5 Things I Found Weird Upon Returning to Canada

A few months ago, I stood on Canadian soil again for the first time in 10 months. Those 10 months I spent in the Philippines, working at international school (if you don’t know that already). It was really good to be home, but it was definitely a switch!

 

It was a lot less of a culture shock than I expected, but that makes sense since I only spent 10 months of my life so far in the Philippines and 18 years in Canada. Still, there were a few little things that threw me (and still kind of do). I thought I’d share those things with you, and in doing so give you a glimpse into little bits of my life in the Philippines.

 

Things I thought were weird when I got home:


1.    Hearing Canadian accents.

My first entry into Canada was in Vancouver before we were to catch our connecting flight home, and there was a woman volunteer guiding us in the right direction, and the last thing I expected to come out of her mouth was a Canadian accent, but it was there! I mean, it makes no sense that I would think that, because I was in Canada but...

...the Philippines is on the other side of the world from North America, so it isn’t a popular tropical vacation destination for North Americans. Why fly for 24 hours when you can get to Cuba in four? Also, Americans are everywhere because there are so many of them, and there are not very many Canadians. Basically, if you see a white person (which is rare enough), they are American unless proven otherwise by their accent or other distinguishing characteristics.

In short, I was not used to hearing Canadian accents, so it surprised me when I did hear them! (Also, when I see people wearing Canada shirts, I still think in my head excitedly, They’re wearing a Canada shirt!! And then I remember that I’m actually currently IN Canada and it makes sense and I do not need to bond with them in my head over being from the same country and finding each other on the other side of the world).

I wore my Canada shirt climbing Mt Pinatubo... and met two Canadians as a result! Yay.

2.    A significant decrease in outdoor activity after 9 PM.

It was so weird to see stores closed and only a few people milling about on the streets once it got dark. In downtown Manila, there are ALWAYS people around and up and about, and always a lot of people, too. Seriously, you could get caught in the middle of a traffic jam at 4 AM. I guess that’s what happens in a city of around 16 million. It was still weird when I got home that the city actually quieted down and activity actually decreased at night.

3.    The weather!!!

This is probably the biggest one. In Manila, the temperature stays the same every day, and all day, only dropping a couple of degrees once the sun goes down. Once I got home, I kept forgetting that the temperature increases significantly throughout the day and decreases significantly into the evening.

In Manila, I would wake up, decide what to wear by how hot I was feeling at that moment, and be fine (albeit hot but that’s pretty much inevitable) for the rest of the day. Here, I have to think of how it might get warm later and layer and decide whether to suffer being cold or hot and remember to bring a sweater if I’m going to be somewhere after the sun goes down... the weather in the Philippines may be hot and humid, but at least it’s uncomplicated!

4.    Toilet paper in public washrooms.

There is no toilet paper in any public washroom in the Philippines, and sometimes even no toilet seat. Back home now, I keep forgetting that, and when I’m on the way to a public washroom I think in the back of my mind, Do I have Kleenex in my purse? And then realize that I don’t need it! There will be toilet paper in the stall! To be honest now that I’ve thought about it (and done it for a year), it’s not really that big of a deal to carry Kleenex in your purse and not have toilet paper in stalls. But it is a very nice luxury for North America to provide, that’s for sure.

5.    The weight of Canadian coins also threw me for a while, because it’s a lot lighter than the huge Philippine pesos and other coins.

 

So, these were a few things that threw me upon returning to Canada, but for the most part everything was actually completely normal and familiar – which was probably the weirdest thing of all!

Have you ever experienced culture shock in your own country?

More About Diversity in Fiction

First of all you should read this article on YA Interrobang, The Underappreciation of International YA Literature. (Side note: YA Interrobang is shaping up to pretty cool and you should definitely sign up for their mailing list!)

If you are not American, you probably understand and sympathize with the author of this article as I did, in that popular books or popular YA books originating from your country just don't have the same "universal" spread or popularity that American fiction does.

There are a lot of you Americans, so it makes sense that there are a lot of YA books. The U.S. also has very large influence over a lot of countries, especially when it comes to media and pop culture. In the case of Canada, American influence affects everything because of the shared border. I have nothing against Americans or American authors, I have lots of favourite books by American authors.

But isn't it fair to say that I want my experience in my country represented in more than just the odd book? Isn't it fair to ask that I don't have to go looking in every nook and cranny, hoarding Canadian fiction like a crazed collector, just so I can find something I relate to?

American fiction is great but it isn't representative of my experiences. Canada, despite all its similarities to the U.S., is quite a bit different, and to sum up some of the differences, quite a bit tamer. (Just look at the evidence in Canadian history...)

I think this issue extends to the issue of diversity in fiction.

I believe that diversity in fiction means representing not only different races or people with disabilities, but people with completely different experiences in life. Diversity should be representing EVERYTHING, so that EVERYONE has a book they can completely relate to. I can relate to some parts of American fiction, but never entirely because of that cultural and national barrier.

Everyone's experiences matter, or at least they should, no matter how different or singular they are.

I know I'm referencing Canada, but I'm sure (and the article linked to above is evidence) that people in other countries, probably every country except the U.S., feel the same way.

As you can probably tell, I'm not completely sure on all of my thoughts on this. I'd love to hear what you have to say or if you disagree and why and such. I'd love to hear more discussion of diversity in books, it's probably one of my favourite topics because I believe it is extremely important. (tl;dr: Please comment!!)

What does diversity in fiction mean to you?

Road Trip Wednesday: The Queasy Flower Girl

Today's Road Trip Wednesday prompt, as initiated by YA Highway is:

Did you ever have a childhood memory that you viewed differently as you got older?

Yes.

When I was six, I was a flower girl in my cousin's wedding. The wedding was in Chicago, so my family drove down over a few days, camping along the way.

It was a big deal, being a part of this wedding, and I'd say one of the biggest moments in my life up to that point. My little cousin was a flower girl with me, and my sister was the ring bearer. My brother and my co-flower girl's brother were also in the wedding party (not sure what they're called though... the boy version of flower girls? Not sure).

Anyway, my aunt had made these pretty lace dresses for me, my cousin and my sister and we also had fake flower crowns (I'm pretty sure we still have one in our long abandoned dress up box, actually) as well as baskets full of fake flowers that we were supposed to sprinkle on the aisle as we walked down it in preparation for the bride.

Of course all of this we knew months in advance, and I was terribly excited about everything, from the dress to the flower crown to my shoes to my frilly white socks. (I had a thing about socks when I was younger).

Finally, the moment came when my cousin and I were supposed to walk down the aisle, throwing our plastic flowers on the white carpet that was rolled out before us.

And... I threw up.

Thankfully I hadn't eaten anything that showed up on my white dress, so my aunt quickly wiped away the clear liquid and sent me down the aisle!

I was mortified and horribly embarrassed at the time, so much so that I pushed the memory down and forgot about it for a while. Now, I think it's funny, and a good picture of what I was like as a six year old. Also it makes for a fun story! :)

What about you? Any horrible memories you tried to suppress, only to realize later they weren't that bad?

What's Up Wednesday

Kind of belated What's Up Wednesday... oh well. Anyway, here we go!

What I'm Reading

I just finished reading The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson. To be honest, not exactly sure where the title comes from, but the book was really good. The setting was made up of jungle and desert, which is quite a bit different than the Europe-in-the-dark-ages setting of most fantasy books. I also loved the main character Elisa. She is such a strong character, but she also was vulnerable at times. She was definitely relatable.

Now I'm reading an MG that was recommended to me back when I worked in an elementary library, Summer of the Gypsy Moths. I'm only the first chapter, so we'll see how it goes.

What I'm Writing

At the moment, nothing. I'm writing critiques for a CP, but that's about it. Every time I think about starting in on figuring out edits for my book, I'm kind of overwhelmed with figuring everything out. Especially the beginning, which I have never liked and still don't. How do I set up the world so it makes sense, but also introduce conflict soon enough so that readers are hooked? It is complicated, I tell you. (Although I'm sure you don't need ME to tell you that).

What Else I've Been Up To

I just got a job, so that's cool, but so far I've only had one shift and don't have anymore until next week so my days have been pretty laid back. Um... yesterday my mom, sister and I sat down like we do every week to watch the next episode of The Amazing Race Canada. I have to say I really enjoy The Amazing Race when I do watch it, but especially this time since everyone is Canadian and they're travelling in Canada. :) I love my country.

What Inspires Me Right Now

There's this web series called Video Game High School, and it's a really cool web series but besides that they also put a ton of behind the scenes content up on the creators' website, rocketjump.com. A bunch of that content has been the writers talking about, well, writing.

In this one podcast they did (which you can find here), the writers reflect on writing season 1 of VGHS. Everything that one of the writers says around 33 minutes is really inspiring to me and motivational. They talk a lot about the writing they did for the show, but a lot of the stuff they say applies to writing in general. I don't know, I found it helpful and inspiring. (And if you want to, check out VGHS! It's pretty fun).

The Librarian

One of the things I did this past year while working at international school in the Philippines was work in the elementary library. It was one of my favourite places to be, and I had so much fun observing the elementary librarian, Carol, in everything she does.

I really want to tell you about Carol, because she is utterly amazing.



The elementary library.

Carol has been at the school for almost 25 years, which is a long time for someone to stay at an international school, where staff and students are constantly coming and going. But she is not only the elementary librarian. She also did one-on-one literacy coaching with nine elementary kids, literacy classes with both first and second grade, helped the teachers with the English curriculum, AND she taught six library classes every week. I was physically in the library more than she was.

Carol's love for books and kids was infectious. It was so fun to watch her during library classes. At the beginning of class she would spend twenty minutes on a lesson before book checkout time.  The lessons were usually Carol reading a story, or talking about an author, and sometimes the lesson would coincide with some current event.



Hobbit bulletin board that one of the library volunteers made.

For example, when The Hobbit movie came out in December she took about four weeks in each fifth grade class to talk about The Hobbit book before the movie came out. In the spring, the school put on a production of Beauty & the Beast so she spent a few weeks reading and talking about different book versions of the story. (As a result, about a quarter of the elementary girls dressed up as Belle for our Literacy Day). She also did a unit on The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, both a book and short film by William Joyce (which is a beautiful film, you should check it out if you get the chance).

But my favourite thing to watch Carol do was recommend books to kids. She is so amazing at pitching books. I don't know how she does it. She knows exactly what to say that will get a specific group of kids to latch on to any book's premise and scramble to me, pleading to put them on the hold list first for that book. Every time Carol pitched a book to the kids, a 5-person long waiting list for that book would spring up. And I'm not exaggerating when I say every time!

Carol's love of books and the people who read them was really inspiring to me. It was really cool to be able to work with her this year and learn from her, whether it be how she taught the kids or what she taught the kids or just her energetic enthusiasm for books.



Goofing off in fifth grade library class.

Almost every Monday Carol would ask me "So, what books did you read this weekend?" And after I told her she would list off the three books she read, while simultaneously recommending them to me. If Carol recommended a book to me, I couldn't NOT read it.

There are a lot of people on this online writing community who are super passionate about books and reading and getting kids to read, but it is an entirely different thing to see that in real life, and it is incredibly awesome.

Do you know anyone in real life that is super passionate about books? Do you think it's awesome?

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.
.

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. :)