I am an engineer and the product of the digital age. I learned how to properly type in the second grade in computer class. I was the fastest typer in my seventh grade computer class. I received my first laptop when I was fifteen. I am the minute taker for my research team because I can type almost as fast as people can talk. All of this makes me perfectly tuned to writing my novels and my stories on my computer - theoretically.
Unfortunately the theory doesn't hold.
Writing a story on paper versus on the computer is something I've gone back and forth between most of my life. Until I was eighteen, I wrote everything by hand and then typed it into the computer - using this process to create my first revision. Once I got to college and no longer had my parents buying my notebooks I attempted to start writing them on the computer. Recently I started writing a novel in a notebook my sister bought me for my birthday. I wrote the first chapter in the notebook and then thought, I should be able to type the second chapter. So I did. The next day I went back and read the words I had typed and had one thought, "Gross."
This is a common occurrence when I try to type a story. I look at my computerized words and think "I can write better than this. This is awful." Then I look at my handwritten words and think "These are great."
I write better when I hand write things. Years of writing supports this hypothesis. But why? Why is this? Shouldn't it be the same? It's just words.
I type fast, and I think this hurts my writing. When I type, I'm all about getting the story down as succinctly and efficiently as possible. When I write by hand - when the pen flows across the paper writing in cursive in some strange colored pen (probably green or purple) - the words flow beautifully, thoughtfully. I pause to think more. Every stroke of the pen is purposeful, is slow, and is a thought. I write better when I write by hand. I write more beautifully when I write by hand.
I think sometimes we lose sight of the benefits of taking the slow road. We are so quick to go digital because it is more efficient, because its faster. We forget the experience of watching a movie in the theater instead of streaming it to our computer. We forget the tactile experience of actually selecting music when with a touch of a button our iPod can do it for us. We forget that stories are someone's thought child - like Athena is to Zeus - and deserves our full concentration, just not a quick click through.
Maybe next time you read or write you'll take the slow road. Maybe you'll break out the pen and paper. Maybe you'll buy a hardback book instead of an e-book. But then again, maybe you write better when typing, and I guess that's a different thing all together.
For me, I'll keep my pen and paper handy, and continue buying notebooks to write my stories in.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Blogging, Schedules, and Inconsistency
I have been a fairly bad blogger for this sight when it comes to consistency. In the past month I have read far more than one book and yet I didn't post any of it. I received ideas for blog posts in my mind, but nothing came of them. I apologize. School has been absolutely crazy. We had our critical design review for research on March 1. Then came Midterms. Then came spring break - which was anything but a break for this grad student. It seems its always one thing or another.
I promise in the future to be better about blogging things. I'm going to try for a Tuesday/Thursday schedule (discounting book reviews which I post as soon as I finish reading a book). That's not a lot, but its all I can manage while in school. When I'm interning this summer, I will be able to blog more often.
My apologies. I am going to try to type up some more book reviews for the books I've read over the past month tonight. I recently read the entire Percy Jackson series as well as The Last Theorem by Frederick Pohl and Arthur C. Clarke. I might have read some other books as well, so I'll look through my shelves and see.
I hope you're March is going well.
I promise in the future to be better about blogging things. I'm going to try for a Tuesday/Thursday schedule (discounting book reviews which I post as soon as I finish reading a book). That's not a lot, but its all I can manage while in school. When I'm interning this summer, I will be able to blog more often.
My apologies. I am going to try to type up some more book reviews for the books I've read over the past month tonight. I recently read the entire Percy Jackson series as well as The Last Theorem by Frederick Pohl and Arthur C. Clarke. I might have read some other books as well, so I'll look through my shelves and see.
I hope you're March is going well.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
A Book Review: The Name of the WInd
Title: The Name of the Wind
Author: Patrick Rothfus
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 722
Quality Rating: 9
Content Rating: PG-13
This book came up in conversation with one of my friends, and so I immediately looked into it. All I can really say is that my mind was basically blown. I bought the book on a Friday afternoon and finished it on Sunday afternoon (taking a long Sunday morning break for church, lunch, and handbells rehearsal). This book kept me gripped from beginning to end. For a debut novel, you really can't ask for much more. I look forward to reading the rest of the story - that's a lie - I'm DYING to read the rest of the story. I know great things are on the horizon for Patrick Rothfuss, and I highly encourage you to pick up this book and discover Kvothe for yourself. But to give you a sketchy idea of what it's about - its a man telling his story - a great story of love, adventure, tragedy, music, and knowledge. This first book only covers the first 16 years of the man's life, and it leaves you dying to know the rest.
This book gets a PG-13 rating for some hard truths behind life on the streets as well as violence - both plain violence and fantasy level violence. Language is fairly mild since most curse words in fantasy novels are made up, and there is very little sexual content in this book (though it does have a fair amount of innuendo - and I claim to have only gotten a small portion of it -lol).
All in all, I highly recommend this book.
Author: Patrick Rothfus
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 722
Quality Rating: 9
Content Rating: PG-13
This book came up in conversation with one of my friends, and so I immediately looked into it. All I can really say is that my mind was basically blown. I bought the book on a Friday afternoon and finished it on Sunday afternoon (taking a long Sunday morning break for church, lunch, and handbells rehearsal). This book kept me gripped from beginning to end. For a debut novel, you really can't ask for much more. I look forward to reading the rest of the story - that's a lie - I'm DYING to read the rest of the story. I know great things are on the horizon for Patrick Rothfuss, and I highly encourage you to pick up this book and discover Kvothe for yourself. But to give you a sketchy idea of what it's about - its a man telling his story - a great story of love, adventure, tragedy, music, and knowledge. This first book only covers the first 16 years of the man's life, and it leaves you dying to know the rest.
This book gets a PG-13 rating for some hard truths behind life on the streets as well as violence - both plain violence and fantasy level violence. Language is fairly mild since most curse words in fantasy novels are made up, and there is very little sexual content in this book (though it does have a fair amount of innuendo - and I claim to have only gotten a small portion of it -lol).
All in all, I highly recommend this book.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
One Sentence Blurb
Yesterday on the KT Literary blog, agent Kate Schafer challenged her readers to write a one sentence tag line about their book. Because of my blog reading schedule, I did not see it until this morning (which was actually fortuitous). Generally, I really really suck at summarizing. I was the kid that when our English teacher told us to write a two page short story, I turned in 25 pages. I just couldn't go shorter. (Lucky I had an English teacher who was willing to read that much). I once wrote a 400,000 word novel. For those of you who don't write books - that's a lot. I really struggle with writing synopses of my books.
I don't have the same trouble with query letters, because I don't treat them like synopses. I always imagine I'm writing the back of a book blurb. However, I am far from a query letter expert, and I often focus on the wrong thing. Which is weird.
So needless to say when I saw the one sentence challenge my mind said, "I'll never be able to do that." However, because I was late to the game, I got to read everyone else's comments and one commenter gave excellent advice. Basically she said you need to list a protoganist, a choice, and a consequence (thank you Wendy!).
You would think that would be straightforward for anyone to see, but it wasn't for me.
So after thinking about it for a moment, here is what I came up with for me, MG fantasy book:
I felt it was important in my tag line to add it was a middle grade fantasy novel, mainly because if you don't say its fantasy, people might expect something completely different. And I feel that most of the other books on the blog took place on Earth, which would definitely be a little confusing.
If you're a writer reading this, I challenge you to write your own one liner. Whether you are a writer or not, I challenge you to look at mine and think if its an interesting tag line. Does it make the book seem interesting? Does it make you want to read it? Are you dying to see it in print? (OK, maybe that last one is too much).
If you guys have any comments on my one liner, let me know.
I don't have the same trouble with query letters, because I don't treat them like synopses. I always imagine I'm writing the back of a book blurb. However, I am far from a query letter expert, and I often focus on the wrong thing. Which is weird.
So needless to say when I saw the one sentence challenge my mind said, "I'll never be able to do that." However, because I was late to the game, I got to read everyone else's comments and one commenter gave excellent advice. Basically she said you need to list a protoganist, a choice, and a consequence (thank you Wendy!).
You would think that would be straightforward for anyone to see, but it wasn't for me.
So after thinking about it for a moment, here is what I came up with for me, MG fantasy book:
In Bittersweet Fountain's Spirit Riddled, a middle grade fantasy novel, a twelve-year-old former street urchin struggling with her abandonment must learn to use her “demon”-given abilities to save the man who took her off the streets and has become her only family.
I felt it was important in my tag line to add it was a middle grade fantasy novel, mainly because if you don't say its fantasy, people might expect something completely different. And I feel that most of the other books on the blog took place on Earth, which would definitely be a little confusing.
If you're a writer reading this, I challenge you to write your own one liner. Whether you are a writer or not, I challenge you to look at mine and think if its an interesting tag line. Does it make the book seem interesting? Does it make you want to read it? Are you dying to see it in print? (OK, maybe that last one is too much).
If you guys have any comments on my one liner, let me know.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Why Baptists Don't Dance or Drink
A long time ago in a small American town not that far from your own, there were three churches: a Methodist Church, A Presbyterian Church, and a Catholics Church. The congregations lived in harmony, enjoying community and fellowship without allowing their doctrinal differences to interfere.
They held dances in which all the members would exuberantly praise God. They held dinner parties where people sipped wine, remembering Jesus' miracle with the drink. All was right and good in the town.
Then one day, a Baptist Church opened its doors.
The other three churches had no prejudice against this new member of their Christian fraternity. They invited the new denomination to a prty to welcome them. As usual, the party involved dancing.
The Baptists arrived to the party bearing casseroles and crock pot stews, but the other denominations overlooked the oddity (and carefully did not try the mystery casserole). Then the fiddler began to strike up a tune and the people of God began to dance.
At first, everything seemed normal. Some people danced better than others, but in general all seemed to be going well. Until the three original churches saw their Baptist brethren get on the dance floor.
The Baptists danced exuberantly, meaningfully. They meant to glorify God with their dancing, and it can not be doubted that God saw their good intentions. However, what the Methodists, Presbyterians, and Catholics saw was the most awful dancing ever. Children cried at the sight of the awful performance. Elders ran for cover, trying not to be hit by awkwardly moving limbs or stepped on by ill timed steps. In general, there was weeping and gnashing of teeth by everyone except the Baptists, who thought all was good.
As usual, alcoholic beverages were offered at that party. As the Baptists drank (as little as it may have been), their dancing got worse. The others had not thought it was possible. Some wished they were blind rather than witness the horrible spectacle.
So the next day, after everyone had sufficiently recovered the heads of each church except the Baptist Church met in private.
"That was the most horrible thing I have ever witnessed," the Methodist pastor turned pale as he remembered the spectacle.
"It cannot be allowed to happen again," the Catholic priest agreed. "But I do not know how we can stop it without stopping our own parties. We don't want to make the Baptists feel as if they are not part of our brethren. We don't want them to feel slighted when we don't invite them to our parties."
"Unless we make them think it was their idea," the Presbyterian preacher said. "The Baptist pastor seems a decent fellow and I have a plan." The other two listened in silence as the man explained.
Later that day the three went to the Baptist pastor. They explained what weeping and gnashing of teeth the dancing and drinking had caused among the other denominations and how they did not want to hurt the feelings of the Baptist. Then the Presbyterian preacher explained his idea.
"You should convince your denomination that dancing and drinking are wrong," the Presbyterian said.
"They won't like the drinking idea," the Baptist pastor pointed out.
"Yes, but if they drink they'll dance and we can't handle that," the Catholic priest pleaded.
"And we can Biblically support the no dancing or drinking," the Methodist preacher explained eagerly. "You can talk about the temptation, and how dancing leads to other things, and drinking leads to drunkenness. It's not wrong, just a little more strict."
The Baptist preacher was dubious, but eventually he was made to see the light. The next Sunday and subsequent Sunday's afterward, he preached about the tempations that lay in dancing and drinking. Slowly, the Baptist congregation began to decline invitations to the others dance parties. Or they accepted and brought the food, but did not dance.
The other congregations were filled with relief. No more would there be weeping and gnashing of teeth. All would be right in the world.
So remember, my fellow Baptists out there, there is a reason why the original Baptists forbade us from dancing and drinking. It was imposed upon us, because our dancing was so horrible.
[This idea came upon me after attending several Baptist dances. No one got on the dance floor until after the electric slide was played and I have never seen so many people - including myself - mess up the electric slide. Good times]
They held dances in which all the members would exuberantly praise God. They held dinner parties where people sipped wine, remembering Jesus' miracle with the drink. All was right and good in the town.
Then one day, a Baptist Church opened its doors.
The other three churches had no prejudice against this new member of their Christian fraternity. They invited the new denomination to a prty to welcome them. As usual, the party involved dancing.
The Baptists arrived to the party bearing casseroles and crock pot stews, but the other denominations overlooked the oddity (and carefully did not try the mystery casserole). Then the fiddler began to strike up a tune and the people of God began to dance.
At first, everything seemed normal. Some people danced better than others, but in general all seemed to be going well. Until the three original churches saw their Baptist brethren get on the dance floor.
The Baptists danced exuberantly, meaningfully. They meant to glorify God with their dancing, and it can not be doubted that God saw their good intentions. However, what the Methodists, Presbyterians, and Catholics saw was the most awful dancing ever. Children cried at the sight of the awful performance. Elders ran for cover, trying not to be hit by awkwardly moving limbs or stepped on by ill timed steps. In general, there was weeping and gnashing of teeth by everyone except the Baptists, who thought all was good.
As usual, alcoholic beverages were offered at that party. As the Baptists drank (as little as it may have been), their dancing got worse. The others had not thought it was possible. Some wished they were blind rather than witness the horrible spectacle.
So the next day, after everyone had sufficiently recovered the heads of each church except the Baptist Church met in private.
"That was the most horrible thing I have ever witnessed," the Methodist pastor turned pale as he remembered the spectacle.
"It cannot be allowed to happen again," the Catholic priest agreed. "But I do not know how we can stop it without stopping our own parties. We don't want to make the Baptists feel as if they are not part of our brethren. We don't want them to feel slighted when we don't invite them to our parties."
"Unless we make them think it was their idea," the Presbyterian preacher said. "The Baptist pastor seems a decent fellow and I have a plan." The other two listened in silence as the man explained.
Later that day the three went to the Baptist pastor. They explained what weeping and gnashing of teeth the dancing and drinking had caused among the other denominations and how they did not want to hurt the feelings of the Baptist. Then the Presbyterian preacher explained his idea.
"You should convince your denomination that dancing and drinking are wrong," the Presbyterian said.
"They won't like the drinking idea," the Baptist pastor pointed out.
"Yes, but if they drink they'll dance and we can't handle that," the Catholic priest pleaded.
"And we can Biblically support the no dancing or drinking," the Methodist preacher explained eagerly. "You can talk about the temptation, and how dancing leads to other things, and drinking leads to drunkenness. It's not wrong, just a little more strict."
The Baptist preacher was dubious, but eventually he was made to see the light. The next Sunday and subsequent Sunday's afterward, he preached about the tempations that lay in dancing and drinking. Slowly, the Baptist congregation began to decline invitations to the others dance parties. Or they accepted and brought the food, but did not dance.
The other congregations were filled with relief. No more would there be weeping and gnashing of teeth. All would be right in the world.
So remember, my fellow Baptists out there, there is a reason why the original Baptists forbade us from dancing and drinking. It was imposed upon us, because our dancing was so horrible.
[This idea came upon me after attending several Baptist dances. No one got on the dance floor until after the electric slide was played and I have never seen so many people - including myself - mess up the electric slide. Good times]
Friday, January 22, 2010
Wheel of Time: The Re-Read is Over (A Review of The Gathering Storm)
So I feel a little bad about not mentioning it earlier, but my Wheel of Time reread is over. I have also finished reading the newest book, so no more Wheel of Time reading until next November when the Towers of Midnight come out.
So as most Wheel of Time fans know, Brandon Sanderson is finishing the Wheel of Time. For those of you who don't know what that means, it basically means that the latest Wheel of Time book was written by a completely new guy. My thoughts and feelings?
The Gathering Storm.
Was.
AWESOME.
It was gripping from beginning to end. The characters seemed to be the exact same people I know and love, and trust me since I just finished rereading 11 books about them, I would know if they changed. I'll admit that I judged Mat's few chapters a little harshly and that the first chapter I read about him seemed a little jarring. I can't put my finger on what was wrong, only that that was the first chapter that made me think "This isn't written by Robert Jordan." Undoubtedly, this is because I love Mat. He is my favorite and has been my favorite since I was 11. I drink in chapter's about Mat, and when I read The Path of the Daggers, I wanted to throw it across the room because he wasn't in it (it also took me like twice as long to read). But after I got past my initial jolt, when Mat got into action, I got into the story.
I certainly don't want to ruin the story for anyone with any spoilers so I'll just say that one of the major points in the story is a large character change for the worse in Rand. As Rand is one of my least favorite characters, you would think this wouldn't help me to like him better. Yet I read his sections, sucked in, with complete fascination. My heart broke for this man who was essentially broken by the tasks he knows he must complete and knowledge that if he fails the world is doomed. I found myself wanting to help him - feeling sympathy! That's not something I often feel for Rand Al'Thor. And the end of his storyline in this book was simply breathtaking. I can't wait to read the next book, to know how the events of the end have truly changed him - to see if he really does become a better man.
Egwene and Rand were the two central characters, and I enjoyed reading Egwene's sections as well. (Mat was only in like three chapters). I often forget that Egwene (and Rand for that matter) is now younger than I am. She is such a strong woman! She knows what she wants and she lets nothing deter her from forging the White Tower back together. And in this book Gawaine comes back. I love Egwene and Gawaine's relationship and I want to see them together. I can't wait to see what happens to them in the next book.
I think in general there is on phrase that sums up my reread "I CAN'T WAIT!" I need the next book. Seriously, I have to know what happens. So this is me begging Brandon Sanderson to write faster.
Next November, I will read the next book as soon as I get it. No reread this time. And just imagine, in two years time (possibly) the entire Wheel of Time will end. We'll actually know how everything turns out. I can't wait!!!
So as most Wheel of Time fans know, Brandon Sanderson is finishing the Wheel of Time. For those of you who don't know what that means, it basically means that the latest Wheel of Time book was written by a completely new guy. My thoughts and feelings?
The Gathering Storm.
Was.
AWESOME.
It was gripping from beginning to end. The characters seemed to be the exact same people I know and love, and trust me since I just finished rereading 11 books about them, I would know if they changed. I'll admit that I judged Mat's few chapters a little harshly and that the first chapter I read about him seemed a little jarring. I can't put my finger on what was wrong, only that that was the first chapter that made me think "This isn't written by Robert Jordan." Undoubtedly, this is because I love Mat. He is my favorite and has been my favorite since I was 11. I drink in chapter's about Mat, and when I read The Path of the Daggers, I wanted to throw it across the room because he wasn't in it (it also took me like twice as long to read). But after I got past my initial jolt, when Mat got into action, I got into the story.
I certainly don't want to ruin the story for anyone with any spoilers so I'll just say that one of the major points in the story is a large character change for the worse in Rand. As Rand is one of my least favorite characters, you would think this wouldn't help me to like him better. Yet I read his sections, sucked in, with complete fascination. My heart broke for this man who was essentially broken by the tasks he knows he must complete and knowledge that if he fails the world is doomed. I found myself wanting to help him - feeling sympathy! That's not something I often feel for Rand Al'Thor. And the end of his storyline in this book was simply breathtaking. I can't wait to read the next book, to know how the events of the end have truly changed him - to see if he really does become a better man.
Egwene and Rand were the two central characters, and I enjoyed reading Egwene's sections as well. (Mat was only in like three chapters). I often forget that Egwene (and Rand for that matter) is now younger than I am. She is such a strong woman! She knows what she wants and she lets nothing deter her from forging the White Tower back together. And in this book Gawaine comes back. I love Egwene and Gawaine's relationship and I want to see them together. I can't wait to see what happens to them in the next book.
I think in general there is on phrase that sums up my reread "I CAN'T WAIT!" I need the next book. Seriously, I have to know what happens. So this is me begging Brandon Sanderson to write faster.
Next November, I will read the next book as soon as I get it. No reread this time. And just imagine, in two years time (possibly) the entire Wheel of Time will end. We'll actually know how everything turns out. I can't wait!!!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
A Book Review: Alcatraz versus the Knights of Crystallia
Title: Alcatraz versus the Knights of Crystallia
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Length: 316
Quality Rating: 9
Content Rating: PG
The adventures of Alcatraz, Bastille, and Grandpa Smedry continue, but this time we get a glimpse into the Free Kingdoms (we get to see what we Hushlanders are missing out on). The Librarians have been attempting to create a treaty while Grandpa Smedry was out fetching Alcatraz, and this can only mean one thing: they're up to something! This book, the middle book of the series, begins to detail what Alcatraz might call his fall and hints even more that something terrible happens that Alcatraz blames himself for. It definitely left me waiting for the next book and the next. I want to know what happens to Alcatraz, Bastille, and the rest of the Smedry clan! (Though it should be noted that the sentence isn't meant to indicate that Bastille is a Smedry, because she isn't).
This book definitely gets a PG rating because of fantasy violence, a near cold blood murder, and parental/child tension. When it comes to Alcatraz's parents - well his father just seems to not care and his mother is a Librarian. But still good a good read for older children and those of us who still think we are children.
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Length: 316
Quality Rating: 9
Content Rating: PG
The adventures of Alcatraz, Bastille, and Grandpa Smedry continue, but this time we get a glimpse into the Free Kingdoms (we get to see what we Hushlanders are missing out on). The Librarians have been attempting to create a treaty while Grandpa Smedry was out fetching Alcatraz, and this can only mean one thing: they're up to something! This book, the middle book of the series, begins to detail what Alcatraz might call his fall and hints even more that something terrible happens that Alcatraz blames himself for. It definitely left me waiting for the next book and the next. I want to know what happens to Alcatraz, Bastille, and the rest of the Smedry clan! (Though it should be noted that the sentence isn't meant to indicate that Bastille is a Smedry, because she isn't).
This book definitely gets a PG rating because of fantasy violence, a near cold blood murder, and parental/child tension. When it comes to Alcatraz's parents - well his father just seems to not care and his mother is a Librarian. But still good a good read for older children and those of us who still think we are children.
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