Megan

Dec 03

Kelley Armstrong’s YA paranormal, The Summoning, tells the story of Chloe Saunders, a 15 year old girl who is either insane or actually seeing dead people. Following an incident at school, Chloe is forced to enter a group home for ‘troubled’ teens. Once in the home, things are not quite what they seem, and as Chloe begins to unravel the mystery surrounding Lyle House, she discovers that friends can be found where you least expect them and that some things are better left alone.

Chloe is not your typical YA heroine. She is small for her age, awkward, a bit of a goody two-shoes, and cast as the ‘damsel in distress.’ But I found this to be one of the most refreshing things about the book. So many YA books these days portray a bad ass heroine who snubs her nose at authority and is capable of quick, wity responses and rarely needs saving. Chloe felt more real to me; her personality was more like that of girls I knew growing up, more like mine when I was a YA.

The concept behind the book was also engaging. (Warning – sort of spoiler coming up). Although the school for kids with special abilities is a well-known concept, I think Kelley Armstrong did a great job reinventing it, making it something new and unexpected. By placing it in a mental hospital, new challenges were presented that are missing in the other school for wizards/genetically-engineered kids/kids with special powers/x-men stories. I really enjoyed what she did to make this story her own.

And finally, I loved the mystery. I wanted to know what would happen, so much so that the second I finished the book, I bought the next book in the series, The Awakening. So would I recommend this book? Absolutely.

Nov 30

Phew. The last day of November. I just uploaded my 50K+ words to NaNoWriMo and received my winner badge. And now I can get back to a regular blogging schedule.

Since I’ve been a bit awol as of late, I thought I’d give a little summary of the things you’ve missed during the writing marathon I just underwent. So here goes:

I decided on the new design for my website. It should be up and running by the end of the year. Can you guess which design I went with?
I saw the new Harry Potter Movie. Review to follow, but just as a teaser, I was pretty impressed and now I feel like I have to reread the book. More on that though.
My work started blogging. Ok, I started blogging for work, but I’m roping in some additional authors from around the archaeology lab. If you have ever wondered what a real life museum person/archaeologist does, you should check out the NMSC Archeology Blog. It will also give you some insight into what I do when I’m not writing.
I went home for the first time in 2 years and met my niece for the first time (she’s 2 in February). I also saw my almost 4 year old nephew. Not only are they super cute, but they reminded me about the little things kids find fascinating.
I’ve read a lot. Hard to believe with all the writing, I know, but this month I’ve read: Magic Bites, Ilona Andrews; The Summoning, Kelley Armstrong; The Awakening, Kelley Armstrong; & The Angel Experiment, James Patterson. I’m currently reading The Duff, Kody Keplinger and School’s Out-Forever, James Patterson. As of this afternoon I will also be adding Matched, Ally Condie to my reading list, which came out today. So I’ve been busy and am now way behind on book reviews, but before you know it, I’ll be all caught up, I promise.
And, my biggest achievement – I finished NaNoWriMo! My first draft is not finished, but I’ve made pretty good progress. And, now that NaNo is over, it means I can return to my other WIP. The away time has been good and I’m ready to dive back in and get that sucker ready to go.

It’s been a busy month and I won’t lie. I’m kind of happy to see it come to a close. How was your November? Any exciting things happen? Did you catch any good books or movies? Come up with a new idea for a book? Any big plans for December in preparation for the start of another new year?

Nov 20

With the holidays rolling around, eReaders are everywhere. As some of you know, I got my eReader last Christmas and, although I still buy “real” books, I love my Kindle. I mostly use it when I travel so I can have as many books as I want without the weight or loss of suitcase space. This also helps when I decide I don’t really like what I’m reading. Instead of being stuck lugging around a book that turned out to be a drag, I can just close the file and open a new one.

I also love my Kindle during moments of impatience, when I decide I have to have a book now. This is especially true of series. Example. Last week I read Kelley Armstrong’s The Summoning. I waited patiently for it to arrive in the library and then couldn’t put it down. When I finished it, I didn’t want to wait for book 2, The Awakening, to become available at the library and it was too late to go to the bookstore. So I bought it on my Kindle and devoured the book.

Anyway, I’m getting off track. With all the talk of eBook sales rising and eReaders taking the spotlight as the holiday must-have present, not to mention Amazon’s announcement just in time for the holiday season that You Can Now Gift Anyone with an Email Address a Kindle Book, I found myself growing a bit curious about eBook usage and eReaders of choice. I’m the only one of my coworkers with an eReader and I think the only one in my family. So now I want to know, what do my readers think about eBooks and eReaders?

Below you will find a 10 question survey (thanks SurveyMonkey). I’ll keep the survey open through Thanksgiving weekend (for my international readers, the survey will close 11:59 US east coast time on 11/28). Then, check back 11/30 for the results. Oh, and feel free to add anything the survey left out in the comments.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world’s leading questionnaire tool.

Nov 16

We have reached the second half of November. And you know what that means besides turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie and my mom’s birthday? It means that NaNoWriMo is half over!

The good news for me is that I am actually on schedule this year. Scratch that. I’m ahead of schedule. When I went to bed last night, I was at 34,365 words, well over halfway to 50,000. Of course, the bad news is that NaNo has made blogging a little more difficult. But that’s actually a good thing because there’s no point in building a platform if you’ve got nothing to show for it (i.e. a book).

I know that some of my 34,365 words are duds, destined to be erased, but isn’t that the nature of a first draft? To spew everything out of your head onto paper? At least that’s what NaNoWriMo is about. And so far, it’s working. By getting everything down, I am able to clear my head. I already know some of the bits that will get cut in my next draft, but in the spirit of NaNo, I’m not cutting yet. I’m going to finish my first draft and then we can talk about the second draft.

So why is it that I can suddenly get my story down?

Part of it is discipline. The discipline of NaNo is something I’m benefiting from and something I’m hoping to be able to take with me into the coming months. I think the other part of it is keeping my focusing, working hard to get my story down in full before it starts slipping away, before I start losing momentum. With my other work-in-progress, I dragged it out, allowing doubt to seep in.

The other part of it was my planning. While I’ve deviated from the outline in some aspects, the general outline has not changed. I know where my story is going and how to get there. I think this is key.

How are you doing with the NaNoWriMo challenge? Are you on track? What’s working for you and what isn’t? And, if you haven’t donated to NaNo this year, what are you waiting for?

Nov 12

I have a confession to make. I love sci-fi. This is something I do not often admit. An interest in sci-fi is not exactly the coolest thing. Despite the resurgence of Dr. Who and and the success of Avatar, sci-fi has maintained it’s stigma. So I’m sure you can imagine my excitement when I stumbled upon Pittacus Lore’s I am Number Four, a YA sci-fi book that has reached enough popularity to earn it movie status.

I am Number Four takes place on Earth, but revolves around an Alien from Lorien, known to his people as Number Four but known to Earthlings as John. After his planet was attacked, John fled with nine other children to Earth. A spell was placed on the Lorien children making it so that they could only be killed in order, Number 1 first, 2 second, etc. The race that destroyed their planet is hunting them, and it’s Number Four’s turn to run.

The book has all the things you would expect from a YA book – coming of age, not fitting in, struggle over a first love – but it adds the extra element of aliens, a refreshing change from vampires, werewolves, and wizards (not that there is anything wrong with those). All in all I found the book to be exciting (I read it in one sitting). The story was engaging, the unraveling of the back plot was nicely done and the characters were interesting. Some of the action scenes at the end dragged on a bit and became confusing, but all in all my only real complaint is that I have to wait until next summer for the next book in the series, The Power of Six, which, you guessed it, will no be about Number 6.

Nov 10

Yesterday morning I was heading to work on the T (the subway, for all you non-Bostonians), reading the Metro and I saw a story about Jeff Kinney. I am sure you can imagine my surprise and joy. To see a writer of kids’ books featured in the subway paper that usually displays stories about corrupt politicians, murders, and the Boston Red Sox made me feel like kidlit is truly on the rise.

The story was not long, but what it lacked in stature, it made up for in impact. The article looked at Jeff Kinney’s career, at the struggles he had trying to make it as an illustrator. It also looked at the struggles he still has. And I found it inspiring.

Jeff Kinney did what many author’s today are doing. He turned to electronic media, in his case a website, to pave his way, to create his own audience. And it paid off.

But what I also liked was that Jeff Kinney admitted that writing is hard. So often I hear stories of the writers who can complete a book in a few months. While this is encouraging, it can also become frustrating since I’m not yet at that level. To read that it takes him 9 months and that he doesn’t always find it easy to come up with his jokes was refreshing.

As an author, how are you paving your way? Do you have any special tricks? If you’re still trying to find your way, try checking out this article, 17 Ways for Writers to Publish their Content for some ideas. And which do you find more inspiring: authors who can crank out content or authors who are a bit slower?

Nov 07

One thing that has been bothering me while trying to redesign my site is audience. Who is my site intended for? Future fans? Other writers? Agents and Publishers?

The Elements of Web Design

In designing a site, there are two things you need to consider: function and audience. We covered function in the last post, but here’s a recap since it’s been a while. The point/function of the site is to create an online presence that should be professional while also showing my personality as a writer. Ideally it will be something I can build off of once I am a published writer.
So what about audience? Since the main feature of my site right now is my blog, that would suggest that my main audience is other writers and maybe (one can hope) agents and publishers. But I don’t want to design a site that will become obsolete once I have something ready to submit and then ready to publish. So I would like to create a site that is also accessible to agents, publishers, and future fans.

Mock-ups: The Building Block of a Successful Design

In thinking about the audience, I have come up with some mock-ups, or sample designs. To create these, I used Photoshop and made a sample web page. The purpose of a mock-up is to provide a sense of what the site would look like – how the colors and images and layout will all work together. Creating a mock-up saves time and gives you samples to run by other people. In this case, I decided to share my mock-ups with my current audience (yes, that would be you) and see what you think. Let me know which is your favorite or if you hate them all. If you do hate them all or if something bothers you about any of them, please let me know. I won’t be offended and you will reap the benefits by getting to visiting a site that is aesthetically pleasing.

Mock-up 1

This Mock-up uses the blog as the home page. The stars and font add a playful, whimsical element to the website.

Mock-up 2

The second Mock-up aims for a more professional, but still fun feel. The colors are a bit more serious and the graphics are a bit more mature.

Mock-up 3

The final mock-up uses a true Home page. I haven't decided if the boxes will contain text excerpts from the pages or graphics or a combination.

And here's an example of the blog. The other pages would incorporate the color from their home page blocks.

Nov 04

I often hear writers say that you should allow your character to surprise you, or let your characters think for themselves. When I was first starting out, I had no clue what this meant. I remember thinking ‘how is a fictional character that lives inside my head going to surprise me?’

Little Surprises Lead to Realistic Characters

And then it happened. At first it started with little things. A character choosing to go left instead of right, or saying no instead of yes, things that helped move the story along while also sharing something about how the character thinks. And then it moved on to bigger things, like a character ending up in a room he most definitely did not belong in, making an appearance when, in fact, he was supposed to remain unseen until the very end. Tuesday, it went so far as a character creating an entire back story for another character through a memory she had that I never intended her to have. She created a connection different but better than the one I planned. So how does this happen?

Character Surprises are a Good Thing

When you are engrossed in your writing, things fall into place. You get in the zone and the story makes sense. Things you forgot to plan out beforehand jump out at you and they just happen. And this is a good thing. It helps your characters become real. No human is 1-dimensional. These surprises help move your character from 1-D to 3-D; they help make that character real.

Example:

Yesterday I discovered that my character has a fear of blood. Here’s what happened. I decided that the best way to create a sinister environment was to add in the scent of blood. This smell then triggered a memory in the MC and through that memory, I discovered that she has really bad associations with blood, having seen a man killed when she was only 6. Not only does this provide insight into both the character’s past and the nature of her world, but it also makes her a little vulnerable. People like characters that are a little vulnerable.

I’m sure there are many experienced writers who plan things out down to those tiny details before ever starting chapter 1. I’m not yet at that level. But if my characters keep speaking to me, keep throwing out little surprises, that’s OK with me. After all, doesn’t everyone love a good surprise?

Do your characters surprise you? Are there downfalls to this? Do you think this goes away when you become a more experienced writer?

For more on character’s thinking for themselves, check out this post from YA Highway

Nov 02

My original plan for today’s post was to continue with my website redesign series. But I’ve decided to push that off until later in the week. Instead, I’m going to continue writing about NaNoWriMo.

And so it begins

As many of you know, National Novel Writing Month is officially upon us. In celebration, I took the day off from work. In my humble opinion, it really should be a national holiday, but so far I have been unable to convince any of the higher ups.

I’ve got to say, taking the day off was a great idea. And no, it wasn’t great because I didn’t have to go to work or because I was able to stay in my PJs all day and sleep in until 8 (I’m usually up at 6, so 8 is a big deal). Naturally those things contributed to the greatness of today, but the true greatness stems from what NaNoWriMo taught me about myself.

Failures of Years Past

This is my 4th year participating. The first year I jumped into a brilliant story idea only to change my mind 50 pages in. I then threw myself into the next brilliant idea, writing an additional 50 pages. Only to realize that the execution was far from brilliant. In short, I failed.

Year 2 I decided to use NaNo to push myself to finish my book, which was my story from year 1 fully resuscitated and fixed up through the help of tons of plastic surgery and duct tape. Again, I failed.

Year 3 I may as well not have participated. Not only was I extremely ill, but I attended a wedding in Thailand halfway through November. Needless to say I didn’t even come close to completing the challenge.

NaNoWriMo – Finding Your Zen

This year, my 4th year, is the first year I have gone into NaNo with a solid plan. And today I saw the benefit of this. Because I was not distracted trying to think up a plan on the fly, I was able to really focus on the writing. I also learned some things about myself.

1. NaNoWriMo teaches discipline

Ok, in a perfect world we could teach ourselves discipline. But NaNoWriMo gives that finally push to those of us struggling with the whole discipline thing. Through the act of participating in NaNo, I am able to see that I can be a disciplined writer. I can sit at my computer and write on command. I can reach daily word goals. Today, I saw that discipline in action and it was the most productive I’ve felt in a long time.

2. NaNoWriMo reinforces a schedule

Since finishing school, I’ve found it difficult to properly organize my personal life. I spend all day at work organizing my time. By the time I get home, I’m exhausted. I don’t want to think about the order. NaNo reminds us that order is not so hard to achieve, if you are willing to let it happen.

Today, I was willing to let it happen. Before getting out of bed, I had a plan. I decided I would reach 5,000 words by lunchtime. Then I would do the many other things on my list, like going to the gym, updating my blog, cleaning the house, etc. Once those things were done, I could sit down and write some more.

Because I had a set plan, I was not trying to do a million things at once. I knew I had to reach my word count for the day or I would not do the other things I needed to do. And you know what? Not only did I accomplish everything on my list, but I finished ahead of schedule.

3. NaNoWriMo stretches my limits and shows me what’s possible

Following along the same lines as the previous point, by focusing, I was able to get a really good sense of how much content I can produce in a set amount of time, and I don’t think the quality suffered more than it suffers in any first draft. Seeing how easy it is to write 5,000 words in 1 day gives me renewed hope in my ability to actually complete a project. The massive rewrite I’m undertaking with my original WIP (yes, I am currently working on 2 projects) has been disheartening to say the least. Now that I see how much I can produce in a day, I feel like it is possible to finish project 1 and all future projects. I stretched my limits today, at it feels great.

And the Conclusion is…

So what is the point of this extremely long post? I’m not saying every writer should participate in NaNo. But if you are like me and having problems figuring out the time management, discipline, reaching your full potential etc. craziness that is all part of being a successful writer, especially one working a full-time job on top of writing, maybe you should think about participating. It’s not too late to sign up.

Oct 31

I realize tonight is Halloween and you probably have better things to do then to be worrying about tomorrow. But there are some things you can and should prepare before running out to the parties and the trick-or-treating sugar rush that is Halloween.

My NaNoWriMo Checklist

To ensure that you are ready for this year’s NaNoWriMo, make sure you have the following:

Tons of coffee or tea, waiting to be brewed. I personally go for the tea. I like to be relaxed when I write. But I know for many people, NaNoWriMo equals zero energy, and they need every ounce of liquid caffeine they can get
Along the same lines, a favorite tea cup/coffee mug. If you have been wanting a new one, NaNoWriMo is the perfect excuse to get one.
A plot. Even if you haven’t created an outline or character sketches or anything like that, before you go to bed tonight, you should know what you are going to write about. Even if all you have is a plot to steal the world’s light bulbs and the main character learns about it and goes out to save the day, despite his phobia of light bulbs, that’s good enough. You have the general plot and a little bit of information about your character. So long as you have something to draw from, you’re good to go. If you don’t have something to draw from, get cracking. You have precious few hours to come up with an idea.
A NaNoWriMo account. This should seem obvious, but if you haven’t registered, go ahead and do that today. No sense wasting time tomorrow with creating a profile and uploading a picture and writing a story summary and etc. etc. To sign up, just follow this link.
Some NaNoWriMo buddies. Ok, this isn’t necessary, but it makes you feel better going into the competition with other writing mates. It’s really easy to get buddies. You can add me (dragonfly83) or you can search for people in your area/genre/etc. Then you just select the “add as buddy” link below the person’s avatar and congratulations, you’ve got a buddy.
A good music play list. If you like to listen to music while you write, set up your play list now. It will save some serious procrastination time later. And if you need some inspiration about what to include, check out the NaNo Soundtrack forum.
Snacks – nothing ruins a productive writing session like having to run out to the grocery store.
Better yet, the number and menu for a variety of take-out restaurants
Comfortable clothing – I enjoy writing in warm socks, comfy yoga pants/sweats, tanks tops and sweatshirts. If your writing clothes are dirty, wash them before tomorrow
And finally, confidence – confidence in your writing and in yourself. Even if your idea seems like it’s getting crazy or stupid, just go with it. NaNoWriMo should be about having fun while doing something you love. Your first draft doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t even have to be good. You have the months after November to bring it to that level.

Do you have anything else to add? What goes into your ideal writing environment? How do you prepare for NaNoWriMo?

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Page 12

Book Review Friday: The Summoning

November Roundup

eReaders and eBooks – How do you really feel about them?

NaNoWriMo has reached the half way point – where do you stand?