Strong reactions

*disclaimer* There are no plot spoilers in this post, however there ARE emotional responses discussed, so if you wish to avoid ANY possible reference to a certain third book in a certain trilogy with a main character named Tris, you may want to read this after you've finished the book. *warning over*







So I'm still in recovery mode over here today. I read a certain book last weekend, and without being too spoilery, it left me feeling a little shell-shocked. I'm sure you've heard (unless your head is under a rock or you have adamantly been refusing to look at anything online) that reactions to this book have been VERY strong, and not all of them have been positive.

As an author, my reaction is complicated. I think many reviews that I've seen have been knee-jerk reactions. But I've forced myself to sit on this for a bit, to think it through--to let the immediate strong emotions to simmer a bit. Whether you like the ending or not, there is one thing I think we can all agree on, Veronica Roth is an amazing author. If she weren't, she wouldn't have elicited this strong of a response by what she chose to do. And she wrote a fantastic (and brave) response to the questions about the ending of her series HERE.

As authors, we are constantly making choices. We are trying to stay true to the story in our hearts, and the voices of our characters in our heads. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the fact that reading is so subjective is simultaneously one of the most wonderful and terrifying aspects of being an author. No author, not even J.K. Rowling, can make every reader happy with what happens within the pages of their book. (Although she's probably come the closest of any author I've read.) But she still has the one and two star reviews, and people who were mad about one thing or another in the Harry Potter series. On the whole though, most authors don't come anywhere near the kind of universal adoration that her books received. Do we all dream of that? Probably. I think we'd be lying if we said no.

The bottom line is that both Roth and Rowling accomplished something great: they elicited very strong reactions in their readers, and that means they made us care. And not just care, but care deeply.

Here's a true confession. I don't know if it's because of my internal editor, or just that I read SO MUCH, or being a writer myself, but for some reason, it has become incredibly hard to make me cry in a book. The only two fiction novels that have done it (that I can think of off the top of my head, and excluding writing my own, which can be very emotional) in the last ten years were The Deathly Hallows and Code Name Verity. Until last weekend. So, what does that mean to me? Regardless of whether I liked or didn't like the ending, Veronica Roth made me cry, and that means she did something right.

With my own book on the verge of being released (just over two months left!!), I have both excitement and trepidation for what lies ahead. I know that not everyone will understand my story the way I intended it to be understood, and not everyone will love my characters the way I love them. That's just the nature of our jobs as authors. We give our readers our best effort, we give them a piece of us, and they take and do with it what they will. Even though I know that, I also know it will still be hard to see or hear about negative reviews. Our books are such a part of us, that of course it stings if someone doesn't "get" them, or if they did but still didn't like it. (I wrote another post about that recently that you can read HERE.) But I also know that there will be those out there who will meet Alexa and Marcel, Rylan and Damian, and they will fall in love with all of them. Maybe some of you will even come to love them the way I do. And that is what sharing my book with the world is all about.

We all have books that reached out to us, past our minds, straight into our hearts and souls. The books that transported us out of our own lives to reside, at least for a time, somewhere else. Somewhere different. Somewhere unique and wonderful, with characters who felt completely real to us. We yearned with those characters, we ached with them. We triumphed with them. We fell in love right alongside them. And we warred with the need to finish and the desire to savor the experience, as we flipped page after page after page, our hearts racing.

That's what I hope for the most. I long to have someone, somewhere experience that through the pages of DEFY. But second to that, I hope that you feel something when you read it. Whether you love it or hate it, devour it or want to throw it at the wall, my job as a writer is to make you feel. Veronica Roth did that, J.K. Rowling did, Elizabeth Wein, and so many others--and all in different ways. I could compile a huge list here of authors who I admire and whose books have touched my life and inspired me, but this post is long enough.

In the end, that's what it all comes down to, isn't it? The desire to understand each other better, to feel connected, or validated, or not quite so alone, even if it's through a boy wizard, or a WWII POW, or a girl living in factions in an experimental future society. Or maybe even a young woman forced to disguise herself and use her skills at sword-fighting to carve out the best life she can, in the depths of a jungle kingdom immersed in a brutal war against magic.

So tell me, what are some of the books that have touched you the most--or made you feel the strongest reactions?

 

Friday Five in which I am nervous

1. So, I may have mentioned that I'm speaking/teaching at a writer's conference in AF a couple times. But what I may not have told you is that although I am excited, I am also really nervous. So if any of you are going to it, first of all, pretend like I look really small and petite, instead of large with child and extremely uncomfortable. And secondly, if I totally screw up, let's just pretend like I didn't, okay? Okay.

2. I know this is revealing my inner nerdness, but I am SO excited for HP7 pt. 2. We usually go to the midnight show (my friend does a big party beforehand), but this year I won't get to because I'll have a newborn. I just hope I can see it as close to the release date as possible.

3. On a serious note, my heart goes out to all those affected by the tornadoes in the south. I used to want to be a "tornado chaser" when I was in elementary school (and even beyond that), because I've always been fascinated by them. But to see this kind of destruction and death is so horrible. I just hope the storms will stop. It makes me feel guilty for complaining about the never ending snowstorms here.

4. On a less serious note, I've heard rumors about some sort of big wedding that's going on? That's taking up more news coverage than the tornadoes? Yeah, I'm excited about it, but not THAT much. I used to have a semi-crush on Prince Wills. Probably because of the first part of that name: "Prince." Who didn't dream of becoming a princess at some point? And he wasn't too bad on the eyes. I remember when he and Kate broke up (gasp! shock!), but now here they are. Getting married. *brushes a tear from my eye* *not really* But yay for them. :) *edit: I write my posts the night before, so I hadn't seen Kate yet when I wrote this. I must now admit to being totally sucked into to the fairytale. She looked absolutely stunning. A true Princess. Wow.

5. Did I mention that I'm nervous for tomorrow?

So what's on your mind today? Hope you all have a great weekend!

Weathering the storm

With the snowpocalypse attacking at least half of our nation (and also ice and freezing cold temperatures and just crazy winter weather hitting at least another third of it), it got me thinking. Not just about how much I wish Spring were here (as you could tell by my previous post), but about our characters. You know, the ones in the books we're writing. (Well, I'm assuming most of the people who read my blog are writing/have written books.)

What do these horrible storms have to do with our characters? Everything. Sort of. Okay, hang in there with me and I'll try to explain.

I asked you on Monday: what makes you love a book? For some it is the characters. For others it's really good writing, or a great, fast-paced plot. No matter what facet of a book makes you fall in love with it, I'd say (and hopefully you'll agree), that any book is only as good as its snowpocalypse. Huh? What is she rambling about now... ? And how are you supposed to add a blizzard to you book, when you're writing a story set in a tropical climate where it doesn't snow? I'm not talking about adding an actual storm to your book. I'm talking about that thing that nearly every great book has--the ultimate, shocking, horrifying, unexpected, gut-twisting "storm" the MC has to get through or overcome or survive and grow stronger from to reach the conclusion of the book. Is my strange, meandering thought process becoming clearer now? I'm talking about the trial or catastrophe or test or whatever you want to call it that gives the book it's driving force. In Harry Potter, every book had a huge confrontation at the end, usually ending up in someone's death. They tended to get progressively more intense, more powerful, and more all-encompassing as the series went on. The stakes were raised higher and higher. And every time you raise those stakes higher, (make the obstacle/trial/whatever it is harder and more unbelievably difficult to survive) the more the reader is going to care about what happens.

If your MC is trying to drive home in a mild blizzard, and is somewhat nervous, but hey, the roads are salted and it's not too bad... well, eh. That's okay and all, I guess. Kind of a yawn-fest. But if your MC is caught in the worst blizzard in decades, that covers half a country, and strands thousands on a major highway with snow drifts burying their cars in a matter of a few hours... Whoa. Now that's going to grab your attention and keep it. See what I mean? Make your characters have to weather some storms -- and if possible, make those storms snowpocalypses.

The Friday Five...

that didn't happen. Because, let's face it--my F.F. today would consist of: Harry Potter is amazing. The movie actually stuck to the books, woohoo! It rocked! I am exhausted. And the movie was SO good. And I'm super tired. I love these books so much. I can't wait for the next movie to see how they do with the last half. But I'm so tired right now, I think I have sand under my eyelids. Oh wait, I have kids--no falling asleep! Must. Stay. Awake. Plus I have lots of writing to do, and cleaning, and you know... Life waits for no tired Mommy.



So, instead, here is an inspiring quote and a suggestion:



"Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of."

-- Benjamin Franklin



Even though I'm tired, I'm not squandering the time I have been given today. But I might be going to bed nice and early tonight. Let's hope anyway.



My suggestion is that you go check out my guest post on the lovely, fabulous Carolina Valdez Miller's blog. (Who I am now calling Cuteness, because she really is cute, and also SO sweet, but she already decided to call me Sweetness, and I can't call her the same name back. C for Carolina and Cuteness. Yep. Perfect.) Okay, I got off topic there. Back to my post. Do you worry about following the "trends" in YA? Find out my thoughts!



Happy Friday, everyone! What did you think of the movie? Or crazy adults who go see it at midnight? (or 12:35 if you want to be really accurate.)

Reminder!

Go check out My Pile of Books today, where my good friend interviewed me about why I write YA, what books inspire me, and more!

So, anyone else going to the midnight showing of HP7 tonight? I know, I know, I'm crazy (as are all of my friends), but it sure is fun! Maybe I'll even post some pictures from our party for your viewing pleasure (horror?) tomorrow. Hmm.... Who else out there just LOVES Harry Potter?

Where in the world...

am I posting next? I have the very great privilege of doing a few different guest posts this week! I'd really love it if you'd check them out:

Today, I am over at the lovely and talented Elle Strauss' blog, discussing the importance of learning to love revisions. Sound like an oxymoron? I promise it's not! Hop on over and see for yourself: click here.

Tomorrow you can check out my interview on My Pile of Books (and become a follower while you're there, it's a great book review blog). Find out why I write YA, and lots more.

Since I am going to be majorly sleep-deprived on Friday (midnight showing/party for HP7 on Thursday night, WOOT!) (Yes, I am an adult, why?), be prepared for quite the Friday Five. I can only imagine what I'll come up with. Anyway, I can't wait to see this movie... please let it be at least CLOSE to as good as the book. Please? Pretty please? Also, I will be talking about trends in YA and whether aspiring authors should try and follow them or not on the fabulous Carolina Valdez Miller's blog, so be sure and check that out on Friday as well! (Luckily that post is already written and will not suffer from my sleep-deprived mind.)

And to close out this rambling post, what books are on your Christmas list this year? I'm trying to come up with mine, and though I already have a loooong list, there's always room for more. So tell me, what books am I missing?

Happy Wednesday!