Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Post-CNY Book Updates and Writing Links

Happy Lunar New Year! 


It's been a whole week (and more) of preparations (who knew one good meal with your family involved so much effort?) and spring cleaning and general merry-making that involves too much grilled honeyed meat jerkies (physically impossible to resist), pineapple tarts, cashew nut cookies, sashimi salads (I know I'm not doing the food much justice with these descriptions, but just know that they are basically the reason why the clean eating programme is going out the window this festive period), and mandarin oranges. Many, many mandarin oranges.

But it's Monday again, so here's an update on No Room in Neverland, and some great links to share:


1. Sophie Kinsella's advice for writing a book:
Everybody, no matter who they are gets to the middle of a book and thinks crikey, I've had enough of this. You get bored with your story and your characters, you hate them all, you can't think why you started this wretched story in the first place.

The truth is, every book is hard to write, everybody reaches a wall, whether it is a plot hole or a scene that you can't get past. So you've just got to get to the end. Even if it's not the greatest draft, if it needs rewriting fine, at least you have a book to rewrite.

Truth.

So this is me trying to put one word after another towards the end. I'm at page 220 now, which may not seem like much, but between Lunar New Year and spring-cleaning and hosting a party and trying to prolong reading Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta and watching this Korean drama called Pinocchio so they won't end so soon (which, of course, requires Herculean effort, because that book oh god that book and that drama oh god that drama I need to rave about them soon!), I think any progress is good progress.

At least what I've written so far for Neverland doesn't make me want to barf, which is more than I can say for the first draft.


2. How wild is it that Harper Lee is writing another novel, "a sequel of sorts" to her breakout To Kill a Mockingbird half a century after it was published? It's called Go Set a Watchman, and she wrote it in the 50s before setting it aside. Just goes to show that it is never too late to pick up that figurative pen and revisit a novel that didn't quite work out.



3. As you know, I've been caught up in this fantastic fantasy trilogy lately. The Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo is set in ancient Russia, and the plot and characters and writing just gets better and better with each installment. I'm on the final book, Ruin and Rising, now and am trying as hard as I can to read as slowly as humanly possible.


Here's an interview she did with The Midnight Garden, a book review blog that features a gorgeous whimsical layout and thoughtful reviews on young adult books. In the interview, Leigh reveals her upcoming book, Six of Crows, which she describes as an "Oceans 11, Inglourious Basterds, ragtag band of misfits, impossible heist story" that stars a supporting character from the Grisha trilogy. Big yay for more stories in the Grishaverse!


4. Another old post from ex-literary agent Nathan Bransford, where he offers some advice for young writers:
Don't judge your writing success by whether you're able to find publication immediately. Instead, write to get better, write for catharsis and practice and fun. Your future self will be thankful for the time well spent.

I'll admit, it's easy to get caught up in the whole publishing game (not sure if game is the right word here, but let's go with it for now). It's easier to fire out query letters to literary agents than writing that book, but it just distracts from the whole point of writing a book in the first place. You end up worrying too much about whether the book will be worth the time and effort, and worrying about whether people will like it, and forget to enjoy the process of writing it, and forget to write the story that you will like.


quote by Timothy Zahn


5. And more great advice from the inimitable Laini Taylor:
Daydreaming, however awesome it is, is passive. It happens in your head. Learning to make dreams real is another matter, and I think it should be the work of your life.

Enough said, really.


Okay, back to working on Neverland now! For the first time since I started writing it in November/December 2013, I'm actually properly psyched about it. Because I see the end in sight and I'm making my way there, one word at a time.


Hope the year of the goat is kinder to you than the horse one! :0)

Friday, February 13, 2015

on pre-rejections and self-sabotaging

Chuck Wendig (yes, I realise I'm starting to quote him a lot) has something to say about pre-rejection today:

FUCK YOUR PRE-REJECTION, PENMONKEY

Pre-rejection, according to him, is what we do to ourselves before we have even begun a project. It's essentially self-sabotage, where we thwart our chances of succeeding right from the get-go, because we're too afraid of the actual rejection that MAY - and most probably will - come after putting our works out there as writers. It's easier to just not start and spare ourselves the angst and frustration, but then writing wouldn't be the same without the debilitating self-doubt and headbanging despair.

This is Chuck's solution to nixing the pre-rejection:
How do you defeat it?
Practice, for one. Stop thinking so much. Stop worrying. Start submitting. Editors need material. Agents need material. Readers need stories to read.
Let other people read the work. Let them send it out, if you must.
Don't worry about the things you can't control. Control what you can -- and no, that doesn't mean to pre-reject, it just means, write the best story, and find your feet with writing.
You didn't get published, you didn't win the award, you got a bad review.
Repeat after me:
That's all right. I can try againI can get better.
But you have to give yourself the chance to try again.
You don't get better by just chucking manuscripts in a drawer. You need the agitation.
You need that fear, that uncertainty, that courage.
You need input from other human beings. Which means:
Fuck your pre-rejection.
You want to get rejected? Do it the old-fashioned way.
Let someone else reject you. Take your shot.

Look, the guy's a prolific best-selling author. So if he says get over yourself and just write, I'd say we all do just that if we're ever going to move ahead as writers, artists, and creators.






Peter Pan quote 3

An update on No Room in Neverland: I'm on page 205! Woohoo! Baby steps, that's how I'm going about with this. Plan three chapters ahead, and then writing two and a half, so I can pick up from where I left off the next day. It worked for Lambs For Dinner, so I'm hoping it will this time too.


What about you? Is pre-rejection something you put yourself through? :0)

Tuesday, February 03, 2015

february's to-read list is not kind on the wallet

The wait is over! February is here!! Sorry, wallet. February's not a good month for you. Blame the publishers for coming out with a slew of titles I've been dying to get my hands on:


1. Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard


I know I've gone on for too long about this book. But the concept! The premise! The conflict!

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It would really suck if the book didn't live up to expectations, because it looks so delicious I could gobble it up right now. (I didn't read the seven teaser chapters because I want to read it all at one go, and not wait for weeks before reading the rest of the story.)




2. The Darkest Part of the Forest, by Holly Black


If you've read Holly Black's Curseworker series, you'll know how brilliant she is at weaving complex but un-confusing plots that keep you turning the pages. And this book looks as deliciously sinister as The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, with vicious faeries (also an obsession of mine that led to Blood Promise), gifted siblings, and a horned boy waking from a long, deep slumber to fight the fairies.

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3. Monstrous, by MarcyKate Connolly



A girl born with a spiked tail and wings meant to save the girls in her town from their mysterious fate is spotted by a boy who leaves a red rose for her every evening.

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4. Beastkeeper, by Cat Hellisen


A girl who grew up lonely and longing for magic and on the run learns the truth about what they're running from when her mother abandons them and her father transforms into something beastly. Best part is, she's cursed too, and can only break free of the curse when she falls in love. It's a slightly different take on the Beauty and the Beast story, since the protagonist is beast, so this should be good.



5. The Last Time We Say Goodbye, by Cynthia Hand

 

I'm not usually into tear-jerkers, but I've been in this mood ever since I started watching the Korean drama series, Pinocchio (the music! the romance! plus, the relationship between the protagonist and her cold, distant mother), and read Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta, which is more heart-breaking than I had ever expected.

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This is probably why No Room in Neverland is turning out way more emotionally intense than I had intended. I'm on page 185 now, by the way! Woohoo!

What's on your To-Read list for February? :0)