Monday, May 20, 2013

Hijacking the Blog

We have an interesting assignment for class! One that involves a blog!

Basically, we have to select a book that is about a historical event between 1960-present day and blog about it as we read. A lot of people will be making blogs for the first time--isn't that exciting?

But since book reviewing *is* technically something that I have listed as a topic of this blog (wayyy back in the first post), I figured I'd hijack it for the next 3 weeks to do my book reviews. So if you like to read my posts because they are about writing, then I'm sorry :( But if you are up for some spazzing as I read (actually, I'll probably be pretty sane because my teacher will be reading these posts) then by all means, hop on for the ride! Comment! Discuss! I'll reply! I read just as much as a write and though I mostly swim in fiction, I do dabble a little here and there in the nonfiction waters.

As for what I'm going to read, I have my eyes set on something about the Vietnam War right now. I've just finished THE THINGS THEY CARRIED by Tim O'brien, which is a beautifully written blend of fact and fiction about the Vietnam War, so I guess you could say I've had my dose of the subject, but now I'm fascinated!

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Alpha Readers

The term BETA READER is tossed around a lot in the writing world because beta readers are crucial to bettering your novel. They're the people who you send you novel to after you have finished it and more or less mopped up the casualties boo-boo's in your writing. Granted, boo-boo's you never even thought possible are going to be unearthed by the wonderful eyes of these super-humans, but that's the point, right?

I, however, find another kind of reader extremely helpful to my writing process, and that is the ALPHA READER. These are the medics in the battlefield who watch the chaos unfold firsthand. Usually, they'll be reading as you write. For example, I had a group of 2-3 alpha readers who braved through INGENICIDE chapter by chapter as it emerged. There was a lot of cringing. And moaning. But there were also some parts of the story that were good enough to make it to the version of the MS I have today (v6!) and we discovered them together and had our little parties on the googledoc.

Alpha readers are great for a whole list of reasons, but I'll give you the two that make them especially dear to me:

1. They hold you accountable.
  (AKA I bug them incessantly with READ READ READ READ!)
No, really. When I found myself with writer's block, I reminded myself that no matter what, I had to get my chapter out there! So I could send out a fancy notification email to all my lovely alphas! With a oh-so compelling quote! Like this:

NEW!Ingenicide   Chapter 10- COLOR OF POISON

"I try to rationalize, make list of parts of me that I can cope without. But when I’ve taken all of me for granted for so long, any relinquishment feeds a black cloud of doubts. I need my sight. I need my hands, my feet. I need my brain to work."

See? I was really into it :D 

2. They catch problems early on.
Some problems you should not get hung up on as you are writing because they make you stuck in a rut. Those are the problems that you go back to at the end. Surface wounds. On the other hand, some problems are like infection. The might start small but then they start working their way into the core of the story. Usually, these are the problems that, if left untended, cause the major rewrite. While it is not guaranteed that a manuscript won't have to undergo a rewrite, alpha readers do lessen the chances. Reading along, they'll point out the most glaring of problems as you go, even catch the occasional typo and inconsistency that won't hurt to fix as long as you don't become obsessive about it. Ultimately, your first draft will be cleaner (though that doesn't mean you won't still have work to do!) if it passes through the eyes of the alpha reader.

Thank you and much love to my aplhies if you are reading this. 

I'm actually in need of alpha readers for my next project, IF LIFE WERE FAIR (click on the link for the description--at the bottom of the post). Comment with your email OR email me at joanart6 AT gmail DOT com if you are interested! Thanks a bunch!

Do you use alpha readers in addition to beta readers?  
 


Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Nibbles for Thought: Dreams

Guess what? A bunch of Real Life stuff has finally passed and now I have a lot more time on my hands (though it never seems quite enough) to do the things that make me happy. Such as this kind of happy:


So as you probably know, last week was the big release of the movie to one of my ALL-TIME FAVORITE (caps and italics!) books. My friends and I tried to be organize (pfft) something so that we could all go see it together, but of course that didn't end up working out because no one believed me that it would be sold out (!!!) and so obviously it sold out. Only another friend had reserved a ticket so it ended up just being the two of us. BUT THAT'S OKAY. We made up with spirit. I did my nails in the theme colors and we wore pearls and she wore a feather headband.

Can you guess?


Needless to say, The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan was nothing short of amazing. I don't give a hoot about what the critics say. All the stuff about how Nick Carraway's narration was annoying/ruined the movie? I honestly think it was intentional. After all, if you've ever done some analysis of GG in your high school English class then you'll know that Nick is an unreliable narrator and a hypocrite and a wimp (I love him for all those things) and the only way that the movie could have stayed accurate to the books (and you bet it did!) was to somehow translate his narration to screen.

But see, my favorite character in GG is not Nick. And you might ask how can you have a favorite character at all? So what if none of the GG characters are sympathetic and are all, to some degree, villains and hypocrites and scoundrels and cheaters and plain despicable (I'm looking at you, Daisy Buchanan)? I find it funny that people stress that a character must be Relatable or Admirable. Firstly, I don't agree. Secondly, even if I did, how come so many Relatable characters are so good (and I don't mean Mary-Sue good but good as it they have a great trait, be it compassion or courage or determination or selflessness or humor or wit, etc.)? Not to bash on humans or anything, but if the world was filled with the protagonists of books, then I think it'd generally (and of course there's the occasional anti-hero protagonist but even then they more than redeem themselves in some way) be a better place.**

**I'll do a post on this in the future.

So who's my favorite character? None other than Jay Gatsby himself!

Some call Gatsby deplorable. Some call him pitiful. I agree that he's all of those things. I mean, he only forced Daisy to tell Tom that she never loved him but also bootlegged a bit here and there and only tried to collect Daisy as some kind of doll to show that he could control the past. He also thew some wickedly extravagant and wasteful parties, but that's beside the point.

Whenever I read the GG, however, I can't get hung up on Gatsby's flaws. Even if I try, I can't. Conversely, I did go through a period of time in Real Life when I thought some of my acquaintances were being hypocrites and gossips and braggarts. I'm semi-decent at going along with the flow and putting up a good face, but I did get upset on the inside about all their not-so-decent traits. And let me tell you that is not fun. It gets so tiring after a while, like you're acting as an arbiter on a case that nobody cares about. Turning a blind eye and letting things go is truly a skill because in the end, their flaws are their flaws and there's no one to judge them but time.

The reason why I like Gatsby so much is that he essentially built something grand out of nothing. And maybe he didn't quite use the right means to get there (and you should probably not live by his philosophy of cutting corners). But he had a goal--to win the woman he loved--and he did everything he could to reach that goal. For a while, he did. Then Daisy had to Daisy, and that was it.

There's something to achingly painful about Gatsby's dream, because most of us know that it's never going to turn out right for him, not in the book and not in the movie. It makes it all the worse when you realize he worked so much for it, when you realize that for years, his life revolved around it. But there's something something beautiful about it that makes me hold my breath for him when he first sees Daisy after five years, makes me root for him to the very end. I'm even rooting for him at his funeral. God, I hate the funeral scene. It's so cruel. It's the best scene and the worst scene. Worst scene because it's so empty. It's the best because it beautifully portrays one of the themes of GG.

When you have a dream as strong as Gatsby's, it does get to the point of painful. Nights ago, while I was lying in bed, I thought about my distant dream--wait for it--of being published. Not really original, right? I know, but I can't help it. And I could see it so clearly, but I also couldn't. I could feel on walking on my teeth, but then I could hardly imagine it. It was a good sort of pain and a bad sort of pain. Dreams breathe meaning onto your life, but at the same time you can't help wondering if they're leading you in the wrong direction. Because having a dream is like falling in love. You don't think that objectively about something when you want it so badly.

Dreams are frightening. Part of the reason why Gatsby is called pitiful is because it he was so blinded to him dream that he was unable to see the true toll of time on love.

No one wants to be called pitiful.

But in my mind, The Great Gatsby is still such a beautiful story because of Gatsby's dream. So, if I fail, at least I'll have made a story for myself :D

What are your thoughts on dreams that seem so far away? Who's your favorite character from The Great Gatsby? Have you seen the movie yet? What do you think?

Monday, May 13, 2013

Time to Start a New Novel

Due to exams and awful, brain-draining hazards of the like, I've had this post sitting around and it's long overdue because I've already decided on the new idea I want to work on while I wait on query replies for INGENICIDE. But since I have a breather from studying and this blog has been a bit barren for some time, I'll post it anyway. All mentioned ideas will be added to the WIP page...sooner or later :)

It's pretty unbelievable that INGENICIDE, MS #2, is finally at the stage when I can sit back, stare at the computer screen, and think hey, I think it's almost there***. I have to underscore the ALMOST because there's no question that it could go through the ring of fire again is someone pointed out a specific area to fix. But it is almost perfect as in it's time to stop fussing over it and shifting clauses and commas around. Even if there is a larger problem, my eyes have tired after the 3rd pass. I have to reconcile that it will never be perfect. At this stage, this is about as good as it will be. I've been dipping my toes into the query waters for the past two weeks now, but it is time to toss this MS into the ocean.

Hopefully, it'll swim.

***Just got edits back from my CPs. More suggestions on making it better have been gushed over and piled into a to-do list. 

Meanwhile, it's that time again when I go back to my list of SHINY IDEAS. The list has been growing, and now I'm worried that I might not be able to write all these books, these books and their sequels and their trilogies. So I'll have to pick favorites. So hard.

A great resource that I've found for picking between shiny ideas is this blog post: How Do You Decide Which Story to Write? I'm just going to bullet the main points (you can read the article in detail if you go to the link).

Stars if your idea is a story that:
  • You want to write
  • Fits the market
  • Is ready to be written
  • Appeals to others
  • Challenges you
Remember that this list should probably be used at the last deciding factor. If you have two ideas that you are equally eager to write, then maybe think about market. Guessing the "next big trend" is no easy feat. However, picking out the dying trends can be just as helpful. I know it's a gross generalization but let me grossly generalize anyway just to give an example: the paranormal and dystopian markets for YA are pretty saturated. Meaning--at least for the time being--it's going to be more difficult to sell in those markets. My own MS is a light dystopian because I love writing in that genre and you should never let anything get in the way of the things that make you all jumpy and shivery as a writer. And OF COURSE there are always exceptions. Heck, there are exceptions with the tried and true formulas of great reads! Market is just something to keep conscious of in the back of your mind.

Here are the ideas I have been considering:

1. THE SERENDIPITY LABS
Genre: YA Speculative/Myth Retelling (inspired by the Fates and Pandora's Box)
Setting: Alternate Universe

In a single day, seventeen-year-old Natalie Laenus learns what it means to be blind.


As the prison keeper’s daughter, shy and obedient Natalie is no stranger to the eccentricities of the inmates. But when one tosses hydrochloric acid into her face, even her apathetic parents enter a state of shock. Just when Natalie has resigned to a life of darkness, a stranger appears in her hospital room, reassuring her that the accident was a technical glitch. He makes only one request: forget that it ever happened.

When the third degree burns vanish, no one seems to remember the tragedy—except for Natalie. Torn between the desire to meet her savior and to heed his warning, she decides to put the incident in the past.

But one person, a new convict called Jasper, can see what her parents cannot: the touch of interference from the Serendipity Labs, a perpendicular world that exercises prevention and damage control over luck and mischance. He asks Natalie to free him. In exchange, he will help her find the stranger.

Before long, Jasper sucks Natalie into his twisted little games. His motivations for aiding her are murky, his morals questionable, and Natalie is hesitant to trust him. But the faceless stranger haunts her dreams. The past will not go gently. And perhaps there is a dangerous thrill to Jasper’s reckless intensity. 

But the most dangerous force of all lies within her. The force of curiosity.

2. MUST THINK OF TITLE
Genre: YA Historical Fiction (a dearth in this genre, I say!)
Setting: 1900

Please excuse my absence. My plot has been sucked into a black hole and must be retrieved.

3. IF LIFE WERE FAIR ***
Genre: upper YA/NA Contemporary
Setting: Modern day

Bernadette: Binge eater taking a gap year. Has never held a job longer than a week.
Luke: Waiting tables to send money to his “white trash” family.


Her mother’s ultimatum for smart-mouthed eighteen year old Bernadette Lisle? Get a job or lose the credit card. Having surrendered to her eating disorder, Bernadette knows she has to hang onto the money. That doesn’t mean she has to love her new job at the fancy French bistro downtown, where everything’s a melodramatic nightmare. But slowly, Bernadette comes to love her fellow waiters and waitresses. And there’s Luke, that assistant chef who wants to write stories for a living. He’s kind of cute, but he’s got way too many chips on his shoulder. Bernadette used to care, too. Now, she can’t stand to be reminded of the life she ditched.


But when Luke suddenly comes down with a weird bug, Bernadette must confront what it actually means to live--for his sake. It’s not just about existing from day to day, shoving her face and then running off the calories. If life were fair, Bernadette knows that she should have been the perfect candidate for stomach cancer. Not Luke.



***This is the project that I'm currently tackling!



I'd love it if you shared which one you find most compelling :D