Best of 2011: Books Published in 2011

Yesterday, I talked about the best books I read in 2011. Today, I finish the Best of 2011 series with a post about my favourite books published in 2011. 

As I mentioned yesterday, narrowing this list down to five books was easy. However, ranking those books? It was nearly impossible. Each book on this list is on my all-time favourites list, and they could all be tied for number one. 

5. Lola and the Boy Next Door - Stephanie Perkins

"Just because something isn't practical doesn't mean it's not worth creating."

Read my full review here. If I were an objective person, this book would not be on the list. There are problems with it, and I recognize those. However, I checked this book out during midterm season, right before a weekend I spent locked away in room. This book became my study-break, and reading it was the highlight of my weekend. It's so easy to get swept up in the sweet love story Perkins creates, and I felt like I was right there in San Francisco with Lola and Cricket. Also, the Anna and Etienne scenes were such a nice touch. Unfortunately, Santa didn't bring me Cricket like I asked for, but there's always next year, right? ;)

4. How to Save a Life - Sara Zarr

Sara Zarr is the master of quiet stories that capture your heart. This book could have been melodramatic, but it never felt that way; it was heart-shattering in how realistic it was. But, after Zarr shattered your heart, she took the time to put it back together. Also, this book is probably the best example of dual-POV I've read. Mandy and Jill had unique voices, and I cared about both of them. I often skip POV's in dual-POV novels to read the one I enjoy more, but I was never tempted to do that with How to Save a Life. I also loved the way the love-triangle is handled in this novel. It's nice to see one where both boys are viable options.

3. Divergent - Veronica Roth

"A brave man acknowledges the strength of others."

You don't know how many times I tried to review this book, but gave up because all I wanted to say was, "I really liked it!" I'm having the same problem now. But, there's something wonderful about that. It's rare for me to read a book now without thinking about it critically for a review, or analytically for my English classes. Roth pulled me into her story in a way that allowed me to focus on and enjoy the story. So, to sum up: I really liked  this book!

2. Like Mandarin - Kirsten Hubbard

"A person's actions could be interpreted in a number of  ways, depending on who was watching."

Read my full review here. Honestly, I said it all in my review. This is another personal book for me. I've been Grace, and this is one of those books I wish I was around when I was fifteen years old. All I can hope is that teenage girls who feel the way I did find this book, because I have no doubts that it'll help them. I had high expectations for Like Mandarin, but Hubbard surpassed them. Her characterization is spot-on and her prose is beautiful without being pretentious. I recommend this book to anyone who's ever been a teenage girl. 

1. Where She Went - Gayle Forman

"I wait for the day that you'll resurrect me."

I didn't expect this. I liked If I Stay, but it wasn't a favourite of mine. I expected to enjoy Where She Went, but not for it to be my favourite book of 2011, and one of my favourite books of all-time. I still remember sitting outside, reading this, and getting so into that, to use a cliche, the rest of the world disappeared. I also listened to Adam-esque music while I read it, and I found myself turning the volume up as I read and feeling everything. Adam's not always likable, but oh my gosh, I ached for that boy. I listened to this audiobook on my commute to and from school in November, which was a mistake, because I nearly cried on the bus. The prose in this book was incredible as well; there were moments I had to put the book down because I was so excited about the prose. When I went through the goodreads quotes to find one for this post, each quote brought me right back to a moment in the novel, and the emotion associated with that part. It's my favourite book of 2011 because no book made me feel as much as it did.

Best of 2011: Books Read in 2011

…That were not published in 2011. I divide my favourite books of the year into two categories: The best books I read in 2011 that were not published in 2011, and the best books I read in 2011 that were published in 2011.

Both lists posed different challenges. I read a lot of books in 2011 which were published in different years, and I had trouble narrowing it down to five. It was easy, however ,to choose my five favourite books published in 2011, but impossible to rank them, because they’re some of my all-time favourites. Don’t worry, you’ll hear more about my angst over that tomorrow.

So, how did I solve the problem for today’s list? Well, I have six books on the list instead of five. I won’t tell if you wont.

                  6. You Against Me - Jenny Downham

"Do you want this to be a love story?"

Full disclosure: I finished this book yesterday, and it was the first book I read on my shiny new e-reader. So, I’m attached to it, and I’m not sure how I’ll handle it when the library copy expires and I can’t click on the steamy and sweet scenes anymore. Seriously, this was the first book in a long time I went into without expectations. Sure, I loved Before I Die, and I read reviews for it awhile ago, but I’d forgotten by the time I downloaded the book. I didn’t even remember what the plot was. And guys, that made for such a nice and surprising reading experience. I’m not a fan of third person, but Downham made me forget that the book was in third person (I didn’t realize it until I was a few pages in, honestly,) because she still brought my into the characters’ heads. The plot kept me turning the pages (and I’m not typically a stay-up-until-two-in-the-morning-reading girl) and the characters gave me a reason to care.

5. I Know It's Over - C.K. Kelly Martin

"How many times can a person break your heart?"

Read my full review here. Martin’s such a rockstar. I’d argue that she writes the most realistic books in YA today, and I Know It’s Over is the perfect example of it. Nick’s voice is smart and poignant and so real; it almost feels like he’s your brother, the way you grow to know and care about him. The plot could’ve been melodramatic, but it wasn’t; Martin told the story in an honest and heart-felt way, which made it feel like the story of your brother. Also, this book is so Canadian, and I think this is the first time that a book which isn’t about mining in the maritimes (you guys don’t understand how many of those I had to read for school,) has felt Canadian to me.

3. Twenty Boy Summer - Sarah Ockler

"I'm heavy, like there's too much gravity on my heart."

Read my full review here. Ugh, this was the perfect summer read. Not because it’s a light-hearted romance—don’t let the title fool you—but because it captures the magic of summer so well. This was the book I wish I read when I was a teenager. This book deals with so many themes I could relate to—loss, summer love, how to handle temporainess—and I’m sure others relate to, as well. It’s become a really personal  book to me.

3. Anna and the French Kiss – Stephanie Perkins

"Is it possible for home to be a person and not a place?"

It’s true, I didn’t read this until 2011. It’s the only book I read twice in 2011, actually; I read it for the first time in February, and for the second time when I went to Kazakhstan in July. I brought it to Kazakhstan because it’s the ultimate comfort read. Anna’s voice is perfect, self-deprecrating but still smart, and always funny. And, of course, there’s the Boy Wonder himself: Eh-tienne. I’m more of a Cricket girl myself, but St. Clair still made me swoon. This book is cute and poignant, and I think it’ll be my comfort-read for many years to come.

2. Please Ignore Vera Dietz – A.S. King

"If we're supposed to ignore everything that's wrong in our lives, then I can't see how we'll ever make things right."

To quote my goodreads review, "This is the kind of book that makes me wish I was a high school teacher so I could assign it to my students. It's just really, really good." And honestly, I don’t know what else to say about it. It’s just so good. But I’ll try anyway: It’s insightful but never pretentious. It has characters unlike any other characters I’ve read in YA that you care about. Its plot is page-tuner. It takes risks. It’s good.

.

1. A Blue So Dark – Holly Schindler

"Sanity is a sonnet with a strict meter and rhyme scheme-and my mind is free verse."

Read my full review here. Honestly, there’s not much more that I can say that I didn’t say in my review. This book caught me so off-guard. I didn’t expect to like it. I definitely didn’t expect it to get inside me the way it did. But, it joins Sarah Dessen’s The Truth About Forever in being one of the few books that I’ve connected with in a way I can’t even describe. Not only did this book help me deal with some issues in my personal life, but it also made me write again. That’s a pretty powerful book.

My connection to is why it’s number one, but don’t think that means it’s any less brilliant of a book. The charactertization and portrayal of relationships is spot-on and the prose is brilliant and poignant. Of all the books I read in 2011, this is the one I’ll take the most from.

What were your favourite books read in 2011?

I'll post my  favourite books published in 2011 tomorrow! 

Music to Write to in 2012

When I made my lists of the best writing songs of 2011, I mentioned that most of them were released earlier in the year. This is the list of songs that didn't make the cut solely because they were released later in the year, and I haven't had a chance to write to them. These are the songs of 2011 that I'll write to in 2012!

5. The War is Over – Kelly Clarkson

All I have to say is you don't deserve me.

While I adore Kelly Clarkson, I was underwhelmed by Stronger. However, I fell in love with “The War is Over” the first time I listened to it. It’s a great anthem for characters realizing they deserve to be treated better than their partners are treating them.

4. Safe and Sound – Taylor Swft ft. The Civil Wars

Don't you dare look out your window darling/Everything's on fire.

When this song appeared on my Twitter feed, I thought I’d imagined it. Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars are two of my absolute favourite artists, and they colloborated on a song for The Hunger Games? Come on, that’s too good to be true. But the song was everywhere within hours, and I fell in love. I always write to Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars anyway, but since I associate it with one of my favourite books, hearing it makes me want to write. It’s the perfect song for those romantic scenes when the characters escape from the chaos arround them, and focus on each other.

3. Over You – Miranda Lambert

But you went away/How dare you/I miss you.

It’s both exciting and frustrating to discover a song that’s perfect for your novel when you’re not working on that novel. So much about this song reminds me of the climax in my novel, and I know I’ll have this on repeat when I revise it in 2012. But, this song is appropriate for any novel in which characters miss someone. The emotion that Miranda sings with in the chorus captures the feeling of being left perfectly.

2. No Light, No Light – Florence and the Machine

I never knew daylight could be so violent.

Again, while I love Florence, I was underwhelmed by Ceremonials. Honestly, the only songs I like on it are “Shake it Out” and “No Light, No Light,” but I love those songs. This song is so dark and dramatic, which makes it perfect for any climax.

1. This Isn’t Everything You Are – Snow Patrol

Just take the hand that's offered and hold on tight.

Oh guys, this song. I’ve never seen to many writers tweet or blog about a song before, which tells me that you all love to write to it, too. The lyrics are the perfect anthem for any character who’s defined by something that, well, isn’t everything they are. The music fits well, too; it’s hard not to feel empowered when that music kicks in. The song is both subtle and dramatic, and listenting to it helps create both kinds of moments. It’s a great anthem for writers, too. Your word-count, number of followers, pile of rejection letters? It’s not everything you are.

What songs will you write to in 2012?

The next lists will be my favourite books of 2011, so look out for that! :)

Best of 2011: Fifteen Writing Songs - Part Two

Here's the second part of my countdown of the best writing songs of 2011! You can read the first part here.

7. The Lonely - Christina Perri

Dancing slowly in an empty room/Can the lonely take the place of you?

I usually write to songs because of their lyrics, but it's the mood of this song that inspires me. It evokes this haunting type of sadness, which helps me get in the mood to write the more depressing scenes.

6. He About to Lose Me - Britney Spears

I feel it burning and I know I'm standing far too close.

And yet again, I hear a Britney Spears song as full of angst. Cheating, or even being with the wrong person at the wrong time, has been a common theme in what I've wrote this year, and this song captures the feeling of the cheater perfectly. They know that they're doing something wrong, but they "can't overcome this chemistry." And, as they cheat, they know that their partner, or the person they want to be with, is slipping away. It's hot and heart-breaking at the same time. 

5. Skin and Bones - David J. Roch

So don't try to save me, and please God forsake me/I'll suffer alone, I just want to be left.

I posted a dance for this one because it's where I first heard the song, and now I always associate the two. I cried the first time I watched this dance, because to me, it and the song are all about giving up, even (or especially) when there are people who will do anything to help you. It's the song I play in my characters' darkest moments.

4. Bird of Winter Prey - William Fitzsimmons

We're more than just the blood of what we've done.

This song is on the list because of the lyric I quoted. This CD came out when I was writing a part of my novel where my characters were just destroyed by guilt. The reassurance that they were more than their actions was exactly what they needed and, ultimately, what they gave each other. Guilt is almost always a theme in my work, so there's always a use for this song.

3. Someone Like You - Adele

We were born and raised in a summer haze/Bound by the surprise of our glory days.

Well, obviously. This is the angst anthem of 2011, so of course I wrote to it. Much like the other Adele song on this list, I wrote to it because I danced to it. My characters are really too young to relate to the lyrics, but they understand the emotion behind it, and when I danced to this song, I was able to put that emotion into my writing.

2. Poison and Wine - The Civil Wars

I don't love you, but I always will.

I wish I had the space to quote all the lyrics, because they're all perfect and poignant. Joy and John Paul didn't waste a single word when they wrote this song, which makes every line feel like a punch to the gut. The song is a messy love story, and those are what I strive to write. I could put this song on for almost every scene I write, and either the lyrics or music would be appropriate. It's beautiful in how it's both heart-healing and heart-breaking.

1. Falling - The Civil Wars

Tell me it's nothing/Try to convince me/That I'm not drowning/Oh let me tell you, I am.

This is, by far, the most scene-specific song on this list. But, it was such a significant scene, and the song was so important to it, that now whenever I think of that novel, this is the first song that comes to mind. My character, Callie, danced to this song, and it was her first real breakthrough, the first time she realized there was something seriously wrong with the way she'd been treated. And her boyfriend, Chase, guided her through it. While I never explicitly stated this was the song she danced to in the scene itself, I described it, and   danced to it as though I was Callie to know what she'd do. This song brought me closer to my characters, reminds me of the novel I spent most of the year working on, and is the one closest to my heart. 

And that's it! I'll post my 2012 songs closer to the new year. If you celebrate it, have a wonderful Christmas!

Best of 2011: Fifteen Writing Songs - Part One

I’m obsessed with end-of-the-year countdowns, so from now until the new year, I’ll be talking about what I believe the best of 2011 was in terms of entertainment, which may take the form of music, television, celebrities, and of course, books.

I knew I wanted to post about music, but there was so much incredible music released this year that it was impossible to create a list of my favourite CDs or songs. So, instead of talking about the best music of 2011, I’m talking about the best writing music. This list features fifteen songs that were released in 2011 that I loved to write to. They’re not ranked in order of how much I like the song themselves, but in order of how much I wrote to them. That means most of the songs were released earlier in the year, because I haven’t had a chance to write to some new releases. So, when I finish this list, I’ll post a smaller list of songs I know I’ll write to in 2012. Here's the first part!

15. Housewife’s Prayer – Pistol Annies

I’ve been thinking about setting my house on fire.

One of my characters, Tiffany, is only seventeen, but already feels like a housewife. Though she’d never admit it, it’s her anthem. But, that’s not the only reason I write to this song. The theme of it, the desire to do something crazy and wrong that comes from dissatisfcation, appears in most of what I write, in one form or another.

14. Tough – Kellie Pickler

There ain’t nothing wrong with a woman that got a little backbone.

Like most writers, I torture my characters, and they come out stronger for it. This is their theme song when they realize that, and are ready to fight for themselves.

13. Learning to Love Again – Matt Kearney

That was the real you running through the fields of gold wide open.

 I write to every Matt Kearney song, and it’s always because of moments in the songs rather than the songs as whole. This one’s a little  different, though, because its theme of the real you is why I love to write to it. The theme of someone revealing their true self to someone else and then falling in love either because of or through that is always present in my work.

12. Every Teardrop is a Waterfall – Coldplay

I turn the music up, I’m on a roll this time/And heaven is in sight.

Ever since this song was used for the final montage on So You Think You Can Dance, I’ve heard dance in it. The two projects I’ve focused on this year feature dancer, and I hear everything my characters feel when they dance in this song.

11. She’s Dope – Down With Webster

Girl you’re a star, attention’s nothing new to you.

This is such a jam, and sometimes you need to write to music which pumps you up and makes you go, “Yeah, I’m awesome.” It’s also the way my male love interests see my female MCs ;)

10. Inside Out – Britney Spears

You touch me and it’s breaking me down.

 Oh gosh, I don’t even know how to explain this one. Basically, the song’s story of break-up sex is quite similar to a storyline I wrote this year, except mine was full of angst and didn’t involve dubstep. So, because I associated the song with my story, I started to hear it as full of angst, and I had it on repeat when I wrote one of the saddest scenes in my novel. Seriously. Also, believe it or not, this is not the only Britney Spears song on the list!

9. Turning Tables – Adele

Under your thumb, I can’t breathe.

I write to this song because I dance to it. It’s one of my favourite songs to dance to because it forces me to break down, and I’m able to write in that emotional and honest state it brings me to.

8. Beautiful Girl – William Fitzsimmons

Beautiful girl/May the weight of world resign/You will get better.

I always write to William Fitzsimmons because he’s so honest in both his lyrics and his voice, and it makes me honest. My characters always need to hear that they’ll get better, and this song promises them that.

What do you think of these songs? Any guesses as to what songs will appear in part two? What songs did you write to in 2011?

Road Trip Wednesday: All I Want for Christmas

Road Trip Wednesday is hosted by YA Highway.

This Week's Topic: What would be the ideal holiday present for your main character (or favorite character?)

I love prompts which give me an excuse to perform ridiculous Google searches! I have two main characters at the moment, Arianna and Tiffany. Arianna's a musical theatre geek, and Tiffany's the captain of a dance team.

Arianna: Be a Broadway Star Board Game 

Guys, if I knew enough people who love Broadway as much as I do and would be willing to play this with me, this would totally be on my Christmas list. It's a board game which takes you through the process of becoming a Broadway star, all the way from acting school to the Tony's. There are also Make or Break Cards which give you a chance to perform, and according to Amazon reviews, the challenges include, "Sing a Rodgers and Hammerstein song like a rock song." Arianna would love to live through a Broadway career without actually living through it, and she'll take any opportunity to perform, so this would be perfect for her.

Tiffany: Wireless Boombox

Tiffany likes to dance in the middle of a football field at midnight, and she has to dance with her iPod in her pocket and headphones in her ears. Speaking from experience, it's not ideal, especially when your iPod goes flying and you nearly strangle yourself. She could bring this boombox to the field and dance, which would not only be safer, but more of a rewarding experience since her music would fill her small town. It would also be great for dance team practices since her school doesn't have decent speakers in the budget, and its portability would allow her to travel with it to competitions. 

What would you buy your characters for the holidays?

The Crazy Story in Your Heart

Oh friends, it's been awhile. It's not the first time I've disappeared from the blogosphere, and it won't be the last, but that's the fun of being a student. You have a couple calm weeks, then suddenly you're up until two in the morning and eating cookies for every meal breakfast and blasting the Backstreet Boys because it's the only way you'll get through and forgetting punctuation--

It's a lot. But I'm done in six days (!), and now that I have a self-declared afternoon off, I want to check in with all of you wonderful people.

It won't surprise you to learn that I haven't written more than the odd scene here or there. Those odd scenes, however, aren't from my WIP. They're from what I've temporarily titled the Crazy Story in My Heat (bestseller, right?)

The story is absolutely crazy and there's no way it could exist as a novel without some serious editing (I'd have to take out the pregnancy and show-stopping number and probably age the characters ten years..seriously.) And when I daydream about it or even write it instead of my novel (which is like 5% more sensible, to be honest), I feel guilty about wasting my time. 

Which is silly, because it's fun, and writers are allowed to have fun. When I'm in writing-mode again, my focus will be my novel, but when I need a break? Of course I'm going to turn to the crazy story. 

Sometimes we forget that writing is supposed to be fun. Sometimes we forget that life is supposed to be fun. Don't be afraid to remind yourself.

How tumblr Can Help You as a Writer

There is always discussion on the internet, particularly among writers, about how bad the internet is. After all, how will you ever write 1,000 words today if you spend five minutes on Twitter? I've already argued that Twitter can help you revise, and now I want to talk about how another social networking site, tumblr, can help your writing. 

tumblr is often seen as the biggest time-waster of the social networking sites because, well, what do you do but scroll through a series of gifs and artistic photos? However, it is those images and ideas which can help you as a writer, as I will show in this post. 

tumblr remembers the details. Sometimes it's the smallest moments in books which have the greatest impact on us, the ones which make us go, "Yes, I've felt that or been that or done that, I know that." There are multiple tumblers dedicated to those moments. For ones specific to teenagers, try High School Hyena or Teenager Posts. For general ones, try Just Little Things

tumblr is a unique way to interact with writers and writing communities. It is much more difficult to have a conversation with someone over tumblr than it is over Facebook or Twitter, but tumblr offers other ways to interact with each other, and often directs people towards places where the are discussions. Authors such as John Green and Maureen Johnson are on tumblr. On John's tumblr, you'll find posts which talk about his new book, The Fault in Our Stars, as well as ones which show what inspires as him, and ones which, if nothing else, serve to remind us that he is a real person. Maureen is offering NaNoWriMo advice on her tumblr. 

As for communities, nerdfighteria, the community of nerdfighters founded by John Green and Hank Green, has a tumblr. It offers opportunities for different members of the community to communicate about it through art, and really, how cool is that?

tumblr helps with character development. If you scroll through my tumblr, you'll find images which show that I love dance, comedies, musicals, God, and books, and probably more. There is a lot you could infer from that which may or may not be true, but the point is that anyone's individual tumblr has the potential to tell us a lot about them (or the person they want people to think they are.) An interesting character development exercise could be to create a tumblr for your characters. 

tumblr provides inspiration. If dance inspires you, there's a tumblr for that. If music inspires you, there's a tumblr for that. If images inspire you, there's a tumblr for that. Follow what inspires you, and maybe it'll motivate you to write. Young Adult Fiction is a tumblr with the potential to inspire you, as it posts quotes from YA books. 

Do you have tumblr? What tumblrs do you follow? Are there any tumblrs you know of that could be helpful to writers? Let me know in the comments!

Book Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn't believe in fashion...she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola's sytle is outrageous, she's a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door. (Summary and picture from goodreads.)

There are problems with Lola and the Boy Next Door. The plot is unrealistic, characters become villains when it’s convenient for them to be, and Lola is almost a manic pixie dreamgirl. I care about those problems.

 I care about Lola and Cricket more.

It’s unfair but inevitable to compare this book to Anna and the French Kiss. Halfway through Lola, I thought, “Oh my gosh, I like this more than Anna. HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?” Unfortunately, I wasn’t crazy about Lola’s ending, so Anna is still my favourite of the two. But, there were moments of Lola where I thought it may be the best YA Romance I’ve ever read.

My love for Lola exists because of my love for Cricket. Etienne in Anna  was playful and charmning, but Cricket…he’s nice. And so real. I’ve know Etienne’s, sure, but almost always at a distance. The Cricket’s I’ve known have been some of my best friends and biggest crushes, so of course, I connected to Cricket more than I did to Etienne.

As she did in Anna, Perkins writes Lola with a teenage voice that is properly comic, melodramatic, and unique. She gives her characters passion which show that they are people beyond their romantic relationships. And, she can write a good kissing scene.

If you liked Anna, read this book. If you like romances, read this book, If you like books, read this book. 

7 Tips for Making and Reaching Writing Goals

It's the most wonderful time of the year, when writers everywhere close their doors, substitute well-balanced meals for leftover Halloween candy, and use sticky-notes as pillows.

It's NaNoWriMo, a month where writers try to complete 50,000 words of a novel within the month of November. I know many people who have written novels thanks to NaNoWriMo, and many others whom have planned and plotted for it, only to write 5,000 words or so for it (I was one of those people for three years.) Others have no interest in participating it.

And all of that is absolutely fine.

Not to shock anyone, but everyone's different. For some people, the goal of writing 50k in November is reasonable and desirable, and for others, it's not. I fall into the latter category, and have felt guilty about it. What we need to realize, however, is that writing 50k in November is a rather arbitrary goal.* What's helpful, then, is to set goals that work for you, ones which fit with your priorities, schedule, long-term goals, etc. 

So, how would you go about creating those goals?

1. Get Rid of Guilt. Your friend wrote a first draft in a week, and yours has taken you three months. If you didn't know about your friend's success and are happy with your progress, there is no reason to view yourself  as an inadequate. Set goals, do your best to reach them, and forget about what your friends are doing/have done (or, better yet, cheer them on!) Also, as a writing community? We need to stop making people feel guilty about their goals. If you can write a novel in a year and someone else needs two, and is happy with that, please don't make them think they need to alter their goals. We're all different and we should all support each other.

2. Don't Underestimate Yourself. Get rid of guilt, yes, but challenge yourself. You are awesome, so be awesome. Set goals which are reasonable, but ones which will push you. You may surprise yourself.

3. Don't Overestimate Yourself. As a student and a writer, sometimes I feel guilty for making an effort to always get seven or eight hours of sleep, because it seems like no one around me does. But, I know myself, and know that I need sleep to function well, and that I'm not pleasant to be around when I don't get it. Whatever sleep represents for you, don't feel like you have to give it up to reach an extraordinary goal. Chances are that you'll burn out, get discouraged, etc. Make sure that you give yourself time to rest as you work towards your goals.

4. Make Goals According to Your Priorities. At this point in my life, writing is not my priority. God, my family, friends, school, and the student society I'm part of all come before it. Some of that will change, and some of it won't. If something comes before writing for you, don't be afraid to put it before writing, even if it means you'll fall short of your goal. This leads into:

5. Have Grace with Yourself. There will probably be a time where you don't reach your goal, and that's ok. Life happens and not always in the ways we expect it too, and there's always a chance that it'll interfere with our goals. Let it, and don't feel guilty about it. The world will go on, you'll get things back on track, and you'll be fine. Promise.

6. Alter Your Goals if Necessary. Again, your life will change, your priorities will change, and maybe not when you expect them too. Don't feel like you need to stick to goals which are no longer possible or desirable.

7. Reward Yourself. Because you're awesome and deserve it.

Note that with all of these points, I'm assuming that you make goals based on deadlines (if you have them), and am not suggesting that you should ignore them.

Good luck to everyone participating in NaNo, and to everyone else with different goals!

*I don't mean to discredit NaNo in any wya, as I think it's an awesome program and a great goal for some people to try for. 

Road Trip Wednesday: Understanding the Ladybug

Road Trip Wednesday is hosted by YA Highway.

This Week's Topic: What's your numero uno reason for writing?

The Sequel: How the Ladybug Applied Mascara

One of my earliest memories is learning about fables in elementary school. I loved them, and was as excited as I'd ever be about an assignment when our teacher asked us to write a fable. 

I wrote about how the ladybug got its spots and it was a creative, touching, absolutely ridiculous piece that I was so proud of. 

Fast forward, and I have more questions. I learn about friendship and God and love and dance and sex and history and music, but it's never enough. I always know that there's more to know, but I don't know what else I need to know; I don't know what questions to ask.

So, I write about it. I write about a character who has casual sex to understand why people do that (as well as why people don't.) I write about relationships to understand how they can be so messy and so incredible at the same time. I write about dance to understand why it affects me the way it does.

I write to learn about how the ladybug got its spots. 

Why do you write?

Betraying Your Ten-Year-Old Self

I've always wanted to be a teacher.

I was always the teacher when I played school with my cousins, it, all of my jobs and most of my volunteer work has involved some form of teaching or mentoring, and I would daydream about my lesson plans.

I'm in my third year of university, at the point where I have to plan for my Bachelor of Education, or for grad school, or for anything else that will shape my future. And, I'm not sure I want to be a teacher anymore.

Don't get me wrong, I still love teaching, and it's still an option, but now it's one of many options; it's no longer the plan. The hardest part of this is the feeling that I'm betraying my ten-year-old self. I always wanted to be a teacher, but always just ended.

You know what else I wanted when I was ten? For my first published books to be a series entitled The Tank Top Girls, all about three girls in a band who wore tank tops and occasionally dated the Backstreet Boys, and for all of this to happen when I was sixteen, eighteen at the latest.

It won't surprise you, or even me, to learn that didn't happen, and now I'm a twenty-year-old unpublished writer working on her second novel, who never finished the million book project that was The Tank Top Girls.

But, there are tons of aspects of the last ten years of my life that have surprised my, like my friends, faith, jobs, passions, school, and all the awesome, little surprises that come in-between.

The point is that everything changes, you never know where life will take you, yada yada yada. And, through that, your goals may change. And that's ok.

To be clear, this is not me telling you to give up on your dreams, or that it's bad to make goals. What I do want to say is not to get caught up in what could've or should've been, and instead in what could be. It's ok if your writing hasn't gone the way you planned, because maybe you're on your way to something better.

My ten-year-old self thought I'd be a published writer by now, working towards a Bachelor of Education. It would surprise her to know that I'm not, and actually in the I don't know what to do with my life stage that she was so sure she'd skip.

But, I'm still writing, I'm still doing what I love, and I think she'd be ok with that.

Teaser Tuesday

It's been so long since I've teased, but I wanted to share something from my WIP, the one with a small town, a dance team, and a krumper.

This tease is from the first chapter, but it's not the very beginning. All that happens before this is that you see Tiffany go the football field where she dances every night. Usually, she's alone, but that's not the case tonight. 

---

And I'm not alone.

I was, I was alone for seventeen years, but tonight there’s someone on the bleachers, watching me.

For the first time in seventeen years, I’m scared and wish Ethan was here.

But I can’t leave, because I need this. It’s the only chance I have to be alone, to be myself.

There’s one minute until tomorrow, so I put my headphones on and press play, letting love and confusion and pain fill me until the beats are so loud, the feelings are so loud, that I need to move, I need to release them.

I fly across the field and I fall but I don’t care, I don’t care, because I’ll get up and stretch, I’ll stretch so far, I’ll prove that I can control my body, this stupid football field, this ridiculous school, I’ll control all of it and everything will be fine.

And I do and everything is ok.

I turn the music off and it’s the first day of school.  I’m Tiffany. I’m a senior who has spent every year of high school on the honour roll. I’m captain of the dance team. I’m Ethan’s girlfriend, and I always have been.

What I feel has now power over me because I'm stronger, better than that.

I put my hood up as I pass the bleachers on my way home, because the boy is still there, still watching me.  And, despite what I’ve done, I’m still scared.

 “Hey!” he calls, and I walk faster. “Relax, I just want to talk.” Faster, faster. “I get it, you know. I don’t have anywhere else to go, either.”

I can always walk faster.

Telling Your Story Through Transitions

The eighth season of So You Think You Can Dance kicked off its tour in Orlando on Saturday night, and as I do every year, I searched youtube, forums, and tumblr for videos on Sunday morning.

Having done this for six seasons, I thought I knew what to expect: The season's best dances, introduced by two of the dancers. I was surprised, then, to find the introductions eliminated from the show, and that the dances transitioned from one to the next as though it was all one story. I've embedded an example below, in which The Circus Sets Up transitions into The Vulture Dance (the transition happens between 2:57 and 3:15.)

There are two stories here: The circus, and in Jesse Tyler Ferguson's words, "the classic vulture stalks boy, boy almost succumbs to vulture, boy kills vulture story that we all know so well." Tadd (hot shirtless man) and  Jordan (vulture) are in the circus, so how do they get from there to their own story? The transition shows that Tadd gives his mask to Jess (ringmaster), and that makes him weak/compels him to remove his shirt (thanks Jess!) That's when Jordan notices him, and their story begins.

You'll notice the transition wasn't that Tadd went home, ate some dinner, and then found Jordan on his porch. The story continues though, and even hinges on, the transition, and it still gets the characters from point A to B. Beyond that, it also develops character--it shows that Jordan's curious and didn't just happen upon Tadd, as the dance by itself suggests--and creates suspense.

All of this translates to writing. We need to get our characters from the fight with their mom to the fight with their boyfriend, and sometimes it's difficult to know what to put in-between. It's tempting to have them take a shower and move to the next exciting incident, but there's no reason that shower can't be exciting, too. Why are they taking the shower? Are they thinking about what happened/what could happen as they do so? What does their shampoo say about their character? Answering those questions and ones like them ensures that your story continues throughout the text.

How do you handle transitions? 

Road Trip Wednesday: Lather, Rinse, Repeat

Road Trip Wednesday is hosted by YA Highway.

This Week's Topic:

What themes, settings, motifs, scenes, or other elements do you find recurring in your work?

Sibling Relationships

I have a great relationship with my brother, but it's not like the sibling relationships I write about. The ones I write about tend to be ones where at least one sibling is totally dependent on the other. 

Dance

This one's an obvious one, as I love dance as much as I love writing. This was the first dance video in my youtube subscriptions today, and it represents how I like to write dance well. It's a classroom opposed to a stage, it's messy and honest and raw, it hasn't been polished to perfection. 

Small Towns

I love intimate settings, places where a story feels close and quiet. 

Self-Worth

This is huge in all my novels. My characters determine how much they're worth based on their popularity, grades, body, relationships, and so on. Ultimately, the coming-of-age moment for them is realizing how destructive that is, and that they are awesome just as they are. 

What themes reoccur in your novels? 

Switching WIPs and Visual Inspiration

Ok.

Remember that WIP of mine, Duets? Remember how I wrote two posts about it, excited to explore music and the ocean and messy love with three characters I loved, a setting I loved, a story I loved?

...Remember when I wrote 2.5k and couldn't write any more? No?

I was embarrassed that I'd abandoned a novel so early on, one I was so excited about, but it wasn't the right time for me to write it. I knew that when I danced so hard one night that I had to laugh afterwards, because it had made me that happy.

I knew that I wanted to write about dance. Again.

And from there I remembered Tiffany, a dance team captain, her boyfriend Ethan, her best friend Adelle, her rival Tessa, and her town. That was as far as the idea when I first brainstormed, but as I struggled through Duets, I gave Tiffany two sisters and a brother, a krumper to figure out life with,  and a football field where she danced the way I did that night.

My last novel was, in a sense, about dance, and I was worried that I'd be repeating myself with this one. But, Tiffany is not Callie (my MC in Duets was much closer to Callie than Tiffany is, and I think that's partly why I found it so hard to write), dance team is about as far from improv as you can get, and there are no car crashes or wheelchairs or random sex. It's a different story, and it's one that I love to write, which is why I feel comfortable with it as my current project.

So, I thought I'd share some visual inspiration for this WIP, through both pictures and dances. The order of these pictures and videos, while not chronological, is definitely intentional and meaningful. I'd love to hear what you think of these and, in turn, what kind of sense you have of the story!

That picture of the boy and girl starting to slow dance? They look exactly like the couple they're meant to represent, and it freaked me out so much when I first saw the picture! So cool when stuff like that happens. Let me know what you guys are thinking in the comments!