The 7 types of writers

1. The Planner

The Planner outlines and details every chapter, every scene, every line before getting down to writing. Flash cards and Excel sheets are usually involved. It's pretty hardcore.

2. The Pantser

Panster, as in write by the seat of your pants. I.e. the opposite of the Plotter. Plan? What plan? They make it up as they go along. And somehow, it works for them.

3. The After-Hours Writer

Also known as the one responsible for the feverish mutterings in the middle of the night.

4. The Researcher

You know that half of what you've researched won't go into the book, but man does it take the pressure off writing the actual thing!

Also, everything counts as research. Including watching videos like this documentary on McBusted:

5. The Uninspired

Self-explanatory.

6. The Inspired

Well. Good for you. Exit that way, please.


7. The Desperate

Desperate are those who have spent weeks and months tearing apart everything they write because nothing seems to be good enough.


8. The Emotional

They react to everything they write ... or don't write.

Guess which one I am now? 

But I found this quote on Laini Taylor's blog that is somewhat encouraging:

"One reason people have artist's block is that they do not respect the law of dormancy in nature. Trees don't produce fruit all year long constantly. They have a point when they go dormant.
And when you are in a dormant period creatively, if you can arrange your life to do the technical tasks that don't take creativity, you are essentially preparing for the spring when it will all blossom again."

~ Marshall Vandruff


Leave it to Laini to offer a dose of optimism. I swear, that woman inhales sunshine for breakfast. (Although with that fabulous pink hair, can she be anything but happy?)

Hope you're having a more creative day than me!

June Read-List and Watch-List

Read-list: 


1. Midnight Thief, by Livia Blackburne

O.M.G. How awesome does the plot sound. Gotta love characters with conflicting agenda, when the love interest is also the antagonist. Can't wait to read this!


2. The Girl from the Well, by Rin Chupeco

Yay for horror that doesn't involve monsters and gore! A girl who hunts murderers meets a strange tattooed boy with a dark secret. Plus, creepy doll rituals and Japanese exorcisms. YUM.


3. Forget Me, by K.A. Harrington

"Psychological thriller with a romantic twist" is what it says on the Goodreads page. Reason enough to read it.


4. Of Metal and Wishes, by Sarah Fine

More horror. A unique setting. A girl who is drawn to the Ghost in a slaughterhouse where she assists her father in the medical clinic. The whole thing sounds very Phantom of the Opera-ish. And The Phantom of the Opera is one of the most haunting, beautiful books I've ever read.


5. We Were Liars, by E. Lockhart

This one has a very deliciously twisty plot.

And bonus reason to read the book: Maggie Stiefvater loves it.


6. Deep Blue, by Jennifer Donelly

I will never get tired of mermaid stories. This one's about mermaid heroines who gather their forces across the 6 seas to prevent a war between the Mer nations. Sign me on.


7. Trust Me, I'm Lying, by Mary Elizabeth Summer

Grifters, con artists, swanky high school and its dirty politics, missing fathers. What's not to love?


8. Inland, by Kat Rosenfield

This seems to contain elements of magical realism, and goodness knows I've been searching high and low for magical realism books. We need more of those, especially in YA! And you know what Toni Morrison said:

9. The Museum of Extraordinary Things, by Alice Hoffman

Speaking of magical realism, here's one of the masters of that genre. I'm still in love with the last Alice Hoffman book I read, The Story Sisters. This one, though, is set in a freak circus. You can't really go wrong with a setting like that. Remember Wonder Show by Hannah Barnaby? So yes, I have high hopes for this one.

10. The 57 Lives of Alex Wayfare, by M.G. Buehrlen

A 17-year-old who has visions of the past is actually a Descender, someone who can travel back in time by accessing Limbo, the space between Life and Afterlife. Alex is in fact one soul with fifty-six past lives. And each of them features this mysterious boy with "soulful blue eyes". SO reading this.


What's on your read-list? Any other recommendations?

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Watch-list: 


1. Dream High 2

Dream High was a pretty entertaining and compelling drama series, so hopefully the sequel won't disappoint!


2. Pretty Little Liars

Yes, I'm late to the game. But I've heard it's got a great twisty plot like Vampire Diaries, so I'm sold. There's the stigma attached to PLL - a lot of people probably dismiss it as some high school drama series - but I'm hoping it will, like TVD, change my mind and wow me right from the first episode.


3. God's Quiz 4 

One word: Donghae.

Also, this is the cutest thing you'll see today:

(The boy, I mean. Not the fangirls.)

Okay, okay. Something cute that's not for the fangirls:

I don't know, bananana sounds catchier to me.


Happy mid-week! :0)

last post for April!

OMG, IT'S ALMOST MAY.





WHERE DID A THIRD OF THE YEAR GO?!

Terrible, tragic things happened (I can't read an article about the Sewol disaster without fucking crying - why do awful things happen to good people? They were only kids, dammit!), the world is still crazy, and it's already (only?) May. Can 2014 please be kinder?

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In other news, author Chuck Wendig dishes some brilliant advice for young aspiring writers. So much gold in this post!

You’re not actually meant to be good. Not being good is how you get better. Not being good means you’re in that formative, fundamental blobby parthogenesis period where The Authorial You just starts to emerge. Not being good is how we are forced to take the time to not just Get Good, but also Become Us. You’re not yet the Author That You Will Become. This is all normal. Be bold enough to suck with gleeful abandon — but also know that your critical urge to be better-faster-now is a good one. Don’t quit. Don’t rest. Force yourself to improve.

You find your voice by doing. And by rewriting. You won’t want to rewrite now. You won’t want to edit. Edits feel like you’re not good, like you’re being insulted, like having to fix it means it was broken to begin with. But recognizing broken things is a value. A skill. You get as many shots at the goal as you want. Let that be freeing, not punishing. 

In writing a lot and rewriting a lot, your voice will find you.

Author Natalie Whipple also shares her wisdom:

Sometimes You Have To Cut Your Losses 

I've grown to kind of dislike the "Never Give Up" advice. Sometimes you gotta give up on something to move forward. Maybe not on writing as a whole, but on a story idea that is not strong enough to hold its own. Or on a novel that's been on sub two years. Or on that first novel you ever wrote that has seen 200 rejections. Moving on can open up a new world. I've done it a lot. Never regretted it. If you find yourself pining over something from the past, you can always go back, too.

So here's to rewrites and new beginnings, the pain of letting go and moving on.

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And because I really don't want this post to end on such a heavy note, here are some happy things for a Monday:

Funny signs

Advice from children

Life hacks to make life simple for girls

Cool wedding ideas (not that I'm dreaming of my own)

Pretty pictures:

Swooooon. Those colours!

Atypalaia, Greece - this is what fantasy stories are inspired by.

Oh, you sweet sweet boy

And lastly, a lovely song:

I may not understand the lyrics, but Donghae's voice! As sweet as his face.

Have a great week, everyone! And happy Labour Day!

The 15 stages of book addiction

1. At first, you come across the book with the pretty cover and you're like

2. First chapter in and you're still like




3. But halfway through you become like




4. And then like




5. By the final chapter you're like



Even though you're like this




6. After you close the book you're like



And




7. You rush out to buy the hard copy even though you've already got the e-book.

8. You look for someone to fangirl with over the book, but it's like

9. But then you find a fellow fan at last and it's like




10. Later, you learn that the sequel is out and this becomes you




11. But then the sequel won't be out until next year and you're like




12. Finally, the sequel is here and you're like






13. You repeat stages 4 and 5, only this time you're more like this



And



And




14. And now that there's a final installment, you're like





But since it's the end, you're also like



15. So you ration your candy, so to speak




The above chronicle is all thanks to this mindblowing, awe-inspiring, wonderfully crafted epic trilogy:



(gif from Laini's blog)

Thank you, Laini, for sharing your beautiful writing with the world.