fav books Aug '12

Hi hotshot,

I was thinking, earlier (as dangerous as that sounds). What author has ever gotten anywhere without reading? Save for the first person to ever invent a code of gibberish and write, very few. Reading good books made me want to be able to write good books. Simple.

So here's a list of some of my FAVORITE books!


In no particular order, here's Blood Red Road, by Moira Young.

This book is a shock- it's well written, while having the worst consistent spelling ever. The bad spelling, however, is on purpose, because it's written from the heroine's heavily accented point of view.  The story follows Saba, a girl living in the Dust Lands, and her quest to find her twin brother Lugh. A thoroughly enjoyable dystopian, and I can't wait for it's sequel to come out. Let's hope it doesn't suck, because that would be a real let-down. Moira Young has a winner on her hands here, people.

And, always,

Divergent by Veronica Roth. Another dystopia. Another genuinely kick-ass heroine. Must read. Its sequel, Insurgent, was good, but the heroine (Tris) is not quite as awesome as before. I'm curious to see what the final book in the trilogy will be called. Convergent, anyone? 

And what's a favorite book list without a talking skeleton detective? That's right, ladies and gentlemen. Skulduggery Pleasant at your service.

This book is sarcastic. And funny. So, so funny in all the right ways. The main character (apart from Skul) is the indescribable Stephanie Edgley. The series starts to get full of inself as Derek Landy writes more of them, but this is a perfect read for a rainy or sunny or weathersome day.

And vampires. I have to include vampires somewhere. How about suburban vampires?

A totally messed up family. The plot moves along at a nice pace, and there is a noticeable lack of sparkling. I really like Matt Haig's style of writing- blunt and sweet and to the point. I have made a note here to read more of his books.

NB: Read more of this guy's stuff.

Legit.

For those who have not met Terry Pratchett yet, I suggest either

The Last Continent

or

Hogfather

They are both gems that show how good he is at poking fun out of almost literally everything in his own book.

There is also the hilarious Beauty Queens, which is one of the nicest surprises I've had all year. I don't know why it's so surprising when I find a good book, but it is.

semi-dystopia. Strange, to say the least, and is now firmly imprinted on my mind as a very, very good piece of literature.

I think I'll leave it at seven books, for now, because seven is a good ol' number. 

The flash of grave robbers

Hi, hotshot

I had an idea for a story today. That's really, really good. There's nothing that makes a day good quite as fast as getting an idea. They don't have a particular source. It's like reaching your hands out blindly. Often you just catch trash and nothings, but sometimes-

The title would be "The Teenage Grave Robber".

I wrote it on the envelope that held my passport photos. I had to renew my US passport, and that was the only paper I had available. Thank goodness I had paper. Usually I have to write on my hand.

Moving swiftly on, this is what flashed through my head:

First off, let's get something straight.

I am not a thief.

Dead people don't care if they're not wearing a watch anymore, missing limbs- because they're dead.

I've never stolen a damn thing in my life.

Did you expect something longer? Don't. Four sentences is more than enough. It's a flash, after all.

NB ASAP

Hi, hotshot

I am very, very silly. Because I have forgotten one very important factor to my status as writer- I AM YOUNG. And there are numerous competitions, especially and conveniently in London, to enter stories and poems into. So I'd better start searching, right? I'm so SILLY.

I should have thought of this before, considering I've entered one such competition before. Only once, but still. The Cecil Day-Lewis competition for young people. I won a certificate for the story I entered there, which I was very pleased about. Let's see if I can win something again- and maybe come a step closer to a published tome. Alright, not a tome, but something...tangible.

Something real, instead of so many half-twiddled with ideas saved into countless Word documents. This is a short post, and I'm sorry, but that's because this isn't a rant or preach-thing. This is a goal-setter. I will find a competition...

:D

"Where do you get your inspiration from?" and ensuing sarcasm.

Hi hotshot,

Disclaimer: I have nothing against Americans, being one myself, and I'm sorry I don't know the anthem of Zimbabwe or even if it has one.

Someone, someday, will ask me this.

Fact is, no one knows except "my brain and the world around me."

THERE IS NO POINT IN THAT QUESTION. Yet people ask it to authors so often. And I will hopefully become a published one, so...

So, my answer will be the following:

"In the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, under the waves, there is a secret castle only Authors can find. In the heart of it, you must sing the macarena backwards and yodel the national anthem of Zimbabwe, after which a secret portal in the floor opens. In this portal there is a floating goblet filled with neon green gloop. You drink from this magic goblet, and when you come back home, you vomit out your book. Now guess where major motion pictures come from. I'll give you a clue; it's not the vomit."

If I'm feeling really, really sarcastic I'll add:

"When Authors get sick, they don't throw up normal vomit. They throw up sonnets and poems and descriptions. Remember that the next time you're admiring Poe's work. He had to get 'flu for that. Appreciate it."

I'm just so worried Americans would take me seriously.

Punch and virtue.

Hi, hotshots

Something I have to remind myself-

writing is not about punch, punch, punch. That leaves the reader dazed and confused (just like a real set of punches would do). It's not pleasant to read.
Writing is where you show what leads to the punch, and what the punch causes.
Anticipation seems to play a big part in it. Make the reader a masochist, in a sense. Make them want a punch, crave it, but don't let them get bored.
Get the reader on your side!

What's the fun of a book where all that happens is big crashing scenes where noting is explained and its all action and no reflection? The reader needs to care. Give the person being punched an identity.

Like...Lolly Andersen, for example, could be a name you use. Give her a personality, faults galore, and give her one virtue that means your reader will always side with her.

I wrote a short story which was never finished about a character called Cal. He was angry all the time, violent, blunt and extremely temperamental. I made him the epitome of teenage rage, sarcasm and all. But that means he was never basically never sorry for himself. He didn't whinge. I gave him a solid backbone and for that I love him.

Your character can be as flawed as you wish. He can be like Cal. A total, utter screw-up. It doesn't matter so long as s/he is interesting to read about.

That's my theory, anyway.

So:

1) No punching the reader without an explanation or context. Give them time to breath in between the blows.
2) Your characters are not there to be perfect. Perfect characters will never win your reader's heart simply because your reader is not perfect.

The writer rambling.

Hi, hotshots

I try to find INSPIRATION by reading. Not to philander, but because the funny thing is, whenever I go into a bookstore I feel like I can write. Because all these other authors have done it, why can't I? Likewise, reading has a more diluted effect of that. I feel like I can make something just as good, all of my own. Maybe that's silly or naïve, but it helps on days when inspiration and lady muse are off having a tea party without me. New experiences trigger my inspiration, as do reading newspaper articles, sketching, listening to music and riding my bicycle around. Never from movies, though. I guess because it's a different medium..? Eh. I like to write about people with flaws, or with terrible pasts that almost literally cripple them. I don't like writing Mary-Sues (I find it boring and emotionless), nor do I like people who are perfectly okay and get tossed into a world they don't know. I wan m main character suffering. But never self-pitying or self-loathing- that removes the rawness of it. Does it make me a sadist? I don't think so. I just love the rush of writing emotions into things. Pure and primal, emotions. They're all I love books for, the way you can translate human states of being into ink on paper. Miraculous, no? I write in both firs and third person. Firs person is useful because the reader is plunged into the Character's skin with no effort; they're in the scene immidiatley. But third person has its perks, too. It has more detail, and can have multiple points of view easily to round off a story. My worst habit is not finishing stories. My best is conveying emotion. I want to be a writer. And there, that's one point- I. Want. to be a writer. Not "would like". "Would like" never got a story written. You have to want it, have it in your head, do at least one thing a day to bring you closer to that goal. Determination, goddamn it.

failPod

Hi, hotshots

Reasons why I want a new iPod to replace my current one:

(in nice clear format, in order of irritation levels caused with 1 being quite mild, and 5... well.)



1. The new iPod looks cooler. Except for the iPod Touch, I don;'t know why but it irritates me. It's trying to be an iPhone, it's not quite as good as an iPhone. It's an iPhone that doesn't make calls. What? What's the point?

2. I called it 'Titanic', 'Matchbox Mansion', and 'Spindler', just to watch them sync (sink, get it? Yeah...). The first is a clear reference, the other two were boats I made out of conker shells, leaves and twigs when I was living by a canal. This isn't really a reason, but I think syncing it as the Titanic might have been a bad omen from the start.
It is now called failPod.

3. It's stuck in a language I don't understand or recognize. With words like ""hubda"". This is slightly embarrassing. And I need to keep explaining that I am not bilingual. I'm just good at ruining technology. It refuses to revert to English, no matter how much I beg, and is probably sulking at me for reason 4.

4. I try putting new songs onto it and it panics, the bastard totally loses it. This is because my iPod is old hipster generation, and it has the same memory capacity as a squirrel trying to remember where it left last season's nuts.

4 1/2. It genuinely does forgets songs. What kind of iPod is this?! 

4 1/4. Seriously. It holds maybe half a song at a time. Slight exaggeration. 

5. My iPod randomly switches itself off, and refuses to come back to life without overnight charging. My laziness is now proved to be contagious. 

Good riddance.