I'm still somewhat leading an "unplugged" status, but I noticed something interesting over the weekend that I had to share. My oldest son advised me quite some time ago to check out this Xbox game called Alan Wake. Saturday morning I found myself up fairly early and though I should have been writing (I know), I decided to see what was so interesting. Also, I was still coughing every few moments, and trying to maintain intelligent thought for writing just wasn't really possible anyway. That's one thing I have to say I hate about colds. I don't sleep well, I have medicine head all the time, and I feel like I'm surrounded by a plague cloud of germs. Not one of my better moments, but I digress.
If you haven't played this game and are thinking about it, you may want to skip what I'm going to say. Some of it includes spoilers of a sort. You've been warned.
Alan Wake is a mystery/horror/action game told from a really interesting perspective. Alan is a successful horror writer who hasn't been able to write for two years or so. Everyone around him seems bent on getting him back in the saddle (from his agent to the woman he loves), and it just seems to really piss him off. After storming out of the cabin they've rented, he stands around outside being mad. Screams from his lady however, compel him to run back to the cabin and see what's going on. Then the world slips sideways a bit.
He loses a week of time and is suddenly being attacked by what appears to be smoky creations from his own (not yet written) book. The world around him is a dark night, and only the power of lights (i.e. flashlights, streetlights, any light) seem to banish these things.
The interesting thing is how well the story is told. It unfolds almost like a television episode, narrated in past tense by Alan himself. As you wander through, there are references to Stephen King and The Shining (among others). You can also pick up pages of his future book and read them. Here's where it got really interesting for me. I found myself reading the words and noticing things I would have done differently (such as the use of adverbs, telling instead of showing, etc). There weren't a lot, mind you. But I laughed at myself because it was so cool just being aware of the writing, even while I was caught up in the story.
I didn't play very long, but sometime when I have more time (and have already done my homework, my daily writing, and don't have to work LOL) I'd like to continue it to see where the story goes.
Then last night I found myself in another similar situation. I picked up Across The Universe sitting on my nightstand and I began reading it again, this time really taking a look at how Beth did such a marvelous job with the writing. How did she get the characters to be so vivid? What about all this background and cultural information? How did she include it without it being overbearing? It was really fun re-immersing myself in the story again, but with different eyes. Someday maybe I'll be able to just see it automatically as I read, but I'm not sure. Is that possible?
I'd love to hear from you more experienced authors. Do you see the writing as you read or do you have to multiple read-throughs?
Given my current bout of sickness, I have chosen to postpone my test for a week (which thankfully I can do). I'm still going to be unplugged after this post however, just so I can concentrate on getting better. Since I was late with the last blog chain entry though, I figured I'd better get this one done on time.
Today's question comes from the awesome and talented Shaun Hutchinson, who asks:
Who is your favorite literary couple and why?
Thanks alot, Shaun. Like I really needed something this challenging to think about. Seriously though, I really didn't know how to answer this one. On the one hand, I generally don't pay too much attention (at least consciously) to the romance between two characters in a story. I can be as romantic as the next guy, but when I'm reading a story, I tend to unconsciously ignore this stuff so I can get to the action. You will definitely never find me reading one of those trashy romance novels where they talk about how quick the woman's breathing gets as the guy enters the room or how they look as they tumble through the sheets. No offense to those who like that stuff, but it's definitely not for me.
The best answer I can come up with for this is a couple I read about not too long ago. Slight spoiler alert for those who haven't read this book yet. They are Henry and Keiko from Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet. Despite my usual habits to skim over this kind of stuff, these two kept me enthralled the whole time. For one thing, their relationship spans like 40+ years. But it is also interesting because their relationship begins when they are kids, when the earliest ideas of having a relationship with someone starts. They have to deal with falling in love with one another at a time when their worlds are in complete turmoil, and they both come from distinctly different backgrounds. Yet through all this, the love they feel for one another continues to beat even after circumstances separate them for decades.
That's the best answer I can give. Just for the record, I firmly believe V-day is a devious machination concocted by women of the world so they get us guys to buy them more stuff. Too bad a new motorcycle or lessons at the local firing range just won't do.
Stop by that super awesome Cole's blog to see how she answers this one. And tomorrow, you can look forward to a truly inspiring answer from the talented Michelle Mclean.
But tell me, how is YOUR favorite literary couple and why?
Just wanted to let everyone know I'll be unplugging until after next Monday (except for a blog chain post tomorrow). I have an extremely difficult test to study for that I will be taking next Monday morning, so keep your fingers crossed for me. From what my mentor says, hardly anyone passes it the first time.
I've also got the resurgence of that stupid cold (or just another one beating me up). I'm thinking it is probably due to stress, since I'm fairly well stressed out about this test. Oh well, I doubt it will kill me if I fail the first time. It might make me feel stupid, but it won't kill me.
I'm hoping Sandra won't hit me for posting this, but I found something really cool that I have to share. If you visit Sandra's blog today, you'll notice she's talking about the competition on Jeopardy between a computer and man. She also happened to mention that she had been on Jeopardy a while back. That prompted me to Google her and I stumbled on these awesome YouTube vids of Sandra's performance. If you thought she was amazing and incredibly intelligent before, you gotta check these out:
As you can see, she came very close to winning the game. That's a serious achievement in my book. Sandra, I hope you understand I am attempting to honor you, not poke fun :)
On another subject, although I am extremely late with this, I was supposed to put up a blog chain post a few days ago. Never let it be said that I have avoided a blog chain entry. This round's question comes from the awesome Amanda, who asks:
Are you a good social networker? What aspect of platform building do you focus on the most? Which aspects freak you out?
First off, I am not really on the social networking train at all. I don't have a Facebook page, and I don't use Twitter. In fact, this blog is really the only platform I'm currently using. There are really good reasons for that however. For me, time is precious commodity and finding even an hour to do any particular task can be daunting. Sometimes I feel like I'm related to the Hindu god Shiva. After all, I must have at least four arms to be able to juggle this many balls.
So thinking about Facebooking or Twittering (not even sure if that's the right terminology) is out of the question for me, at least at the moment. Part of me actually wonders what I'm missing, since I've never checked any of this stuff out. Probably I'm not missing too much, but who knows.
Having said all this, once I do begin to build a platform, I probably will at least put up a Facebook author page. I can see the usefulness of such a thing, and I'll be willing to work at it as part of being a serious full-time writer. I don't think any of the social networking stuff freaks me out though. It might surprise some people, but I'm fairly talkative (both in person and online). I wasn't always this way, of course. If you looked up the definition of a silent geek, you'd probably see my high school picture.
I'm not really sure about the Twitter thing though. Although my new phone has the capability, I'm not sure everyone wants to know whether I cooked eggs for breakfast or how many people cut me off in traffic this morning (nor would I likely share all that mundane stuff anyway). I guess I just don't see the appeal of it, but more power to those who do.
I believe Michelle Mclean was bowing out of this chain, so I'm the last entry. If you haven't read everyone's post on the chain, start with Amanda and work your way though them all. Everyone has had some great thoughts on the subject.
How do you deal with social networking? And does any part of it send you running scared?
There are certain things that bug me in life. Being late to an appointment. Misspellings of easy words. Mispronunciation of a language foreign to you (i.e. non-Spanish speaking people trying to "fake it"). But I think the one thing that will bug me for a long time is that I did not get the chance to meet Beth Revis.
How did this tragedy occur, you ask? It shouldn't have, right? After all my excitement, my putting up a counter to keep track of the days, you'd think nothing could keep me from runnin' on down there at the appointed time. Nothing, except for the most bone-weary, soul-sucking cold I've ever had.
On Thursday I was feeling the beginnings of it, but it seemed to be nothing more than a regular cough. By Friday morning, I was barely able to stagger out of bed. My entire body felt like it had been pounded on with a sledgehammer, and I had to go to work anyway. By the time I made it home from work on Friday, I could barely stumble over the threshold and crawl up to my bed. The rest of the weekend was not much more than a blur of sleep and more sleep. Oh, and alot of coughing and body aches.
So here I am on Monday evening, coughing now and again, feelin' bad about feelin' bad. I even missed my turn on the Blogchain, another occurrence I regret. I will put up a post tomorrow on it, but I still hate not getting it in on time. I just don't have the energy this evening, and I would rather do the post proper justice.
It's funny. I've had opportunity to meet celebrities before, but these days I'm way more excited to meet all of you. Phil Collins might be my favorite musician of all time, but I'd find it more fun to meet any of my fellow writers than get even a single autograph by good ol' Phil. Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.
Anyway, I'm sorry Beth, that I didn't get to meet you. It would have been awesome. And I'm sorry I don't have pictures and details for everyone else. Maybe I'll get the opportunity at your next book tour, Beth.
I think I had the date filed somewhere in the back of my mind, but now it's almost here and I'm back into excitement mode. C'mon, it's not every day I get to meet somebody as cool and talented as BETH REVIS (okay, so meeting Jamie Ford was this cool too). Cooler still is the fact that Beth is going to be joined by four other talented authors. That just about sends the awesomeness meter through the roof.
Dang, don't think there's enough time to go rent a Tux. Don't think the wife would understand or appreciate it anyway. Maybe I should go iron my jeans.
In any event, I know where I'm headed Friday evening. Here's hoping the snowfall and extreme cold weather we've had lately actually do go away as the forecast predicts. It was -7 this morning and I think it got up to a high of 20. Not exactly comfortable, unless of course you're a polar bear. Beth and crew, I'd advise a good warm coat and gloves.
Now I've got to get back to my homework. Hopefully I can concentrate and not think too much about how cool it will be to have Beth sign my copy of AtU!
There are times when I truly wish I had chosen another career path. As you can see from the lack of posts last week, it was a busy time for me. Between all the chaos at work and trying to finish up my class, I had absolutely no energy. Working a 17 hour day on Friday until about 11 pm didn't help much either.
Yeah, the life of a glorified Server Administrator isn't all it's cracked up to be. I know most people think we just hit a few buttons now and then before getting back to our Xbox game or something (heck, my wife mimes that very activity at me all the time when she feels like giving me crap). After all, computers are usually quite orderly. They do what they've been told to do. When things truly break however (as opposed to those things we IT guys like to call features of the software), it's rare that the problem is easy to fix. This is when us IT guys put in the extra hours, working through the night if need be to make sure Joe Schmoe can get to his email on Monday morning.
Needless to say, I didn't find much time (or energy) to say hi to everyone and put in a post or two. I actually feel a bit bad because I didn't even stop by anyone's blogs this weekend. I like to keep up on what everyone else has to say, even if some days I don't have anything to say :)
In any event, I'm performing cleanup from Friday's mess and still wondering why I chose this particular field. Maybe that's why I'm trying to become a better writer. Heck, if it weren't for the pay, I'd probably just shift gears and do it full time. Sigh...
As part of her awesome blog tour, I am honored to present the incredibly talented Michelle McLean. That's right, you'll only get to see this here on Da Muse (okay, her name is on every blogger's page on the tour as well as countless students worldwide - all of them in awe over her amazing literary skill - but let's focus here). Without further ado, take it away, Michelle.
I think one of the most important things, if not THE most important thing, for any writer is this:
Know your audience.
When I sit down to write anything, I always have a target audience in mind. If I’m working on a YA novel, I’m thinking of teenagers between the ages of about 14 and 19. When I’m working on children’s picture books, I’m usually envisioning my own kids at ages 5 and 7. When I was in school and working on an essay or paper, I had my professor and classmates in mind. And when I wrote Homework Helpers: Essays and Term Papers, I had an audience of frustrated students who had to write a paper in mind.
If you know your audience, you can gear your book or project for them. You can keep the language appropriate. Now, I’m not talking about swearing or questionable jokes or anything. I mean using the big, field-specific technical language in your papers where your professor will appreciate them and keeping your young adult novels teen-friendly by using the type of language kids use when they speak.
How popular is your YA novel going to be if you use so many huge, unreadable words that your readers have to run it through a translator just to figure out what you are saying? How popular will your adult spy thriller be if your main character is a bunny named Buttons who solves crimes with his sidekick Terry Turtle? What kind of grade are you going to get if you turn in that college-level essay peppered with phrases like “So, dude, like you should totally just listen to me cause I like tooootally get what I’m doing.”
And how much help is a frustrated, confused student going to get from a guidebook that is so overly-technical and complicated they end up more confused than when they started? Probably not much. Which is why I made sure I kept my audience in mind while writing Homework Helpers: Essays and Term Papers.
I want my readers to feel like I’m sitting right next to them, pointing out every single step of the process to them. I wrote the way I’d speak to them if I were sitting right there…non-formal, conversational, just me telling them step by step what they need to do.
No matter what you are writing, you’ve got to keep your audience in mind. I guarantee they’ll love you for it :)
Michelle McLean is a writer and the Chief Editorial Consultant for PixelMags, LLC. In addition to her non-fiction work, Michelle writes YA historical novels and other children’s books. If she's not editing, reading or chasing her kids, she can usually be found in a quiet corner working on her next book.
Homework Helpers: Essays and Term Papers is a fun, user-friendly book that guides the reader, step by step, through writing a dozen different types of essays, including the dreaded SAT essay. Using straightforward, plain English, this book shows the reader exactly what they need to do, from start to finish, and includes rough draft, edited, and final draft versions of every type of essay discussed. This book also provides chapters that include tips and instruction on researching, proofreading, and citations.
Thanks a ton Michelle. If you stop by Michelle's blog, you'll see she has allowed me to put a post there as well. You can also reach Michelle on Facebook or Twitter, and she's a contributer at Operation Awesome. You can pick up a copy of Michelle's book Essays & Term Papers at Amazon, Borders, or Barnes & Nobles. Or check your local retailer; it's a sure bet they can get you a copy.
The wife and I are planning a huge - and super secret - trip for the family coming up in June. I'll be spilling details on this later, but I wanted to relate a funny thought I had this morning. The area we're going to happens to be home to a fellow writer (same state at least), and I thought this morning how cool it would be if I could arrange to meet the writer in person. In fact, that realization excited me almost as much as the idea of the whole trip itself.
It's just really cool to think about meeting a fellow writer in person. And if you'd ask'd me about it say...5 years ago, I'd probably have been like "eh, I guess". Nowadays, I'm really psyched. I mean, I'm going to be meeting Beth Revis in a couple weeks when she swings through my area. How cool is that? If I could travel and meet you all, I'd have a perma-smile for years. Some of you however, are a little harder to get to than others (sorry Glynis LOL).
It's funny what direction life takes us and what joys we find along the way. It's also funny that I think in writer terms now. Don't get me wrong; it's really cool. But I can laugh at myself and how my thought processes have changed too. I notice that I tend to see writing mistakes (punctuation, grammar, run-on sentences) more these days as well. In fact, I just had to mention it to my boss for something he asked my opinion on. What others call nit-picky, I now call proper editing. Go figure.
I'll leave you all with some ACDC to kick off your Friday. Because after all, we writers definitely rock!
I had a really odd moment of deja vu this morning. I was dreaming about something, and then I woke up like usual, chatted sleepily to the wife, and turned off the alarm. Then I REALLY woke up, sat up in bed, and noticed I had to turn off the alarm. It was a very disorienting feeling, and only a longer warm shower was able to shake me out of it.
For those who don't know the reference to The Matrix (I imagine there's gotta be somebody who has never seen the movie), the idea is that we're not really living in the reality we perceive. In The Matrix, we're actually being controlled by machines and the reality we perceive is nothing more than a intense computer-generated world piped directly into our minds. The moments of deja vu however, occur when someone changes the Matrix. For example, the masters of the Matrix realize that one of their captured subjects is becoming aware of their prison and they alter something to push that individual back in line, so to speak. Like shaking off that feeling of a sixth sense telling you something is wrong with the world.
Don't worry, I'm not under the illusion (or delusion, depending on how you look at it) that our reality is nothing more than a fabricated computer fantasy. But when you think about that type of scenario, it really takes your mind down the rabbit hole. After all, if we were all really just asleep and the whole world was nothing but a dream, how would we know? If we've grown up with this reality as our framework, how would we be able to recognize any other type of reality? Or even imagine it in any sort of a concrete and believable manner?
To tie this in to writing and characters, this is a great opportunity for characterization. Destroying a character's reality (i.e. making them aware of the Matrix) is a great way to really get to know who and what they are. Take a sheltered princess who has never been allowed to know about any world outside of her palace (or even know that it exists), and toss her out into the real (and possibly savage) world. She will either crumple into a pile or quickly learn how to survive. And in learning how to survive, we get to see how she grows and changes. She can then become a more complete character.
When was the last time you destroyed a character's reality? Did their process of coping make it easier for you to flesh them out?
After a relaxing weekend, it's time to dive back into things with the tough question posed by the ever-challenging Christine:
What is the main character of you current WiP most afraid of and why? Don’t use a previously finished work. This is all about discovering the inner motivations of your current characters – the ones you don’t know all that well yet.
I won't kid you. This question actually scares me. Delving into the psyche of my characters is a dicey business at best. And since I don't do character profiles or character interviews or anything even remotely similar, it's a tough question for me to answer as well. But I'm not one to ever back down from a literary challenge (at least so far), so here's my best shot at it.
The main character I've chosen for this is Jeremy. I am actually in the process of fleshing Jeremy out more, so this is really helpful for that anyway. Jeremy is a 26 year old computer geek. He's getting evicted at the beginning of the story, is newly unemployed, has no real friends, has no strong emotional ties to family, and buys a cup of coffee with his last dime. Even though these problems are huge to most people, they're tiny in comparison to the fear that really plagues Jeremy. His greatest fear is being insignificant, being forgettable as a person. And he believes that he has become this very thing.
This fear is the cause of all Jeremy's problems, and it paralyzes him. He has no girlfriend because he can't hold an intelligent conversation with someone he finds attractive. He recognizes that he's almost 30 and in his mind, that's a death knell for single guys. After all, nobody wants to date an out-of-work computer geek over the age of 30, and at the beginning of the story, he has no prospects for improving things. His fear of insignificance also includes the belief that he will grow old without having had any impact on the world around him. He will die, and the world will not notice his passing. Computer geeks are not remembered for their accomplishments, he figures (Bill Gates aside, of course).
Jeremy stumbles on an ad for a job, and this catapults him into a position of unthinkable power, influence, and responsibility. He becomes nearly omnipotent, and he chooses to ignore his earlier problems. It's a band-aid for his fear however, and in time he will need to come to terms with things or risk destroying everything he holds dear.
Whew. I guess this wasn't as tough as I expected. It has been a fun exercise though, one I will probably adopt for all my MC's. Thanks Christine. If you haven't had the pleasure of reading my predecessor Michelle Hickman's answer, you need to hurry on over there. She even gives us a writing sample of her work, which is truly awesome. And tomorrow you can look forward to an answer from the totally cool Michelle Mclean (who's non-fiction book Essays & Term Papers is now available, make sure you get a copy!)
What are your main character's fears? Have you asked them?
This is just a quick note for those who don't know. The awesome and talented Erin Anderson (a.k.a. The Screaming Guppy) has landed herself an agent. That's right, she's now represented by Joanna Volpe of Nancy Coffey Literary and her book Hound In Black And Blood will soon be gracing all our bookstores. Okay, it'll take a little bit for that to happen maybe, but I'm excited for her nonetheless.
Erin (whom I affectionately call Guppster) is someone I admire a great deal. She has provided me with wisdom when I've needed it, has helped remind me just how much I have to learn, and (though she may not know it) inspires me to constantly tweak my own writing so that it will be up to par. Plus she is a Diet Coke w/ Lime drinker, so that vaults her into the stratosphere. It's about time somebody else is now giving her an avenue to get her awesome works published.
Please take a moment and stop by Erin's blog to congratulate her. She has worked incredibly hard to get here, and she deserves huge accolades. If you know of anyone else who recently got picked up by an agent, let me know and I'll give 'em a shout out too.
I had planned on putting up a writing excerpt yesterday, but unfortunately I had a really awesome idea lodge in my brain and it's been bugging me ever since. And since this is something I think I'll want to turn into a full-fledged story, I didn't want to post it. Also unfortunately, that left me no way to write anything else.
Such a thing doesn't happen to me often, where an idea just bugs me and bugs me and demands my attention. It's kind of cool, but kind of scary when I imagine what the implications are. Either I'm starting to really think like a writer or I'm losin' it big time. Let's hope it's not the latter.
On another note, if you haven't noticed I've put up a counter to keep track of just how long I have to wait until Beth Revis' tour comes to Colorado. Am I excited? You're darn tootin'. Beth is incredibly cool, she's managed to get her debut book to be #7 (so far and I won't be surprised if it climbs higher) on the New York Times Best Seller List, and she's going to be gracing us with a tour? Maybe I can ask her if it's okay for me to tattoo the Godspeed across my chest.
Kidding Beth, totally kidding. Besides, I already have Superman and the Incredible Hulk there, so it just wouldn't work.
Seriously though, yeah I'm excited. It's been so much fun learning from Beth, and it's really cool to see her book literally take off.
I'm also reading Tom Clancy's new book Dead Or Alive, and although I'm not too far in yet, the fact that Mr. Clancy hasn't put anything out for a decade seems to have put a dent in his abilities. For starters, it's not a good sign when an entire word is missing from the first line. Okay, maybe that's the editor or publisher's fault, but it doesn't give me the reader a warm fuzzy. I also have noticed that he seems to have decided everyone should know all the past history of his characters (stuff that occurred in previous books with these same characters). Now thankfully I'm a fan and have read most of his books (both the fiction and non-fiction), so I understand the references he makes. But if I were a new reader who picked him up for the first time, I'd be lost. There are references to past events for his characters that even I don't remember. I will probably post a review when I'm done, but it'll be a while since the book is a rather large tome.
That's all I have for now. I'm off to do some outlining on this new idea I have. Yes, I said the O word. I'm trying out new things, and since this idea is so very vague at this point, I'm hoping a rough outline might help fill in the pieces. Don't rip my Pantster membership card away yet though. I'll still likely unfold most of the story as I go.
Since my friend Shaun is delving into the well of deep thinking today, I figured I might want to broach a subject that has been on my mind recently. If you are seeking Friday Fun instead of heavy contemplation, you might want to bop over to Michelle McLean's house instead.
So I've started being slightly more active in an online critique site where you can critique works that someone has posted as well as have your own works critiqued. I won't mention which site, since I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.
I picked a particular entry and started reading through it. The problems began almost immediately however, and although I strove to find something positive in the person's writing, I found myself at a loss. I'll be honest. I chose not to post a critique, which may be the coward's way out. I will say however, that I didn't just read through it one time and dismiss the writing as useless right away. I spent a great deal of time reading and re-reading, agonizing over every bit of it, searching for something I could find to celebrate. In the end, I could not bring myself to write a critique where I had nothing good to say.
Now I know I'm not a perfect writer. If my last excerpt is any indication, I have vast deserts in my writing aching for improvement. But I am honest to a fault, and I guess I chose to go with old adage "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."
I guess what I'm seeking here is some really sound advice for what to do when I hit that wall again. I do believe in the merits of critiquing, both for the person doing the critique and the recipient of said critique. I truly do want to be better at it.
How do you deal with a difficult critique, where you're struggling to offer positive comments?
I've been anxiously awaiting this day, and although I wanted to spill the beans, I've kept a tight lip on today's post. For those who weren't aware, today is the launch of the incredibly awesome Beth Revis' debut novel Across The Universe. And her publisher - Penguin Young Readers Group - is launching this book with all the fanfare they can muster. It is astounding to me how much effort they have put behind assuring Beth's book is a huge success, as it rightly should be. Amazingly enough, Working My Muse has been selected (among a number of other blogs) by the Penguin Young Readers Group to help get this party started and I'm very proud to be a part of it.
To get things kicked off, I want to provide you all with a look at the Across The Universe trailer:
I absolutely love this thing. The narration is awesome, and it tantalizes in just the right way. It's a little short, to be sure. But if you think Beth and Penguin would leave you with only that little bit, you'd be wrong. Check out this exclusive interview with the amazing author Beth Revis herself:
This is really cool, and something I personally haven't seen for a book launch (though I guess to be fair, I have to mention I haven't exactly been a part of too many book launches either). In any event, I love watching Beth talk about the labor of love that is her debut novel. She's worked hard on this, and it's great to see all her hard work pay off in such a grand way.
But what is Across The Universe? Rather than try to stumble through my own description, I'll let Beth's words do the talking:
Amy is a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed. She expects to wake up on a new planet, 300 years in the future. But fifty years before Godspeed's scheduled landing, Amy's cryo chamber is unplugged, and she is nearly killed.
Now, Amy is caught inside an enclosed world where nothing makes sense. Godspeed's passengers have forfeited all control to Eldest, a tyrannical and frightening leader, and Elder, his rebellious and brilliant teenage heir.
Amy desperately wants to trust Elder. But should she? All she knows is that she must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again.
Now if you haven't had the opportunity to check out Across The Universe yet and are still just thinking about picking it up, there's one place you absolutely need to visit: http://www.acrosstheuniversebook.com/ This is an amazingly cool website where you can actually check out various parts of the ship and learn all kinds of awesome stuff about the Godspeed. There are even a couple areas that are off-limits, something I found cool because that way the story isn't spoiled.
Being an IT guy, I have to say I am very impressed with the technical and graphical beauty of this web page. The images are crisp, the links bring up relevant information quickly, and moving around the page is actually really fun. If I had to pick my favorite area of the ship though (based on what I see on the page anyway), I'd have to go with the Engine Room. The image that pops up is really intricate. A lot of work went into just that one image, and I absolutely love it. My wife's however, would be the Farm - because she likes cows LOL. There is of course, the descriptions Beth has so nicely provided too. Awesome job!
As a writer, I also have to say that I am so proud of and impressed by Beth. I stumbled on her blog a while ago (back when I first started this writing journey) and I've always found that Beth has so much to teach us and inspire us with. Since she was a teacher before becoming a full-time writer, I guess that makes sense. And the Penguin Young Readers Group is treating her the way she should be treated - with excellence and an amazing level of support.
I'm going to try scheduling this post (something I've attempted - and failed at - in the past before) for 11:11 AM - which would be really cool if it works, y'know (1/11/11 11:11AM). And though I usually don't post link-fests, this is one book I absolutely must jump on the bandwagon for. Oh, and check out the io9 link. They are posting a 111pg excerpt from 11:11 AM Eastern to 11:11 PM Eastern today. You can ONLY find this at io9, so don't miss it.
If you're a Facebooker, you can hit the Across The Universe page. Beth's page is must visit, and if you aren't following her blog yet, you definitely need to! You can also catch her on Twitter (for those of you Tweeters out there - is that right? I have no idea, I don't Tweet yet LOL).
Check out what else Penguin Teen has as well. They have a main page, they're on Facebook, and Twitter too!
If you like the banner at the top of this post (which I think is awesome looking), hop on over to Novel Thoughts and thank Jeremy. He did an wonderful job on it.
Most importantly however, pick up Across The Universe at Amazon or whatever your favorite retailer is. Do it today. Pick up an extra copy for a friend (because we both know you won't want to lend your copy out). And head over to io9 to get a glimpse at the exclusive excerpt.
This has been a long post I know, but feel free to tell me what YOUR favorite part of the Godspeed is. And if you've already bought the book, spread the love. Beth is an amazing writer, and she deserves all the support we can give her.
Today we're going to talk about the very serious subject of Schizophrenia.
It's not serious.
Shut up and let him talk.
Ba dum dum dum!
Seriously though, welcome to a new year and to a new round of blog chain questions. I seem to say this alot, but the question posed by the ever-challenging Sandra is another one I found really difficult to answer:
What do you think your strengths and weaknesses as a writer are? Did you have to develop your strengths, or did they come naturally to you? How are you trying to overcome your weaknesses?
The hardest part for me (which I'm sure surprises nobody) was coming up with strengths. I hope I'm not alone in this, but identifying my strengths is a difficult task. With that in mind, I'll start with my weaknesses.
One weakness I have is not describing enough as I write. I have an image in my mind, but I either forget to put details in or I subconsciously assume the reader is seeing what I see. The good thing is that (thanks to recent critiques and people willing to tell me so) I am aware of the problem and am working on it.
Another of my weaknesses is the fact that I'm a pantster by nature. I HATE to sit down and write in an organized manner. In fact, it severely stifles my creative process. I can't do character profiles, I can't chart out where I'm going with a story (on first draft at least), and it causes me alot of problems. I leave out things and I find myself slamming into plot walls.
Probably the most important weakness I have is distraction. If I don't actively focus on the writing task at hand (or if I allow external things to distract me), I easily lose momentum. And once I get distracted, the quality of my writing plunges into ugly depths.
On the good side, I do have a few strengths. Being a pantster is a good thing for me, in some respects. I truly believe I find the story better by just writing it than by plotting it. I discover the characters better this way, and I am (in later drafts) able to refine them easier. I even surprise myself sometimes with where a story takes me, which I count as a plus since I figure if I didn't expect it, the reader won't either.
I believe I have a knack with creepy and suspenseful writing. It's something I enjoy, and I can tell when the writing is not quite in the zone, so to speak. I am also willing to sneak into the dark places where others might not tread. If I need a truly evil character, I have no problem making it so and not pulling any punches.
I'm getting much better at beginnings, whether it's the beginning of the story or just a new chapter. This wasn't always a strength, but I've worked on it and have improved. I can see when an opening line isn't going to catch the reader's attention as much and when it's really good.
The reason I titled this Schizophrenia is because I don't think I'm of one mind with regards to my writing yet. There are some weaknesses I have (which I'm improving on where I can) and there are some strengths (which I try to identify when I can, just for a pat on the back if nothing else). Probably the only thing that comes naturally to me where writing is concerned is the fact that I'm a multi-headed hydra trying to control and refine myself AND my writing.
At this point I'm going to turn it over to the illustrious Michelle McLean for her answer tomorrow. If you haven't had a chance to check out how Michelle Hickman answered yesterday, get on over there. She's awesome, and so is her answer.
As you think through this question yourself however, be careful. It's easy for us as writers to identify our weaknesses (and we probably see more than are really there). Take the time to identify your strengths as well, and make sure you celebrate them.
Welcome to 2011, everyone. Hopefully everyone's holidays were wonderful, with lots of good food, good times, and fun family moments. I know some of you have had to deal with personal tragedies and difficulties recently, but I hope this new year will bring you great things - great enough to help you overcome those difficulties.
As you can see, I have made some changes here. The foremost (to me at least) is the description of this blog (directly under the title). It used to read "This blog is one author's attempts to work through those dry deserts known as writers block, using free writings, ramblings, and plain old storytelling." I think the new description more adequately describes what I'm here for. It's also a bit more of a positive outlook on who I am and what you can expect when you come here. Rather than focusing on the moments when I am unable to write or have difficulty writing (which I hope will be less often this year), I've chosen to focus on what I really want to strive for. In essence, I want to be a good writer. There will still be some stories, some free writings, or ramblings. I am just choosing to focus on the writing itself rather than the dry deserts between bouts of writing. Heck, with a few rain dances, I might just eliminate those deserts completely. Sorry, no Youtube videos scheduled for these performances.
I've also changed the background and colors, partially because I wanted something new. I like the torn and yellowing page in the background. In one way, it reminds me of my writing. The edges are a little rough, but the page has lots of room for improvement. As for the blue banner and tone, I guess I just like that color.
I'm really energized for the new year. I got up this morning and did some exercise (pushups) before heading off to work. I've made a few tweaks on the blog (and there may be more coming, who knows). And I'm actually looking forward to getting home this evening and squeezing in some writing time.
My vacation was wonderful (the whole reason I was absent for the past 10 days). I slept in a little bit, spent lots of time with the family, and didn't do homework OR writing. Now some of you may be cringing out there as you imagine how much writing I could have gotten done during such a break, and I completely understand. But I needed to take a moment and examine where I was and where I want to be. Take stock of things. So while my goal of being an exceptional writer hasn't changed, I'm more energized to work on it because of the break.
There will be more fun coming as the week unfolds. And I hope everyone else is ready for a great year. I am overly optimistic, and I'm really looking forward to what new works I can create. How about you? Do you have some goals for this year?
