Ann Benjamin's Blog, page 244

Week by numbers.

A lot of words this week (mostly about food, but some about a young Queen trying to end a trilogy):

1, article I wrote about being an American expat and watching the US election (I’d love it if you gave it a read).
1, article I wrote about things I’ve forgotten while being an expat.
9,097, current word count on The Queen 3: I Have No title Yet
30 pages, is how that translates.
ALL, the insomnia I seem to have these days.  What I wouldn’t give for a good night’s sleep…
Lots, of friends I got to see on my recent trip to Abu Dhabi.  While I certainly don’t miss my job there, I am reminded that I made a number of wonderful friends.
> 1 month, until we leave for Bali — I can’t wait!
1, super cute kitten I met this week (yes, this is newsworthy).

Your .gif for the weekend:

Sunday Sentence.

Do you have the courage to bring forth this work? The treasures that are hidden inside you are hoping you will say yes.”

Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

So, I’ve had this book on my Kindle for literally AGES and finally started reading it last week (having already listened to the podcasts, yes, that is out of order).  The book is resonating with me (not quite as loudly as I thought it would) and I do have to take a few moments to appreciate some of the sentiments.

I’ve never had a problem being creative, so I don’t need any support in that category, but the approach to accepting my creativity (whether or not it makes me a bestselling author, blogger, screenwriter, etc.) is the difficult part.

Full review on the book at some point in the near future.  :)

Week by Numbers.

A quiet week here, but I think sometimes those are needed at least that’s what I’m telling myself while everyone else in the world seems to be having an amazing time in Europe. #FOMO is real, y’all.

77,070, words. I sent the 1.5th draft off to an editor last week and will receive her notes in a month.  Let the countdown begin!
3rd, book in the series I also sort of started writing.  While there are unfinished draft(s) of other books, I feel the need to finish the Queen series before publishing the first one (if that makes sense).  I want to have a fairly decent idea of what happens, so I don’t publish the first and then go, ‘Well, crap, I should’ve done something else in Book #1.”
1, day I more or less lost to a migraine this week — boo!
1, sort of new potential for an independent type (part time) job.  Who knows?  We’ll have to wait and see.  My first assignment (of sorts) is next week.  #vaguepostisvague
1, article I’m writing about watching the US election as an expat.
2, tickets to Nepal purchased for October!  #vivalaHooks
1, month until we’re in Bali!
 A lot, of pride I feel for my alma mater, the University of Georgia, who is putting up a lot of medals at the Olympics in Rio.

A fun gif for your weekend (I love chickens):

A reminder (to myself).

http://positivedoodles.tumblr.com/post/148990948138/drawing-of-a-gray-cat-saying-you-are-not-behind

Sunday Sentence.

I was not a damsel in distress, I was more a damsel with no place to go, a heavy dress, and too much jewelry.”

Courtney Brandt, The Queen of England: Coronation

I was going through for a final(ish) draft last week (before sending off to the editor — yay!) and found a sentence I loved.

 

First Seven Jobs

First Seven Jobs: In which I follow a current meme…

1. Babysitter/Petsitter

2. Bagger at Publix

3. Cashier at Fuddruckers

4. Cashier at Books&Bytes

5. Casher at MediaPlay

6. Student network coordinator for Buena Pictures Distribution

7. Notetaker/Office Assistant at Student Notes

I didn’t even get to my other favorite college job… Planet Smoothie!

Sunday Sentence.

Mr. Bennet’s expression was thoughtful. “Men named Chad make me uneasy.”

Eligible: A modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice by Curtis Sittenfeld

Even though I didn’t like the book, this particular line of dialogue did make me smile.  Have a great week!

Week by numbers.

It’s been an up and down week, but I think it’s coming out ahead.

4 restaurants // 4 meals dining out in a row (maybe one too many…).  Life over at A to Za’atar has been interesting.
A lot, of reading this week.  I got through Eligible and am working my way through a few other books.
2, babies I met.  This is a lot of wee ones for me to come across in a week, but I enjoyed meeting both of them.
300, words.  Now that I’m between drafts, I’m trying to keep up my 100-word drabbles for the Queen project.  Read here if you’re interested.
1, possible article I might have published with a big travel website.  Here’s hoping!
1, ending I figured out to a book I haven’t started writing yet.
1, book giveaway that’s still going on.
2, hotels I’m looking forward to checking out next week.

Mostly me this week:

Review: Eligible

So, I read Prep by Curtis Sittenfield awhile back and really enjoyed it.  Eligible (a modern retelling of Pride & Prejudice) has been on my radar for awhile and when the price dropped I was like, ‘Sign me up.’

Not for me!

*Spoilers Ahead*

Yesterday was not good, so I found myself in bed and reading most of the day, and mostly devouring this book.  I will start by saying this is not the retelling I wanted…  I am not a die hard Austenite as some are, but I have always appreciated the works of this 19th-century author.  While I was relatively okay with the first half of the book, the novel takes a turn that it can never recover from.  Before we get to the point of no return, I will note that Mrs. Bennett’s open racism (among many other ‘isms’) was too distracting and disgusting for me to get past (treatment of black characters in this novel is nothing I would be proud of).  While Mama Bennett was certainly annoying (and entertaining) in the original Austen version, she’s been replaced by a horrible shrew with no redeeming qualities (she actually tells one of her daughters, ‘…life can be very hard for mulatto children.’)  Ditto the rest of the family, who, for the most part, are shallow, obnoxious assholes.  I wonder if an editor had notes, and the author just ignored them, or how Random House let this one out the door.  Liz (and to an extent Jane) are only barely palatable and certainly, at 38 and 40, old enough to know better.  Darcy turns up, as do the Bingleys and the storyline loosely follows the narrative of the book.

Until it doesn’t.

So, one of the daughters elopes with a young man…who was born a woman.  You might think the world was coming to an end, with the reactions from the characters (with the ugliest being, you guessed it, Mrs. Bennett).  While I am happy to see diversity and the inclusion of a trans character, the responses are just so…outrageous that I don’t really ‘get’ it.  As the book takes place in modern times, who honestly cares if a love interest was originally a woman?  That person is now a dude, identifies as a man, end of story.  Why does this plot point have to get so much undue focus?  Given some of the responses from the other characters, I just…  I had to skim the book because of my secondhand embarrassment.  (Read some of the reviews of this book to get a better idea how offended members of the Trans community are).

The plot goes far further off the rails when you add in an unnecessary reality show plot line (!!!).  Certainly, somewhere, Ms. Austen cannot be okay with having her name and novel attached in any way to Eligible.  Overall, with strange short chapters (that are not much more than extended scenes), this is not a book I would recommend (for free or to pay for).

As a palate cleanser, I will give you a far better Darcy.

Le sigh.

Or, you know, do it up with Amy Heckerling’s far superior modern version of Emma:

 

Visual insight into editing.

http://naomithoughts.tumblr.com/post/148296274154/teffyjeffy-servicek9s

Going into the (almost) final draft…and the above illustration is a fairly accurate representation of what it is to edit a novel.  I’m currently in the phase of ‘some of this is good, but some of this is I wish magical writing fairies would come along and fix.’  This phase is better than ‘why did I write this book at all?,’ but not by much.

For the twenty or so first drafts I sent out, I’ve heard back from four people so far (with 3 in the category of really enjoying it and one who was harsh, but in a good way).  Although to be fair, no author wants to hear ‘the narrator has a snooty voice that is unbecoming.’  I mean, my protagonist IS the Queen of England, so I think she’s allowed some slack in this category…