Taking the Easy Way Out

I'm in the midst of having my book critiqued, which is a very fascinating, helpful and difficult process.

It's fascinating to see your book through someone else's eyes, to get an idea of what they are getting out of it. It's helpful because they are trying to do everything they can so that you can strip your book of all the crap and make it the best it can be (every "negative" comment is just helpful, I must remind myself). And it's difficult because suddenly you realize just how much work you still have to do on your book. Sigh.

But it's also kind of exciting, thinking about all of these things that I can and will do to make my story soooo much better.

One thing that I've noticed is how much I will ignore things while writing that I KNOW are problems. For example there's this one scene where my MC breaks into somewhere, and I knew when I wrote it that it was waaay too easy for him to gain access, but I didn't fix it because I was lazy. That wasn't the only time I just wrote something because it was easier.

If it's too easy, it could be better, I've learned.

I actually came to this conclusion while reading Catching Fire. I always wondered why Suzanne Collins came up with multiple scenarios for The Hunger Games. The way I read it, it didn't seem necessary that she give in-detail descriptions of past Games. The thing is, maybe it wasn't necessary, but it sure made the book better.

That's the thing about having CPs. They call you out on all the stuff you just ignored because you were lazy. (And a lot more).

Now, as always happens when you do a haphazard job, I must go back and pick up after my laziness...

Why I Critique

"So, you offered to read someone's 300-page book?" he said skeptically.

My dad said this after I put out a call for critique partners in my last post. And yes, dad, I DID offer to read and comment on someone's 100,000 word book. I know you think it's crazy, but I have reasons, you know, and they might not make sense to you but they do to me.

So, why do writers go searching for CPs (critique partners) anyways?

Well, here are the reasons I do it...

1. I get a "free" critique of my own work. I mean, it's not completely free, since I have to critique their work too which takes effort and time, but I can afford to spend effort and time a lot more than I can afford to spend money.

2. A critique of my own work is ESSENTIAL. I am aware of problems to fix after I finish each draft, but the more times I read over my drafts the harder it is to look at it as a fresh pair of eyes (in fact, it borders on impossible). Fresh pairs of eyes are SO helpful. I've spent years on my book, so it's really hard to separate myself enough to see problems. It's so helpful to have someone completely new come in and take a look and point out things I just couldn't notice as I'm not a first-time reader.

3. By becoming CPs with someone, I am switching MSs with another writer, which is incredibly valuable. I do send drafts sometimes to readers that aren't writers, and while they do give good feedback (and quite a lot of encouragement), writers undeniably have more knowledge of what works and what doesn't in a story. As a writer, you're always analyzing books and thinking of what you like or don't like and incorporating those things into your own writing. Not everyone does that.

4. When I critique others' work, I learn so much about what works and what doesn't and just stories in general. You can analyze and break down a published book, but there's no denying that published books always come across as much more polished and complete than other writers' drafts (probably because they are). It's a lot easier to spot what doesn't work with a still in-progress work.

5. I can work on my writing skills. One of the hardest things I've found about critiquing is seeing that there's something wrong, and wanting to point out the problem, but not knowing quite how to put it into words. Or at least, a comment or statement that actually makes sense and will be helpful. You would think that putting things into words wouldn't be that hard for a writer, but it is! (At least for me). It definitely stretches my writing ability!

6. Also, I like helping people. :)

So, dear father, and anyone else who doubts my sanity in taking on other people's works in progress to critique, THAT is why I do it.

 

OK, so now that I've said how much I like critiquing... I guess I'll do a giveaway, which I haven't done in awhile. Two people who comment on this post will get a free first chapter critique from me. Just let me know in your comment if you want a critique, and leave your email address or some way of contacting you. :)

Changing Tastes & Critique Partners

Since I finished my third draft, I decided that I should really get... meet... whatever... some more critique partners. Unfortunately I just missed the Teens Can Write, Too! blog critique matching up at the beginning of June, because that would've been awesome! I like the idea of critique partners close to my age (even though I am more quickly than I'd like to admit leaving teenagerdom...) 

Anyway, if you're looking for someone to critique your manuscript or anything I'd be happy to be your CP. (or even if you're not!). As a teenager and avid reader of YA, I think I could be useful. (Especially if you write YA. But I looove MG too, and I just worked in an elementary library for a year and with tons of MG-obsessed kids!) :) 

My desk at the library I worked at.
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Another thing I wanted to talk about is how my tastes have changed. I started this blog three years ago, which is crazy. I feel like I've changed a lot and my blogging tastes have changed a lot (I am definitely not proud of everything I've posted). I haven't come as far as some people do in three years, as far as followers and such, but I have come a long way as far as writing and reading blogs.

I haven't really managed my subscriptions at all for three years, but now more than ever I notice I'm only reading a couple of posts when I used to devour everything like crazy. Laura's talked about this before, how you read the posts you need to read. (She is so cool, go follow her!) I've also noticed what posts and blogs I'm attracted to. I'm less attracted to the huge group blogs or really popular blogs by aspiring authors. I like the smaller blogs, and my favourite posts are just the ones that ramble on about life and what's new with their writing. I used to skip those kinds of posts. But now those are my favourite. Laura, Raven, and Rachel  all write blogs that I really like right now. Oh, and I also still read almost every WORD for Teens post.

So anyway, if you have any suggestions for critique partners or smaller, more personal-style blogs, let me know! (Or even just blogs you really really like).

What's Up WORLD

I have been absent from the blog since... well, it's been a few months (oops). But a lot has happened since April so I thought I would update you. Actually I just saw a few "What's Up Wednesday" posts so I thought I'd do it in that sort of style, although it isn't Wednesday anymore.

WHAT'S UP WITH MY LIFE

100 Islands, Philippines. Yup, I went there. And...got sunburnt.

I'm home! If you didn't know, I spent this past year in the Philippines, doing a lot of cool stuff. But mostly doing stuff like working at an international school in the elementary library and being the main playground supervisor which means sweating BUCKETS everyday because the temperature rarely goes below 30 degrees Celsius. (Seriously, the one week of the year when it gets down to 26 C people start wearing toques!!) If you're interested I could talk a bit more about my experience there, but for now I'll stick with reading and writing unless you really really want to know. :) So, yeah I'm back in Canada and gearing up for starting university in the fall!

WHAT I'M READING

I just finished FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK by Melina Marchetta and WHYYY did I not read it earlier?? I actually tried to read it a while ago because I absolutely ADORE Melina Marchetta, but I didn't feel like reading fantasy. Finally I sat down and buckled up to read it and I'm soo glad I did because Melina Marchetta did NOT disappoint. FINNIKIN is fantasy, but it has so much truth and beautiful story in it and AWESOME characters, which is my favourite thing about MM and the main reason I love her work. Give me a good character and I'm in love. PLEASE go read it because I want everyone to know how awesome Melina Marchetta is!!

WHAT I'M WRITING

Since I didn't have school work to worry about this year (a very weird thing for me...), I spent quite a bit of my free time writing. So only a couple of days ago I managed to finish my third draft of a book I've been working on for quite a while! Actually, pretty much exactly a year ago I said briefly that I'd finished my second draft. So... it takes me a year to write a draft. But anyway, I'm super pleased with this draft and I feel like I'm more on the right track now than I was with my disgusting first draft and messy second draft. I've now sent it out to a few readers but actually if you're interested I'm on the lookout for more critique partners. :) Here's a terrible one-sentence synopsis... 17-year-old Percy Collins used to be invisible, part of the world of invisible people called Unseens, until he was injected with the legendary antidote to invisibility and for the first time in history, it worked on him, thus making him a very valuable person in the Unseen world. (Trouble ensues). Yeah, I've got to work on that. But anyway, if  you want to read it email me at kazuntai101[at]gmail[dot]com. You can also contact me through twitter, @AlyssaSherlock!

MY GOALS

I feel slightly lost now that I've finished my draft, because my goal for so long has been to finish it! I think I'll take a break from any writing projects for a while, and then maybe try to work on writing a good summary. Which is kind of daunting, to say the least, but also necessary because right now when people ask me what my book is about I say "uh... people... who are... invisible..." (And I'm only trying to annoy them a little bit).

WHAT INSPIRES ME RIGHT NOW

Melina Marchetta! Reading Finnikin of the Rock inspired me to work on my book and finish it. It reminded me a lot of my book, just because my favourite part of the book I wrote is the relationships and the growth of my characters throughout. :)

I am also looking for some new music to listen to, so if you have any suggestions please let me know! I'm also wondering what your favourite YouTube artists/musicians are (because then I can just listen to all their songs on YouTube... haha).

Anyway, I've been away for a while. How are you? What are you up to? Have you posted lately on your blog? (I need to catch up on my blog reading...) Let me know!

Less is More

I have a confession.

I like to act out my own scenes sometimes. (When no one is home; I definitely cannot act). I like to do this, though, because it gives me an idea of what exactly is going on in the scene. It gives me a really clear picture of what I want to happen, because usually I can only describe what's happening if I can see it first.

The problem with this is I see everything, so my first instinct is to write everything. I think, "well, I see him turn on his back and do this, so I must describe every little movement so the reader knows what's happening."



Source

Every book would be three times as long if every writer did that. The thing is, the reader doesn't need to know what I see in my head. I give them enough words so that they can take the words and use their imagination to fill in the rest. It's amazing what you can do with a few words. It's easy, for me anyway, to think if I describe it enough, they'll see it perfectly. In fact, I think the opposite is true. You just have use the exact perfect words so that those words trigger the imagination in the way you want them to, so they see a bit of the picture you see (of course, it will never be the same picture).

And that's really hard. But whoever said writing was easy?

On Wanting Someone to Love The Same Books You Do

“The pleasure of all reading is doubled when one lives with another who shares the same books.”  Katherine Mansfield (1888 – 1923)

My mother sent me this quote that she found a few weeks ago, and added the comment that she loves when her kids read the same books as her and then we can discuss. My brother, my mom and I have read a lot of books around the same time, usually popular YA series (we read Patrick Ness' Chaos Walking kind of at the same time, as well as The Hunger Games and my brother I fought over who got to read Mockingjay when it came out).
 
I definitely agree. There is just something incredibly enjoyable about being able to talk about a book with someone, especially with someone who has similar ideas and opinions as you. People like to like things together. That's basically what the website tumblr is; people liking things with other people.

 
So, naturally I would find it kind of disappointing if I really REALLY loved a book that no one else I knew was really into at all. I want someone to love books with me (most of the time).
 
I was thinking this a few days ago, and then I started imagining that there was someone with the exact same reading tastes as me and we loved the same books. Then I could always have someone else to love a book with me.
 
But then I realized that would be really, really boring. Part of the fun of reading or recommending books is finding that person who will fall in love with that book just as you did. No two people have the exact same reading tastes, I think. The world is a colourful place, and I love it.
 
What would you do if you met your reading taste clone?

Tangerine and The Ways A Book Can Affect You

Do you ever have those weird thoughts that pop up sometimes, randomly triggered by something in your everyday life? I don't know, maybe you don't, but I do.

To backtrack a bit, the other day a fifth grader checked out a book called Tangerine. Strangely, the cover and title seemed vaguely familiar to me. I realized that at some point in the past I must have read it. My memory of the book slowly returned, although all I could remember at that point was that it was weird.

The fifth grader returned it, so I checked it out and am now in the midst of reading it. I'm only a few pages in, but I've come across a pattern. I've realized that a ton of those weird thoughts that pop up when randomly triggered came from this book that I read who knows how many years ago (when I was in elementary school, at least).

First of all, there's this part in Tangerine where the MC Paul is talking about his damaged vision, and how his teachers and parents use him as example, because the rumour is that he damaged his eyes from looking straight into the sun. "Teachers and other adults always seemed to value me as an example. I was the living proof that you shouldn't look at an ecplise or you'll go blind; that you shouldn't play in an abandoned refrigerator or you'll suffocate; that you shouldn't go swimming right after you eat or you'll get stomach cramps and drown." I recall that every time someone said to wait to swim after you eat I thought of this book.

Secondly,  in the book the school has portable classrooms. Ever since I read Tangerine, the thought and idea of portable classrooms kept coming back to me.

It's a really odd experience rereading a book you'd almost completely forgotten about, but that has affected you in so many ways and that you remember so well. Other than the memories, I don't remember anything particulary special about Tangerine (although I'm not done rereading yet so I guess I still could remember something). I almost feel like this book haunts me or something.

It's fascinating, the ways a book can affect you, isn't it?

(P.S. I know I'm not doing very well with my blog-every-Monday promise. But at least I'm still posting this week!)

Some Pictures of the Philippines

I don't know! I don't know what to write about today. So I guess I will just post some pictures of some of the cool things I've gotten to do this year.



In October I went to Tagatay. This is the view of Taal volcano from where we stayed. Unfortunately it was cloudy most of the time.

 


Tagatay

 


In January I had the opportunity to climb Mount Pinatubo. This is on the way to the start of the hike, riding on 4x4s.

 


Mount Pinatubo climbing group! I'm the one in the Canada shirt. :)

 


The inside of the volcano.

 


In February I went to Corregidor island. If you know any history about the US in Asia in WWII, you might know about Corregidor. So much history. I love it. And so beautiful.

 


We camped on the beach under the stars at Corregidor. This is what I saw when I woke up.

 


The view of our campsite from way up on Malinta hill on Corregidor island.

 


The view of Corregidor from the lighthouse.

 I think climbing Mount Pinatubo and going to Corregidor for a weekend are my two favourite things I've done here in the Philippines so far. This is only a small picture of the Philippines, though. It certainly doesn't always seem so beautiful, especially when you're living in Manila with so much pollution and poverty.

If you're ever on this side of the world, though, I'd definitely encourage you to visit. :)

Trying Not to Empty the Well of My Writing

A few months ago I mentioned that I was working on a super in detail crazy outline. Well, the update is that I've finished that outline (25,000 words!) and I've now started working on complete draft number three.

My outline is crazy detailed, and really I've given myself EVERYTHING that I need to pretty much just write this draft until I'm done (if I could go without sleep for about a week...). Yet I'm STILL "getting stuck."

Where do I get stuck? Well, before I begin. There are so many times when I cannot bring myself to start writing because my thoughts are along the lines of but I don't know where it's going... I don't know what should happen...

If you saw my outline, you would realize that those are really lame excuses. I know what is going to happen!! I just have to write it!!

A few days ago I figured out my problem. I'm one of those people that likes to get things done, so naturally I like writing to the end of the scene because I feel like I've accomplished something. If I leave a scene half written, I feel like that's one thing I can't cross off my to do list.

However, starting with a new scene every time is hard! Awhile ago I read some writing advice that said you should stop when you're on a roll - even in the middle of a sentence. Heck, ESPECIALLY in the middle of a sentence.

I'm writing this post right after I wrote a bit, and I probably only had a few sentences left before I would've completed the scene I was writing. Instead of finishing it, I stopped mid-thought. I know exactly what I want to happen next, I just have to write it. So I don't have to start completely fresh next time, I just have to pick up the thread where I left off.

When do you stop writing? Mid-thought? The end of a scene/chapter?

“I learned never to empty the well of my writing, but always to stop when there was still something there in the deep part of the well, and let it refill at night from the springs that fed it.” ~ Ernest Hemingway

On Taking A Gap Year

Today I want to talk about the "gap year" phenomena. A "gap year" for those who don't know, is a term for taking a year off between high school and university or any other post-secondary education. For most people in North America, the progression of life is:  graduate from high school, go to university.

There is a lot of controversy over the issue of the "gap year", and numerous articles stating the pros and cons.

Right now I'm in the midst of my gap year. My experience with my gap year so far has been amazing. I'm working at a school in the Philippines. I've met so many people, learned so much, and come to appreciate the world in an entirely new way. I've also come to a much greater understanding of things than I did before.

I'm also so psyched to go back to school. At the end of last year, the last thing I wanted to do was more school. I miss it so much though! I miss studying, I miss learning. I learned how to convert cassettes to mp3s the other day and that 5 minutes of learning was the best part of my day just because I love it so much.

So obviously I'm in support of the gap year. But like anything, you have to find what works for you. I read a lot of writing blogs that always give that advice - yeah, look at all this writing advice out there, but you don't have to follow all of it. Do what works for you.

Same goes for gap years. You don't have to take a gap year if that's not what works for you. You don't have to go and volunteer somewhere for a year (although I think traveling is a great way to open your mind, especially to developing countries), you don't have to work and earn money for a year, but you can. And you can go to university right away too. It depends on you, and what works best for you and your needs.

So, this advice might not apply to you specifically, but maybe it will help someone in the long run. :)

The Struggles of Loving Books

OK, THIS is why I hate making a promise to blog every week. Because you get to these days where you know you don't have anything to say but nothing, and you have to post anyway.

I was going to write a book review, because those are faily straightforward but the only book I've read lately is Half the Sky - which is a good book, and I do recommend it, but non-fiction book reviews are something I'd rather stay away from (at least in public). Especially when the book is on a topic as complex as what Half the Sky was on (international development and women, in case you were wondering).

Then I thought I could talk about the latest thing I'm interested in (like I did when I talked about the Lizzie Bennet Diaries two weeks ago), but the only thing I could think of was that I watched Newsies on Saturday night with some friends and fell in love with it again. But really the most I can say about that is that it's awesome, and that every song and dance is absolutely amaziinggg.

Or I could talk about how today for some reason I was thinking of how I went to see The Hunger Games in theatres with my best friend a total of three times, which when you say out loud to people sounds really weird and then you kind of feel embarassed. Especially since you're working in a Christian school and a lot of people with a Christian background struggle with seeing past the violence in that book to see the big picture (lots of people have problems with this kind of not-seeing-the-big-picture thing, by the way, not just Christians).

But I love The Hunger Games anyway. However, because of all the different opinions and views and the popularity of THG, I find myself quite often wishing that I was the only one who knew about it and could love it in secrecy and peace, as opposed to having to feel like I have to defend my love for it all the time, or explain that I am not just reading them for the so-called love triangle that everyone else seems to be hooked on.

Books can go the other way, too. For example, I adore the book Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. So often I wish more people I knew had read this book and fallen in love with it. Unfortunately most people have different tastes, and there is almost nothing more heartbreaking than wanting someone to fall in love with a book so you can love it together, and have them come back just to have them shrug their shoulders at you.

Well. Obviously I have nothing to say today. ;)

So, what books have you fallen in love with that you want to share with the world? What popular books do you wish you could keep all to yourself?

The Beauty of Storytelling: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

So, something that I've just mildly obsessed with lately is the Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

If you've heard of them, yay! If you haven't, go watch them right now!! They are so amazing and as happens with lots of amazing things I like, all I want to do is share them so that other people can fall in love with them too.

I started watching the Lizzie Bennet Diaries with hesitancy, but not too long after I started I fell in love, because the LBD had everything I loved in books. (By the way, the LBD is a youtube web series that is a modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice). That is, amazing characters, amazing writing, and a beautiful story that makes you think about the world and people in general.



One genre I'm not too fond of is historical fiction. But I was so fascinated with the LBD that I read Pride and Prejudice. It still isn't my favourite, but I have much more appreciation for it and its core message thanks to the LBD.

Since mostly writers read this blog, I'd really encourage you to watch the LBD if you haven't. There are so many things you can learn about writing and storytelling from this little web series. There is so much stuff that happens beyond what the characters are actually saying. You would think in a vlog-style web series, where the characters are talking directly to the camera, it would be hard to do the "show don't tell" bit of storytelling. But the LBD team does it amazingly.

So, I guess I would just say watch it and learn about writing from it, because I certainly have. :)

The Formula for Inspiration

A few days ago we were coming home from somewhere, driving along this road that runs right next to a large valley. Most of what I could see on this drive were trees, but I got a five-second glimpse of the roofs of a village of squatter homes. I only saw about fifty makeshift roofs, but I know that the squatter area there fills that valley. (Squatters are really, really poor Filipinos who make their homes anywhere they can, with anything they can because they can't afford to do anything else).

After that five-second glimpse of that squatter area, my thoughts wandered. I thought about what it might be like to live like that, and how I can never ever fully comprehend it, and other things as well. I don't know why, but for some reason that overwhelming urge to create something meaningful overcame me at that moment.

That afternoon after I got home, I sat down and wrote for about two hours. Somehow, for some indeterminable reason, that glimpse of those squatter homes inspired me to write.

I feel like I talk a lot about inspiration, but I think I do that because it's always different. There is no formula for inspiration, and I think it's sometimes easy to forget that. I know that I've definitely read posts about how to get inspiration, or people have inspiration-themed prompts. "Music inspiration for you", "want inspiration? go for a walk outside", etcetera.

But really, inspiration comes, at least for me, in the most unexpected moments, through the most unexpected circumstances and glimpses of images. I don't have a formula for what inspires me, and I never will, no matter how much I might analyze the things that have inspired me and motivated me to write in the past.

What random things have inspired you?

My Work In Progress

Well, this post has been sitting in my drafts since December 19. That is evidence that talking about my personal writing does not come naturally to me... but I did make a goal to talk more about it once I started these weekly posts, so that is what I'm going to do!

I was tagged in this questionnaire (awhile ago) but I'm finally going to complete it!

The book I'm talking about is the book that I'm currently outlining, which I talked about in my last post.

What is the name of your book?

The working title is "I Am Terrible At Coming Up With Titles". See this post.

(Actually the working title is "Percy", which really isn't much better in my opinion).

Where did the idea for your book come from?

I'm not sure. I think I was just walking home from school one day in the winter a few years ago, and I had this idea to write a story about an invisible girl, and the story starts where some guy tells her she's invisible (because he is too). I've since changed the POV from the girl's perspective to the guy's.

In what genre would you classify your book?

YA dystopian? Maybe? It kind of has that flavour, I think.

If you had to pick actors to play your characters in a movie rendition, who would you choose?

I have no idea, although the actors on The Lizzie Bennet Diaries are pretty amazing.

Give us a one-sentence synopsis of your book.

17-year-old Percy Collins used to be invisible, part of the world of invisible people called Unseens, until he was injected with the legendary antidote to invisibility and for the first time in history, it worked on him, thus making him a very valuable person in the Unseen world. (Trouble ensues).

(Forgive me for that summary... it was the best I could come up with on short notice).

 

Is your book already published?

Nope.

How long did it take you to write your book?

It took me 2 years to complete it ("it" being the first draft - I've a long way to go before it's FINISHED finished) once I'd started. But the thing is, I hardly worked on it nonstop. So I don't think the length of time it takes to write a book is equal to the amount of work or effort you put into it. (In my opinion). If I would've worked on it nonstop, I probably could've finished in a few months at least. But life happens.

What other books within your genre would you compare it to? Or, readers of which books would enjoy yours?

Hmm... well I suppose I would link it to the obvious dystopians The Hunger Games and Divergent, although my book is quite different from both of them. The ways they are similar are: 1. Focus on the relationships between characters and a lot of character and character relationship development and 2. The focus on the fight to create the best world they can from the circumstances. I think these are the main similarities.

What authors inspired you to write this book?

John Green and Suzanne Collins both inspired me by creating an overwhelming desire in me to create something both meaningful and potentially world-changing, or at least worldview-changing. I want to make people think. What I learned in history in grade 11 and 12 (the 2 years I wrote it) also influenced my writing. We were learning about single-party states and Castro and Stalin, so I thought a lot about them and how they came to power and their influences as I wrote.

Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book.

There are lots of good characters, and the MC grows as a character, and in my opinion this is the best thing I've ever written and therefore my favourite thing that I've ever written. I love the characters and I definitely think that it would be easy for others to fall in love with them as well.

I suppose now I should tag people - let's just say whoever reads this, do it, and then post a link or tweet me or something (or just write about your book in the comments). I want to know what you're writing about. :)

What Works For Me When Outlining

Today I am going to brave the waters and talk about my own personal writing! (Something I rarely ever do here on the blog).

So I have this story... okay, book... that I've been working on, on and off for probably about three years. (Wow. It sounds really intense when I say that. Trust me, it's not.) I'm now onto my third draft, although I haven't actually started it yet. I've read over the second draft probably four times (probably more), and had people comment on it and help me by pointing out things they were confused about or needed to fix (especially Elle - she is the awesomest!).

That's when I came to the point of having absolutely no idea how I should fix all of the problems. It just seemed way too overwhelming, with all of the stuff that needs to happen, throughout each part of the book and each scene. I wanted certain characters to be spotlighted more, and certain friendships to develop but how could I just change all of that? How in the world could I change everything? I couldn't even comprehend how it could work.

I don't know where I got the idea, but one night about a month ago I just started writing down what was  happening in each scene. I wasn't writing the story, I was just writing a very in-detail description of events. I guess you could say I was just telling. The other helpful thing about doing this is that this book of mine is in first person. I'm writing the outline in third person, so I can write out what other characters are thinking or feeling or the MC's subconscious motivations behind his actions and thoughts. This is SUPER helpful, because then I know exactly what's going on under the surface of what I'll actually end up writing. I'm telling first, showing later.

I've never really done much serious outlining before, because how-tos on it on other blogs just don't appeal to me. This is definitely working, because I can tell the ENTIRE story, working out plot details and character development along the way, but I don't have to do the work of writing an entire draft and having to go back and fix it.

How do you outline, if you do? Or how do you fix a mess of problems in your drafts?

Stories That Create The Desire to Write

As you may have noticed on the sidebar of my blog, I have now committed to start posting every Monday. I wanted to do this so I won't procrastinate on writing blog posts, and also maybe it'll force me to write blog posts that I normally wouldn't write, stuff that turns out to be blatherings squeezed out on short notice. I also wanted to have a goal this year of talking more about my personal writing, which is something I normally shy away from on the blog most of the time. I thought that probably if I was scrambling for things to post about, it'd be more likely I'd fall back on talking about my writing (because that's basically what people do on writing blogs).

The other day I saw Les Miserables for the first time. It was amazing, and I'm fairly certain I was on the verge of tears for almost the entire movie. I love things like that, whether it be books or movies or any form of art, that evoke such emotion from you, and make such an impact on your emotions or your mind. I love how much story, no matter what form it's presented in, can affect a person.

When I feel affected by a story (like Les Mis), it inspires to affect other people with the stories I have to tell. @CostelloShields summed it up perfectly on twitter:

"I want to write things that matter. I want to write things that people will love."

That's exactly what I want to do with my writing, and brilliant stories like Les Mis, or The Fault in Our Stars, or Okay for Now, or Life of Pi, or even the Lizzie Bennet Diaries make me want to do create stories that matter even more. I want to write something that will affect others in the way all these other stories have affected me.

I love it when I come home from a movie or when I finish reading a book, and the first thing I want to do is write.

What kinds of things create a desire to write in you?

You Don't Have to Be Fearless to Do Scary Things

A few weeks ago over Christmas holidays I went for a hike to a waterfall with a group of about 20 other people. Some were in runners (like me), but most were in flip-flops.

The hike was fairly treacherous. There wasn't a nice gravel trail. We basically had to climb over rocks the entire time, and since it had rained the day before, the rocks were slippery. There was one part of the hike that was straight climbing up the side of a cliff. Then, once at the top, you had to walk on a ledge that was barely wide enough for your own foot. My heart was definitely pounding for the entire hike, in anticipation that I would slip and kill myself.

I figured I'd rather look stupid and be alive than the opposite, so I did a lot of crouching and bum-scooting on that hike. While I was bum-scooting my way along the path, the high school boys and tough hikers were way ahead, nimbly climbing over all the slippery rocks like monkeys.

There was one couple on the hike that I had heard lots about, mostly about how daring and adventurous they were. From what I'd heard, they loved to take risks and travel, and they had just backpacked around Indonesia for a month before visiting the Philippines for Christmas. Based on the things I'd heard about them, my perception of them was that they were tough, crazy backpackers who weren't afraid of anything.

Well, I was wrong. Once we'd arrived at the waterfall everyone stripped down to their bathing suits and jumped into the cool fresh water of the waterfall. The 20 of us were swimming or wading in the pool at the base of the waterfall. The girl of this backpacker couple was swimming near me, and all of a sudden she shrieked and held her tanned feet above the water. "Was that a leech?" she shrieked. "There better not be leeches in this water! I hate leeches." She shuddered.

I'm not really sure why, but in that moment I realized that, for one, I once again judged someone wrongly, but mostly that you don't have to be fearless to do scary things.

Sometimes I feel like I want to be at some level of bravery, where I'm not afraid of anything and I'm willing to do anything and everything in the world, no matter the risk. However, I still have tons of fears, whether they be big or just little things. It's definitely the act of overcoming those constant fears that is courageous, I think.

I definitely think this applies to writing. First, I'm too timid to try anything risky with my writing, for fear that it won't go over well with the people who read my work. Then I decide that I'll just wait until I get over this timidity and I'm fearless and have the freedom to write from anything to everything. But then I'm stuck in a rut, because I will never be fearless. I will always have doubts and hesitations about my writing. I just have to try to overcome those fears daily. I have to daily break out of my comfort zone, in life, but also in writing. I have definitely seen evidence that if you take risks and be unique, you or your writing is loved the more for it.

Maybe I'm afraid of leeches, but I can still backpack all over Indonesia...

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear." -Meg Cabot

Review of All The Books I Read in 2012

Last year, I read 120 books. This year, I made it to 115. It's really interesting to compare the two years and see the different books I read, and the trends in my reading habits. For instance, once I started working in an elementary library this year I started reading a lot more middle grade. If I was savvy enough, I might make some charts or something. But for now, you just get lists, full of some recommendations for you for the new year (if you haven't already read them)! 

 

Best Books of 2012

 

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins - Sigh. She's done it again. Amazing.

 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - Read more of my thoughts on this achingly beautiful, wonderfully written book here. TFiOS is definitely his best book yet.
 

 

Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt - I'm pretty sure this is the only book that doesn't have a death in it that has made me cry. This is such a beautiful, beautiful book and it is now my favourite book of all time aside from Jellicoe Road. This is one of those books that just makes me go gaaaah sooo good, go read it pleaaase.

 

Savvy by Ingrid Law

 

True (...sort of) by Katherine Hannigan - Both Savvy and True I talk about in this post. They are both awesome, deep middle-grades that definitely made me think.

 

Books I Bought in 2012

 

Finally and Forever by Robin Jones Gunn - I love RJG, so I will buy anything new she comes out with. (Although I can't quite recall if I bought it, or if I got it as a gift... if you gave it to me as a gift, correct me if I'm wrong).

 

 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - I knew it would be hard to get at the library, and I kind of had a feeling I might want to have it, and I was right. If only I would've brought it to the Philippines with me...

 

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger and The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta - Both of these I bought as eBooks. I figure that still counts, because now I own them and I can read them whenever I want! Yay!

 

Books I Reread in 2012

 

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

 

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta - Not quite as good the second time, but still awesome. I love Melina Marchetta.

 

 

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke - The last time I read this I was in middle school, I think. It's interesting how just being a few years older changes my opinion of a book. I still love it, though, and Dustfinger is my favourite character of all time ever.

 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - So how many times is this now? 5? 6?

 

Harry Potter 1-6 - I will never tire of rereading these.

 

Divergent by Veronica Roth - I reread this for the sole purpose of remembering what happened so I could read Insurgent. It was still just okay, even the second time around.

 

 

2012 Releases I Read in 2012

 

A Million Suns by Beth Revis - I liked A Million Suns better than Across the Universe, but I did noticed that the some of the story elements were repeated. I liked it though, and am still looking forward to eventually reading Shades of Earth.
 

Insurgent by Veronica Roth - I enjoyed this much better than Divergent, although I haven't fallen head over heels for either of them. I liked the tension between Tris and Tobias, and I liked how it was unpredictable. I did not like all the mind-controlling drugs, as they seem to be used a lot in dystopians now a days and in my opinion they are getting old.

 

Article 5 by Kristine Simmons - I really enjoyed this book. It was a smaller scale dystopian than Insurgent or The Hunger Games, but that just meant it had a bigger focus on the two main characters, which I really enjoyed.
 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
 

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard - This is a good summer read, but it wasn't really anything special to me.

 

Worst Books of 2012
 

Wings by Aprilynne Pike - I read this book because of a recommendation from a friend, but I did not really enjoy it (sorry, Megan). The writing was good and the idea was unique, but there was a love triangle that was done absolutely terribly.
 

How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbaleister - I really, really did not like this book. It was very shallow, and I kept waiting for the characters to use something useful and become less selfish. They did not. This would probably be the only book I would ever encourage people not to read.  

 

 

So. What were some of YOUR favourite books that you read this year? I need some recommendations of things to read for the coming year. ;)

 

Happy New Year!