Suze Reese's Blog, page 7
December 24, 2011
The Twelfth Day of Christmas
Today is Christmas Eve! And the Twelfth Day of Christmas! And the day that Sarah Belliston tells me I FINALLY get to announce my winner as part of the Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway!
First I have to say that I had a blast watching all the entries. Some of you came back so often (VIVIIIIIIEN!!!) that I started wishing I could give out multiple prizes. (CHANTEL!) (Chantel's name isn't quite as fun to yell. Dang it.)
But alas there could only be one winner. And the name is............................
(Ahem, twelve drums please start your drum roll.)
And the winner is.........................
Well, maybe first I'll tell you that the winner is a writer, and a reader, and wants an entire Barnes & Noble store for Christmas. And loves chocolate. Therefore I am a big fan.
So without further ado I'm pleased to announce that Cassie Mae will be receiving a signed ARC of ExtraNormal. Sorry I couldn't provide the whole store.
Oh, and for anyone reading this - what the heck are you doing here? It's Christmas Eve! Back away from the computer and go find a loved one and some mistletoe. And have a Merry Christmas!
December 22, 2011
Yes, I Believe
This is a re-post from my other blog. It's totally off-topic, but in the spirit of the Season I thought it would be appropriate to post it here.
I have seen mention in the news lately of "Santa Wars", with the question of whether Santa is taking over Christmas. And with our youngest now twelve, I've also been asked what it's like to have a house full of non-believers. Non-believers? Santa has no place in Christmas? Hum Bug.
Many, many years ago, my oldest daughter came of the age that she began to question the logistics of Santa's Christmas Eve journey. When she came to me with those questions, I gave her an answer that crushed her little spirit—as if I'd touched my finger to the Christmas spark in her eye.
The image of that disappointed little child caused me to ponder the appropriate place of Santa Claus in our Christmas celebration. And to reevaluate my response to my subsequent children. I doubt if any of those children recall a conversation like I had with my oldest—which by the way was fairly approximate to the one I'd had with my mother a generation earlier—because that conversation never took place again.
And here is why:
First, it's important to remember that Christ taught in parables. He told stories that sounded simple to the simple minded. Fishermen, shepherds, farmers and widows were among his cast of characters. There was always a second and deeper meaning to his stories, understood by his faithful followers who were ready to hear and understand.
To the very young, Santa is just a really amazing guy who sneaks into their house and brings gifts on Christmas Eve. As those youngsters grow in wisdom, some of the deeper meanings begin to (or can begin to) form in their minds.
Some are fairly obvious: Santa dresses in red to symbolize the blood Christ shed in our behalf. Santa has a snowy white beard, to represent Christ's purity.
But the correlations don't stop there. Santa is full of cheer, symbolic of the Christ's mission to bring joy to all mankind. Santa gives gifts, symbolic of the ultimate gift of life Christ gave to us. Both Santa and Christ dedicate their entire being to serving mankind.
It requires extreme faith on the part of a young child to believe that a fat guy they have never seen is going to fly to their rooftop with a sleigh pulled by reindeer, slide down their chimney and leave presents just for them. But it makes them feel awfully special.
It also takes faith to believe that a lowly carpenter born in a manger was actually a king who was able to atone for each of our sins and give us the gift of eternal life. This faith also makes us understand how special we are in the eyes of God.
Yes it is true that faith in Christ is ever so much more important than faith in Santa. But for those who understand the nature of parables, the difference is obvious.
At some point in time we all reach an age where we begin to see outside of ourselves to the world around us. We come to realize that Santa couldn't possibly complete his mission on his own. He needs helpers across the globe to ensure that no child is forgotten.
Christ, too, needs helpers. While he is mindful of our needs, he can't physically make a phone call to the lonely and harried young mother. Or visit the sick. Or prepare food and provide clothing to the homeless. Or tell a young child that he or she is loved.
Since Christ cannot do all these things himself, he needs angels. He needs us.
Just as Santa needs us to be his elves.
Santa is not just for children. He is a reminder to us all that when in the service of our fellowman, we are actually in the service of our God.
And that is why in my house we will always believe.
I have seen mention in the news lately of "Santa Wars", with the question of whether Santa is taking over Christmas. And with our youngest now twelve, I've also been asked what it's like to have a house full of non-believers. Non-believers? Santa has no place in Christmas? Hum Bug.
Many, many years ago, my oldest daughter came of the age that she began to question the logistics of Santa's Christmas Eve journey. When she came to me with those questions, I gave her an answer that crushed her little spirit—as if I'd touched my finger to the Christmas spark in her eye.
The image of that disappointed little child caused me to ponder the appropriate place of Santa Claus in our Christmas celebration. And to reevaluate my response to my subsequent children. I doubt if any of those children recall a conversation like I had with my oldest—which by the way was fairly approximate to the one I'd had with my mother a generation earlier—because that conversation never took place again.
And here is why:
First, it's important to remember that Christ taught in parables. He told stories that sounded simple to the simple minded. Fishermen, shepherds, farmers and widows were among his cast of characters. There was always a second and deeper meaning to his stories, understood by his faithful followers who were ready to hear and understand.
To the very young, Santa is just a really amazing guy who sneaks into their house and brings gifts on Christmas Eve. As those youngsters grow in wisdom, some of the deeper meanings begin to (or can begin to) form in their minds.
Some are fairly obvious: Santa dresses in red to symbolize the blood Christ shed in our behalf. Santa has a snowy white beard, to represent Christ's purity.
But the correlations don't stop there. Santa is full of cheer, symbolic of the Christ's mission to bring joy to all mankind. Santa gives gifts, symbolic of the ultimate gift of life Christ gave to us. Both Santa and Christ dedicate their entire being to serving mankind.
It requires extreme faith on the part of a young child to believe that a fat guy they have never seen is going to fly to their rooftop with a sleigh pulled by reindeer, slide down their chimney and leave presents just for them. But it makes them feel awfully special.
It also takes faith to believe that a lowly carpenter born in a manger was actually a king who was able to atone for each of our sins and give us the gift of eternal life. This faith also makes us understand how special we are in the eyes of God.
Yes it is true that faith in Christ is ever so much more important than faith in Santa. But for those who understand the nature of parables, the difference is obvious.
At some point in time we all reach an age where we begin to see outside of ourselves to the world around us. We come to realize that Santa couldn't possibly complete his mission on his own. He needs helpers across the globe to ensure that no child is forgotten.
Christ, too, needs helpers. While he is mindful of our needs, he can't physically make a phone call to the lonely and harried young mother. Or visit the sick. Or prepare food and provide clothing to the homeless. Or tell a young child that he or she is loved.
Since Christ cannot do all these things himself, he needs angels. He needs us.
Just as Santa needs us to be his elves.
Santa is not just for children. He is a reminder to us all that when in the service of our fellowman, we are actually in the service of our God.
And that is why in my house we will always believe.
December 16, 2011
On Roadblocks, Stepping Stones & Scrooge
A recent flurry of Christmas festivities have forced a dramatic slowing in my social media activity. Which is just fine. Real life beats cyber life any time.
Little Wonder Boy has been singing and swinging his adorable self at about four Christmas hot spots a week for the last three weeks. That's in addition to the events we're actually invited to as guests rather than entertainment. Oh and there's the multiple birthdays and an anniversary. December's a happening place at our house.
Amidst all this partying, I've been using every spare minute to get ExtraNormal polished and ready for release.While the manuscript is just about there, I'm amazed and mind-blown at my to-do list. Make swag, prepare blog tour, send out ARCs. I'm not complaining in the least. This is a great journey that I'm on. But I have hit a few bumps in the road in the last week that have me wringing my hands and wiping my brow.
Most of these bumps are small--like yesterday when I naively clicked a button that I didn't notice made major changes to all 202 pages of my manuscript, then clicked the save button, then spent the next two precious hours repairing those changes. Sigh.
There was also the matter of a one-star review. Every author has to be prepared for bad reviews. They do and will happen. Because humans are blessed with a variety of tastes, even the most highly-acclaimed works of literature receives an occasional bad review. Thank goodness, or we'd have to write a story about our messed up dystopian society where everyone thinks the same. And while I personally don't write reviews or rank stories that I don't like, I realize that some folks consider it a public service to warn others away from bad writing.
With all that said, however, I was not expecting a one-star ranking from someone who has not even read the book. I can't even come up with the thought process of someone who would just look at a cover and blurb of a book and decide that the world needs to know that they think it stinks. But I would hate to live with their Carma. I'm guessing this might be the same person (or kind of person) who flips one off while cutting them off in traffic. Or maybe the person who jumps to the front of a long line at amusement parks. Or maybe the infamous baby candy stealers. It's a scary world out there. But I must feel pity. Anger takes up too much energy.
Which leads to the big stumbling block that I crashed into last week. (Still cleaning up the road rash.) This post is all ready too long, so I'll give the quickie version. A book was released last week with essentially my same cover. And while imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all that, I kind of like the idea of my book being unique. Cause it is. So after much of that hand wringing and brow wiping, I have decided that the cover needs to be revamped before the release. This has made me very sad, because I love the cover and have received great feedback.
But as of yesterday I'm getting excited again. The cover that's in the works blows the old one out of the water. That's right! This road block is turning into a stepping stone. I love when that happens! So watch for it - a new awesome and incredible cover release - coming out very soon!
Now if I can just put a positive spin on that one-star rating scandal.
Little Wonder Boy has been singing and swinging his adorable self at about four Christmas hot spots a week for the last three weeks. That's in addition to the events we're actually invited to as guests rather than entertainment. Oh and there's the multiple birthdays and an anniversary. December's a happening place at our house.
Amidst all this partying, I've been using every spare minute to get ExtraNormal polished and ready for release.While the manuscript is just about there, I'm amazed and mind-blown at my to-do list. Make swag, prepare blog tour, send out ARCs. I'm not complaining in the least. This is a great journey that I'm on. But I have hit a few bumps in the road in the last week that have me wringing my hands and wiping my brow.
Most of these bumps are small--like yesterday when I naively clicked a button that I didn't notice made major changes to all 202 pages of my manuscript, then clicked the save button, then spent the next two precious hours repairing those changes. Sigh.
There was also the matter of a one-star review. Every author has to be prepared for bad reviews. They do and will happen. Because humans are blessed with a variety of tastes, even the most highly-acclaimed works of literature receives an occasional bad review. Thank goodness, or we'd have to write a story about our messed up dystopian society where everyone thinks the same. And while I personally don't write reviews or rank stories that I don't like, I realize that some folks consider it a public service to warn others away from bad writing.
With all that said, however, I was not expecting a one-star ranking from someone who has not even read the book. I can't even come up with the thought process of someone who would just look at a cover and blurb of a book and decide that the world needs to know that they think it stinks. But I would hate to live with their Carma. I'm guessing this might be the same person (or kind of person) who flips one off while cutting them off in traffic. Or maybe the person who jumps to the front of a long line at amusement parks. Or maybe the infamous baby candy stealers. It's a scary world out there. But I must feel pity. Anger takes up too much energy.
Which leads to the big stumbling block that I crashed into last week. (Still cleaning up the road rash.) This post is all ready too long, so I'll give the quickie version. A book was released last week with essentially my same cover. And while imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all that, I kind of like the idea of my book being unique. Cause it is. So after much of that hand wringing and brow wiping, I have decided that the cover needs to be revamped before the release. This has made me very sad, because I love the cover and have received great feedback.
But as of yesterday I'm getting excited again. The cover that's in the works blows the old one out of the water. That's right! This road block is turning into a stepping stone. I love when that happens! So watch for it - a new awesome and incredible cover release - coming out very soon!
Now if I can just put a positive spin on that one-star rating scandal.
December 7, 2011
Insecure Writers: Finding a Balance
In case you haven't found the Insecure Writer's Support Group, sponsored by Alex J. Cavanaugh, here's a little heads up. I stumbled across it last month and have been waiting for today to add my two cents. (They blog on the first Wednesday of each month.) As can be surmised from the title, it's a support group for writers--organized with the intent of helping us writer-types deal with our insecurities. And boy do writers have insecurities.
I read a quote once, and don't remember the author or exact wording (please forgive) but the gist was that every author needs to at times believe their work is of unparalleled genius and at others pure garbage. The first so that they have the courage to put it out there. The second so they have the humility to make it shine.
When I'm in the process of editing (which is what I'm currently doing) I have a chorus of schizophrenic inner voices in my head. Sometimes I'll get so caught up in the page I'm editing that my confident inner voice is saying, "Brilliant! Genius! Readers will go wild for this stuff!" Then of course I gloss right over the missing word 'is' or the quotation mark that is pointed in the wrong direction.
At other times I come to a screeching halt, usually at the sight of over-dramatized scene.
"Drivel! This is pure drivel!" Insecure Inner Voice shouts morosely. "What do I do?""Don't worry," Calming Inner Voice soothes. "Just remove all words ending in ly.""What!?" screeches Insecure Inner Voice, kneading her hands--for tenth time this chapter. "That will take weeks! And I have a deadline!""Hmm. I see this is worse than just an excessive use of adverbs," purrs Soothing Inner Voice, spying the word 'distraught' three times in one paragraph.
And so goes the editing...up and down, back and forth, happy and sad, confident and insecure. Hopefully all those voices serve a purpose in the end.
Now take a look at the members of this group below! Add yourself if you'd like to join. Cause we all need a little support dealing with our inner voices now and then.
December 2, 2011
Plugging Up Pesky Plot Holes
(Warning Twilight plot spoilers follow. If there is any such thing as a person who has not read or watched all the Twilights AND still plans to--then you--you one little hold out--please proceed with caution.)
Different stages of writing remind me of different occupations. Architect when building a new story structure. Designer when fleshing out details. Janitor when getting rid of excess commas and adverbs for the final touch.(That's the hat I'm wearing these days.) Today though I'm remembering when I had the job of construction worker--and hoping I did a good enough job with the important work of filling plot holes in my story. Because by now it's too late. If there are plot holes in ExtraNormal, the readers will just be falling into them.
What is a plot hole, you may ask? Readers stumble across them all the time, and they always know that something has happened. They just don't always know what.
In short: a plot hole is a big gaping hole in a story's logic. You know you've come across one when you stop reading, slap your forehead, and say, "Yeah, like that would really happen."
And the sad thing is they are almost never necessary. (I only say almost because I don't like absolutes. But honestly I can't actually think of a time that one would be necessary.)
Before I explain any further, let me put out some basic rules of fiction. One is that nothing just happens. Lots of things just happen in nonfiction. People get sick. They get in car accidents. They yell at their kids. They break a leg or step on a penny. It just happens and then we move on. But in fiction there has to be a reason for everything or readers won't believe it.
With my first novel, I had a character who left his family at a time of crisis--just jumped in his car and started driving. The reviewers came back saying, "A husband wouldn't really leave his family at a time like that." Which drove me nuts. Of course a husband would do that! Husbands around the world do it all the time! I vehemently explained this to said reviewers. What I didn't realize they were really saying was that I hadn't given the reader enough reasons to believe the husband would do that.
Which leads to a second rule of fiction. Anything can happen in fiction, anything at all, it just has to have a good explanation.
Now this is not referring to fantastical fiction where doors appear out of nowhere and animals talk. In fantasy, bizarre things do just happen and the reader just believes it. It's referred to a "suspending belief". But that only pertains to the fantastical parts of a story. Even the structure of a fantasy has to make sense. Sure the local teenage hottie can grow fangs. No explanation needed. But the rest of the way he spends his days has got to make sense.
Because in fiction, anything CAN happen, (your main character can join the circus, or mass murder his family or buy a kitten) he just has to have a very good reason for whatever the author wants him to do. He can't just do it for the sake of doing it.
Which leads us to those pesky plot holes. Now I am a great admirer of Stephenie Meyer I commend any author who can inspire hordes of non-readers to pick up a book and get lost in the pages. Which is exactly what she has done. So I've taken great pains to not be critical of her work. But when it comes to plot holes there just isn't a better universal example. So with apologies to Steph, I'm going to point out a couple of the deepest.
The first starts right at the beginning of Twilight. Vamps who are stuck as teenagers for eternity decide to be eternal high school students. Seriously? They actually CHOOSE to be stuck in high school forever? High school was great and all for while it lasted, but can you even imagine never leaving?
Now Steph obviously felt she needed her vamps to be at the high school so that they could meet up with Bella. But the thing is she can do anything she wants (remember the rule) as long as she gives us a really good reason to do it. And the only reason she gave us was so that they were trying to avoid suspicion.
REALLY? A group of adult-looking beautiful people who are paired off try to pass themselves off as foster children at the local high school year after year and that WON'T attract attention?
Now remember, she can do anything she wants with her vamps. She can even have them be eternal high school students. She just has to bend over backwards to make it make sense. So she could have them be teachers. Or younger. Or she could have them trying a variety of things each year, with this one being the 'going back to high school' year.
But they really don't have to attend high school to meet Bella. They just have meet her once and then find a reason to be around her afterwards. So if Steph had come to me for advice, I would have told her to make those kid vamps college students. And just have them be friends of Carlisle's family. Definitely not foster children. She could have even done that, if she really wanted to, by making them younger and not paired off. But there was no need, so why not just friends of the family? And college kids have all kinds of flexibility. They can work, be looking for work, be studying online, or attending a local campus. Nobody really pays much attention once kids get out of high school since they're all off doing their own thing.
Now I probably would have kept Edward at the high school, since at least in the movie he does look younger than the others. But I would have made it a once in a while thing that he does. And this year he would have obviously felt "drawn" to the school, what with his crazy-smelling girlfriend there. It would also have been natural for those other vamps to start hanging out at the high school once they learned that their little brother had the hots for a human.
So there you go - plot hole filled. Head whacking can stop. Wasn't that easy Steph?
I said I'd give a couple of examples, though this is getting pretty lengthy. So I'll just quickly mention my all-time favorite hole, which happened to be in the last of the Twilight series. With the babe. Now I don't have any problem with the existence of a baby. Steph can totally present a baby to the story if she wants. But here's where I not only slapped my head, but almost threw the book. Bella is being looked after by a genius doctor who has been practicing medicine for literally generations. She's also marrying into a family that has something like a hundred college degrees among them. And all these brilliant minds deduce that since a vampire has never gotten anyone pregnant, birth control is not necessary. But they don't consider the little tiny tidbit of information that no human has ever survived sex with a vampire. So maaaybeee, just maaaybee, that's why they haven't gotten pregnant. Because they're dead.
SERIOUSLY? Whack. Whack. Whack.
Okay, so Steph can throw in the baby, that's fine. She can do whatever she wants in this world she's building. But it has to make sense. More sense than in real life.
So let's just pretend that Dr. Genius gave Bella some birth control. Since a half-breed baby would be all kinds of horrible, let's just take that little tiny precaution, just in case Bella happens to survive her nuptials.
Now Bella can decide the pill makes her fat, or she can forget to bring them with her on her honeymoon, or it can turn out that vampire semen is just so darn tough that it doesn't care about measly human birth control. Whatever. There are all kinds of ways to fill a hole. But it just has to be filled.
I will be the first to say that it's hard for the author to spot holes. We know what needs to happen in our story and we make it happen. It takes some readers willing to plow through your early versions, whack their foreheads, and then tell you why. So the next time you slap your forehead and say, "Really?!? You seriously want me to believe that?!?" start looking for the plot hole, cause I'll bet you anything it's there. And if you really want to have some fun, figure out how it could have been filled.
I would ask for other examples--and suggestions for fixing them--but I don't want to trash any (more) authors since authors are my favorite peeps. But if you happen to have an example that doesn't offend anyone I'd love to hear it!
Different stages of writing remind me of different occupations. Architect when building a new story structure. Designer when fleshing out details. Janitor when getting rid of excess commas and adverbs for the final touch.(That's the hat I'm wearing these days.) Today though I'm remembering when I had the job of construction worker--and hoping I did a good enough job with the important work of filling plot holes in my story. Because by now it's too late. If there are plot holes in ExtraNormal, the readers will just be falling into them.
What is a plot hole, you may ask? Readers stumble across them all the time, and they always know that something has happened. They just don't always know what.
In short: a plot hole is a big gaping hole in a story's logic. You know you've come across one when you stop reading, slap your forehead, and say, "Yeah, like that would really happen."
And the sad thing is they are almost never necessary. (I only say almost because I don't like absolutes. But honestly I can't actually think of a time that one would be necessary.)
Before I explain any further, let me put out some basic rules of fiction. One is that nothing just happens. Lots of things just happen in nonfiction. People get sick. They get in car accidents. They yell at their kids. They break a leg or step on a penny. It just happens and then we move on. But in fiction there has to be a reason for everything or readers won't believe it.
With my first novel, I had a character who left his family at a time of crisis--just jumped in his car and started driving. The reviewers came back saying, "A husband wouldn't really leave his family at a time like that." Which drove me nuts. Of course a husband would do that! Husbands around the world do it all the time! I vehemently explained this to said reviewers. What I didn't realize they were really saying was that I hadn't given the reader enough reasons to believe the husband would do that.
Which leads to a second rule of fiction. Anything can happen in fiction, anything at all, it just has to have a good explanation.
Now this is not referring to fantastical fiction where doors appear out of nowhere and animals talk. In fantasy, bizarre things do just happen and the reader just believes it. It's referred to a "suspending belief". But that only pertains to the fantastical parts of a story. Even the structure of a fantasy has to make sense. Sure the local teenage hottie can grow fangs. No explanation needed. But the rest of the way he spends his days has got to make sense.
Because in fiction, anything CAN happen, (your main character can join the circus, or mass murder his family or buy a kitten) he just has to have a very good reason for whatever the author wants him to do. He can't just do it for the sake of doing it.
Which leads us to those pesky plot holes. Now I am a great admirer of Stephenie Meyer I commend any author who can inspire hordes of non-readers to pick up a book and get lost in the pages. Which is exactly what she has done. So I've taken great pains to not be critical of her work. But when it comes to plot holes there just isn't a better universal example. So with apologies to Steph, I'm going to point out a couple of the deepest.
The first starts right at the beginning of Twilight. Vamps who are stuck as teenagers for eternity decide to be eternal high school students. Seriously? They actually CHOOSE to be stuck in high school forever? High school was great and all for while it lasted, but can you even imagine never leaving?
Now Steph obviously felt she needed her vamps to be at the high school so that they could meet up with Bella. But the thing is she can do anything she wants (remember the rule) as long as she gives us a really good reason to do it. And the only reason she gave us was so that they were trying to avoid suspicion.
REALLY? A group of adult-looking beautiful people who are paired off try to pass themselves off as foster children at the local high school year after year and that WON'T attract attention?
Now remember, she can do anything she wants with her vamps. She can even have them be eternal high school students. She just has to bend over backwards to make it make sense. So she could have them be teachers. Or younger. Or she could have them trying a variety of things each year, with this one being the 'going back to high school' year.
But they really don't have to attend high school to meet Bella. They just have meet her once and then find a reason to be around her afterwards. So if Steph had come to me for advice, I would have told her to make those kid vamps college students. And just have them be friends of Carlisle's family. Definitely not foster children. She could have even done that, if she really wanted to, by making them younger and not paired off. But there was no need, so why not just friends of the family? And college kids have all kinds of flexibility. They can work, be looking for work, be studying online, or attending a local campus. Nobody really pays much attention once kids get out of high school since they're all off doing their own thing.
Now I probably would have kept Edward at the high school, since at least in the movie he does look younger than the others. But I would have made it a once in a while thing that he does. And this year he would have obviously felt "drawn" to the school, what with his crazy-smelling girlfriend there. It would also have been natural for those other vamps to start hanging out at the high school once they learned that their little brother had the hots for a human.
So there you go - plot hole filled. Head whacking can stop. Wasn't that easy Steph?
I said I'd give a couple of examples, though this is getting pretty lengthy. So I'll just quickly mention my all-time favorite hole, which happened to be in the last of the Twilight series. With the babe. Now I don't have any problem with the existence of a baby. Steph can totally present a baby to the story if she wants. But here's where I not only slapped my head, but almost threw the book. Bella is being looked after by a genius doctor who has been practicing medicine for literally generations. She's also marrying into a family that has something like a hundred college degrees among them. And all these brilliant minds deduce that since a vampire has never gotten anyone pregnant, birth control is not necessary. But they don't consider the little tiny tidbit of information that no human has ever survived sex with a vampire. So maaaybeee, just maaaybee, that's why they haven't gotten pregnant. Because they're dead.
SERIOUSLY? Whack. Whack. Whack.
Okay, so Steph can throw in the baby, that's fine. She can do whatever she wants in this world she's building. But it has to make sense. More sense than in real life.
So let's just pretend that Dr. Genius gave Bella some birth control. Since a half-breed baby would be all kinds of horrible, let's just take that little tiny precaution, just in case Bella happens to survive her nuptials.
Now Bella can decide the pill makes her fat, or she can forget to bring them with her on her honeymoon, or it can turn out that vampire semen is just so darn tough that it doesn't care about measly human birth control. Whatever. There are all kinds of ways to fill a hole. But it just has to be filled.
I will be the first to say that it's hard for the author to spot holes. We know what needs to happen in our story and we make it happen. It takes some readers willing to plow through your early versions, whack their foreheads, and then tell you why. So the next time you slap your forehead and say, "Really?!? You seriously want me to believe that?!?" start looking for the plot hole, cause I'll bet you anything it's there. And if you really want to have some fun, figure out how it could have been filled.
I would ask for other examples--and suggestions for fixing them--but I don't want to trash any (more) authors since authors are my favorite peeps. But if you happen to have an example that doesn't offend anyone I'd love to hear it!
November 28, 2011
Twelve Drummers Drumming! Blog Hop Giveway!
In celebration of the season, I've enthusiastically agreed to join a 12 Days of Christmas blog hop hosted by Sarah Belliston. There will be plenty of prizes, and since Sarah's blog is totally amazing but about as new as mine, there will also be a great chance of winning a prize! (Woot! High odds just like Vegas!) So hop on over to her blog to check out all the goodies.But before you go (dang, I should have said that sooner.) If you're still here make sure you sign up for my prize! I get to be Day 12! Twelve Drummers Drumming. I'm pretty sure I'm the last day cause I'm coolest. (Just don't tell the others I said that. Cause they're pretty dang cool too.)
For my prize I'll be mailing a signed advance review copy of ExtraNormal to the lucky duck winner! So let the holiday's roll!
Click HERE for more cool prizes!<a href="http://rafl.es/enable-js"&am... need javascript enabled to see this giveaway</a>.
November 22, 2011
Whether It's Utopia or Dystopia, Food Can Make The Difference
To quote my friend Super Girl (who is always worth quoting): "They say you are what you eat... Thats funny... I don't recall eating a sexy beast today!"
Assuming it's true that we are what we eat (I'm seriously trying not to think about that entire pumpkin pie that my husband and I ate by ourselves over the last few days. Cause pumpkin pie thighs just can't be pretty), what about the rest of our lives--our day-to-day business. How much of it is affected by what we're buying and cooking and eating? What about Earth? How much of our world is what it grows and sells and consumes?
Since food is a major part of pretty much everything we do, every author has to figure out how food will play into their story. Whether it's an abundance or a lack of food--what or how or when their characters eat is bound to be part of the story.
This is especially true when the author creates an entirely new world. Hunger Games didn't get its name by accident. The world Collins has created has a set of citizens who are fed every whim of their heart; and another set whose entire existence is spent furnishing those whims. In Matched, food is served in customized portions to each citizen and plays a pivotal roll in controlling the lives of those citizens.
When I went about creating the planet Nreim in ExtraNormal, I wanted Mira to experience the wonder of food as part of her Earth experience. In order to accomplish that I had to create a planet that was devoid of food. The result was a nutritional source called The Cube, ingested five times daily. The Cube eliminated the need for restaurants and grocery stores. It reduced transportation needs, improved health, decreased healthcare, increased life expectancy, and improved the environment. Ka-pow! It was, in fact, considered the most revolutionary advancement in the history of the world. (The world of Nreim, of course.)
As part of Mira's conditioning for her visit to Earth, she is taught that the words food and repugnance are synonomous.
When Mira eats a cheeseburger for the first time, she begins to see the cracks in what she thought was a perfect world.
Here's a quick peek into Mira's world:
------------
I shoved three fries in my mouth and decided that The Cubewas, in reality, a wide-scale tragedy of untold proportions.
"Mira . . . areyou okay?" Lacey asked, her blonde eyebrows lifted in concern.
"Yes . . . thank you . . . " I mumbled as best Icould with my mouth full. I chewed the last of the bliss and swallowed beforeattempting to speak again.
The girls hadn't stopped staring.
"I've never been better."
---------------
Mira doesn't celebrate any holidays in book one of ExtraNormal, but she had so much fun discovering things like chocolate and candy and cookies, I think book two will definitely be set during the holidays.
So can you think of any other stories that go the extra-imaginative mile in the handling of food? And if you happen to blog about food and fiction this holiday, make sure you post your link in the comments so we can check it out!
Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving, you sexy beast!
Assuming it's true that we are what we eat (I'm seriously trying not to think about that entire pumpkin pie that my husband and I ate by ourselves over the last few days. Cause pumpkin pie thighs just can't be pretty), what about the rest of our lives--our day-to-day business. How much of it is affected by what we're buying and cooking and eating? What about Earth? How much of our world is what it grows and sells and consumes?
Since food is a major part of pretty much everything we do, every author has to figure out how food will play into their story. Whether it's an abundance or a lack of food--what or how or when their characters eat is bound to be part of the story.
This is especially true when the author creates an entirely new world. Hunger Games didn't get its name by accident. The world Collins has created has a set of citizens who are fed every whim of their heart; and another set whose entire existence is spent furnishing those whims. In Matched, food is served in customized portions to each citizen and plays a pivotal roll in controlling the lives of those citizens.
When I went about creating the planet Nreim in ExtraNormal, I wanted Mira to experience the wonder of food as part of her Earth experience. In order to accomplish that I had to create a planet that was devoid of food. The result was a nutritional source called The Cube, ingested five times daily. The Cube eliminated the need for restaurants and grocery stores. It reduced transportation needs, improved health, decreased healthcare, increased life expectancy, and improved the environment. Ka-pow! It was, in fact, considered the most revolutionary advancement in the history of the world. (The world of Nreim, of course.)
As part of Mira's conditioning for her visit to Earth, she is taught that the words food and repugnance are synonomous.
When Mira eats a cheeseburger for the first time, she begins to see the cracks in what she thought was a perfect world.
Here's a quick peek into Mira's world:
------------
I shoved three fries in my mouth and decided that The Cubewas, in reality, a wide-scale tragedy of untold proportions.
"Mira . . . areyou okay?" Lacey asked, her blonde eyebrows lifted in concern.
"Yes . . . thank you . . . " I mumbled as best Icould with my mouth full. I chewed the last of the bliss and swallowed beforeattempting to speak again.
The girls hadn't stopped staring.
"I've never been better."
---------------
Mira doesn't celebrate any holidays in book one of ExtraNormal, but she had so much fun discovering things like chocolate and candy and cookies, I think book two will definitely be set during the holidays.
So can you think of any other stories that go the extra-imaginative mile in the handling of food? And if you happen to blog about food and fiction this holiday, make sure you post your link in the comments so we can check it out!
Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving, you sexy beast!
November 16, 2011
Roadtrip Wednesday: Back to School
This week's Road Trip Wednesday takes us back to school with this topic: In high school, teens are made to read the classics - Shakespeare, Hawthorne, Bronte, Dickens - but there are a lot of books out there never taught in schools. So if you had the power to change school curriculums, which books would you be sure high school students were required to read?At first I thought this would be an easy answer. Shakespeare has to stay. Period. Hawthorne should go. I could write an essay on the reasons why, but I'll just leave it at that. But then I got to Bronte and Dickens. Many a tepid reader has run from the practice of reading all together after drowning in a quagmire of Bronte and/or Dickens literary descriptions. (Did you like how confusing that sentence was? I wrote it in honor of them.) Seriously, both authors can and did use several pages just to describe a living room.
And yet, how do you toss out Pride and Prejudice? or A Tale of Two Cities? Yes, they are written in a style totally unacceptable by today's writing standards, and yes they can be distressing to the not-so-big-reader, but you just can't underestimate the impact those stories have had on our society. Seriously, how many versions of Pride and Prejudice are out there both in print and movies? I'm thinking it's in the three digits.
So to help with my thought process, I went to a list on GoodReads of required reading for high school students. That got me completely fuddled.
Between my required reading of ions ago, and my children'd required reading of not-so-long ago, I think I'm at least familiar with all the books on that list. And as I perused it I began to ask the question of which books do you leave off the list? How does an English teacher ever decide which books are most important? With the exception of a few (see Hawthorne above) they are all books I'd love to cuddle and nurture and share with a young mind.
So I'm going to make my answer simple. I think the only modern story that has had enough of an impact on contemporary society to call for a change in curriculum is Harry Potter. I can't say which of those greats I'd toss, but I'd find a way to fit a discussion of Harry Potter in there somewhere.
What about you? Are there any modern tales worthy of displacing a classic?
November 14, 2011
On Sequels and Cliff Hangers
I'm feeling it's time for another exciting installment of my ongoing Q&A. (I may run low on questions soon, so feel free to pop me some of your own. Cause I know you're all dying with your questions while we wait for ExtraNormal's release.)
And today's question asks whether there will be a sequel. Here's my answer:
Yes, I've started the outline to book two. The working title is Unlinked. Maybe Extreme Force? or Neoearth Rising. As you can see it's still very much in the infancy of planning. And I can't say much without spoilers. Mira will be busy trying to save Earth from the forces on her world who think they know what is best for us. All while trying to keep a dangerous romance alive and her boyfriend out of trouble. And we'll get to know her best friend Geery a little better. Which is great since she's a wonderful character.
If I can steer a little left of the question—I just had a conversation with a friend of a friend who got hold of one of my draft copies. She was very sweet and said that the book had everything she ever wishes would be in a book but usually isn't. (Her words, not mine.) Her only concern was that she felt so happy and content with the ending that she wasn't sure there really could be a second. I do plan to keep it that way. Personally, I find it very distressing when a book leaves me hanging from a cliff and then tells me I have to just hang there for a whole year. But of course I could get in trouble for saying that because my current outline for book two does have possible plans for a cliff hanger.
I guess I'll have to see what readers responses are to the ending of ExtraNormal before I make my final decision.
What about you? Do you like cliff hangers? Or does it depend on how big of a drop off?
And today's question asks whether there will be a sequel. Here's my answer:
Yes, I've started the outline to book two. The working title is Unlinked. Maybe Extreme Force? or Neoearth Rising. As you can see it's still very much in the infancy of planning. And I can't say much without spoilers. Mira will be busy trying to save Earth from the forces on her world who think they know what is best for us. All while trying to keep a dangerous romance alive and her boyfriend out of trouble. And we'll get to know her best friend Geery a little better. Which is great since she's a wonderful character.
If I can steer a little left of the question—I just had a conversation with a friend of a friend who got hold of one of my draft copies. She was very sweet and said that the book had everything she ever wishes would be in a book but usually isn't. (Her words, not mine.) Her only concern was that she felt so happy and content with the ending that she wasn't sure there really could be a second. I do plan to keep it that way. Personally, I find it very distressing when a book leaves me hanging from a cliff and then tells me I have to just hang there for a whole year. But of course I could get in trouble for saying that because my current outline for book two does have possible plans for a cliff hanger.
I guess I'll have to see what readers responses are to the ending of ExtraNormal before I make my final decision.
What about you? Do you like cliff hangers? Or does it depend on how big of a drop off?
November 11, 2011
Dark C.A.R.M.A. Tour
All kinds of crazy and exciting things are happening today: the second Friday in November. Which happens to be the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year. I believe fireworks are scheduled to go off at 11?One of those exciting events is a blog tour announcing the release of three books that look totally awesome. All are young adult with a good dash of the mysterious. I'm clamoring to read all three.
In case you're interested in either the books or prizes and giveaways, make your way over to the Dark C.A.R.M.A. website!
