Ready to hop on another blog chain train? Come on! This round’s topic was started by Sandra. She asks:

During National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), writers attempt to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Do you set daily writing goals for yourself, either a certain word count or time spent on writing? Does this include other writing-related activities, like research, plotting, or revising? Do you focus on reaching the end of the journey (such as finishing your current project), or do you enjoy the writing process along the way?

This topic is so timely because this is the first year I’m doing NaNo. My goal, however, is not to write 50K in 30 days. At this point, I’m just trying to get back into the writing groove and finish my current WIP. I currently have over 50K and hope to write 25K more by the end of NaNo or get as close to finishing as possible. Also, because I haven’t been as motivated as I would like because of life changes (new job, son started school, vacation, Hurricane, yada, yada), just writing again daily is my medicine to cure the writing blues. And, I am happy to report, it’s going well. Currently, I do between 500 to 1k words a day, and it has felt so good. Just today I was working on a new scene and a light bulb went off in my head about how this scene pulls together an earlier conflict I’ve been trying to figure out and it totally made my day. It’s moments like this that make the big picture within reach. I DO write to get to the end of the journey and sometimes it seems so far away and the big questions in the novel just aren’t coming together, and it’s frustrating. However, when I have those little victories, it’s much easier to enjoy the road to the end.

That said, I’m going to back to working on my WIP. I even woke up early to write today. That’s big stuff!

What about you? What’s your writing process? While you are thinking about it, check out Kate’s blog for her thoughts if you’ve missed them, and then stick around to see what she has to say on the new topic.

Saturday, I had the chance to post as part of a scary themed blog chain for Jim’s YA Yeah Yeah YA Contemporary Blog. My post focused on the scariness that occurs in contemp YA. There are no monsters or ghouls but evil just the same….

It’s Friday, and today it means Blog Chain! Today’s topic was brought to us by Michelle. She asks:

“There are so many book-to-movie adaptations out there. Which are your favorites? Which are your least favorites? Why? Do you make sure you’ve read a book before you go see the movie adaptation, or do you prefer to read it after, or not at all?”

When I hear of a book I like being made into a movie, my first emotion is excitement. Here is a book I feel intimately and now I get to see it play out on screen! Awesome! Then, I crash back down to reality. I have seen many book-t0-movie adaptations, and I think there are maybe three that I felt did the book justice. The rest slaughtered the story and characters. Many times I’ve thought, “Well, if I had never read the book this movie would have probably been decent.” But, I DID read the book, so….

Who do I think did it well? THE JOY LUCK CLUB. I adored that book, and got invested in the plot and characters. The movie did not leave out one important scene, and was so true to the book. Many times a director or author will say they are happy with the adaptation because while the movie strays from the book (in some instances A LOT), it stays true to the emotions. What does that mean?? Just because a movie keeps the darkness of an eerie novel doesn’t mean that saves the film. It’s like reading a book about cats but in the movie the main characters are dogs. Uh, I guess it works because it stays true to the animal motif??

Another that does it well is TWILIGHT. I did not like the first movie one bit because characters got meshed together into one and Edward looked nothing like I expected so it was very hard to get into the flick with this initial shock. However, part 2 did it right. In fact, I liked the movie more than the book. The movie fleshed out the characters and Bella’s visions of Edward in ways the book could not. And Jacob misplacing his shirt didn’t hurt…

I’m sure there were one or two more I thought did the adaptation well, but my brain can’t conjure these right now. I’ll edit if I think of more. The bad book-t0-movie adaptations, though, are dying to be written about. Maeve Binchy’s CIRCLE OF FRIENDS was a terrific book. In fact, I love all of her books. This book tackled friendship and betrayal, and when I heard there was going to be a movie, I was psyched. And, it had Chris O’Donnell, so win-win, right? WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. Not only was the storyline meh, but the movie changed the ending. Changed the ending!! In the book, the ending showed the heroine becoming stronger and standing her ground and walking away from the guy who broke her heart. In the movie, she takes him back. Just forgives him and calls it a day. What the heck?? I guess Hollywood wants submissive heroines? Blech.

Another book-t0-movie adaptation that stunk was The Firm. I had seen this movie a long time ago, and I do not remember much about it now, but I do remember that it had Tom Cruise and he was a lawyer, and he was running from bad guys. Other than that, the book and movie had no similarities. They should have just called it “The Scared Lawyer” or something. Another yukky adaptation? HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN and HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE. Both were confusing without having read the book, and I had to explain important parts to my husband. He’s a smart guy but there were little bits that were left out that maybe on their own would be no big deal but deleting all of them made me see the plot and go “huh?” Further, neither of the movies made us feel anything for Sirius or really understand his importance and bond with Harry. As a huge fan of Sirius, I felt gypped and felt bad for moviegoers who wouldn’t get to experience that relationship between Harry and Sirius on the same level as me.

This brings me to another huge, recent blockbuster: THE HUNGER GAMES. I admit that I was late getting aboard the Katniss train, but once I jumped onto that car, I was hooked. I read all three books in one weekend and finished them about a week after the movie came out. I heard amazing things about the movie from those who read the book and I was pumped. I do believe Katniss’s essence was captured and Peeta grew on me. I also loved seeing Cilla’s designs and President Snow and how they incorporated the ending with the berries and the games master. But I wanted more of Rue and her death. The eyes of the dogs at the end that were supposed to be the eyes of the dead contestants (at least in Katniss’s eyes) did not come through at all. I guess for me it’s the little things. And, like I said, I think I just got too attached. When the second movie comes out, more time will have passed between book and movie and I will probably enjoy the movie more.

There are also many books I’ve read and adored, and while part of me wants to see the movies, another part is scared. THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE and LOVELY BONES are on that list, and I’ll probably never rent those now. But, I loved THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES and will probably give the movie a shot.

How about you? What’s your take on book-t0-movie adaptations? Yay or Nay? To see if any of your top picks are on this blog chain, start with Kate and then keep on reading. 🙂

It’s been a very long time since I have posted, and I did not know how to get back on track with blogging. Lucky for me, I was asked to be a part of this blog chain again! I will be posting for this chain every other Friday, but it has motivated me to post more regularly on other days too. So stay tuned!

 On to the chain….

 This blog chain was started by Kate and she asks:

 “What’s in a name? What if Harry Potter had been Larry Snotter? What if Edward was Jacob and Jacob was Edward? What favorite books had character names that you loved or hated? And how do you come up with your own character names?”

So much can be said about names. I have my own theory that my life would have turned out differently had I not been saddled with the name “Margaret” (nope, my parents did not give me a nickname; I gave myself one when I went to college, though). But, that’s another post. In regard to Harry Potter, I imagine if his last name were Snotter, I’d picture him as a geeky, sniveling, nuisance. And, re the Twilight series, well, I’m so accustomed to thinking of the characters with their given names, my whole world would be turned upside down if the names were flip-flopped! (Not really). Yet, I do imagine someone named Jacob as sexier than someone named Edward (that could be due to Taylor Lautner’s abs) so I am not sure how the switcheroo would work out.

When it comes to my own characters, I envision the faces and personalities, but don’t quite have the names until later usually. Often, I’ll just use a name I’m drawn to as a placeholder and then see if it grows on me or if I hate it as the book goes on. In the very first draft of INCONVENIENT, Alyssa was called Gabby. One of my writing teachers hated that name and said it made her seem peppy and chatty. I wasn’t married to the name, and Alyssa came to me. I ADORE the name Alyssa (ever since Alyssa Milano first became a household name during Who’s the Boss, I had SO wanted to be called Alyssa). Later, when I looked it up, I saw it meant “rational.” That was a plus as Alyssa must take care of her alcoholic mother, and she also is level-headed in other areas. Bonus!

In my second novel, PIECES OF US, the names appeared alongside the characters. I didn’t bother looking up meanings afterwards just because the names fit my characters so perfectly. Katie, for example, had always been one of my favorite names and I imagine the Katies of the world to be beautiful, happy, thin, and perfect. Obviously, they all aren’t, and they all have their own personalities, but–to me–that name is just such a golden name.

The current novel I’m working on is a dystopian, and I wanted names that were familiar but not generic (no Jane or Joe). I’m having a bit of a hard time, however. So many names seem so ordinary and others just seem too out there. For now, I have Mikah and Allastaire, and I think those will stick.

For more on the name game, read Amparo’s post if you haven’t yet, and then backtrack if you missed anyone else’s. And, don’t forget to go to Kate’s blog again on Monday, to check out the next blog chain topic.