What I'm Writing: NaNoWriMo Week One Update

Howdy!

So this week in NaNoWriMo has been quite illuminating for me as a writer. Namely in that I didn't realize most writers write without going back and looking at what they've written.* This BOGGLED my mind. Maybe it's because I'm paid to be an editor. Maybe it's because I find it fun to edit, because that's when things really start to take shape and the words start to sing. Or maybe it's because I'm the slowest writer in the world. Which is something I have learned this week. But I think mostly what I've learned is that I have to make time to write everyday.

Now, normally I do this anyway. During my lunch break, when I find myself with a couple minutes of nothing to do at work, when I get home and have an hour to kill before plans/TV/cooking/cleaning/etc. But when you really sit down and say to yourself, "Today I must write 2,000 words or I will miss a deadline," that's really when things start to happen. (I have a Master's of Journalism. Deadlines are a big deal to me. I mean, they have the word dead in them for a reason, right?) And you know what? I'm SO EXCITED about where things have headed in my horribly working-titled Airport Book.

Things I Have Learned This Week:

• I am a slow writer. I edit as I go. I check for continuity. I weigh my words and reconsider scenes and re-read what I've written just to make sure that it's JUST RIGHT before moving on. Which brings me to the fact that I . . .
• Write in sequence. When I started Airport Book, I wrote the beginning and the end, and then outlined the rest. So I know exactly what happens, every step of the way. And while sometimes when I'm writing a scene, I suddenly think "Wow, I'm in not in the mood to write something flirty. I kind of want to write an argument." I don't do it. Because it's not what happens next. I do make a note of the things I'd have my characters say to each other, or what emotions they'd be feeling, but then I dive right back into the flirty scene I was loathe to write thirty seconds earlier. I don't really know why I do this, but I do know that writing out-of-sequence kind of makes me want to die. So. THAT. 
• It's ok to be unsure of my words. Both Veronica Roth and Maureen Johnson wrote really great blog posts about this that really spoke to me. They talked about the importance of just getting the damn words on the paper and not worrying about minute details like if the word I just used is actually a word or if I called the character by the wrong name. Because those things can be easily fixed LATER. Never have I once ever ever ever thought about writing in this way. But you know what? I've started to do it (I was unsure of a minor character's name and, I swear to God, I wrote That Dude Whose Name I Can't Remember) and it's REALLY LIBERATING. *grins*

Alright! So now I'm stealing an idea from author extraordinaire and fellow WriMo, Jeri Smith-Ready, and giving y'all a little snippet of the words that have happened this week. (Yes, this does mean I violated the DON'T GO BACK rule, but. I love y'all and want you to stay around. And I had to go back to find something to show you.)

So, this little snippet of (WARNING: UNEDITED.) dialogue is between Willa and her friend Ana and they're talking about the fact that Willa and Dan are considering the possibility of trying to have a long-distance relationship.

“What do you mean?” I asked, suddenly uncomfortable. I realized I was fidgeting by pulling the grass around me. I wasn’t sure if I could be fined for that—after all, Central Park is a national park and defacing it is a crime—so I willed myself to stop uprooting the poor grass and then sat on my hands for good measure.   

“Let me spell it out for you. You live in New York. He lives in Dallas. I understand that this is the age of the Internet and video chatting and such, but, girl, you’re gonna need something tangible every now and then.”  

I hadn’t really thought of it that way. I mean, obviously I realize that being someone’s girlfriend typically involves kissing (and more-than-kissing), and, yes I did enjoy the touching business at the airport when I last saw Dan. But it’s not like I was sitting in New York fantasizing about what Dan and I would be doing if we were in the same place. 

Well. Not a lot, at least. 

“Yeah, but Dan and I do see each other once a month,” I pointed out. 

“For, like, thirty minutes,” Ana said flatly. I hated her right then. 

 “But that’s better than nothing!” 

“Willa, I get it. I understand that you and Dan have this massive thing for each other and I approve of you pursuing it. But I also think you need to be realistic. You both have needs and while talking on the phone and Skyping are both very nice modern conveniences, thirty minutes in a very public place once a month isn’t going to be enough at some point.” 

I hated how right she was. 

“Well it’s going to have to be enough. And besides, it’s not like Dan and I have always had a physical relationship. We’re more evolved than that.” I realized exactly how elitist that sounded, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to be right. This was my relationship, not Ana’s. She didn’t—couldn’t—understand it. And, sure, all of the making out and giving each other chills from a touch and hand holding in public is nice, but it’s not essential. Besides, all of those people from, like, the Dark Ages to the 1950s were able to suppress their PDA-urges, so why couldn’t I?             

“We’ll see exactly how evolved you are in two months when you’re practically humping every boy who walks by you,” Ana said drily before adding, “Do my shoulders look like they’re burning?” 

©Bethany Larson, 2011. 

*When I say most, I mean the ones who have written blog posts about writing without going back to edit/perfect until AFTER the book is done.

Reactionary Reading: Shade & Shift

Writing book reviews can be really, really hard. Lately, it seems as if some of my favorite things about books, or some of my gut reactions to things that occur, don't make it into my reviews either because they don't make sense in the "review aspect" or because I don't want to give things away.

However, I recently wrote a review for both Shade and Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready and for some reason I couldn't get the tone of the review to capture how much fun I had while reading the books.

So I've decided to publish my reading notes. Yep, that's right—I take notes as I read. Typically I use those notes to help guide me when I'm writing reviews, but sometimes (I think) my notes are really, really amusing and very in-the-moment. They include everything from favorite quotes to my gut reactions to tangential musings, and sometimes provide absolutely no context to what is actually happening in the book. Suffice it to say, they are kind of random.

But BE WARNED! I have gone through and redacted major spoiler information. (Yep, just like the government does.) If you've read the books, or if you don't care about being spoiled, feel free to highlight the redacted portions so you can read the text. (It's like a game! Sort of.) But there might still be minor spoilers involved. So if you're the type that hates knowing things before you read, DO NOT PROCEED. And please keep in mind that this is all in good fun and are just my thoughts and opinions. 

All right, now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let's get this show on the road!

May I present, my reading notes.

Review: Shade and Shift

Titles: Shade and Shift
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Dates: May 4, 2010 (Shade);



Love ties them together. Death can't tear them apart.
Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last.
Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone.
Well, sort of.
Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan's violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost.
It doesn't help that Aura's new friend Zachary is so understanding—and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit.
As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart...and clues to the secret of the Shift.—Goodreads


After hearing soooo much about these books (and the Scottish slice of mancake that is Zachary) I finally, finally, finally read the first two books in the Shade series by the Twitter-loving Jeri Smith-Ready.

After finishing Shade, the first book in the series, I was actually sort of . . .  not in love with the book the way I wanted to be. Don't get me wrong, I liked it, but  I wanted Logan to just freaking pass on already and let Aura get on with her life (preferably with Zach, the most patient teenage boy ever written). And then I felt bad for feeling like that because if MY boyfriend up and died, and I had the option of having him around forever as a ghost, I really don't know what I would ultimately want. Anyhow, by the end of Shade I actually found myself much more interested in the storyline regarding Aura and Zach's project on The Shift than I was the love story aspect.

And then I read Shift. And holy cow did this book change things for me. The second book in the series deals much more with the idea of The Shift and the logistics of how and why it happened, thus satiating my desire for that—and you learn more about Aura's mother, who died when Aura was three, but left behind a very frustrating journal, full of missing pages, describing her time in Ireland about a year before Aura was born. In just this regard, I enjoyed Shift way, way more than I did Shade.

But onto the love story aspect. Logan is still around in Shift and actually plays a big role in helping Aura and Zach with their project as there are some DISCOVERIES that are made because of Logan. And though Aura still struggles with her feelings throughout the book, because who wouldn't, I actually liked the way Smith-Ready handled it. It's very obvious that Aura is torn, and that if Logan was still alive she would absolutely be with him, and wouldn't have thought twice about Zach. (Feel free to argue with me about that in comments.) But because Logan isn't alive and needs to pass on, Zach is definitely on Aura's mind a lot. However, she doesn't really pursue him until she resolves her lingering feelings for her lingering ghost of a boyfriend.

Alright, so other things in these books:

I have to talk about Logan's siblings, specifically Dylan. Although I do like Mickey and Siobhan, I adore Dylan and he really, really stood out in Shift. About halfway through, Aura decides to ask Dylan to go to prom with her, and though that seems a little weird (I mean, he's her dead boyfriend's little brother) he ended up being the best prom date EVER. Dylan is definitely the stand-out character for me.

However! I also really love Megan, Aura's best friend and girlfriend of Mickey. Megan is the kind of girl who would have no qualms about getting in a fist fight to defend her friends. She's kind of a hard ass, but she's really funny and has a Yoda puppet (!!!) and is just an all-around incredible friend.

And now we discuss the music, which plays a huge, huge role in this book. So huge, in fact, that Miss Smith-Ready has playlists for the books on her website. You should check them out because they are great. Logan's family, the Keeleys, are all uber musical (except for Dylan) and before Logan died were in a very successful Irish punk band. So, music is discussed a whole bunch. And there is a reference to Mumford and Sons. And I want to borrow Smith-Ready's iPod and steal all her music.

Oh! You also need to know that Zach wears a kilt to the prom. It's AWESOME.

Overall, these books are solid and actually very different in tone than are a lot of YA novels. Smith-Ready is great at crafting characters who are flawed, but still loveable (i.e., Mickey. And Logan. And, actually, Aura.) And though Zach is the most "perfect" of the characters, he's not a YA male who is so perfect that he could never actually exist. (There's hope for us accent-lovin' ladies yet!) So yeah. I like these. And I'm VERY excited to read Shine!