Katherine Frances's Blog, page 348
July 2, 2015
How to Write a Series - Mistakes | Now Novel
Learning how to write a series? Avoid these common writing mistakes that series writers make: http://www.nownovel.com/blog/how-to-write-a-series-mistakes/
"i will take the sun in my mouth
and leap into the ripe air
alive
with closed eyes
to dash against..."
and leap into the ripe air
alive
with closed eyes
to dash against darkness”
- e.e. cummings, Poems, 1923-1954 (via sunst0ne)
June 28, 2015
The Raven Boys
Book breakdown ~ for Writers # 2
General– No Spoilers
(Skip this if you want details with spoilers)
The Raven Boys by
Maggie Stiefvater is the first book of the Raven Cycle Series. Over all, it is
an extremely well written book, and one that tackles many dark, real-life
issues while also being totally fantastical and weird (in a good way). Probably
the best thing that can be taken away from reading this book is the impressive characterization.
There is a heavy cast of five main characters and then more than five essential
side characters. All of them are developed smoothly, throughout the entire
book, in a way that is shown to the reader, and they are all such vivid
individuals that by the end you can predict their reactions to situations. The relationship
between the four boys and Blue (main female protag) is also one of the best
points of this book. The boy’s friendships are a fantastic reference for anyone
wanting to write young men or friendships, two things that I would venture to
say are lacking in fantasy. All of the boys have an abundance of flaws, but
they are lovable all the same, and Blue is just the same. Also I found her relationship
with her mom very refreshing and another great reference that breaks away from
what we traditionally see in a lot of YA fantasy. Lastly, the plot and the
description were two other things that could certainly be learning points for
writers. The plot starts right at the beginning, and the reader is drawn in
very quickly. The descriptions and writing style is artful and magical, which matches
the tone of the story.
Obviously, no book
is perfect though. There were a few stylistic issues here and there throughout
the book, though for the most part those are the type of thing you just read
over unless you’re looking for it. There were some point of view issues through
the story that didn’t exactly harm the telling of the plot but simply removed
the reader form the story briefly. The book begins in what seems like third
person limited point of view with frequent but very clearly delineated POV
changes. However, towards the very end of the book that begins to get a bit
foggy, with brief slips of POV, times where POV isn’t strictly clear, and
instances where POV begins to change in a more fluid way within one scene. This
suggests to me that the book might have benefited from simply being told in
third person omniscient from the beginning. The last bit of trouble I had with
this book was actually a plot point (in an otherwise flawless plot) in the
ending of the book. I can’t discuss it without spoiling it, but if you do read
the book, consider what the reader was most likely expecting for the ending and
what was delivered. Was it a bit of a letdown? Was it somewhat confusing? If
you still have no idea what I’m talking about after reading the book—come back
and read below!
Specific—With Spoilers
*Stop
reading this review now if you have not read The Raven Boys and care about
having major plot points given away. However, I will attempt to make this
section understandable even for those who have not read the books and don’t
mind spoilers.
