University is Done

University is done.

Well, not quite. My last exam is on Tuesday, so I’m spending the weekend studying really hard. I wasn’t happy with my marks on the midterms, so I want a really good final. But aside from that, everything else is done. My other exam was on Wednesday and I think it went pretty well. Right now, a portfolio, an essay, a research paper and my journal entries are sitting in the English office at UPEI, ready to get picked up. All together, those are worth 135% of my mark (spread over two courses.) I’ll probably go pick them up on Monday, and I know I’ll be nervous.

It feels a little strange to be finished. For the past three months (and especially these last two weeks) University has been my life. I wrote three midterms, twenty-one journal entries, three 1000-word essays, and three drafts of a 3000 word research paper. I read several new poems, short stories and plays, and two famous epic poems (Paradise Lost and the Aeneid.) I’ve been really busy.

But now that is over. The crazy busyness is done until September. My friends who are in school are all a little jealous since they have three months left (well, it’s closer to two now). I suppose I should be really excited, and in a way I am. It feels nice not to have so much work. But, in a way, I feel a little lost. There’s nothing urgent to keep me going, no deadlines, so marks to fret over. It’s not like I’ll be bored, not with a novel to edit, another one to write, and a couple million books to read. I just won’t feel as busy. There won’t be deadlines constantly pushing me on. I won’t have to do anything.

As much as I hate the feeling of needing to hand in an essay at the end of the week (and still not knowing what to write!), I think I enjoy working under pressure. At very least, I get things done. It’s going to be a bit of a battle to make sure I actually do anything writing-related this summer. Wish me luck!

As for all my loyal blog readers: what are your big plans this summer? Will you be reading? Writing? Working? On vacation? I’d love to hear what you guys have planned for the summer! 

Book Review: Mockingjay

By Suzanne Collins

Young Katniss Everdeen has survived the dreaded Hunger Games not once, but twice, but even now she can find no relief. In fact, the dangers seem to be escalating: President Snow has declared an all-out war on Katniss, her family, her friends, and all the oppressed people of District 12. The thrill-packed final installment of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy will keep young hearts pounding.

Why I read it: I’m a huge fan of The Hunger Games series and I was really exciting for the release of Mockingjay. My parents gave me this book for Christmas.

What I liked: Unfortunately, not much. Perhaps if the first books hadn’t been so amazing I would have enjoyed this more, but as it is I just found it a bit of a letdown. There were certain things that I liked, such as Finnick’s characterization and the way the Capitol was manipulating everything. The whole political situation was confusing on purpose, and I liked that.

What I disliked: The plot was not near as good as the first two books. For starters, Katniss was hardly on the front lines. As the mockingjay, she was kept safe for most of the book and all the action happened when she wasn’t around. The stakes also seemed much lower; before the book was half done the rebels knew they were going to win, it was just a matter of who was going to die. On the whole, there didn’t seem to be a concrete purpose to anything that happened.

Katniss by this time is so changed from the girl in the first book that I didn’t like her anymore. All her spunk is done and the smallest thing sends her into a fit. Something has also happened to make Peeta awful. Finnick was the only character that improved but I didn’t like any of the others. There were also a number of characters introduced who seemed to be part of the story just so they could die.

The conclusion was hardly satisfying. I’m not a person who likes happy endings, but Mockingjay’s ending was a little too bitter. The love triangle with Peeta and Gale is finally resolved but it felt a little empty and rushed. On the whole, ‘rushed’ seems to be the word for the ending. Everything happened so quickly, in short snippets separated by long periods of time.

From a Christian Perspective: Like the other books, there is no sexual content or swearing. However, the violence is even worse; people are killed in some of the most gruesome methods I could possibly have imagined.

To buy or not to buy: If you weren’t completely in love with the other two, don’t bother getting Mockingjay. I bought it simply because I wanted to complete my set, but I found it more of a disappointment than anything. 

Book Review: Paranormalcy

By Kiersten White

Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours.


But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.


So much for normal.

Why I read it: This is one of the books I won from HarperCollins. I picked it partially because I had chatted with the author on inkpop and also because I read the first chapter at indigo and it was hilarious. I’m not a paranormal fan, but I had heard this book made fun of the paranormal genre.

What I liked: Like I thought, this book does make fun of the paranormal genre a bit. Vampires aren’t sparkly or scary, they’re just really pathetic. No sexy werewolves here!

The plot was fairly good. At some point it could have moved a little faster with less time spent on Evie’s desire to go to Prom, but it did keep me reading eagerly, so it’s not too slow.

Evie’s character was really well developed with lots of little details that made her feel like a real person. While her love of pink may get on some reader’s nerves, I thought it was cute.

What I disliked: This book was more of a paranormal book than I thought it was going to be, somehow. If you’re dead set against paranormal stuff, you won’t like this book. On the other hand, if you like stuff with vampires and just want a fresh take on it, this Paranormalcy is great. I just felt it got a little bit weird towards the end.

From a Christian Perspective: As I just mentioned, this book is definitely paranormal, and the vampires aren’t evil or anything. There are tons of paranormal creatures in this book, faeries, shapeshifters, mermaids, and the main character is something strange herself. There was something at the end to do with soul-stealing which I thought was a little weird.

However, there is little or no swearing and no sexual content (unless you count kissing). The main character does think about sleeping with her boyfriend but she doesn’t because she knows that it’s not good for a relationship to sleep together too soon. Hardly a strong abstinence message, but it’s there.

To buy or not to buy: I already own this book and I don’t regret winning it, but I think that if I actually had to pay full price I wouldn’t have bought it. Paranormal fans, however, will love this book. 

New Layout!

Stop.

Look at this layout.

Isn't it gorgeous? Don't you just love it?

I didn't make it myself; if I did, there's no way I'd be gloating about it. And there's no way it would be anywhere near as pretty. This blog design was made by the amazing Qui. Let's give her a big round of applause!

If you want a blog design of your own, check out Fine and Dandy Blog Designs. And, since Qui is so awesome, you should go check out here blog, Dancing Through Life.

Enough from me. I'm going to go back staring at my blog. :)

Boring Main Characters: How to Write Good Characters

The past five entries have been a lot of fun to write, talking about what makes some MCs boring and how some others are so fascinating. I hope I’ve given some helpful advice. By now you should have figured out a lot more about your MC. It’s all in your head, just ready to spill out into the novel. Today I want to talk a little about how to actually write about your MCs.

I’ll admit, this is certainly the hardest part. The characters in WANDER still bug me sometimes because, no matter how much I work in my plotting documents, they just refuse to act properly in my novel. Maybe you have the same thing. In your head your characters are real, fascinating people, but when others read your work they say your characters are dull and boring. What in the world are you going to do?

This may sound sneaky, perhaps even bad for your novel, but you have to let your characters express themselves. That doesn’t mean letting your characters do whatever. It just means giving them the proper scenes to let them be who you want them to be. This is especially important during opening scenes when you want the reader to learn about your character without dousing them in backstory and useless description.

Think of the openings of your favourite books. The Hobbit opens with Bilbo smoking on his front porch, giving us an excellent look at his ordinary, lazy life. The Hunger Games starts with Katniss hunting in the woods. Paranormalcy starts with Evie on a mission to tag a vampire. Skybreaker (by Kenneth Oppel) starts with the MC on a normal voyage turned crazy. All of these scenes are perfect for giving us a sense of who the character is.

This rule doesn’t just apply to openings. The rest of the novel should also be full of opportunities to showcase your characters’ personalities. In WANDER, the MC, Wander, is used to murder and torture and all sorts of awful things like that. Those things don’t affect her. But, for a reason that you learn later, she has nasty associations with rape. So, in the middle of the story I wrote a scene where Ida nearly gets raped, but Wander saves her. The plot would have been the same if Ida had been mugged, but Wander’s reaction would have been much different.

After all, what is a novel? It is a story about characters. The characters have to work to fit the plot, and the plot has to fit the characters. Adding a scene or changing one slightly to allow your characters to show their personalities will only improve your story. You don’t need to get bogged down in lengthy character descriptions, nor do you need to forget about character in order to keep the story moving. Just let the characters suit the plot, and make the plot fit the characters. 

Two Books to Watch For

Through inkpop, I came across two debut authors with books that are definitely work looking out for. Leigh Fallon, author of The Carrier of the Mark, was discovered by HarperCollins through inkpop. The Carrier of the Mark is available for preorder on amazon and will be released September 13th, but next Monday I'll have an interview with Leigh right here on the blog. Jeyn Roberts's novel Dark Inside will be published in November (not sure about the exact date) by Simon and Schuster, and I'll have an interview with her the following Monday. For now, take a look at these gorgeous covers and intriguing plot summaries!


THE CARRIER OF THE MARK


A move to Ireland is about to introduce Megan to her destiny, her real destiny, can she embrace it and will she survive it? 

A tragedy in Megan’s past set her on a predetermined course. A chain of events has been set in motion that brings Megan to Kinsale, a small town in the south of Ireland where her destiny awaits her. Her life starts to fall into place as she makes new friends and settles into her new school. However, the reclusive and distant Adam DeRís calls to her body and soul. 

She finds herself increasingly drawn to Adam and his strange family. Adam knows a secret from her past and he and his family hold the key to her future. A future that binds her to Adam and his world, a world of power, mystery and ancient orders. A world that unbeknownst to her, she very much belongs in.






DARK INSIDE


Since mankind began, civilizations have always fallen: the Romans, the Greeks, the Aztecs…Now it’s our turn. Huge earthquakes rock the world. Cities are destroyed. But something even more awful is happening. An ancient evil has been unleashed, turning everday people into hunters, killers, crazies.

Mason's mother is dying after a terrible car accident. As he endures a last vigil at her hospital bed, his school is bombed and razed to the ground, and everyone he knows is killed. Aries survives an earthquake aftershock on a bus, and thinks the worst is over when a mysterious stranger pulls her out of the wreckage, but she’s about to discover a world changed forever. Clementine, the only survivor of an emergency town hall meeting that descends into murderous chaos, is on the run from savage strangers who used to be her friends and neighbors. And Michael witnesses a brutal road rage incident that is made much worse by the arrival of the police--who gun down the guilty party and then turn on the bystanding crowd.

Where do you go for justice when even the lawmakers have turned bad? These four teens are on the same road in a world gone mad. Struggling to survive, clinging on to love and meaning wherever it can be found, this is a journey into the heart of darkness – but also a journey to find each other and a place of safety.

John Milton: Paradise Lost

For my weekly post about University, I couldn't help but talk for a minute about Paradise Lost, since I enjoyed the course so much. Sorry if I bore you, but I absolutely love this poem.

John Milton is the author of Paradise Lost, the greatest English epic. The poem is 10,565 lines long, divided into 12 books. It tells the story of Creation, Adam and Eve and the Fall of Mankind. At UPEI there is a whole course devoted to it which I’m taking this semester and absolutely loving. There is just so much in it; Milton’s poetry is excellent and the religious questions which he raises stimulate a lot of discussion in class.

What I love about Milton is how he writes Satan. Satan is completely evil, yet he still appears heroic and almost noble. This is my favourite passage from Book 1: (lines 249-263)

… Farewell happy fields

Where joy forever dwells! Hail horrors, hail

Infernal world! And thou, profoundest Hell,

Receive thy new possessor, one who brings

A mind not to be changed by place or time!

The mind is its own place and in itself

Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.

What matter where, if I be still the same

And what I should be: all but less than He

Whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least

We shall be free. The Almighty hath not built

Here for His envy, will not drive us hence.

Here we may reign secure, and in my choice

To reign is worth ambition, though in Hell:

Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven!

Who, after reading that, could not admire Satan just a little? That’s what Milton does so well. He takes the worst ‘bad guy’ of them all and makes him interesting. In doing this, he shows just how easy it is to mistake evil for good. Think of Hitler, and how he deceived all the Germans.

Some people like Paradise Lost because they like how Satan is a ‘good guy’. I like it for precisely that reason. Milton writes him so well that people think he’s good when in fact they’re completely wrong. Throughout the whole poem Satan remains an interesting character with several fascinating speeches.

I strongly suggest that everyone should read some of Paradise Lost. It’s referenced in numerous other stories (C.S. Lewis’s The Magician’s Nephew  and The Screwtape Letters as well as the new YA novel I Am Number Four of all things!) and is a great addition to your literary education. As my professor says, it is ‘dense, allusive, soul-toughening, but not dull.’