The Deal

First, a quick update:
Life: Still in school. Only in two courses this semester. It's great. Still hasn't snowed (!!)

Reading: Just started Kay's Lucky Coin Variety by Ann Y.K. Choi. I'm pretty sure I'm behind on my goal of reading more books set outside of the US, so I'm trying to catch up by reading a bunch of CanLit. Recently finished The Miracles of Ordinary Men by Amanda Leduc, a strange but suspenseful and beautifully written book.

And, writing! Which is what I wanted to talk about today. I feel like I'm doing a lot better with my writing lately. I've slowly discovered a few things that help my writing:

1. 500 words a day. For the last half a year or so, whenever I don't feel like writing (which is all the time basically), I tell myself, okay, just write 500 words. That's it. Just 500. It's a super manageable number of words, and if I don't have a lot of time, it doesn't take a lot of time either. And it works! I get words out, and on good days I end up writing a lot more than 500 words. Like today! I sat down to write 500, and wrote 1300. 

2. Part time studies. I'm only taking two courses this semester for a few reasons, and while I'm doing quite a bit of volunteering these days, I don't have a part time job (perks of living at home), so that leaves a lot of time for writing and other creative things. It's not just the time that's freed up, but the mental energy. After spending all my time either in class, studying, or writing essays, I usually wouldn't want to spend time writing. Since I have that room to breathe now, I feel like I can actually spend time on writing.

3. Social media hiatus. Since certain events this month, I've been very motivated to stay off of Twitter and Tumblr, my go-to social medias and procrastination tools. Twitter is great for connecting with writers, but it's a huge time waster for me a lot of the time. Now I'm telling myself that I'm not going to go back on until I can tweet that I finished writing 50k.

4. Competition (aka The Deal). Back in August my brother and I went camping together. There was one night when we spent almost an hour sitting on a bench by the lake, just talking as the sun went down. (I don't think I've talked to my brother that much, cumulatively, since then.) Anyway, somehow what came out of that weekend is that we made a deal that I would write a book by the end of the year, and he would finish write a game (my brother studies computer science) by the end of the year. The deal has motivated me a lot, because for one thing, my brother won't let me back out of my commitment to write a 50k book by the end of December. For another, I am definitely not losing a deal to my brother. (Also, we still need ideas for rewards/punishments for success/failure so if you have any suggestions they'd be most welcome).

It feels good though. It's been a long time since I've been this consistent with my writing, and I'm excited that I've figured out a few things that are working for me. What helps you to stay motivated and committed to writing?

The Book Faeries

 I believe it started when my 19-year-old brother said that he could finish absolutely any book. Offhandedly I said, "What about one of my YA romances?" And he shrugged in his typical style and said sure. So half as a joke, half knowing he would actually read it, I put my copy of Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins on his pillow. And he read it. Despite being infuriatingly lazy and interested in math instead of writing, my brother has a few redeeming qualities. Such as, he reads quite widely and doesn't feel any shame about toting my bright blue, cutesy copy of Anna and the French Kiss around. Of course this did attract attention, so my brother explained to people inquiring how I'd challenged him that he wouldn't be able to finish the book. While he was reading it, my parents scoffed and said, "I bet I could give him a book he couldn't finish."



He did finish Anna and the French Kiss, and while he said that it was "not as bad as I thought it would be", he didn't really enjoy it, which is understandable given his interests. I like to think that the fact that it wasn't as annoying as he'd thought is a testament to Stephanie Perkin's writing skill, rather than my inability to give my brother a book he couldn't finish.

My little brother. Photo Credit: Alan Sherlock

Anyway, somehow it got to the point that we now have a cycle where each member of my family (except my sister) takes turns giving my brother a book to read. It went from giving my brother books he might not be able to finish, to just giving him books we liked and wanted him to read. It's quite enjoyable on both sides. My brother likes it because he gets a stream of books literally handed to him that have gone through an excellent filtering process. He never really has to read a horrible book, because they've already been screened by us. And my parents and I get to make my brother read books that we like and want other people to read. (Note: we did ask my sister if she wanted to be included in the cycle, but the only recommendation she ever had was Lemonade Mouth).


So after my brother finished Anna and the French Kiss, my dad gave him Men of Mathematics by E.T. Bell. I tried to interview my brother about what he thought of each of the books he's been given so far, but something to know about my brother is that he doesn't really talk a lot (whether it's because he actually has nothing to say or is just trying to annoy me is undetermined). So he said Men of Mathematics was "good" and when I asked him if he learned anything he said he "learned math".

After the math book, my brother was given The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot by my mom. This he also said was "good", and that the one thing he'll remember forever from this book is that it is weird that people ship cells in the mail. 

Then it was my turn again, so I gave him Seraphina by Rachel Hartman. He said it was good. When I tried to get him to elaborate on why it was good, he just said it was good because of "everything".

Dad's turn next, which meant back to non-fiction. He gave my brother Bully for Brontosaurus by Stephen Jay Gould. My brother said it was good, and one thing he learned was that there is a type of frog that is birthed by projectile vomiting. The egg grows in it's stomach and then it vomits it out, and it happened so fast that it took awhile for scientists to figure out what was actually going on. 

Mom's turn again, and she gave him The Power of the Powerless by Christopher de Vinck. Our sister has Down syndrome, so disability rights is something I think everyone in my family feels strongly about. My brother made a connection between some of the talk in this book about kids being put into institutions, and the images of insane asylums that are presented at the beginning and end of the movie Amadeus.

Then it was back to me again, so I gave him The Secret History by Donna Tartt, which he actually just finished. I found this book really fascinating and it made me think about so many different things, which is why I gave it to my brother to read. One of his comments was that he thought it was weird and unrealistic that the speech of various characters was very similar most of the time. He also commented that the book shows how easy it is to get away with murder, although it's easy in one way and hard in another. I was also talking about how the horror of the whole thing had caught me off guard when I read it, and he said that the way it's told, it seems very nonchalant about the horror. 

Then when he finishes The Secret History, it's my dad's turn, and we continue! My brother is pretty lucky that he has his own personal book faeries to pick out and give him books to read without him having to lift a finger. Perhaps we are only enabling his laziness, but it sure is fun. I love recommending books to people, and my brother is the perfect person to recommend books to because you know he'll read it, as long as you give it to him. It's also fun for us because then he gets to share in a little part of our interests and our worlds. We are connecting ourselves to each other, through our favourite books. Maybe soon we'll even have a family book club. Who knows? 

My brother isn't engaged in the online writing community, because his interests are more on the side of science and mathematics, so I can't plug him in that way. But he's actually in university for computer science, and has even made a couple of apps for android, which you can find and download here. 

Have a great day!

When Being Articulate On Paper Just Isn't Enough...

Me: (trying to explain at how I fail at using bookmarks) ...and my bookmark was right there on the table beside me and when I got to the page I wanted to be-

Bro: You make goals for yourself for how many pages you read in a sitting?

Me: No, I just meant, like, when I got to the page I did when I finished my chocolate milk. Um, I mean... like, when I was finished with it... (trying to explain)

Bro: And you call yourself an author.

Me: Hey, I never call myself articulate out loud.

Bro: So... are you articulate in loud then?

Me: Wow... you are such an intelligent conversationalist.

The Answers To Your Questions Part 3

Hey guys, sorry I didn't get any questions up yesterday... I was super busy. Anyway, here they are.


From Melody K:

What is a common thing that most teens dislike about their parents?

Me: I think that my parents specifically are pretty great (and also they read this :D), but as far as something that most teens probably dislike about their parents... well I'm just going to take an educated guess. When you're a teen, you're older and therefore have more responsibility, etc. You can now go out and do things you couldn't before when you were younger and your mom walked you to school. I think a lot of teens really value that independence and maybe want more independence than they can get at the moment (even if maybe it's not what they need). Parents get in the way of that independence.

E: (Can I answer this… who knows, my Mom might read it. Just kidding.) The main thing that I would think teens find annoying about their parents are their parents telling them what to do. I mean, who likes that? I know that my Mom will annoy me when she keeps telling me thing after thing to do, and I would guess that others feel the same way.

Bro: I don't know. (Although he was disappointed that my dad didn't want to juggle a soccer ball with him...)

From Jenny:

What 1 movie or TV show do you feel represents or resembles your high school well?

Me: Honestly? Absolutely none. I don't know if American high schools are a lot different than Canadian high schools or something but.... yeah. In all movies and TV shows I've watched, the high schools in them don't really come close to resembling my high school. (At least, overall. There's always a few things that are similar. Like, my school has students too. :D)

E: First off, I don’t know what high schools are like in the United States, but I doubt that they are like the ones in movies. There is only one movie that I felt portrayed high school well. There were still some things that were off, but for the most part it was good. This movie was To Save a Life. Basically it is about a young guy who’s previous best friend kills himself at school. That is the main thing that isn’t the same. We have never actually had someone do that at my school. However, all the tough things that happen, and the drugs and smoking that go on during the school day are similar. I do not smoke or do drugs, but there are people at my school who do. I hate that fact, but it is true. So that is pretty much the only movie that I feel properly represents a typical high school situation.

Bro: None.


Who are your heroes?

Mattie Stepanek!

Me: One of my heroes is definitely Robin Jones Gunn, who is a Christian author of some books that I adore. Another one of my heroes is Mattie Stepanek. He died when he was 14, but he was amazing. He had muscular dystrophy but let me tell you that did not stop him from just doing everything he could to help the world. I encourage you to look up his poems, especially one called "I Am".

E:  My heros…. Hum. In writing, my main hero is Robin Jones Gunn, because she changed my life forever. In real life, however, a few of my heroes are Martin Luther King Jr. because he was amazing. Another hero of mine is Bethany Hamilton. I recently did a lot of research on her because her movie, Soul Surfer, caught my attention. The fact that she went through what she did and not once did she get depressed (Anna Sopia Robb acted sadder in the movie,  but in real life, Bethany was always positive) it just lifted my sprits 200%. Heroes to me are not people like Superman who save the day. A true hero is someone who quietly does what needs to be done, not needing to always be über noticed.

Bro: I don't know.

 When you read a story, what character trait do you usually identify with most?

Me: I don't usually identify with certain traits to tell you the truth. I'm not very talkative and kind of shy (yes I come off quite differently online) but I don't really identify with the kind of shyer, I guess what you would call "geekier" characters. I'm not sure why, maybe it's because a lot of the time those characters feel really, really sorry for themselves or all they want to do is be popular. I'm not really like that. But I also identify with certain things that are the same about characters -not really traits, specifically, but things like a character being Canadian, or having a sibling with a disability (because I'm Canadian, and my sister has Down Syndrome). Sometimes I will pick up a book solely on the basis that it's Canadian or there is a character in the book with a disability. Not so much if there's a shy character though, because I think they're kind of boring and very overdone.

E: Character trait… that is interesting. I would have to say that the character trait(s) I most identify with is honesty and purity. I am not saying that I am always honest. (I try but don’t always (or sometimes, often) succeed) I enjoy characters who are honest and pure because it makes me feel all mushy inside and just makes me feel happy. Like once I hit Robin Jones Gunn’s the College Years, Christy was not as annoying (hate to say it, but sometimes she got on my nerves with her naivete :D) and her way of dealing with everything with honesty and integrity really warms my heart. It makes me sad that there aren’t more books like that.

Bro: I don't know. (Me (suggesting character traits): Being shy? Bro: I don't know. Me: Being not talkative? Bro: I don't know. Me: Saying I don't know to everything? Bro: I don't know.)

The last few will hopefully be up tomorrow, and then I have a special post prepared for Monday! Have a good rest of the weekend, everyone.

My Brother's Self-Esteem Issues

I've decided it's time for another "bro convo", where my brother says really funny things without realizing it and I embarrass him on the Internet. Except he's too apathetic, so it doesn't actually embarrass him. (Although he probably doesn't know what apathetic means).

The context is that my brother is forever playing this video game, Little Big Planet 2. There's an aspect of it that you can make levels, and some website is holding a level-making contest. My brother is making a level to the enter the contest. He and I are talking about his level that he is making.

Picture him playing a video game.

Bro: I think I can win if I can do this one part that I hope I can do but I don't think I can.

Me: Well, (making up random melody on the spot) just believe in yourself! Wait... there has to be an actual song like that...

Bro: What about that... Don't Stop Believin'?

Me: (singing) Don't stop! Believing! Hold on to that fe-e-eling... no, but I thought of another song... now you made me forget it...

Later

Me: I remembered the song! (sings "Who Says" by Selena Gomez) Who says... who says you're not perfect...

Bro: What's that supposed to be?

Me: Telling you to believe in yourself. For your level thing.

Bro: No, it's telling you you're not perfect.

Pause.

Bro: Wait, WHAT did the song say?

Yup. And the moral of the story is... DO NOT PLAY VIDEO GAMES WHILE YOUR SISTER IS TALKING TO YOU.

And obviously, I am singing so many uplifting self-esteem songs to my brother because it's an issue of his. I mean, just take a look at the evidence:

Me: Bro, do you have self-esteem issues?

Bro: What's that?

HAHA I love you, bro. ;)

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In other news... I finished the second draft of my current WIP!!!

**Also, I still have my draw for prizes/ask-the-teens project going on! Check that out HERE and spread the word, please!**

Interview With Someone Slightly Nerdy On What They Think About Books

My father's look-alike. Ha!

Awhile ago, I did an interview with my brother on his reading habits here. I've thought about continuing this theme of interviewing people on their reading habits, but never got around to it... until now!!

I've decided to call these similarly-themed blog posts a "blog series" called Ask The Reader.

Today, we'll be going into the head of someone who, like my brother, is slightly obsessed with soccer... along with car racing, astronomy, science, and organization. He also thinks of relationships in terms of graphs and talks a lot. Which is why I ended up having to compress a 28-minute interview recorded on my Olympus digital recorder (you're welcome, Olympus) into a blog post that would be short enough to keep you short attention span, internet-loving bugs' interest. (It's okay. I'm one too.) He doesn't have a blog, or a twitter, but he does have one link here. 

Now, I present to you... my dad! Oh, and, by the way... my dad does not actually emphasize every second word. I just bolded some words so you could skim (if you so please) the interview and still get the most interesting/important parts. I know, paragraphs are daunting, aren't they? :) Enjoy!

Me: What types/genres/topics of books do you enjoy the most?

Dad: Well the last year or couple years, I’ve been reading a lot of biographies... biographies of astronauts, motorsports things, like Murray Walker.  I also enjoy reading things about science, science history. History of certain development of ideas, like how they determine the expansion and size of the universe... or just history... I’ve read books on history of mathematics by different mathematicians... Natural history, like palaeontology all that sort of thing I’ve always found that kind of interesting. And.... there’s probably a few others as well, but... it tends to be nonfiction. Oh, and I also read adventure things... like I read The Adventures of Marco Polo (that was nonfiction too).

I hope that from all that, you at least get that he mostly reads nonfiction. But read on, my friends!

Me: How do you go about picking books out to read?

Dad: You know, I see books in some of my astronomical magazines or the journal I get from the RASC [Royal Astronomical Society of Canada]. Occasionally someone mentions a book in some of the car magazines I read or motorsports things that I read or science things that I read and then I always make a note of it and then I’ll go and look up reviews and if it seems reasonable I’ll save a link to Amazon reviews or something and I have a whole folder with probably several hundred books listed and whenever I want to buy some books or whatever and then I look at that folder by date... usually the most recent things...

Kind of crazy, huh? I just have a small notebook with a cat picture on the front... what is your TBR list like?

Me: Have you ever not finished a book?

Dad: I know there was one... uh-oh, you’re not going to like to hear this... it was a huge book that I thought “this will be good” on the Incas (an ancient civilization in South America). Fascinating things, but when I started to read it, I realized quickly it was not a history but a sort of fictionalized account, with people and characters. Like historical fiction. If that’s what you’re after that’s fine, but if it’s not then...  There was another book by creationists that I had so little respect for and his ideas were so easy to dismiss... and since then, he has abandoned those ideas. I read all of that book, but skipped over some of the appendices.

Me: What do you think makes a book a bad book?

Dad: The books that I read, those type of books, it’s very easy to write something on history or science and make it extremely boring –reciting facts, and too much of that sort of thing and someone has to be a very gifted writer to make it interesting. So a book like that that has good possibility, good material but it’s just... poorly presented. There’s also the attitude of the writer. There was one book I read, Time Among the Maya or something, and it was kind of like it’s kind of fun to be with this guy for the first week or two, but by the end you just want to strangle him and just want to get away from him.

Read that, nonfiction writers? You've got to have a good personality in order for your book to be appealing.

Me: What are some of your favourite books or authors?

Dad: William Sheehan, who has written books on Mars and Venus and articles in Sky & Telescope... and Owen Gingrich, who I've heard speak at the university. He is a Christian but also one of the foremost astronomical historians.

Me: Have you ever read fiction?

Dad: I used to read a lot of science fiction. I read Lord of the Rings of course, and this book Dune by Frank Herbert, and A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I think I also read Moby Dick... and for awhile I was reading Sherlock Holmes (by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle). I tend to gravitate towards classics, just because they’ve stood the test of time and so on.

Me: What is so appealing to you about nonfiction? 

Dad: I just have an insatiable curiosity about the world around me and about history and I love to sort of see my place in where we are now in relation to time going back. And to me, it seems so sad when people are so focused on now and even their own history they couldn’t care what happened yesterday. There's just so many fascinating stories about the past.

What say you about nonfiction? Fiction?

Me: When you read nonfiction, how much of what you learn while reading do you retain?

Dad: It depends... but I like to work fairly hard at understanding when I’m reading. I don’t like to sort of gloss over things. Sometimes when I read books with math in them or formulas, or discussions that are a bit more in-depth like that then I don’t want to just skip over it. Because I know you benefit from [going more in-depth]. Certainly as time goes by it fades, but I think in general I remember a bunch of stuff.

Me: How long does it take you to get through a book usually?

Dad: I don’t like to rush through books. With the books I read, I wouldn’t want to read them all in one sitting even if I could. I usually read for ten or fifteen minutes to a couple of hours at the most but then anymore than that and I feel the stuff I’ve learned is already fading and I’d rather have it sort of sink in a bit... savour it a little bit. On average it takes me a month to get through a book. If I’m reading regularly, then at least several weeks.

So if you're amazed at those people that read a gajillion books per year... then just know that they aren't getting any soak time.

Me: That's all my questions! Thanks! You did better than bro did.

Dad: Well, when it comes to talking, you can count on me... for quantity, anyway.

That's for sure!

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Do YOU want to be part of the Ask The Readers series? Just e-mail me (kazuntai101[at]gmail[dot]com) and I'll send you some questions specific to your reading habits/routines/personality. Then the interview will appear up on the blog so other people can learn about your unique reading habits!

Teen Writers Summer Blogfest: Stuff to Know About Your Teen Readers

Hey everyone! I'm still in the beautiful not-too-hot city of Calgary (Alberta, Canada). We walked around the zoo today for four hours, and then we went to the opening ceremony for my brother's soccer tournament (which is the reason we're in Calgary). There is lots of cowboy hats everywhere, because of the stampede. Anyway, apparently in my last post I worded a sentence oddly and accidentally called everyone in my family junk food.

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So today is the last day of the awesometastic Teen Writers blogfest hosted by Brittany who had the awesome idea in the first place. It's been super cool, and I've uh... met (?? well, I haven't met them but I've found lots of new blogs) lots of cool new bloggers. I also have quite a few more followers, so hi, followers! Say hi! I love comments and e-mails from people, so feel free to do that.

WELL. Today's day is Ask-the-Teens day, where YA writers, authors and bloggers ask us teens things about what we really think about reading. And I have to say, the questions the question-askers came up with are, well, really REALLY good questions. I can tell because as I was reading them the first time, I was already thinking up long, in-depth lengthy answers. :) Oh, and I've also tried to get some answers out of my brother for some of the questions, to get another teen's opinion.

From Jess:

1. Middle grade novels are defined as books for the 8-12 age range. Do teens still read middle grade fiction as they get older (for example, Harry Potter is an example of middle grade that's read by teens and adults) or are they naturally attracted to books with older themes and characters? Is it uncool to still read middle grade as you enter your teens?


I love YA, but I absolutely adore middle grade. For me, there is just something refreshing and fun about middle-grade. I also find the characters more interesting sometimes, more fun or quirky. And a quote from my brother: "Uh, I don't really pay attention to age." The thing is, every teen is different. There may be some teens out there that only read YA, but for me, I love reading a variety of different books about characters of a variety of different ages.
2. This is arguable, but it's been said that the teen years see a decrease in boy readership. Can you mention some books that you know male teenagers seem to be attracted to? Obviously, this depends on the reader, but are there books/themes that male teens connect to more than others?

I am a girl, so I personally can't answer this question but I can tell you some things about my brother (15 years old) and I also asked some of my guy friends on Facebook about their reading habits. ;) So, the summary:

My brother doesn't read often, but that is only because he doesn't pick out books for himself. When he gets a book handed to him, he will be enraptured with it until he finishes it. I think he would read more if he learned to pick out books on his own. (You can read more about my brother's reading habits here.) Anyway, my brother loves the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer (actually, so do I) and he also quite enjoyed the popular Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.

My brother's best friend (also 15), says he doesn't read that often but he enjoys the Alex Rider series (I have never read these, but I've heard they're good!!) and The Hunger Games.

Another friend of mine says he is currently reading quite a bit (mostly to reread Harry Potter before it comes out), but he does try to read a book a week in the summer (especially if the book is part of a series). His favourite series: the Inheritance Cycle, Pendragon Adventures, The Nine Princes in Amber, Terra Incognita series and the Keys to the Kingdom series (I have never read any of these except for the Inheritance books).

So... apparently series are popular with guys?? Haha, because that's accurate with a three-guy survey.

Sometimes when I read books that are written for guys, I find that they are way more interesting than (certain) books written for girls.

3. So many books and book series are being turned into films for the teen audience. Are you satisfied with the movie versions that you've seen recently? Can you comment on a few, both good and bad?

The most recent films I've seen based on books are the Harry Potter movies. I have to say that they were very well done, and gave a reader of the books exactly what they might be looking for. Well, except for the sixth one. But especially with the seventh one (part one). That's kind of a boring answer though, because everyone's seen and read HP... I think some movie versions of books are done excellently, and some are done really poorly. The dilemma is being able to transfer a book onto screen while keeping the main ideas, and giving the readers what they want to see live. It's very hard, I think, to satisfy the readers. One of my cousins refuses to see any movies based on books (although I'm not sure whether that's all movies based on books, or just movies based on books she's read.) I'm not quite that extreme.

From Elizabeth:

I would like to know how you go about choosing a book to read. Is it the cover? The title? Word of mouth?

There are a lot of different ways I choose a book to read. One is blogs, o' course, if I read a review and it sounds interesting. I usually don't hear about books through word of mouth, because usually I'm the one recommending books. Though sometimes I do hear about books over and over and over (so obviously these are popular books), and then I figure I should check the book out. :)

But if I'm not going by book reviews, or recommendations...

When I'm walking through a library, I look for interesting titles first (because that's what you see when books are shelved). If the title is interesting, then I don't really take the cover into account (unless I saw the cover before the title). Then I read the blurb. If the blurb is interesting, or it has something that I can connect to (because my sister has Down Syndrome I am into books about characters with disabilities), then I'll put it in my book bag. But whether I actually read the book depends on the writing itself. I also tend to go back to books by authors I like. And I won't go back to authors I don't like. (So make your first book really good!! :D)

Sorry this post was so long, but I will blame the good questions!! :D

On Weird in Writers

So today I had this conversation with my brother:

Me: Okay, so I have been stuck on my first draft of my cliff-hanger for forever, and I KNOW that I need a new way to freshen it up, to make the beginning more interesting. Any ideas?

Bro (lying stretched out on the couch playing video games): Uh, I don't know, Tam's king?

Me: [Says all reasons why this is a bad idea. And uncreative. And all that jazz.]

Bro: I dunno... someone dies.

Me: Well... [SUDDENLY a HUGE OCEAN wave of inspiration hits me, and somehow it invovles someone dying. This may have been a coincidence, or it may have been triggered my brother. God only knows.] YES. YES! YES!

[I start jumping up and down and dancing while continuing to shout "Yes!"]

Bro: You're weird.

Me: I. Am a writer.

Bro: I don't think all writers are weird.

Me: Uh... I really think a lot of writers out there would disagree.

Bro: Well, then, bad writers are probably normal.

I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS LOGIC.