Book Review: Butterfly Chaos by Melinda R. Cordell

(Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of this novel in exchange for a review; however, I was not obligated to review favourably)

About the Book:
Three months after her cousin Toni died, Cassie is still reeling. Toni's best friend now ignores her in the halls. Cassie's cousin is dating the girl who torments her in gym. And Cassie has maybe a teeny-tiny crush on the boy who found Toni in the river. Then Toni's ghost visits Cassie and reveals that in two nights, a powerful EF3 tornado will rip into a dance hall, killing those three kids. Cassie sets out to keep everyone from going to the dance. As she argues and cajoles (and stockpiles minor munitions to clear the building, just in case) she uncovers stories about her friends' connections with Toni - and all the reasons they refuse to skip this awesome dance. Why does everyone have to be so bullheaded! Despite everything Cassie does to change their destiny, they find themselves directly in the killer tornado's path. In those last moments as the tornado bears down on them, Cassie must find a rock to cling to as the whole world is torn to pieces around her.

Here's a link to the Amazon page, if anyone is interesting in buying the book and/or seeing a sample!

    Butterfly Chaos follows Cassie, a young girl who is struggling to cope with the drowning death of her cousin, Toni. Cassie's family is extremely close, and her and her cousins seem to have a more sibling-like relationship. Toni was older than Cassie, and as such Cassie looks up to her and is racked by guilt over her death. I found the title of this book very interesting; it's mentioned in the book, and refers to the idea that tiny decisions affect the future, so if a butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil, the air movement can cause a tornado in Texas.
    This idea is played with very interestingly throughout the novel; Cassie dreams of the tornado multiple times, and sees how her actions throughout the novel affect the events of that night.
    Another aspect of the novel that I enjoyed was the characterization. While there were some minor characters who remained very one-dimensional that I think could have been better fleshed-out and given better motivation, but Cassie herself was a very interesting character. She did not fall into many stereotypes many YA heroines often do, and her narration was relatable and made her seem very real.
    I also thought that the town the author placed her story in was well-written; Cordell works in enough detail for readers to understand the culture of the town and Cassie's family, without being bogged down in unnecessary details and "info dumping".
    This book was a fairly quick read for me; when I found the time to read it, I devoured most of it in one sitting. The story was fast-paced and heart-pounding, and I found the ending was quite a twist. I didn't love everything about the book, of course, but I think it was a very worthwhile read.
    I'd say this book would be appropriate for middle grade or young adult readers; it's classified on Amazon as a teen book, but it could definitely be good for middle grade readers as well due to the age of the characters and the plot of the book.
    4/5 stars!

Are Outlines a Blessing or a Curse? (Method Mondays)

    I'm going to be 100% honest here. I hate outlining. I absolutely despise it. I would much rather dive head-first into a story and just start writing than sit down and plot out what's going to happen. I will also admit, though, when I sit down to write and have no clue what needs to happen to bridge event A with event B, I really wish I'd sat down and taken the time to write an outline.
    This isn't really going to be a tutorial on how to write an outline, because outlines can take any form you want them to, depending on what suits you. What I want to do with this is more of a discussion about outlining as a practice and why I would or wouldn't do it.
    I really only learned to outline in my last two years of high school, mostly because I had to for English classes. Has it come in handy? Yes, definitely. Am I 100% willing to admit that I complained about it for nothing? Not quite.
   Contrary to how I've made it sound, I do outline from time to time. Most of the time it's for blog posts or something similar, but I often do it for short stories too, especially if I want to get the ideas down before I forget them. For example, for the sequel to "What's a Princess to Do?", I wrote an outline when the idea for the story came into my head. It's just 17 bullet points, each one of them a short sentence. Some of them are only fragments of sentences.
   I'm not usually a very detailed outliner (for stories, at least; when it comes to more academic writing, sometimes that changes); if I come up with a particularly good line of dialogue or a little bit a scene, I'll put it in the outline as I come up with it, but most of the time it's just a sequence of events. Character A does this, so that happens, so B has to do this, and so on. That's a bit of an oversimplification, but for the purposes of not having spoilers or sharing plot points that will end up edited out or changed, that's what I'll say.
    I know plenty of people who have much more detailed outlines than that, and if that's what you like and what works for you, then go for it! I'm not big on detailed outlines because I'll just end up writing the full scene instead and then my "outline" will just be the book or story itself.
    I think the only "danger", if you can call it that, to outlining is that it is possible to become too dependant on an outline and forget to let the story "breathe", so to speak, and adapt as you continue writing. If I use an outline, I follow it when I don't know what needs to happen and when I need to make sure certain events take place for the plot to make sense.
    What do you all think of outlining? Do you do it, and if so, what does your normal outline look like?
   Thanks for reading!

Book Review: Perchance to Dream (Short Story Anthology) edited by Lyssa Chiavari

Disclaimer: I was provided a free e-book copy of this anthology in exchange for reviewing it; however, I was not obligated to give a favourable review.

ABOUT THE ANTHOLOGY:
Title: Perchance to Dream
Edited by: Lyssa Chiavari
Publisher: Snowy Wings Publishing

Romeo and Juliet. Hamlet. Macbeth. Everyone has heard their names. Everyone knows their stories. But you've never seen them like this.
In this collection, some of the hottest names in YA today—including bestselling authors Alicia Michaels (author of BELLAMY AND THE BRUTE) and Heather Dixon (author of ENTWINED)—reimagine ten of Shakespeare's best-known plays and sonnets for a new audience. From sci-fi adventures on distant moons to modern magic found in everyday places, these updated myths pay homage to the Bard's timeless storytelling while spinning fresh and original tales that will captivate readers all over again.

If you're interested in buying this anthology, here's a link to the editor's website where there are links to various places you can download it, as well as a free sample to try.
http://www.lyssachiavari.com/books/ptd-anthology/

   This anthology was very interesting to me. I've always been a theatre nerd, and I've loved Shakespeare's plays since I was first forced able to read one in the ninth grade (the first one I read was The Merchant of Venice, if anyone is curious). When I saw this book available for review, I was intrigued and excited to read it. It took me a lot longer to read and write this review than I anticipated; the book is over 1000 pages altogether (although I did read it on my iPhone through iBooks, so it may be fewer pages on a larger screen). Don't let that scare you away, though; most of the stories range under 200 pages, many of them under 100. They're all quick, fascinating reads and really adapt Shakespeare's classic plays (and a sonnet!) into wonderful, relatable stories. Even if you don't like Shakespeare, give this book a try; it's excellent!
   Averaging my ratings of the individual stories in this anthology (reviewed below in as spoiler-free of a way as I could), I give this anthology 4/5 stars!

"Rosemary for Remembrance", a Hamlet adaptation by Jess R. Sutton
    "Rosemary for Remembrance" brings the classic plot line of Hamlet to a modern world, with a magical twist. The story follows 16-year-old Mel in the aftermath of her mother Rosemary's apparent suicide. Mel's aunt and uncle move into the house she shared with her mother, and Mel is convinced she's seen her mother's ghost telling her that her Aunt Clara murdered her. Mel's obsession with proving this drives wedges into her relationships and threatens to derail her life.
    I love Hamlet; one of my fondest memories is reading it in my twelfth grade English class - is that weird? Probably. But this story has all the things you expect from Hamlet, set in a modern-feeling society that just so happens to have magic. The way magic is incorporated into the story and the setting is masterful; Sutton weaves it seamlessly into everyday life. Protagonist Mel works for an art studio where kids come after school to use kinetic paints that bring art to life on the page, and in the back of the studio she brews potions to do things like increase energy, and, quite notable in the plot, a new, untested potion to reduce the physical symptoms of grief.
    One of the things I loved the most about this story is how Sutton incorporates Hamlet's breakdown in the play into Mel's character. It's not quite as extreme as Hamlet's in the play, nor does it have quite the same disastrous results (although having two characters in a modern day setting just whip out swords for a duel would be hilarious - just me? Okay.). But I enjoyed it nonetheless. The characters aren't quite as developed as I think they could become in a longer work, but that's to be expected in a story of this length. There also isn't a character in this story to match up with every character in Hamlet, because if there were, my goodness this would be a crowded short story. It's fairly obvious who some characters stand in for, and others who could be different characters or multiple rolled into one. I won't speak to that, because I think that removes some of the fun of reading the story itself.
    Overall, I give this story 4/5 stars!

"Shoulders of Giants", a Titus Andronicus adaptation by Jon Garett and Richard Walsh
    "Shoulders of Giants" sets the plot of Titus Andronicus to a futuristic, possibly alien (I wasn't sure if it was meant to be an alien world or just a futuristic version of earth, but perhaps I didn't pick up on something) world. The main characters are two brilliant young people from the rival nations of Basland and East Albion; Bridget and Hank, a scientist and a soldier.
   I will admit, I've never read Titus Andronicus, but I did read the SparkNotes (I'm sorry, I know, I hated the kids who did that in high school too, but I haven't had the time to get my hands on a copy of the play a read it yet, so I'll have to do that when I get the chance. I loved the nod to the title of the play in the names of the mech-suits the rival nations create near the end of the story, though.
    Let me just say: this is a massively toned-down version of the plot; it keeps the basic "cycle of revenge" plot with significantly mellowed violence. The revenge is mostly between the two nations rather than between two people, which makes the plot very interesting but makes it difficult to identify characters from the book specifically as characters from the play. I did find it very interesting how Bridget and Hank are both, to me at least, helpless in the hands of their respective nations, but think themselves independent. I can't say much more without spoiling, but the ending I found kept the spirit of the original play but commuted it wonderfully to the world Garett and Walsh chose for their story.
    3.5/5 stars for this one!

"Lisbeth", a Macbeth adaptation by Selenia Paz
    "Lisbeth" adapts the plot of Macbeth to a modern world. The story follows Lisbeth and Bianca, two young Mexican girls. On the Dia de los Muertos when they're 10 years old, they go into a tent at the cemetery and meet three fortune-tellers, who give them a prophecy that they will do great things. As they get older, Lisbeth remains obsessed with finding out the end of the prophecy; she glimpsed it on the scroll but could not read it. The girls' grandparents send them to live in America with Lisbeth's aunt, Lenna, and the girls work hard to become the best they can be in their classes. They both are accepted for a prestigious program that will send them into space as part of Operation Hecate.
    May I first say: I am a massive Macbeth nerd. Is that a weird sentence? Probably. I still have trouble forcing myself to say the word Macbeth, because of the curse (short version: don't say Macbeth in a theatre unless you're saying dialogue from the play, or else something bad will happen. If you mess up, go outside as fast as you can, spin around 3 times and spit. I say go outside because don't spit in a theatre, that's nasty.) I was in a production of Macbeth in grade 10 - maybe I'll do a blog post on it sometime, it was a good time. The curse is totally real, though, that's all I'm gonna say right now. But I digress. I absolutely loved how Paz adapted the plot of the play to her characters and setting. The ending is wonderfully done; I found the entire story to be done very well. It was a riveting read overall, and the characters were well-written as well. This was one of my favourite stories in the anthology.
    5/5 stars!

"A Midsummer Night's Brainwashing", a Midsummer Night's Dream adaptation by Allan Davis
    "A Midsummer Night's Brainwashing" brings the basic idea of A Midsummer Night's Dream to a world where complex virtual reality simulations are a, well, a reality. The plot follows Robin Goodfellow Tucker, or Tuck, as he's called by friends, in his quest to make his crush, Heather, love him by giving her a love potion in the simulation.
    If you know A Midsummer Night's Dream, you can probably guess how well that goes. The answer: it doesn't. Tuck manages to make two of his friends fall in love, though. I found this story kept the spirit of the original play, and it was a very short and quick read. I feel like it could have been expanded on more, however; I enjoyed it, but I would've liked some more context as to the nature of the internship that lets Tuck access the simulations, which apparently are owned by the government and allow some kind of mind-control. I like the ending where it was, but the 180 Tuck seems to pull confused me, although again it's possible I missed something critical. I think this story was good as-is, but it definitely would have had potential to grow into something more.
    3/5 stars!

"Mark Corey", a Coriolanus adaptation by Patricia Scott
    Mark Corey adapts the plot of Coriolanus to a modern day world, and makes it much more accessible to a modern audience. The main character, Mark Corey, is a high school senior obsessed with baseball. He lives, eats, and breathes the sport, in his own words. His only goal in life is to play baseball at the college level, and then move on to become professional. He knows everything about every team in the area, and strategizes his pitches to invariably defeat them all.
    Coriolanus is another of Shakespeare's plays I haven't yet had the chance to read, but from what I understand about the play, this story brings the essence of the plot to a modern world and context almost effortlessly. Mark reads as a cocky - perhaps overly so - teenager, and although the ending is obvious nearly from the beginning, the writing keeps the reader from losing interest. I greatly enjoyed the parallels to the play, as well as the way Scott makes it much more relatable and modernizes it well.
    4.5/5 stars!

"Angel and Demon", a Romeo and Juliet adaptation by Heather Dixon
    Angel and Demon adapts the star-crossed lovers plot of Romeo and Juliet to a fascinating world where angels and demons are sent on missions by Heaven and Hell, respectively. The story jumps between places and time periods as the angel Julianne and the demon Rubix compete against one another to save or condemn people.
    Romeo and Juliet is one of the most, not over-done, but the most commonly done plots out there. I'm not saying that's a bad thing; the tale of star-crossed lovers is so prevalent in literature and film that I doubt anyone could trace it back to where it started. This rendition of the plot, however, was one of the freshest and most inventive I've ever encountered, and I loved it. I devoured the story in one sitting; the historical aspects of it were fascinating to me, as was Dixon's depiction of the main characters. The ending, as well, was touching. It's a very feel-good story, rather in contrast to the original Romeo and Juliet.
    5/5 stars!

"Onyx", an Othello adaptation by Alicia Michaels
    Onyx takes the tragedy of Othello, and puts it into space. That's the simplest way to explain it, but this story is so much more. It is set in a post-apocalyptic future, where humanity's population has dwindled to around a million people, all of whom live on space stations after the destruction of Earth. The space stations are under constant attack by hostile alien species. Onyx himself is an alien, an Ethellien, and the last of his kind. He's married to Dia Tian, the daughter of a colonel aboard the station, and faces discrimination due to his alien heritage.
    The story more or less follows the basic plot of Othello, but slightly shortened and tweaked to fit the world Michaels has created. Othello is another one of my favourite Shakespearean plays, and I think this story really did it justice. The characters stayed true to their inspirations, but still came across as believable and real for a modern/futuristic setting.
    5/5 stars!

"The Taming of the Dudebro", a The Taming of the Shrew adaptation by Jane Watson
    "The Taming of the Dudebro" brings the plot of The Taming of the Shrew to a relatable modern setting, and honestly it's a really funny story. I haven't read The Taming of the Shrew yet, but I understand the basic plot, and I think this story did it justice. Main character Patricia and her best friend Grizz are putting on a play Grizz wrote for a student festival, and their teacher assigns "surfer-boy" Kurt to their group, to save his grades and his chances at college and playing water polo.
    The story follows the basic plot of the play, but updates it for a modern setting and the concerns that a high-school senior would have. Part of the reason why I loved this story so much is because I was very much one of the "theatre kids" in high school, and it drove me crazy when people who didn't care about the plays got roles just to fulfill the "Creativity" hours we needed for the International Baccalaureate program (not that I'm still bitter, or anything). Between that and being the one everyone wanted to be paired up with in group projects (because I would do everything myself to avoid a poor grade, if my group members refused to work), I found this story very relatable. I wish that those situations had ended as well for me as they did for Patricia and Grizz, but hey, I survived anyway.
    This story was humorous and light-hearted, and, to me, very relatable.
    5/5 stars!

"Star Walker", a Hamlet adaptation by Alex Irwin
    "Star Walker" brings the plot of Hamlet to a futuristic world where humanity lives on space stations. The story begins with the funeral of the main character Letta's mother. Letta's mother was the captain of the ship, and Letta assumes she will take over from her mother. Her aunt, Claudia, is selected instead. Letta is devastated, and she becomes convinced that Claudia murdered her mother.
    Like I've said before, I'm a sucker for anything related to Hamlet. This story was one of the most creative adaptations I've ever seen of the story, and I especially liked how Irwin adapted the "play" scene from the play where Hamlet tries to expose his uncle as a murderer; in this case, the way Letta tries to expose her aunt. It's one of the harder scenes to adapt, I would think, because it's a scene that needs to keep a certain spirit but without being a carbon copy of the original scene from the play.
    The ending itself is also heart-wrenching, and it keeps the dark themes from the play, which I find a lot of people who adapt the story for different characters and setting tend to shy away from.
    5/5 stars!

"The Desperate Warrior and the Beast Who Walks Without Sound", a Sonnet 25 adaptation by T. Damon
    "The Desperate Warrior and the Beast Who Walks Without Sound" draws inspiration from Shakespeare's Sonnet 25 and adapts it into an incredible short story. I honestly have no idea how Damon would have developed this entire rich world from just the few lines of that sonnet, and I am absolutely in awe. This story was incredible. I never would have thought to adapt a Shakespearean sonnet into the short story, and while I can definitely see how it inspired this story, I find it mind-boggling that such a short, vague poem could inspire something like this.
    The main character, Wakisa, is a member of the Thunder tribe that have long been at war with the Sun tribe. His name translates to "desperate warrior" - that was a feature I loved about this story; all the characters had meanings to their names that often foreshadowed their role. He is charged with the mission to kill the "Beast that Walks Without Sound". That's about all I can say without spoiling, but I absolutely adored this story.
    Honestly, I would definitely read a novel that was set in this world. The story itself is perfect as-is; it has a lovely plot that ties up neatly and gives a satisfying ending. There is more I would love to know about the world; backstory, where "the Beast" came from, even what happens to Wakiza after the story. I think it's definitely something that could be expanded wonderfully, but it's also excellent as-is without anymore expansion.
    5/5 stars!

"Gale", a Tempest adaptation by Lyssa Chiavari
    "Gale" draws ideas from Shakespeare's The Tempest and adapts them to an incredible fantasy world. Gale is the name of a small planet, the moon of a larger planet called Orbe that supposedly houses monsters and gods that "The Brotherhood", the rulers of Gale, banished in the past, but which wish to retake Gale and threaten the lives of everyone. "The Brotherhood" watches the people through the aptly-named "Watch", which monitors everyone for conformity. Main character Miranda has fits, which frightens her parents as it is not an ailment the Healers find treatable, so if they are discovered Miranda could be killed. Miranda then begins having visions of a girl named Ferda, and discovers a deep secret in herself, her family, and Gale itself.
    This story was hugely inventive. I loved the world and the concept, and I especially loved the nods to the original play, both in the names and in some of the events of the story. I read The Tempest in the tenth grade, and this brought a pleasant sort of nostalgia with it. I was immediately drawn in by the world building and by the first-person voice of Miranda, and I finished the story in one sitting.
    "Gale" is a wonderful, inventive adaptation of The Tempest; it holds enough of a resemblance to the play to invoke that kind of nostalgic connection to those who have read it, without alienating those who haven't or following the plot too closely.
    5/5 stars!

  And now we've come to the end of the review! If you pick this book up for yourself, I hope you enjoy it, and if you do, please consider leaving a review of your own on the book's Goodreads and/or Amazon pages.

What I Use to Write - WriteItNow4 (Method Mondays)

Sorry for the unexpected Method Mondays hiatus - I took one week off due to Thanksgiving, and another because this post ended up a lot bigger and more time-consuming than I expected! Sorry for the delays, and back to our regularly scheduled programming!

    So I'm just going to say it: you don't really need to invest in a fancy writing program to call yourself a writer, or to have a good chance of finishing a novel. Am I saying writing programs are useless, or pointless? No. I've got one, and I love it! I'd recommend one as an eventual investment, but if you don't have the money right now don't stress about it. Ask for one for a holiday or birthday instead, haha (but only if you want to)!
    Some time in the coming weeks I'll do a tutorial of sorts on how I organize things in Google Drive or Microsoft Word to keep everything straight for a novel, in case anyone wants to go that route and is curious of one way to organize things.
    The program I currently use (which was a gift, thanks Mom!) and have used for quite a while now, is called WriteItNow4. It's available in both digital download and physical CD form. If you look it up, there's actually a new version - WriteItNow5 - out now, but I haven't updated yet. I most likely will in the coming weeks, and when I do I'll try to do an overview of new features.
    So - I can't speak to the new features of this version, but if it builds on the version I have, I'm sure it's wonderful.
    Also helpful to note: once you've bought this program, you can use it on as many devices as you choose to.
   

     Opening up the program, this is the first screen you'll see. Right now, I have the example story that comes with the program open. In the sidebar, you can see Chapters, with scenes underneath. The way this is set up, in the chapter heading, there is a summary of what needs to happen in the chapter, while the actual writing is in the scenes. I don't use it like that, I prefer to just use the chapters space to write in (mostly because I'm bad at breaking chapters up into scenes), but it is an option. You can also see the rest of the sidebar just to the right, here.
    Below that is characters. You can colour code the characters to distinguish their icons without needing to look at the names if you choose to. Within the character tab, there are numerous options.



     For example, here you can see the Character Generator the program offers. This is one of the best ways to quickly sum up what you can do using the characters setting on this program. I used the name and personality generators, and for the timeline I chose Victorian Britain, just for kicks. This is what it gave me. Of course, you're more than able to type in your own details and forego the generator entirely, but I really like it, especially when you need names for "extras".

     Another wonderful feature of the Characters tab is the 'Relationships' option. As you can see, there are 3 separate tabs - family, personal, and other. They really help to keep your characters and their relationships straight, as they can generate this lovely and very helpful web as well, which is especially good for people who are more visual. (All the graphs can be accessed through the "Graphs" tab near the top of the screen).

     Moving down the sidebar, you have the Events tab, which opens up a screen like this. If you have definite dates for your story, you can set those, as well as what characters are involved in the specific event. This also generates this lovely timeline, which really helps to keep multiple characters in doing different things in different places at the same time straight.

      Also under the graphs tab is this, the conflict graph, which you can add things to using the buttons just along the top of it. It really forces you to think about the function of conflict in your stories and make sure you don't have too many pointless or "filler" scenes.

     Under that is the locations tab. It's pretty straightforward but useful, especially if your story requires multiple locations (ESPECIALLY if they're fantasy locations or you have a hard time keeping details straight). Locations, notes, and ideas have largely the same layout.

     This just details some of the tools you can use. Most are pretty self-explanatory. Story readability will give you an "age range" for your writing, but that's only for how simplistic the writing is and doesn't judge content (so just because your dark horror says 8.6 doesn't mean you should donate copies to the elementary school!) I find it helpful because it keeps you from getting all posh and "writerly". The story board tool is pictured below. Writing targets allows you to set a time or word-count goal, and prompts generates writing prompts to help you along.

    One of my favourite features of the program, purely for how many times it's saved my life, is the "snapshots" feature. You can access it under the file menu. Basically, it saves the entire file every few minutes (you can set how often under Tool Settings), and if, for example, your computer crashes, or you accidentally delete an important chapter, or any number of things happens, you can save your story from oblivion with minimal loss, depending on how often you have it set to take the snapshot and how fast you write. The entire program and the individual files can also be copied to a USB, if you're worried about losing things if the entire computer stops working.

    So there you have it! This review by no means encompasses all the features of the program, nor does it cover all the features of the new program. The lovely people at Ravenshead Services were kind enough to send me the details of the new features when I contacted them about this review, so I'll include those below. I'll also link to my review of WriteItNow5 once I've upgraded and learned a bit about it so I can write the best possible review.
    Thanks for reading!

Note: the below is copied from an email from Rob Walton of Ravenshead Services; none of it is my own words.

Major Changes
--------------------

New PDF Manual

To learn more about WriteItNow 5 's capabilities download a copy of the comprehensive 300-page manual, "Up and Running with
WriteItNow 5" from our website. There is no charge for this.


New Sections

There are new sections In the Main Tabs and Tree Panel.

New sections include `Front Matter' and `Back Matter', which can be used to add an introduction, prologue, epilogue, etc.

A new background section is Props.


New Export Options


ePub export for creating e-books. Quickly create eBooks in ePub format.

Microsoft Word export. Export a project as a Microsoft Word document.


A Better Importer


WriteItNow 5 can now import Microsoft Word documents.
There is also an interactive importer that makes importing much more flexible.


Storyline Editor

A Storyline Editor. Use the storyline editor to keep track of who does what, where, and when.


Summary Editor

The scene and chapter sections now have a summary editor for recording a summary plus details of the characters, locations, events, and props.

These details are used by the new Storyline Editor.


An Improved Editor


The editor now includes colored text and background, strikethrough, subscript, and superscript.


New Editor Tools

Text Compare shows the differences between the current text and earlier versions that have been
saved as snapshots.

Use critiques to find cliches, repeated words, etc.

There is a 'tidy text' tool to quickly tidy up text.



Print and Print Preview

Select the print menu to print and preview sections directly.


New Writing Targets.

The writing targets can be shown at the bottom of the screen.

Pictures on More Sections

A picture can be added to each event, location, note, idea and prop.


Picture Links

Links to pictures can now be added anywhere in the text. On export these
can be converted to pictures.

Completion Status

Record how complete each part of the book is using completion status

Where Does Inspiration Come From? - Method Mondays

    Where does inspiration come from for my writing?
    Everywhere.
    Thanks for reading, have a good week!

    I'm kidding, of course. Well, I'm not. Inspiration can come from anywhere, and everywhere. It's actually kind of incredible, all the different places. For me, it comes especially from real life, TV and movies, music, other books, and Pinterest. This would be a massively long post if I covered all of those things in one go, so for today I'll just cover inspiration coming from books and TV/movies.
    You might be wondering how you can take inspiration from movies or TV or other books without plagiarizing. It's quite easy, in fact.
    I could take the "deep" route and argue that any story has been done before - after all, at its heart, every story is just character vs. something. Character vs. character, vs. nature, vs. society. You see where this is headed.
    Honestly, one of the most important things to do is read in the genre you write in. You don't know what's popular and what people want to read if you don't. I'm not saying you should see that, for example, books set in high schools are popular and immediately sit down and write a book that's set in a high school if that's not what the story in your head is about. If you're not passionate about your story, it won't be as good as it can be, so don't just jump on popular plots or settings just because they're popular. But reading in your chosen genre will show you what is popular and what's getting published; what types of conflicts, what sorts of characters, all kinds of abstract concepts that make novels great.
    Similarly with movies or TV shows; maybe a line of dialogue sparks a scene between two characters, or a certain character or plot idea may inspire you. Does that mean you should copy a character completely from a movie or TV show, or copy the plot of a movie? Definitely not, but taking inspiration is perfectly okay.
    I just want to stop right now and say this isn't legal advice. Don't copy the plot or characters of a movie, TV show, or another book and put it in a book, then say "well this blog said I could" if you get in trouble. I'm not saying that's what you can do. What I am saying, is that you should, basically, be looking for inspiration anywhere. The littlest thing can plant a spark in your brain and result in a subplot, a plot twist, a character trait, or maybe even more than that.
    The most important thing to remember is MAKE IT YOUR OWN. It's easy to just copy a character from here, a plot point from there, and smash them all together into a novel. But that's not really writing; that's clever plagiarism. I'm doing a terrible job of explaining this, and I'm aware of that, but hopefully you're getting the drift. Inspiration is everywhere; let it burrow into your brain (that's a disturbing way to word that) and see what comes of it.
    Bottom line: absorb ideas and let them grow within your mind; don't copy them. That's the best way I can put it, hope it makes sense to all of you!
    As always, Tweet any questions to me or comment them here!
    Thanks for reading!

My Writing Schedule (Method Mondays)

    There are so many resources one will find on "how to become a writer", but one of the most common (and unfortunately hardest to follow) is to just sit down and WRITE. If you're like me and get distracted super easily (phone, Internet, TV, whatever that sound just was what did the cats break this time?), sometimes that can be a bit difficult. What I find helps is setting out specific times throughout the day that you make a concentrated effort to sit down and work, whether that means research, planning/outlining, or actually writing. Having a dedicated task and a dedicated time to complete it, I find, is really beneficial to me and helps me be more productive. Everyone has different times they can work and different amounts of time at their disposal. I'd say, however, if you're really serious about writing, do your best to have an average of an hour of writing time a day. It doesn't have to be all at once; two half-hour blocks, a handful of 15- or 10-minute blocks. As long as you're getting your butt in the chair and putting some words down, that's what counts. This is just an example, but here's a simple calendar I'd use.

    This calendar, for the most part, doesn't really change from week to week besides the details of what I need to do, although I'm not afraid to admit I don't stick to it nearly as often as I probably should. You might notice that I don't have any time blocked in for Mondays, or that I only have a half hour planned on Saturday. Does that mean I absolutely won't do any writing on Mondays, or absolutely only a half hour on Saturday? Of course not. If I have spare time and I get the writing bug, I'll absolutely write in timeslots that aren't listed here. Sometimes I'm busy and miss a timeslot that is listed here. It happens.
    One of the most important things to do is not let yourself succumb to pressure. Push yourself to make a schedule that works for you and stick to it, yes, but don't neglect other areas of your life either. Work, family, friends, and self-care are all important as well. You're not a "bad writer" because you missed a day or two, or had to cut a writing session short because of another commitment. The point is that you tried, and whether you put down 20 words or 2000 in the time you wrote, that's still 20 or 2000 words that didn't exist before, that ONLY YOU could have written.
    Not everyone has the luxury of writing full-time. Not everyone wants to. The idea of being a novelist and dreaming of quitting your day-job is pushed hard and romanticized, but that's not what makes you a writer. Some people can't quit their day-jobs, either because of finance or family or other reasons, and some just don't want to. You can have a passion for your day-job and a passion for writing and do both. You may have to get up a little earlier, or give up a bit of free time in the evening, or find some other way to make writing fit into your life, but it can be done. If you dream of quitting your day-job, well, here's hoping someday you're able to. If you don't, don't let anyone tell you you should. If you're willing to make the time, you can still be a writer.
    "Writing" doesn't involve just writing, either. It also involves planning and research. Planning might just be thinking up a plot while you shower, or mulling over a character while you lay in bed waiting to fall asleep. Research could be online, or reading books or magazines, or talking to someone who has some expertise to share. If you have a long commute, download some writing podcasts to listen to, or if you take public transport rather than driving, maybe read something, either a book in your target genre, a magazine on writing or publishing, or some online resources.
    Here's a link to the blank calendar I used above, in case anyone would like a copy. Fill it in on the computer, or print it to fill out by hand. Maybe post it above your desk, or just keep it somewhere where you can check it easily before you start writing for the day.
   Here, also, are some good articles on writing without being a full-time writer. Disclaimer, though: I'm in no way saying any of these articles are perfect. All have good and bad points, but it's just some extra information from other sources to help you develop your own opinions on this idea. I'm also not affiliated with any of these blogs/sites, so I can't testify to the quality of their other content. I just liked these articles in particular.
http://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/debut-author-lessons-should-you-be-a-full-time-writer/
https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2017/01/11/full-time-writer-tips/
http://positivewriter.com/prolific-writer-day-job/
    Thanks for reading!

Characterization - Why I Love Dolores Umbridge (Method Mondays)

Yes, you read that right... THE Dolores Umbridge...

    I never thought "I love Dolores Umbridge" would EVER be something I would say, type, or be forced to write in my own blood. Too soon?
    In all seriousness, though, I really do love Umbridge. Well, I hate her, but that's why I love her. It's complicated, I'll admit it. While I do acknowledge that this type of post with Harry Potter characters is just about the most overdone concept ever, bare with me.
    The reason I chose to use Umbridge, and Harry Potter in general, is because I can use it to compare three "types", so to speak, of antagonists.

Type One: Hate to Love Them

    Many of you can probably guess who this example is going to be. (Hint: if you guessed Severus Snape, you're right.) BUT there's another character I want to use as a second example of this: good old Wormtail, Peter Pettigrew. I know I'm opening a literally massive can of worms by even mentioning either of these characters, and I'm sure many of you want to reach through your screens and yell "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING" at me right now. (Side note: please don't, that slideshow scene from It scarred me enough without it happening with my laptop).
    Let me start with this: Yes, both of these characters are flawed. Deeply flawed, in fact. But most people are in real life, and most of the best fictional characters are as well. That's what elevates them from a stock character to the memorable sort that sticks with you long after you put the book down.
    Lets start with Snape. Regardless of you feelings for him as a person, I think there are very few people who haven't felt some sort of pity or affection for Severus Snape, even if it was quickly squashed down. Was his obsession with Lily unhealthy? Yes. Did he bully Harry, Neville, and others for years? Yes. But I think that he honestly thought that was the best thing he could do to keep his status as a double agent.
    Motivation is what really makes a villain, and it's something I'll talk about a lot in this post. For Snape, his motivation was his belief that his actions were the only way to keep his double-agent status and protect those he needed to protect. For Pettigrew, his motivation was fear.
   Both motivations are in their own ways entirely valid. Does this mean that either of them are good people? No. Snape killed Dumbledore, and even before that tormented schoolchildren. Pettigrew betrayed his best friends and let two be killed, one be driven nearly insane in Azkaban, and one live a lonely existence thinking the people he cared most about were either dead or insane (I really feel bad for Lupin, can you tell?) Maybe I'm not making sense; I don't really know. But I do know that it's the motivation these characters had for their villainy that makes them complex and at times sympathetic characters, and not just mustache-twirling cardboard cut-outs.

Type Two: Love to Hate Them

    The second type of villain I want to talk about is the sort of villain that you despise, but also love because of how good a villain they are. I'm going to be using Voldemort for my example here.
   Obviously, no one looks at Voldemort and thinks, "WOW what a great guy! I'd love to hang out with him!" And if you do, well... Maybe you should rethink that one.
   Voldemort is a good villain because he is of course evil, but he's also somewhat sympathetic. He chases eternal life to fill the void left in him due to his inability to love. Like I said above, it's his motivation that makes him an interesting character. Voldemort is an extremely dislikeable character, but he isn't just evil for the sake of being evil, and that's what makes him a terrifying villain. A villain who is evil just for the fun of it may stop eventually due to boredom or because someone tried to stop them. But villains with a goal work toward it despite obstacles, and that's what makes them scarier and harder to defeat than a villain who's evil for the sake of being evil.
   In short, the second type of villain (ie. Voldemort) is a villain who made the conscious choice to become a villain, not out of fear or supposed necessity, but to accomplish a goal. They don't wake up one morning and think "let's go out and kick some puppies for fun", they think "let's kick some puppies because that will get me closer to my goal".

Type Three: HATE. HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE.

    Villain type three is the villain who DOES think "let's go kick puppies for fun". This type of villain is one of the rarest, because they're so entirely unsympathetic that readers will feel nothing but hatred for them.
    Now you may be thinking, but isn't the object of a villain to be hated? Why would I want my readers to be sympathetic toward them? I may end up doing another post more in-depth on this later, but let me sum it up here: if there's someone you can't stand in real life - they're a terrible person, and you feel they have no redeeming qualities or reasons to act why they do - how long would you hang around them? Only if you're forced to, right? So why would a reader want to read a book if they absolutely can't stand the villain?
    One of the few exceptions to this rule is, of course, Dolores Umbridge. Now, one could argue that she does have a motivation: her obsession with propriety and rules. But as the books go on, we see that that isn't really an excuse for her behaviour. Perhaps it started that way, yes, but it quickly spirals into, frankly, pure evil. The movies actually have a very interesting, subtle way of portraying this; if you pay attention, as the movies go on Umbridge's clothes become darker shades of pink, portraying her descent into madness.
   Umbridge is a rare type of villain, but it works. Any Harry Potter fan knows hatred of Umbridge is even more universal than hatred of Voldemort, so JK Rowling clearly did something (okay, many things. Pretty much all the things) right! She's so hateable and so unique in a slew of fictional villains that, as much as I despise her, I also love her just because she's able to inspire that kind of hatred in readers.


    So those are just three rather broad categories of villain. There's a lot more to talk about in terms of writing villains, but this is just a nice little introduction post I can refer back to later. Think there's one I missed, or want a more detailed post on something I mentioned here? Let me know on Twitter @victoriacbooks or here, in the comments! Thanks for reading!

How I Create Characters - Who Are You and Where Did You Come From? (Method Mondays)

    Sitting down to talk about creating characters, it was a lot harder than I realized to start. Like many writers would probably say, I've no real idea where my characters actually come from. Many of them waltzed into my headspace one day, kicked their feet up on the kitchen table and asked for a cup of coffee. To which the usual response is "okay, but first I need your name, approximate age, and your life story and the most intimate details of your personality." Some characters lean back in the chair and spew (why do I use that word?) detail after detail of everything I ask them and even some things I don't. Others give me the basics, smile enigmatically, and refuse to say another word until they've had their cup of coffee. After that, it takes anywhere between a cup of coffee and a few minutes to get them to tell me their stories, but some clam up entirely and it can take a 5-course dinner and days, months, or even years to get the full stories out of them. As much as I would love for this post to be, essentially, "You need a character? Great! Here's how you make one!", I'm afraid it will be more "You need a character? Great! I don't know how to help you." I am not an expert; I never claim to be one. All I am is a writer, sharing some thoughts and hoping they help some other people along the way.
    Some of my characters I've had for so long I don't even remember where or how they came about. Others I can trace back to one definite decision to create the character, or in some cases one conversation that brought the character about.
    The easiest examples to use are characters for my as-yet untitled WIP trilogy. One character in particular, Antonio, has been rattling around my head since the fourth grade. Over the years, he's spawned his own parents, an uncle, two older brothers, and a host of information both plot-relevant and completely random information. One thing I will say though, and this is one of my personal golden rules of writing:

No characterization is wasted.

    This rule will definitely be visited more in-depth in a future post, but let me clarify further: no matter how useless you think a bit of information you have about a character is, put it somewhere. If you can remember it, tuck it away in your mental files. If you can't, write it down. I try to keep files on each character I have (either in a word document or in my writing program WriteItNow4, which is the topic of another upcoming post), and I write down any tidbit I can. Will most of them be used in the novel? No. It's probably never going to be relevant to the plot that, for example, Miguel (Antonio's older brother) is allergic to strawberries? Probably not. But it will change how he interacts with the environment around him, and how other characters, especially his family, interact with him. It may be mentioned in the actual story sometime - who knows what he'll decide to talk about - but even if it isn't, I know it, and the characters know it, and that adds another layer to the never-ending onion that is a good story and good characters.

    Characters can come from anywhere. I remember creating an antagonist for my current WIP, and at the time I was on the phone with a former friend. I was struggling to name the character, to which she responded, "It should start with a D. Villain names start with D's." Her words, not mine. Her reasoning behind this was, at the time, she was reading the Gone series by Michael Grant, where one antagonist is named Drake. She also suggested the name Damien, which was at the time the name of a teacher at my school who I doubted would appreciate having an antagonist named after him. I, eventually, settled on the name Dmitri. What started out as the quintessential "school bully" antagonist with a twist, evolved into a (if I may say so myself) very complex and multi-faceted character. He actually was more of the catalyst for Miguel's appearance than Antonio was; somehow, he decided he didn't want to be a jerk on his own; he needed a "posse" for that. Somehow, Miguel grew from that, latched onto Antonio as his brother, and then produced a twin for himself. Eventually, an entire cast of characters found their way into the story, and Bob's your uncle, as they say (I don't know if anyone even really says that, I just like it).  

    I can't find the exact place where I read this anymore (if someone can, please feel free to Tweet it to me), but JK Rowling once said (paraphrasing of course) that Harry Potter "waltzed into (her) head one day, fully formed". For many characters of mine, something very similar has happened. But, like I mentioned earlier, sometimes it's a lot of work. I'm not sure I'd call it building a character, because I think oftentimes characters come fully built; it's just a matter of putting the pieces in the right places. The analogy I'd like to use, because it sounds cool and science-y, is unearthing a fossil. You start by hacking away the big bits with a pickaxe or something similar, but eventually it comes down to being on your hands and knees with a little brush, dusting away the tiniest, most insignificant bits. That analogy doesn't really work, though, nor is it very relatable. In terms of starting with large pieces and moving to little ones, it does, but I think a better one would be that creating a character is like putting together one of those complex Lego sets. You start off with the big base pieces, and then your put together smaller pieces, and stick those onto the bigger pieces in the right spots. Then, if you've done it right, you'll end up with something you never would've guessed would come from those little plastic bricks and fiddly little bits that go all over the floor and thank God they give you extra because how do I keep track of all of these and - I'm rambling again.

    I think this is a good place to finish off - with that image. Character building starts off with the big pieces - What's their name? Why are they in the story? What's their goal? and goes to the small - the little things that make a character seem human, rather than just words on a page. Those little pieces, those details, like Legos, turn a boring piece of plastic into something cool and fun to play with, and turn a flat, forgettable character into one who will worm their way into your readers' hearts and make them come back to your books time and again.





A Celebration of 20 Years of Harry Potter - My Top 5 Memories

    Like most people of my generation, Harry Potter has almost always been a part of my life. My older sister was obsessed with the franchise, so I always heard about it. I was really stubborn about reading the books, and I regret that because I love them so much. In honour of the 20th anniversary, I'm going to embarrass myself and probably my sister with my Top 5 Memories of the Harry Potter series (in no particular order)

The Harry Potter Website
    Hear me out about this one; I'm not talking about Pottermore, I'm talking about some ancient site I've never been able to find again. If anyone knows which one I'm referring to and it's still up, please send me a link I would love to see if I've outgrown my terror. Either way, in one of her attempts to convince me to read Harry Potter, my sister showed me this website. One feature of it was the Sorting Hat. I don't know what it did, if it sang or sorted you into a house or both, but I do remember it talked. When this animated hat opened it's mouth, I found myself gripped with UNRELENTING TERROR. I was absolutely horrified by this thing, and I can't for the life of me figure out why now. The Sorting Hat is kinda cuddly-looking to me now, but not younger me, oh no. Younger me was terrified for her life. My mother ended up having to ban my sister from the site (sorry about that Katherine) and pretend she had blocked it so I wouldn't fear the Sorting Hat for the rest of my young life (I was convinced that thing was coming for me). I learned just recently that she never really blocked it, but it was a necessary lie to spare poor little Victoria many a sleepless night in terror of the Sorting Hat.

GIF not mine, but a good representation of my reaction



My First HP Movie
    ...was actually The Half-Blood Prince. I know! I also hadn't read any of the books. Don't hate me! I was reluctant to read the books, but my sister invited me to watch the movie and I decided to give it a go. Even if major plot twists were ruined for me, I loved the movie, and as soon as I got home I stole my sister's copy of The Philosopher's Stone to read.

My First HP Book
    ... was indeed The Philosopher's Stone. I may be a Slytherin, but I'm not THAT evil. Despite the aforementioned spoilers, to say the series blew my mind would be an understatement. It was some of the richest world building, character development, and overall story I had ever experienced. I immediate understood what the obsession everyone seemed to have sprang from. I was addicted not long after. I burned through all the books in just a few months, and before long I'd read every bit of HP-canon material there was - Tales of Beedle the Bard, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Quidditch Through the Ages. If it was about Harry Potter, I'd read it. I watched all the movies until I could practically recite them (side note: Alan Rickman is and always will be the perfect Snape). My  mother even had a friend from the UK send her a Dobby doll that couldn't be bought in Canada or the US for me as a Christmas gift. She knit me a scarf too - Gryffindor, because I still insisted I shared a house with the Trio in my early days of obsession. I still have the scarf - I use it on my nefarious Slytherin missions to spy on other houses. Okay so maybe I'd use it to steal desserts off the Gryffindor table instead (still waiting for that letter!) I also have a decal of the Dumbledore quote: "Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times if one only remembers to turn on the light." on my bedroom wall.

My First Hogwarts House
    Like I said, I self-identified as Gryffindor. Then I changed to Ravenclaw. I seem to remember being sorted into Hufflepuff on my old Pottermore account (mind you, I joined as soon as the beta was open and sadly cyberspace ate my account), but now it looks like I'm a Slytherin. I'll take it! My Patronus is a Python (stereotypical but the animation is SO COOL). As for wands, apparently mine would be 10 3/4 inches, larch wood, with Phoenix tail feather core and "surprisingly swishy" flexibility. In real life, I own an interactive wand from Universal Studios and Sirius Black's wand (which only works if you hold it a certain way, according to the friendly assistant at Ollivander's).

In The End
     Harry Potter as a series taught me so much about not only writing, although JK. Rowling's style is iconic and inimitable, but about life, friendship, bravery, and (although it's cliche) what it means to really belong somewhere. Harry Potter defines a generation, really, and it certainly played a huge role in my life as a reader and a writer. The characters were some of the most incredibly unique, distinct, and complicated characters I'd encountered to that point and they still are. I can't even put into words how much this series has affected me both as a person and a writer, so I'll end here with two quotes, one quintessential to a discussion of Harry Potter, and the other one of the more relatable quotes that I as a writer have ever seen.

"Hogwarts will always be here to welcome you home." -JK. Rowling

"Of course this is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean it isn't real?" -Albus Dumbledore