Editing

I made a goal for myself this Christmas: to edit all of The Tinkers by the time I go back to school on the sixth. So far, I've edited about fifteen pages. This includes slashing scenes with blue and black pens, rewriting scenes, and feeling quite writerly. I've been using the Holly Lisle revision method, and so far it's been all right.

My writing set-up: pages unread on the left, my notebook in the middle, current pages on top of my computer' s keyboard.

The struggle I've been having hasn't been with the directions; those were quite clear and helpful. However, the beginning of the Tinkers is an absolute mess. It's understandable, as I wrote it nine months ago when I had no idea about what I was doing or, really, what my characters are like. As a result, I've been leaving myself notes in the margins and busily rewriting. 

A sample of what my pages look like after editing.

A few nights ago, I printed out my manuscript, some 110 pages, single-spaced. It's been slow going, but it feels good. Despite my avowed fear of editing (mainly revision) I rather like it. Now, back to my goal!

The Belgrave Daughter by Zara Hoffman

The Belgrave Daughter's about this sorceress, Fawn, who falls in love with a dark angel, Caleb when he's sent to attract her to the dark side.

This is the cover for TBG, surprisingly enough.

Although I don't like paranormal romances since what I know of that market's still swamped with Twilight knockoffs, I did enjoy this book. It was a light and easy read. All of the characters were well-developed, which I enjoyed. Caleb felt like a real guy, and Ivy, her best friend, seemed pretty realistic too. I also really liked how Fawn didn't act totally head-over-heels about Caleb, and focused on things other than her relationship during the story.


To me, the plot was bland, and I could basically predict the sequence of events. It seemed to me that Ms. Hoffman occasionally described the mundane parts of Fawn's life, especially in the exposition, but it picked up after that. However, TBG seemed like an original idea, which I liked. (I mean, who doesn't?) The writing was fast-paced, and it was a quick read. I'd recommend this to anyone who doesn't mind paranormal and who wants an engrossing, older-YA-geared fantasy story about a teenage girl turned sorceress and her relationship with a "dark angel."  

I got an e-ARC from Zara in exchange for an honest review and book buzz.

If you want to connect with Zara, her website is here. She's a seventeen-year-old writer who, obviously, likes writing. She also likes singing, reading, hanging out with her friends and family, and playing with her dog.

Finishing NaNoWriMo and Editing

I won NaNoWriMo in 2013. At my lowest point, I was 13,000 words behind. The stresses of real life, extracurriculars, and more homework left my word-count lagging far behind. On the last day, a Saturday, I knew I was going to finish. I was 11,000 words behind, which would require 5.5 hours of solid writing. I was out all day doing family stuff, but I finally got to write at 9 PM.


I crammed, using Write or Die, and switched my time-zone so I could write past midnight without the server recognizing that and making me not a winner. (Tricky, I know. I can't take credit for this idea. A guy in my region helped me with it.) Finally, at about 2 AM, I validated and was victorious. My characters were messy, and my plot was basically nonexistent, as usual, but I wrote about 20,000 words more than I thought I'd be able to, so it's still a success. My reward for myself was these brownies. (Seriously, if you love chocolate, you have to try them. Store-bought will never be the same again.)


Since taking a break from my mostly-finished first-draft of BILC, I've been editing: creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. I'm submitting all of the above to the Scholastic Writing Awards, so that should be fun. I think I'll do well and, if I don't, there's always next year.


  When not writing novels, I've also had the pleasure to read Zara Hoffman's debut, The Belgrave Daughter. I'll be reviewing that tomorrow.

NaNoWriMo

It's that time of year again, where thousands of people try to write 50,000 words in a month. Again, I am one of them, with my YA semi-Christian novel, Before I Liked Converse. Cue the confetti! (No, save that for the end of the month.)

(As evidenced by the lightbulb thought-bubble, NaNo participants are just too awesome for words.)

This year, working on my novel hasn't been easy. I'm much busier, with extracurriculars several days a week, and several honors classes. It's the second day, and as of writing this, I'm 2,500 words behind. I'm just going to try to persevere the best that I can.

When I woke up this morning, I went downstairs and just wrote for about 30 minutes, writing 1,000 words in the process. Contemporary isn't easy for me, neither is writing pieces that take place in high-schools, so this has been a piece of cake. Even so, I forgot how freeing and incredibly fulfilling working on a long work of fiction can be. I'll be keeping track of my word-count with the word meter on the side in blue, cleverly titled "Before I Liked Converse." Because, you know, why not be original?

To novelling (or novelizing, as it may be) success!

Blog Tour: Becoming the Chateran

(Note: This is part of a blog tour. I've gotten to know S. J. Aisling through the GoTeenWriters Facebook group, and can wholly vouch for her awesomeness. Plus, newly published books are epic, so I wanted to spread the word.)

When will Becoming the Chateran be available for purchase, and where can I get it?

~ Becoming the Chateran will be available this December as an ebook and a paperback, and you can buy it via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the website of my publisher, Life Sentence/Aniko Press. In fact, you can preorder your own paperback copy now from the latter location - preordering it will up your chances of getting it in time for Christmas!

*Aniko Press, while a Christian-owned publisher, doesn't consider Becoming the Chateran to be Christian fiction (nor does Stacia), so it's not being marketed as such.



Where did you find inspiration to write Becoming the Chateran?

Years ago while studying medieval times in school, a friend of mine and I pretended we were knightesses (prince/princess, knight/knightess, right?). I was Rhea, and my friend was Hiylienea. We had so much fun with our fantastical adventures that I decided to write everything down so we could remember it all, and so doing created the first draft of Becoming the Chateran. The story has expanded and matured a lot since then, but all the major elements and characters of the original make-believe are still there.



Any hints as to what awaits in the rest of The Chateran Series?
Most of the characters from Becoming the Chateran will reappear throughout the rest of the series, as well as many new ones. I'm personally really excited for this second book of the series to come out, as it will tie up a several loose ends/foreshadowed events from Becoming the Chateran… as well as introducing new conundrums to tease you with. This second book features a shy minstrel girl, an awkward archer, a talking White Stag, revengeful Sídhe, enchained jewelry, and a civil war.



The Chateran Series is medieval fantasy. Have you been doing much research for writing it?

~ For the past seven years and counting I have lived half in this world, and half in that of this series. I've been walking around with a notebook all but attached to me, stuffed with notes about food, geography, clothing, character sketches, scene descriptions, and snatches of poetry and ballads. Tailoring myself costumes based off those my characters wear was one of the most amusing and insightful things I did, as I'd dress up in full rig to act scenes out in my back yard or parks before I wrote them, to make the action and descriptions as accurate as possible. I also tried my hand at archery and horseback riding, proudly became the owner of several encyclopedias on world costume and armor, and studied heraldry and the cultures of multiple medieval cultures. My father is a research scientist. I think it rubbed off on me.



Do you have any tips for fellow writers on staying focused on a story?

~ To me, staying driven to write a book depends on finding the happy medium between planning out what will happen and what they characters are like so you start out with good solid ground under you, and leaving enough out so that even you, the writer, is chaffing at the bit to find out what happens next.

Also, I feel too many writers start out by trying to write what they don't know about, and their lack of knowledge and interest is crippling. But do more than simply write what you know. Write what you are passionate about – readers are smart people, and they'll notice the conviction ringing through your story, and it will touch them as only fervent honesty can. And as a side perk, you're more likely to actually WANT to write, as it will be something you feel/believe strongly about. This automatically makes the whole process a lot easier.



 What did you find surprising about working with your publisher?
~ Aniko Press respected me fully as the illustrator and cover designer/creator. Writing and art have always gone hand in hand for me, so the thought that I might not be in control of the visuals of my book was frustrating. But this was not the case at all. They heard all my ideas and suggestions, and gave me plenty of freedom to illustrate my characters and scenes in the way they appear in my mind. I couldn't be happier!




 Who are some of your favorite literary characters (from which books) and why?
~ I'm just going to have to go with the first two who popped into my mind, because otherwise we'd be here a while. Puddleglum from C. S. Lewis' The Silver Chair (Book 5 of The Chronicles of Narnia): He's brave and hilarious, and ever the optimistic pessimist, always mentioning the worst thing that could happen in a failing attempt to make any bad situation somehow feel better. Another of my favorites is David Balfour from Robert Louis Stevensons' Kidnapped and it's sequel, Catriona. He's honest, somewhat awkward, always tries his best, and is just so utterly human. Not to mention he's Scottish…



Could you give a summary of other books you're working on?
~ Aside from the books following Becoming the Chateran in The Chateran Series, I'm also working on a stand-alone science fantasy/steampunk story called The Phoenix Thief, and Conductive, a sci-fi/paranormal trilogy.

The Phoenix Thief  is about a boy whose only key to his past is in an old notebook, a girl who knows everything about a world she is separated from, a man who lives for revenge, and a friendly automation of armor; a story of a city of machines, a forest of Reavers, and a very special bird.

 Conductive is mainly in it's planning stages, but I'm already quite obsessed with it's characters, the Conductives themselves. Conductives carry enough of the recessive Conductivity Strain to gather energy and store it in their bodies. But unless they learn to control and release the energy, life becomes a struggle, waiting for when the next big shock might come. The rise of visionaries intent on exploiting the Conductive condition to further their goals certainly doesn't make anything easier.

You can learn more about both The Phoenix Thief and Conductive at sjaisling.com.


 What's a crazy thing you've done in the name of writing?
~ I injured myself a while ago, and went into shock. Instead of freaking out and moaning for people to help me, however, I disregarded my bleeding limb and tried to haul myself to a pencil and paper, in order to write down what shock felt like so I could aptly describe it later in a book. As I was also laughing weakly at myself the entire time, I'm afraid I rather frightened everyone who saw me. I'm certain they thought my shock had escalated to delirium.

When Princess Rhea's actions inadvertently condemn innocent knights to death, she wakes to the hard reality that not even royalty is above the law. All her attempts to remedy the situation only complicate it, until she finds herself a fugitive in her own kingdom, having dragged her best friend into the trouble as well. Their only hope for pardon? To accompany Sir Paladin and Sir Zephen in serving their sentence:

Slay, or be slain by, the Dragons of Sama-Ael-Fen.

Travelling incognito, they meet with more malicious Phoenixes than could be coincidental, discover the mysterious disappearance of numerous citizens, and come face to face with a reawakened evil power. With the kingdom of Gemworthy oblivious to the connection of these dangers, it’s up to Rhea and her outlaw companions to stop the rising threat and redeem their names – if they can survive their quest.

~

As the rest of The Chateran Series progresses, the affect of Rhea’s actions and the battle with the Dragons of Sama-Ael-Fen reaches beyond Gemworthy’s borders. The Dragons’ mistress seeks revenge for the damage done to her plans of conquest. Amidst the chaos, Rhea and her companions join forces with a motley troop of other brave men and women, all united by their call to protect their countries and their loved ones. They must learn to overcome their differences, pasts, and fears, and take up the quest of the Scintillatearian Swords to answer the challenge of evil as the Order of the Chateran.

An encouraging tale of friendship, true nobility, and coming of age that young adult readers can relate to, Becoming the Chateran also features over forty illustrations created by the author.




Stacia Joy has always loved to tell stories and invent fictional lands and characters. But she never considered becoming a writer herself until age thirteen, when, inspired by a pretend play she invented with a friend, she wrote the first draft of Becoming the Chateran. The story has since expanded into what will become The Chateran Series. Stacia Joy also writes in several other genres, including steampunk and paranormal/science fiction, and occasionally writes poems about buffalo.

Wanting to show others what her imagined universe looks like, Stacia Joy taught herself to draw by studying the work of illustrators like Alphonse Mucha, Arthur Rackham, Kate Seredy, and Jan Brett. She also received training in illustration and graphic design at Madison Area Technical College, and plans to become a full-fledged freelance illustrator.

When not immersed in writing or art, Stacia Joy spends her time playing the piano and folk harp, composing music, Irish dancing, singing at the top of her lungs, and learning new things. She also enjoys helping with children's ministry at her church, and currently resides in the Madison, Wisconsin area with a kitten named Lord Peter Whimsey.

If you want to contact her, or learn more about her, you can use the following links:

Blog: sjaisling.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SJAislingAuthor

Twitter: twitter.com/sjaisling

Tumblr: sjaisling.tumblr.com

Writing Wrap-Up

You may have noticed that I haven't blogged recently (or rather, for about a month). However, it's been because I've been busy with other enticing writing. I've been working on my memoir, planning my NaNoWriMo novel, and sort-of editing The Tinkers ... But that's not all.

I'm on the NewsTeam of this awesome publication, ThreeSixty Journalism, a Minnesota-wide youth journalism nonprofit, operated out of the University of Saint Thomas. With the NewsTeam, I'm learning how to be a journalist, taking a once-a-week class on reporting basics from interviewing to personal essays. Eventually, I'll be published (and paid for publication) in their print (and online) magazine, published four times a year.

        They also have an Editorial Board, where all of the contributors meet once a month to pitch ideas for the next issue, which I could join in a few months. I've found the contributors' articles to be informative and accurate, so I'm really looking forward to joining the team. ThreeSixty's quite professional, with several editors, who have all worked in journalism themselves, a dedicated team of teenage journalists, and an outreach of more than 10,000 teens, through libraries, schools, and other youth organizations.


Additionally, I'm a first-reader with Polyphony HS, an international literary magazine written and edited solely by high school students. I read submissions that are assigned to me, and write comments, both positive and negative. Although most of the writing submitted is typical high-school writing, there's some pieces that are excellent.

        In finding specifics about what makes a piece excel or fail, and explaining those ideas in a diplomatic matter, I understand the craft so much more, and it's definitely helped my writing. In submitting to Polyphony, all writers get three different students' detailed feedback, much more than I've found at other literary magazines, as well as the standard chance for publication.

Here's to growing as a writer!

Writing Can't Always Happen

I've come to a startling realization, one that may surprise many of you: I can't do everything. I've accepted that, within school and other activities, I can't be perfect. As a total Type-A, I've grown used to juggling school, and sports, and writing, along with food, reading and sleep, and making it seem almost flawless.

This isn't so much an apology as an explanation. Right now, I only have myself to answer to; there aren't any editors or agents making sure I get the next part of my novel done, the next section of my memoir mapped out. Until now, this has worked well. I would just sit down at my clunky computer and write, or edit, and then it would be done.

After all, I've always had very high expectations to myself; if I tell myself I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it to the best of my ability. I'm normally very determined, passionate, and reliable. Lately, there hasn't been time.

Until this year, I didn't really realize what the words "college-preparatory" and "honors" actually meant. It's not that I've lost my passion; writing, and seeing as a writer, is so often on my mind. When I get home at seven at night, after playing tennis for two hours and being in school for seven hours, I still have a full load of homework to do. At this stage of my life, choosing writing over sleep isn't feasible right now. The other duties in my life don't just stop because I want to write for a little longer. I wish I had the luxury to write whenever I pleased, but I don't. At least I know what a full-time job and writing on the side is like.

Additionally, I have no idea what I'm doing. This is the first novel-draft that I've actually had the heart to edit, and the first memoir I've written. Although there are resources, both of these steps definitely aren't a one-size-fits-all. There aren't many memoir resources online, and editing is quite peculiar. I'm so glad I'm doing this, and it's harder than I thought.

I've been doing the best that I can, and it still isn't good enough. No matter how many times I switch my time-zone so it looks like I have an hour or two to write (tempting, I know), there are still only 24 hours in a day. (Yes, I am in honors math. Can't you tell?) I'm trying to avoid burnout, because that wouldn't be good for anything, or anyone, in my life. Sometimes, writing has to be on the back-burner.

Right now, I can't devote much time to writing. I've been taking an unintentional break, and just trying to see the world for whatever it is. I've never been one of those madly-holed-up-in-room writer types; I've been writing for almost two years, and it's always been something I've done late at night, once the day was done, typing out my thoughts and then sleeping. I don't continually isolate myself to write; I've always loved being busy in real life and then stepping back to write, to gain a further understanding of myself and the people around me.

As I've been delving into my memories, I've tried to take breaks and really get into the moment. Last night, on a walk I took, I made sure I noticed the glow of the lampposts on the streets, the jingle of my dog's leash, the pebbled texture of iron-wrought gates (yep, I touch other people's fences. Who doesn't?). I also found out that evergreens are really awful at high-fives. Who knew?

In all seriousness, in the past few weeks, I've realized that there isn't time for everything. More importantly, though, I don't always need to be writing or editing something to be in a writer's state of mind. I get so focused on achieving my goals that sometimes I don't realize that realistically, it doesn't always happen, at least not with the time constraints I give myself.  I've got time, just not now. For now, this is the best I can do. (In the meantime, don't expect any quality writing or planning from me. And just so you know, I shirked finishing a history assignment early to write this. Case in point.)

The Virtues of Imagination: My New Book, Revealed

While I've decided to take a break on my much-beloved novel, I've started a new chapter in my life. As you may know, towards the end of my first draft I get a Brilliant Book Idea, and the last draft was no different. So, this one's pitch is: A Midwestern girl finds herself in the midst of adjusting to her newly-adopted brother, her twin sister's medical issues, and her relationships as she finds out where she can truly put her trust. (Barely functional, current pitch.) Sound familiar? It's about me! Its a bit of an adjustment to write. It even involves remembering, for extended periods of time. Who comes up with this stuff? Crazy, isn't it? Anyways, I digress.

In addition to starting sophomore year, I somehow concluded that I would be the perfect person to write a memoir. Of course, if you'd asked me at that time, I would've given some answer like, "I think it's cool. Plus, life is awesome." Which, of course, is still true, but it's not the full truth.

I've lived an interesting life, but it's been hard. People struggle more than you'd think, whether physically or mentally, and I've only lived fifteen years. However, those years have been fraught with death and  life and love and tears. I've learned just how crazy adoption, and its resulting uncertainty, can be, the meaning of a fresh start (wanted or not), and how to force-feed my twin sister sugar so she stays alive. All of those, by the way, are true. I did tell you I was unconventional.

I've begun writing my memoir, but it'll take me a while. So far, I only have about 3,000 words, though I am working on it, diligently enough for the GTW (Go Teen Writers) 100-for-100 challenge. I'll work on it between edits and drafts for my novels, and the first draft should be completed within a year. Through all of my life, there have been defining events, though the past few have been particularly formative.  I hope as I continue the narrative, a story will take shape. It always has in the past. (You know you're a pantser when you don't know how the story's going to go in your own memoir.)

Although I'm still a novice at the art of memoir (and how well I've learned that in the past two weeks), I've realized one key difference: writing becomes a lot harder when you can't just make stuff up.

Katia

P.S. Isn't my wisdom so brilliant? By the way, once I start editing, I'll be interspersing novel- and memoir- posts, as well as the very occasional book review. Enjoy!

Something Like Hope

                17-year-old Shavonne has been in juvenile detention since the seventh grade. Mr Delpopolo is the first counselor to treat her as an equal, and he helps her get to the bottom of her self-destructive behavior, her guilt about past actions, and her fears about leaving the Center when she turns 18. Shavonne tells him the truth about her crack-addicted mother, the child she had (and gave up to foster care) at fifteen, and the secret shame she feels about what she did to her younger brother after her mother abandoned them.

Meanwhile, Shavonne’s mentally unstable roommate Cinda makes a rash move, and Shavonne’s quick thinking saves her life—and gives her the opportunity to get out of the Center if she behaves well. But Shavonne’s faith is tested when her new roommate, mentally retarded and pregnant Mary, is targeted by a guard as a means to get revenge on Shavonne. As freedom begins to look more and more likely, Shavonne begins to believe that maybe she, like the goslings recently hatched on the Center’s property, could have a future somewhere else—and she begins to feel something like hope.

                I don’t normally read books like this. That is the understatement of the year. After all, who mostly reads about messed-up teenage girls in juvenile detention facilities? Anyway, I digress. The characters were amazing. Even though I have no personal experience with this, Shavonne’s voice captivated me. She was a really strong protagonist, and the side-characters were good as well. I empathized greatly with several of the characters; when you’re in there, everything can, and probably does, seem hopeless. The plot wasn’t predictable, and it was a page-turner. Also, for a middle-aged white guy, he writes black teenage girls really well. The voice was completely accurate. (I assume his background as a school psychologist helped.)

                This isn’t an easy book to read. There’s a lot of swearing, and they all had pretty rough pasts. The characters were so real.  This is a book that makes you think. If you like contemporary or books about detention centers (or even if you don’t), I’d highly recommend it. SOMETHING LIKE HOPE gives an amazing glimpse into the struggles that people nationwide face every day.

The End

This morning, I finished the first draft of The Tinkers. It’s 63,950 words, and 110 pages of single-spaced awesomeness. I’m so glad to finally be done with the first draft, since I’ve been working on it since January and towards the end, I was ready to be done. Still, I’m feeling a bit nostalgic.

Even though at the beginning I had very little plot and cardboard characters, by last night some of the problems were smoothed out and it’s a better read. Not good yet, maybe, but better. I’ve spent so much time in Dem’s head, being sarcastic and grown-up and awesome. The Tinkers was my go-to project; whenever I had a few minutes or an hour to spare, I’d sit down and tell a little more of his story. I’m sure it’s been subconsciously shaped by whatever I’ve been going through as well, so that’ll be interesting to see.  Good thing none of my betas are psychologists, eh?

This is a plot web that I made when I was nearing the end.

As I’ve said so often, writing isn’t easy, especially when you lose 30,000 words due to not backing-up, but the sense of accomplishment one gets is crazy. I’ve been focusing on finishing so much that I’ve neglected blogging, and while I do enjoy blogging, I think the story’s stronger for it. Sure, there are still plot holes and bland characters, but at the end of the day, I wrote a novel, running mainly on chocolate and adrenaline. Now I just have no idea what to do with myself until I can go back and edit it. I’m missing my characters so much. I may have to write my own fan-fiction just to keep myself occupied. J

I will resume blogging this week, and share more character posts and excerpts from The Tinkers in the next few weeks, while I’m giving it a break. I’ve learned a lot about myself through writing this, and whatever happens to it, I’m a better writer for it. And I’ve learned that paralyzing drugs do, indeed, exist.

The Tinkers Excerpt

I haven't posted an excerpt in a very long time, as I've been preparing to finish my novel. Now, with only 10k left, my secrets can be revealed.
Ahem.
I'd love to hear what you think, but keep in mind that this is a first draft, so I will be making it better in the next few months.

***

"I'm--"

"What, Luria?"

"I'm not going to be a Captive," she vows.

"Well, neither will I." We run faster, faster, until we can't hear [the Guards'] footsteps anymore. We dodge through hallways and offices, hoping they won't find us. My heart races. Finally, I see the exit sign glowing in the distance. I sprint towards it, my sides burning. Luria pants, sprinting beside me. I reach the door and press on it, my muscles weary and nervous with adrenaline. Luria's pale eyes glow. We run through the door into a shock of bitter fall air, and then the alert comes.

My watch buzzes. I stop for a minute, just to look at it. I read the message.

"No."

Luria smiles bleakly. "It's true." She pulls her hair back, her face red and flushed from the ride.

"Guess we'd better turn ourselves in."

"I won't."

I nod. "Well, I won't either."

"I knew you wouldn't," Luria says. She shudders, slightly. Goosebumps rise on her arms.

The fear hangs in the air, almost tangible. What if? They'll be coming for us soon. We've got to hide, do something. It doesn't matter. They'll find us anyway. But still. Still.

Overcoming Temptation

It’s easy to succumb. Too easy. Just like it’s easy to get distracted with social media, blogs, reading, and checking your email. Some days, writing feels like it’s the worst thing in the world. You sit down at your computer and suffer from yet another case of blank-page syndrome. Plus, your keyboard is completely unreliable and most likely misses several letters. You have no idea if a plot even exists, the characters seem bland, and the story doesn’t seem to matter.

But it does. Those minutes spent hacking away at your novel are painful, yes, and maybe you do have plot deficiencies, and your characters could be more multifaceted, and right now that’s not going to happen. That’s disappointing, true, but you should still continue. Yeah, Facebook can be a lot more fun than trying to outline a coherent plot, but at the end of the day, Facebook doesn’t matter like your story does. It can be incredibly frustrating, but when you look back at what you’ve done a year from today, Farmville won’t matter. Your novel will.

So, maybe you’ve been procrastinating. No one’s going to force you to write, so you have to make yourself. You have the willpower, so why don’t you write? My characters aren't good. I'm too busy. So many other writers are better than me. Excuses. It doesn’t have to be good, and it doesn’t even have to have a point. If you’re a writer and you’ve read this far, you’d better write something down.

You say you write novels, so why are you stopping yourself? It doesn’t take much, just a few minutes a day. You say you’re a writer, so you should write.

 That is, if you think it’s worth it. I think it is. Make the choice today. 

2013 TeenInk NYC Writing Camp

When I signed up for this camp, I thought it was going to be a bunch of teenage girls geeking out and writing for two weeks at Juilliard, which was true, but it was so much more. Most of the girls I met (and got to know) were really cool and unique, as well as awesome writers. I mean, how often do you meet amazing people your age who read and write for fun?

It was so cool to connect with them, whether through sharing our writing, writing together (and laughing and telling stories and dancing in the rain), or having nightly discussions about life, philosophy, and the crazy world of professional ballet. I didn't get too much sleep, but I already knew that going in, and everything that we did was really cool (with great company) so I didn't mind.

The writing classes were really thought-provoking as well, and I got some good writing done while at the program. Although I'm not a big fan of sightseeing, it was still cool. After all, we were in New York. The chaperones were all very nice, while strict. We were chaperoned constantly, which did feel stifling at times, but it worked out well, and it was definitely a safety thing.

The plays we got to see and the writers we got to talk to were so inspiring. The New York Times visit was my favorite. We got to talk to five different editors/ journalists, and then listen in on a "Page One" meeting, where the heads of each department talked about the article they thought should go on the front page, and made the decision towards the end.

In case you're wondering, the furniture in the dorms possesses the amazing ability to creak every time you breathe, let alone move. As for the food, well, Juilliard isn't exactly a culinary school. However, everything else was awesome, and I loved it. The trip is expensive, but I’d highly recommend it. For me, it was the trip of a lifetime.

Au Revoir

                For those who don’t know, I’m going to an amazing writing camp for the next two weeks, and flying in this morning to stay with my aunt until the program starts. I was one of about 40 girls who was chosen for the program, the awesome Teen Ink writing camp in New York City. There are girls from all over the country, and several international as well. We’ll be going to plays and talking to authors and having hours of writing time every day, basically my dream camp. I’m psyched.

                However, because we can’t have computers, this means I cannot blog. I’ll update you all once my exciting adventure has passed (hopefully with photos, too), and I'll resume blogging once my life has returned to its normal orderly chaos. Thanks for listening!

Selling Out

A few weeks ago, my aunt and I were listening to the radio. A popular song came on by a former American Idol contestant, and she was telling me how she liked the song. I replied, “Yeah, but I wish he wrote his own songs.”

            Their main role as singers is to perform, true, but if they’re being called artists, it should be about the art. It seems sad to me that the vast majority of singers don’t even write their own songs. If you’re given a song promised to be a top hit and you sing it without meaning, wouldn’t it feel inauthentic?

            I have a heightened respect for those who actually take part in writing their own songs. Even though they evoke the same emotions, there’s a difference. The songwriter actually feels those emotions and has participated in those experiences; they make it real. Although I know you can coax emotions easily, and many people do, wouldn’t it be better to feel the emotions that you’re singing about, to have poured out your thoughts in a song?

As I ranted, my aunt looked at me and said coolly, “People sell out in writing, too.” As she explained it, I saw the truth in her words. If you go traditional, once you get an agent and editor, you’re going to have to make changes, some of which you won’t necessarily like. Maybe your characters need to be less direct . Maybe the moral of the story gets dumbed down. This isn’t always the case, but publishing is a business. And as much as the publishing team wants you to succeed, they also want the book to sell. This is commercial, after all.

            Or maybe this isn’t the case. Maybe you hire a ghost-writer because you don’t want to deal with your drafts anymore, and they change the story too much, but then it sells. Maybe your first book goes really well, but when you propose a new idea for the next book, they change it until it isn’t yours. Or maybe when you self-publish, your readers don’t like the plot and urge you to write something that would be easier to read. Or they want the love interest to change to reflect current trends, as opposed to being the strong character you’d created.

            Any road you take, it’s not easy. There will always be someone who wants to change who you are, what your book is, as my aunt showed me. Sometimes, it’s easy, too easy to go with that choice, the choice that will make it salable. But don’t sacrifice your story. Of course, it’s easy for me to say that, when I don’t have to make this decision. Maybe I will sacrifice my writing to get published, but as for right now, I’m going to write the best book I can and keep my novel’s message intact. As Shakespeare wrote, “To thine own self be true.”

Write, Live, Repeat

I’m not a glamorous writer. If you’ve been following my blog for any amount of time, you know that. I wish I could say that I wake up early in the morning and immediately begin penning the world’s next super-amazing novel, but I don’t. I do write late at night, but it’s not nearly as interesting as you might think. I sit down with my computer, read through my outline (again) and try to make some sort of plot. I do that day after day; crazy, isn’t it?

My first drafts, too, aren’t amazing. The story’s good enough and the characters are mostly genuine, but the plot. Sage advice: Never ever lose half of your novel and try to rewrite it from scratch. This means you come up with random plots (what, there’s a rebellion now?) and the beginning and end don’t fit anymore. You also realize that you have no idea what you’re doing, and you’re writing anyway. (Hey, welcome to my life.)

I’m also not that writer who only writes when she’s inspired. Sure, I could wait for that. But then I’d just wait, and nothing would happen. Writing solely from inspiration, though poetic, doesn’t work for me. I also don’t spend hours crafting elegant sentences. I set a time limit and cram. My writing process isn’t pretty, but it works.

My characters don’t talk to me when I’m doing other life stuff. I think about them, sure, but it’s not the same. It sounds fulfilling to say, “My characters speak to me,” but mine don’t. I just write them and think they’re awesome. (There’s a great difference, you see.)

I’ve been a bad writer lately. Why? Because I haven’t been writing.

But my novel deserves more attention than that, and honestly, wasting time doesn’t do anything. I need to give my novel focus. With so much time on my hands, it’s easy to squander it on pretending to write and email and reading and fun stuff and housework, but I can’t. Besides, I believe in the story and the characters enough that it’s worthwhile. I’ll fill the document “with the breathings of my heart.” I just need to put in the time to finish this draft so I can actually do something with it. Soon it’ll be worth it, I hope. (Then I can discover the joys of editing. YAY.)

Me looking excited about editing. With bedhead.
 

So, I’m going to make myself write 3k a day. Only 18,000 more words. I can do this. My writing deserves it. I deserve it, because writing is awesome. I just got inspired, so I'm going to sign off now.

           However, it’s Father’s Day today. So, I just wanted to give a shout-out to my dad, for being awesome and encouraging me. He's always been here for me and really cares about all of us. I'm so lucky to have him. And he makes the best chocolate-chocolate-chip peanut-butter cookies ever. :)

Writing Under The Influence (Of People, I Mean. Really.)

                Every writer uses their experience in some way in their writing, whether they admit it or not. Because I am so forthcoming, I readily admit that I haven’t lived in a bubble for the past fifteen years. People draw inspiration from so many different things.

                Take, for example, my former teacher. He was my music teacher for years. He wore those weird toe-shoes and always made us take our shoes off, so his basement classroom smelled like feet. He had irrational rules, and made us sing folk songs in eighth grade that my brother was singing in first grade. He also accused us of “nervous laughter” and left his discipline book open so everyone could see who was in trouble in his class. The best part? It was often hot in his classroom, so he often had sweat stains. And his last name was Gross. (If that doesn’t inspire a memoir, I don’t know what does.)

                I do draw from the people around me, but my characters are my own. I don’t mean to, or desire to, villainize those around me, and making my characters my own is much more interesting. Besides, we all make mistakes, and even though I didn’t love my computer teacher, Ms. Champion, who used to work in a donut factory and told us (as eight-year-olds) about her divorce, there are several sides to every story. (Her last name was Champion; I swear I’m not making this up. She also left after that year because we found out she wasn’t good with computer skills. By the way, I had good teachers in my elementary school, too.)

                In all of my writing, I use inspiration from real life. My gym teacher chastising me in rugby (“Are you gonna make the same mistakes over and over again?”); the prick of a needle against my thigh; the churning fear in my stomach as I realize that I can’t control my Segway, knowing I’m going to crash. The bubble of laughter with friends;  hot chocolate after a cold day spent sledding; the dog-tired exhilaration that keeps you going at the end of a 60-mile ride, legs aching more with every hill you ascend. This all has made it into my writing. I don’t always use the exact moments, but I draw on the emotions they evoke.

Through being human, I understand others, and can create real emotions. I’ve experienced anger so intense while my sister was in pain, wishing I could take her place. I’ve been afraid, anxiety cramping in my stomach as I receive results that could determine my future. I’ve been so happy, wishing that life would never end.

                Really, that’s part of what life’s all about, isn’t it? I’m only fifteen; I don’t have all of the answers, or even most of them. But from what I’ve seen, it’s about trying and making mistakes and living in the moment and caring about people and trying to make sense of reality. And cat photos, but I don’t care about those. As Tom Clancy said, “the difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense.“

Pantser Problems

I’m really awful at outlining.

I mean, I’m just not good with plot. So, I enlisted my sister, Anni, for help. It was rather unproductive. . . Rather being relative.

 

Exact conversation between my sister and I:

ME: So, can I ask you a plot question?

ANNI: Sure.

ME: So, in my novel, one of my characters was getting blackmailed, and—

ANNI: Which one? I read the first 45 pages.

ME: Nooooo! You’re not supposed to read my first drafts.

ANNI: (smiling) So, which one?

ME: (still hoping that she didn’t actually read it) My protagonist.

ANNI: Dem?

ME: (Dang it….) Yes.

ANNI: I read up to the part where the boss Executive guy—

ME: Yeah, the boss is threatening him?

ANNI: Yeah.

ME: Okay, so he Tinkers this guy who’s mumbling something about a rebellion, and then he goes to help someone because someone’s screaming, and it’s his friend Aria—

ANNI: So is Tinkering like killing someone?

ME: Err, no! It’s just knocking them unconscious. And then they, well ....

ANNI: Sure.

ME: So what do you think I should do? Should he fight, and then go back to his job, or go back to his job, and then go back and fight?

ANNI: So, that snarky girl--

ME: Luria

ANNI: So, Dem should go to his job and Luria should rescue him and they should overthrow the government and live happily ever after!

ANNI: There’s a reason I’m not a writer.

ME: (shaking head) Okay, so fight and go back to work, or go back to work and then fight?

ANNI: Fight and then go to work.

ME: (Scribbles hasty note) Thanks.

What I'm Reading

          So, in honor of Memorial Day, I read Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam, by Cynthia Kadohata. It's about this dog, Cracker, who's going to be used as an army dog after her owner, eleven-year-old Willie finds out that he can't have dogs in his apartment. A seventeen-year-old guy named Rick decides to go off and fight in the army in Vietnam because he isn't particularly good at school and he doesn't want to be stuck working in his family's hardware store. (Great reason, right?) Cracker gets assigned to her handler, Rick, and as they go through the war, they have to work together as a team, and they forge a bond.

       I don't really read war stories, but this was different. It was engrossing and realistic. I loved how Cracker acted like an actual dog, and Rick acted real too. Together, they wanted to "whip the world." They grew to care about each other and protected each other during fire. The author did a good job with making it feel real, but not too gory. I really enjoyed getting to know more about what the war was like, having never really learned about it much, and the story was told artfully. The characters were relatable. All in all, I loved this book, and would definitely recommend it if anyone wants to read a war story about Vietnam.

Excerpt

{Note: Life's been crazy lately so sorry for not posting yesterday. Writing has also been worse than I'd like. I miss NaNo, the rush of enthusiasm, the relative ease. After this week I'll post regularly again. The spacing is weird, so try to ignore it.}

The man looks up at us with a glassy stare. We're behind schedule. I forgot about that.

"Look, we've got to go. Now." My tone is tempered steel.

"Fine." She walks ahead of me, despite the fact that she has no idea where she's going.

"Stupid job," she mutters.

"Luria, what's wrong?" Her face is pale.

"Nothing," she says brightly. "What would possibly make you think that anything is wrong?"

"Hmm. The tearstained face and bloodshot eyes rather give it away there, don't they?"

She walks faster, her shoes beating the floor. She stares at her feet, her head bowed.

"I don't want to tell you."

"Have you always been this informative, or is this a recent development?"

She shrugs. "Tell me how it feels to have your life ripped from under you so then I can laugh at you, too. It's only fair, you know."

"That's a bit melodramatic. You know, just a bit."

"Why do you work for the system, Dem? Do you go to your apartment at the end of the day and think back on your day, remembering how happy you were when you paralyzed those tens of people? Feels great, doesn't it?"

"Don't mock me," I mutter.

"If you're ashamed of your work, don't do it. If you secretly feel like you don't want to do it, why do you stand for it?"

"It's not that easy."

"Oh right, it's never that easy. I forgot how the rules didn't apply for you."

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars follows the story of Hazel Grace Lancaster, a sixteen-year-old teenage girl who quotes philosophers, watches America’s Next Top Model, and has a ton of cancer in her lungs.

Due to the latter, she undergoes a bunch of treatment, doesn’t really have friends, and has to go to a weekly Support Group, where the kids with cancer congregate in a depressing church basement to talk about how their lives are awful. At one such meeting, she meets Augustus Waters, a handsome teenage guy who’s in remission. And then they fall in love.

                I loved this book. A lot of contemporary YA romances all sound the same; the fake characters, bad dialogue, plots even I could predict. But TFIOS is different, at least to me. It felt real.  I loved the characters. The adults were actually realistic, for once. Hazel and Gus were witty, profound, and honest.  They were a bit cliché at times, with their dramatic speeches, but I can’t really fault them for that. I don’t open teen romances looking for realism. Besides, this is more than a love story, at least in my opinion.  

The setting was awesome; I loved the descriptions. Her life seemed real. From her mom celebrating every possible holiday (“It’s your thirty-third half-birthday, Hazel!”) to Patrick, the support group leader going on and on about how they were in the Literal Heart of Jesus.

Most of all, I loved Hazel’s voice. From the moment I opened the book, I was entranced. She is sarcastic, honest, and genuine. She sounds like me, or like I would if I had cancer. She’s relatable and engaging, with a super-dry sense of humor. As Hazel says, “cancer books suck.” And I’m happy to report that for me, this wasn’t one of them.

TFIOS doesn’t have a perfect ending. It’s pretty awful, actually. But since their lives are basically about trying to survive cancer, isn’t that to be expected? For me, that made it better. John Green doesn’t sugarcoat cancer.

Maybe in a few years I’ll look back and realize that it was all manufactured and contrived and not worth my time like a hundred other YA books are. For now, though, it's one of my favorite books ever. If you haven't read it for some reason, I'd (very) highly recommend it.

Okay? Okay.

10 Writing Prompts

I've been feeling uninspired lately. To ward that off, I created 10 original writing prompts.

• It killed her heart, but not her mind.
• Sunlight streamed down the hallway to where a figure lay.
• Her smile was patched with sadness.
• "At least we're not being attacked by a cannibalistic gorilla who throws.... flaming torches, right?" Something stomped down the hallway.
• "I'm the politest thief you've ever met. Doesn't that count for something?"
• The dog's eyes glowed.
•  His eyes were agates, set in a bitter, lustrous face.
•  He stared at me lifelessly, pleading for help.
•  It licks its lips. "You go first."
• The chair spoke.

Let me know what you think in the comments! If any of these helped you or sparked any ideas, I'd love to hear it.

Katia

A Series of Unfortunate Events (The Bad, The Ugly, and The Good)

The Bad

On Wednesday, I wrote the final scene for The Tinkers' first draft. On Thursday, I was reading it, playing around with Pages a bit on my iPad, and accidentally deleted it. All of my 60,000-word opus. (Of course, at this point, opus is relative. But still.)

I sat numbly at my lunch table, a bubble of silence unfolding around me. Of course, I couldn't tell my friends; they wouldn't understand. To make matters worse, it was my birthday. I had ruined months of precious writing... on my birthday. Sweet fifteen, right?

I have about 20,000 words saved in another file. However, it's only the last third of the book. I looked it up, but on Apple's help forums, it says there is no way to get it back.

The Ugly
I'm going to literally rewrite everything. Not changing the structure and personalities of a novel, but fighting blank-page syndrome for a few more months on a novel I've already written. I tried to talk to the tech guy at school, but I've already backed it up, so the damage can't be undone, as far as I know.

I don't want to lose my idea. The characters and world have been amazing for me, and I think I've got to give it another try. In the process, of course, it'll be awful. I'll probably hate it, but I've got time and there's nothing to lose, right? (No, this isn't some big scheme just to put off editing... I promise.)

I've also been bored with writing lately. I've been writing short stories, but for me, novels are much more enjoyable than short stories. I love short stories, but novels really make writing worthwhile (and of course, are more salable, but I'm not considering that right now).
Additionally, I haven't been inspired much, which leads to the next segment of my week on writing.

The Good
I had this novel idea a few weeks ago and was going to save it for Camp in July. However, I really like it, and so I'm writing it now. I haven't been writing much because the end of the school year has been insane, but once school ends, I'll be working much more on it.

It's called When I Liked Converse. You can read the blurb here. (You all can be proud of me. Last night, I actually came up with seven whole bullet-points about the plot, so I kind of know the climax and how it ends.)

Writing is unpredictable. It's frustrating, mind-boggling, and hard.  However, it's amazing. At its core, it's an art. However dreary it may sound this week, it's an incredible skill. It's provided so much richness, creating new characters and perspectives I'd never dreamed of. It's given me a different, more complex worldview. And, of course, it's fun.
Katia

Social Commentaries in Literature

Social commentary is everywhere, especially in literature, whether we notice it or not. In novels from Animal Farm to Pride and Prejudice, the time period plays a part. Although I dislike the assumption that every snippet has a significant meaning, because it doesn't, writers are aware of the world. And we reflect that in our writing, both consciously and subconsciously.

I didn't set out to write a novel providing political or religious fodder, to showcase my feelings on controversial issues today. I'm a fifteen-year-old girl. I don't do that. I do, however, notice what's going on. I notice news, politics, international relations, social issues, the schisms of society.

Writers may not become great politicians or activists, but they show the current events of their day. Jane Austen illustrated the importance of marriage for women in the 1800s, even though not all women wanted that. George Orwell showed that uprisings from Communists generally don't succeed and are harmful in the process.

As for me? I don't write intentionally with topics in mind; I don't write a certain scene to show how homelessness affects us (that doesn't work very well in my kind of dystopias anyway). If it fits the work, I write it. Someone may see strains of the recession in my writing, another may see something entirely different.

For me, these issues will be a second-draft sort of thing; as I wait until editing time, I'll listen as the world speaks, through news plastered on newspapers and the sides of buses, by word of mouth and email.  By the time my novel is done, hopefully the world will be ready to listen.

11 Questions... I think. A tag of sorts

Today, I'm posting a tag from the Notebook Sisters, from my blogger friend Cait. She gave me 11 questions to fill out. Having nothing better to do (just kidding), I did. I hope you'll enjoy the answers.

1.Favourite character in your work-in-progress?
Okay, if you've been reading this blog at all, you've got to know this. It's Dem. Why? You may ask. Because he's awesome and smart and intuitive and stubborn and sarcastic, essentially me in a futuristic-guy form. That sounds rather weird, but I think you know what I mean. If you don't, I sound really bad. I'm not, though. I promise.

2. Does music influence your writing? What's a song that's inspired you?
Not particularly, as I don't listen to songs with words while writing because most don't fit the scenes that I try to write. However, I listen to my classical Pandora station all the time and so I've been influenced by Phillip Wesley, especially Dark Night of The Soul. Plus, I love its name. Don't you?

3. Do you prefer writing in present tense or past tense? Why?
Present, because it allows me to better convey what my characters are going through. And it makes it seem more real.

4. Name a random fact a book taught you.
Do not eat bananas before sailing on a boat on Lake Lachrymouse, because then the eels will get you. Also, don't be afraid of everything, and never trust anyone named Olaf. (Now I'm going to feel really bad if I do meet someone named Olaf, so I'm really hoping that won't happen.)

5. Favourite foods to snack on while reading/writing.
A lot of these "questions" are actually commands, but whatever. Water, and dark chocolate. However, once I've gotten inspired and get into the zone, about 200 words in, I generally start typing quickly and forget all about the chocolate.

6. Name 3 books you can't wait until are released.
I don't really notice books until they're released (read: have no clue they exist). So I'll name three books authors I want to read more of.
In no particular order:
-Jill Williamson
-John Green
-Ray Bradbury
And so many more that I've forgotten.

7. Name a sequel that outshone its predecessor.
I don't read many sequels, to be honest. Most of the ones I've read aren't better than the original. No comment. I was going to say Chasing Fire or New Moon, but I don't actually believe those are better.

8. Best side-kick/secondary-character you've read this year?
Um, not written by me?
Most of the characters I love fall into the category of main characters, so I'm really trying. This was last year, but I love Clarisse, from Fahrenheit 451. One of my inspirations for Luria from The Tinkers, actually. She is so awesome in a cruel world.

9. Favourite quote!
Ah, non-American English. On writing, or...
Okay, my favorite quote about writing is, "You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you." Ray Bradbury, author of one of my favorite books.

10. Do you have any reading goals for 2013? Are you on track?!
I don't keep reading goals. I mean, I set one up for Goodreads, but since I never use it, it's not very helpful. Other than reading The Odyssey, my goals would simply be to read more and read some of the long list of books I wish I've read.

11. If you were a superhero would you wear a cape?
No, because then they would be able to tell that I was an even more amazing person than they already thought I was, so that would ruin it for them. I've heard capes aren't allowed in my school's dress code.

Seriously, how does anyone get to know me? I'm way too sarcastic for my own good. I think they get used to it, but still. At least I can channel it through my writing...

Flightless Bird by Paulina Ulrich

Olivia (better known as Livy) Eckels is just your average teenage girl; she's entering senior year, she's quiet and studious, she has an outgoing best friend named Gracie. Her parents are getting divorced, she doesn't really like school, and she's not good at anything. Oh, and she's a major klutz. When she falls riding her bike around her neighborhood, her new neighbors, Gregory, a good-looking guy about her age, and Cecelia, his older sister, help her.

As she struggles to figure out what's going on around her, she becomes friends with Gregory. As they become better friends, Gregory's perfect yet slightly suspicious facade begins to dissolve, and she finds out that he has some secrets -and struggles- of his own.

I don't read romance, generally. Teen romance, especially paranormal romance, bores me. I don't need more of the teenage-girl-going-crazy-over-attractive-guy stuff--I see at least five examples of that every day. In the beginning, Livy was bland. I mean, she had no friends, and she met her soulmate by falling off of her bike? Add to that the fact that her boyfriend showed up every time she wanted him, at the exact moment? I don't care if the zombies are sparkly; in my book, they have to be realistic. (Spoiler alert: zombies don't exist in this book. Sorry!) Livy got better, though. She turned into (drumroll) an Actual Human Being, which is always nice to see.

However, Flightless Bird got better as it went on. It was a bit long for my taste, with some needless descriptions, but it was a very enjoyable light read. The characters developed into having actual personalities (yes, I know. Such a thing exists) and seeming real, and the plot progressed nicely. The romance was nice, and they were friends at first, which I liked. It was refreshing to see Gregory as a guy who isn't a vampire or werewolf. Towards the end, it's a page-turner. Overall, I'd give it a four out of five stars, especially as a beach read.

Khattam Shud

Khattam Shud means "it is finished" in Hindustani, one of the few useful things I learned from Haroun and the Sea of Stories (apart from the quote: "The world is not for fun! The world is for Comptrolling!" [I plan to shout that at someone I'm micromanaging someday. The books I read in school...]). The Tinkers is finished. With a completely awful synopsis on the "My Novels" page, and 59,500 words of prose, the first draft is done. I finished it on Tuesday, along with winning Camp (with 28 spaces to spare). It's been hard. I was at the point on my story where I really didn't know where I was going, and it took a lot to sit down every day and keep writing, hoping that Dem would work himself out of trouble. For the most part, it worked.

Once The Tinkers was done, I realized that I really like writing novels. And I had no idea what to write next. So, one inspired-poem and two half-baked short stories later (including a modern-day fairy-tale--two words: gingerbread apartments), I've realized that I'm stuck. For the next four weeks or so, I will not be working on any novels. I want to, but I know I've got to take a break. Patience for most things has never been my strong suit, though.

Writing novels is incredible. Sitting down every day or so and pouring out a story, filling it with adventures, your deepest thoughts, personality traits you may not have realized you have. Making your characters go on a journey and find themselves until they are so real you're surprised they don't really exist. (And wishing they did.) For me, this never happens with short stories. As much as I may try, and ultimately enjoy them, it's never the same. And I just really love Dem as a character.

Overall, I'm happy. I've guided new characters through a world "laced with sharp-edged medical equipment, needles to inject you, syringes to fill your skin with poison." (Yep, I'm quoting my own first draft here.) I learned about their endearing quirks, how they all embody parts of my personality, some more than others. Most of them survived. I have 60,000 more words written than I did a few months ago, and a science-fictiony dystopia that I love, at least. That's something, right? Now if only it wasn't so rough around the edges.

First-Draft Problems

-Changing your characters' hair color every scene
-Changing your characters' eye color every scene
-Making scenes sound very similar to ones that may have happened earlier
-Losing track of characters' names (I had the Corp president named Presidentdude for tens of thousands of words... Ah, revision)
-Bantering. And bantering. (Hey, anything for a plot, right?)
-Repeated and repeated words (most of which I don't even know about right now)
-Writing plot dead-ends because you don't know where it's going
-Stupid, endless description
-Maybe if I throw in a zombie love-triangle, it'll get a six-figure publishing deal? (You can hope, right? Surely I'm not the only one? Right, guys?)
-Rereading your draft to get more of a feel of your writing, and realizing the last thousand words are awful (and not caring to revise it enough to actually change it)
-Writing a blog post and not caring about the grammar errors (hey, it's a first-draft, right?)

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

*Note: I will be writing book reviews every other Sunday. I would've posted this last night, but my Internet was down. Enjoy!*

Persepolis is a "graphic memoir," or memoir in the format of a graphic novel. (I have no idea why my school likes making ninth-graders read memoirs so much, but they do.) It's about Marjane, or Marji, as she prefers to be called, and how she grows up during the Iranian revolution. As she grows older, the government becomes stricter. Laws restrict personal freedoms in the name of "being good Muslims" and "avoiding lavishness," and thousands of people are killed. As she becomes more rebellious, she has to strike a balance between defining herself and her personal safety.

Author: Marjane Satrapi
Title: Persepolis
Genre: Memoir (in a graphic-novel format)

In the preface, Marjane writes about how she "wants Persepolis to show that not all Muslims are terrorists" and that most of them are normal. She fulfills this throughout the book. I enjoyed learning more about Iran, and its people, as I'd only really known about it through the news. I found the story to be interesting as a whole, and the drawings were vivid. The attempts the population made as a whole to overthrow their government was astounding, and I really enjoyed reading about that. Marji's portrayals of her family and friends show that Iranians aren't that different than us, and if we were put in the same situation, we might very well do the same thing. I was really struck by Marji's devotion to her family, especially to her uncle.

Some parts of the story, however, were bland. The memoir seemed to go on a bit too long, and for every several chapters that were fascinating, there was one that seemed to drag on. There are also some derogatory terms used towards women, but other than that, there isn't much that's controversial about Persepolis. During the first few chapters, the overabundance of Iranian history was really confusing, and with so many passages depicted with a black-and-white drawing and a caption, it was sometimes hard to keep it all straight. I also felt that sometimes the graphic-novel format made passages unclear, but to be fair, it also brought many to life.

I'd give it three out of five stars. Overall, though I enjoyed Persepolis, its glut of Iranian history and length made it hard for me to highly recommend. While I enjoyed learning about Iran as more than a war-torn place, I won't be reading the sequel. Although rather unsatisfying, if you're looking to learn about Iran's true history (not just what's in the media) and the impact it has on its people, this is for you.

7 Bookish Pet Peeves

• Whiny characters: if you're going to be the star in a book, can't you at least be interesting?

• Girl meets boy who happens to be the perfect guy, as well as swoon-worthy, generally having an old-fashioned name, and they become best friends and fall in love until they find out the boy's past (the girl has nothing to hide) and then they love each other undyingly (this is why I hate teen paranormal romance)

• Bad endings

• Endless descriptions that don't actually further the plot (I'm looking at you, Tolkien; as much as I love hobbits, I don't necessarily need to know how every type of terrain was awful and what they ate for breakfast)

• Ignorant parents (Spoiler alert: This may be shocking, but in real life, parents are actually involved in their kids' lives, for the most part. They even impact what their kids do and how they act or something. Whooa.)

• Plots that just seem to hinge together (now, if that dashing boy hadn't come into the picture, that smart/nerdy/clumsy girl who's secretly insecure yet obviously pretty might have actually had to figure something out for herself for a moment there...)

• Fake dialogue (I do not say, "Oh, ____! You are okay!" when one of my friends is hurt. Surprising, isn't it?) 

Pass the Parcel

1. What are your top five favorite YA authors?
Markus Zusak (absolutely brilliant), Laurie Halse Anderson, Suzanne Collins, Lois Lowry, J. K. Rowling, Cornelia Funke, Trenton Lee Stewart (yes, half of these are MG. And there are more than five. I only got seven hours of sleep last night.)

2. What's the last YA book you read and what did you think of it?
As in the last book I finished? It was Notes From a Midnight Driver. I really liked it. After all, the main character is sarcastic ... It was a light read, complete with a grumpy old man at a nursing home, drunk driving, snippets of Yiddish, and an actual spunky, realistic girl character (in a boy-narrated book, nonetheless. My mind is BLOWN).

3. What's your favourite YA genre? (Dystopian, romance, sci-fi, contemporary, etc.)
My favorite YA genre is dystopian (pretty obvious), but I also love books from all genres, when done well.

4. Let's talk characters! Pick a character you love and tell us why?
Hmmm ... (I will not compliment my own character again.)
I love Liesel's dad from The Book Thief. From teaching her to read even though he can't really read that well, to helping her when she wet her bed, to telling her stories and playing his accordion, he was one of the few actually good people in Liesel's life. And he gives a starving man a piece of bread and gets beaten for it. Too bad he had to die.

5. Top YA villain?
I'm not really sure. I liked Hairwoman from Speak. Her name was a nice touch. And, of course, her hair looked awful. She was just a great, perfect typical high school English teacher. Why do they think they have to make reading awful and leech the meaning out of everything? I digress.

I also thought Death was a great villain. His point of view was really intriguing. And of course, in the end, he comes through.
Check out this excerpt:

It's the leftover humans
The survivors.
They're the ones I can't stand to look at, although on many occasions I still fail. I deliberately seek out the colors to keep my mind off them, but now and then, I witness the ones who are left behind, crumbling among the jigsaw puzzle of realization, despair, and surprise. They have punctured hearts. They have beaten lungs.

6. Top YA couple?
I don't know. I don't really read about couples! Umm ... Pass? I liked Skylar and Connor together from Me, Just Different. I seriously can't think of any other couples that I like that were in an actual relationship. Do I really read that little teen romance?



7. With dystopian on the decline, what do you think will be the next hot-trend in YA?
I think it'll be YA thrillers/mystery.

8. What's the next YA book on your to-be-read pile?
Glass Girl by Laura Anderson Kurk. It looks quite intriguing.

9. What's the fastest time you've ever finished reading a book in? (And what was the book?!)
An hour or so? I'm not sure which books I've read specifically in an hour. A lot, though. I'm a very quick reader.

10. (And now for the burning question) Do you think books should be sorted according to colour or title? (This matters.)

I don't sort them by either. I have too many books to care a lot about sorting them (and I'm not really into that sort of thing). I sort them by genre.
For example, on my bookshelf I have a stack of awesome books by my Kleenex box, ones that ... were designed to make me cry? I'm not really sure why the scissors are there, though.

I also have shelves of MG novels, new MG classics, a Roald Dahl shelf, and a Beverly Cleary shelf. I have no idea where my Little House on the Prairie set is, though. Maybe my mom gave it to Goodwill or something. I also have my what-was-I-thinking-when-I-enjoyed-this shelves.