NaNoWriSe Day 11 (Little progress in writing, but the editing keeps coming)

I've been doing lots of editing today in order to prep my chapters for my editing group. I find that straight up writing has been eluding me for the past few days. Its a shame, since I have lots of time on my hands.
Its always when you're busy that you have the most inspiration.
Still, editing continues to be a rewarding experience. It feels as if my work is rising in quality with ever little error I correct. Not to mention those who have given me edits have great suggestions that have helped me improve upon my novels.
I'm beginning to think NaNoWriSe won't be as fruitful as I might have hoped in the writing category but I think it will be in the editing end of things. Even if I don't write six books, I should get a few rough drafts done at least. That's enough for me.
Writing is such a long, seemingly endless process. You have to wonder sometime why so many of us enjoy it so much. Are we masochists or do we genuinely love each moment we spend hovered over our keyboards, typing away.
I'd like to believe the latter is true. If I didn't enjoy this with every fiber of my being, I wouldn't be doing it. There is no love hate relationship with writing. There is only love.
The love-hate relationship is reserved for querying, but you can't adore EVERYTHING you do.
Keep following my journey, all you who are out there (That is of course, assuming anyone reads this blog). I imagine I'll have some success by the end of it.

NaNoWriSe Day 8 (Break through!)

So I'm back after a two day absence. Sorry about that.
I was feeling relatively dry of words but I participated in an editing group with two of my complete projects. I figured if I couldn't write, I could edit. With one of my projects, a Young Adult Urban Fantasy, I've had problems with the beginning and the POV for awhile. I love the project and the characters but the beginning is just tough.
But finally, I found light at the end of the tunnel. Somehow, one of the edits someone gave me caused an explosion in my mind. A break through! I knew exactly how to fix my problems with the beginning AND the POV to make it easier to swallow. This should end up tightening the novel as a whole. It will require rewriting half of the book but I don't care! If it makes it better, I'm all for it.
Thanks editing group. You have opened new doors. And now: Off to writing!

That special moment (When you almost die of joy)

So, I don't know if you've been keeping up, but since going on submission, I haven't been getting a lot of positive feedback. Just form rejections. I was starting to feel a little discouraged, as everyone gets, and even starting consider all the reasons my project wouldn't get represented. I was thinking about moving on and trying again later with this manuscript. This afternoon I half heartidly sent out a few more queries.

Then one agent (Who apparently has an 8 week response time) asked for the first 100 pages within two hours. And I. Just. Died.

First came the shock. The "Am I really seeing this" moment. It lasted for about two blinks. Then I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out. I was such a ball of energy in that moment that I could have won the Olympics in track. So I ran about my house, shouting my news to the world. Then I collapsed on the floor of my bed room, muttering incoherently.

Familiar with this feeling? If you're not, I hope you will be soon.

The funny thing is, even if this isn't the agent I end up signing with, it doesn't matter. This was just the right sign I needed to know my idea is worth pursuing. Maybe my writing still needs work or the actual book needs fixing but I have hope.

And hope is a great thing.

But it would be nice to sign with this agent too.

-Authoress Anonymous

My favorite characters (And how they're predictable)

I'm a predictable person when it comes to what I like. If you know me you can pretty much pick up any book at all and pick out my favorite character. If it's the right type of book. Generally it has to be fantasy, dystopian or adventure based in some way. Not realistic fiction. That's a bit more complex. But with those other genres it's pretty easy.

Basically most of my favorite characters are complex, sarcastic, middle aged men. Which is weird. Because I'm not at middle age yet so you'd think I'd still like the younger love interest.

I do not.

Not that I don't like those characters. I do. I just don't ever find myself as interested in them. Maybe it's because I'm a writer and I'm drawn to a more mysterious character I don't know as much about. If I don't know as much about them then I can fill in the gaps for myself and have a ton of fun thinking what might be their back story before the author themselves reveal it. Maybe it's because I have a very dry wit and you usually don't find that kind of humor in younger characters. Maybe I just like characters with a dark streak or a dark brooding past. Younger characters haven't had much time to have a dark brooding past. They're not even two decades old.

So let's dive into my psyche shall we, and find out why I like the characters I do.

1. I like bad guys

I'm not going to deny it. I have a soft spot for villains. In almost every book, move or anime I have a villain that I just enjoy the hell out of every time they make an appearance. 

I blame this on events deeply rooted in my childhood (Though that makes it sound really dramatic doesn't it?). My main playmate when I was a kid (Four or five) was my brother. My brother was the type of person who loved to stage epic battles between his action figures. Battles between good and evil that involved death and triumph. It's a lot for a five year old to absorb. Especially when said five year old's brother tried to make the battles complex. Like the bad guys sometimes won. Or if the bad guy didn't win and died, he had a son that he left behind. Or he had a tortured past. Or he and the main good guy used to be best friends.

Yep. Guess that explains my dark side. My brother instilled it in me at a young and impressible age.

But I'd like to clarify that my favorite character isn't usually the main bad guy. Like Voldemort wasn't my favorite character in Harry Potter. Sauron wasn't my favorite character in Lord of the Rings. And Lord Citius wasn't my favorite character in Star Wars. I like the side villains because they're generally less evil and more complex. And I can hypothesize a lot more about their fall from grace.

Really villains are just some of the most interesting characters because we want to know, as readers, where they went wrong. How did they fall so far and reach this point? What terrible things brought them to this state? Is there any humanity left in them? Is their hope for redemption?

With the main character and love interest, we nearly always know the good guy is going to make the right decision in the end, even if there are challenges and they are tempted by the bad side. Unless the book or movie is some character study about a fall from grace. Or a Shakespeare play. In YA in particular, the main good guys usually overcome the challenges. It's the side villains who are less predictable. We want to see if maybe there is more to them or if they'll do something good in the end.

And even if they don't we can always write alternate endings.

2. If they aren't a straight villain: They're still screwed up.

Even if my favorite character is on the "Good side", they still are very messed up. They still have done something bad in the past or make a huge mistake over the course of the book, they've had something horrible happen to them and they're jaded because of it, or it's just hard to get a read on them.

Or in my ideal character: All four.

Let's take a look at some of my favorite characters shall we?

Snape (Harry Potter): He's done something bad in the past, he's had horrible things happen to him, he's jaded, he's hard to get a read on and he switches sides about fifty thousand times (Or not really. We just think he does. I LOVE SNAPE!)

Darth Vadar (Like I need to tell you): He's screwed up, has made mistakes but was ultimately redeemed. My favorite kind of villain!

Basta (Inkheart): He's a villain, it is implied that he has had terrible things happen to him and he's not a nice guy over the course of the book. We also never find out in detail what happened to him so gues who's imagination got to go wild!

Joe Solomon (Gallagher Girl's series): He worked for an evil organization in the past, he's made mistakes, it's hard to get a read on him, and he's bad ass (Like James Bond if he wasn't a sexist pig and was actually an interesting character)

Boromir (Lord of the Rings): He was tempted by the ring and almost killed Frodo to get it. That's a pretty big mistake. (Also my second favorite character is Golum so... yeah, do I even need to list what's wrong with him?)

Haymitch (The Hunger Games): Horrible things have happened to him, he's made mistakes, he's jaded and he's a sarcastic drunk as an extra plus!

Spotting the trend now? I could list a lot of others and honestly the only reason that a sarcastic, mysterious, middle aged man with a bad streak isn't my favorite character in every single book I read is because sometimes there isn't one of those in the book.

Funny enough, they aren't my favorite characters because I'm attracted to them or anything like that. I would not want to date these guys. They would be trouble. I do feel like this kind of character is often liked by women who really want a project. Someone to fix. That's fine for them but I'm just that nerdy writer who likes characters because they're good characters.

It's a concept that a lot of people fail to understand when I say: My favorite character is Haymitch. They reply "You like him? Peeta is the hottest."

Since when did your favorite character have to be the one you're attracted to? Thank God I didn't say Effie.

-Authoress Anonymous

Bella Swan (What she tried to accomplish and why she failed)

Alright. Here it is. The inevitable post. I am finally going to talk about one of the most infamous heroins of all time.

I think everyone has done this. We've heard almost everything bad about her. She's pretentious, she's whiny, she's boy dependent, she can't take care of herself, and she's all around a very bland character. Nothing new.

But I'm going to go a little deeper into why I think a lot of people hate Bella so much, particularly regular readers. It's not just because she's a poorly constructed character, but also because we can see what she was intended to be. She had a blue print all lined out but then the work crew came in high as a kite with all the wrong building materials.

If that makes any sense.

So let's start from the beginning. I'm going to break this up into two sections:

1. The Self Insert Principal 
I often like to analyze main characters through their author because often said character has a lot in common with the person who wrote them. We are told to write what we know, so why not create a character with a similar thought process and belief system as you? Bella Swan was without a doubt based off of Stephanie Myer, even down to the appearance (Brown hair, brown eyes and pale skin).

But there's a real danger with doing this kind of thing. And here's why.

See, I'm quite involved in writing fanfiction. It's a fun hobby for a writer. It can help you improve your basic craft, but it also gives you a pass on world building and character development because you're working with characters that already exist. Even so it can still help you fine tune and practice. But if you've ever looked on fanfiction.net, you see a rather infamous trend. Self inserts.

Self inserts are original characters inserted into a world like Harry Potter or Twilight to live the story with the main characters, and thus live out the author's dreams. They are character's based off of the author, with emphasis on based off of because a self insert is not so much a correct portrayal of the author but a reimagined perfect version of who the author wishes they were. So if the author is a nervous, shy, nonathletic girl with acne, they suddenly become witty, kickass and of course: the most beautiful thing any of the guys have ever seen.

And you know what? That's fine for fanfiction. Because really the basic goal isn't to create a realistic character. It's for fun and it's usually written to fulfill some sort of fantasy. Let the writer dream a little. Now if it's poorly written that's another story but, you know.

Bella Swan suffered from the self insert principal. Because she was the ideal imagining of Stephanie Myer. Everyone loved her though there was nothing about her that actually made her friendly, inviting or warm, boys thought she was attracted and many of them vied for attention, and she ends up as the love interest for not one, but TWO, supernatural hotties.

That makes her more of a cardboard character and it strongly figures in to point number two of why she is so hated.

2. An Insult to the group she was meant to draw in


Bella Swan certainly wasn't your typical teen girl. She hates shopping, she's anti social, she's clumsy and bad at sports, she's sarcastic, she likes high literature, and she has two supernatural boyfriends.

And you know what? Minus the supernatural boyfriend part, those characteristics completely reflect me in high school. I wasn't ever interested in shopping or things other girls liked, I had trouble engaging in social situations because I was paranoid and didn't like small talk, I was and still am terrible at sports and any athletic activity, my wit is dry, and hey: I like Great Gatsby, Hamlet and Fahrenheit 451. The people I'm friends with are largely the same way. You'd think that with all of these similarities, Bella Swan would really draw us in and make us sympathize with her.

But there's a huge problem.

See, a large portion of the book is Bella Swan whining about how terrible her life is... but she has nothing to whine about. Everyone loves her. She doesn't face being a social outcast like many of us with her personality traits do. Instead she's completely embraced by the community and boys.

You know what most people like Bella Swan have to deal with? I'll give you a list: Social ridicule, weird stares when you voice your opinion, the sound of muffled laughter when you are enthusiastic about a literary analysis, dried fruit thrown at you, being picked last for any sport, never getting a date to any homecoming or prom dance, being ostracized by boys, struggling with your identity and wondering if you are in fact doing something wrong.

Did Bella face any of those things? No. And yet she still complained. When people like Bella in the real world complain, it's often justified because they are going through a very difficult time, emotionally and mentally. They struggle with who they are as a person and wonder if they should abandon who they actually are in order to get more friends and be accepted. Bella's complaining was never justified. She was the tortured teenager without the TORTURE.

And instead of it being a dream come true for us nerds, it insulted us. It insulted us that someone like us could have so little problems and yet still be so sullen and dismissive of it. It insulted us that she could be so ungrateful. And it insulted us that this was how we were being portrayed to the public.

There were other little things about her personality too that seemed phoned in. Like that "loving great literature thing" I mentioned. Two of Bella Swan's favorite books are Romeo and Juliet and Wuthering Heights. Why were those her favorite? Because Stephanie Myer wants to use SYMBOLISM of course.

Plus Bella's love for Romeo and Juliet always bothered me because she seems like she's just saying she loves it. She says she used to have a crush on Romeo. No one had a crush on Romeo. He was a shallow jerk. He wasn't meant to be a heart throb. Just because I acknowledge that Romeo and Juliet is a great peace of prose (Because it really is) doesn't mean I don't think the plot and characters are kind of stale. Romeo and Juliet succeeds because of it's master writing. And if Bella was ACTUALLY a literary buff she would probably recognize that too. Plus her use of comparison to the work is completely messed up. Shakespeare is undoubtedly rolling and crying in his grave.

Twilight would have infinitely better if Bella wasn't a perfect re-imagining of Stephanie Myer in the life that she wanted. What if Bella actually struggled with her identity as a person and was ostracized because of her sullen attitude and dry wit but then connected with Edward because he was also ostracized? Then maybe the story could partially be about Bella slowly learned to let down the walls she had been building up do to years of social failure and bullying. Eventually a romance would develop between her and Edward and because she's so desperate not to lose the one person she's learned to trust, him being a vampire isn't so creepy to her. If it followed that plot I may have gotten into Twilight, despite the sparkling vampires.

But it wasn't like that. Funnily enough, Bella Swan's story is more liked by the extroverted shallow girls that often made fun of us introverted sarcastic girls in high school, and the ones Bella is actually supposed to connect? Let's just say we have placed her proudly on our dart boards.

So that's my psychological analysis of what make's Bella a hateable character. The other things other people have mentioned certainly play into it but the reasons I blogged about are my personal qualms with her character. Hope you enjoyed.

-Authoress Anonymous

PS: Tomorrow I think I'm diving into my first book review... it's going to be Divergent. We'll see how that goes.

Side Dishes and Spices (How I like my romance served)

I've stated before that I have nothing against romance in YA. I find it a nice touch if done well. I usually don't go to a book advertised as contemporary romance of course because fantasy and sci-fi are more my cup of tea.

Here's my take on it. If you say your book is fantasy, fantasy should be the main feature. Not that hot boy who's not human. The hot boy who isn't human should be a side plot. Same with dystopian.

Going back to the Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins did a wonderful job of blending romance with life threatening situations. Because let's face it: When you're thrown into an arena to fight to the death, hot baker boys are REALLY low on your priorities list. As they should be. A revolution to change the world as we know it takes top billing to romance. Because if my life was on the line or everyone was looking to me to lead them, I would not be thinking about boys.

To me, romance in books like these (Books with some sort of higher calling or goal. Life threatening stuff and all that jazz) are like spices. Put on just the right amount and it will taste great but overload them and the spices blot out the taste of the food. They could even make you reach for a gallon of water.

In my own novel (Which is urban fantasy) I do have romance. It just doesn't amount to much until late in the series. No one kisses until book four (the last book). When my main character meets the boy who will eventually be her love interest, she does acknowledge the fact that he is attractive but cocky but she doesn't linger on it too long because HELLO! She's in the middle of an escape attempt and good looking guys are low on the priorities list. A few more references are made but it's more of a typical teenage crush. There's not much time for romance to build.

Same thing in book 2. There are hints of that relationship and I start also building another possible relationship between two other characters. Book 3 the relationships grow more and by book 4, yes some of the romantic tension is finally unleashed. But the romantic plot is smaller. That's the way I like it.

It's all opinion of course. Tell me how you prefer your romance in books! I'm curious.

-Authoress Anonymous

YA Urban Fantasy Stereotypes (Particularly of the romance variety)

Once upon a time, most fantasy took place in an imaginary, medieval set world. Then it started branching out to futuristic societies, post apocalyptic worlds and sci-fi. And then, not too long ago, a new genre caught on. Urban fantasy, in which a paranormal or fantasy element is put into our modern day world.

I love urban fantasy. I really do. I think mixing the fantastical with our world allows for really unique possibilities. In a way, Harry Potter was one of the first to do this in the Young Adult genre because it did take place in our world and it did have issues with muggles. It wasn't really urban fantasy because most of it did take place in a world of its own (The wizarding world. Really, dealing with muggles was more of a passing inconvenience). I do believe that Harry Potter started the trend of YA fantasy taking place in our modern world.

Then a new trend was created. A romance trend. And I think we all know what book started that explosion (Here's a hint. It has sparkles.) Sure there was romance in urban fantasy before Twilight but this little "vampire meets human" novel started the avalanche of paranormal romantic shlock.

And there's the problem. It seems like everything in the young adult genre these days involves three things: A hot boy who isn't human (Or just a hot boy), a mostly normal girl (who may have an ability of some sort) and an unbelievably unrealistic romance based almost solely on attraction.

Now whenever people hear the term: YA Urban Fantasy, they kind of expect the plot to be mostly romance.  And it annoys me to no end.

YA romance is almost always idealized, especially in urban fantasy when the male love interest is just the most attractive thing on the face of the planet, always supports and protects the main heroine and is usually the strong one in the relationship.

Have any of these writers met teenage boys? Honestly, they are not any of those things. They can be protective but they're also easily jealous and insecure about how their girlfriend and others see them. They still make poor choices. Sometimes they're selfish. Teenage boys and girls who are "in love" fight a lot and have a lot of disagreements.

Girls, likewise, are easily annoyed by the jealousy of their boyfriend but will also sometimes over react when he talks to another girl. They over analyze relationships. They are also insecure about how others see them. And in Urban fantasy, these issues are often neglected. The guy is just perfect and the girl is just so lucky to have him. True love.

Barf.

When I pick up Urban fantasy I expect to read something kick ass and intense, not a two paragraph description of the love interest's eyes. I expect that from romance. Urban Fantasy and romance are not the same thing. Everyone just seems to think they are.

-Authoress Anonymous

PS: I'll be continuing on this rant for the next few posts. I have more points to make on YA romance but I don't want to ramble on too long in one setting.