Staying True to Someone Else's Religion

I wish there was more religious diversity in the books I've read. Granted, they're only a fraction of the infinite-seeming books in the world, but when I read books that do feature religious characters, they're usually Christians (and usually white). There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but I want more.
I want to read about Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, and Sikhs. I want to read about people who grew up in a culture fundamentally different than my own, which was molded by their religion. Faith is obviously a big factor in many people's lives, and I think we, as writers, should do a better job of honoring that. From what I can tell, books are getting slightly more religiously diverse, but not by much. If you're committed to this, it can greatly expand your worldview, and will give readers something new, that I believe publishing still needs today. How does one write about a religion whose beliefs s/he isn't familiar with, without appropriating the character's culture?

1. Do extensive research. Read their sacred scripture(s) if possible, and study the religion's history.

2. Figure out the culture around their religion. Do people dress modestly? What do they talk about? What are their values? What separates them from similar religions or people? What's their daily life like? How much is their faith ingrained in their life?

3. Find blogs written by people actively practicing their faith. See if there's a place of worship anywhere nearby that you could visit for a service, if they're open to guests.

4. Talk to at least one person who is a believer about their religion. Make sure that your biases don't distort the information you get. Also, remember that it's only one person's view, and so that varies highly.

5. If possible, find someone from that religion who would be willing to read the book once it's ready to make sure it's an accurate representation of their faith.

If you have any other tips or suggestions for books with non-Christian main (or even side) characters, I'd love to hear them in the comments. 

7 Tips for Dealing with Rejection

You open up your email to find a form rejection, in simple black font. They thank you for submitting and wish you the best of luck with your writing. You glance at the email, slightly dazed. You'd anticipated this, but you had hope that they might accept it. Your rejections add up, a small pile of electronic apathy and "better luck next time". You wish it didn't sting, but it does. Because art is so often an expression of who we are and how we see the world, these rejections hit harder than others. Especially when you dedicate so much to your art, you feel insecure and overall not good enough. So, what do you do?

1. Delete the email and pretend that you never read it. As they say, ignorance is bliss. Okay, so this isn't the best coping mechanism. It works for a minute, though, until you start crying. (Good thing writers are never dramatic, huh?)
2. Remember that this is just one person's opinion. (Or one group of people's opinion, as it may be.) Just because they rejected it doesn't mean that it's awful and that you will never be a good writer and you are doomed to writing mediocrity all of your days.
3. Eat chocolate. Green tea also works well, although you could eat whatever you want if it makes you feel better. Exercising increases dopamine, which makes you feel happier.
4. Remember that while writing may be a big part of your life, it's not the only part of your life. So, try something different. Paint, or cook, or sleep more. Spend time with friends, or reading.
5. Accept that rejections are a part of a writer's life and hey, you might as well get used to it. Besides, you're one rejection closer to acceptance. Yay!
6. Remember that you are not your writing. You are not your writing. It's awesome that writing plays a part in your life, but it shouldn't determine your self-worth. It's okay to take a break from writing if it doesn't make you happy. You can always come back to it.
7. Read over said rejected work and see if there are any ways you could improve it.

Obviously, this isn't an exhaustive list, just tips I've gleaned from dealing with a glut of rejections in the past few weeks. If you have any other ideas, feel free to tell me in the comments!

Five Tips For Overcoming Jealousy

Recently, I've joined several online writing communities, comprised of Teenagers Who Are Serious About Writing. It's been really cool to read their writing, see how other creative people approach their work, etc. Lately, though, it's been getting to me.

It's not that they're shallow or self-absorbed or vindictive, from what I can tell. It's that their writing is consistently better than mine, in a way that mine simply doesn't match up. I love seeing them be successful, because who doesn't love other young artists doing awesome things and changing the world? At the same time, I wish I was that successful. Frankly, as a competitive, Type-A person, this stings.

Granted, I'm comparing myself to the people who are National Poets, the people who are Finalists in YoungArts (which means that out of 10,000 applicants, they're the top 1.5%), the people who start really cool literary magazines. They've been published in real literary magazines, (probably) been writing since birth, and been accepted to top universities because of their writing prowess. Obviously, these peers are a select few, and I know that most writers aren't up to this skill level at this age. However, I'm still jealous about how they seem to be doing all of these really amazing things, and I'm not.

The Internet has exacerbated this so that if you choose to, you can surround yourself with the highest-achieving, most mind-blowingly awesome writers. This is fantastic, but it can feel alienating when it seems like everyone else is getting traditionally published at the age of sixteen or has a literary agent or has, at least, finished more than one draft of a novel. This has made me feel inadequate, although at least I've kept writing.

In case you couldn't tell, this has been a personal struggle for me lately, so here are five tips about overcoming writer-jealousy (at least temporarily):

Congratulate the people you're envying. I'm sure that they'd like to know that you appreciate their work, since everyone likes compliments. Plus, as a young artist, you know that it feels like your voice isn't heard.

2. Do something different. Maybe paint, or take a walk, or scuba dive (okay, maybe not that last one). Try to stop focusing on the negative aspects of your work and take a break for a bit. It'll help, I promise.

3. Remember that not everyone is The Most Amazing and Prolific Novelist and Poet Goddess Ever by the age of eighteen. It's awesome if you are, and you're going to keep working on your craft, but if you aren't, it really shouldn't be the end of the world.

4. Come back to your writing. Again, you could try something different. Perhaps rhyming if you're into free-verse, or nonfiction if you mainly write poetry. I've written before about how poetry has helped me, even though I hadn't really thought of it as something I'd like, or something that I'd be good at.

5. Write a letter to yourself reminding yourself that you're more than your writing and your insecurities. Last night, I was really feeling the toll of this deluge of teenage writers doing amazing things I haven't done, and so I wrote myself a letter, on paper. Old-school, I know. I basically reminded myself that I'm still a good person, no matter what my literary accolades are, and that I write because I love writing, not out of sheer competitiveness.

Any tips I missed? How do you deal with jealousy so it doesn't cripple your work?

You Know What I Love? Waiting for Rejection

Every single person has a fear of rejection, including me. Despite this, in the last month, I've submitted to several journals and lit-mags, most of which are authored and edited by high-school or college-students. I've edited and fully overanalyzed my writing. I've perused the submission guidelines, even though they're all basically the same.  (Then to make sure, I perused them again.)

Last month, I entered the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, and so I should hear back within the next month. Now, I get to wait. I'm going to focus on writing poetry, reading, maybe editing my novel, and writing some more creative nonfiction.

Deadlines are hard, but I'm fairly certain I submitted everything on time. Besides, the worst thing that can happen is that my writing isn't accepted into these certain publications at this exact point in my life.  Writing is incredibly subjective; one person's genius is another's stupidity. Even if it all goes terribly, I'll know that I tried, that I'm much better at writing than I was even two months ago, that there'll be some cookie-dough in the fridge if I need it.

Do you have any tips for not feeling bad about inevitable rejections?

The spaces between the words {poetry}

I've always found poetry to be bland. There, I said it. Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman: although these are all well-known, "good" poets, my exposure to poetry had always been in the form of memorizing poetry for school or from an anthology of "Great American Women Poets"; that is to say, unsettlingly bland. I'd never really understood their poetry, and so it felt impersonal, meaningless.

This past year, poetry changed for me. I read the daily poems on Poetry Daily, and browsed poets by subject on Poets.org. I listened to extremely awesome spoken-word artists. I tried to find a poem to recite for Speech (I'm in the Poetry category), something that I'd truly enjoy remembering. I read young poets' writing, like Peter LaBerge and Alicia Lai (seriously, go look them up, as they are epic). I began to love the poetry of poets such as Carmen Giménez Smith and Jorie Graham.

I internalized their poetry, read them over and over until they took on a meaning for me, until they embodied the listless minutes waiting for class to end, the ebb and flow of students rushing down the green-linoleum halls. Furthermore, as a Reader at Polyphony HS, I analyzed the poetry's inner workings, the tenuous -precarious- ligaments pulling together the poem, giving it structure and meaning.

  Poetry has such a capability to embody the human experience, even more so, than prose. As such, I decided that I'd write a poem every day, as a challenge. Only a few days in, I'm already scrambling for topics, ways to make the mundane interesting. This means yellow Post-Its littering my bookcase, handwritten fragments tossed in jumbled lines. This means a simmering realization that I'm writing in a style that's been used for thousands of years. This means I'm attempting an exercise in  understanding, to see just how well I know -and will know- myself and the world around me. A poem tries to define a moment, a life, a consciousness, which is exactly what makes it so powerful.                

Read a poem today; better yet, write one. You might like what you find.

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!

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!

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.)

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. 

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.

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...

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?)