My New Book Review Site

Hello Scribblers and Book Bandits!

Long time no talk. I just wanted to let you know that I have started blogging again over at Christy Luis Reviews: Book Reviews for You. It's not a writing blog, just a review blog. I don't post there on a regular schedule, like once a week; I usually post a review every two or three weeks. There's no set day.

But I hope to see you over there, whether you're a Scribbler or a Bandit or both.

Thanks for reading, friends.

-Christy

My "Foot Problems" (aka Arthritis)

Hello, All,

Since my health has allowed Kevin and I to return to church again, many friends have been asking about the health problems that confined us to the house for so long. We decided the best way to answer your questions was to post an abbreviated version here, on my old blog. (I’m not returning to blogging, but the story is complicated enough that a blog post seemed like the most effective way to spread the news.)

My health issues began in summer 2012 with a nagging bruise in the joint of my left big toe, and escalated when the bruise worsened, apparently turning into a stress fracture. (That’s what the podiatrist guessed, anyway. She couldn’t see the fracture on my x-rays, but the symptoms seemed to fit.) You may remember seeing me in a walking boot in the winter of 2012.

The “fracture” took an unusually long time to heal—too long—so I developed Achilles Tendonitis & Plantar Fasciitis in both of my feet. I started physical therapy in March 2013. Four months of therapy helped, somewhat, until the pain and swelling inexplicably spread to my right foot. Aleve and ice packs couldn’t seem to control the swelling. I also began to have pain in other joints, although we didn’t connect it with my foot pain, at the time. We just thought I was "that weak" from almost a year of inactivity. 

My Lakeport podiatrist finally admitted, after over a year of visits, that she had no idea why my feet were still swelling. So my general practitioner advised us to visit a podiatrist and a rheumatologist in Santa Rosa. The Santa Rosa podiatrist put me on a few weeks of Prednisone during December 2013. When that treatment didn’t knock out the swelling, he told us something that, amazingly, we hadn’t heard before from a doctor: this wasn’t just a foot issue. It was a systemic problem.

He sent us to the rheumatologist, who diagnosed me with a genetic form of arthritis called “spondyloarthritis” in January 2014. This made sense with the other inexplicable pains in my lower back, hips, knees and feet; all the joint pain and swelling, even that original foot pain (probably), was just a symptom of the arthritis. Spondyloarthritis develops around age 19 or during the early 20s. “Spondylo” refers to the spine because the immune response often attacks the lower back. The diagnosis isn’t an entirely sure thing, because spondyloarthritis is tough to confirm. For example, it doesn’t show up on x-rays, like rheumatoid arthritis does. We can only guess based on the symptoms. But that doesn’t change the delightful fact that the treatment plan is working (!!!). This diagnosis may sound like bad news, but honestly, we’ve never thought so. We’re just thrilled to have a diagnosis that makes sense and a treatment plan that has offered relief.

As for said treatment, our rheumatologist (Dr. Todd Hoeffling. A GENIUS.) prescribed an arthritis medication called “sulfasalazine,” which, together with physical therapy, gradually eliminated the pain and swelling in my feet. Ever since January, I’ve been working through all the exercises we learned from Lem Martin’s excellent Quail Run Physical Therapy, and a few back stretches learned from the wonderful Pilates teacher, Tina Woelbling.

Currently, I only have three more steps in my physical therapy exercise plan. (There were quite a few. Think in scores.) After that, I will need to build up my strength to relearn a few other basic living skills without pain or swelling, such as walking barefoot, standing in the hot shower, and driving my clutch car. And, finally, I will need to rebuild my stamina.

However, I’m not sure when I’ll be up to drumming, volunteering or anything else, yet. Strengthening and recovery have taken many months, and Kev and I will need some time to relax and restore, once we’ve met our physical therapy goals. Kev has been right here with me through all the unanswered questions and medical appointments. You may notice that I keep saying “we did this, we went to our doctors,” etc. That’s because it’s been a team-effort all the way. We will let you know when we’re ready to renew some of our commitments; just know they are very important to us, and we will be back.

If you would like to pray for us, here are some of our current requests:

-That driving the clutch car wouldn’t cause any problems. Last time I tried (in July), it set me back four weeks.

-That my back and stomach would heal up quickly. I recently stopped taking NSAIDS because of some stomach problems (I will be asking about ulcers at my next appointment), and my back has been the main nuisance, post-NSAID.

-That we would find the perfect medication to fit my needs, if the sulfasalazine doesn’t turn out to be the ideal choice.

-That we would get to take our vacation to Florida & New Orleans. We’ve been postponing this trip since May 2013, and now we’re aiming for early 2015. It’s going to be a major step toward feeling like “normal,” again. Eyes on the prize.

Thank you so much for reading this post. You’re part of our celebration. We've had inexhaustible support from immediate family—thank you Melodi, Steve, Nancy & Ed, for meals, rides, prayers and love—and friends—Bevie, Corryn, Marc & Brenda, and others—and particularly our Bible study group here in the Riv (Dorothy Cundall, for e-church, coffees and breakfasts; Kathy & Pat Chambers, for keeping us connected; Lisa & Chris Nowak, for visiting and being impromptu electricians; Dina and Rob Roumiguere, Carol and Ray Perry, and everyone else in our group, who prayed us through it all). And where would I be without my email buddies? M, C, and Q, I appreciate every one of your sweet, encouraging words.

Love,
Christy & Kevin

****Update 10/21/14: After explaining my stomach pain to the dr. last week, he said my stomach lining is probably inflamed from a year of taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatories. Worst case scenario, I might have a few small ulcers. He prescribed a generic form of Prilosec for a couple of weeks and thinks that will take care of the problem. We would appreciate prayer that this would be the case.

Hiatus

Dear Readers,

I launched Sweets for Scribblers and Book Bandits almost exactly two years ago, on November 14th, 2011.

I began this blog to write a new chapter of my life.

I began this blog to write about this amazing thing called "writing."

I began this blog to rave about my favorite books.

I began this blog to publicize library events.

I began this blog to share what I learned about writing during college.

And in three weeks, I will graduate with my Bachelor's Degree in English, Emphasis Creative Writing, from Regent University. Now I need to evaluate my career goals and make the transition from student to adult. I need time to think and to write my own stories. To live my own stories.

The time has now come: I must take an indefinite blogging hiatus.

I have learned so very much from this blog--and from you, my dear Scribblers and Book Bandits, in your emails and comments. Thank you for reading and writing with me.

I have loved sharing my words with you every Friday, then every Monday.

And I still do.

So maybe I will again? Surely, at some point in the future. But for now (for however long "now" lasts), this is goodbye.

So long! Keep scribbling and reading.


P.S. Happy (Early) Thanksgiving!

NaNoWriMo Perspectives and Helps

Just picture it: you are your newborn
(novel).

Hello, Scribblers and Book Bandits,

If you are considering doing NaNoWriMo this year, welcome to a smorgasbord of perspectives on the matter! Every year, as October comes to an end, I post about this month-long literary celebration. Here are a few old posts and a few new ones for Wrimos to digest.

Last year, I posted a pre-NaNo roundup of great resources. They are still helpful, so feel free to check them out. The post by Mary Kole gives the positives and negatives of the exercise.  Nathan Bransford offers helpful resources in his post, such as his "NaNoWriMo Bootcamp." The experienced story consultant Lisa Cron talks about how to avoid the pitfalls inherent in a month-long noveling stint. Martha Alderson tells us how we can pre-plot our novels in preparation for the event.

This list of genre descriptions from Agentquery.com can help you discover and decide the genre of  novel-to-be.

Lisa Cron writes on the subject of NaNo once again, this time advising writers about how to prep your characters.

And, finally, young adult author and illustrator Ingrid Sundberg gives her own five tips about how to prepare.

So far, most of these posts have been supportive, if realistic, perspectives. But not everyone feels that way about NaNo, which is something important to consider. Maggie Stiefvater, who has tried NaNo in the past, 1.) rants about it (hilariously) in her annual "Dear John" letter, and 2.) explains why she dislikes it and why no one needs it.

As with everything else, we have to decide for ourselves whether NaNo can be a helpful part of our writing process. I'm in the midst of trying out the insane-outline approach to noveling, so I will not be taking part, at least in the traditional sense. What have you decided?

Photo Attribution:
Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1981-076-05A / Höss / CC-BY-SA [CC-BY-SA-3.0-de (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons

How I Write Essays in 16 Steps (Which can also be how YOU write essays in 16 Steps!)

If I've learned how to do one thing as an English major, it's how to write a solid essay. This process took a long time to refine, though, starting way back in Junior Year of high school. (Well, before then, my teachers tried to teach me. Thank you, Ben Sombs. But I was not very receptive at that time, I guess! :) Many of the teachers at Regent University online have been particularly helpful in giving me personalized feedback about what wasn't working in my essays. Gradually, this and writing stories have helped me develop a good process. (The processes of essay-writing and story-writing actually don't differ a whole lot, as I'll note along the way.) I don't always use every step because each essay is a little different; but I wanted to share all the tools I have used. This post will share everything I wish I knew back when I first started writing essays.

1.) Before I begin read my source (if the essay requires one) and subject or prompt, I find some good study materials to ponder along with my reading; if the essay requires no source, I carefully examine the prompt. Study questions are particularly helpful for research or analysis essays: I find them on websites like Sparknotes.com, or get them from a teacher. If I can, I find some sort of introduction or context for the source, as well. I also make sure to study my prompt very carefully; my AP English teacher always said "'AP' stands for 'Address the Prompt.'"

2.) Then I begin reading my source and taking notes on themes or anything that could possibly be useful.* For longish research essays, this step could take up quite a bit of time. But...I shut up and eat my peas. That's just how writing goes, sometimes! Hence why I like to get started on this a week or two before my essay is due.

*If I don't need a source, I just brainstorm about my topic and thesis. When I finish brainstorming, I skip to step 4 on this list.

Notes are like mind mulch. Good seeds come from mind mulch. (To see how I make mind mulch for stories, check out this post.)

3.) Once I'm finished reading, I just write about the material for a while in an effort to pin down topic ideas. Actually, sometimes I'm not finished reading everything, yet, if this is a research essay; but I make sure to constantly ask, "What is the author of the source trying to tell me?" as I do read and after I finish a source. As I observe main points and themes (for which the study questions come in handy), I keep asking myself what might be useful for my thesis. Throughout this step and the rest, I ask myself question after question about the material and my own notes so I can begin to understand it all and make connections. I describe this process in this post, if you are curious about it. Although I describe it there in terms of story-writing, it works exactly the same way in essay-writing.

4.) When I've brainstormed everything I can possibly think of to say on the sources and topics, I go back over my notes and highlight the best stuff I find there. This mysterious "best stuff" will often be made up of conclusions I've drawn from the rest of the mass. Sometimes I'll spend a whole page or more just coming to one conclusion. Most teachers never tell you that lots of "eh-but-necessary notes" happen before the good stuff happens. Once in a while, the study questions yield good stuff immediately. But by the time I finished my last essay, an analysis of Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders, I ended up with a whopping six pages of messy notes on top of the four pages of my essay. And each note brought me closer to "the end."

5.) I compile the "good stuff" onto a new page or word document, separating it from the leftovers.  Typically, by this point, some sort of central idea is beginning to percolate in the back of my mind, so I pick the notes that fit that idea. But I make sure to save the old leftover notes in case I change my mind later.

6.) At this point, I might need to take a break. Emptying my brain is usually exhausting, if I do it right.

7.) Next, I make connections between my ideas by scanning and sorting my good notes (and, if necessary, my leftovers). I write s'more, beginning to form ideas for the introduction that will lead me and my readers through the mass of information (though the introduction will not truly take its final shape until later). If I need to, I riffle amongst those old notes I saved. Perhaps I find that I need to expand or change the central idea, or perhaps my exhausted brain picked the wrong central idea at first. Whatever the reason, old notes sometimes come in handy. Because I'm a visual learner, I use strikethrough text to cross out old ideas when they may have become irrelevant, and I use the highlighter tool to pick out new "good stuff." Actually, I don't know what the heck a visual learner is, or if I am one, but these two tools sure help! At this point, I am still asking and answering any questions about my own essay or my source the way I described in that post I mentioned in step 3.

8.) After I've picked some good ideas out of my notes, I develop a thesis. I refine the central idea I've been pondering. It may be tough to find amidst all the possibilities, so I keep them all, for now. My thesis may begin to come to me even before I've finished all my research. And even at this point, my central idea/Frankenstein monster thesis may completely change. I usually panic at this step because it's hard, but I'm sort of learning to skip that and just keep looking for the best option.  The best kind of thesis will not have lots of directions--it will be fairly concise. It will state a firm claim about my topic, one I think I can prove. Everything else I write in this essay will depend upon this one little sentence. Again, highlighting and strikethrough text come in handy.

The thesis is a lot like the premise of a story. Or like God. It is the Alpha and the Omega of your essay.

9.) Once I have my thesis, I move it onto a brand-spankin'-new page. This is a new beginning, because I finally have a focus point for my essay. But I keep my notes in a separate document in case I need them again.

10.) I use my notes to figure out what points to make in support of my thesis. These are called "supporting points," and they will form the backbone of my essay though the body paragraphs. It may take some time to find these main points. I compile all the major ideas I've discovered into the all important introductory paragraph, which is still messy. I compare them with my thesis and pick the best ones.

11.) Once I  have some possible "supporting points," there's nothing to do but try them out. I start filling in the spots between the supporting points to see if they actually lead anywhere (they don't always, but there's no way to find that out until I explore them). Yep, more notes! But these notes will eventually become my body paragraphs. I make sure to quote directly from my source to support each of my points. Even supporting points need support.

12.) Once I've filled out my body paragraphs, I start connecting them with transitions. If I can't connect one of my supporting points/body paragraphs, that's alright. I just paste it right near the top of my "notes" documents so I know where to find it, in case I change my mind. I may even erase it using "track changes" if I can't bear to simply remove it (another useful crossover from my story-writing process). Usually, by the time I've finished my essay and I check back on these track change deletions, I have no problem removing them because I've realized they just don't fit. This is how I trick myself into "killing my darlings."

13.) I tie everything up into a conclusion. I may form the conclusion at any time during the essay, not just at the end. Creating the conclusion helps me see my essay as a whole for the first time. It also forces me to see whether or not all the parts of the essay (introduction, body paragraphs and transitions) fit together. I summarize all of my main points and tie them into my argument, the thesis. And once I've finished with all these parts of the essay--thesis, body paragraphs, transitions and conclusion--there's only one essay component left to write.

14.) I write the introduction of the essay. This may seem backward, but let me explain. My introduction shows the reader the main points I will make and the order I will make them in.* If I don't know those things myself yet, how can I introduce them to my reader? I tinker with my introduction throughout the essay because it gives my essay both form and focus. It shares the "designing principle" (a term from John Truby's wonderful book The Anatomy of Story) of the essay with my readers--meaning, what will I cover and in what order? For example if I decide I'm going to argue how Moll Flanders changed after each of her (five) marriages in the essay, I might let them know the order: first marriage to last. Readers need to know this. So, to recap: once I've figured out my supporting points and tied them together using the transitions and conclusion, I can officially write "the" perfect intro to my creation because I finally have all the parts. That's what I write it at the end. Then I've finished my rough draft! The process gets easier from here on out.

*The introduction also interests the reader in my essay so they'll keep reading. This is called "hooking" the reader. A "hook" can be a quote, a question, a startling statistic or claim...anything that will interest them, really.

15.) I clean up the draft by clarifying rough spots, fixing typos and making it all-around prettier. This usually involves taking a step back and letting the work sit for a short time. If I have a few days (I usually don't), I'll come back to the essay and probably be glad I did. Oftentimes I'm too "close" to my work to catch all the typos. I almost always read my paper out loud to myself before turning it in, because that helps even an overloaded brain find the weak spots. Some people print papers out to spot more typos, but that doesn't do much for me. Save a tree. Once in a while I will change the font as I do a final read-through. This helps catch those final typos because, rather than skimming through all that Times New Roman again, I have to actually look at the words. And then? Then I'm finished.

16.) And I go celebrate. Seriously, that was hard work.

This process is extremely fluid, which can make it stressful. Every essay works out a little bit differently. I always use certain steps, but other steps I only use once in a while. And there is no set time period for writing an essay--often, it takes me at least a full day of slogging to complete a rough draft. But even sledding, an essay takes hours of diligent work. But once you learn to trust the process (your own process, I mean, not necessarily the one I've laid out here), then it will become a bit less stressful. We Scribblers must simply keep pressing on if we're going to write worth-while essays!


Photo Attribution
By Dbxsoul (Own work) [CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Free PDF Converter

Creating PDFs is a helpful skill for any writer to learn. Maybe you want to keep a club or community informed; maybe you work in an office; or maybe you're starting your own newsletter. PDFs are great tools for all of those things and more.

But the software can be expensive. I use a free website recommended by library staff called "Dopdf.com" to convert my Friends of the Library newsletters from Word docs to PDFs. It's easy and it works great!

When installed, it lists itself under your printer.

This is a screenshot from the Windows 8. If you have an earlier version of windows, it will look slightly different,
but it's just as easy. Just act like you're going to print your document, but choose "doPDF" as the printer rather than
your normal printer selection. The red arrow points to the spot on my screen. **Revision note 9/2/13: Since I got
Windows 8, I found another way which worked better. Instead of "Print" I chose "Export," which is a few
options lower on the blue sidebar on this page.

Enjoy!

The Story of My Feet

Dear friends,

Many of you have kindly asked about my feet over the past ten months, and some of you have even done thoughtful things like bringing meals or praying or mailing me cards. Kevin and I can hardly express our gratitude for your concern. (Thank you!!)

I decided to summarize what’s been going on to answer your questions. I refrained from doing this for a long time because we weren’t sure ourselves what we could say for certain. We still aren’t sure, but I’ll try my best.

Last year, at some point, I bruised my foot from running (*insert complicated story here*). In September, it turned into a stress fracture, but we didn’t know that for sure until December. After this, I wore a walking boot for about 9 weeks. Unfortunately the fracture took so long to heal (for several complicated reasons) that both of my feet developed Achilles Tendonitis & Plantar Fasciitis. The previously-fractured foot atrophied quite a bit. We found out all this in March. At that time, I began physical therapy. I still attend PT once or twice a week. The process has been slow going and has had many ups and downs. At this moment, I can’t drive, play drums, or go many places. That may or may not change soon—it’s very unpredictable.

If you want to help both Kevin and me, you can do one major thing for us: pray! We would love prayer for

1) patience, persistence and a positive attitude on my part.

2) encouragement and lots of blessings on my husband, Kevin, who has been amazing through all of this.

3) that God would reveal His plan to us in all of this.

If you want to pray for the physical, you can pray

1) that God would heal me

2) that we would get into a healthy pattern at Physical Therapy, and

3) that we could reach our goal of going on vacation in October.

Both Kevin and I would appreciate if you didn’t ask when I’ll be better/when I’ll be playing drums again/whether I can help with such & such event, etc. If there are commitments that I am ready to renew, I’ll let you know. It may still be awhile, but I can’t wait to get back to it all! Thank you so much for your consideration in this area, friends.

I must say that throughout this process, God has been faithful to provide everything we need. We have learned so much—I have a long list of blessings and answered prayers pertaining to my foot problems. God is good, all the time.

We hope to see you/talk to you all soon.

Love and gratitude,

-Christy & Kevin Luis

NEW Catching Fire Trailer + Signed Book Plate Swag

Did YOU know there would be ANOTHER Catching Fire trailer? *happy dance* This one lets us in on a major plot twist, but it sure sells the movie!



ALSO!

I just thought I'd brag about my new The Raven Boys swag. Last month I told you about a bookplate giveaway Maggie Stiefvater was doing. Well, I just got my signed bookplate! Here 'tis:

Yeah, I taped it to my Kindle. So?

Stiefvater 1) wrote my absolute favorite YA novel of the last two years, The Scorpio Races, and 2) is also an artist, so she did the artwork for the bookplates. She sent me a Maggie-esque note along with the book plate:

Made. My. Year!

This has nothing to do with writing, but...Jason Collins

My husband, like many sports fans, follows Sports Center, and I watch it with him sometimes. A couple of his shows have been discussing the ramifications of NBA player Jason Collins's recent announcement of being gay.

I asked Kevin, "What would you say if you were on one of these sports analyst shows and they asked you for your opinion?" He answered by telling me to check out the opinion expressed on ESPN by sports analyst the Chris Broussard, who is a Christian. I love the way Broussard explained it. If you are interested in hearing it (it caused a lot of controversy, as you can probably imagine), here 'tis:


He later clarified his remarks, which you can read here if you'd like.

All I gotta say: thank you for explaining, Broussard. That took a lot of courage.

P.S. I will still be posting on Friday. I just wanted to support this brave analyst; I love courageous heroes and heroines in books, but this is real live courage. I hope I can be as brave in my writing.

Photo Credit
By Reisio (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Free Teen Book: Operation Teen Book Drop 2013

Hi Scribblers and Book Bandits!
Today is a special early post because tomorrow is "Rock the Drop 2013," which means a friend (Amy Patton, the Librarian who runs the Young Adult Summer Reading Program at the Lakeport Library) and I will be dropping two awesome Young Adult books off in specific locations for you to find. It's an adventure! I am leaving a book in the Riviera for a fellow reader to find and enjoy, while Amy leaves hers in a different spot. Tomorrow I will tell you the specific locations + give you pictures of the books in their spots.






Here is my book:

This is actually two Sarah Dessen books packaged together into one--and with the movie cover! (The books are better than the movie, of course.) The first book, That Summer is about a high school girl named Haven who wishes for the past, before her sister was marrying "boring Lewis." She looks back, back to the summer her sister dated Sumner who colored life exciting. But when she realizes the past was not perfect, she gains more hope for the future. This was a free, quiet and witty read--Dessen's debut novel. She was originally writing towards a more adult audience, so it has a different flavor from her later books. The second novel, Someone Like You, is about two high school girls who rely more heavily on each other than every before during this particularly difficult year. As usual, Dessen writes quiet realism mixed with clever humor and endearing characters. Friendship is the focus in this one, and I loved it because friendship is so important in high school (and all of life, but especially then). The movie combines these two books into one story--an interesting mix. The title "How To Deal" is very obviously about how to survive high school. For more info on Sarah Dessen books, check out her website.
And here is Amy's book:

This book is Newberry-winning historical fiction about a Jewish girl who lives during the time of the Holocaust. I haven't read it, but I've read other Lois Lowry books. They are beyond "just" exciting--they are beautiful. Literary.

Tommorrow, I will reveal the book drop locations. Get Ready. Get Set...

This project was inspired by Figment.com, which posted about how several teen lit organizations (such as YALSA) are parternering in the effort. Keep your eye out for our books and others!

Faking It

Yes, it is...a faked unicorn skeleton!

     This post is for scribblers like me who must constantly beat back a gigantic hairy inferiority complex. When I began writing, I felt inadequate (and, in fact, still do). In the beginning, it is so so so hard to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard or brain-feed to word processor, or however you write, because it feels like everyone already knows this and I'm not saying it right anyhow so why bother? Perhaps you can relate? Humility is an important attribute in a writer, but this isn't humility. This is being scared witless that I have nothing to say to the world.
      As I slowly make my way through classes and textbooks and years of life, I realize more and more how very little I know. It's a backwards process: I think I understand something until I reach into it a bit farther and encounter a new plane of knowledge...then I realize I'd have to walk all the way across that plain as well, if I truly wanted to understand. Things are much more complicated than I thought. This is so entirely scary that I just feel like quitting...which obviously gets very little work done.
      So I just have to fake it. No, wait, don't leave! Let me explain. To convince myself I can write something worthwhile, I have to fake it, at first. Two extremes have developed among writers: 1) Write what you know, and 2) write whatever bubbles up from your soul, man. I think writers learn during the writing process--we don't know everything right at the start. We learn and teach ourselves by writing. In fact, writing a book teaches the writer even more than it teaches the readers. In Madeleine L'Engle's book A Ring of Endless Light, the grandfather comments, "A poet friend of mine told me that his poems know far more than he does, and if he listens to them, they teach him" (70).
     For a long time, I felt it was my duty to write only about what I understood very well so that my readers will understand perfectly, too. Now I know not to wait until I feel like I know everything (because I never will). In fact, even if I feel like I know nothing in the beginning, that's no excuse to shirk brainstorming and idea-gathering. It's actually the perfect motivation.  Writing itself changes and teaches us, so there is no point in "waiting until we know something."
     I'm not saying we shouldn't be researching or outlining for our work--that is a part of writing. What I'm saying is, don't be scared to dive in. And don't get bogged down in those things for a decade, either. Make sure you're writing things, small things, even. Poems carry little images and little truths. Essays develop truths. Flash fiction and short stories begin developing characters who learn and grow. You don't have to write a novel right off the bat. Writing small teaches as much as writing big.
     I know more than I did when I started writing. Viewing life through the thoughtful lens of a writer teaches me more than I learned with my previously-passive eyes. So even when I write something that I worry isn't very good, I remind myself that the only way to get good is to keep trying.
     And until I know, I fake it. That's the only way to push past the insecurity until I actually DO know. As John Truby says, we should "Write something that may change your life."

Works Cited

 

L'Engle, Madeleine. A Ring of Endless Light.

Truby, John. The Anatomy of Story: 22 steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller. New York, NY: Faber and Faber, Inc. 2007. Print.

Photo Attribution

By Wilfried Wittkowsky (own foto / eigenes Foto) [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons

How to Start a Story: The Premise Method

     There is more than one way to start a story. In fact, there is no "right way"--every author does it differently. Sometimes, an author even changes her methods around to keep it fresh. There are two things you can do to figure out your own method: 1) read how others do it, and 2) try each method for yourself. It's a lot of hard work to figure it all out on our own, but I guess that's why "the experts" say a writer needs to writer for 10,000 hours, 10 years or hack out a million bad words before they master the craft. And even then, a writer never stops learning!
     The good news is that there are lots of blog posts and craft books and author interviews that discuss writing methodology. With that in mind, I have a method to show you which I have recently fallen in love with. It may not be the right method for you, but until you try, you won't know, right? (You can always test it out on a short story before dragging it into NaNoWriMo with you this November :) I call it "The Premise Method."
     It makes sense to be sure the base of our story is very solid, because everything else we write will build on top of it. If we have to drastically change the base of the story...well, the story will drastically change.
     In his book The Anatomy of Structure, John Truby talks a lot about this. He starts with a thing called a "premise," which is also known as a "log line" or an "elevator pitch" (because it should be compact enough to enable a recitation during the course of an elevator ride with an editor or agent).

A premise is a one or two sentence version of your story: a sense of your main character, the first action she takes, and a general notion of the ending.

     The premise can be your story base. Here's an example of a premise of the book Holes by Louis Sachar: "A kid with legendary bad luck must survive a juvenile detention camp's secret agenda and unearth the truth about his family curse" (Kole 33). For more about writing a premise, you can either read The Anatomy of Structure's first chapter, Writing Irresistible Kidlit by Mary Kole, or this great blog post byDonald Maass.
     To write your premise, explain in one line what your main character does when faced with your story's inciting incident. Also give a vague notion of the ending. That's about it! Try to make it interesting.
     Truby says it's important to form the right premise because every other decision we make will be based on this premise.
     Freeeeeeze! The right premise? Who has the right to tell me what premise is right for my story? Well, I do. And you do for your story. But how can we tell? By doing lots of brainstorming and exploring. Usually when I write anything, the first ideas aren't what I end up polishing and submitting. I've usually narrowed and focused the original flash of inspiration to something slightly or completely different. It's very rare that I write something that stays essentially the same.
     So. Brainstorming to find your perfect premise takes a long time--Truby recommends weeks. Literally, weeks of brainstorming. This was a very freeing idea, for me, because I've always felt like I needed to get writing, bash out that word count, etc. But brainstorming is important for writing a truly unique, organic story. It may even save a writer time by brainstorming up a premise before writing because she will discover plot problems to solve before they are solidified in a manuscript. If a writer just grabs her first idea and starts writing away with it, she may have to change everything about it later.
     If you are worried about taking so long to brainstorm a story, remember that you can also be working on another story in order to keep your skills razor sharp and stories out on submission. We writers multi-task!
     Premise is not that way everyone begins their story, but it seems to be a fairly common method. It helps focus an idea if we can get those main elements--character, plot arc, general idea of ending--into one or two lines. It gives you guidance as you write.
     If writers plan during the "premise" phase, they may be able to avoid some redo-business. Everything changes drastically when a writer explores her premise over the course of a few weeks. She can solve the problems in her premise with a  bit of brainstorming, and change it if need be. That sounds like a good deal to me.

Christy Dares You

To write a premise. Right now. You can write a brand-spankin' new one out of thin air, or you can write one to a favorite book, or to your own WIP novel. Go for it! To do is to learn.

Works Cited

Kole, Mary. Writing Irresistible Kidlit. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer’s Digest Books, 2012. Print.

Maass, Donald. “The Good Seed.” Writersunboxed.com. 4 April 2012. 2 Feb. 2013. Web.

Truby, John. The Anatomy of Story: 22 steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller. New York, NY: Faber and Faber, Inc. 2007. Print.

Photo Credit

By Amusafija (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Young Adult Booklist: "Travel" Theme

    
Hi everyone! I worked up a booklist for a Young Adult Fiction display at the library. The theme is "Travel." All the books in the first list are available at the Lakeport library or available on order from a nearby library. You can order any or all of these books right from your home by searching here through the library catalog. Enjoy!
 

Travel Booklist for Young Adults

·         Ostrich Boys by Keith Gray

·         Shift by Jennifer Bradbury

·         The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares (also on ebook)

·         An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (also on audiobook)

·         Wounded by Stephen Cole

·         The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour

·         The Convicts by Iain Lawrence

·         Come Back to Afghanistan : a California teenager's Story by Said Hyder Akbar and Susan Burton

·         Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (also on Audiobook)

·         Blood Red Road by Moira Young

·         Rules of the road by Joan Bauer

·         The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex

·         Defining Dulcie by Paul Acampora  

·         Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd

·         Pardon my French by Cathy Hapka

·         Spain or Shine by Michelle Jellen

·         Forrest Gump : a novel by Winston Groom (Adult Fiction, also on Audiobook)

·         The Watsons go to Birmingham--1963 a novel by Christopher Paul Curtis (Juvenile Fiction, also on Audiobook & Ebook)

·         Here Abide Monsters by Andre Norton (Juvenile Fiction)

·         Travels with Charley : in search of America by John Steinbeck (Adult NF 917.3 STEINBECK)

·         The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti (Only on Audiobook)

·         13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson (Ebook & Audiobook only)

·         Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Not all of these next books are available at our library, but they also fit our theme.

·         Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

·         TimeRiders by Alex Scarrow

·         Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber (I am definitely going to read this!)

·         Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

·         Saving June by Hannah Harrington.

·         How My Summer Went Up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

·         American Spaz the Novel by Greg Kieser

·         Punkzilla by Adam Rapp

·         Kiss the Morning Star by Elissa Janine Hoole

     I can't make any promises that these books won't include "questionable content," because I picked them based on the theme and haven't read them all.
     P.S. And I haven't forgotten the craft post on Premise. I want to make sure it's freaking amazing before I let you see it. For now, read up!

Photo Attribution:
By gnuckx [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Top 100 Movies

Today’s post has absolutely NOTHING to do with Literature and is completely self-indulgent, but gosh it was fun. Here is my Top 100 list of movies. I got this idea from Nathan Bransford’s blog (which I’m sure you’ve heard of before). Add to the list in the comments, if you like! I need some suggestions for oldies-but-goodies and classics.

1.      The Sound of Music

2.      Hamlet (Branagh)

3.      The Series of Unfortunate Events

4.      Memoirs of a Geisha

5.      The Lord of the Rings (all)

6.      Good Will Hunting

7.      Forrest Gump

8.      Pride and Prejudice (both major productions)

9.      Schindler's List

10.  The Shawshank Redemption

11.  The Princess Bride

12.  Catch Me If You Can

13.  A Few Good Men

14.  The King's Speech

15.  Ratatouille

16.  Monty Python and the Holy Grail

17.  Back to the Future (all 3)

18.  The Hunger Games

19.  To Kill a Mockingbird

20.  The Pirates of the Caribbean (first two)

21.  Batman (all new)

22.  The Hobbit (cartoon)

23.  A Knight's Tale

24.  The Emperor's New Groove

25.  Sherlock Holmes (2009)

26.  The Harry Potters (Yeah, that's right!)

27.  Mulan

28.  The Hobbit (new)

29.  Juno

30.  The Sleeping Beauty

31.  Miracle

32.  Extreme Days

33.  The Whole Nine Yards

34.  The Sixth Sense

35.  Signs

36.  A Beautiful Mind

37.  Swing Kids

38.  A League of Their Own

39.  How To Train Your Dragon

40.  The Sandlot

41.  Liar Liar

42.  Men in Black

43.  The Italian Job

44.  Remember the Titans

45.  Jumanji

46.  Patch Adams

47.  The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (newest)

48.  Casino Royale

49.  Les Miserables

50.  The Help

51.  V for Vendetta

52.  The Oceans (Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen)

53.  Sweet Home Alabama

54.  Never Let Me Go

55.  Iron Man

56.  Phantom of the Opera

57.  Gandhi

58.  Romeo and Juliet

59.  A Walk to Remember

60.  Hangman’s Curse

61.  My Big Fat Greek Wedding

62.  Seabiscuit

63.  Martian Child

64.  The Passion of the Christ

65.  Ransom

66.  Contact

67.  Megamind (you know it!)

68.  The Bournes (minus the newest)

69.  War of the Worlds (2005)

70.  Sister Act

71.  The Guardian

72.  Emma

73.  Kate and Leopold

74.  Monsters, Inc.

75.  Shrek

76.  Fast and Furious

77.  Money Ball

78.  Freaky Friday

79.  Twister

80.  Matilda

81.  The Karate Kid (old version)

82.  Water for Elephants

83.  Speed

84.  The Parent Trap (Lohan)

85.  The Guardian

86.  Hitch

87.  The Illusionist

88.  Flight

89.  National Treasure

90.  The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

91.  Rudy

92.  Zoolander

93. School of Rock

94.  Star Wars

95.  Star Trek

96.  The Blindside

 

97.  The Prince of Egypt

98.  Safe House

99.  Caddyshack

100.  Despicable Me