Megan Wong's Blog, page 2

Something Fun

Life itself has been stressful lately so I thought I would post something fun and something from my past.
All great writers start as children! The things they play with, the stories they make-up are all building blocks for later.A child's inquisitiveness and imagination is one of the most wonderful things out there. It can save nations.
When I was a child, I loved dogs. I wanted a dog too. Things didn't work out for my household to actually own a dog, but I had plenty of dogs that I adopted for a time. Our next door neighbor had a golden retriever mix and she was ours in a sense. She knew when we got home from school and she would follow us around and listen to us. She also had the softest fur and the wettest kisses. She was perfect.
At home, I had my own collection of stuffed animal dogs, but none were as portable and as beloved as this one.

This is Snuffles also known as Charles Dickens. Yes, he had a secret identity. He was a daring detective with the perfect nose to sniff out crime and solve cases. Note the hat which represents him adopting his detective persona. The detective persona was Charles Dickens, obviously. A name like Dickens combined with Charles...it practically screams stakeouts and revealing critical information in a timely manner. Snuffles could easily fit in my hand and so he was perfect for going places. He fit inside purses, found that cup holders made great seats and was just a lovable companion.

This dog went on many missions before he retired and he is still as soft as ever. What kind of toys did you play with as a child? Were any of them part of a larger story?

The Thing About Experiences

I have this document full of experiences: wasp stings, my first kiss, illnesses and injuries in equal measure, electric shocks, drowning, and hysterical laughter. They're all the times that I felt something and was conscious enough to then write about it. It's my "reference document" so that when I need to pull in the realness of a situation, I can.

Sometimes I forget. But this is also my way to compartmentalize and think through the things that hurt, so it's a useful tool. Each experience has its label and then there are moment by moment descriptions. I'm not trying for elegance. I'm just trying to capture what it's like for real. Of course, these are just my own subjective experiences. Everyone experiences things differently, but this just reminds me that I'm human.

This is just a small segment of my list. If you're wondering why most of them are painful experiences, it's just because I'm less attentive to the happy ones. For the most part, the experiences are in chronological order of when they happened. I've got no clue as to the exact dates, but I just let the list grow. Every new entry is added to the bottom.

Have you experienced any of these things? Did they feel different to you or do these descriptions remind you of your own experience?

Also, just as a little ending note, I am not accident prone, nor do I get injured a lot. These happened over the course of several years. I just tend to keep track of all my negatives.

The Missing Piece (That Does or Does Not Belong)

One of the wonderful (and trying) things about being a writer is that a story is wholly yours. From the moment you put words on a page to the imaginings of your brain and the typing of that very last word, you've created something and it's yours to do what you will. Every detail and sentence is crafted by you and yours is the imagination running the show.

Then you edit and those details are tightened up; things are smoothed out, linked together and hopefully coherent. Then you edit again and everything is made more pristine and closer to your vision. Perhaps you've told people about your story, run the idea past them, or even shared a sample. Maybe you've shared the whole thing. Either way, something happens that changes your perspective. The scenes and dialogue that lined up before are now incongruous. Some of it's irrelevant and you come to the realization that your perfect piece has flaws.

At this point you might feel less motivated and dejected that something so sparkling could become so dull. It's a rude awakening, like a siren that cuts through the early morning quiet at 3AM. So you wake up. What do you do?

You reimagine. You rework. You create something new again, but not completely. It's a snip there, patch it up. A snip over there and patch it up. The story becomes tailored again to fit snugly around its skeleton and maybe you're feeling a little proud (and exhausted) as things come together.

Then you come to another part and you've thought that all major changes have been made, but this isn't fitting right. So you imagine, come up with something else, you go to patch it in and realize, well...it doesn't fit. Shoot. You read over it and read it again. You think if I just change that sentence, or maybe I'll just cut that, but then...

It just won't fit. There is no simple way to patch it in. You're going to have to restructure everything.
Well, shoot.

I'm wracking my brain right now, but this is the point I'm at. I want this new detail to go in, but it's not fitting and I've been turning it every which way. This can be one of the most frustrating parts about writing. Everyone loves a good story. We want our work to be good, but there are imperfections. And I'm a perfectionist, which means you know these changes are going to happen, but I'm dragging my feet.

I wanted to believe that I had already added the necessary elements, then I get hit with this. I am complaining a bit, because it feels unfair. But as I learned from a tender age (from the mouth of my kindergarten teacher), "life's not fair" and to complete that statement: "and the sooner she learns that the better off she'll be." Well, Ms. Mary, this is unfair, but I'm going to do something about it.

I am going to decide whether I want this or not and if I do, then I'm going to be creating a Draft 4 and integrating this in, even if I have to tear up a ton of great things in the process.

Tell me about a time in your life when you came to a realization that something wasn't working and it just felt unfair. I would love to hear your stories and how you acted when confronting it.

All the Way or Not at All?

A few weeks ago, I focused on shooting for dreams and I'm going to continue that theme with a focus on this quote: "If you're not going to go all the way, why go at all?" A bit darker and more ultimatum-y but that's the point. Dreams are hard to hold onto and they can change. Maybe we set our expectations lower. Maybe we learn that's not what we really wanted after all.

The key factor is You. What will you do?

In case it's hard to read the small cursive print.
This page of a coloring book says,
"Everybody wants happiness,
nobody wants pain,
but you can't have a rainbow
without a little rain."Sorry, couldn't help myself.

But to expand on this quote of going all the way, I see it as this: Put effort into what you love and what you want. Half-hearted attempts are going to demoralize you. There are so many paths for us to walk on, but you can't take all of them or else you'll never get anywhere.

I've seen this happen with many people in my life. It happens to me. There are these opportunities and passions that we pour ourselves into and then we turn around and say we didn't really want that anyway. Why did we turn around?

I think there are two reasons:

1. An obstacle pops up
2. We realize what we really want


A lot of things can fit number one. We could lose hope in ourselves and mentally lose touch with the dream. We could believe that there is not enough time to do it or it's not moving fast enough so perhaps our patience is being tested. We could find ourselves confronting one obstacle after another and decide that the challenges are too high and that it's not worth our time. I might be able to continue giving examples, but I think you get the point. Obstacles come in all shapes and sizes. They are obstacles because they stand in the way of our goals.

On the other hand, you could come to the realization that you have been in pursuit of a dream that isn't something you really want after all. I can volunteer an example for that. When I was in high school, I joined the track & field team. I wanted to sprint. I thought that I wanted to be seen as an athlete and that I wanted to do a sport. I was a part of it for two years before I realized that I hated it. Absolutely hated it and it was making me sick.

The athlete dream was something that I thought I wanted because athletes were seen as the gold stars and role models of high school. Athletes were cool. It takes a lot of work and dedication to be an athlete. I liked running, but not for long distances. Over time the competition became pointless to me, especially because I wasn't fast.

One time, there were only two of us in a heat (term for a group of runners who are going to race against each other) and we were both on the same team. What was the point? We were obviously not going against another team and our points weren't going to count. It was just a chance for us to run at the meet and yeah, I kind of backstabbed my compatriot. We agreed to finish together and I was just furious that I was running at all (for a 400 meter, no less) so I sprinted the last 100 meters and finished ahead of her. Not my finest hour, but I needed to burn off the angry energy.

I kept with the training and meets, finishing the two seasons, but as the third approached, I found myself physically getting ill at the thought of practice. I had planned on training in the winter before the spring arrived so that I would be more prepared for the season when the truth hit me and I backed out. It was a difficult decision. I already felt partially committed and when I talked to the coach, he wanted to know why and I felt like a fraud. I felt like I was letting him down, when I knew that  disappearing from the team wouldn't make a difference. Letting go of an identity is difficult and it can feel like you're making a mistake. After I made my decision, I felt relief and guilt. I was so happy that I didn't have to do that anymore and then so guilty that I was so relieved. Have you ever felt that way about something? It was a tumultuous year, but the truth is I'm glad. And yeah, it's like five years later and sometimes I wonder what could have been, but mostly I remind myself that I made the right decision.

Hmm... So this turned into something.

I think I went off on a tangent so let's try to get back on track.
Committing is half the battle to succeeding. You need to know what you want and you need to go for it. Be relentless because the thing you really love is worth it. When I wrote Island Whispers, I decided that I was going to publish it and so I wrote. I finished my first novel. I queried. I edited and then I actually got it published. I know I bring up this story a lot and that I talk about this success often, but this is a success for me. It was something that I wanted and for the most part, I did it myself. I pushed myself forward and I just really want to be that girl again. I want to believe that it is possible to do the things that I want and I guess that starts with this question: How far are you willing to go?

What are your dreams? And how do your goals relate to them? Let me know in the comments. I'd love to hear your stories!

Before We Shoot for the Moon

"Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."
- Norman Vincent Peale or Leslie Brown
(Quotes can be so tricky as to their origin)

Painting of a city in a hillside where the glow of the city cannot
completely obstruct the stars, yet it's trapped in its own little
bubble.

Are you familiar with this quote? I think the first time I heard it was at a girl scout or girls on the run event. I think it featured on a t-shirt. Sadly, I do not have that t-shirt. 
I love this quote. I really do and yet I'm seeing it in a new way now. What if your trajectory is off or you don't have enough lift? I know I'm taking this metaphor a bit literal, but consider the preparation that goes into the shooting. You can't just shoot into the dark and hope for it to land, you've got to put in the work. So back to that idea of being off and you hit the ground or you don't even get off the ground, it can be disheartening. You can be stalled before you even make the attempt. 
I know it happens to me and I'm sure others have experienced this. You have such big dreams and hopes, then you step up to the launch pad and realize that it's a much greater distance than you imagine. This can mean that there are many more obstacles or much more time and effort that needs to be put forth than you originally thought. It could be many things. If you think about, you could probably come up with an example in your own life where the mountain rose up to block the moon.
As adults we experience this often, as children we don't.(At least, that is my proposed theory)
When I wrote Island Whispers, I was just flinging whatever I could, jumping at any opportunity without any regard for process or whether it would be impossible to hit the moon. I just saw it as a challenge that I wanted to overcome and if I was persistent enough, I would overcome it. I wanted to become published and I knew there were obstacles but I saw them as springboards. Sure, there was a mountain in my way, but, if I got to the peak, I would have a better place to launch to the moon. It only brought me closer.
Childhood is funny that way. Sometimes we're so focused on the big picture that we forget about all the snags and disappointments along the way. It's not a bad thing. In fact, it might actually be the key for reaching those childhood dreams. If we lose hope, it becomes impossible to achieve things. Our inner critic demeans every attempt and we become too heartless to care. 
So, I guess what I'm trying to say is don't lose hope. Hold onto those dreams. See those mountains, but don't give up. Keep going, because you don't know what you can achieve if you don't.

Ode to Stars

I think this was the first thing I ever published. My friend was the president of the literary magazine at our high school and somehow this poem got in (I think it might have had a little help).
Anyway, enjoy the beginning of my career and a poem that I still love to read. My favorite part is the rhyme, of course.

The Cotton Anniversary

Apparently, the traditional anniversary gift for the second anniversary is cotton. I really don't have anything cottony, but I did make the small quilt featured in the picture below. It might be made of cotton. We're closing in on my anniversary so I'm reflecting on what's happened since the publication.
January 31, 2018 - Island Whispers became available. The past two years I have grown as a writer and figured out what I want from writing. It was a long journey to get to this point, but I'm glad for every turn along the way.
Island Whispers is a book about friendship and magic. The two things I craved most in the world at that age. Time is a great fixer of many things, but Will is just as important to get things moving. The thing about Will is that it needs some inkling of Hope. The greatest thing Island Whispers can leave you with is Hope.
Hope for the future is a wonderful thing. It can spur people to action and banish doubt from their hearts. When life is hopeless, we need a light to show us the way. Sometimes that light is as simple as a story.
With gratitude and love, thank you to those who have supported me on this journey and to those who have been my light in the darkness.

Progress Update

Dear Reader of the Internet

I think I might have done one of these before, but I don't really tell y'all about my upcoming WIP (works in progress) and my plans. I think I briefly informed my writing bubble about Nanowrimo last summer and the faerie story I had worked on. There probably have been brief mentions of another project, perhaps the name "The Broken Bounty" will sound familiar to some.

My writing life has currently been absorbed by the world of the Broken Bounty. It has been my only WIP for the past few months and the only open document in my tool bar. I haven't dreamed about any other story or tried to plot anything else. Mostly this is because The Broken Bounty is nearly 4 years old and I want it to bring it into the world sooner than I brought Island Whispers (which took 6 years). We'll see if that's a possibility, but maybe you can infer from this update.

The Broken Bounty stands at 112,023 words. That includes the cover page and all of the chapter headings. We're still looking at over a hundred thousand words. I doubt that it will change much from that length. Most everything seems necessary or can be reasonably argued for its worth.

These words are split into 34 chapters and it is 380 pages in length. This is, of course, double-spaced. It has been rewritten more times than I can keep track of. But for the sake of some, I started doing "drafts" which sometimes seems silly to separate, and we're currently on Draft 3. Mind you, this is draft 3 of the draft that actually seemed likely for publication.

The original document for this book was a novella length story and contained only the skeleton of what it is now. This story has gone through multiple tweaks and it has actually had multiple readers. It has been beta read by Tori (a writer I met at State) and then the English Club (a group of writers I met at State) and even an unknown beta reader (who I do not know and will probably never know the identity of). I've sparsely discussed it among friends and hinted at it among those asking about my writing, but I've never really declared it. Now that time is coming.

I want to introduce The Broken Bounty to the world. To do that I plan on appealing to big publishers. I've already created a list: McElderberry Books, Scholastic Press, Magic Carpet Books Harcourt Inc., Viking, Firebird Fantasy, Random House, and Harper Collins. These are the names I pulled from the spines of some of my favorite books, and also books that are quite popular among others. Chances are slim, but I want to see if I can do this and I want to give The Broken Bounty its due.

For the time being, I'm polishing it up, tying over loose ends, changing things for clarity and checking the punctuation. Then I'll send out my query letters and wait. I'll keep y'all informed on the happenings and hopefully this journey will have a happy ending.

Thanks for being here!

Megan

Realism in the Imaginary

One of the challenges writers face is creating a story that is believable. Readers need to absorb our words and feel emotions related to our work. It can be a difficult path to navigate and often times treacherous when trying to make things "realistic."

What is "realistic"? How can anything realistic be interesting?

I ask the second question because I have experience listening in on conversations and observing humans in the world. I have been present at social gatherings and public spaces. On one particular noteworthy night, I sat on a concrete wall listening to music and jotting notes on the people around me. It was for a high school sociology class and my experiment was to observe what was imbibed by the people around me. From my fuzzy recollection, I recall tallying the wine and ice cream consumed by the people. I noted approximate ages and the number of people. I theorized that the music in question affected the crowd's demographic and thus, the consumables present.

While I fantasized that I was doing very important research and made my observations with sarcastic side comments, it wasn't revolutionary and frankly, if not for my ability to find humor in the mundane, it would have been quite boring.

I generally don't write stories that take place in our modern time and world because I find them yawn-inducing. That's not to say that writers don't succeed at making the mundane entertaining, but consider those stories. Are they realistic? Drama is played up. Emotions are out of control. Every sensory detail is heightened. Who experiences life that way?

I don't believe that I do. Most of my life seems to fade from my mind once the day is over. What happened yesterday? Hmm, yes, read something, ate something, read something else, ate something else, possibly saw someone. There aren't noteworthy moments at every second of the day and that's key. When you read a novel, you are getting the crucial points that need to be made. You're not getting agonizing descriptions of every meal and the MC getting ready for bed (not usually). Each scene highlights an important moment and we even skip over the things that would get tedious.

Think about Harry Potter. Sure, Hogwarts is exciting. It's a school for witchcraft and wizardry but, at the end of the day, classes are classes and we would be tired if J. K. Rowling explained each in detail. Once we've gotten a basis for classes, time just flies. It's the start of term, then it's Halloween, now it's Christmas, then they're leaving for the year. Each book is a year, but not every moment is described which is why we find it entertaining.

This topic came to my attention because I read an article about books that depict "Realistic Romances" and the writer of the article posed the same question of what does that really mean and are there any realistic romances?

From my cynical mind, no, there are not any realistic romances depicted in most literature (I can't say all because there are always exceptions). Full blown romances that stand the test of time with nary a problem are unrealistic. I do not believe they are possible. Skipping all the awkward moments - even more unlikely. We're not perfect and our relationships with others are far from perfect.

People fall in love, they get angry or jealous, they break-up, they make-up, maybe they make-out, and then possibly it falls apart again. Then the same sequence happens again. Throw marriage in there or some type of commitment. You'll still end up with problems.

Now, I'm not against romance and I do believe that relationships can last, but there are a lot of forces that prevent that from happening and it seems most aren't able to handle it. I doubt I'm capable. So while the concept of love conquers all and it being a strong force to reckon with is nice (butterflies and daisies), it does not seem realistic. End of story. Try to convince me otherwise. Actually that would be fun. If you've got a point that differs, let me know. I love constructive arguments and differing opinions. It's how we learn.

If you want to read an opinion on Realistic Romances, check out this article by Gina Barreca from Psychology Today. This was the inspiration for my post today.

Beauty of the Inspired Place

I know I've taken a bit of a hiatus. Two weeks and no posts at all, yet I imagine that most people were busy and the truth is, I was too. Busier than I expected since I'm far from everyone I know. It just goes to show you that no matter where you are, you're never alone and you don't have to be alone if you choose to engage with others. I crashed three different family gatherings and attended a few neighbor parties. It was fun and so I hope that you also had some good experiences over those last two weeks in December.

This post is going to be long and picture-filled.
This is the first picture that I want to showcase
because it shows the simple life I lived in Oxford.
I spent 4 weeks of summer there and took classes.
We traveled about on the weekends and it was wonderful.
I had so much time to think and write.
There are places that you can go and feel inspired. My theory is that different characteristics of places make them inspiring to people and that since each person is inspired by different things, many places could fill this list and they would all be correct.

However, it can generally be agreed upon that certain places are universally inspiring. Whether it's a hidden spot in nature or a bustling human metropolis, there are places that just light our imaginations on fire.

Phillip Pullman (author of His Dark Materials series) has the same inspiration as me: Oxford. In his collection of essays and speeches (Daemon Voices), he explains that just walking through the morning fog or gazing at certain buildings creates a fanciful air that inspires him. While I was in Oxford, I felt similarly inspired. There is beauty in the familiar and unfamiliar and, for me, Oxford was unfamiliar. Sure, I'd heard about it and I'd read Deborah Harkness's A Discovery of Witches, so I knew the names of some of the buildings, but I hadn't seen it or walked its streets. Being there was a whole other experience that had me daydreaming.

This is the Radcliffe Camera. It's a library and
supposedly has underground tunnels that connect
it to the Bodleian library. While you have to be a
student to enter the building, tourists can gaze at the
majestic outside and imagine its interior.Also, I like to write cities and places that are older. I'm not a modern writer and I rarely have settings that are in the here and now. I've tried it, but I get bored too easily. Give me magic and mystery and things that have history in their bones!
This is a door. Quite obvious, right?
But can you see the intricate details on and around it.
If you're familiar with C. S. Lewis's The Lion, The
Witch and The Wardrobe, then you can probably
spot the lion and fauns. If you were to turn your head
left, then you would also see a lamppost.
Do you see how much fun the streets are in Oxford?Oftentimes, I struggle with architectural details. How do I want a space to look? Where will things be placed? Vague ideas do not a city make. So walking the streets of Oxford, Bath, and London gave me inspiration for what to do. Once you've been somewhere, you will have a mental map of it. It may be crude. It may be fairly unformed, but it's a place to start and that's what I needed. Before the four weeks had ended, I had a good head for the streets and getting around Oxford. We didn't get lost but, then again, sometimes you want to get lost. 
This chemists shop is something that I took inspiration
from when I created my apothecary in a WIP. I liked
the darkened interior, the large windows and the
displays of things inside. It also seems to be part of
a neighborhood and not a bunch of shops which was
curious and another characteristic I added to my story.So here is my call to action. I encourage you to seek out your inspiring places. Travel, whether its down the street from home or to another country altogether, and find the places that light your imagination on fire. What do you notice about those places and can you put your finger on what is so inspiring?
Think of this as a nice active challenge for you to notice things around you and to daydream at your leisure. If you want to share where you've gone and what you found, feel free to comment below! I'd love to hear about the places that inspire you.
This is in Bath and I liked the steps in the water. The crashing of it all
provided a pleasing backdrop and reminded me vaguely of the
moment in Les Miserables when the Inspector jumps off the bridge and into
raging waters. While this is definitely more peaceful, there is a
certain similarity between the settings.