I Won NaNoWriMo!

So, I did it! I won National Novel Writing Month! It was a grueling 29 days (I finished a day early! Woot!) but I made it through, and I learned a lot about myself and really rediscovered the joy of writing.

The most important thing I learned during NaNoWriMo was that I could actually do it - I could actually write a story that had a plot, characters, etc., and I could see it through to the end. My story is not terribly good - I am going to have to do a lot of editing to make it even semi readable, and I will have to do a shit ton of editing to the already edited story to have a prayer of getting it published. And even then it's pretty hit and miss. The truth is, this story may or may not ever see publication. But it was important to show myself that I really, honestly have the time and the drive to see writing a story through to the end - something I had never done before. I have started dozens of stories and come back to them occasionally, but I have never seen any through to the end. I love that NaNoWriMo showed me that I can actually do it, and hopefully gave me the confidence boost to write another story, and another story, and another story until I hit on something that I can publish and, hopefully, make a bazillion dollars on. (I aspire to be nothing less than the next J.K. Rowling, of course! *wink*)

The other thing that NaNoWriMo showed me was just how much I love to write and create stories. I used to write little stories in elementary school classes, and I come up with little scenarios and stories in my head all the time. I did really well on the writing portions of our state's standardized tests because I was, and am, a quick writer with a lot of stories rolling around in my head. My creative writing fell by the wayside in high school (because I poured my creativity into music and had a lot of activities), stayed by the wayside in college largely (too much homework) and stayed back in my first few years of my newspaper career (because I was writing all day for work and didn't want to write when I got home. Also, I started dating my now-husband and that took up some precious time!). But when I switched to being an editor earlier this year and stopped doing a lot of actual writing for the newspaper, it seemed like the perfect time to get back into creative writing. And it's largely been wonderful. I love the thrill of coming up with an inspired piece of dialogue or writing a great scene. I love it when the plot comes together, or when I start to really get a feel for a character.

It's not all fun and games, though. In my NaNoWriMo piece, my plot got off the rails several times. I doubted myself and my story a lot. I wasn't sure, and I'm still not sure, that I have something that anybody will ever enjoy reading. And it was tough to make myself write every day. Some days were easy, but a lot of days were really tough. I had to force myself to leave the comfort of my couch and the entertainment of my TV to go spend a couple of hours sitting in Starbucks, trying to figure out what was going to happen next in my book. But I also must say that after every single time I wrote another chunk of my book, I was excited to see how much more I had written. It was even better on the days that I actually liked what I wrote!

NaNoWriMo made me realize that writing fiction is something I really want to do. I know that it's that way for a lot of people - there are thousands of aspiring novelists out there - but after seeing how NaNoWriMo went, I have made getting a book published my goal.

For now, I'm planning on taking a little weeklong break to relax and recuperate from the craziness that was writing 50,000 words in one month. I actually started reading a book today - "The Hunger Games" (I'm already hooked). I hadn't read much of anything in a month, which is practically unprecedented for me! I'm also going to catch up on the online class I'm taking, maybe catch up on some long-neglected housework, decorate for Christmas. But then, starting next week, I'm going to be back in the grind. I plan to print out my novel and start reading through it with a red pen, aggressively editing. I also think I'm going to either pick up an old story I started or start working on a new one before I get back out of the habit of writing. The pace won't be as frantic, so I might actually even be able to update this blog once in a while!

Anyway ... in conclusion, if you think you might want to be a writer, I highly suggest NaNoWriMo as a way to get yourself into the writing habit. And if any published writer happens to stumble across this blog ... any tips on editing and getting published would be VERY appreciated!

Chick Lit!

I was going to write a review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1, but as I am not great about reviewing things, especially without spoilers, I won't. There are approximately 87 billion reviews out there, so read one (or 8) of those.

Instead, I am going to blog about Chick Lit! Yes, Jenny and I have blogged about it before, but I am going to discuss it again because I like to read Chick Lit and I am not ashamed to admit it. This week when I went to the library I checked out The Spellmans Strike Again by Lisa Lutz, Our Lady of Immaculate Deception by Nancy Martin, and Undomesticated Goddess by Sophie Kinsella. Now, the first two books fall firmly into the category of Mystery, but they are still Chick Lit-y. And Sophie Kinsella is textbook Chick Lit. I felt like such a girl for my book selections. Especially because I usually balance my Chick Lit with Fantasy, YA, and Thriller. But not this week. And not last week either. And not really for the past month or so. I've read some YA, but mostly chick lit and chick lit mysteries. Nancy Martin is specifically my favorite category of book right now. Definitely a murder mystery book where the heroine solves the case, but a lot of relationship/guy drama thrown in. I would still read about the characters even if there were no murder. Joanne Fluke is the same way, but she hasn't had a new book out in a while and I have read all of her stuff. Lisa Lutz is really not chick lit, but it kinda feels like a chick lit. That kind of fun, no thinking, crazy things happen to her type book, but with a main character who is like the anti-heroine of a chick lit book. It definitely has aspects of chick lit though with an unmarried 30 something woman whose mother keeps setting her up on blind dates. Fun times ensue!

But anyway, I have been all about girly novels lately. I try not to analyze my reading too much, but I find that I read in trends. I think the chick lit is backlash from a few months back when I was reading pretty much exclusively dystopic novels. I read Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella a couple weeks ago (I meant to review it for this blog, but apparently didn't. Maybe after I read Undomesticated Goddess I'll review both) and really got hooked on the genre again. It is kinda funny (to me) that I read chick lit because if you know me in real life, I am practically the embodiment of anti-chick lit. I hate shopping, don't obsess over having/getting/keeping/wanting a boyfriend, don't wear makeup, rarely wear dresses, etc. Any stereotypical chick lit heroine character trait, I don't have (except for shoes...I love hot shoes). I suspect that is why I like chick lit...it is opposite of what I am. It is a get away. A chance to live in the world of shopping and guys and shoes and fabulousness without any of the work or the money or the time involved.

Also, chick lit seems ideal cold fall day reading. What could be better than to lay on my couch, wrap up in a blanket, drink some hot chocolate, and read a book that takes zero brain power? Nothing is the answer you were looking for. In the winter I get bleak and boring so I can tackle dystopias and long, complicated novels. But in the fall, just getting into the cold, it is best to just shut off the brain and relax with an entertaining book.

Just as a side note, if I actually decide to review things I read, I should have lots of posts next week as I am planning a solid two days of reading this weekend. I should be able to get through at least 3 or 4 books as what I have is all chick lit and YA. Yay for slacker reading!

Ranking Harry Potter pt. 2 & 3: The Movies and the Characters

I'm going to try to rank the movies, though I don't have much of reasoning for any of the rankings. I am finding the movies harder to rank than the books for some reason. But alas, I shall press on:

1) Order of the Phoenix: I get so annoyed with Harry, but the battle at the ministry totally makes up for it. Also, Umbridge!

2) Half-Blood Prince: Lavendar and Ron! I mean, I laughed to tears with that. And the slug club stuff. Genius. And it was the first movie that had really good Quidditch. I also absolutely love love love Cormac McLaggen! And the friendship between Harry and Hermione. Crap, this one should be number 1, except there is something that I just adore about OotP.

3) Goblet of Fire: First movie that I thought Daniel Radcliffe did a really good job in. And again, Cedrid Diggory and Victor Krum! You can't go wrong. And the end is crazy awesome. And it has David Tennant! So great.

4) Prisoner of Azkaban: This is visually my favorite movie, but I really did not like the casting for Lupin. He was nothing like in my head. Wah wah!

5) Chamber of Secrets & Sorcerers Stone: So, I am cheating on this one because I literally cannot decide which is my least favorite. SS brought it all to life, but the first time I saw CoS was the most fun viewing due to going with a giant group of friends. They both have a special place in my heart, but both are not super fabulous movies.

And now onto ranking my favorite characters from the books. I'm not going to do all the characters because that would take for-freakin'-ever. But I will list out my favorites and my reasons why (if I do, in fact, have good reasons for liking them).

1) Fred Weasley: He is the loud twin, the one who is willing to run with any plan. George is the one who is the brains behind it all, but Fred is the one out there acting on it. I fell in love with him for how he asked Angelina to the Yule Ball.

2) Severus Snape: How can you not like a tortured baddie? I mean, sure, he is really really mean to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but in the best possible way from a story point of view. He is probably the most complex character in the series.

3) Draco Malfoy: What can I say? I love me some evil! I like his journey through the series and where he ends up. He is mean and evil, but also scared. So much fun.

4) Hermione: I am Hermione. The end.

5) Dolores Umbridge: Dude, she is just so bad and crazy. It is an ideal combination for a story.

6) Ginny Weasley: I like that Ginny is a complete, 100% badass. She is an awesome fighter, sticks up for herself, doesn't take crap from anybody, and is a nice person. What isn't to like?

7) Luna Lovegood/Neville Longbottom: I really like the quirky underdog. They are both rather odd and outside the norm, but really come into their own in the last book.

8) Dean Thomas/Seamus Finnigan: I like the background characters. They are such an amusing pair. I get so annoyed with Seamus in OotP when he is a dick to Harry, but then he comes around. And Dean really gets a nice showcase in DH.

9) Reamus Lupin: He is the one kind of stable adult figure in Harry's life. Sure, he's a werewolf, but he is also an incredible teacher and gives Harry good advice. He also does a good job of defusing Sirius.

10) Cedric Diggory: Every time I read GoF, I fall in love. Every time I read GoF, my heart is broken when he dies. He is just a nice guy and tries to do the right thing.

Honorable Mentions: Molly & Arthur Weasley, The Dursleys, The Marauders when they were at Hogwarts, The Weasley Twins & Lee Jordan, Barty Crouch, Jr. & Mad-eye Moody (they are kinda the same person, but on either side of the evil/not-evil scale), Lavendar Brown, Ron Weasley (except in GoF and parts of DH), Argus Finch, Gilderoy Lockhart, Tom Riddle (in the diary), Dobby, Hagrid, Cormac McLaggen and Oliver Wood.

Ranking Harry Potter: The Books

In honor of the first part of the last installment of the Harry Potter movies opening this week, I decided that I would write about Harry Potter, specifically ranking the books in order of my love for them.

It is interesting to try to rank the segments of a series as each book builds upon the ones that came before it and set up those that come after it. But I still find myself drawn to certain books more than others, though there are also sequences and storylines in certain books that I love, even if the book itself is not my favorite. Oh, and I'm going to rank from top to bottom, just because.

1) Prisoner of Azkaban: It is weird to me that my favorite book in the series is the one that has the least to do with Voldemort, the main bad guy. I really enjoy PoA for a couple main reasons. First, I really love Lupin. As a teacher, as an old friend of James, as a mentor to Harry. He just rocks. I also love Sirius a whole lot. He is such an interesting character with his tourtured past. PoA also has all the timeturner stuff and Buckbeak, not to mention the epicness of the Shrieking Shack scene. I feel like you just learn so much backstory that it becomes one of the most important novels without really having much to do with the overall Harry vs. voldemort story arch.

2) Order of the Phoenix: You get Luna, lots of Weasley twin action, giant battle at the Ministry, and Umbridge. I mean, Dolores Umbridge is one of the most amazing characters in a book ever. She isn't evil, but she is definitely not good. She is just...bad. Pure bad. I love how all the teachers revolt against her. And then you get the battle at the end, with Bellatrix and Lucius and Voldemort himself. It cements the friendships of Luna, Neville, and Ginny with the main three but also answers some of the big questions about why it is Harry that is chosen. And there is major drama when Sirius gets killed! Now, while I super love a bunch of the stuff in OotP, it also has one of my least favorite storylines ever: Hagrid's half brother. I just don't care. It doesn't add a lot to the story and I find the chapter about Hagrid's saga boring.

3) Goblet of Fire: As I write this I am tempted to switch my ordering to say that GoF is number 2 and OotP is number 3, but I think I will stick with my original thought. I love the Tri-Wizard Tournament. I think it is a really nice way to introduce the other schools into the story. And as a girl who relates closely to Hermione, it is nice for her to get a little action with Victor Krum! I also absolutely love GoF because I did not see the Mad-eye Moody/Barty Crouch, Jr. thing coming at all. At all! It is a rare book that can completely catch me off guard. Also, GoF was the first time you get to see Voldemort as Voldemort. So dramatic! Also, I love Cedric Diggory. Every time I reread GoF I fall in love with him and them am sad when he dies. Wah wah!

4) Sorcerers Stone: I gotta go with the original for my next favorite. It was a tight race between this one and Deathly Hallows. But I have a very special place in my heart for the first HP book I read. My sister and I got the first two books for Christmas one year and I remember sitting and reading the first book super fast and dying to read more. The world that JK Rowling created came alive from page 1.

5) Deathly Hallows: Again, I almost had this one position higher because I really love the end of the series. Deathly Hallows is so full of mystery and lore and danger and drama! The way that everything came together at the end was incredible. Pretty much every character you could possibly think of makes an appearance and they all battle like crazy. It is an emotional book and the only one that almost made me cry (which does not happen often). Also, the end battle with Harry sacrificing himself is powerful. I cannot wait to see this all on screen!

6) Half-Blood Prince: I love Half-Blood Prince, but I feel like it mainly works as the set up for Deathly Hallows. Also, I love Draco so I hate to see his downward spiral. What I love the most about HBP is all of the Horocrux lessons. But again, most of that just sets up DH. I do so love Ron dating Lavendar, though.

7) Chamber of Secrets: Poor Chamber of Secrets. It is always at the bottom of my list. Wah wah. That isn't to say that I don't like CoS; I just don't like it as much as I like all the other books in the series. See, that still sounds worse than it is. Because I love CoS. I think all of the Tom Riddle stuff is super interesting and has a nice payoff in the later books. And no one beats Gilderoy Lockhart! I mean, come on! But when it comes between the first book and my favorite book, CoS ends up being overlooked.

So, what are your ranks for the books? What is your favorite? What is your not-as-favorite? Any parts of the books you wish weren't in there?

Plot Holes!

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/11/top-10-movie-plot-holes-you-probably-never-noticed-before/

I love movie plot holes. And book plot holes. Because 1) they are usually not plot holes so much as literary devices to make the story interesting and 2) they are fun to debate with friends. There are three wired.com articles about plot holes, or unanswered questions as they sometimes call them, Some of which I can debate for days and some of which I've never seen the movie for and don't care. Since this is a book blog and not a nerdy Star Wars blog, I will not debate the Star Wars plot holes, not that I could as I do not have the extensive knowledge of some other people I am related to *cough*Jenny*cough*. I want to discuss the Harry Potter plot hole that they mention. This seems rather timely as the new movie comes out this weekend!

The plot hole (in a nutshell): Why did Voldemort/Barty Crouch, Jr. wait until there was a crowd of people to take Harry to the graveyard? Why not do it one of the many times that Harry was alone with "Mad-Eye" Moody, aka Barty Crouch, Jr.? Also, why is it a two-way portkey when all the other uses of portkeys are only one way? Now, for my responses to the plot hole(s)...

Why didn't Barty Crouch, Jr. take care of Harry at some point during the school year? 1) Voldermort was still getting things around for the caldron bath thing. 2) Since it was a magical ritual, it had to be performed on a specific day/time of year/time of month. 3) Voldemort has a flair for the dramatics and really wanted people to know he was back. What is the fun of being a super villian if you don't get to fight with anyone?

Why is it a two-way portkey? 1) Voldemort was planning on using it to come back to Hogwarts...what better way to get on the grounds than with an already established portkey. I mean, we are assuming that Voldemort did not want people to know he was back. Maybe he made up that excuse when Harry escaped. 2) It was part of the plan to let Harry go back. Again, a villian is not a villian without a good guy to fight. 3) Voldemort was planning on sending Harry back dead. Wouldn't that be a statement! 4) Harry, by way of accident, reversed the portkey...remember, magic always popped up for Harry when he needed it most. 5) Barty Crouch, Jr. made it a two way just in case Harry lived so that he could find out what happened.

All of this is to say that sometimes plot holes are just kind of fun! It allows the reader to think harder about the story and be more creative. But also, it allows the story to happen. Most epic fiction could not happen in real life. If the portkey was only one way, Harry would have died. No more books! Sometimes a plot hole is a plot hole. Sometimes they can be explained away and sometimes you have to just ignore them for the sake of the story.

Do you have any favorite plot holes?

What Irony Means:

http://www.hometownglenburnie.com/news/Top_Stories/2010/11/03-34/North+County+High+parents+seek+to+ban+%26%2339%3BBrave+New+World%26%2339%3B%0A.html

Parents trying to ban Brave New World. I've never read Brave New World as I have a slight aversion to "classics" and "must reads" and "omg! everyone NEEDS to read this book!". But doesn't it deal with censorship somewhat. Like, controlling behavior by controlling consumption (if I'm wrong, let me know!). Besides the irony, I have to say, Really? There are still people trying to ban books? Really?

I know I've written about censorship/banning/etc. before, but I'm going to reiterate. The students who are being required to read Brave New World at North County High School are 10th graders in a Science Technology Engineering and Math program. I have no idea what that all means, but I'm guessing it is for advanced kids. Brave New World is also part of the AP English class curriculum. Ok, just to pause for a moments, but the kids who are being exposed to this are at youngest 15. They have their learners permits and have probably seen their fair share of R rated movies. They are at most 3 years from going to college. This is not a question of is a book appropriate for a 12 year old. The average age of the reader is going to be 16 or 17. Anyway, moving on. The parents are concerned with the "explicit sexual content". And apparently the already in place opt-out ability is not enough. That's right, a parent can already keep their sweet little youngster from reading the book. They just can't keep anyone else's hellion from reading it.

Now, I understand parents being active in their kids' lives. I actually consider it a good thing. A great thing, even. But it seems to me that the 250 parents who signed the petition to remove Brave New World from the school are not being active so much as severely overprotecting everyone's kids. Let's break it down with a completely made up example. Mrs. Jones is truly offended that her little Johnny is going to be exposed to Brave New World. She opts him out of reading it. Mrs. Smith thinks that her darling Sarah can read it. Mrs. Jones is so offended by the notion of Sarah reading Brave New World that she starts a petition to remove that book completely from the school, keeping Sarah, who already has permission from her mother to read it, from reading it. Do you see the problem there?

I think the main problem here is not the attempted controlling of other peoples kids. It is the underestimation of high schoolers. For reference, here are some books that I read in high school for a class (the ones I remember):
Freshman Year: The Magnificent Ambersons, Cold Sassy Tree, Romeo & Juliet, Treasure Island, The Odyssey
Sophomore: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Yellow Room, Great Expectations, Candide by Voltaire
Junior: The Sound and the Fury, Catcher in the Rye, Gullivers Travels, Invisible Man
Senior: Lord of the Flies, Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Street Car Named Desire, The Grapes of Wrath

I'm sure I read other stuff for class, too (and I definitely read a lot of stuff outside of class), but you get the point. I read some pretty hefty stuff when I was in high school. And only the junior year stuff was for an AP class. I feel like a lot of parents, specifically any parents who try to get books banned, just don't have enough faith in their kids. And sure, there might be someone who isn't prepared to read Brave New World as a Sophomore, but they can opt-out and all the other kids can continue on. Or, here's a radical thought, let Brave New World mature your kid a bit. Sometimes it takes something disturbing in a book to help shape your view of the world. Why is it a bad thing to make teens think or scare them or make them uncomfortable? I scared myself silly with Stephen King books when I started reading them. I was also disturbed by some things in Cold Sassy Tree when I read it as a 14 year old. But it also opened up my mind to a wider world. Sure, Adventures of Huck Finn might make you really squirm with the use of the N word, but it is there for a purpose. It helps you learn and grow.

So, in conclusion...1) parents need to worry about only their kid and leave every other kid alone and 2) parents need to have some more faith in their teenagers' ability to handle a controversial book.

(And no, I'm probably still not going to read Brave New World. Why? Because I just don't care.)