have it.  Other blogs are ones where I don't ever say anything in real life, so then I don't want to pop up and be like, "SURPRISE, HERE IS AN AWARD, BUT YOU DON'T KNOW ME." Or they're important peepuls' blogs like Nathan.  Who also most likely would not appreciate a bouquet of roses.  (Sorry to the man-types who got shafted.  I like Eric's blog very much.)

I adore all of you, and your blogs are all very entertaining.

(Here is the link for you, Percy Obsess-ie, in case you didn't find it in the comments for the last post.  I love new people, so don't be afraid to de-lurk again.)

And now I am finished link-whoring.  

Like They Said It Would

Summer has arrived.

I'm so happy, happy, happy.  

Not with my writing.  I decided I'd do a last ditch effort and toss out one last fanfiction short before I hunker down and begin rewriting (that sounds like a horrible process, doesn't it?) ATRS. The one-shot is called "The Point of Tomorrow."  I have this weird obsession with stories dealing with immortality.  I think immortality is really deep, and the concept of whether or not it's actually desirable makes for juicy, lovely fics.  It's one of the central reasons Twilight was intriguing, and I wish Stephenie Meyer had taken more time on it.  

Anyway, unlike "Hero, Standing Alone," this is taking forever to crap out, mainly because I only have a bunch of candybar scenes and no cohesive thread to bring it together.  

I won't lie. I'm liking this spontaneous (temporary) return to fanfiction partly because my stuff is being so well-received.  I think everyone appreciates praise, even if it doesn't help you grow. Praise is nice.  I'm sure I'll be getting plenty of criticism in my writing class this summer anyway.

Speaking of my love for praise: my psych TA emailed me and told me I had the highest score on the final in his two sections, and I got an A+ in the class!  If only an A+ actually meant something, haha.  Still the same as an A, only makes you feel kind of lame for working harder than you needed to.  But the email was quite nice, and he made me feel all warm inside when he said he'd like to recruit me to the psych department, except the history department probably wouldn't want to lose me.  

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend.  With lots of praise.  :-)

Are Your Characters People?

I apologize for not posting yesterday.  I didn't forget, but I had a US history final at night that I spent all day studying for, and then the minute I got back, I cracked down on psychology, which I just finished taking.  So here is my belated response.  Read Jenita's too, the creator of this week's question.

I spend a lot of time with my characters.  Especially during ATRS, I thought about Meg and Theseus all the time, while I was eating, while I zoned out in class, before I went to bed, when I showered, you name it.  I was constantly trying to figure them out.  I honestly probably spent more time with them than with real people, which is kind of scary.  But your characters are apart of you; they're always with you, so naturally, you would spend loads of time with them.

Sadly, I am not one of those authors who "takes my characters out to lunch" and proceeds to engage in lively imaginary conversation.  No.  Sorry.  That's a bit weird/schizophrenic to me (to me; of course if this is one of your methods, then I am highly envious because it sounds fun).  I like to imagine how my characters would respond to different situations.  They talk to me on a daily basis.  I just don't talk back.  

How my characters emerge depends on the novel.  For ATRS, the thing was pretty much plot-driven, so my characters were people who carried out the plot.  Their own quirks weren't evident in the beginning.  "Steam" was birthed quite differently.  It came a dream, and it was the characters that struck me first and hit me full-force with the intensity of their desires and hopes. In fact, they were so complex and well-formed from the get-go, that for the first time, I had to make a character chart to keep track of their motivations.  As a result, I am much more attached to the characters from "Steam."  I'd like to hang out with the gang one day, if I can get past the strangeness of it all.

Jenita says the trouble for her is confining a complicated person within the pages of a book.  I think it's hard for me to pull a character off a page.  I really do try to walk around every day and think about how my characters would react to my world in an effort to make them come alive. I want my characters to be believable as real people.  So in that sense, yes, my characters are people.  I am sad when horrible things happen to them (even though it's my fault), and I cheer on their successes.  I want them to all have that impossibly wonderful happy ending, and I sympathize when I can't give it to them.  

It's nice, in a way, to be a writer because even when you're alone, you're never lonely.  Your characters are always there, to bicker, to whine, to create all sorts of mayhem.  It's rather fun to watch them resolve it.

And now, I'm going to put on pajamas and wipe out for a couple of hours.  The headache is making me incapable of daily function.  This is the one time when my characters need to shut up and let me sleep.

Wednesday: Lin Wang - Teen Writer

Thursday: Somewhere Nowhere In My Kingdom

Friday: Gibber Jabber and Sometimes Helpful Nonsense

What Kind of Punishment Is That?

I am well aware that I am one of the oldest readers for the Percy Jackson fandom.  I've met one other college-aged kid who reads it and writes for it.  (I've bullied all of my friends into picking it up this summer; one has finally started and she adores it; yay me, but that's another story.)  Since I am a big girl now, I have the luxury of going to the local Borders/Barnes & Noble and buying books to my little heart's content.  It's the great thing about growing up, earning money, having a car, gaining independence, etc.

I guess it's kind of a foreign concept to be seeing younger kids say things like, "You're so lucky! I have to beg my mom to drive me out to the bookstore and buy it.  I have to be extra good this week." The sad thing is I've seen a few kids who say their parents won't buy the last PJO installment for them, for reasons such as bad behavior, or the simple principle of always waiting for the softcover version.

Okay, what?  What the heck, parents?  If your kid loves this book so badly, then, excluding serious financial reasons, why aren't you getting it for them?  Firstly, maybe this is only my crazy opinion, but if you're going to save money somewhere, do it on something other than books (maybe videogames, toys, or movies).  PJO isn't even that expensive anyway; it's a children's book.  And splurging on one long-awaited hardcover is not going to break your budget.  If I am ever THAT financially desperate, then I'll cut back on my book collection, not my children's.  Secondly, if my kids were that excited about a book, I would be thrilled out of my socks.  Of course, don't get me wrong, at eighteen years old, I don't have kids, but hypothetically.  I would definitely not punish bad behavior by denying a child a book.  What kind of twisted logic is that?  "Jimmy was a bad boy today, so I'm going to halt the progression of his literary growth."  What the eff.

Of course, being the impatient little people they are, they've resorted to methods such as reading the Wikipedia article for the last book.  Heinous!  Note to self: never push your children to that degree of desperation.

For those of you who do have children, feel free to offer your thoughts.  Or if you don't have the little buggers.  Whatever.  I just feel so bad for these kids.  I hate waiting for the next installment in a series!  It would be utter torture for my mom or dad to say, "No, dear, you can't have it."  Let's be honest: I'd walk to Borders, pop a squat, and spend the day reading.  Cheap, but hey.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Being Bullied By My Imagination

I am such a failboat.  I meant to go through five chapters (five hefty chapters) of psychology today, but instead, I had this sudden idea for a Percy Jackson fanfiction.  And it refused to leave me alone.

So I wrote it, like the spineless person I am.  Jeez, I can't even stand up the demands of imaginary people in my head.  Weak!

I have to admit, this was probably one of the most successful experiences I've ever had with writing.  3,800 words poured out onto paper with little to no effort at all.  Didn't even feel like writing.  Felt like flying.  The character had a voice, and he just took over.  It is called, "Hero, Standing Alone," and will be debuting on fanfiction.net tomorrow.  Sunday's not a good day to post.  It simply isn't.

Tonight, I also mean to be rewriting (completely) the first chapter of ATRS, because I am tired of Meg screaming at me every second of my life.  She's so freaking demanding.  I don't know why I put up with her.

But, of course, now I have a ton of US history and psychology waiting.  Guess who's pulling another late night?  Ugh.

Summer Reading List (WIP)

As I look desperately toward Thursday, when I can move out of the tiny oven that is my dorm room, I am thinking about all the lovely things I'll have time to do this summer.  Like read things I want to, instead of textbooks and political treatises.  Below is a list of books I plan on reading, in no particular order. 

1) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (seen it on a lot of people's lists).

2) The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (ditto, even though I am skeptical about zombie books).

3) Maximum Ride series by James Patterson (I get deeper and deeper into kid's lit; this is a series a lot of Percy Jackson fans seem to enjoy; I'll give it a chance).

4) Un Lun Dun by China Mieville (saw it a year or so ago at the library, had a cool cover and fantastical inside flap; I am sold).

5) Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (first saw it on Agent Kristin Nelson's blog, as she is the agent for it; then saw it on display at Borders; is about Chinese and Japanese people, WWII, and magnificent love story = winner).

6) The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory (own all of her Tudor books, love Mary Queen of Scots; instant fav).

Those are the ones I can come up with off the top of my head.  I'm excited to read all of them, but Un Lun Dun sounds particularly appealing because it is a high fantasy (ish), and it doesn't sound cliche at all.  If anyone has some other good fantasy suggestions, please speak up.  I will love you dearly.  I think if I plan on writing a high fantasy, I need to read some more high fantasies.  It's only fair, for research purposes.

(I'm finally signed up for that summer creative writing course, and I am obscenely excited.  I'm so lame.)

Other suggestions would be welcome too.  Summer is a long time.  Need lots of books.

What Kind of Writer Are You?

Kim introduced the topic this week.

This is kind of strange, seeing as I haven't really thought about what genres I write.  I used to write historical fiction, but then either the history or the fiction got in the way, and I simply couldn't mesh them into coherence.  Alas, for me, history will always be a separate thing, although historical fictions are some of my favorite books reading-wise to date.  

My first novel is a mythological fantasy. 

Novel #2 is a high fantasy.  I like urban fantasies.  High fantasy is, well, high on my list of things not to read.  I don't like it.  It gets old easily, with the elves and the goblins and the fairies or whatever.  I love the classics: LotR, Narnia, etc.  But these new ones (Eragon, inducing vomit now, and don't chide me because I actually read the thing), are far too cliche for me.  It is terribly ironic for me to be writing a high fantasy, since I shy far away from that section in bookstores, but the idea is something that won't go away.  I happen to think I suck at worldbuilding, so Novel #2 will definitely be an experience.  

Fantasy in general is a cool genre, because unless you're a superly duperly awesome author, I generally don't care about reading every day happenings.  I suspect this is why I dislike the YA books about high school.  Lived it, loved it, don't need to read about it.  I need something that generates an excitement factor.  Out of the ordinary.  Impossible odds.  I love that stuff.

I write YA.  I do not write adult because, while I believe it is certainly possible to write what you DON'T know...the fact of the matter is, I am not an adult.  I haven't experienced adultish things (it is still difficult for me to write a character who has given birth--three times), and thus, I don't think it's convincing for me to pretend I have.

I don't write poetry.  End of story.  I used to, in my angsty junior high state, but I got over it.

I suppose I could write about anything.  Pure romance, not really.  I like action.  I like forward motion in a plot.  If you cannot tell, I like writing about Greek mythology.  Loved it since I was a child, and you better believe D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths is something I'm passing down to my kids.  Greek myths are like fairy tales, except BETTER in twenty billion ways.

Style of writing?  I do it in that pseudo-metaphysical state where I imagine everything in my head. All that happens then is describing what I see on paper.  I bet a lot of people do this.  It's easier. Although, it is tougher to imagine a character's emotions.  Especially if you're doing a first person fic.  First person, by the way, was completely not my idea.  It was Meg's, and she insisted on narrating.  Not my fault.  I hate writing first person.  I often even hate reading in first person, with a few exceptions.  For example, if you're Percy Jackson, you could be talking about how much you love yogurt, and I would read on with delighted eyes.  That is power.  I want to create a character with that much personality.

(I'm sorry my blog has lately become a shrine to that series, but I honestly keep pimping it all the time, because it's truly a wonderful read, and I desperately wish it had more publicity among older audiences.  The series deserves it more than Twilight.)

Anyway, today would be a wonderful day to write if it weren't for the fact I am being forced to work on my political science final paper, and I have a European history final tomorrow.  The revisions for ATRS are pounding, shooting frantically in my head, and I can't let them out.  It's driving me nuts.  This is the most difficult thing for me.  I swore when I started my first novel that grades would always take precedence over my writing.  I cannot fall off the Dean's List if I want to go to law school.  May the next week pass quickly.

What I Learn From Reading Fabulous Novels

I'm sorry yesterday's post was an unintelligible jumble of screams and adoration.  I was simply that excited when I finished.  This is probably one of the few books I've said it for, but I wish every day I could wake up and forget the whole thing so I could experience the magic of "the first time read" over and over again.  

So, I think I will follow up with an analysis for what The Last Olympian does for my writing.  See? I'm being relevant and helpful.  :-)

On Sunday, I set aside a block of time (I should have been studying for finals, but you know. Sacrifices.) and finally did a thorough read-thru edit and notes for ATRS.  I was lost.  I honestly didn't know where I should go from there.  A hundred problems stood out to me, and I didn't know how to tackle them.  Rather, I didn't want to tackle them.  It was a monumental task.  I knew long before writing the first draft that revisions would suck, but I still wasn't prepared for it when the next step was staring me in the face.  My writing ground to a halt.

Then, I read The Last Olympian.

At first, I was a little bit discouraged because I kept thinking, "How could my writing ever be that awesome?"  Answer: Learn from others.  Sometimes, there are stories you read that can't help but inspire you to write.  This was one of them.  After a few hours of moping, I realized something important.  I didn't want to give up on ATRS.  I wanted to make it so good that other people would look at it with the same kind of admiration I look at TLO.  And I knew I could make it better, if I put in the work.  

What did I learn from The Last Olympian and Rick Riordan?

1) Characterization.  He is mad good at it.  On his site, he gives a piece of advice that I always try to keep in mind: "You should be able to open to any page, read a piece of dialogue, and know which character is speaking, simply from the voice."  One day, I want to be able to look at my writing and say it does that.

2) Surprises.  Stories aren't fun unless something catches you by surprise.  And it's even better when the plot twist is totally unexpected, yet you look back and think, "Hey, I should have known that would happen!"

3) Romance.  Whoever said men couldn't write romance was a liar.  He completely schools Stephenie Meyer at it.  This is what real love reads like, vampire lady!  Take it!  It's called subtlety, and it's called romantic development, not just "Ooo, he looked at me; BAM WE'RE IN LOVE." Twilight:

(Okay, please don't misunderstand me.  I did read and enjoy Twilight.  It's still a good series. Edward and Bella kind of push suspension of disbelief at times with their loveyness.)

4) Pacing.  Oh.  Wow.  He is the ultimate supreme being of pacing.  It's almost orgasmic, it's so beautiful.

There you have it.  I wish all children's novels were this fabulous.

"Steam," my determined second novel, will be postponed for a couple of months while ATRS undergoes some serious plastic surgery.  I am excited for the end result.

The Percy Jackson Series

Conclusion:  Epic.  To the 100000000000000000th extreme.  I am a happy, happy, happy camper.  Best wrap-up to any series I've ever read (kthanx for disappointing me Harry Potter).

Go read it.

------------Edit------------

Come to think of it, I'm kind of in such a state of shock that I don't think I can write for at least a day or two.  Nothing I write will ever compare to what I just read.  I think I'm going to go reread the ending to absorb it better.  It also makes me vaguely sad that my life will never be as exciting as a fantasy novel.

---------2nd Edit---------

To Rick Riordan:  You are my hero.  Thanks a billion for writing this amazing, wonderful, rolicking ride of a book series and creating one of the most memorable characters I have ever read. The whole thing is right on up there with the Chronicles of Narnia (You make Twilight seem like the lamest thing on the planet).  This is going to be one that lasts, I promise!

---------3rd edit-----------

Yeah, I'm aware this is excessive.  But I had a thoroughly depressing thought.  Now I need to go find another series to fall in love with.  Whatever shall I do?!  This series was freaking tailor-made for a Greek mythology buff like me.  Argh!

PS So you know, right now The Last Olympian is #3 on the Bestseller List on Amazon, higher ranked than any of the Twilight books, which have held the spot for many weeks.

The Long Wait

The Last Olympian comes out tomorrow.  Well, officially it's been out for 34 min, since it's 12:34 am right now.  I will be picking it up at Borders tomorrow, thanks to my lovely friend who has a car.  

I've waited four months.  This is really nothing compared to the Harry Potter or Twilight wait. Don't you guys hate the time elapsed between books in a series?  It drives me insane.  I have an obsessive personality (that sounds pretty creepy; let me amend: I have an obsessive personality about books), so it's very, very difficult for me.  I wait and wait and wait.  I write fanfiction.  I read fanfiction.  I try to fall in love with other books.  I do everything that's possible to bide my time.

I'm a fast reader (I may not be good at much else, but I am one of the fastest readers ever; finished HP 7 in 6 hours flat).  So months (maybe years) of waiting all comes down to 3 to 6 glorious hours of blissful reading.

All that time wasted.  All that time waiting.  Is it worth it?

Every time.

Hooray For May

How "Beauty and the Minotaur" went spiraling out of the original plan:

1) It was meant to be a Greek Beauty and the Beast spinoff, but then I realized Ariadne is actually related to the Minotaur.  Incest isn't a big deal in Greek mythology, but I already had enough themes to deal with.  It ended up being a brother and sister story.  And I'm glad.  It's better that way.

2) I wanted Ariadne to end up with Dionysus, so there were subtle hints of his presence throughout the story.  But Ariadne and the Minotaur grew a lot more attached than I intended, and it was obvious she wouldn't be happy with the final arrangement.

3) Ariadne was supposed to be a loving, giving person (when I planned her out).  Instead, she had a pretty whacked out childhood, and she grew to be petty and demanding.  I thought she would be far too unlikeable.  But after reading it, I sympathized with her, because her love for the Minotaur made her palatable as a human being.

4) Theseus was written to be a villain.  He was a shallow, glory-seeking hero, who saw only what he wanted and did not see that Ariadne didn't like him.  But as I wrote and wrote, he didn't become that kind of person.  He was a bit short-sighted, but he had a good heart.  I would argue, he had a better heart than Ariadne.

5) A major theme of the story is searching for freedom.  Both Ariadne and the Minotaur are trapped, albeit in different ways.  It ties in nicely with the whole Labyrinth deal.  Not planned. Not planned at all.

Do you plan out your stories, or do you let them flow au natural?  Or do you have a plan, and then fail to follow it?

I find it depends on what I'm writing.  Each story is different.

Sidenote: I think I like this new layout.  Yes, indeedy.

So Elana at Mindless Musings has issued this wonderful challenge: write a short story (the ones I've read have been less than 1k) around the subject of flowers.  I already have an idea for mine, going with the whole theme of my blog, it will be Greek mythology centered.  I do write other things, I swear, it's just the first thought that came to me, and it fit perfectly.  I'll be posting in a few days (or sooner), when I get around to writing it.  Finals week looms.  Gag me, please.

You should participate too!  Then link back to her (link me up too in the comments, I wanna read yours if you do it!).  This should be fun.