Vote For January Book

Alright, December is almost over and it's time to choose January's book.

Seeing as how I am the only one who has voted on January's choice, I just wanted to check in and give everyone a chance to vote on what you want to read. As it stands, it looks like I will be reserving City of Bones from the library in the next few weeks.

If you want to continue reading the Uglies series into January, go right ahead. You can skip the official January book if you want.

If you want more discussion about Uglies, feel free to comment on an older post or start a new discussion by commenting on this post and I will re-post it. I may have one or two things more to say about the series, anyway... ;)

I'll extend the poll for January's read until the end of this week in case anyone still wants to vote and then I'll announce January's book club choice next week.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I know things will probably still be busy until after New Year, but then hopefully in January we will be able to find more time to read.

Have a Happy New Year!

Which writer reindeer are you?

Which writer reindeer are you?

This link is great fun! I think all magical bookclub members could also ask "which type of reader are you" with the same or similar definitions.

For me - as both reader and writer - I think I'm Dancer with a crush on Blitzen. :)

Meaning that I am most definitely in love with the beautiful and poetic qualities of anything. I love to "gush and revel" - no description could be more like me.

But then, I don't tie myself down to rhyme and I get a kick out of shocking thrills and things that are unusual or strange. Thus, I have the hots for Blitzen. Except I don't smoke pot. (See link if you are confused right now).

Nor do I smoke anything else, for that matter. I get my high from the likes of transcendalist, magical moments. Bringing us back to Dancer.

And round we go! What an amusingly pointless way to distract myself for a good ten minutes!

proposing January bookclub reads

Ok, so I can't help it. I finished the Uglies series and now I'm ready to start talking new books.

I have some suggestions, but feel free to suggest your own ideas if there's a book you're just getting jitters to read.

For now, don't worry - I won't go read ahead. For now (the rest of December) I'm reading a lovely book called Creating Plot which is helping me in my own fiction writing endeavors, but I wouldn't expect any bookclubbers to want to read that with me.

So anyway, here are my suggestions for January:

City of Bones (Mortal Instruments #1) - a young adult fiction series
Eat, Pray, Love - a NY Times Bestseller
The Life of Pi - another NY Times Bestseller
Shiver - another YA fiction, book 1 of series

I have to warn you - I love young adult fiction because it reads fast and is generally entertaining... and I especially like fun and fantasy during January and February when I'm feeling a little confined... BUT I also read them very fast and if we choose one of those books for January I will be probably end up reading the entire series during the month.

I'm not saying anyone else has to commit to the whole series, I'm just saying, I most likely will.

These are just a few of the books that have been on my list for a while and I would love to finally check them off.

Let me know what you want to read for January, or if you want to read one of these books after January. We can schedule books for a few months out - no problem.

What do you think of Uglies so far?

Ok, so for those of you who are still reading Uglies, here is a post for you.

In my previous post, "Tally's transformation," I talked about the books from the perspective of having finished the series. But for you who are still reading Uglies, I want to know what you think.

Tally's transformation in Uglies, Pretties, Specials

Confession: I have finished the series. Rather addicting, I must say. So, trying not to give away anything too important, I'm going to try and give a few general thoughts about these books.

Sort of a spoiler but not really a secret either:

Sam's online book club launch!

You may have noticed but this blog's title recentlychanged from "I write, therefore I am" to "I read, therefore I am." That is because this blog is no longer going to be just about my writing endeavors, but about reading - lots of reading.

This blog is now officially Sam's Magical Book Club!

Anyone can join - go ahead and become a follower on the side bar. You will even help decide on books that will be read by me and other blog/book club members.

This month the read is Scott Westerfeld's Uglies. It's short notice for some people, so if you can't finish by the end of December, continue reading it through January. You may also continue on with the series if you have extra time to fill.

I'll review Uglies on this blog sometime in January, with a few posts along the way to start discussions about the book. Since I am going on in the series, I may also bring Pretties, Specials, and Extras into the discussion. However I'll try not to spoil anything really important for those who want to read the whole series themselves.

I will still occasionally write about writing. That is, how this whole book reading thing ties in with my perspective as a writer. Click on the tab above labeled "About Sam and Reading" for more information.

Happy reading! I hope you like Uglies.

Times - and blogs - are changing

I knew when I started this "writing" blog that it would probably have to evolve over time. The main goal here is to build my writer's platform, but it's not going to do much good if I don't get some sort of interest or following. I've asked around, and many people have shown interest in an online book club.

I'll still blog about writing, my efforts, my ideas, and such. But it will kind of be under the umbrella of what I - and others - think about what a good book should be.

I want this blog to be... shall we say, interactive! I want readers to help choose books and I want to get comments. Much, much more comments.

What can I say, you know? I'm a writer and I like feedback. Getting zero comments on a blog makes me wonder if anyone even is reading.

And I usually tend to fall on the "no" end of the "Is anyone reading my words?" spectrum.

Alright, so... if anyone is reading this... are you interested in an online book club?

Just a preliminary question here. Vote on the sidebar or comment. Please.

Thanks!

November writing challenge recap

I made a goal to write for at least 30 minutes each day during November. I missed about 5 days.

It was a bit harder than I expected during the holidays. Sometimes I ended up writing for an entire hour the next day to make up for missing the day before. I am amending the goal slightly for December, because things will only get busier.

The goal is still to write nearly every day, just to keep the juices flowing. However, I will take Sundays off, because I think even a writer's brain could use a break to help refresh it. Also, any blogging I do during the week will count towards about half of the writing requirement for the day.

On to the more interesting stuff... I did end up writing a few new scenes for my fiction novel. It takes me a surprisingly longish amount of time to write just one scene. I am somewhat of a perfectionist and I take great care in choosing my words.

More and more I am realizing that I should not be concerned with pumping out a clean and shiny first draft to try to limit editing time down the road. Because even my shiniest new scenes may not even make their way into the first manuscript. At all.

The idea of the story is still evolving. I'm not sure if I should count on doing a series, or just one book. I dont' know how old my character should be at the first.

But at least if I'm writing I'm getting somewhere.

Family themes in fiction

No one can avoid family themes when writing a fiction novel. Even if the character is a lone hero fighting in the world. That says something about the absence of family, too, now doesn't it?

I've been thinking about the different ways that family matter drives fiction - characters and their motivations, plot, and backstory. I've been trying to take lessons from the master - Charles Dickens. The importance of family is everywhere in his novels.

I particularly like how Dickens can give you several different examples of family figures or family settings - such as in A Christmas Carol and Great Expectations - and force you to compare and contrast the examples. Dickens also has a gift for creating optimistic endings in which the different families and parallel plots of the story all seem to fall miraculously into place, creating new families that somehow fit together tidily - such as in Nicholas Nickelby.

My goal is to apply this tool of story line creation into my own novel. The trick is to subtly focus on family themes that are interesting and relevant today. Themes such as single-parent families, step families, and families in crisis due to war or economics.

HOWEVER - and this is important - the theme should not overwhelm the book to the point where it becomes a social statement and little more. Dickens, for example again, manages to weave several social themes into each novel at once, while making them entertaining and timeless. They are timeless enough that the world still makes movies of Dickens novels... and remakes them and remakes them.

Dickens is, of course, known for his social statements in his novels. But the point is that his novels are fiction based on reality. People are entertained by the fiction - the story - they are not interested in reading a novel-length sermon or diatribe on social failings.

So, sum up. Create relevant family themes, make them timeless, and resolve (or don't resolve) family conflict in a way that drives home the ultimate message you want readers to take away.

What else?

Oh yes. Keep your audience in mind. (But that applies to everything in writing.)

Also, be convincing. If you can't write from personal experience, borrow from others' people experience by asking them to let you swim around in their head (imagining Dumbledore's pensieve here). Apply a lot of imagination to the situation and allow the characters to react honestly.

There. Now I guess I'm ready to start putting it into practice.

About a Prologue

To prologue or not to prologue?

I like writing prologues myself. I think they are interesting, they draw you into the book, and they introduce a conflict. 

However, I have heard that many agents and editors will not even read the prologue.  Some of them are convinced that prologues are useless and so they will rip it out of the book without reading it and proceed to chapter 1.  There is an obvious and simple solution to this issue:

Call the prologue "Chapter 1."

I have written a prologue that I would like to make good on my promise to you by posting a sneak peak of it; however, since I hope to publish it one day under my name, I am not so sure that I want to post it online for anybody to copy and paste. I am working on making it into a PDF file that I will share with you.

Speaking of "starts," I have settled on a name for my main character: Sidney. I would give you her last name to be complete, but I'm going to wait for that part. Would J. K. Rowling have told you Harry Potter's full name before publishing the book?

I tried searching baby naming sites for meanings of names.  Particularly for a meaning that would fit with my character.  However, "Sidney"'s meanings are not too exotic:

"Sidney" could either mean 1) derived from "Saint Denis" in France, or 2) "wide meadow".

It just goes to show that sometimes you pick a name for no other reason than you like the way it sounds. I thought it sounded simple but pretty, athletic (it has actually been used as boy's name), and it spawns a number of possible nicknames.

It's a familiar enough name that people can relate to it and remember it, but it is not over-used either.

What do you think? Like it, hate it, have any suggestions?  Let me hear from you.

11 Days, 11 Writing Tips, and 11 articles

Today is 11/11/11, and it's a busy day.

11 Days In

So far I am doing pretty good with my goal of writing every day. I have missed two days this month of writing "creatively" for 30 minutes but it was usually because I had a busy day of writing my freelance articles. I have written a couple of scenes for my book, in no particular order, which I have been reassured is okay.

Maybe I will post a sneak peak of a scene from my novel-in-progress in some future post.

11 Reasons to Keep Going

This morning I found this link:

My Name Is Not Bob: 11 Tips for Writers to Find Success

It's very good and I will probably refer to it again. I often need reminders to stick to my goals and to just keep writing. I think the writing muses reward writers for working hard even when we feel uninspired. I had a music teacher tell me once that "'People say I'm lucky. The harder I work, the luckier I get.' So keep practicing." Or something to that effect.

11 Items for Today

For now, I have a busy day of writing freelance articles and then squeezing in my 30 minutes of creative writing. The good news is that I have my most difficult freelance articles done for the week and my assignments today should be fairly... manageable.

I am starting to feel some excitement when I think about my book and look forward to writing it each day. That's a good sign. I think.

Does anyone else have a connection to "11" today? Have you had a sign from the universe that 11 is your magic number?

Have a happy day of eleven!

Why the Title?

After much deliberation (believe me), I decided to title my blog "I write therefore I am."  Maybe you have heard a similiar statement before.

Writing is art, architecture, and history.  It is what we are remembered by and how our lives and our existence are preserved.  Because I write - in my journal, on my blogs, in poems, and in fictional stories - I am therefore preserving bits and pieces of myself.

Of course I am not the only one that does this.  But I thought of it first. :)

So why isn't the title, "I am therefore I write"?  It could be; and that, too, would be an interesting statement. 

Most, if not all, human beings feel compelled to leave evidence of their existence through whatever means they can.  For an increasing number of people, their choice of self evidence is writing.  I won't give you the stats on the growing number of bloggers, but I know it's a positive number.

Not all people, however, choose to express themselves by writing.  They create other things, like paintings, buildings, gardens, or... other people. 

My primary choice of self preservation is writing.  So, not everyone who exists writes, but those who write... exist.  Not just currently, but as long as their writing does.

Maybe that's one of the reasons why I've chosen words as my primary means of leaving evidence of myself - because it will last (at least I hope so).  Maybe it's because I am best at creating things with words - people, situations, beauty, mystery, color, sensation, conflict.  I do it with words, and I revel when the results of my words seem to provide as many answers as they do introduce new mystery into the world.

That's part of the fun, too, I guess.  I cannot just give my descendants a journal of letters addressed to them saying, "This is how you will remember me.  The End."  I have got to keep those people guessing and wondering and puzzling over my true "self"ness.

I like to be mysterious.  And more often than not, the subconscious ideas that find their way through my writing say a lot more about me than I can ever decipher or communicate consciously.

Naming Characters

I am stuck.

What a great sign this is.

How am I going to write a whole novel when my brain can't seem to produce a single scene without knowing the characters' names? 

I know that naming your characters is important, because the name gives the reader the first impression about the character and automatically sets up some assumptions in your mind.  Are they tall, short, confident, shy, funny, serious, unique, or approachable?

When I was a teenager I would write short stories just for fun and it never seemed to be a major problem to pick the characters' names.  I simply picked names I liked.  That's simpler than it sounds, because names I liked weren't always great names.

For example, when I started writing an adventure-fantasy type story about a girl who could talk to fairies and was looking for her real father, I intended to come up with entirely unique, made-up names.  My protagonist's name was Sanalei, and the fairy queen she met up with along the paint was Laiandrea.  Do you see my problem?

First, how do you pronounce those names and do I really want to be forced to create a pronounciation guide and glossary to my book?

Second, what a mouthful!

Thirdly, what a whole lot of work coming up with 100% original syllables for three- and four-syllable-long names.

I never finished that "book," althought I am incorporating some of the same ideas into my new effort. 

I think the protagonist in my very first book will be a girl. It's just a starting point; any starting point.  I am a girl, I understand girl emotions, I can write from a perspective of a girl.

So, a girl it is.

Also, I am using the idea of various Brothers Grimm folk tales (found in this excellent, comprehensive Christmas book from my husband) where a girl/princess is displaced from one or more of her parents at birth and undergoes a journey to discover who she really is.  Annnnnd it wouldn't hurt if she encounters a love interest along the way.  Annnnnd there will be magic, adventure, romance, friendship, violence, fear...

Do I sound like I'm trying too hard to sell it?

In truth, it has to have all of those factors if I'm even going to stay interested in writing it.  My sort of unspoken (but now written) rule of writing a novel is: If I'm not interested in writing it, how can I expect anyone else to be interested enough to read it?

Does anyone want to choose a name for my heroine?  I've gone to babynamesworld.com, and I've searched for names by first letter, by origin, and by meaning.  Origin and meaning aren't quite as important to me as simply the sound and feel of the name.

(I am also a poet, after all, who basks in the sound and feel of words simply for the sake of it.)

I need a name that is feminine, but strong.  Elegant enough for a princess but simple enough for a warrior.  A name familiar enough to belong to someone alive today and that can be shortened into a nickname. 

So far I've considered first names like Valerie, Alicia, Natalie, Victoria, Melanie, Audrey, Regina.  But none of them have hit me over the head with a crow bar yet and screamed, "It's me, you idiot!"

Also, there's still the last name to consider.  Bother.

Any suggestions?

A Goal of Time Commitment

It's time to (officially) begin my first phase of goal-setting.

We all know that in order to get things done, we have to make goals for ourselves and be accountable for those goals.  But you have to set goals that work.  Goals that are reachable, doable, and realistic.

Just Do It
I have some issues with completing projects around my house.  I have empty picture frames, unfinishes crafts, un-opened bottles of artists' paint.  In order for me to finish up some of these projects that really mean a lot to me, I have to set goals along the way and stay accountable.

Challenging and Specific
My writing goal for the next month is to write at least 30 minutes a day.  Almost any form of writing gets my grey matter juices pumping, so my 30 minutes a day could include journal writing, blogging, free-writing, or brainstorming story lines.  30 minutes a day is a bit challenging, but that's a positive characteristic because it is also specific and measurable. 

It's important for a goal to be challenging, because you cannot accomplish much without sweating over it a lease a little bit.

Derived from Desire
This goal also comes from an instrinsic desire of mine.  Not a goal recommended by someone else...   something I've always wanted. 

Simply: to write more.

Well, here I go, Self.  Now's my chance.  Drop and give me 30.

Writing 30 minutes is not just something I want to do because I love writing, but it's also in the interest of improving my writing and tapping into my creativity more often during the day.  It's also like taking that many steps each day towards my larger vision of writing a full-length novel.

Non-conflicting
Even though it is challenging, writing 30 minutes a day is not so lofty that it's going to compete with other goals.  30 minutes still leaves me time to exercise and write my freelance articles every day.  It just means I have to discipline my time a little better to make sure that I get 30 minutes of creative writing a day.

Staying Accountable
I'm tracking this goal for the next month to see how I do, and I'll report at the end of November.  I keep a simple calendar hanging on my wall above my computer monitor, that is both dry-erase capable and magnetic.  I place a magnet on each day that I complete my writing goal.

You, dear blogging cosmos, are my accountability coach.

Rewards
So, sure, I can be a bit reward-driven.  It's in the nature of the living.  We get rewarded for something, and our desire and ability to continue doing it increases.

My reward is two-fold: an equal-and-opposite reward, and an indulgent reward.

For every 30 minutes I write each day, I will grant myself 30 minutes to read.  Just to sit, anywhere I want, and read any book I want, for 30 in-interrupted minutes.

30 minutes writing = 30 minutes reading

And at the end of month, if I meet my goal at least 90% of the time, a trip to one of my favorite places: the book store!

My "Absolute Yes" List

To work from home as a writer, I need to find ways to discpline myself and prioritize my day.  Another recommendation I took from my webinar a couple of weeks ago is to make an Absolute Yes List.  The goal here is to prioritize my time so that I don't get distracted.

Huh, distracted?  Who needs help with that?

Right.

There are 5 basic things every day that I give myself permission to say yes to.  All the other stuff needs to go to the bottom of the pile.

1. ME TIME
Saying yes to Me Time means that I have my own permission to exercise, to shower and get ready for the day, and to get enough sleep at night.

2. MY FAITH
I am a very religious person and it's important enough to me that I set aside time every day to pray and study.  I also volunteer at my church as a leader for the young women in our neighborhood, which requires some time commitments throughout the week.

3. FAMILY
Some things I always say yes to - and some people - are my family.  My husband, his family, and our even our extended families are a major part of our lives.  When family stuff comes up, I step up.  I also try to make time each day to just be with my husband.

4. WRITING
Yes, work is a big part of my day.  When you work from home as a writer, the line between work and social networking is a little... shall we say, fuzzy.  Building my writing platform is important to me as well as continuing to earn cash by writing marketing articles.

5. HOME
I've always wanted to be a home-maker.  To me, this includes occasional cleaning, decorating, keeping food handy around the house, keeping our clothes as wearable as possible, and running errands.

All of these things can still be a lot to juggle, but I think it helps to have them listed.  That way I know to stick to my priorities and take care of them first.  Facebook and itunes and shopping and TV have to wait.

Now that I work from home, it does take a lot more discipline than I'm used to, but life is all about being a work in progress, right?  Work is challenging in different ways for me now.

Making time to write

Finally.  My very own site for blogging, poetizing, drafting, book reviewing, and even some journaling.  It's time to get started.

INTRO
First things: I'm Samantha.  I'm 27, I'm married with no kids, and I graduated from Brigham Young University in Utah with a Bachelor's degree in English.  I've been a creative writer for as long as I can remember. 

I started writing pretty long stories in about 3rd grade, including a 50-page fantasy (hand-written, wide-ruled notebook style.  Remember those?) that some of my classmates read and liked.  This was, again, in 3rd grade. 

Despite my obvious penchant for the written word, I have yet to be published.  One of my primary goals in starting this blog is to work toward the publishment of my first full-length novel. 

Being that this is a personal blog, I will occasionally take the liberty of making up words.  My husband frequently tells me that I must be one of the few people on this earth allowed to do so because I am, afterall, a legit expert in English creative writing.

GOAL SETTING
I would like to start out this blog by doing a free-write recommended by Rochelle Melander, a writing coach, during a Writers Digest seminar.  Actually, I've already begun the free-write.  This blog post is it. 

I am doing a 20 minute free-write in which I imagine my best possible self that I hope to become in about, say... 5 years.  Writing goals are included in this vision, as well as every other aspect of my future self.  I guess writers have great need of giving themselves an occasional self-esteem boost. 

Go figure.  We're an insecure lot.

GETTING PUBLISHED
So my 5-years-from-now self looks like this:  I want to keep writing faithfully enough that I eventually produce a full-length novel.  I want it to be published, and I want it to be great.  That is, I want to be proud of it, but I also want it to be successful.  I know it's a very lofty and somewhat chance-controlled goal to admit that I want to be a best-seller, but remember, this is my BEST POSSIBLE scenario.  Why not reach for the ultimate?  It's no secret that I'm terribly and incurably jealous of J. K. Rowling.

PERSONAL LIFE
Moving on to more personal goals, I'd say that I hope in 5 years time I'll have a kid, maybe two.  I grew up in a society that encourages having lots of children, and I have always wanted to have my own rambunctious rabble of trouble-makers and creative geniuses (they'll get both traits from me).

I also want to continue to be a runner and avid outdoors fanatic.  My fitness repertoire includes several half marathons, the Ragnar Relay race in Utah called the Wasatch Back, and many mountain trails in Utah.  Tennis, basketball, badminton, ping pong, track, mountain biking, and yoga also make up my list of physical hobbies.  There are several physical feats I have yet to master and in 5 years I hope to have done so.  One thing I plan on completing is a full marathon - no personal goal time, just to do it without stopping and hopefully without puking.

There are other areas I could talk about, but I think that's a fairly substantial overview for now of who I am.  That's also about 20 minutes so I am now wrapping up this free write.