Book Review: Over Raging Tides by Jennifer Ellison

I received a free e-book copy of this book in exchange for an honest review; however I was not obliged to review positively.

Can we all just take a moment to look at this cover?? Look how PRETTY!
 

A mythical map. A pirate's quest for revenge.

The pirate crew of the Lady Luck lives by many rules, but chief among them is this: they do not allow men on board.

That’s a rule that first mate and quartermaster Grace Porter is willing to break when a shipwrecked young nobleman offers her information of an omniscient treasure map, stolen from his warship by an enemy vessel. Until now, the map was only the stuff of legend… but with its help, Grace may finally be able to hunt down the Mordgris, the sea monsters who stole her mother away from her.

Unfortunately, some members of her crew have other plans...

To find the magic map and face the Mordgris, Grace will have to confront her past, put the Luck between warring nations, and uncover treachery aboard the ship. And ultimately, her revenge and the destruction of the Mordgris will come at a hefty price: the betrayal of her crew.

Grace promised them they wouldn’t regret this.

She just isn’t sure that she won’t.

The pages practically turn themselves in this adventure on the high seas perfect for "Daughter of the Pirate King" fans.

    If there's one thing I love, it's books. If there's another thing I love, it's awesome pirates. So if there's one thing I REALLY love, it's books about awesome pirates. Especially awesome female pirates. So when I spotted the author of this book looking for reviews in a group I'm part of, I jumped at the chance to read and review it.
    Like Grace Porter, the main character, I stand by my decisions. But believe me when I tell you, I did not regret the decision to read this book for a single moment. Every time I picked it up, I would read for as long as I possibly could until I was forced to return to reality. The world of this book sucked me in immediately, and I loved the characters and the premise from the get-go.
    So, before we continue, I want to say that this review may contain some mild spoilers. I'll try not to let them get too bad.
    Right off the bat, we see Grace is someone who has strong values; she may be a pirate, but she doesn't compromise what she believes, even when it violates the rules of her ship, the Lady Luck. She rescues two boys from the wreckage of a ship she was meant to scavenge for treasure; they are the sons of a nobleman, and they have some interesting knowledge: Where to find the "Map of Omna", a magical map that can show the holder where to find anything they desire. For a pirate, holding this map would mean unbelievable riches; no treasure trove would be beyond reach.
    This map generates the main tension in the novel; between the Wesson boys, specifically the elder, Leo, and the crew of the Lady Luck; between Grace and her mother-figure, Captain Ilene, and later between Grace and the rest of the crew. Grace wants to use the map to find the lair of the Mordgris, which are terrifying sea-dwelling creatures with shape-shifting abilities and an incredible bloodlust; like sharks, these Mordgris gather around the sites of battles and devour anyone unfortunate enough to fall into the water, dead or alive. The Mordgris are rumoured to have untold treasures on their island, but what Grace really wants is her mother, who was taken by the Mordgris and is assumed dead by everyone but Grace herself.
    The characters in this book were great; there were some I wish had gotten more screen-time, so to speak, but the vast majority are very engaging characters. The one complaint I had in terms of characterization is that one of the antagonists, Celia, seemed rather one-dimensional to me; she didn't seem to have much in the way of personality beyond conniving and generally being mean, and she didn't seem to have much motivation for her actions - Grace speculates that it may be because the crew voted her quartermaster over Celia, but I don't know if this justifies everything Celia does. However, it's very possible that we see such a narrow picture of Celia because that's what Grace sees, and the book is filtered through her voice. I also think it's likely that more of her motivations will come to light in the rest of the series.
    I also loved the banter between Grace and the other characters; it had a lot of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" flair that many people expect from a pirate story, but without sounding forced, like it was inserted only for that comparison. The dialogue in this book flowed well and suited the characters speaking, and I didn't find much in the way of "info-dumping", either in dialogue or in Grace's narration. The author weaves in just enough details of the world she creates to make sure readers aren't lost, but without boring them into skimming through pages to get back to the action.
    The relationship between Grace and Leo was another highlight of the book for me. It's clear from early on that there is a budding romance between the two, but what I really appreciated was that the author didn't rush into establishing this romance. There are definite hints of it, but it isn't fulfilled too soon and leaves you wondering how their relationship will evolve in later books.
    And finally, the ending. The. Ending. I don't know if I love or hate the author for this ending. Don't get me wrong, it isn't that I hated the ending or found it too unsatisfying to want to continue reading; quite the contrary. I NEED the next book in this series. The revelations that Grace uncovers in the final few chapters were quite the twist, and there was a definite cliffhanger that left me wondering what the fates of the main characters would be, and how exactly they're going to get out of the situation they found themselves in.
    Overall, I'd recommend this book for fans of "Pirates of the Caribbean" or anyone who loves a good adventure story in an interesting world populated by a fascinating cast of characters, and I look forward to seeing how the story and the characters develop in later books.
    4/5 stars!
    If you're interested in this book, here's the link to buy it on Amazon.

Character Interviews (Method Mondays)

    Today's Method Mondays post is on (as the title probably suggests) character "interviews". This is something I suggest doing if you're trying to flesh out a character and make them seem more three-dimensional. Sometimes characters just stroll into a story, nearly fully developed, and there's little work to be done. Other times, you need a specific character for a specific reason, but they just won't develop beyond the function you needed them for. That's when this kind of thing comes in handy.
    I find the interview format helps more than just your run-of-the-mill jotting down of their history, personality, what have you, because it allows you to figure out all of that stuff, but it lets the character tell you in their own voice. This can be especially helpful if you're writing in first-person from their point of view, but it's equally helpful if you aren't, since, chances are, the character is going to have dialogue at some point in the story, and getting to develop their voice before you start writing helps prevent them from ending up sounding the same as other characters.
    I thought I'd jot down some basic questions that I use when I do something like this. You can also easily find lists of 100+ questions, but I find those a bit overwhelming when you're just starting off with a character, so I'll list 25 But please, let me know if you have questions I could add to the list or you want an expanded list from me, and I'll be happy to do that!

1. What's your name?
2. Are you named after anyone?
3. Do you like your name? Would you change it, and what to?
4. How old are you?
5. How old do you feel?
6. How would you describe your appearance?
7. How would you describe your personality?
8. Are you an introvert or extrovert?
9. Are you religious?
10. What do you do? (for a job, study, etc)
11. Do you like what you do?
12. What would your dream job be?
13. What's your family life like? (siblings, parents, pets, etc)
14. Do you have a lot of friends?
15. Are/were you romantically involved with or interested in anyone?
16. What are your hobbies?
17. What are your favourite foods? Do you get to eat them often? (this can tie into family life, social status, and world-building!)
18. How would you describe your clothing style? Is it considered normal for someone like you? Does it differ from what you actually wear, and if so, why? (again, more world-building!)
19. Do you have any opinions that would be considered controversial? (this is a good opportunity for world-building as well!)
20. Who inspires you the most? Is it someone famous (either real-world or within the world of the novel), a parent, a sibling, a friend?
21. What are your best and worst memories? (also, what was the best/worst day of their life)
22. What is your biggest fear?
23. What/who do you care most about? What lengths would you go to for them?
24. What is one thing you've never told anyone before?
25. Is there anything you don't like to admit to yourself?

    Of course, these aren't the only good questions to ask, nor should they be the only questions you ask. This list is very flexible; for example, if your character "says" something interesting you want to more about, add more questions to expand on that point. What you want to do is learn as much as possible about your character, and learn it in their voice so you know what that sounds like too.
    As always, thanks for reading! If you have any questions about this post, or you have recommendations for stuff I can add to it, or if you have any recommendations for a future post, don't hesitate to comment here or contact me on Twitter!

Filling Up Your Tank - Why Writers Have to Be Readers First (Method Mondays)

    If I'm honest, the past few months I've been in a huge writing rut. I haven't been writing consistently, and when I dedicate time to it, I don't get much, if anything, done. I'd been busy all the time, and in the evenings when I finally had the time to write, I didn't want to. It felt like a chore, and I just didn't feel motivated.
    Recently, though, I started making sure I took the time to read as often as possible. Preferably daily, although that isn't always realistic for my schedule. Once I started doing that, I started feeling that itch to write again. It wasn't something I had to sit down and force myself to do. It was something I found myself making time, and more importantly, wanting to make time to do.
    Don't get me wrong, self-care and relaxation are vitally important. I'm not suggesting you should work an entire day and then come home and write until you pass out. That's not sustainable, and it's not healthy.
    What I am trying to get at, though, is the realization I came to that I wasn't writing if I wasn't reading. It isn't that I'm copying another author's work, far from it. What I'm reading has nothing to do, content-wise, with what I'm currently writing. But if I'm not reading anything, I'm not writing anything either.
    I just want to ask a simple question: who are you writing for? Most likely, you're writing so people will read it. You're writing for readers, and it's likely you're writing for yourself. Toni Morrison's quote sums this up better than I could: "If there is a book you want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."
    As a writer, if you're reading, you're learning. Even if you don't open a book thinking, "I'd like to look at how this author uses dialogue", you'll absorb it. You learn more by doing it, sure, but you can't start to learn by doing unless you see it done. The Stephen King quote I used at the top of this post describes this well. You really can't be an amazing writer unless you read amazing writers. Just like you wouldn't meet a famous actor who doesn't watch movies or TV to learn from other actors, you wouldn't meet a writer who can't give you the name of at least one other writer who inspired them or made them want to be a writer.
    One of the biggest things I find, for me, is that when I'm not reading I lose the passion to write. I forget why I'm writing, why it's so important to me to put words on a page and someday send them out into the world. If I'm not reading and feeling the emotion that comes with being really moved by a story, then I don't remember why I write: so I can tell a story that moves people.
    No time spent reading is ever wasted. If you've hit a writer's block that you can't push through, sit down and read for a while. Chances are, a switch will flip somewhere in your brain and you'll be able to write again. And if it takes a little longer, well, that's fine too, because now you get to read a great book!

Quiet Observation, or, Why Writers Are Terrifying (Method Mondays)

    "Just to warn you, I'm a writer, so if you're going to be friends with me you should know anything you do or say could end up in a novel. Heck, I might even steal whole chunks of your personality for characters."
    "What did you just say? That's great, that's so going in the book."
    "Pfft, of course this character doesn't get his *insert personality trait* from you. Wh-What would make you think that?"

    All three of these things are things I've said, entirely seriously, to people I know at some point in my life. Surprisingly, there are people who still choose to be friends with me despite that.
    Ideas don't come from nowhere. I've done a blog post on inspiration before, but there's so much to say on the topic that I'll probably do many, many more. If I'm honest, about 10% of my characters' personalities comes straight from me, even if it's something as small as the character only being able to drink tea if its about 95% milk and 5% tea (I know, I know, I'm sorry. Someday I'll learn to like tea, okay?) The other 90% comes from bits and pieces of the souls I collect personalities, quirks, and individual traits of people I know.
    Don't get me wrong: you should not take your weird neighbour, slap a new name on them, and write them as a character in a book. That's how you get in trouble. But maybe your neighbour likes to walk their cat on a leash (mine does, and I'm not kidding. It's the cutest thing ever.) Can you write a character who walks their cat on a leash? Sure you can. It adds realism, and makes your book more relatable.
    One of the sweetest parts of reading anything is that moment of recognition when there's a tiny, almost insignificant, detail about a character and you go "Holy cow! I do that/I think that/I've felt that/I know someone who does that too!" From personal experience, this will make your readers love your character (which is awkward, when that relatable moment comes from the villain).
    This relatable feeling comes from drawing carefully from real life, and it's not the only benefit. You've probably heard a thousand times to "flesh out" characters. Drawing from reality is how you take a cardboard cut-out character and make them into a real person, someone your readers could picture bumping into on the street (or at least a street in whatever futuristic/fantastic/historical/otherwise not "real" world you've invented from them to live in).
    Why is this terrifying, you ask? Well, mostly because - and while I definitely can't speak for all writers, I think this might be more common - I don't realize I'm using traits I've observed in characters I create. Rarely will I be developing a character, see someone displaying a specific trait or quirk, and immediately apply it to that character. More often it comes out subtly, organically, through the process of developing and writing a character. It might be weeks, months, even years before I realize "hey, my friend does that, and so does this character", or "hey, that's just like that stranger I saw one time a while back." And if you'll forgive the vanity, I think this is what you should aim for when "borrowing" from real life. Chances are it's not even much to aim for, it's what you're already subconsciously doing.
    If you purposely take a bunch of characteristics from people you know and try to squish them into one character, it's probably going to seem pretty weird. It won't seem at all like a real person; rather, it will seem like some weird, suffering Frankenstein's Monster staggering their way through your plot. Every character needs a core identity, and after that you can add other personality traits, quirks, and ideas to them.
    I've said it before and I'll say it again: no detail is too small for you to know about your characters. Even if it never makes it explicitly into the book, you'll know it, and that will inform your writing of the character and make them feel so much more real both to you and to the readers.
    So take some time to observe your friends, your family, even strangers (in a non-creepy way, of course) and take a mental note of traits and quirks they have that you could use in the future. Let these bounce around in your brain for a while, and when it's time to create a new character, they'll come to life that much more easily and seem that much more real.

Storytelling and the Art of the Netflix Binge: Part Two (Method Mondays)

   Welcome back! If you haven't read the first part of this post, from January 22nd, you can read it here and then come back. I'll wait.

    Alright! Read it? Good, because this will make a lot more sense if you have. You'll remember from my last post that I compared episodes of a show to chapters in a book, and seasons to the book as a whole. Well, this is probably just about the most obvious comparison I've ever made, but here it is: if each season is a book, then multiple seasons is a series.
    Think about it: what makes it so easy to "accidentally" watch multiple seasons of a show in one sitting? And how can you apply that to your book to keep the readers coming back as each new book comes out?
    You know what that means: question time! Again, pick a show you loved, that has multiple seasons.

1. Pick your favourite multi-season show, preferably one that you had to wait for after finishing a season. What made you look forward to the new season? What made you wait for the season and come back to watch it when you could have watched something else?
2. Think about the plot of the first season. I'm not saying map every character relationship, conflict, and subplot, but think of some major ones.
3. Try to track these threads you picked up through the last few episodes of one season, and the first few of the next. Try to do this mentally if you can, so it isn't my fault when you spend hours binge-watching.
4. Which of these threads were "tied" so to speak? Which ones continue into the next season?

    This essentially sums up what keeps you coming back to the next season, or next book, without getting tired of the wait. The key is to tie enough of the threads up that your readers won't be frustrated and feel that they didn't get any closure.
    In a way, the transition between books in a series is the same as transitioning between chapters, just with higher stakes. Just like when you're ending a chapter, at the end of the book you never want the reader to think "well, that's that sorted. All tied up nicely, nothing more wrong." Unless, of course, it's the last book in the series, in which case you definitely want the reader to feel like everything's been resolved.
    The difference between book transitions and chapter transitions, of course, is that you need to make sure you give the readers enough incentive to wait for the next book and still come back. When you're just starting a new chapter, you can afford to mess that up a little; the reader will probably turn the page eventually, out of curiosity or a desire to finish the book. But if you don't give them incentive to come back to the next book, there's a chance they won't.
    I'll use Harry Potter as an example here, because it's difficult to spoil (but, y'know, in case you don't know the plot, spoilers ahead). Basically, at the end of each book, we know the main conflict of the book has been tied up; for example, at the end of the first book, we can see that the conflict with Quirrell, but we want to come back for the next books because we know there's more conflict with Voldemort to come. That plot doesn't end, nor does many subplots about character relationships. Therefore, we have enough closure to be satisfied with the ending of the book, but also enough intrigue and enough incentive to come back for later books.
    That's the method! Just like the ending of a season of a good Netflix show leaves you with enough closure to not be frustrated, it also leaves enough questions and loose threads to make you want to come back for another season, even after the wait for it. So basically, apply that concept to your book; wrap it up enough to not leave it totally open ended, but make sure to plant those seeds of continuing conflict and leave enough loose threads that your reader wants to come back even after waiting a year or more for the next book.
    Of course, there is a lot more that factors into whether or not readers will return to the series, but that's a topic for another time. This method goes a long way to making sure your readers are satisfied and excited for your next installment in your series!
    Thanks for reading!

Storytelling and the Art of the Netflix Binge: Part One (Method Mondays)

Not my image, but come on, who doesn't love a good Boromir meme?

    I bet no one ever thought they'd see Netflix bingeing referred to as an art. Maybe it's not, but some people I know (okay, and maybe me too) certainly have it down to a science. I believe the equation is (Netflix + snacks + blanket - sleep - things you actually have to do). But that's not what we're here to discuss today, unfortunately. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, I actually do have a point to this post, which I'm going to get to eventually.
    One of the most frequent pieces of advice any writer will hear is to "hook" the reader. Hook them on the first page, in the first chapter, and don't let them off that hook until the end. Basically, you want to toss your reader from hook to hook like... something. I don't have any good analogies for that, all I can think of is fishing and I don't think anyone throws fish hooks (at least hopefully not on purpose). But basically, your aim is to let the reader almost wiggle off the hook, only to catch them on another one just as they've gotten free.
     What do I mean by that? I mean that, in my opinion at least, you have to let a little something go right for your characters, and by extension your readers, so they don't get too frustrated. But you don't ever want a reader to think "well, that's sorted!" at the end of a chapter, because then they'll put the book down and maybe not come back to it. Remember being so engrossed in a book when you were a kid that you couldn't say "just one more chapter" and you stayed up too late reading it with a flashlight? Whether the last time you did that was years ago or last week, chances are its because the author made sure to leave a thread at the end of the chapter, a little hook that grabbed you and made sure you just HAD to find out what happened next.
    In a way, make it so your characters get one step forward and then knocked three steps back, so your reader doesn't get frustrated by the lack of progress, but they still want to find out how it's going to happen, how your characters are going to get to their final goal. Of course, you have to alter that formula so you eventually get to an ending, but as the descending action occurs, that will likely be enough to keep your reader rushing to the finish (if you set it up well, of course), so this formula doesn't stand so much then. It's slightly different if you have a series on your hands, but that can be a discussion for another post.
    So! Back to the whole Netflix theme I had going back there. What the heck does that have to do with anything? Well, the best way I can think of to explain whatever it was I was trying to explain with fish hooks and steps and reading under the covers, is actually quite simple: Think of a Netflix show you love, and then follow along with me.
    Question time (yay, work to do! Don't worry, it's easy)

1. Think about the first episode of the show (resist the urge to rewatch it!). What drew you in? What made you want to keep watching?
2. Think about some of the other episodes, maybe around the middle of the series (if you spend all day watching to this point, don't blame me!). Think specifically about the endings of the episodes. What made you click on the next episode, or if you had to wait, what made you come back to watch the next one? (Alternatively, what made you pretend you didn't notice the timer ticking down to the next episode so now you HAVE to watch the next one?). 
3. Now, the tricky part: apply that to your novel or writing project. No, don't copy the plot of the show. What I mean is, lay out your project like each chapter is an episode. Episode one is vital, of course, so make sure something really good happens there. But what about the other episodes? What will make your reader really want to keep going and continue with the next episode. Make each one like a mini story arc, in a way; it's got it's own small "inciting incident", of sorts, where something can go well for the characters, and then it's own mini climax where there's another obstacle. These can be as large or as small as you want them to be.

    Once you've done that for one chapter, do it for another. And another. And before you know it, you'll have at least a rough plan for your project. Alternatively, if you aren't the planning type or if your novel is already written, go back through it and try to identify what these mini-arcs are. Beta readers will help with this as well of course, but try to give your novel some time sitting alone, work on something else or just take some time off for a few days or weeks, and then come back and read it. The less you remember of it, the better, but try to note whether or not you want to stop at the ends of chapters, whether or not you feel you can stop without wondering what happens next. This isn't something you can rely on yourself 100% for, because obviously you know what happens next, you wrote it (congratulations on that, by the way)! Don't panic if it seems like you can stop at any point without being curious; again, beta readers are your best tool for this part. Ask them specifically to note if there's any part where they feel like they could put the book down and not be curious or want to pick it back up again. 

    And now, for my own hook, of sorts. I'm sure you saw this coming based on the "part one" in the title, but I'm going to say it anyway: you can read part two of this post here, on series and how to keep the reader satisfied with the ending but still wanting to come back for a second book. 

    See you all next time! Happy writing, and thanks for reading!

The Golden Rule of Writing: There Are No Real Rules (Method Mondays)

Start off on a light note; thanks, Internet.

    There are a lot of writing "rules" floating around out there, in books, on the Internet, from well-meaning strangers. Lots of people can and will give you advice; the question is whether or not you follow it.
    The way I see it, there are plenty of things people can say about writing, but most of those things are things that work for them. They're usually good to know, but they might not work for you, or they might.
    This is not an original thing to say, at all, but the only real writing "rule" is this: Write.
    That's it.
    Writing a certain number of words per day, or writing at certain times, or wearing a tinfoil helmet while you write so aliens don't steal your ideas, none of those things make you a writer. If setting a word goal works for you, do it. If a schedule works, make one. If a tinfoil helmet somehow seems to make you write better, then heck, go for it. I'm sure there's writers out there with weirder habits.
    The point is, you'll always read advice and "rules" for writing. I've given some advice on this blog, and I'll probably continue to do so. If it works for you, great! Glad to help. If it doesn't, then what does it matter? Something that works for me might not work for you.
    In some cases, following advice from those with experience can be a good idea. If you want to publish, either self-publish or traditionally publish, then it may be a good idea to get advice from people who have experience in the business, because in those pursuits there is, arguably, a "right" way to do things and a "wrong" way to do them. In the actual writing of the book, however, as long as you're following basic rules of grammar and spelling to make it legible, there are no real rules. You can do basically whatever you want to do with your writing, and if you've got the determination to make it work and get those words on the page, chances are it'll work out.
    It doesn't matter how prolific or successful an author is; no one's word is gospel when it comes to writing. It is tempting to emulate our favourite authors and try to follow every bit of advice they've ever given, but that's unrealistic, frankly. I highly doubt that I'll still agree with all of the advice I've given in the past within a few years, and while I can't speak for any other authors, I think it's likely to be the same case for many others.
    So if my advice or anyone else's advice works for you? Great, follow it for as long as it works! If it doesn't? Who cares? It doesn't make you any less or any worse of a writer, just like following any advice or rules you see online or in books makes you any better of a writer.
    In the end, there's only one rule to writing: write. If you do that, you are a writer, no matter what other advice or "rules" you do or do not follow.

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!