It's about habit-building

It's August, and that means I start the Write 15 Minutes A Day Challenge organized by author Laurie Halse Anderson.

It seems so insubstantial, doesn't it, 15 minutes a day? Surely we can all find 15 minutes a day to write. Sadly, it's all too easy to keep putting it off until writing even 15 minutes sounds too big a hurdle. 

It's the same thing with exercising. How can I possibly let days go by without spending at least 15 minutes a day doing some form of physical exercises? Yet I do.

So here it is, a small step toward re-building one habit that has gone by the wayside over the summer, and really, the month before that while dealing with the whirlwind that was the end of a school year. 

So I am making this modest effort. Care to join me?

Also, I'll post what I've written here for the next month. So if you don't see a new post, please feel free to nudge, bully, or otherwise hold me accountable.

Today I wrote about 500 words. A story about an incident in my childhood that has stayed me with so long I figured it needed to be written. I did make myself a much more interesting kid than the placid, gullible child that I was, though. Funnier. Or maybe just less painful. 
 

What I've been reading

... a timeless middle grade novel about two families adapting to new cultures.

...a young adult novel that describes a Big Brother society so vividly that I've started checking for hidden cameras.

...about life on a new planet where gold is plentiful but coffee is contraband. People live and fight for what they believe in and reach out to others in this strange world much the same way as we do in our strange world where gold is bought by businesses housed in at temporary stripmall storefronts and where coffee costs $4.95 + tax.

...about a girl who has to survive her mother's disappearance in a world invaded by aliens whose favored stomping ground is the mall.

...about a college freshman who finds out her professor is none other than her estranged father and he now comes with a psychotic admirer in tow.

...about a young woman whose wish to escape her destiny is accidentally fulfilled by invention of a young man who is trying to escape his destiny as the drunkard's son.

These are the works-in-progress of my writing group members. I've said it before many times about how much I appreciate them, but while catching up on my critiques last week, I was reminded once again of just how privileged I am to be in on their creative process.

I can't wait to see these books in print. In the mean time, I urge you to check out their published works:

 

Flowers and Bruises

Why so many pictures of  plants? Because they are a lot prettier than a picture of my foot, and they include all the colors that have graced my foot this past week. 

You see, I sprained my ankle in a Tae Kwon Do class. No, I wasn't sparring (so there is no other guy who looks worse) and I wasn't doing anything fancy. I was simply showing some students how to do a jump front kick, a simple kick I had done hundreds of times. I was concentrating so much on talking to them about proper execution so they wouldn't hurt themselves that I forgot to pay  attention to what I was doing.  

Ironic, you may think. Embarrassed was how I felt. I should have been more careful. I had worked out twice that day and was feeling pretty tired but thought that teaching wouldn't be that taxing. Turns out fatigue is one of the biggest reasons for sports injuries. I had also been strengthening my legs in the last few months so that I would jump higher for the jump-kicks in my own form. Perhaps I did gain a few millimeters and it messed up my coordination. (Just indulge me, okay?) Or I may just be plain old clumsy.
 
In any case, this ankle has been occupying a lot of my attention. What does this have to do with writing? Take your pick:

• pay attention , especially when you're jumping, or writing about jumping;
• when you're too tired, step away from your writing before you injure its plot or flow or character development;
• color is not directly related to pain, the boldest purple may not hurt but that faint green stretch that doesn't look like much may;
• just because the swelling has gone down doesn't mean you should resume normal activities, especially driving, playing the piano, or pivoting;
  
• learn from babies when trying to negotiate stairs: going downstairs backwards is the most efficient
• that one tiny little thing can REALLY MESS UP YOUR LIFE.

Anyway, take care.

Aint' That The Truth, Part II

When I read Cold Cereal, there were other passages that made me think "Ha! How true is that!" but I could find only one. I found another one:

"You're still upset." Emily told him. "About Denton teasing you."
"No. No. I'm fine."
"Forget about it," said Erno. "Everyone else has."




 

 

Ain't that the truth

I love fiction for so many reasons. One of the foremost reason is I find truth in it. 


Take this passage from Adam Rex's crazy book*, Cold Cereal, for example: 


"We're going to see a play. On Broadway."
"Is it Makin' It? I saw that once."
"No, it's called Oh Huck! It's a musical Huckleberry Finn. We just finished reading the book, so..."
" Uh-huh. I saw the original cast of Makin' It, with Reggie Dwight and Ashlee Starr. My sister knows someone, got us tickets."
"That's great."


Have we not had those conversations? 


*When I say the book is crazy, I mean it in the nicest way. It seems as if someone wrote a bunch of ideas on pieces of paper and then randomly chose 6 or 7 of them: an evil corporation, leprechauns, Merlin, the Queen of England, Giants, genius children, unicats, and of course, cold cereal, and put them all in a story. I don't know how it works, but it does.

YA Ventures by Best-Selling Authors

In the last few years, quite a few best-selling authors have started publishing young adult books. Perhaps it's because YA sales are still in the stratosphere. Or maybe people, authors included, are increasingly able to recognize that YA fiction isn't a watered-down  stepping stone for kids getting ready to read "real" fiction, but a vibrant category that includes great stories and brilliant writing.

Having enjoyed two recent Nick Hornby books--you can read my reviews here for A Long Way Down and Juliet, Naked--I picked up Slam recently. I thought Hornby's sharp observational skills and sly wit would be perfect for YA. 

For this YA title, Hornby chose a first person POV that is determinedly conversational with a what's-up-dude, chummy tone. Add to that the often unnecessary spelling-out and explaining of events, and I find myself wishing he had stuck to his regular style of writing. 

What I appreciate the most about Hornby's books is how he presents his characters' flaws and self-absorption in a way that evokes sympathy and understanding: there but by the grace of God. Sam the 18 year-old, like protagonists in the other books, is certainly flawed. But instead of gaining a better understanding of him and finding him more sympathetic over the course of the book, I just felt my sympathy erode. I don't see any signs about the way he treats people or makes decisions that shows real growth in his maturity, compassion, humility. And the way the book ended, [Spoiler alert} with him making out like a bandit, just seems incredulous.


Now, granted, I'm not the target audience (although I do read a lot of YA and have slept in the Holiday Inn Express) so my reaction is to be taken with large pinches of salt. Maybe teens are in fact unable to see outside their own concerns. I don't completely buy that idea. But say that I do, then here is my question: would these teens have any inclination to read about other teens who are completely self-absorbed? 


Or maybe this whole thing is a satire and I just didn't get it.

Another author whose work I usually enjoy, Harlan Coben, also ventured into the YA world recently. This NY Times bestseller, The Shelter, is tied in to Live Wire, his latest Myron Bolitar books. The tone and voice of his YA book are not that dissimilar to those in his general fiction ones. Good choice. He got across the character of Mickey Bolitar, nephew of Myron, without resorting to gimmicks and cheesy cultural references and fake teenness.


While doing research on the web (ahem) for this post, I came across Book Aunt's much more extensive post on the topic. She lists at least a dozen titles written by authors better known for their general fiction. She also includes a top-ten list of what not to do when writing for young adults, which is definitely worth a read. 


Have you read any of the YA novels by crossover authors? What do you think? And speaking of crossover authors, are you excited about J. K. Rowling's venture into general fiction?

Bittersweet

Variations On A Theme is published! I wasn't able to post it here earlier because other things in life took precedence over blogging this past week. What a thrill it was to hold copies of it in my hand! The variety of stories in this anthology is amazing, given that all of them are supposed to have been inspired from the same two tales. 

If you haven't read got a copy, do go to Amazon and get one, or eight.

So the above is the "sweet" part of the title of this post. 

Today, I learned that The Literary Lab will not continue as an active blog. Davin, Michelle, and Scott will keep it available as a static, meaning anyone can read their archived posts. 

Part of me hopes that it's an April Fool's prank --although I think I may just go wring their individual necks if that's the case--but part of me recognizes that every good thing must come to an end. I will miss the thought-provoking posts, lively interaction among their loyal readers, and sublime silliness that can happen in the comments section. I wish them the best.


And that, was the bitter part of the post. 


Maybe I should have titled my post "dark chocolate" today.

Expelled

A fellow blogging writer said that currently he hates every word he writes and that is why he keeps writing. 

It strikes me as a very sensible and practical thing to do. 

I too, am not fond of my words these days, so I am getting rid of them, by flinging them from my mind onto the screen. Be gone, you bland, weak, imprecise, lame words!

On a different note: happy Vernal Equinox!