Happy Hannahkah

This post is going to be better than usual because this post is not about me.

It's about hannah moskowitz, whose twitter and formspring are oh-so stalkable,

Whose love for Sam Winchester is unrivaled and also really cute,

Who wrote a few books, a couple of which I've read and loved to pieces,

Whose first middle grade came out today,

Whose characters will not get out of my head,

Who feeds and cares for and answers the silly questions of her magic gay fish,

And did I mention that ZOMBIE TAG is OUT and everyone everywhere should buy it? That's very important. All the Barnes & Nobles in my (admittedly miniscule) state are out of them already, meaning my life has become signifigantly more tragic (I have to ORDER THINGS? And WAIT?).

I'm going to post some photos of my hannahkah present, because unfortunately you can't scan painting. Instead of just using an image hosting site like I usually do, I decided to write a little something to go with it. 'Cause hannah is awesome.

I heard about hannah on twitter, which is the second-best place to hear about hannah, the first being in the vicinity of someplace where you can buy hannah's books, but that wasn't me. I found her twitter account first. I'd never read anything by her. Usually when I have not read an author's books I wait to follow them until I have, because this is one of the things I decided when I got on twitter so I wouldn't end up following a bajillion people. I did not do this with hannah. I followed her right away, because I thought she was funny. Actually, I very nearly beta-read sparklyfairyprostitutes for her before I'd read one of her published books. I think I started Invincible Summer about a day before sparklyfairyprositutes. Both of which I loved, bits and pieces, you know. But I already loved hannah before I read either, because it stuck in my mind that she was some kind of epitome of awesome. Which is not untrue.

hannah is, like, the highlight of my day. I know when I tweet her exciting things her responses will be in ALLCAPS and possibly include smiles and hearts ( :D <3 :D ). I know if I ask her anonymous questions she will respond honestly (unless the questions are dirty, but I swear I am not the one sending the dirty question) and by God is her honesty refreshing and sometimes a bit squick, in the best way. What I'm saying is, it's an honor to interact with hannah and read her books. Thank God for the internet!

So happy hannahkah, hannah moskowitz. Long live the provider of fish food.



The words are from The Hollow Men by T. S. Eliot. I haven't read the entire poem, but I found the lines "Between the idea/ And the reality/ Between the motion/ And the act/ Falls the Shadow" and for me it represents something which I, and I suppose writers in general, am very afraid of, yet it's beautiful. It makes me think of sparklyfairyprostitutes in a few ways. Also, I apologize for the horrible picture quality.

So, I dropped off the face of the earth...

Am I back?

Well, not really.

Things have kind of changed. I'm in college. I'm right in the middle of a first draft. I'm working on a secretproject. I'm helping a friend illustrate her novel for self-publication.

In short, I am busy. Like everyone else on the planet. But because this blog is a lonely little place anyway, it is really easy to forget about. I'm not quite ready to re-commit myself to regular blogging, especially because of the secretproject, which probably won't be ready for quite a while so I'm not going to talk about it yet.

In short, I'll be around. Not regularly. I'll probably still post more words on twitter per month than I do here. But things are in the works, promise.

The things I do to motivate myself.

Best wishes!

Top Ten Tuesday - Freebie Week

Top Ten Tuesdays is a blog meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This is a free week, where we're allowed to chose our own topic. Since I, as per usual, was late to this bandwagon, I decided to pick a topic from the Top Ten Tuesday vault, because looking at that list always makes me a bit wistful. I love quotes, so I chose the topic of my top ten favorite book quotes. This is going to be hard. To make it easier on me, these are in no particular order.

1. Calcifer, Howl's Moving Castle: "That's magic I admire, using something that already exists anyway and turning it round into a curse." Howl's Moving Castle makes many interesting points about magic that are about more than magic, but this is one of my favorites.

2. Annabel Lee: "And neither the angels in heaven above, Nor the demons down under the sea, Can ever dissever my soul from the soul Of the beautiful Annabel Lee." It doesn't come up quite enough just how much I love Edgar Allen Poe. Annabel Lee is my favorite poem.

3. The Motorcycle Boy, Rumble Fish: "It would be great, if I could think of somewhere to go." I really love this book. What can I say?

4. Lord Henry, The Picture of Dorian Gray: "The reason we like to think so well of others is that we are all afraid of ourselves. The basis of optimism is sheer terror." Lord Henry's often ridiculous rants were amazing and hilarious. Not to mention amusingly scewed.

5. Finny and Gene, A Separate Peace: "'...when you really love something, then it loves you back, in whatever way it has to love.' I didn't think that was true, my seventeen years of experience had shown this to be much more false than true, but it was like every other thought and belief of Finny's: it should have been true. So I didn't argue."

6. Kerry and Ethan, Companions of the Night: "'In the movies,' she pointed out to him, 'a vampire could have turned into a bat or mist and followed me.' 'In the movies,' Ethan countered, 'Lassie never peed on the rug.'"

7. The Silver Chair: "She felt frightened only for a second. For one thing, the world beneath her was so very far away that it seemed to have nothing to do with her." I probably could've pulled sixteen excellent quotes from Screwtape or Mere Christianity, but I have a soft spot for this quote.

8. Sunshine: "I didn't know you could go on finding out you'd had stuff by losing it. This didn't seem like a very good method to me." There are a few for this book, of course, but I had to pick one.

9. Louis, Interview with the Vampire: "An artist, stealing paint from a store, for example, imagines himself to have made an inevitable but immoral decision, and then he sees himself as fallen from grace; what follows is despair and petty irresponsibility, as if morality were a great glass world which can be utterly shattered by one act." So many underlines... so hard to choose...

10. The Psalms: "You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy." Part of my favorite psalm.

I could go on. I could go on and on and on. I love quote darn it. Probably would've had a Good Omens quote, but I've lent out my copy. That concludes my favorite quotes. According to John Green, they say more about me than they do about the books. Comment with your favorites, or link to your posts! Happy Tuesday.

Top Ten Tuesdays - Underrated

Today's Top Ten Tuesday (a blog meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish)is underrated books... I might have a little trouble deciding what constitutes underrated. But I do honestly love all the books I've chosen and feel like more people should read them. Even if I couldn't come up with a complete ten.


Sunshine - It doesn't seem to get as much attention as Robin McKinley's other books, which is basically a travesty in my mind. I love love love this book to pieces.

Girl, Stolen - It's just good, darn it. I love it when everything goes to hell really quickly. I love heroines who are brave and resourceful. Concept to execution, there's little not to love.

Hawkes Harbor - Same with Sunshine, this book doesn't get much mention, possibly because when people talk S. E. Hinton they're thinking young adult, not adult fantasy. But it's really very good.

Invincible Summer - hannah moskowitz has awesome hair. Also, she can write amazing books.

Almost Perfect - Though it kind of irritated me on a few levels, it is, in the end, a good love story. The bittersweet character and realistic complications of a trans-gender relationship were really interesting and something I don't read every day.

Dark Sons - Just a very good story about a kid with a real-life problem sympathizing, convincingly and heart-warmingly, with a largely ignored figures of my religion. It hit close to home, but in general it's a wonderful example of a verse novel, not to mention a great male YA narrator.

Companions of the Night - Despite its quite odd packaging and title, this book was pretty much everything I ask from a paranormal. Good characters, engaging, and with some interesting twists. It's also short and stands alone, which I always love. It's better than some big vampire series I've read.

The Shadow of the Sun - If you have an interest in the complicated and unique history and culture of Africa, or maybe you sometimes forget that there are actually individual countries in it and they aren't covered with savanna and elephants, this is a great book to read. Granted, it's a little dated, but it really brought a part of the world that I'd always glossed over to life. And it inspired my internet handle.

The Man Who was Poe - Compared to Avi's other work, you could consider this neglected. I loved it, but then, there are few literary figures I find more interesting than Poe.

What are your underrated favorites? Please link to your posts and remember to visit the blog hosters.

Top Ten Tuesdays - Trends

Top Ten Tuesdays is a weekly meme from The Broke and the Bookish. Today's TTT is on trends: ones we like and ones we don't.

This was a little tough, but I wanted to see if I could name five trends I'd like to see more of, five trends I'd like to see less of.


Yay: Racial Diversity, especially in couples/families - The only character I can think of who is half-anything, yet with race not being a major factor, is Jake from DragonHaven. Seriously, I love mixed-race characters. I just do. There need to be more. And I have a Hispanic friends who really wants to date a black guy - sounds awesome, right? Diversity is cool. **After School Special Over**

Yay: Sub-genre fantasy - vampire detectives, comedic ghosts, etc. It annoys me when fantasy/supernatural characters are shoved into the dramatic/romantic/horror roles: the base characteristic of being such-and-such a creature doesn't have to restrain the roles a character can play. Mostly, I see this subverted in kidlit, sometimes YA. But there's always room for more in this fantasy-lover's book.

Yay: Fairytale Adaptions - They have to be good, of course, but in my mind there can never ever ever be too many. Not so sure how I feel about things like the Jane Eyre modernizations, but then I haven't really explored that yet. Also, I'd love to see people adapting Biblical or other religious stories.

Yay: Local diversity - especially for hauntings. I want to see someone whose apartment is haunted, instead of the big old house way out in nowhere. I feel like a lot of genres make use of out-of-the-way locals too much. I don't get to the city much, I want to read about cities!

Yay: Boys being kidnapped - Like, not trying to hate on boys or anything, but it is always the girl that gets kidnapped. I really like the complexity of the kidnapping trope, whether it's a the whole plot or a sub-plot. But I can't think of one example where it's a boy being kidnapped, or a woman doing the kidnapping. I can think of real examples, but not in fiction. Isn't anyone curious about how that dynamic plays out? Or, say, Stockholm syndrome between homosexuals? I mean, so many options. Explore, people. (Although, from what I myself have written, I have very little room to talk.)

Nay: The one-thing-that-changed-everything - because it is not events that change people so much as their reaction to those events. I feel like this isn't explained enough. Bella did not become a zombie because Edward left: she became a zombie because, once Edward was gone, she focused on his absence instead of the other things life had to offer her. This was not dealt with in a satisfactory way, for me. (I will make an effort not to use more Twilight in my bad examples.)

Nay: Stock Christians - So, you need to a stock unpopular for someone to bully. He could be the science geek, the band geek, the theatre kid, the alternative, the quiet one, the socially awkward. Or he could be the Christian. There is nothing wrong with having Christian side characters be bullied, but, to say they're a Christian at all, you're going to talk about religion. If that's not going to tie in somehow, then it's probably just going to get people mad and not add anything. Like that quote about not mentioning the gun on the wall if it's not going to go off. (I'm looking at you, Watching Alice.) And, is it just me, or are these characters always boys?

Nay: Non Co-dependent Relationships - as in, guy always protecting girl, never really needing help even when she's trying. Or girl is staking her whole identity on boy, and he's, well, not. Or one party is always bending to the other party's will, and when it goes the underdog's way, it's because the alpha is placating. Now, these are great examples of bad relationships, but I don't find this kind of thing appealing or romantic. A good relationship is two people meshing, each offering something, bending to each other.

Nay: Chatrooms/texting - Not a fan of textual communication, really, unless it's short and really important/interesting. That thing in Beastly? That was okay. Could've lived without it.

Nay: Bad good friends - it's one thing to have bad friends and know it. It's another to have bad friends and pretend everything's okay. It seems like, especially in romance, the main character's friends sometimes aren't very friendly. Or their relationship is so underdeveloped it's hard to tell what's going on. I mean, not everything has to be Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, but really.


What trends do you love, and what are you sick of? Link to your posts, and remember to visit the original post at The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Tues

For this week's TTT, a blog meme started over at The Broke and the Bookish, here are ten books I've read that deal with a tough issue. Whether you agree may depend upon your definition of 'dealing' and possibly your definition of 'issue.' There were some I wanted to include but, uh, ran out of space.


The Book Thief - War (specifically WWII), the Genocide, Death

Bridge to Terabithia - Childhood death

Living Dead Girl - Sexual Predators/Abuse

Wintergirls - Eating Disorders

Kissing Doorknobs - OCD/Mental Illness

Deerskin - Rape/Incest

Almost Perfect - Transgender Relationships

Dark Sons - Split Families

Will Grayson, Will Grayson - Gay Acceptance

Fahrenheit 451 - Censorship


What are your top ten issue books? Or is there an issue you think isn't given proper treatment in literature? Please link to your posts, and remember to visit the meme hosters!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Think Should Be Required Reading For Teens

Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This weeks it's books that teens should be required to read. I took this literally, as in I think schools should put these books on their lists and make kids read them in a classroom setting. If I were doing books not to be read in school, I think a few things would be different.

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo: While it may not be the easiest read, Les Mis has some important points about morality, judgement, and government, wrapped up in a darn good story. Also, having read this made it a lot easier to learn about the French Revolutions in History.

Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens: This actually was part of my required reading, for sophomore year, I think. For one thing, though I may not seek out Dickens, you cannot deny that he is a powerful writer. I also think that Tale of Two Cities and Les Mis should be read in the same year, for comparison.

Looking for Alaska by John Green: I thought it would be very hard to pick one John Green book. While An Abundance of Katherines is my favorite, I choose Alaska quite easily because it's the 'grown-up' version of a book that I think should be required reading for kids, so it's like two stages of the same story. (I won't say which kids book I'm thinking of, as it gives away an important spoiler.)

The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley: Outlaws has a pretty wide appeal; it's a classic tale retold in a light that grabs the attention of romantics and the rebellious, and the basic twistedness of the Robin Hood morality would be fun for discussions.

Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare: I like Shakespeare okay, but I feel like more teens would like him if we got to read the fun plays, like Taming of the Shrew and Midsummer Night's, as well as the tragedies and historicals. Also, Midsummer would be wonderfully fun for acting projects - Julius Caesar was okay, but I'd love a chance to play Puck.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: Beautiful, unique, and compelling, the least of this book's charms is that it'll help you care about history. One of the best things about this one - it can be read in conjecture with another common required reading book, The Diary of Anne Frank. (I'm a firm believer in reading more than one book on a subject, if you haven't noticed.)

A Separate Peace by John Knowles: Another that was actually on my required reading. A few kids in my class really enjoyed this, and the discussions about motive and friendship got pretty lively, so I think it's a good book to get teens talking.

Rumble Fish by S. E. Hinton: To go with the above, another book about betrayal with a bit more of a contemporary setting and attitude. Also, I'm sure you could spend weeks trying to root out all the symbolism and references used in this book. I understand why The Outsiders is the most popular of her books, but for classroom purposes I think Rumble Fish is great for discussion, even though it's harder to grasp. And it's short, which is appreciated in school assignments.

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton: If I hadn't had to read this book going into seventh grade, I'm not quite sure I would've written my first manuscript that year. It really turned me into a reader and got me interested in the authors behind the words for the first time. Everyone should read the Outsiders.

Only one left? I guess I'll choose The Best-Loved Folktales of the World by Joanna Cole. This compilation of folk and fairy tales has a bunch of great stories, both familiar and obscure. The reason I chose this over other fairytale books is that it has the greatest mix of origins I have ever seen in such a compilation, as far as countries go. The lack of world lit in my English class has always kind of bugged me. And besides, I think teens need to realize that just because Disney strips them down doesn't mean fairy tales don't have things to offer as you grow older (not that I have or ever will outgrow Disney.)

And that's my list! Did you read any books for school that you really loved or hated? Any that you wish you'd read? Comment or leave a link to your own post.

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I'd Die to Meet

Top Ten Tuesdays is a very neat weekly meme from The Broke and the Bookish. So here's ten authors I'd "die" to meet.

1. S. E. Hinton: Do I need to explain this? She's a legend, right? One of my ultimate literary heroes. Plus, I really really would love to see that picture she clipped out of a magazine that inspired Rumble Fish.

2. Robin McKinley: I just love her work. I'm not even sure if I would be coherent if I met her - for one thing, I'd be repressing a masochistic desire to ask her about the loose endy bits of Sunshine. I at least know enough not to ask about sequels.

3. C. S. Lewis: While I love the Chronicles, if I had the chance to meet Mr. Lewis I think I'd be busy pelting him with theological questions.

4. Diana Wynne Jones: Meeting the person behind Howl's Moving Castle and Charmed Life - it would've been something. A true master of fantasy.

5. John Green: I want to see Holden's hunting hat in person.

6. Jackson Pearce: I loved her debut especially, and she's just awesome. Someone I'd like to have for a friend (she actually reminds of the girl who's my co-author on Spade.)

7. Neil Gaiman: Personally think he's some sort of genius. And I want to get my copy of Good Omens signed before I have the chance to drop it in the bath.

8. Edgar Allen Poe: Guy had his issues, but I'd still love the chance to talk to him. Whenever I'm in the Athenaem, I kind of daydream about him hanging around.

9. Walt Whitman: I really don't think this one needs explanation.

10. Hannah Moskowitz: This one's kind of a cop-out - I've never read one of her books. But I think magicgayfish sounds great (and she just announced that it's actual going to be a book! Hooray Fishboy!), and she just seems... cool. In the good way.


That was a bit difficult. There are a lot of authors I would love to meet, but really, most of the time I'm content just to read the books.

Which authors would you do anything to meet?

Character Names I'd Jack for my Kids

This delightful trope was stolen from Madeleine Rex over at Word Bird. The trope seems to be doing girl names (or doing both genders seperately) but I've decided to do them together, partly because I like the trend of mixed-gender naming. So just because it's a boy character doesn't mean I'd only name a boy that, or vice versa. Without further ado, here are some names I would totally jack for my kids.

Peter
From Peter Pan, of course. Not only do I adore this book and character and think reading Peter Pan to a kid named Peter would basically make my life, it's also a family name. I would've been named Peter if I were a boy, after my Uncle (who died long before I was born, but everyone loved him). Funny thing, I used to absolutely hate this name.

Charmain
Charmain Baker, from House of Many Ways. Not only is this name unique and beautiful, it also sounds like Charming and Charlemagne, so I'd give it to either gender. And there's a Peter in this book, too, so if I have twins, Charmain and Peter would make a good pair of names.

Caspian
From the Chronicles of Narnia. I unashamedly adore this name. Just the sound of it. And I rather liked the character, too. Another name that could be paired with Peter.

Sunshine
From Sunshine. Would I really name a kid this? You bet I would. My obsession with this book runs very deep. Runner-up names, in order of preference - Mel, Rae, Constantine. I'd feel weird naming a kid Constantine, and not just because it's out of fashion. Mel, for a boy, would be nice.

Robin
As in Robin Hood, from The Outlaws of Sherwood. Also, Robin Goodfellow (A.K.A. Puck) from Midsummer Night's Dream. Also, Robin McKinley, who is not a character but an author, and not any author but one of my absolute favorites.

Phineas
From A Seperate Peace. It's just a cool name, and everyone loves The Wonka.

Jean
Jean Valjean, from Les Miserables. Except I insist on pronouncing it wrong, like the material.

Any Name from As You Wish
Including Jinn, Viola, and Lawrence. The name Viola came from Twelth Night, and Lawrence from Romeo and Juliet. Jinn I just love, and jinn are one of my favorite creatures. I'm also partial to the author's name, Jackson Pearce, either of which I can imagine making lovely first names.

Any Name used by S. E. Hinton. Ever.
Seriously. Especially Sodapop, Jamie, and Rusty-James.

There you have it! I'd better have a bundle of kids. (More likely, the less unique of these names will be dispersed among my characters eventually, and since I'm not letting my kids and characters share names, my poor children will get the crazy ones.)

So, what character names would you bestow on your children? (And what are you going to say when they come home crying because the kids at school tease them?) I'd love to see a guy blogger chime in one this - girls can get crazy about baby names, but you guys must have ideas, too! Please link if you steal, these are so fun!

Review: Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

Amazon Product Description:
“Blessed—or cursed—with an ability to understand animals, the Lass (as she’s known to her family) has always been an oddball. And when an isbjorn (polar bear) seeks her out, and promises that her family will become rich if only the Lass will accompany him to his castle, she doesn’t hesitate. But the bear is not what he seems, nor is his castle, which is made of ice and inhabited by a silent staff of servents. Only a grueling journey on the backs of the four winds will reveal the truth: the bear is really a prince who’s been enchanted by a troll queen, and the Lass must come up with a way to free him before he’s forced to marry a troll princess.”

I was excited to find this retelling of “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” in my library. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but my risk-taking was rewarded: this is a truly masterful retelling.

The lass, who for the better part of the book doesn’t have a name, is a interesting and compelling character. She is tough, curious, and clever, and does things I would not dream of doing. Her relationship with her brother, Hans-Peter, her pet wolf, and the polar bear really bring out the best of her character. If she’s at times a little brash and foolish - well, I love her for it. The emotions and motivations were so well played that I rarely found myself questioning her.

The book follows the plotline of the original tale astoundingly closely (with embellishment, of course). One thing that I find I can rarely say of retellings - it felt like the narrative spent just enough time in each place. The plot moved along pretty quickly. I can’t think of any time at which it became tedious or when I wanted more description. (If the author’s note is to be believed, this is reputably the work of fantastic editing.)

George’s style has an almost lyrical quality well suited to fairytales. The description is rich, but not laborious. She handled both bright and bitter moments with finesse. The dialogue is spot-on, especially the little exchanges between the lass and her wolf. Norwegian and Old Norse words pepper the story in just the right amounts, though if you’re bad with names like me you may start to confuse the lass’ many siblings.

I will definitely be seeking out more books by this author. The fact that she’s done a retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses has a little less than it might to do with that. Sun and Moon won’t be kicking any books off my top five, but it’s definitely worth reading, probably multiple times.

Characters: 5/5
Plot: 4/5
Style: 4.5/5

Overall rating: 4.5

Journals - Living Dead Girl (2)

Thinking about submitting a short story to an e-mag. My level of nervousness is supremely high.

In other news, English Journal #2 for Living Dead Girl. Only a day late.

I usually re-read books I like, but I'm not sure if I could re-read this. I'm not even sure if I like it. Maybe I loved it, but hated what it did to me. Kind of like a person.

Maybe I don't need to re=read it because I'm still thinking about it. It's been a few weeks now, but when something reminds me, all the feelings come back. It kind of bites, because I can't eat yoghurt without my stomach knotting up. Then again, it would be awful to forget.

Maybe I don't want to re-read it. The second go-through is usually where I start picking apart the language, the characters, the pacing. The story then becomes a book, and experience that can be analyzed because someone chose to share it. I'm not sure I want Living Dead Girl to be a book. It feels almost like I'd be holding in contempt all the real girls and real lives the book represents. I've done it before, but I don't want to do it with this one.

Maybe I'm just selfish. Maybe I just don't want to live through that gosh-darned ending all over again. There's only so many times you can walk away disatified Because you're walking away.

It's been a while...

I've not abandoned the blog, I promise. Tomorrow is a Sunday, which means if I have time between Easter festivities I will be posting a journal. ("I know! I'll have a feature! That'll make sure I post regularly." Oh, over-optomistic self. Ha. And again, I say, Ha.) For tonight, I'll do some other stuff I promised I'd do.

Beta'ing. So, My first ever Beta partner and I finished reading each other's work a few months ago, I finished editing my way through her comments, and I haven't touched Accidents since (except to do some self-conscious editing. I can't help myself.) On the experience of having work critiqued, it was very constructive and encouraging, and I think I had a good partner. I wish I had a partner I knew a better, since it's a little easier to do cross-examination with a friend. There were a few things, mostly small, on which I very strongly disagreed, and I had to just take it as a difference in taste/lack of understanding.

On the experience of critiqueing - I've done it before, on a smaller scale, but I find it very rewarding to get deep into the nitty-gritty bits of a story and try to make it shine its absolute brightest. It was a good story (outside my prefered genre by a fair margin, but what can you do?) and I don't for a second regret the time spent with the characters. I always knew I liked editing, but this kind of makes me think I might have the stamina for it, I mean professionally. I'd love so much to work with an editor...

The maiden Beta voyage deemed successful, I am now one step closer to being query-ready. I thought I'd have queried by now, this time last year, but there's still a little more I want to tweak. My goal is to get it going by this summer. Fingers crossed!

New Things...

So, I'm generally not an, let's say, adventurous person. So I'm kind of excited that I've let myself slip into a subdued fangirl state for two things I never thought I'd watch/read: Glee and Harry Potter.

I basically watch Glee for the Puck and Kurt, though I've always had an affinity for really good cover songs. I was surprised by how much I liked it, but really, I shouldn't be. I'm stubborn about avoiding things, but once I'm exposed to it, usually I can find the good side. And when the good side is adorableness and catchy music, that's enough for me.

Now, for Harry Potter I have an excuse. I've not been allowed to read it before. Don't have a panic attack, I've read a lot of other equally controversial books with my parents' consent, they just held a particular suspicion for Harry Potter. Don't ask me why. But I made a case that trying to write MG fantasy with having read Harry Potter was like trying to write Christian books without having read the Bible, and I got The Sorceror's Stone out of the library. Happiness ensued.

Speaking of new things, I decided to skip senior year of high school and go straight to community college. Is more important than reading my first Harry Potter? Maybe. But I'm going to act like it's not.

So, while thinking about doing new things, I stumbled upon a plot for a YA. I'd already had the character and a few other details, but now I've actually got something to go on. Now I just have to decide if that's the project I'm going to focus on next.

Networking

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not all that great at networking. It's not just that I'm a slightly technologically challenged teenager, it's also that I find it difficult to tell whether what I'm saying is interesting and I have almost no idea whether an online community will be good for me until after I get into it. I usually try something for a while and then drop off the face of the forum, either a week or a year later, and occasionally go back and look at my quiet page and think about what it's like to be an internet ghost. By the way, if anyone wants to write about an internet ghost, you can have that one. Like I said, technologically challenged here, and that idea frightens me because of the amount of research that could possibly be involved. Can spectral material travel over internet signals? How does chain mail feel as it zips through your entity? Are spammers really just ghosts that are as tech-illiterate as me trying to get our attention?

Anyway. Lately, when I go to join a writing site, it seems like it's either a big gaint community that intimidates me with it's connectedness, a giant community that really isn't very connected at all and isn't that great of a place to be, or a small community that intimidates me by its intimateness. And most WIP sharing sites have strict rules about what can be in manuscripts, and I break at least a few of them. This makes me kind of sad. I had no idea my book was too bad for the internet. The irnoy is cold and painful like a rusty scouring pad to my self-confidence.

Anyway. What I'm trying to say is I know it's not as easy as it seems to do social networking. People you meet over the internet can be just as, if not more, intimidating than real-life people. The pressure is all on you to be witty and charming without even having eyelashes to bat, and internet sarcasm has a nasty habit of going over peoples heads. So if you are a socially awkward struggling networker trying to find their place in cyberspace, don't be afraid to ask for help. Just not from me, 'cause I'm as clueless as the rest of you. I also use 'Anyway' way to much. I was just about to start another paragraph with it. I'll restrain myself.

...Check out these websites that have at least marginally worked for me!

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/
http://www.webook.com/home
http://fantasy-writers.org/default.asp

And fictionpress.com is okay, but you've gotta have a way to draw people in from other places, because that site is ginormous.

Til next time!

The Song of the Story

A lot of writers say this, but I can't help associating stories with music. A song can take one emotion out of the many connected threads which make a novel and make you feel it (my Christian Living teacher refers to this facet of modern music as 'emotional porn'. It's kind of funny, yet kind of disturbing). It's a way of increasing the emotional connection between the character and the writer/reader, because many songs (mostly popular song) are generic and can speak to the experience of the character while also speaking to your experience or your desires. Songs help you understand how and why people can relate to your character, because a large number of people in the general demographic have related to the song, if it's popular.

If the music fits the tone, too, you're on a roll.

There's a reason I've been thinking about this, but I'm not sure I want to go into it just now. Instead, I'm gonna list a few songs that make me think of books I've loved, or vice-versa.

The Reason (Hoobastank) - Girl, Stolen (April Henry)
Once (Caleb Kane) - Ink Exchange (Melissa Marr)
Chasing Cars (Snow Patrol) - The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
I'm Alive (Becca) - Howl's Moving Castle (Dianna Wynne Jones)
Ugly Side (Blue October) - Beastly (Alex Flinn)
I Will Possess Your Heart (Death Cab for Cutie) - Paranormalcy (Kiersten White)

I'm sure there've been more, but I've forgotten them.

Of course I do this with my books, too. Rather obsessively. Perhaps, one day, I'll be able to post some of those here, when people have actually read them. I will say that "I Will Follow You into the Dark" is rather permanently in my head as "the song of the story" for Accidents. There are a few others.

Now that I've prattled, I want to hear your thoughts. Do you agree with my match-ups? What songs do you associate with a book or character? What songs would you chose to represent your own work?

Maybe I'm Crazy...

I've never tried to review a book before. The English journals I've been posting are the closest I come. But I just figured out how to work my dad's camera, and I've been wanting to make a more professional youtube account, and it all just sort of happened. Apparently I do video book reviews now.

There's only one up, for Girl, Stolen by April Henry. Wonderful book. If you want to know why, well, you have to go watch the review.



I hope this works...

I wonder how long I'll keep this up. I have one more video waiting to be edited and a few more books I already know I want to review, and I'm having way more fun than I should with this. So, we'll see where it goes.

Sincerely (deranged),

Day

Writing Class, Scripts, and Classics

My writing elective for this semester began today. Because my teacher is awsome, we spent most of our hour-and-a-half watching and discussing clips from Knight Rider and movie trailers. This could partly due to our writing scripts this year, or it could be my teacher's idolization of talking cars and The Hoff. Anyway. I had a novel I've been dying to try writing out as a script, so I'm feeling pretty good about it. And at the end of the class the guy who wrote the script for Buried (the movie that won Sundance where the entire film takes place inside a coffin) is going to come in and talk to us. We're connected like that. (Sort of. His cousin attends our school.)

Any writers who've tried this before, what's it like trying to switch a story from novel to script? Hopefully at the end of the summer I'll be able to answer this myself!

Also, while my mom's copies of A Seperate Peace and The Great Gatsby (assigned reading, yay~) seem to have dropped into some black abyss, I located a very dusty Catcher in the Rye and started reading it. I have never felt so inundated by swearwords in my life. But by golly if it's not some of the best characterization I've ever read. Things don't get to be "classics" for no reason, I guess. I will eventually finish the six-thousand books on my pile, but Holden might come first...

I missed journals on Sunday. There will be some this weekend, unless the snow decides I'm not allowed to have power.

God bless us, every one.

English Journal and Baby Rant

I finally have my journal back. So the first one for Living Dead Girl goes up today, but before I get into all that sadness and amazingity, I figure I can rant about this because this blog is supposed to be about being a writer and a minor, and it's semi-related, so humor me.

I've never entered a writing contest. I probably should, but they make me incredibly nervous for no good reason. Then sometimes, like today, in my case, you'll stumble across a contest that looks really fantastic -- free edits from editors or agents, chances of publication, money, the good stuff. And then, just as you're thinking, "Maybe it'd be worth it," you see the clause: must be over eighteen years of age. Gahburgahhhh. Whatever. I'll just have to go out and find a good one without the clause (like this one over at Coming Down The Mountain: http://karenjonesgowen.blogspot.com/2011/01/here-it-is-as-promised-submissions.html). It's my own fault for not being a proactive contest-enterer.

Anyway, enough of my frustration. In two years I'll be able to enter whatever contests I want (by the way, I've been worrying recently what I'm going to do with this blog when I'm not a minor anymore. I suppose I could keep the name under the idea of writing for minors, which I still plan to do.) Here's some ramblings about a wonderful book.


Living Dead Girl -- Elizabeth Scott

I'm not sure what I'm going to say about this book. I don't suppose saying, "It's indescribable" would win me any points? Maybe I'll start on the writing style and see if I'm up to the plot as I get on.

It would not be inaccurate to say the book was brilliantly written, though well written might be a bit of a stretch. The author has given up convention and 'literary excellence,' offering instead a first-person narrative whose heart beats between each syllable. The simplicity of the language juxtaposes interestingly with the depth of concept, reflecting realistically (or at least I think so) the voice of a teenager who, though only educated up to fifth grade, spends a lot of time experiencing and thinking about difficult things. It's an immediate voice, with flashbacks that feel like real, powerful memories and a cold, disenchanted life that's strangely enrapturing. The author didn't have to go into the gory details to whip your heart around like a kite in a hurricane. It's a journey-taking book. I read most of it in one sitting, and was disappointed to be interrupted.

It's a New Year...

I should get some sort of award. "Latest New Year Post". Isn't there a wall of shame somewhere for people like me?

Anyway.

I'm not gonna do a list of resolutions, because I don't like to be disappointed or disappoint others. However there are a few things I'm planning. Tentatively.

1. I would like to blog twice or thrice a week. Because my current level of suck here is just ridiculous.

2. I want to read all the classics on my TBR list (To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, some Shakespeare, and finish Huck Finn and Dorian Gray).

3. I want to be more outgoing; comment more, interact, etc.

4. I want to query for Accidents and complete at least two first drafts.

That's all. At least, all the interweb related ones.

In other news, I finally found a beta partner. Her name is Writein and we met on Absolute Write (wonderful forums, an awesome query workshop and lively discussions) on a third party's beta reader request thread. I'll see if I can scrounge up a post about betas and editing after we've finished each others books.

And, with a B&N giftcard graciously given by my aunt, I've read Personal Demons, Ink Exchange, House of Many Ways, and am about a third through with Dorian Gray (I also bought Danger Days, new album of awesome, but I can't start talking about that or I swear I will gush). House of Many Ways was wonderful; even better than Castle in the Air, but not quite as good as Howl's Moving Castle, I thought. Ink Exchange was really neat, and I'll probably be reading more Melissa Marr soon. Personal Demons was great, but dunno if I'm gonna read Original Sin. Got a few funny looks carrying that book around, but it's worth it. Dorian Gray is an example of why I don't need drugs - a future favorite, I think. Probably all of these will show up in the English Journals posts eventually, but my journal is now being graded for the last quarter, which is why I didn't post one tonight. When I get it back, the next two will be for Pegasus by Robin McKinley. (Edit: I lied. They're actually about Living Dead Girl. I'll get to Pegasus eventually.)

Happy New Year. Anyone have any fun resolutions (or tentative plans) for 2011?