Best of 2010: Books

I have a slight obsession with end-of-the-year specials, so it's only fitting that I do a Best of 2010 miniseries on this blog. Yesterday, I talked about my favourite music and television of 2010, and today, I'll talk about my favourite books released and read in 2010.


I became obsessed with YA over the summer. Sure, I loved my Sarah Dessen and Judy Blume books, but I'd never even heard of THE HUNGER GAMES until I joined Absolute Write (why yes, it is uncomfortable to live under a rock.) I've been playing catch-up, so most of the books I read this year were not released this year. That's why I'm doing two lists: one for the best five books released in 2010, and one for the best five books I read in 2010.

Top Five Books Released in 2010

 5. Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green and David Levithan
I'm cheating: I haven't finished this book yet. But, I love it so much that it needs to be on this list. A book has never made me laugh and feel so much at the same time. Honestly, I'm not a fan of either Will Grayson, but it's impossible not to love Tiny Cooper. I laugh out loud pretty much every time he speaks (my favourite part of the novel thus far is when he saw a bed and said, "Look, a bed!" Seriously, I lost it...it doesn't take much to impress me.) This book isn't just funny, though. I had to put the book down and flail after reading one scene because it made me feel so much. I'm looking forward to finishing it. 

4. Some Girls Are - Courtney Summers

In making this list, I've realized that Courtney Summers is currently my favourite YA author (uh, spoiler alert.) I love her style so much, and it shines in this book. Regina's voice is uncomfortably real, to-the-point, and packed with emotion. This is such a page-turner, I-need-to-know-what-happens-next-more-than-I-need-sleep book. I love bitchy MCs (as you will see...spoiler alert), and Regina is just perfect in all her flaws.

3. Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver

Look, it's another bitchy MC! Yay! I hated Sam, but I loved that her attitude towards popularity wasn't oh-it's-so-hard-to-be-popular one I'm used to reading, but instead it she thought along the lines of, "Yeah, my life is easier because I'm popular, and that's the way it is." Her honesty is as refreshing as it is off-putting. The plot of this book is incredible as it's intricate and at times shocking, but it still makes sense (as much as a book with this premise can make sense, that is.) My favourite thing, though, is the romance in this book. In fact, it's the best romance I've read in YA. I felt and believed every moment of their relationship. These characters still haven't left me.

2. The Sky is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson 
Up until last week, I thought this book would be number one on my list, so know that it is a close runner-up (actually, my top three are all quite close.) I don't need gorgeous prose to like a book, I just need it to be honest. Well, this book is written in gorgeous and honest prose, and that's what makes it so incredible. Lennie is perfect. I understood her, gosh, did I ever understand her. Grief is hard for me to read about, but when I find a book that handles it well...I can't explain how wonderful that is, but I think all of you understand. It's like someone finally gets it, and Lennie got it, and I got it, and it was incredible. The romance in this book is wonderfully real and sweet, and gah, the entire thing is perfect.

1. Fall For Anything - Courtney Summers
There are so many things that I want to say about this book, which is why I'm going to dedicate a post to it in the new year. For now, I'll say that I've never felt as much as I have reading a book as I did when I read this book. Much like THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE, this book handles grief in way that was hard for me to read, but gosh, I needed to read it. I've known a couple Beth's, and could relate so well to Eddie's hate of her. Milo is just my favourite boy ever. Everything with Culler was thrilling and intriguing. Eddie is flawed and perfect and I've never wanted to hug a character so much. Stop reading this post and go buy this book. Seriously.


Top Five Books Read in 2010
French the llama, it was hard to narrow this list down to five. Honourable mentions go to HANDCUFFS by Bethany Griffin, BREATHING UNDERWATER by Alex Flinn, and IF I STAY by Gayle Forman.

5. Before I Die - Jenny Downham 
Honestly, I wasn't crazy about this book when I started it. I hated Tessa. I couldn't sympathize with her, even with her condition. But, as the book went on, I started to appreciate her honesty and just her raw her voice was. And there was Adam, oh, Adam. Their romance is second only to the one in BEFORE I FALL as my favourite YA romance. It was the same thing: I felt every moment of their relationship and it was beautiful and terrifying and completely heartbreaking. It took me awhile to get into this book, but by the time I was finished? I couldn't get it out of my head.

4. Looking for Alaska - John Green
This is the first YA book I read when I started to play-catch up, and I'm so glad it was. It helped me understand what YA is, which is when I realized that it's everything I love: honest, fast-paced, and incredibly emotional. This was also my first introduction to John Green, which led to me discovering the vlogbrothers and nerfighteria, which is just awesome. It's an incredible book, but it means a lot to me as well, and that's why it's number four on this list.

3. Cracked Up to Be - Courtney Summers
By now it should be obvious that I love Courtney Summers, yes? I think I'm one of the few people who prefers this book to SOME GIRLS ARE, though FALL FOR ANYTHING is definitely my favourite. Parker's another bitchy MC and gosh, I love her for it. The voice in this book is incredible, as it is in all of Courtney's books. My favourite thing about the book, though,  is Parker's relationship with Chris. It's just so perfectly real and messed up. This book is raw and uncomfortable and I loved every word of it.

2. The Sky Always Hears Me and the Hills Don't Mind - Kirstin Cronn-Mills
Why haven't more people read this book? I think it's the perfect coming-of-age book. Morgan's life certainly has issues, but it's not an issue book, it's just an honest representation of the life of a sixteen-year-old. Morgan's confusion over Derek, Rob, and Tessa is so real, and so well-done. My favourite thing about the book is the small town setting (I always love small town settings), and Morgan's overwhelming desire to just get out. I know tons of sixteen-year-old who can relate to that feeling. Heck, I didn't even grow up in a small town, but I pretty much felt like that since I was twelve until I graduated. Morgan's just such a real character and I see her in myself.

1. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
I hate to be so obvious with my number one pick, but I love this book as much as everyone I said I would. It's the first dystopian I've read since THE GIVER back in grade six, so I wasn't sure how much I'd like it. Well, once Peeta was introduced, I was sold. Seriously, biggest crush on a fictional character ever, which says something. I'm not a huge fan of Katniss, to be honest (which is why her and Peeta isn't one of my favourite YA romances), but I definitely rooted for her. This book is  so intense and I had to put it down a couple of times (understatement) because I couldn't deal with it. But, I always picked the book back up again, because I needed to know what happened. And because of Peeta. It's funny, because I'd read the descriptions for CATCHING FIRE and MOCKINGJAY (note that I haven't read MOCKINGJAY yet, so no spoilers, though I'm 99% sure I already know the two biggest spoilers), so I knew that certain people needed to survive the games. Well, I pretty much convinced myself that it was some sort of marketing scheme by the publishers that all of you were in on, because I didn't see how they could survive until the end of book. Seriously, I was surprised when they did! So many things surprised me in this book that I would've seen coming if I hadn't been so into it. I was right there with Katniss at the games, and I felt everything she did.

What books have you read/enjoyed on these lists? What are your favourite books of 2010?

Have a fun and safe New Year's Eve, and I'll see you in 2011!

Best of 2010: Music and Television

I have a slight obsession with end-of-the-year specials, so it's only fitting that I do a Best of 2010 miniseries on this blog. Today, I'll talk about my favourite music and television of 2010, and tomorrow I'll talk about my favourite books published and read in 2010.

Music

Best Albums Released in 2010         

Taylor Swift - Speak Now
I wrote a post in November about how Taylor Swift is one of my inspirations, in which I talked a bit about my love for her newest album, Speak Now. Well, I've listened to it a lot since then, and it's become one of my favourite CDs to write to. It's just such an honest representation of a young adult's life. I've added the entire CD to my playlist for BUILDING FORTS, because at least one of my characters has felt what Taylor sings about.

Maroon 5 - Hands All Over

My love for Maroon 5 tends to surprise people, because I'm a bit of a prude, and...well, just look at the cover art. But, their slower songs are incredible (seriously), and to be blunt, the rest of their music turns me on. I'm a prude, but I'm human. Maroon 5 tends to release their worst songs as singles ("Give a Little More" is my least favourite song on the CD, and I'm not crazy about "Misery.") The best songs on the CD, by far, are "How" and "Just a Feeling." But as a whole, Hands All Over is a solid album, with the perfect mix of emotional and sexy songs.

Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More

I saved the best for last. Mumford & Sons are not only my favourite new band, but one of my favourite bands of all time. It's so refreshing to hear new music that really doesn't sound like anything else, and I don't know of any bands with Mumford & Sons' sound. My favourite thing about them, though, is not how unique they are, but rather how emotional their songs are. I feel every single note, to the point where it's almost uncomfortable, and I love that. They're just so brilliant.

Best Single of 2010

Whip My Hair by Willow Smith

I'm only half-kidding. Honestly, my favourite single of 2010 was probably "Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry, which is weird, because I have many issues with Katy Perry. But, it definitely has something to do with the fact that it's perfect for my novel, and I never fail to smile when I hear it.

Television
Best New Series of 2010

Parenthood
I don't understand why more people aren't watching and talking about this show, because I think it's currently the best show on television. The storylines are real and emotional, the characters are well-developed, and all of the actors are brilliant (how can you can go wrong with Lauren Graham?) Seriously, I cried during the pilot of this show. I cared about the characters that much after spending no more than forty minutes with them. It's first show I've seen that has as much heart as the next show I'll talk about.


Best Season of an Old Series

Season Four of Friday Night Lights
Clearly, I'm a Jason Katims fan, as he works on both Parenthood and Friday Night Lights. I'm counting this season as airing in 2010 because that's when NBC aired it, even though DirecTV started airing it in 2009. Friday Night Lights is my favourite show, but I was wary of a season with little Matt Saracen. Honestly, Matt makes Friday Night Lights for me. He's my favourite character of anything, ever. Well, "The Son" gave me everything I needed from Matt Saracen. I wrote a post about that episode, so I won't repeat myself except to say that it's my favourite episode of the series, and easily one of my favourite episodes of any television show, ever. "The Son" is enough to make season four of Friday Night Lights my favourite new season of 2010, but the rest of the season was solid as well. I loved that there was more focus on my second favourite character, Landry, and I warmed up to all of the new characters (especially Luke and Becky, though I know the latter is an unpopular opinion.) It was a solid season for an incredible show, despite the loss of multiple main characters.

Your turn! In your opinion, what was the best music and television of 2010?

2010 Overview and a Thank You

I hate New Year's Eve.

It's just so much pressure. You need to go to the best party, have the perfect midnight kiss, and make resolutions for the new year.

Also, I really hate fireworks.

Last year, I was home alone on New Year's Eve. I watched Bring It On and danced around my basement to Ke$ha's TiK ToK. I made one resoultion: I was going to have fun in 2010.

I kept it. 2010 was one of the best years of my life.

The last half of 2009 was terrible. I hated my first semester of university, and you're not supposed to hate your first semester of university. You're supposed to make the best friends you'll ever make and have the most fun you'll ever have and live the best years you'll ever live. That didn't happen to me. I don't have a problem with people drinking, but everyone seemed to have a problem with the fact that I don't drink. I I hated living in residence, and my only friends on my floor were friends I'd had since high school. I did well academically, but, that was because I obsessed over my schoolwork to the point where I had no life outside of it. I didn't write. I didn't dance. I didn't spend time with God like I needed to. I didn't make plans with my friends. I worked and watched everyone around me have the time of their lives.

Guess it's no surprise that I was miserable, eh?

I knew that something needed to change in 2010. As mentioned, I made the resolution to have more fun, but I didn't really know what that meant. When 2010 came around, I didn't change overnight. There was no epiphany where I realized, "If I do x, y, and z, I'll be happy." Little things just started to change around and in me, and it led to happiness. I was still a perfectionist when it came to my schoolwork second semester (honestly, I still am one now), but it wasn't as bad as it was first semester. Funny thing is, I did better second semester than I did first semester. I started to make friends at school and I became particularly close to my school's Christian Fellowship. I danced and spent more time with God. Things weren't perfect at the beginning of 2010, especially since I was dealing with a particularly nasty illness, but things were better.

Then May came around, I had four months of summer vacation, and I decided to write again. Up until I graduated high school, I was a fanfiction writer. I loved it, and don't regret a second of it. But, even though I'd tried to write a novel a couple times before with no success, I made a promise to myself that I'd stop writing fanfiction by the time I graduated high school, and focus on writing a novel instead. I kept the first half of that promise, but as I said, I didn't write during my first year of university. I didn't even write the summer between high school and university. I don't know what my motivation was to start writing again in May, to be honest. I just knew that I needed to.

I wrote fanfiction on small a message board opposed to posting it somewhere like fanfiction.net, so there was a real sense of community there, and that was my favourite thing about it. I was scared to write without a community supporting me, like I thought I'd have to do if I wrote a novel.

Then I started this blog, and realized I had nothing to be afraid of.

I'm not sure we always realize how rare and wonderful it is to have a group of people, most of whom have never met, who support each other like the YA community does, especially since we all more or less have the same goals. I didn't think anyone would read my first post, but all of you were quick to welcome me into this family, and there are no words for how much I appreciate it. Honestly, I'm getting emotional writing this because you guys have done so much for me, and I'm just overwhelmed by it. Every comment means the world to me. Every post you write on your own blogs has helped me to become a better writer.

There are two moments I can point to in 2010 and go, "This is when I became happy again." One is when I joined the leadership team for my school's Christian Fellowship and found my university family. The other is when I started this blog and found my online family.

I needed to write again. Thank you for helping me write. Thank you for helping me become happy again again. Thank you for everything.

I had so much fun in 2010.

I currently do not have plans for New Year's Eve. I have two Bring it On movies saved on my DVR and Ke$ha's We R Who We R on my playlist. I'm making one resolution: I'm going to have even more fun in 2011.

Wishlist for the YA Genre

On the Playlist: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Carrie Underwood

Considering all the time we spend reading YA, reading about YA, blogging about YA, and of course, writing YA, I think it's fair to say that the genre owes us a Christmas present or two. What could the YA genre give you this Christmas to make you love it just a little bit more? Note that though I'd love to see more of everything on my list in YA books, I don't necessarily want to see these items replace anything else. This list isn't a criticism of what the genre lacks, but rather what I'd personally love to see more of in the future. Also, if you know of any books like the ones I mention in my list, please tell me about them in the comments!

My Wishlist:

• Books centered around football. I don't watch football and can't understand it for the life of me, but I'm slightly obsessed with football movies and television shows. Think Friday Night Lights (the television show, because I'm a terrible person and haven't read the book yet), so it goes beyond I'm-dating-the-quarterback, but that's still a part of it. I'd actually love to see a football book focused on the male relationships within the team, because I'm fascinated with male/male friendship. 
• On that note, books that focus on male/male friendships.
• More boys in general, really. Not because I think they're underrepresented in YA, necessarily, but because I love boys and I'm shameless like that.
• I think I'd like to see more unrequited love. Not the kind where the boy would never like the girl because he's so much more popular than she is, but ones where the readers think there really is a chance that the main character will get the boy or girl they want, and the boy or girl just isn't interested in that way. 
• More attention paid to characters' passions, what they want to pursue after high school. Don't get me wrong, I love hormone-crazy teens, but I was a hormone-crazy teen who wrote and danced throughout high school. I want to see what teens love other than each other.
• A really good mystery, and I think what makes a mystery great is a satisfying and sensible ending that's still a little shocking. I love mysteries so much, and would love to write one (this is coming from the girl who fails at plotting), but I'm not finding many examples in the YA genre. I could be looking in the wrong places, though, so please let me know if you know of any awesome YA mysteries.

What's your wishlist for the YA Genre? Do you know any books that fit with my/a commenter's list? Let me know in the comments!

Favourite Holiday Songs!

On the Playlist: Silent Night - Mercy Me

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Wondering what music to listen to while you're on a sleigh ride through a winter wonderland? Need to add noise to your silent night? In the mood for some silver bells that jingle?

Can you tell that I've been watching The Sing-Off which, let's be honest, is actually a competition of puns? 

Now, I'll share my five favourite holiday songs, and you will laugh, because they are embarrassing. But, that's the beauty of Christmas. It makes it ok to listen to campy music! (We will ignore the fact that I listen to campy music year-round.)

5. O Holy Night - Kelly Clarkson

It's just a gorgeous song, and Kelly's version resonates with me the most.

4. My Only Wish (This Year) - Britney Spears

Don't judge. I know you love it too. 

3. Do You Hear What I Hear? - Rosie O'Donnell and Elmo

It's Elmo. Do I have to say anything else? And I LOVED Rosie O'Donnell when I was a kid (seriously), so the duet never fails to bring back memories of those magical Christmases you have when you still believe in Santa Claus.

2. The Magic of Christmas Day (God Bless Us Everyone) - Celine Dion

I honestly don't know how to explain what this song means to me in words. It's not the song itself, but it's how it reminds me of my mom, who passed away. When I hear it, I feel like she's with me again. That is truly magical.

1. The Seven Joys of Mary - Great Big Sea

I'm a maritimer. To be a maritimer, you have to love Great Big Sea. Seriously, it's a requirement. I love where I live, and as Great Big Sea does so well, this song captures the maritimes. It sounds like home.

What are your favourite holiday songs? 

Road Trip Wednesday: Toys and Shirtless Boys

On the Playlist: Deck the Rooftop - Glee Cast

Road Trip Wednesday is hosted by YA Highway.

This Week's Topic:

You spot Santa at the mall, climb onto his lap, and whisper that you've been a good boy or girl in his ear. What do you want Santa to bring this year? Go wild! Have fun! After all, you earned it

I just watched A Very Glee Christmas (...again), and cried (...again) when Brittany asked Santa for Artie to be able to walk, but my favourite line of the episode was when Mike told Santa, "I want Channing Tatum to stop being in stuff." I'll put that on my Christmas list, too. Well, I'd edit it to "I want Channing Tatum to stop being in stuff with his shirt on." A girl can dream.

I would also love it if whenever I make a change in revisions that affects the overall structure of my novel, everything in the novel that needs to change to be consistent with what I changed would automatically fix itself. Santa can do that, right?

As for things I could actually get...

• Books! ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins as at the top of my Christmas list.
• Microsoft Office. I lost it when my computer exploded (I may be slightly dramatic), and I'm sorry Microsoft Works, but you are just not Microsoft Word.
• Notebooks.
• Pens. I lose pens like nothing else. Well, except for bobby pins. I could use some more of those, too. 
• Clothes, anything anyone will give me. I hate shopping for clothes and rely on holidays to give me a wardrobe. Seriously.
• Chocolate. I always need more chocolate.

What's on your Christmas list? 

Holiday Blogging!

On the Playlist: Hey Guys! It's Christmas Time! - Sufjan Stevens

I am done with exams (and if you're still suffering through them, I suggest you watch this video made by the brilliant dwkazzie, who also made the famous So You Want to Write a Novel video), which means it's winter break, which means I have no responsibilities for three weeks other than Christmas-y things, which means CHRISTMAS IS SO SOON AND I'M SO EXCITED I CAN'T FIGHT MY URGE TO USE CAPS LOCK.

To spread some of the holiday cheer (or annoy all of you, we'll see how this goes), I'm re-vamping my blog with a holiday layout (check out other holiday layouts here), and from now until Christmas, most/all of my posts will be holiday-related. There will also likely be a New Year's post or two.

Some of the posts will be writing/reading related, and some won't be. So, lookout for posts about favourite holiday songs (really, I just want you guys to help me with my Christmas playlist), best books read in 2010, a Christmas teaser, and other posts related to this wonderful season. If I get a credit card over Christmas as planned, I will likely also do my first giveaway over the holidays, but I can't make any promise there.

I need your help! I would love to do a post of links to other holiday posts, so if you do one (this includes giveaways!), leave me a link in the comments, and I'll be sure to include it! You can either comment in this post or on a future holiday-related post. Also, if anyone who celebrates a holiday other than Christmas at this time of year is willing to do a guest post about the holiday you celebrate, please let me know in the comments. I don't want this to become too Christmas-heavy, and I'm sure everyone will get sick of me talking soon enough ;)

That's all! What do you guys think? Any holiday-themed posts you'd like to see? I'm totally open to/begging for suggestions. Don't forget to leave links to your own holiday posts!

Just Sharing Some Inspiration

Sometimes we're struck by stories that aren't in books, but in music, in photographs, in film.

In people.

This dance has hit me in a way that's like that breathless feeling you get after you read a book, one that worked its way right into your heart, that somehow found a home in you. I won't say anything else about the dance. It is what it is, and just like with books, you'll like it or you'll won't. I'm posting this in hopes that someone else will get knocked out by it like I did.

Choreography: The brilliant Erica Sobol.

Dancers: Leah Moyer and one of the most underrated dancers ever to be on So You Think You Can Dance, Thayne Jasperson.

Music: "The Moment I Said It" by Imogen Heap, and "I Don't Feel it Anymore (Song of the Sparrow)" by my favourite artist of all time, William Fitzsimmons.

Enjoy. 

I'd love for all of you to share what stories (that aren't found in books) have left you breathless.

Road Trip Wednesday: Six Word Memoir

Road Trip Wednesday is hosted by YA Highway

This Week's Prompt:

Your six-word memoir. Literally, your life story in six words.

When this week's prompt appeared on Twitter last night, this was honestly the first thing I thought, and it happened to be six words. I won't explain it because, well, it's my memoir, it should tell you everything. So, here it is:

Found God and never been kissed.

What's your six-word memoir? 

Inspiration: Taylor Swift

Whenever someone asks me who my favourite artists are, my response is, "William Fitzsimmons, Mumford & Sons, Florence and the Machine, and Taylor Swift."

One of these things is not like other, right?

I was fifteen when Taylor Swift came out. I was fifteen when I had my first crush that went beyond, "Oh, he's cute." I honestly thought that I had a shot with this guy, but then he started dating his ex-girlfriend. I didn't know her, but from what others told me, she was pretty much exactly like me, just better according to him. It doesn't sound like a big deal now, but when I was fifteen, it completely crushed me. When I heard "Teardrops on my Guitar" on the radio, it was the first time as a young adult I'd heard a song and thought, "Oh my gosh, someone gets it." I quickly downloaded the rest of her music, and had the same experience with "Tied Together With a Smile", "Stay Beautiful", and "A Place in the World." Even though I couldn't relate to the other songs, I loved them just as much. In fact, "Cold as You" is still my favourite Taylor Swift song.

I didn't have the same experience with "Love Story" that I had with "Teardrops on My Guitar". I liked the song and thought it was cute, but it didn't strike me like Teardrops did. Still, I loved Taylor, and bought Fearless. I enjoyed it, but again, it didn't hit me like Taylor Swift did. That summer, I went away for a week to a random small town, where I met a boy. That boy was one of the biggest rushes I've ever experienced. We clicked and flirted like crazy (and until this point, I didn't flirt at all), but in a week, it was over. Suddenly, Fearless was the soundtrack to my life, just as Taylor Swift had been. "Love Story" and "Fearless" were my week, and "White Horse" was the rest of my summer. I also felt a connection to "The Best Day", "Change", and, unsurprisingly after reading the last section, "Fifteen."

The difference between Fearless and Taylor Swift was that I got bored with Fearless after my boy-drama ended, whereas I still love Taylor Swift. When Speak Now came out, I wasn't that excited. I thought I'd either outgrown Taylor or that she'd lost some of what made her first CD so magical. I didn't plan on listening to it, let alone buying it. "Mine" didn't change my mind. In fact, I rolled my eyes a little when I heard it: a cutesy love song from Taylor, how original. Her performance of "Innocent" at the VMAs also came off as little self-righteous to me, which didn't help matters (though, spoiler alert, I love the song now.) Taylor's performance of "Back to December" at the CMAs is what made me listen to the CD. Both the song and the performance itself were so honest, and for the first time since "White Horse", Taylor struck a chord with me. I listened to the rest of Speak Now, and now I'm in the process of falling in love with it. "Dear John" and "Sparks Fly" (yes, another cutesy love song, but now I know a cute boy to go with it) were instant favourites, but I'm sure as I continue to listen and continue to live, more of her songs will hit my heart.

Taylor Swift's success is no accident. She gets what it's like to be a young adult, and can capture moments of that with an almost uncomfortable amount of honesty in three minutes. In three albums, she's managed to capture the life of a young adult.

That's why, as a writer, Taylor Swift is an inspiration of mine.

Now, you tell me: what musicians inspire you as a writer?

PS: The guy I liked when I was fifteen? Turns out he was a jerk. The ex he was dating when I liked him? She's now one of my best friends. Amazing how things turn out, huh?

Road Trip Wednesday: It's Enough to Make You Go Crazy

On the Playlist: People All Get Ready - The Frames

Road Trip Wednesday is a "Blog Carnival," where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing-or reading-related question and answer it on their blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

There's one more hour of Wednesday left in Nova Scotia land, and it's time to take a road trip.

This Week's Topic: "The winds in Washokey make people crazy."

It's the first line of Kirstin Hubbard's novel LIKE MANDARIN, and if you'd like to win an ARC of LIKE MANDARIN, you should check out this contest at YA Highway.

The prompt for this week is to write about a time you did something completely crazy. I am not a crazy person by nature, but as I thought about the question throughout the day, I realized that all the crazy things I've done involve either God, like when I joined the leadership team for my school's Christian Fellowship this year, or meeting awesome online friends in an inspiring setting, like at a Missy Higgins concert in Toronto. The craziest thing I've done involves God, awesome friends, an inspiring setting.

I've been chatting online since I was twelve, which for the record, I don't recommend as it means there's lots of evidence of your twelve-year-old self all over teh interwebz. The first message board I ever participated on was on, wait for it, Neopets. Neopets had guilds, which were groups that people who shared a common interest could join. I was in a Canadian Idol one (this story just gets better and better, doesn't it?), and I started chatting with the other members of the guild. I became close to one girl who was a couple years older than me, who happened to live in Nova Scotia as well, though she lived a few hours away from me. She was a Christian, and I wasn't (but at twelve, my theology was, uh, completely wrong). She was always encouraging me to open my mind to Christianity, and not in a pushy way. She taught me about it and answered all of my questions without judgement.

One day, she told me she was going to be a counsellor at a Bible camp, and asked me to come. I was never the kind of kid who went to camp, other than few dance day camps (actually, the craziest thing I may have done was co-choreograph and perform a routine to "Space Cowboy" by N*SYNC), because I was awkward and just didn't know how to handle situations where I didn't know anyone. Also, I still wasn't a Christian at this point, so going to a Bible camp wasn't too appealing. I expected to be judged there, and I knew that there would be many conversations that I just wouldn't be comfortable with. But this girl honestly was my best friend, and I knew this might be the only chance I got to hang out with her, so I had to go.

To sum up, I went to a Christian camp when I wasn't a Christian and hated the idea of camp, to meet someone I met online. Not like me at all.

But it was incredible. My friend was just who she was online and I spent an awesome week with her. I will admit to having a couple issues with the people there, but we were twelve, so that's to be expected. Overall, though, they were great. The best part? That's where I was saved.

I don't take risks often, but every now and then I do something that surprises me, and it always seems to work out, even if it's just a bad decision that I learn tons from. Mostly, though, my moments of insanity have shown me a world I wouldn't have known otherwise.

Talking About Writing

On the Playlist: Down - Jason Walker

Today, a friend asked me, "What are you writing now?"

My answer? "It's YA Contemporary. With romance, but it's coming-of-age. *pause* It's about dance. *longest pause of my life* I hate to say this because it's embarrassing and a cheap trick *somehow an even longer pause than the last one* There's, uh, a freak car accident that puts the dancer in a wheelchair, and the story goes from there."

Yeah, I wouldn't read it either.

I don't know how to talk to people about what I write, unless it's over the internet or with a fellow writer. Though I'm certainly no expert at queries, I could write once that's better than what I told my friend (ok, given what I told my friend, that is not a hard thing to do.)

This friend is even one who I trust, who I know doesn't think I'm crazy for wanting to be a YA writer. Yet, I didn't know what to say to her. Heck, much of what I said wasn't even true. There's dance in my WIP, yes, but that's not what it's about. The accident isn't really a freak accident, or at least the results of it weren't as the character who was injured wasn't even sitting in a seat when they crashed. I have thought that the car accident was a cheap trick before, but I don't really anymore. It's necessary for the plot and it does more than just paralyze my character.

But I was embarrassed to say that I used a car accident, and strangely, embarrassed to say that I write romance. That's ridiculous, because I love romance, and believe it is as important as every other genre. The embarrassment came from the fact that I'm writing romance, because I don't have much experience with romance in real life. I was so tempted to tell my friend, "It really is better than it sounds", which we all know makes everyone think your novel is just as bad, if not worse, than you made it sound.

Being able to talk about my novel in real life (you know, as opposed to this fake life that is the internet) is definitely a skill I need to work on. How can I expect anyone to be interested in it when I can't make it sound interesting?

Does anyone else have verbal diarrhea when it comes to talking about their writing?

Update

On the Playlist: One by One - Robert Francis

This is a self-indulgent post written at midnight on an adrenaline rush. Don't say you weren't warned.

This post is just a quick update to let all of you know where I've been, what I've been up to, and when the blog will get back on its feet.

For the past two weeks, I've been in a fairly intense amount of pain. Now, there are three unrelated reasons for this pain, none of which should worry you. It's all pain I was supposed to have; for example, I got my wisdom teeth out last Saturday, and it's probably a good thing that I was in pain from it, but it didn't feel that way when I was living off a diet of milkshakes and jello. I was prescribed painkillers after I got my wisdom teeth out, with this magical little drug in them called codeine that made me useless. They didn't make me that dopey (though I did once try to pay for food in my school's cafeteria with my keys instead of my meal card), but they did make me tired as anything. I'm a university student, so I have class and homework. I'm also on the leadership team of my school's Christian Fellowship, so I have meetings to attend, and this past week we had an event that I helped to plan and run (I could've planned the date of the event better, eh?) Those are my priorities. They do leave time for writing and blogging and all that fun stuff, but that's now how I spent that time this past week. Thanks to codeine, I spent it sleeping (I also spent a fair amount of time wallowing in self-pity and watching guilty pleasure TV, like Dancing With the Stars.)

Needless to say, I fell behind on NaNoWriMo pretty quickly. Even before I got my wisdom teeth out, I was in pain for other reasons, and as much I wish it was, writing just isn't as important as school, the Christian Fellowship, and of course, keeping myself healthy. I called it quits around the end of the first week.

But, those weren't the only reasons I decided not to NaNo. At the end of October, I was stuck on revisions for Building Forts. Like, I've been trying to revise a scene for two weeks and just can't do it stuck. But, once I started my NaNo project, the inspiration for Building Forts came back. I'd kind of expected it to, but I didn't expect it to happen so quickly, nor did I expect to be as inspired as I was. I mentally worked through some of the major issues in the first draft that I realized were preventing me from revising specific scenes, and once I had those figured out, all I wanted to write was Building Forts. So, that's what I'm writing now. The revisions are quickly turning into total rewrites, but that's ok. It's better and I love it again.

Now, I'm not in pain, the event with the Christian Fellowship is over, and there's no longer codeine running through my system. School, however, has not gone away. In fact, it's probably busier than it's been all semester from now until Christmas break. Blogging won't be as slow as it's been lately, but it'll still be slow, and I'm sorry for that. It's not just because I'm busy with school, but being sick and/or on medication like I've been tends to put me in a bit of a mental funk, so I need to take some time to bounce back from that.

And that's what's going on with me. If you read all of that, I owe you a virtual cookie. Seriously.

'Twas the Night Before NaNo

On the Playlist:  No Curtain Call - Maroon 5

Well friends, it's 10:58PM on Halloween. Who knows what that means?

If you gussed In sixty-two minutes, Bri will stare at her computer screen for approximately four minutes before beginning to type something along the lines of, "fgjfdhds", then deleting it, then typing, "I'm an idiot", then deleting it, then writing a first sentence of a new WIP that she will (hopefully) finish by November 30, you would be correct! And you know me far too well.

November 1 is the start of NaNoWriMo, where a bunch of crazy ambitious writers try to write 50 000 words before November 30. I've blogged before about what I hope to achieve with NaNoWriMo, and now I will tell you what I'm planning to write and how I've prepared.

My novel is called Like a Bad Country song, and here is the terrible synopsis:

Tiffany and Adelle have spent their lives in the small town of Chillicothe, Texas. Tiffany's parents are, and always were, happily married. Adelle's parents are not, and never were, in her life; instead, her grandmother is her guardian. Tiffany is the captain of her high school's pom squad. Adelle's position on the pom squad is to be the tenth member they need to compete. Tiffany has had the same boyfriend, Ethan, since she was five. Adelle's never been kissed.  Tiffany hates Chillicothe. Adelle loves it.

But when Tiffany and Ethan have sex at the start of their senior year, it sets off a chain of changes in the girls' lives.  For the first time in seventeen years, Tiffany and Adelle must change themselves to handle what their lives have become.

Now, you may be (and probably should be) asking, "Bri, why is your synopsis...not a synopsis? It tells us about the characters, but nothing about the plot."

That's because I have no plot beyond that. 

Sure, I have some ideas for scenes and whatnot, but I really don't know where this novel is going at all. I do, however, know my characters. This is not new to me; all of my stories start with characters, and without real plots. The characters show me the plot as I write.

So, how have I prepared for NaNoWriMo? I haven't, really. I, obviously, have no outline. I do, however, have a ridiculous amount of leftover Halloween candy and Diet Coke, which should get me through until I find a plot. It's worked before.

I plan to post every Sunday night about how my week went NaNo-wise. This will be incredibly embarrassing, because I will fall behind on wordcount, I will have moments where I'm sure that I can't do it, and I might even do the unthinkable and delete scenes because guys, when I write crap, I write crap.

But I think this will be a lot of fun, and if nothing else, I'll have more words than I did at the beginning of November. I am really excited to write at midnight.

NaNo'ers, tell me about your project! How have you prepared for NaNo? Do you know your characters? Plots? Do you have an outline? Do you have lots of chocolate? Let me know in the comments!

Soundtrack Saturday: Daytrotter

On the Playlist: Girl in the Moon - Everly

Soundtrack Saturday is a weekly series where I'll share a safe and legal resource where you can download and/or stream free music. These resources are great ways to discover new music to add to your writing playlist!

Just a quick note, I will go on and on about how awesome these resources are because they're awesome, not because I'm affiliated with them in any way. I just want to share these awesome resources with awesome people.

This Week's Website: Daytrotter

I had an hour commute to and from work over the summer, and was  desperate to update my iPod with new music that I could fall in love with on the ride. The problem was that I needed a website that offered downloads of music by indie bands, both ones I knew and ones I didn't, that wouldn't empty my bank account. Not the easiest thing to find. But, I stumbled upon Daytrotter one day, and it was an even better website than what I'd hoped to find.

Daytrotter has artists stop at their studio to record sessions (usually from three to five songs), then uploads those sessions for the public to download at no cost.

What Artists are on Daytrotter?
 Ever heard of Tegan & Sara? Vampire Weekend? Ingrid Michaelson? Though you expect a website like this to feature indie artists, part of you expects they will be indie artists you've never heard of. That's not the case with Daytrotter. They have a great mixture of popular indie artists (oxymoron?) and indie artists who aren't as well known. So, you can download some sessions by artists you already know and love, as well as discover some fantastic new music. Personally, I was sold when I saw that William Fitzsimmons, The Swell Season, Brett Dennen, Greg Laswell, Blind Pilot, and Amos Lee had sessions. I also discovered the incredible artists Dawes and Lissie through Daytrotter.

What You Should Know about Daytrotter

• When you download a session from Daytrotter, you have to install a downloader. Daytrotter will guide you through the process, and the downloader is completely safe.
• All Daytrotter sessions come with beautiful cover art that will appear on your iPod.
• The quality of the sessions can vary. Most are of good quality, but a few are of lower quality.
• All Daytrotter sessions come with information about the artist, but not in the way you might expect. Instead of boring biographies, Daytrotter uses beautiful prose.
• There's a new session every day. You'll never be without new music. 
• You can follow Daytrotter on Twitter at twitter.com/@realdaytrotter

You Tell Me... 
Have you used Daytrotter? What do you like/dislike about it? Favourite sessions? Discovered any new music through the website? If you haven't used Daytrotter yet, will you look into it now?

Also, do you like the idea of Soundtrack Saturday? Are there are any safe and legal resources which offer free music that you'd like me to cover?

Let me know in the comments!

NaNoWriMo

On the Playlist: Hey Ya - Obadiah Parker

What I predict my life will look like this November.

Well, I did it. I signed up for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) this year. It's not my first time. Back in 2008, I said I was going to do it without joining the site, checking out the forums, or, uh, knowing how to write. I may have written 1k, but even that's iffy. Last year, I told myself that I was going to do it, and that I was going to do it right. I made an account, posted on the forums, planned to go to my city's events, all that fun stuff. The moment November began, I was writing, and for the duration of November 1, I kept up a good pace. But come November 2, 3, 4, and so on, I fell behind. Way behind. And I decided that I hated my novel and tried to change it, but I hated what I changed it to, so I changed and back, and you can guess the rest. Needless to say, I did not win last year. I'm not sure I event hit 5k.

To me, my two failures meant that NaNoWriMo just wasn't for me. It wasn't because I was hasty, lazy, or indecisive. So, I wasn't going to do it this year. I had a novel to revise, research papers to write, leadership meetings for the Christian Fellowship to attend, a small group for the Christian Fellowship to run, and friends who may occasionally want to see me. That was (and still is) more than enough for me.

But there were three things I learned about myself as writer as I worked on my first novel:

1. I'm hasty.

2. I'm lazy.

3. I'm indecisive.

Ultimately, my goal with NaNoWriMo is not to win, though that would be awesome and certainly is one of my goals. However, as long as I'm faster at writing first drafts come December 1, I'm happy. That's what I hope to get from NaNo.

Fellow NaNo'ers, why are you doing it? Is it just to have 50 000 more words than you had in October, or do you have another goal in mind?

And if you're a fellow NaNo'er, I'm bri_ness over there. Come say hi and be my buddy!

Road Trip Wednesday: Who's Your Comp?

"Road Trip Wednesday is a "Blog Carnival," where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing-or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic."

This Week's Topic: Who are your comp titles/authors?

 
I had a hard time with this question for Building Forts. I don't think it's so unique that there are no books like it, but I'm just not sure I can recognize when a book is like mine. There is, however, one book that came to mind:

 Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers was the first book that came to mind when I read this week's prompt. The relationship between Parker and Chris reminded me so much of the relationship between Callie and Darren, while the relationship between Parker and Jake reminded me of the relationship between Callie and Chase. It's still a stretch, especially the comparison with Parker and Jake, but the contrast between the two relationships is something I have in my novel. Also, Parker's snark reminded me of Callie.

The answer to this question was easy for the novel I plan to write for NaNoWriMo, Like a Bad Country Song. Of course, this is based on the outline alone, so things may change when I start to write:

 The Sky Always Hears Me and the Hills Don't Mind by Kirstin Cronn-Mills. A "perfect", but boring boyfriend. A boy a character shouldn't be with but really, really wants to be with. A strong relationship with a grandmother. These are all aspects of Like a Bad Country Song, though the issues are handled differently in my novel and Cronn-Mills'. However, the biggest similarity between my novel and The Sky Always Hears Me and the Hills Don't Mind is a small town, and more importantly, the overwhelming desire to just get out of it.

What books can you compare to your novels?

How Kids Taught Me Show Vs. Tell

I worked at a daycare over the summer. I experienced the following scenario countless times:

Child ("A") is misbehaving.

Me: A, bring your toy to a table. When you show that me you can play nicely, I'll let you join your friends again.

A goes to the table. Five seconds pass.

A: Bwianne/M'anne/Ain (Brianne is apparently a difficult name for three year olds), I'm playing nicely!

Me: Show me that you're playing nicely. I'll tell you when you can come play, don't worry.

Ten seconds pass.

A: I'm playing nicely!

Me: Show me. I can't know that you're playing nicely unless I see you play nicely.

Three guesses to what happened next, and the first two don't count. As frustrating as it was, it was also a Eureka moment for me. "Show, don't tell" was always a writing rule I struggled with, but kids, as they so often do, showed me how simple it is. They could tell me that they were playing nicely, and they may have been, but it didn't matter until I saw it. It's the same thing with your readers: unless you show them something, you can't expect them to believe it.

Of course, there are times when it's better to tell than it is to show, but I find that sometimes, showing instead of telling can make a huge difference.

Thoughts?

Picture This

The latest trend in the blogosphere seems to be sharing pictures that inspired your novels, and because I have no original ideas I want to be a cool kid, I'm going to jump on the bandwagon and do the same.

But mine's a little different, because these pictures did not inspire Building Forts; instead, these are pictures I actively searched for that would fit the novel. These pictures help bring the novel back to life for me as I make my way through revisions. All pictures are from weheartit.com.

The coolest part of this search was when I found pictures that looked like a photograph of one of my scenes. It happened with the following pictures:

 

And my absolute favourite. The more I look at this picture, the more I realize how inappropriate it could be, but in the novel it's pure shirtless dancing fun.

Road Trip Wednesday: First Lines

"Road Trip Wednesday is a "Blog Carnival" where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing-or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic."

The Topic: 

What are your favorite first lines? How do your own WIPs start?

Before I discovered Absolute Write and  all of the fabulous and helpful writing blogs, Google was where I went to find writing advice.  No matter what I searched--writing tips, advice for writers, novels r kewl  can i write 1?--I always found this piece of advice among the articles I read: have a good opening line. It made sense. After all, I wouldn't want a bad opening line.

So, I'd run to my room and read the first line of all my books. Seriously. Some were better than others, but as a whole, I was pretty underwhelmed. These were books I loved, yet their opening lines, though never bad, were never particularly good.

Their first paragraphs and pages, however, were fantastic.

When this topic came up on my blogroll, my mind went blank. There were no first lines that I'd stored in the back of my mind because they were so brilliant. Heck, no book titles even came to mind. I'm in my dorm room, so I couldn't raid my bookshelf like I used to for opening lines (and I so would've if I was at home), but I did look at the first lines of the library books I have in my room. One stood out to me, from Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson:

"So she tells me, the words dribbling out with cranberry muffin crumbs, commas dunked in her coffee."

The images this line creates are insane. It's so vivid. But, I'd love this line no matter where it was placed in the book. My opinion of the book would not have changed had the second line ("She tells me in four sentences. No, five.") had been the opening line.

Truth is, I don't really care about opening lines. Sure, it's good to have a good line like Anderson does, but it's good to have good lines throughout the novel. For me, if I'm hooked in the first couple pages, I'm good. A killer opening line helps that, but a couple of solid, engaging paragraphs help more.

All that said, I know that opening lines are incredibly important to some, so I do work harder at them than I do other lines. Here's the first line of Building Forts:

"Anyone who lives as much as he does would die."

What do you guys think? Do opening lines matter to you? What are your favourites? Let me know!

Road Trip Wednesday: Which Way to the Beach?

This week's topic:

You're packing for a month on a deserted island. What, as a reader and writer, must be in your backpack?

I would bring:

• The essentials: food, water, sunscreen, etc. A lighter would also be essential for me because there’s no way I could make a fire without one (and honestly, my chances are even iffy with one).
• The ultimate survival guide: The Bible. 
• Books, of course! I’d bring my favourites, but I’d probably leave The Hunger Games behind due to my paranoia. I’d also bring some books on my TBR list.
• Notebooks and pens. LOTS of pens. I lose them enough in my room, I can’t even imagine on a deserted island.
• An oldschool walkman with extra batteries and headphones
• CDs to write/dance/choreograph to: William Fitzsimmons, Mumford & Sons, Florence + The Machine, RENT Original Broadway Cast Soundtrack, and The Spice Girls. Werk.
• A volleyball named Wilson to be my BFF.

So yes, I would spend my month praying, studying, reading, writing, dancing, choreographing, and acting out every scene from RENT as every character. It would be a party.

Books That Got Inside of You

When I heard William Fitzsimmons’ music, I thought, “This man must have taken a trip around my soul for inspiration.”

I had the same thought when I heard Mumford & Sons, Thriving Ivory, The Weepies, Brett Dennen, and to be honest, Taylor Swift. It happens all the time with music, and it’s the weirdest feeling. You’re so happy to hear your feelings and thoughts validated, but at the same time it’s like you’ve been gutted, like the artists have taken your insides and put them on display.

It happens even more with YA books than it does with music.

I read If I Stay this weekend, and as I made my way through it I thought, “Ok, I like this and want to finish it, but I don’t really get the hype.”

I also read The Hunger Games this weekend. When my squeamish stomach couldn’t handle it anymore, I put it down and picked up If I Stay instead

I read two pages and then had to put the book down, because it had gutted me.

Suddenly, all of the uncomfortable feelings I pushed away surfaced, and I cried and avoided the book because I hate those feelings so much.

I went back to The Hunger Games. MINOR SPOILER ALERT! When Katniss got hurt, physically or emotionally, I felt it. When Katniss yells Peeta’s name for the first time during the Games, I heard it. When Katniss worried about Peeta, I worried with her. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt that close to characters before. I honestly feel like I know them, and I care about them like I do. I finished the book Friday morning, but the characters haven’t left me. For the record, I haven’t read Catching Fire or Mockingjay yet, so no spoilers in the comments please.

I finished If I Stay and cried at least two more times in the process.

Those are powerful books.

They got inside of me. If I Stay was almost too real for me to handle. The Hunger Games gave me characters that I cared deeply about, like they were my friends.

Those are brilliant books.

What books have gotten inside of you?

Road Trip Wednesday #46: (Fictional) Friends Forever

On the Playlist: Empire State of Mind - Glee Cast (!!!)

"Road Trip Wednesday is a "Blog Carnival," where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

This Week’s Topic:
If you went to high school with your characters, would you be friends?" (Taken from the Road Trip Wednesday page)

This is my first time participating in Road Trip Wednesday because I love this topic so much. The fact is, I love all of my characters dearly, but there are only three that I might have been friends with.

Building Forts is an interesting one, because I think I would’ve been part of Chase's group of friends, but I would've been the odd one out. Terri would be why I was in the group at all; we'd be friends. I would've really liked Chase and wished to be his friend, but pre-accident he would've intimidated me, even though Chase is not very intimidating. I was just a bit of a mess around cute guys in high school. And, Chase is a dancer! That would've put me over the edge. If it weren't for Callie, I may have befriended him post-accident. But, Callie and I would never have been friends, and she's my favourite of all my characters. I would've seen her as a slut, and that would've been that. I was so close minded in high school, even if I'd never admit it. Darren and I wouldn't have said two words to each other.

As for my new WIP (the last piece I teased from), Alexis and I would've been friends who hate each other as much as they love each other. I would've admired Nathan from afar, but he, like Chase, would've intimidated me (though Nate actually is a little intimidating). Tilly (MC) and I just wouldn't have been friends at all. Like with Darren, we could've gone through all of high school without talking to each other.

I find this so interesting because if I'd somehow gotten to know Callie and Tilly as people in high school, we would've been friends. Like, if we'd met in university without knowing anything about the other's reputation, we'd get along just fine. However, reputation means so much in high school, and that would've stopped us from being friends.

Speaking Loudly

I’ve wanted to speak loudly, but I haven’t known what to say. I still don’t, to be honest. This is what I do know:

• I love Jesus
• I hate book banning
• There are people who need to read SPEAK that haven’t read it yet

And those three points are what this post comes down to. I went on Twitter this morning to find the #speakloudly campaign. The cliffnotes version of the story is that Dr. Wesley Scroggins wrote an opinion piece saying that SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson should be banned from schools because, you know, the rape scenes are soft-core porn.

Say it with me: What?!

I’m a Christian and my faith is my life. Really, my faith is why I have life. I can’t stand it when people use Christianity as a reason to ban books because, well, it’s wrong.

Seriously, have you read the Bible? It’s messy. But, it has to show the sin to show the consequences of it. Honestly, I think that’s what most YA books do. SPEAK does not advocate rape; it shows what devastating consequences it has on the victim, and encourages the victim to speak out about it.

Problems won’t go away if we stop writing about them.

But they might if we start.

What if no one wrote about rape? What if no one talked about rape? It would still happen, and I’m willing to bet it would happen more than it does now.

So, let’s write about it, and all the other messy things in the world. Let’s talk about them. Let’s speak loudly. Maybe then, we can change things.

I sound naïve. I’m not. Change is slow. But, change will stop if we stop. We can’t silence the voices that are speaking loudly. We need to join them.

Building Forts Playlist

On the Playlist: I Need You - Relient K

I love reading about others' writing playlists, so I thought I'd share mine for Building Forts. I've divided it into songs for the three principal characters (Callie, Chase, and Darren), and for the two principal relationships (Callie/Chase and Callie/Darren). Of course, some songs fit better than others, but they're all songs I've heard in Building Forts at one time or another. I've bolded the ones that are almost perfect for the story.

Callie:
Scars - Allison Iraheta
Dance in the Dark - Lady GaGa
I Can't Make You Love Me - Bonnie Raitt
Dear... - Maria Mena

Chase:
Angels on the Moon - Thriving Ivory

Darren:
Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons

Callie/Chase:
Fix You - Coldplay
All I Need - Matt Kearny
For Blue Skies - Strays Don't Sleep
So Pure - Alanis Morissette
18th Floor Balcony - Blue October
A Beautiful Mess - Jason Mraz
Hazy - William Fitzsimmons & Rosi Golan
Wonderwall - Vitamin String Quartet
Teenage Dream - Katy Perry
Listen to Your Heart - DHT
Hey Lady - Thriving Ivory
I'm On Your Side - Maria Mena
Beside You - Marianas Trench

Callie/Darren:
Cold As You - Taylor Swift
Two Steps Away - Patti LaBelle
Corner of Your Heart - Ingrid Michaelson
Chivas - Kelly Clarkson

I would love to read your playlists! Leave it in the comments, link to it, whatever, I'd just love to know what it is.

What are Your Characters Geeky About?

On the Playlist: Cosmic Love - Florence + The Machine

I’m a university student and my classes for the fall semester began on Wednesday. My first class was Canadian Poetry, and before my professor told our class about her relationship with Canadian poetry, she said, “I’ll try not to cry.”

And that’s when I knew I’d love that class.

“Whatever you were geeky about in high school,” she told us, “That’s what I was like with Canadian poetry.”

Before I know anything else about a character, I know what they’re geeky about. It always reveals so much about them to me. For example, Callie in Building Forts is geeky about math, which fits with how she treated her life like a formula pre-Chase.

I love to see YA characters that are hormone crazy, but I love to see them being just as crazy about chemistry or photography or basketball or anything. I just think it reveals so much about them.

So, I’m curious: what are your characters geeky about? What does it say about them? Tell me in the comments, write a blog post, whatever you want, I’d just love to hear from you.