Heather Anastasiu's Blog, page 8
February 21, 2012
The Rare & Spectacular Moments of Transcendence As a Writer
There's this line from Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones that has all but haunted me. She is writing about writing, and she says: We are not running wildly after beauty with fear at our backs.
Goldberg talks a lot about fear in this amazing book about writing. It seems she almost spends equal time talking about fear and overcoming resistance as she does on writing itself. As any writer knows, the two are often inextricably tied. We are all trying to capture moments of transcendence, but it sure takes a lot of toiling in the dirt to get there.
But sometimes the toil seems to take up all our attention. Hitting daily word count. Thinking up a plot and then producing scenes to knit it all together. Getting through a draft to meet a deadline. There are so many things to fear, even when you tell yourself not to be afraid, that fear and anxiety are stupid and just made-up impediments in your head. Goodness knows I've done this kind of writing for months at a time. I wrote a whole book last year like this. But telling yourself not to be afraid is like telling yourself not to think about something--suddenly it's all you can think about, all you can feel. I'd think about this line from Goldberg and want to scream: but how?? how do you release all the fear and only concentrate on the beauty?
And then there are shocking times like these past two weeks when inspiration hits, and like the proverbial rain storm after a drought, you just soak it in and think oh god I'd missed this so much. Suddenly writing doesn't feel like work, it feels like play. Everything you'd tried to force comes naturally. Sometimes you go through such long stints of the drought kind of writing that you don't think the transcendent moments can even exist anymore.
The key I'm discovering about beginning to enjoy writing again (which, I know plenty of writers will tell you, can be an unfortunate rarity): stick to the scenes I love best. And if I don't love a scene or a big portion of the book, transform it into something I do love and am interested in. This sometimes means BIG think-out-of-the-box changes, but when I sucked it up about the pages I needed to cut to transform the book, I felt the old giddiness inside. And I literally can barely stop myself from writing. It's not fighting to meet word count anymore, I just want to get to the next scene, and when I finish it, I'm eager for the next.
I remember the kind of stories I like best: big, epic, as melodramatic as possible within believable bounds, and of course at the center, a love story. The thing is, if I'm not really enjoying the scenes I'm writing, readers probably aren't going to enjoy them either. The whole fight of writing is getting to that deep emotional spark. Those are the kind of books we read and re-read and can't get out of our heads.
But it's hard, because I couple this idea that I need to love what I'm writing with the very pragmatic demands of being a writer. Sometimes you just need to produce words and pages, and allow it to be crappy, sometimes writing is just bland potatoes without any spice. If you hear writers giving writing advice, so much of what we will talk about is overcoming resistance, trying to just make ourselves sit down and write every day, stressing out over deadlines, feeling anything but love for our stories but forcing ourselves to do it anyway.
Usually what happens (and this is basically what the theme of Goldberg's very beautiful and practical book) is that as you force yourself to write and get into the disciplined habit of it, is that those beautiful moments with the emotional spark will come eventually. Sometimes they'll show up out of nowhere and then you look at the pages you've written with a kind of shocked, huh, that turned out really good! But there are other times like lately when I've been experiencing that even more rare magic of big ideas that seem to set everything into place. Those forehead slapping moments, lightbulb over the head moments, Archimedes jumping out of his bathtub and running down the street shouting Eureka! moments. I'm far from a mystical person, but what can I say that they seem to come from some place outside myself and all I can feel is a very deep gratefulness that I got to partake at all.
So I'm spending every moment I can writing, with more furious passion than I've felt in a long time. It feels good, so good.
Goldberg talks a lot about fear in this amazing book about writing. It seems she almost spends equal time talking about fear and overcoming resistance as she does on writing itself. As any writer knows, the two are often inextricably tied. We are all trying to capture moments of transcendence, but it sure takes a lot of toiling in the dirt to get there.
But sometimes the toil seems to take up all our attention. Hitting daily word count. Thinking up a plot and then producing scenes to knit it all together. Getting through a draft to meet a deadline. There are so many things to fear, even when you tell yourself not to be afraid, that fear and anxiety are stupid and just made-up impediments in your head. Goodness knows I've done this kind of writing for months at a time. I wrote a whole book last year like this. But telling yourself not to be afraid is like telling yourself not to think about something--suddenly it's all you can think about, all you can feel. I'd think about this line from Goldberg and want to scream: but how?? how do you release all the fear and only concentrate on the beauty?
And then there are shocking times like these past two weeks when inspiration hits, and like the proverbial rain storm after a drought, you just soak it in and think oh god I'd missed this so much. Suddenly writing doesn't feel like work, it feels like play. Everything you'd tried to force comes naturally. Sometimes you go through such long stints of the drought kind of writing that you don't think the transcendent moments can even exist anymore.
The key I'm discovering about beginning to enjoy writing again (which, I know plenty of writers will tell you, can be an unfortunate rarity): stick to the scenes I love best. And if I don't love a scene or a big portion of the book, transform it into something I do love and am interested in. This sometimes means BIG think-out-of-the-box changes, but when I sucked it up about the pages I needed to cut to transform the book, I felt the old giddiness inside. And I literally can barely stop myself from writing. It's not fighting to meet word count anymore, I just want to get to the next scene, and when I finish it, I'm eager for the next.
I remember the kind of stories I like best: big, epic, as melodramatic as possible within believable bounds, and of course at the center, a love story. The thing is, if I'm not really enjoying the scenes I'm writing, readers probably aren't going to enjoy them either. The whole fight of writing is getting to that deep emotional spark. Those are the kind of books we read and re-read and can't get out of our heads.
But it's hard, because I couple this idea that I need to love what I'm writing with the very pragmatic demands of being a writer. Sometimes you just need to produce words and pages, and allow it to be crappy, sometimes writing is just bland potatoes without any spice. If you hear writers giving writing advice, so much of what we will talk about is overcoming resistance, trying to just make ourselves sit down and write every day, stressing out over deadlines, feeling anything but love for our stories but forcing ourselves to do it anyway.
Usually what happens (and this is basically what the theme of Goldberg's very beautiful and practical book) is that as you force yourself to write and get into the disciplined habit of it, is that those beautiful moments with the emotional spark will come eventually. Sometimes they'll show up out of nowhere and then you look at the pages you've written with a kind of shocked, huh, that turned out really good! But there are other times like lately when I've been experiencing that even more rare magic of big ideas that seem to set everything into place. Those forehead slapping moments, lightbulb over the head moments, Archimedes jumping out of his bathtub and running down the street shouting Eureka! moments. I'm far from a mystical person, but what can I say that they seem to come from some place outside myself and all I can feel is a very deep gratefulness that I got to partake at all.
So I'm spending every moment I can writing, with more furious passion than I've felt in a long time. It feels good, so good.
February 6, 2012
What Contemporary YA Teaches Me About Writing Sci-Fi
This past month I've gotten back into book devouring mode. Which is awesome for me, not so awesome for my budget ;) But sometimes you gotta chuck responsibility to the wind, and go with the reading mood when it strikes (and then try to offset buying books with reserving them at the library!).
Now, you might ask, why are you so obsessed wih YA contemporary when you write sci-fi, Heather? My response: ummmmm. I don't know! But other than a select few gems of awesome, I can't seem to really get into anything that's sci-fi or paranormal. I seem to have zero patience, sometimes make it half-way through, put it down because I feel like 'meh,' and then am like, dude, what's up? Did becoming a writer make me broken as a reader somehow? Then I pick up a contemporary book and disappear into it and four hours later come up for breath and let out a happy sigh.
So I've been trying to figure out what it is about contemporary that makes them such easy reads, even when the subject matter isn't light (I'm looking at you The Fault In Our Stars). I think part of it is: the setting is relatable. There's no worldbuilding you have to figure out, no trying to gear up to learn the ins and outs of how things work, no trying to decode new and strange social codes that come with a dystopia or a post-apocalyptic book. I also think part of it might be that the conflicts can be intense, but they aren't all life and death (and sometimes that's a relief to read!). There's not kick-butt action, it's lots of emotional drama instead. Because here's really what's what--those are my favorite parts of action-y life or life-and-death books--the space in between the action, where characters are learning about themselves or falling in love.
I've been working on book 3 in my series, which paradoxically is pretty chockful of big action spreads. But I've also been very careful to avoid some of the things I hate in the third book of trilogies. Like take for example, Mockingjay. There's so much action, and so little of the interpersonal relationships that made us fall in love with the first book. The personal bits seem like quick toss-ins between one trauma or another. So I'm trying my damndest to create space for my characters to really have the growth I want for them. And for the romance, which I've worked in some *hopefully* creative ways to keep fresh. It's the emotional core of any book that really hooks me and makes a book stay in my head for long after I've read it.
Now, you might ask, why are you so obsessed wih YA contemporary when you write sci-fi, Heather? My response: ummmmm. I don't know! But other than a select few gems of awesome, I can't seem to really get into anything that's sci-fi or paranormal. I seem to have zero patience, sometimes make it half-way through, put it down because I feel like 'meh,' and then am like, dude, what's up? Did becoming a writer make me broken as a reader somehow? Then I pick up a contemporary book and disappear into it and four hours later come up for breath and let out a happy sigh.
So I've been trying to figure out what it is about contemporary that makes them such easy reads, even when the subject matter isn't light (I'm looking at you The Fault In Our Stars). I think part of it is: the setting is relatable. There's no worldbuilding you have to figure out, no trying to gear up to learn the ins and outs of how things work, no trying to decode new and strange social codes that come with a dystopia or a post-apocalyptic book. I also think part of it might be that the conflicts can be intense, but they aren't all life and death (and sometimes that's a relief to read!). There's not kick-butt action, it's lots of emotional drama instead. Because here's really what's what--those are my favorite parts of action-y life or life-and-death books--the space in between the action, where characters are learning about themselves or falling in love.
I've been working on book 3 in my series, which paradoxically is pretty chockful of big action spreads. But I've also been very careful to avoid some of the things I hate in the third book of trilogies. Like take for example, Mockingjay. There's so much action, and so little of the interpersonal relationships that made us fall in love with the first book. The personal bits seem like quick toss-ins between one trauma or another. So I'm trying my damndest to create space for my characters to really have the growth I want for them. And for the romance, which I've worked in some *hopefully* creative ways to keep fresh. It's the emotional core of any book that really hooks me and makes a book stay in my head for long after I've read it.
February 2, 2012
Incarnate by Jodi Meadows - So Worth the Wait!!!
I first heard of Incarnate almost a year ago, and have been dying to read it ever since. I wait for book release days like most people do for summer blockbusters. Like with movies, I read the synopsis over and over. I read interviews with the author, sample chapters, repeatedly watch the book trailer if they have one. And then I wait. And wait. And wait for the day I can get the book in my hot little hand. If there's anyway I can beg or borrow or enter a contest to win an ARC, I try to find it (and usually fail, lol!) Incarnate finally came out this week, and I wasn't going to let a little thing like being too sick to get out of bed stop me from finally reading it as soon as it came out! So like any good reader with zero patience and a Kindle on hand, I bought it at midnight the moment it released, and read into the middle of the night until I'd finished it.And oh. My. Gosh. You know how some books suffer the sad fate of the over-hype and the over-anticipation, where you've waited so long to read a book it can never live up to the monument you've created for it in your head? Yeah, Incarnate lived up. And more.
Oh how to name all the things I loved about this book!
-The setting. It has kind of a fantasy world feel to it, but they have gadgets too. And dragons! It was unusual and really freaking cool.
- Ana, the heroine. Her mother tells her that because she's been born new (and not a reincarnation of someone else, like everybody else in their world), she's a nosoul. Barely even a person, really. Watching Ana struggle with this conception of herself and slowly grow into the conviction that she is a full person with as much right to live and love as anyone else was really satisfying to read, and handled so well at every moment along the journey by the author.
- The reincarnation idea. It was really f'ing fascinating to think about a world where a soul can live for thousands of years, casting off old bodies and being born anew, but retaining their memories of everything that came before. You really get a feel for how insane this would be through Ana's friendship with Sam. Ana's seventeen, and Sam's thousands of years old, currently in a seventeen-year-old body. Many of the residents of Heart consider Ana to be childlike, because she doesn't have the skills or knowledge everyone else has been able to gather over the millennia. But being that old also means people are set in their ways. Many are unwilling to accept the newness and challenge that Ana's very existence brings. Others ignore her, because like a butterfly, her life will be so brief that she's not even worth reckoning with. I guess I found this point especially fascinating, because it gets into questions of what a single life is worth, however short it may be, and how it would affect the way you live if you believed that your existence was un-ending, that even if you died tomorrow, you'd come back and back and back. People tell Ana that she is passionate, and it made me think about the ways that passion is so often tied to do with discovering new things, discovering things you want to fight for, and having something to lose. It's easy to lose your passion as you get older.
- The mysteries. There are some great mysteries throughout, starting with the question of why Ana is the first newsoul ever to be born, questions about the dragon attacks and the mysterious temple with no door, mysteries about factions that are secretly working against Ana, questions about Sam's past, and more. And my favorite part of the book was the epic ending, where we get some really satisfying answers to some of these questions, there's some amazing heartbeat-raising action, and basically all around, big sh*t goes down! There's nothing I love better than a satisfying ending. Some mysteries are left to be resolved throughout the series, and with the characters that I completely loved by the end of the book, I finished at 4 in the morning and about died realizing I'll have to wait a whole nother year to find out what happens next!!!! But like with book 1, I expect it will be worth the wait.
January 31, 2012
What I Learned From THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
So here's something if you don't know about me, you should know: I freaking LOVE epic stories, especially epic trilogies. I think this began in childhood (which was, I admit, in the late 80's) when I saw an assorted number of movies indelibly etched upon my brain space, especially the original Star Wars. Star Wars has always been my hallmark for Awesome Trilogy Storytelling. Which, you know, comes in handy since I myself am writing a trilogy.
I thought of Star Wars as I was plotting out my trilogy, writing those outlines for books 2 and 3 that I attached when fabulous agent man and I were submitting to publishers. I wanted big. I wanted epic. I wanted One Girl Who Can Maybe Save The World Like Luke Skywalker Did kind of epic. Although, technically I suppose, he saved the galaxy, but I digress.
So I'm writing Book 3 now, and as I'm tossing around plot ideas in my head (because as all writers know, outlines were made to be broken), I come back to the original, to the penultimate. I come back to Star Wars. I had to go out and buy the BlueRay version because last time I watched it was on VHS and I no longer have a VCR. And because I'm more concerned about the middle and end of my trilogy, I started out of order and watched The Empire Strikes Back.
Which is my favorite of the trilogy. My heart goes all racy just thinking about it. This is great story-telling. This is great melodrama. Specific things I noted as I was watching this time through:
There's lots of little mini-mysteries. Luke goes searching for Yoda, meets a funny little obnoxious creature who turns out to BE Yoda, and meanwhile, it highlights the very thing Luke needs to work on in his Jedi-training, his youth and impatience. Han and Leia drive IN to an asteroid field to hide, drive straight into a hole in the asteroid, only to find out later there's a secret we didn't know about this particular asteroid they've chosen. A lot of story-telling weight can hinge on something as simple as a mechanical malfunction. All of Han's story-arc in this movie depends on the fact that his dang hyper-drive keeps not working!! He would have been out at the beginning of the movie paying Jabba the Hut off if it had worked! They wouldn't have had to go in the asteroid field at all if it had yet again been working. And at the end, when you hear that now familiar: waa, waa, waaaaaa noise of the hyper-drive again, NOT working after they've all escaped Vader, you're like, noooooo!Big mysteries with Big Reveals. Then there are the bigger mysteries. We have a feeling we know why the Emperor and Vader are interested in Luke, but we don't know just how deep it goes. At first it seems ludicrous that Luke would be tempted by the dark side of the force, but then with the giant, emotional reveal that Vader IS his father, omg, I still get goosebumps thinking about it!!!!But back to Han Solo. Seriously, Han is what makes this movie work, thirty years later. He's got so much charm, he's the cowboy/pirate character among the bunch. Luke can be a little whiny at times, but you always love Han, even when he's being a scoundrel. As he so aptly points out: "you like me because I'm a scoundrel. There aren't enough scoundrels in your life."Chemistry between Han and Leia. Whether she's hurling insults: "You stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking Nerf herder!" or he's trying to corner her in a hallway somewhere, it always sizzles between them.
I thought of Star Wars as I was plotting out my trilogy, writing those outlines for books 2 and 3 that I attached when fabulous agent man and I were submitting to publishers. I wanted big. I wanted epic. I wanted One Girl Who Can Maybe Save The World Like Luke Skywalker Did kind of epic. Although, technically I suppose, he saved the galaxy, but I digress.
So I'm writing Book 3 now, and as I'm tossing around plot ideas in my head (because as all writers know, outlines were made to be broken), I come back to the original, to the penultimate. I come back to Star Wars. I had to go out and buy the BlueRay version because last time I watched it was on VHS and I no longer have a VCR. And because I'm more concerned about the middle and end of my trilogy, I started out of order and watched The Empire Strikes Back.
Which is my favorite of the trilogy. My heart goes all racy just thinking about it. This is great story-telling. This is great melodrama. Specific things I noted as I was watching this time through:
There's lots of little mini-mysteries. Luke goes searching for Yoda, meets a funny little obnoxious creature who turns out to BE Yoda, and meanwhile, it highlights the very thing Luke needs to work on in his Jedi-training, his youth and impatience. Han and Leia drive IN to an asteroid field to hide, drive straight into a hole in the asteroid, only to find out later there's a secret we didn't know about this particular asteroid they've chosen. A lot of story-telling weight can hinge on something as simple as a mechanical malfunction. All of Han's story-arc in this movie depends on the fact that his dang hyper-drive keeps not working!! He would have been out at the beginning of the movie paying Jabba the Hut off if it had worked! They wouldn't have had to go in the asteroid field at all if it had yet again been working. And at the end, when you hear that now familiar: waa, waa, waaaaaa noise of the hyper-drive again, NOT working after they've all escaped Vader, you're like, noooooo!Big mysteries with Big Reveals. Then there are the bigger mysteries. We have a feeling we know why the Emperor and Vader are interested in Luke, but we don't know just how deep it goes. At first it seems ludicrous that Luke would be tempted by the dark side of the force, but then with the giant, emotional reveal that Vader IS his father, omg, I still get goosebumps thinking about it!!!!But back to Han Solo. Seriously, Han is what makes this movie work, thirty years later. He's got so much charm, he's the cowboy/pirate character among the bunch. Luke can be a little whiny at times, but you always love Han, even when he's being a scoundrel. As he so aptly points out: "you like me because I'm a scoundrel. There aren't enough scoundrels in your life."Chemistry between Han and Leia. Whether she's hurling insults: "You stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking Nerf herder!" or he's trying to corner her in a hallway somewhere, it always sizzles between them.
January 25, 2012
Review of Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally
I've been on YA contemporary reading binge lately, and my most recent favorite read is Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally. This book was so much fun. I wasn't sure at first if I'd connect with it because I'm not very much into football, but this book is all about the characters, and I was hooked from page one. My favorite thing was how real all the characters felt. When Jordan is laughing and joking with her guy teammates, it feels so natural, like you're getting an insider look of guys hanging out, being a mixture of raunchy and rude, funny and sweet. In some YA contemporary novels from a girl's perspective, it's like the guys in the novel are from another planet. So it was refreshing to watch Jordan be so at home with the guys and then super awkward with other girls her age. So many other things I liked about this book: Jordan's a girl player in a very guy-centered game, and the book manages to be subtly girl-power! without ever getting over-the-top about it. Jordan's character growth is natural and engaging. And then there are some seriously swoon-worthy boys!
This book was just so real. Dramatic things happened without the writing getting all drama-y about it. Places where other authors would have been tempted to get preachy, Kenneally always keeps it real. This was an excellent, super satisfying read.
January 24, 2012
Writing Book 3 in a Trilogy
So I'm in this delightful lull between finishing copyedits on book 1 and receiving an edit letter on book 2. Where you guessed it, I'm working on book 3 again. Writing life is funny when you're working on a trilogy set to come out at six month intervals. Rarely a dull week!
So I haven't written, as in full on drafting, since November, when I started book 3 in NaNoWriMo. Thankfully I got a good 20k into it before other edits intervened, and I stare at those 70 pages I have already written on it gratefully. It's a good feeling to have a head-start, but I still want to make more of a dent on it while I have a bit of time here before it's due in May. I'm no good with the stress of deadlines. I like to have a first draft WELL beforehand so I can avoid stress-writing, which is generally passion-less writing.
But the trick, as always when I've gone a few months without drafting, is getting back into the swing of it. I'd compare it to training for a marathon, but then, I hate sports metaphors :) So let's just say, it always takes a few days with slow-spurt starts. Like today, I managed 1,500 words. But I cheated a little. Usually I make myself go chronologically, but I let myself skip ahead and write the epic ending scene. Which, as you can imagine as the end of a trilogy, is VERY EPIC. When I'm getting back into drafting, it's all these little tricks that help. Tomorrow I'll go back to writing chronologically, and doing responsible grown-up things like plotting out scenes before I write them.
A very good and genius friend, Jodi Meadows, gave a piece of advice I've always kept in mind for when sequels are daunting: treat each book as a standalone. As if this was the first book in a trilogy, when you're super jacked up about the idea and the characters. Because here's a secret, blogosphere: I'm having a love affair with another book idea in my head. But to get to that one, of course, I have to write this one. So every morning lately when I wake up dreaming of that book, I try to slow down, and think of what I want to do with this book. I ask myself these questions:
-What do I love in great trilogy-ending books?
-What do I hate in trilogies I feel have let me down as a reader?
-What themes and big ideas have I set up in Book 1 and 2 that I really want to give satisfaction here in book 3?
-What new things can I introduce to make this book and the characters brand new again to me?
And for me folks, I won't lie, it's all about the romance and character growth. That's what I love, what draws me to books and trilogies. I've got all the events and action plotted out for book 3, but how do I give it heart? How do I make readers cringe and yearn with epic melodrama?
So I haven't written, as in full on drafting, since November, when I started book 3 in NaNoWriMo. Thankfully I got a good 20k into it before other edits intervened, and I stare at those 70 pages I have already written on it gratefully. It's a good feeling to have a head-start, but I still want to make more of a dent on it while I have a bit of time here before it's due in May. I'm no good with the stress of deadlines. I like to have a first draft WELL beforehand so I can avoid stress-writing, which is generally passion-less writing.
But the trick, as always when I've gone a few months without drafting, is getting back into the swing of it. I'd compare it to training for a marathon, but then, I hate sports metaphors :) So let's just say, it always takes a few days with slow-spurt starts. Like today, I managed 1,500 words. But I cheated a little. Usually I make myself go chronologically, but I let myself skip ahead and write the epic ending scene. Which, as you can imagine as the end of a trilogy, is VERY EPIC. When I'm getting back into drafting, it's all these little tricks that help. Tomorrow I'll go back to writing chronologically, and doing responsible grown-up things like plotting out scenes before I write them.
A very good and genius friend, Jodi Meadows, gave a piece of advice I've always kept in mind for when sequels are daunting: treat each book as a standalone. As if this was the first book in a trilogy, when you're super jacked up about the idea and the characters. Because here's a secret, blogosphere: I'm having a love affair with another book idea in my head. But to get to that one, of course, I have to write this one. So every morning lately when I wake up dreaming of that book, I try to slow down, and think of what I want to do with this book. I ask myself these questions:
-What do I love in great trilogy-ending books?
-What do I hate in trilogies I feel have let me down as a reader?
-What themes and big ideas have I set up in Book 1 and 2 that I really want to give satisfaction here in book 3?
-What new things can I introduce to make this book and the characters brand new again to me?
And for me folks, I won't lie, it's all about the romance and character growth. That's what I love, what draws me to books and trilogies. I've got all the events and action plotted out for book 3, but how do I give it heart? How do I make readers cringe and yearn with epic melodrama?
January 20, 2012
On Copyedits & Coming to the End
I'm almost done with copyedits. Which means, this book is finished. Like finished finished. It's another first, having brought a book through all these edits and getting it so completely polished. All that's left are First Pass Pages, and then it will be out in ARCs, and into reader's hands.
It's been quite a strange feeling, actually. I've made some bigger changes in the copyedits stage than just grammar things, but I know this is the last chance. As a writer, you can always keep perfecting, keep tweaking and changing things. But it doesn't matter, because the book will come out and it is final. So that's, you know, scary!
At the same time I'm excited to move on. I want to get back to drafting again, working on book 3. Editing can feel kind of non-productive, rehashing over the same words, cutting and re-writing small bits--but it's nothing compared to the adrenaline and pure creation stage of drafting.
It's been quite a strange feeling, actually. I've made some bigger changes in the copyedits stage than just grammar things, but I know this is the last chance. As a writer, you can always keep perfecting, keep tweaking and changing things. But it doesn't matter, because the book will come out and it is final. So that's, you know, scary!
At the same time I'm excited to move on. I want to get back to drafting again, working on book 3. Editing can feel kind of non-productive, rehashing over the same words, cutting and re-writing small bits--but it's nothing compared to the adrenaline and pure creation stage of drafting.
January 18, 2012
Being a Writer with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
This post was going to be about copyedits, but other things have intruded, namely my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I try not to talk about it much, but on days like today, where the exhaustion got so bad I could barely hold the pencil to mark up my copyedits, there's little else I can think about. I've been sick since I was a freshman in college, over ten years now. I try to spread awareness of what CFS is when I can. I know the name makes it sounds like I just get a little extra tired or take naps in the afternoon or something. I go to a support group sometimes and the best way I heard to explain it to people is this: it's like the last day of having the flu. You still have a fever, your body feels weighed down with lead, you're not very functional. Of all the things in my life--being a wife, mother, writer--it's the CFS that defines me the most. At one point I had to use a wheelchair because I was unable to walk.
Last year I was well enough to start going on short ten to twenty minute walks, but unfortunately I had to stop taking a medication that was helping and I've relapsed. This means lots of time on the couch, maybe venturing out of the house once a week for a couple hours. I go on lock-down and try to wait it out until the energy comes back little by little.
So. I try hard to keep a positive attitude. It's been this bad before. I know how to adjust my expectations and muddle through. There's so much in my life to be happy and grateful about. A wonderful family, healthy son, loving husband. Glitch is coming out this year, and people around the internet seem excited about it. I'm so lucky to be able to be a writer in the first place, a job I can do from my couch, which I know full well is a rare and precious thing.
And the copyedits are going well! I'm about a third of the way through and I have 8 days left to get done. Even if I take today off just to rest, I should be able to finish on time.
If you want to know more about CFS, here are some links:
- fellow author (Seabiscuit, Unbroken) Laura Hillenbrand talking about her debilitating CFS
- A quick overview here
Last year I was well enough to start going on short ten to twenty minute walks, but unfortunately I had to stop taking a medication that was helping and I've relapsed. This means lots of time on the couch, maybe venturing out of the house once a week for a couple hours. I go on lock-down and try to wait it out until the energy comes back little by little.
So. I try hard to keep a positive attitude. It's been this bad before. I know how to adjust my expectations and muddle through. There's so much in my life to be happy and grateful about. A wonderful family, healthy son, loving husband. Glitch is coming out this year, and people around the internet seem excited about it. I'm so lucky to be able to be a writer in the first place, a job I can do from my couch, which I know full well is a rare and precious thing.
And the copyedits are going well! I'm about a third of the way through and I have 8 days left to get done. Even if I take today off just to rest, I should be able to finish on time.
If you want to know more about CFS, here are some links:
- fellow author (Seabiscuit, Unbroken) Laura Hillenbrand talking about her debilitating CFS
- A quick overview here
January 15, 2012
Quick Reviews of Five Amazing Recent Reads!
One of my resolutions for the new year is to READ MORE BOOKS! It's crazy that as a writer, you can fall out of old reading habits, and I totally did last year. But I've been slowly getting back into it, and it's been especially exciting to read my fellow Apocalypsies books!!! I've been wanting to review them all, but figure I'll never get around to it, so here's my two cents on each one (in no particular order).
Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Yay, our first Apocalypsie to bust the NYT bestsellers list!! Huzzah! And yep, this one is deserving of any all and all hype. The world Marissa Meyer creates is so fully complex and thought out, but not in that overt way we do as authors sometimes. I'm a giant fan of good fairytale retellings, so I loved the Cinderella elements, that each part of the story was clearly present, but also clearly re-imagined in some seriously awesome ways. Cinderella in Meyer's story is, after all, a cyborg! This book felt giant in scope and delivers on every front.
Fracture by Megan Miranda.
Zomg, zomg, zomg, the writing in this book will blow you away. So well crafted and lyrical. The story carried for sure, but it was the writing that had my heart. I still find myself rereading sections and wondering from a writerly standpoint, hmm, just how did she DO that??? I bow down.
Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock - Loved this book, so freaking HARD. I got to read an ARC of this, it will be out in about 4 months. With this book, it's all about the characters. They are so well drawn, they immediately draw you into the personal entanglements of a smaller town, and the prejudices and loyalties that can lead to violence. And lots and lots of secrets. You cannot come away from this without a feeling of : damn, some huge sh** just went down! And: I cannot WAIT to find out what happens next!!
Under the Never Sky - Love, love, love this book! We're finally getting to this year's crop of dystopias, and Veronica's is another that lives up to its hype, and more. I really enjoyed the way the relationship between Aria and Peregrine slowly develops. At first they consider each other enemies and it was so much fun to watch antagonism slowly grow to a grudging friendship and... maybe more ;) You'll have to read to find out. Oh, and the action in this book!!!!!! Seriously killer, and perfectly executed.
Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer - First book I've read this year not by a fellow Apocalypsie, by an author who I'm sure needs no introduction. This book is just insane. It's the ending of the Nightshade trilogy, and if I had just two words to describe it, they'd be: passionate and epic. Seriously, the characters go all over the world facing all kinds of crazy dangers, but it's the passionate central story and the characters that keep you on the edge of your seat. One thing I love about Andrea is that she never writes safely. There is always Big Epic Sh** going down, every other chapter. You can't stop reading until the end, and that too will blow you away.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Yay, our first Apocalypsie to bust the NYT bestsellers list!! Huzzah! And yep, this one is deserving of any all and all hype. The world Marissa Meyer creates is so fully complex and thought out, but not in that overt way we do as authors sometimes. I'm a giant fan of good fairytale retellings, so I loved the Cinderella elements, that each part of the story was clearly present, but also clearly re-imagined in some seriously awesome ways. Cinderella in Meyer's story is, after all, a cyborg! This book felt giant in scope and delivers on every front.
Fracture by Megan Miranda.Zomg, zomg, zomg, the writing in this book will blow you away. So well crafted and lyrical. The story carried for sure, but it was the writing that had my heart. I still find myself rereading sections and wondering from a writerly standpoint, hmm, just how did she DO that??? I bow down.
Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock - Loved this book, so freaking HARD. I got to read an ARC of this, it will be out in about 4 months. With this book, it's all about the characters. They are so well drawn, they immediately draw you into the personal entanglements of a smaller town, and the prejudices and loyalties that can lead to violence. And lots and lots of secrets. You cannot come away from this without a feeling of : damn, some huge sh** just went down! And: I cannot WAIT to find out what happens next!!
Under the Never Sky - Love, love, love this book! We're finally getting to this year's crop of dystopias, and Veronica's is another that lives up to its hype, and more. I really enjoyed the way the relationship between Aria and Peregrine slowly develops. At first they consider each other enemies and it was so much fun to watch antagonism slowly grow to a grudging friendship and... maybe more ;) You'll have to read to find out. Oh, and the action in this book!!!!!! Seriously killer, and perfectly executed.
Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer - First book I've read this year not by a fellow Apocalypsie, by an author who I'm sure needs no introduction. This book is just insane. It's the ending of the Nightshade trilogy, and if I had just two words to describe it, they'd be: passionate and epic. Seriously, the characters go all over the world facing all kinds of crazy dangers, but it's the passionate central story and the characters that keep you on the edge of your seat. One thing I love about Andrea is that she never writes safely. There is always Big Epic Sh** going down, every other chapter. You can't stop reading until the end, and that too will blow you away.
January 11, 2012
Cover Reveal Week
Goodness gracious, life has been busy lately. If you didn't see, I got to officially reveal my beautiful cover! I'm so excited, I've been in love with it from the first moment I saw it. Waiting on your cover is always one of those anxiety-filled parts of being an author. But then when I got to see it, with my favorite colors (purple and black) featured, everything about the girl is perfect and the glowing input port on the back of her neck... it's seriously the cover of my dreams. And my trailer, if you haven't seen it, is here.And so many other exciting things this week. Last Friday I got to meet my agent sister, Andrea Cremer, at the release of her last epic book on Friday. She is as awesome and delightful in person as I imagined her to be. I'm halfway through Bloodrose and loving it. It's so cool going to signings now, and not just because I know the people up there, but because I'm dreaming one day of my own release party. Because it's officially 2012 folks, and that means that my book is coming out THIS FREAKING YEAR!!!! In almost exactly eight months.
It's also strange to feel so close, and to be working feverishly through the very last rounds of edits before it's gone out of my hands. Soon it will be done and done, and before I know it, strangers will be reading it. Which is totally insane and I still can't wrap my head around it.
