How to Burn a Candle

Finishing a story holds exactly the same amount of joy as eating a giant bowl of peach shaved ice.

On Sunday morning, I finished a short story--the first thing I've finished since completing my first draft of Bull-Rushing the Ghost earlier this year. Of course, I've worked on plenty, and the short story is barely the length of two novel chapters in Heretic, but there's something about FINISHING a whole narrative that gives me a sense of accomplishment and slingshots me through the next few days.

This time was better than most, though. First, it was a story I'd been asked to write, so I was a but apprehensive about writing toward specifications. It turned out well enough, though. Second, it's the first thing I've completed since my Wiley Coyote-esque plunge over the cliff of creative overexertion.

About that cliff. Regular readers might have noticed I've neglected the blog over the past weeks. 20 days into NaNoWriMo, I waved the white flag. I could barely force myself to pick up pen or keyboard, and my utter exhaustion forced me to admit a fact I'd been trying to hide from myself: all year I've been burning the candle at both ends, trying desperately to balance a mentally-draining job with personal commitments, health issues, and the, frankly, alarming number of creative pursuits.

I write throughout the year, so while giving up on NaNo was a blow to my pride, it didn't hurt my page-count much. But I won NaNo the previous two years--in '10 because I was unemployed and had nothing better to do, in '11 because I guess I just had more energy. This year's defeat indicated larger problems.

I didn't realize how much I needed a break until I NaNo-Failed-To-WriMo.

So I took some time off. Three weeks, in fact. During that time I didn't try to write. Rather than trying to bend my protesting brain to the page, I cleaned, watched Netflix, slept, and read like a madwoman.

I'd forgotten how much I like reading. There was a reason I started this whole writing thing.

For anyone who's lit up both ends of the creative firecracker, I recommend bingeing on books.  I read serious books and "crunchy" books, YA and literary criticism, traditional and self-published, ebooks, audiobooks, paper, and hardback. I reread the Last Herald Mage trilogy. I finally read the latest Scott Lynch. I returned to Riverside. I even read an LGBT firefighter romance novel, which made me smile despite the "read that in a fanfic once" porn-industry sub-plot (yes, really). The binge reminded me how much I love falling into other worlds and stories, falling in love with characters like Atticus O'Sullivan, Wellington Books Esq., Deryn Sharp, Bard Stefan, Locke Lamora, and the Mad Duke Tremontaine.

Speaking of Wellington Books Esq...

I've finished the short story for +Tee Morris  and +Philippa Ballantine's The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences: Tales from the Archives, and it's currently out with a handful of alpha readers. I should be right on time with the first draft.

Finishing a story after what had felt like a creative drought left me feeling like I was soaring in a chariot pulled by a team of Nyan-cats, because it was a great reminder of what I could do when I wasn't stretching myself too thin.

So, I have two writing-related resolutions for 2013:

1. Read at least one book a week, no matter what kind.
2. Learn how to burn a candle: one end at a time, because there will still be enough light to see by.

What gives you a creative high? Have you burned the candle at both ends? What do you do to relax when you've overtapped your creative well? What are your creative New Years Resolutions?

Reading More than One Book at a Time

I can never read just one book at a time. I might pick up a book and finish it before I pick up another one, but I've always got a number of them going at any given time. At the moment, I've got the following books that I have either started or am part way through:

Name of the Wind
This is THE fantasy book of right now. Patrick Rothfuss's name is now spoken in the same reverent tones as George R. R. Martin or Brandon Sanderson. I'm about a quarter of the way through the audio book and liking it, though I suppose I have yet to get to the stuff that will make me really lose my mind over the book. Looking forward to it, but I'm having to break this book  up into several meals, so it might be a while.

I will say that, as someone whose nickname is "Scribe", I have a soft spot for Chronicler.

Code Name Verity
OMFG. I went through the first half of this book in two days. I hit the second viewpoint character and slowed down, but kept going because of how invested I was in the story. Then...then...well, if you've read it, you know. Let's just say that something happened that made me simultaneously want to rip the book in half and jump up and down.

Rip the book in half, because that's what it did to my HEART.

Jump up and down because, in my experience, when that sort of major craziness actually makes it to publication, it's because the ending will justify the heck out of it.

That said, I did have to pause the book because of a sudden need to reread The Hobbit.

The Hobbit
I first read the hobbit when I was about nine. I remember my brother had to read it for school and I picked it up and blazed through it when he was done. I didn't remember anything beyond the eagles. Then the second trailer was released (leaked - bwahahahaah!) and I suddenly had the need to reread it with Dr. Watson Martin Freeman running around as Bilbo in my imagination. Also, I couldn't remember what had actually...happened.

So yes. Took a break from the emotional TRAUMA of Code Name Verity to reread in preparation for December.


Sabriel
Still working through this. I really, really want to figure out why I'm not grabbed by this as much as both Raven and Skrybbi were convinced I would be. It may be because I've been doing most of my "reading" through audio recently, and the amount of time I devote to actually sitting down with a book is so scant that I have trouble devoting myself to a book that hasn't 100% grabbed me, like Verity.

I may call it a lost cause and get on with A Confusion of Princes, which I grabbed because the premise was...well...awesome.

Good Omens
Listening to this on audio as well, and because of someone on tumblr, I'm totally imagining Loki Tom Hiddleston as Crowley and Sherlock Holmes Benedict Cumberbatch as Axiraphael. I picked this up on Audible because I went to see Neil Gaiman at the Unchained Tour last night, and was listening in preparation. I'm really enjoying it, but can only take so much silliness at a time (I don't tend to read fiction that's so overtly comical...probably because there's so little tension it doesn't hold me).

Raven Boys
The new Maggie Steifvater book - I grabbed the Audible version of this, but I'm not really liking the reader. The main character is fun, but thus far it's hasn't grabbed me by the throat and shook me into the same kind of nostalgic love that Scorpio Races did. Still, not far in yet, so I'm going to brave the reader a bit more: I love the premise.

Note: I don't tend to have problems when books with female MCs are narrated by men, but this person's voice doesn't seem to fit the narration to me. Not just yet, anyway. It might end up being more apt later on.

The Privilege of the Sword
I waited for the sequel to Swordspoint to come out on Audible. Ellen Kushner even favorited my tweet and tweeted me back about it! Neil Gaiman was involved in putting together the audio for the first one, so I knew he would be involved in this one as well, but the surprise was Felicia Day, who is going to be doing the voice of the main character in the chapters that are "illuminated" with full-cast.

Do you read more than one book at a time? What are you reading right now? What made you pick it up or put it down?

5 Reasons Libraries May Not Buy "50 Shades of Grey"

image courtesy babble.com

Those who are curious about reading the Self Pub phenomenon 50 Shades of Grey may not want to shell out the $$$ for copies of their very own and turn instead to their local libraries. The haven of speed-readers, word gluts, and underfunded book-lovers, most people assume the library would jump on any opportunity to buy a book with so much buzz. Heloooooo, door-count!

They'd be 50 shades of WRONG.

Okay, well, maybe that's exaggerating. Libraries are run on a county-wide basis*, so the decisions are going to be different for every system. While some libraries may, in fact, purchase copies of 50 Shades of Grey, my librarian source provided me with the top five reasons many won't buy into the 50 Shades phenomenon, and they may not be for the reasons you think. Sure, most people are going to assume that librarians are the prudes who keep pasting diapers onto the naked butt and dangly bits of the little boy in the The Night Kitchen, but not so (seriously, that's certain members of the public stapling the pages together, y'all).

A patron walks purposefully up to the front desk, her eyes keen and sharp, her jaw set for a fight. "I want to read 50 Shades of Grey. I didn't realize the library was so prudish. Why aren't you buying it?"

The librarian smiles patiently, thinking of all the Zane novels she's had to read the titles of over the phone. ("You'd like Purple Panties 2? Yes, of course I can hold that for you, sir.") "No ma'am, I'm sorry. We won't be purchasing 50 Shades of Gray. We do have several other books filling that niche, which I'd be happy to direct you to..."

THE TOP FIVE REASONS YOUR LIBRARY MAY NOT BUY 50 SHADES OF GRAY

(And it's not because it's porn.)

1. FLASH IN THE PAN
For all its unexpected commercial success, 50 Shades is, in the words of Tee Morris, nearly "universally panned" online. But the library isn't in the business of buying books for their literary merit (or lack thereof). The library is there to provide the public with books.


Though it began as fanfiction for the Twilight series, there is no indication that, like Twilight, the book will have any staying power in the market. The prose is described as plodding, overly-detailed, and too long. Read React Review states "90% of the traditional romance arc has been completed, and then two more books drag out what, in a romance, would be the last two chapters". And that doesn't bode well for the continued success of books two and three.


 If the library system orders 50 copies of 50 Shades and the rage has died down by this time next year, they'll be stuck with a stack of books that society has lost interest in. Better to wait it out and establish its...endurance. (Yes. I went there.)


(See New York Times, Daily Beast, Read React Review for some reviews that are relatively balanced. More Troll-in-the-dungeon reviews can be found at Amazon, & B&N.)

2. LOWFUNDSA (it's not an STD)
SURPRISE! We're in a recession! Like most government organizations, libraries are suffering from a severe lack of funds. Many libraries can't afford to have more than two copies of established bestselling books by established bestselling authors like Stephen King. Committing to 50 Shades of Grey before it's proved to be more than a flash in the pan isn't something a library in such dire straits can afford to do.

And it's not just 50 Shades of Grey. The library system is unable to justify purchasing books that aren't either by bestselling authors or filling a niche. And that's just how it is right now.

Want to help resolve that issue? Donate to your local library. :)

3. NICHE IS FILLED
As readers of erotica already know, the niche for BDSM is by no means empty. The library system already has plenty of erotic fiction by authors with an established fan base, so buying 50 Shades would not fill a need in the library's collection, meaning that particular justification won't stand up long enough to perform. (Yes. I did.)


4. NOT REVIEWED BY A PROFESSIONAL REVIEW SOURCES (yet)
The library buys many of its books based on book reviews provided by Professional Review Sources such as Booklist, and due to 50 Shades of Grey's self-published nature, there are no reviews for the book as of yet. True, a publisher has picked up 50 Shades for release now, so there may eventually be a review available, but as of April 30th, 2012, Booklist has not posted a review.

In order to defend the purchase of a book, especially in times when the library is so strapped for cash (badum tsss), a review from such a professional (as in, the librarian profession) resource is extremely helpful. Without one, librarians may find they have to exercise restraints. I mean. Restraint. Singular.

5. IT'S A TRILOGY
Again, this rule may vary from library to library, but in many systems, if a library purchases the first book in a series, it is then obligated to purchase the rest. Committing to the whole ménage à trois when the series might be a flash in the pan, the library system is underfunded, the niche is already filled, and it's not reviewed by professional sources is an exercise in poor planning, especially given the relatively lukewarm reception of the second and third books in the series.

*Edited to provide some additional linkage:
Florida Today's Article: On Brevard Library pulling 50 Shades from the shelves.
Heroes and Hearbreakers' Article: A response to Florida's Brevard Library pulling the book from the shelves.


And if you haven't seen Ellen's comedy skit about "reading the audiobook for 50 Shades", you must watch it now.




Does your local library have 50 Shades of Grey? Do you think libraries should purchase the book or not? Why? Have you read 50 Shades of Grey? What do you think? 


*Edit: Sometimes. They're sometimes state-run, or privately-owned, or business-owned, or city owned, or...well, you get the idea. Libraries aren't going to be governed by a single, agreed-upon set of rules.

Why I Can't Finish Good Books



 Okay, so the title is a little misleading--I can finish good books (and usually do), but I have this odd tendency to get a few chapters into a fantastically written book and dive for my computer. Rather than respond to a bit of gorgeous detail or cleverly-wrought exposition with "OMG, I must read more!" I respond by diving for my computer, sending anything in my way flying: coffee-tables, chairs, vacuum cleaners, stuffed monkeys, my roommate...
The cats, sensing imminent peril, are usually good at getting out of the way.

I've had a friend describe this as "Like trying to stop peeing mid-stream!" He simply can't put a book down when it's that good.

Does anyone else do this? It can't just be me. I imagine a seamstress walking by shop windows and seeing a gorgeous dress with lots of pin-tucks. Rather than purchasing the dress, the seamstress rushes home to make something with pin-tucks in it. Then, proud of her achievement, she says: "LOOK at my pin-tucks! LOOK AT THEM."

Now, I'm not saying I go and write something that's exactly like what I've just read, but that competative side of me comes out and I have to get to work immediately. I have to keep writing, keep improving, so someday maybe I can be that good.

The main reason I'm writing this is because I've been having a hard time getting through Sabriel, by Garth Nix. I'm loving it, and that's partly why. I consistently get about a half a chapter (sometimes only a few pages) before I have to put it down and write something. His ability to translate seemingly-insignificant detail into something that not only enriches the reader's sense of Sabriel's world, abilities, or fears but also usually furthers the plot just astounds me. I adore detail, but I often don't have a reason for putting it in beyond "that's how I see it in my head".

At the moment, I'm also working on Finnikin of the Rock, Graceling, Dragonflight, and Red Seas under Red Sky. Dragonflight is one I'm re-reading to observe worldbuilding techniques (Anne McCaffrey is a master of this) and Red Seas Under Red Sky is the sequel to one of my favorite books of all time. I'm waiting till I have an uninterruptable weekend to read it, though. Finnikin of the Rock and Graceling were both recommended to me because the genre and character ages are similar to The Mark of Flight.

Chatterbox: Do you ever get inspired to write because of a good book? Can you stop reading a good book for any reason? Can you stop peeing mid-stream? What are you reading now, and why?

First-Person Present Tense in YA

Not even all of them.

Last week I declared a no-writing week, and set to work on the massive pile of books on my bedside table. Some of these are from StellarCon, and some of them are my first-paycheck treat.

I've taken to carrying books around with me, which has helped in the effort to read more. I always carry at least one general fantasy novel, and one YA novel. Recently, I've noticed that I finish three or four YA books per regular fantasy book, which is why I like reading young adult fiction -- I can finish a book in two or three evenings, and the prose isn't as thick as that of Tad Williams or Jaqueline Carey.

I've zoomed through several YA books in the past two or three weeks, including The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins, Matched by Ally Condi, and White Cat by Holly Black.

I wasn't shocked to find that The Hunger Games was in first-person present-tense, because the immediacy of the plot really lends itself to that narrative mode. After obsessively devouring the trilogy, I picked up Matched because the premise was fascinating. I wasn't disappointed, but I was struck by the fact that this author had also chosen first-person present-tense. I thought about it, and decided that in a world where the future is decided, and all reminders of the past are removed, present-tense was the only option. By the time I got to Holly Black's White Cat, I wasn't even surprised. First-person. Present-tense.

 I'm sure by now we're all used to first-person, especially in YA, where the immediate sympathy of the reader demands a close perspective from the word go, but reading present-tense in genre fiction was a bit of a surprise for me. I see it in literary fiction sometimes, but where I first noticed the trend was in fan-fiction, especially short works. Now, I fell off the fan-fiction bandwagon somewhere around 2006, when I decided it was time to focus my writing on original work. But last year, while waiting for season 3 of Merlin, I skimmed through livejournal to see what was there. I clearly remember Skyping with Adryn one evening, and reading Merlin fanfic whilst waiting for her responses.

Scribe: Shouting to Corwin for cover, Zieke lunges forward and hacks through the foot-soldier's waxed leather armor...*blahblahblah*
Adryn: Are you reading fanfiction?
Scribe: @_@ How did you know that?
Adryn: Because you keep writing in present-tense.
Scribe: ...
Adryn: Don't you hate writing in present-tense?
Scribe: ...

It was pretty embarrassing. I'm the most grammar-conscious of my friends, and to have made a tense-shift error of that magnitude mid-scene was uncharacteristic. The funniest thing was realizing that Adryn had spotted the trend well enough to identify exactly why I had staggered over to the "dark side". (Since that mortifying slip, I have written one thing that includes present-tense: Goodbye Girl, the first half of which is f-p/p-t.)

I have to wonder why that's becoming such a common narrative mode. I find it to be spare, and almost too immediate in most cases. While the subject-matter of The Hunger Games and Matched were both well-suited to present-tense, I feel like White Cat would have been exactly the same book in past-tense. There was no clear reason why the book needed to be in present-tense. Black's faerie series is in past-tense, so it isn't just that she's a present-tense author--it was a clear authorial choice for this set of books. Maybe it was simply because she wanted to experiment writing in present-tense, or because that's just the way the character spoke to her--I get that. As the author, her choice is valid, even if it's not the choice I would have made. Admittedly, I would never make the choice unless the story would be improved by it (and you'd have a hard time convincing me it would), so my biased self is probably off the mark concerning her motivations. My point, however, is not why she made that choice, but the question of whether Holly Black or any author would have made that choice fifteen years ago.

Personally, I don't think so. I know there were f-p/p-t novels back then--there had to have been. I just don't think they made up such a large percentage of the YA section. I certainly don't remember reading any, and I read even more fifteen years ago than I do now. I think the recent trend probably has to do with the idea that immediacy lends itself to faster reader sympathy. Things beyond authorial (and even agent and editor) control are causing writers to need that immediate sympathy any way we can get it. The length of books is being cut, prose is being dumbed-down, and Tolkein-esque jaunts into the land of useless description are halted in their tracks. We simply don't have time for it...or so we tell ourselves.

Oh, what was the line? "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot." But who is "they"? It's useless to try blaming anyone--authors, agents, editors, publishers, readers, Hitler--because the narrative mode of fiction is beginning to reflect our current culture, which demands short, fast, and now.

"Give me spots on my apples, but leave me the birds and the bees. Please."

Have you recently read a book in present-tense? What did you think? Do you think the recent trend of present-tense will last?


GO READ Raven's response post on this topic - it's not only hysterical, but provides another layer of analysis on the subject, and the three novels.