Time for another round of blog chain fun! This round’s topic is brought to us by Kate. She asks:

As a reader and/or a writer what are some of your favorite fiction
tropes? Are you sucker for secretly in love with best friend type
stories, stories set in mysterious boarding school stories, stories
that contain time travel, or something else entirely? As a writer how
do you try to give the tropes you tackle in your own books a fresh
spin?

Hmm…I really enjoyed reading others’ posts on this, but I’m not sure what my response is. I don’t know if I’m drawn to one particular literary device when reading or writing. I suppose I like tried and true stories that take the traditional concept and then do something surprising. For example, GONE, GIRL, by Gillian Flynn, appears at first as a typical mystery. In fact, it seemed so typical that for the first 1/3 of the book, I was tempted to throw it across the room because I was so sure I knew how everything was going to unfold….but then, I didn’t. And as the book went on, just when I thought I knew what would happen, it twisted again. That was impressive to me. And, Flynn is a skilled writer, because I ABHOR plot twists for the sake of twisting and shock. I hate when I read a book and the ending or middle is a “surprise” but it totally does not fit with the flow of the story.

As I was writing, I realized another trope I really like: retellings. I love retellings of biblical stories, in particular, but also like new takes on other known stories (e.g. retellings of Shakespeare, Dickens, etc.). My favorite retelling is THE RED TENT by Anita Diamont. It tells the story of Dina, the story of Jacob’s 12 sons. Such an awesome prospective.

How about you? What’s your favorite literary trope? And don’t forget to read Amparo’s post, and if you missed any go back to Kate’s and start again.

Howdy! Today’s blog chain topic was created by moi. I asked:

“Pick a book or story and imagine it in a new genre. For example, what would Oliver Twist be like if it was a sci-fi novel. Would Fagin have been a robot? Do you prefer you new creation or the original?”

I love these kinds of twists, and the dystopian I’m working on now has some of this element (more on that later). The idea of a known tale being set in our time period or the future is so fun. For example, while I never read, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, I’m dying to. It takes a creative mind to come up with something like that!

But, if I had to think of a way rework something, I think I’d choose Shakespeare. I know I’m going to be struck down by the literary gods for saying this, but I so prefer modern retellings of Shakespear’s works. Whoa, I think I just missed a lightning bolt. It’s not that I don’t like the stories and word play, but reading Shakespeare is a project. It’s hard to understand the language without someone explaining it to me, and that’s just so much work these days. One of my favorite Shakespeare retellings was the movie version of Romeo and Juliet, starring Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio. I loved the modern twist of gang wars, and it worked so well. Plus, I have always been a huge Leo fan. AND, I enjoyed that version more than the play. Blasphemy, I know, but THEY did use the same language, so it’s not complete betrayal.

 

On topic, one of my favorite shows is GRIMM. It’s set in modern time, but the premise is that many who walk among us are a form of creature, good or bad, and this explains the bad things in our world. For example, Hitler possessed these magic coins that made anyone who had them hungry for power. Add to that, that he was a certain type of monster, and it’s just brilliant.

Back to the dystopian I’m working on (I know you’re dying to hear about this). So while it has a variety of things (power-hungry government, tormentors and the tormented), it also (very) loosely uses some themes and elements of the biblical story of Moses. In fact, that’s how the idea of this story began in my head. It has veered in some ways, but that’s ok. It was never intended to be a step by step retelling. However, the parts that remained are pretty cool to me, and I look forward to adding more as the books progress (I see it as a trilogy).

How about you? Do you prefer your stories tried and true or with a twist? Be sure to catch Amparo’s post before mine; then, head over to Sandra’s blog to start from the beginning in case you missed some.

This rounds blog chain question was posted by Lisa. Unfortunately, it’s her last and we’ll miss her! As her parting question, she asks:

“The balancing act. How do you balance your writing time with everything else in your life–including, kids, job, book promotion?”

When I first saw this topic, my heart sank. I imagined all the other chainers writing about how they had everything under control, how they carved out time in the wee hours of the morning or late hours at night to write, how if writing was important to you, you just did it. Then, I read everyone else’s posts, and I felt a lot better. Why? Because I’m not the only one who has trouble with balancing it all.

When I left my job to write full time, I was the balancing queen. My friends and acquaintances talked about how they couldn’t do what I did because it took self-discipline, and it made me feel so good. I had self-discipline! I was awesome! Go me! I could carve out time in my day and make it work! Hurrah! Then, I had my son, and people still said, “Wow. How do you do it?” And little sleep deprived me felt even better. Here I was on 3 hours of sleep a night and I was WRITING. Every day! My little guy did take long naps–albeit only on top of me–but hey, I had one free hand and typed, typed, typed. And I thought I was superwoman. I’m a mom! I’m a wife! I have dinner for all! And I’m writing! Fetch me my cape!

Before you vomit thinking I still have things under control, let me fast-forward five years. My kid entered Kindergarten this year. I started working full time. Ask me how much time I have for writing now. Go ahead, ask. It will make you feel better. Here’s a hint: the superhero police came for my cape. Ah, but the joke’s on them because I told them I no longer had it. It’s really hidden in my closet, but don’t tell them. It’s a nice memory of when I thought I could do it all.

Yes, I can have time at night once my little guy goes to bed, but I’m exhausted. Yes, instead of vegging and watching TV and exercising (I try to put these together because lord knows there’s no time for both and a pox on anyone who makes me give up How I Met Your Mother and Big Bang Theory), I can write, but my brain is so fried. I DO bring my notebook to work and jot things down when I have a few mintues. I also decided to give myself at least 2 hours every weekend to focus on writing. It’s hard. I wish I had a better answer. I wish I could get up at 5:30 every morning and write. Since September, I’ve done it twice. Yeah, go me. This week, both my son and I are off so I booked a sitter for 3 hours. I’m also off from tutoring so those hours will go to writing. All I gotta say is that I better make some good progress this week.

Someone said something about not beating yourself up for not being able to balance everything. I should try that. I WILL try that. But, honestly, I so miss my cape.

For more stories of the balancing life, check out Amparo post from yesterday, then go back to Kate to catch up on any you’ve missed and get the first post of the new chain. My topic!

 

 

 

This round’s blog chain comes from Amparo. She asks:

“It’s a new year, and some writers have taken it upon themselves to switch things up. *points at self* It might be the genres you write in or your revision process. It might be your main character’s voice. What’s one thing you’ve chosen to change in your writing this new year? Why do you wish to change it? If there’s nothing you’re going to change, why do you think it should remain as is?”

I have been thinking about writing a lot lately. Not just writing, but MY writing path. Where do I see it going? What’s in store for me? I had started working full time again so finding time to write had become more difficult (especially since my son is still young). I wrote when I had the chance, but I began to feel really discouraged. It lasted awhile. A LONG while. But I’m starting to come back. I’m trying to put less pressure on myself. I also began thinking about genres I like to write. My first two books were contemp YA. Another idea I had was contemp YA. But I decided I needed something different. My current project is dystopian, and I like it a lot and hope to finish it soon. I was really scared to try it, to be honest, because I had put myself in a contemp YA box. And I was scared to try something new. What if it wasn’t good? However, letting myself branch out must have dislodged other blockage in my brain. I am now thinking of dusting off an adult book I was working on years ago and giving it another go (I probably will be able to only keep the ideas, not any of the pages–that’s how much revising it needs–but that’s ok). And, I have been pursuing more freelance opportunities because I have missed this too.

So that’s where I’m at–embracing the unfamiliar and returning to a new kind of familiar. How about you? Want to get inspired? Check out the other posts in this chain, starting with Sandra’s.

Heya all! Welcome to another blog chain round! Today’s topic was chosen by the lovely Cole. She asks:

“In this season of giving, what one piece of advice can you gift aspiring authors?”

It’s so funny that this is the topic (not funny haha, but funny coincidental) because I was just talking to a friend of mine about motivation and how it’s important to keep writing, and all the usual pep talk stuff. I also realized how much easier it is to give others pep talks and advice than to listen to the spiels myself. If a friend, acquaintance, or even stranger asks me about how to get published or complains about not finding time to write or says s/he has been down because of lack of productivity, I’m right there to lift them up. “Just focus,” I’ll say. To my writer friends: “You can do it,” “you’re too talented to stop writing,” “you’ve come this far; don’t quit,” and the list goes on. Each time I mean every word. I’m very lucky to be surrounded by uber talented writer friends who put their hearts and souls into their work, who try so hard, for who success did not happen overnight but who are well on their way to much fanfare and kudos. They’re inspiring and awesome and persistent, and I would never want any of them to ever stop writing or feel down because of what someone may say. They’re too good.

When it comes to me, though, it’s hard to give myself the same pep talk. It kind of reminds me of that SNL skit with Stuart Smalley where he’d look in the mirror for daily affirmations (“gosh darn it people like you”). It’s not that I think I CAN’T do it or don’t have the skill or the drive. It’s just that sometimes (kind of often lately), I just keep psyching myself out. The “what if” thoughts creep into my head. You know the ones, “what if no one wants this book?”, “what if they don’t like it like I do?”. Once these viruses invade your brain, it’s hard to push them out.

I’m grateful for friends who will give me the same pep talk. The friend I spoke to today, gave me a deadline to finish my WIP. I need those external motivations. I mean, the only way we can be certain to never sell another book is to never finish it, right? I don’t want that.

So, my gifts to writers, are these. We celebrate Chanukah so I’m gifting 8 things. 🙂

1. The ability to never lose faith in oneself and one’s abilities.

2. The time and space to write uninterrupted without the aid of caffeine. (But, I’m not going to be greedy so even just the time and space to write uninterrupted, period, is a good gift).

3. Never-ending motivation to write, write, write

4. Never-ending persistence

5. An endless well of ideas

6. The power of knowing how to fix a bad plot, set of characters, etc. without having to revise numerous times

7. The fearlessness that allows you to cut scene, after scene, after scene (yes, even the one with the sparkly rainbow you adore) if it’s not working in the story

8. And, the most important one of all: the gift of never ever giving up.

Happy holidays!! May 2013 bring you the best writing gifts yet!

To check out the well-wishes of the others in the blog chain, start with Kate, and work your way down!

Today’s blog chain topic is brought to us by Christine. She says:

“I’ve been described as a writer of highly emotional and dark stories. So much so, that some could not read Transcend saying that while it was “beautifully crafted and written”, the story was just too dark. So I ask you…How dark is too dark for your aesthetic  And is writing “dark” and “emotional” a  bad thing?”

I have received similar comments on PIECES OF US. Some also could not even give the writing a chance because of the topic and emotions in the book. My first novel, INCONVENIENT, while not dark, dealt with a serious topic too (parental alcoholism) and some did not want to read about that or found parts too sad. There were many, however, that liked the funny moments in INC too. Two contrasting opinions, right? Same thing with POU. Some found the ending dark and hopeless and others saw the hope within. So this is the deal with writing. We, authors, write what moves us. We put words on pages and get involved in the lives of our characters. And when we’re done, the words go out to the world. Readers bring their own emotions and lives with them when they read our work. What’s too emotional to some, may be what another craves. I don’t set out to write “dark” or “heavy” books. I get an idea and go with it. BUT, there are topics I will not touch or read about because MY OWN emotional psyche can’t handle it. I have a young son and cannot write any books where little kids get hurt or kidnapped. I will also not read these kinds of books, because TO ME, the topic is too emotional. Before I had my little guy, I found LOVELY BONES beautiful. I will not look at that book again now. The writing is still beautiful but it’s a subject that scares me. Yet, it’s ME not the book. Therefore, it’s a tough question to answer. We all have our thresholds. I don’t think “dark” and “emotional” are bad. As writers, we want people to feel and react and have our books affect people. Whether it’s too much, is the reader’s job to decide.

Be sure to check out Amparo’s post on the subject, and then go back to Kate to see if you’ve missed others. And, don’t forget to view Kate’s post on our new blog chain topic Monday.

Welcome to another blog chain! This week’s topic is brought to us by Alyson. She asks:

“How important is setting when crafting a story? How do you choose where your stories take place? How do you research setting? Do you have to have been somewhere in order to write about it? What are some memorable settings from books you’ve read?”

Wow, so many questions. So little time. Let’s answer them in order.

1) In general, setting is very important. However, I think the extent to which one goes into detail varies on the genre. My first two YA novels were contemp. In my head, I had a clear idea of where the books took place (a town similar to the one I grew up in NJ for book 1, Philly and a bungalow colony I used to go to in the summer for book 2). I wanted to give a sense of the suburbs for both (specifically for book 1–INCONVENIENT) and also, the tranquility and escape of the one of my favorite places for book 2 (PIECES OF US). Also, I hadn’t been to Philly in a while so I did lots of research online to get the feel of the city. I love to research actually. It’s my favorite way to procrastinate and one of the few things I can do besides writing that actually counts as being productive. Haha. However, the research I had to do for my contemp books were nothing. I had a clear sense of where the story took place, and even if I didn’t describe it in detail on the pages, readers got a sense of the area I was describing. Now, however, I’m working on a dystopian, and I know setting is something I will have to tweak when the story is over to give readers a really clear picture of this new country. As with my other books, I always get the characters and story first, so that is currently what I am focusing on.

2) Hmm…I’m not sure. I get a story and then just go from there. For INCONVENIENT, I had always wanted to write something about Fair Lawn so that seemed perfect with the story I wanted to tell. For PIECES OF US, the idea began with the bungalow colony and the rest just came together.  With my current WIP, the characters, plot, and setting came together and the story took a few different turns. The setting evolved as the story did.

3 and 4) When I research I used Google images a lot or just plain Google searches. I also do shout outs on Facebook to see if anyone lives in a place I want to write about or knows someone who does. I have been lucky receiving lots of info this way too. So, no, I need not have been to a place I want to write about. 🙂

5) Best settings. The HARRY  POTTER series, hands down. I have never been transported so quickly and entirely to a world before. I can only aspire to affect people in the same way with my descriptions. I also adored books by the late Maeve Binchy. She wrote about Ireland and I devoured her books and characters. Her descriptions were so spot on and all encompassing that when I visited Ireland after college, I felt like I had already been to all these places. I will miss her books.

Phew, that was a long post! But in case you did not get your setting fill, be sure to check out Amparo’s post from yesterday. Then, go back to Kate’s blog to follow the chain and also to see the new topic which starts Monday.