The End of an Era: What the Flamel Series Means to me

On the eve of the release of The Enchantress, the final book in The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series, I'd like to share some thoughts on what this series has meant to me.

Life long friends

At the request of friends that I met through our love of Harry Potter, I read The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series. At the time I did not know how much one book series would mean to me. Through  my involvement on the fansite, I have worked with and met so many amazing people that I never would have come into contact with if it wasn't for the series. I've traveled across the country and the ocean to meet some of the wonderful people that share my love for the Flamel story. And I've developed life long friendships that I don't know where or who I'd be today without them.

New experiences

Aside from the travel, I've had so many new eye opening experiences that never would have happened if it weren't for this series. I learned so much about myself and that I can really do anything I put my mind to, even if I know nothing about it from the start. I learned to podcast, I learned to edit, I learned to write and I learned to be adventurous.

A fabulous author

If you've ever had the esteemed pleasure of meeting Michael Scott you are truly a lucky person. He is one of the most fun and down to earth people I have ever met, and the fact that he writes amazing books is a huge bonus. He loves his fans and goes above and beyond to interact and answer questions, even if its just a deviously cryptic response that leaves you with more questions than answers. His books leave me with a something not many authors have done, a want and love of reading.

A love of research

This series has introduced me to new places, new mythology and new characters from history. Its sent me to Google, numerous websites and even the library for countless hours in an effort to learn more about the elements from the books. I've tried and tried to get one step ahead of Michael Scott and figure out what could be coming next, but as those that have read the series know, that's impossible because he's always twenty steps ahead of his readers. For the true love of research for the series starts with him, and I've never in my life seen so many people, young and old, find a similar lust for research and fact finding that this series has brought about. 

A love of writing 

The first author I ever heard say "If you want to be a writer you have to be a reader first and foremost" was Michael Scott. He said out of the love of reading you will want to tell your own stories or in some cases think you can do better than the words on the page in front of you. At the time of hearing this I did not know how deeply this statement would affect me. In fact I never had aspirations to be a writer. But because of the Flamel series, I started reading, more than I'd ever read in my life. The more I read, the more ideas started to swirl in my head. And one day those ideas completely took over until before I knew it I was writing. Words became sentences, sentences became paragraphs , paragraphs became chapters and then finally a full on manuscript, and then the realization that I didn't want to stop at just one. I had to write more and more. And then a huge transition in my life, I started calling myself a writer.
 

So after years of following the Flamel story, a huge, enormous thank you Michael Scott for this amazing series and for bringing so many great people together. The words you've created have meant so much to so many people. Congrats on the release of the final book that has been years in the making. I'm looking forward to the next great adventure.

The Tales of a Closet Pantser

If you've been reading this blog you know by now that I'm an engineer and a writer. And if you haven't been reading, why not? Because I'm an engineer, when I write I think very logically and plot through things as they are supposed to happen one thing leading into the next. So recently it has come as a complete shock to me that my current WIP, like a stubborn toddler, downright refuses to be plotted - a phenomenon we writers call pantsing (see it wasn't as dirty as you thought). No matter how much I try to plot my WIP, Orion, my devil muse (who I probably should have named Loki), has been throwing wrenches into my carefully plotted and logical outline. 

This act of throwing tools, sends me into a tailspin of back and forth between the voices in my head. Yes hearing voices is perfectly normal for a writer. I'm not crazy I swear! So starts the intern conflict....

If I change this, it will change the location of that event in my manuscript. Hmmm maybe that's better. But if I leave it as is then I have more tension here. Oooo that's good. BUT if I change it, then I have more tension throughout.... OOOO even better! The evil voices in my head laugh. Yes call me a sadist but I love torturing my main characters.

The problem with changing things though, is that the minute I do, I turn around and see that Orion has bested me by shoving me into a closet and leaving me with my pants around my ankles. CURSE YOU PANTSING! How could you be better than my tried and true carefully thought out and planned outline? How dare you ruin my perfectly fine method! It works or at least it worked until this WIP, that still doesn't have a detailed ending. What's with that Orion? You have some more tools to throw at me? BRING IT! 

Pantsing it is!

*runs off to write*

Note: I am not crazy. I SWEAR!

Finding the Time to Write and Sticking to it!

I like a lot of writers hold a full time job in addition to the writing that I do. So how do I find the time to write? Somewhere in between working forty hours a week, dance class, family, my boyfriend, friends, podcasting, the list goes on and on. There's a million and one reasons that could keep me from writing and sometimes they do, but there's a few things I do to protect my precious little writing time.

Plan ahead.  

I get most of my writing done on the weekends, usually on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. If I know I have a busy weekend coming up I try to block of a time to do some writing and sometimes I have to think weeks out. Likewise if I have a less busy weekend, I ahead of time will block off a larger chunk of time for writing so that I don't schedule things over that time.

Set goals. 

When I block off my time for writing, I also try to set some goals on what I'd like to get done. I'm a very goal oriented person so if I say I'm going to do something, I do my best to do it. Do I always make my goals? No, but there are times where I go above and beyond them and that makes up for it. Goals keep me grounded and when I meet my goals or go beyond them, I feel an extra sense of accomplishment.

I put it on Facebook.  

This may sound a bit silly but those of you that are friends with me on facebook probably see me posting a lot that I'm writing or editing. The reason I do this is twofold. One, if I put it on Facebook, I'm making myself accountable for it. If I say I'm doing it, I better be doing it. Otherwise, I just became a big fat liar to all my Facebook friends. That's a lot of people I'd have to say I'm sorry that I lied to and frankly I just don't have that kind of time. Likewise, if I post that I'm writing and twenty minutes passes and I'm still on Facebook, twitter, Google, whatever, I can say to myself "Hey you just told everyone you were writing you best get to it." It goes back to goal setting a bit. I'm holding myself to my goals and the things I'm saying I'm doing. 

The second reason I post to Facebook is purely motivational. Every time someone likes one of my posts that says I'm editing, or writing or that I wrote x words that day, is one person saying "hey great job!" Everyone needs a cheerleader every now and again and although I may not talk to everyone of my friends in person every day, interacting with them on Facebook gives me that extra boost in confidence and makes me want to write even more. So thanks to every single person that has ever liked one of my posts about writing, it means more to me than you will ever know!

Caving in to temptation... sometimes. 

Sometimes I cave in and do something else, even when I tell myself I'm going to write. I say hey I'd rather be doing..... and then I go do it. I let myself cave because if my heart really isn't in it, I'm not going to produce my best work or give it my full attention. I also cave because it feels like I'm being naughty, like eating that cookie when you know you really shouldn't. It feels a bit like a bonus reward! I like writing don't get me wrong but like your day job sometimes you just need some time off. So if your head really isn't in it, take a break for the day. That said, when I let myself have a break, I only allow one break. The next scheduled writing time, I sit down at my computer and get stuff done. No matter how much my brain says hey let's go do something else I can then say, "You know I skipped out on writing the last time and now I need to get down to business." Guilt trip and writing all in one fellow swoop!

So those are some of my tips and tricks to protecting my writing time and sticking to it. What tricks do other people use?

My First Writer's Conference

This past weekend I attended my first ever writer's conference here in town, The Missouri Writer's Guild Conference Write Time, Write Place, Write Now. Going in I expected it to be completely overwhelming, but I was not prepared for the amount of emotion I was surrounded by. The conference ended up being terrifying, exciting, and inspirational all at the same time.

Friday night started with agents reading through the slushpile. I watched in awe and horror as five agents listened to the first page or two of people's work and decided within just a few short paragraphs what work they might consider wanting to see more of. They explained why piece after piece they would probably reject and sometimes this occurred after a few short sentences. Prologues are bad, too much dialogue early on is bad, not opening with the right scene is bad... bad, bad, bad. As I watched each of the five agents take turns gong showing the first pages and essentially squashing dreams, I started to realize how subjective writing really is. When you query an agent, editor, or publishing house the chance of them saying yes is slim. It's essentially one part doing your homework - query the right agents who want what you have to offer, writing a good synopsis/query letter, and putting your best work forward - and nine parts luck. I say nine parts luck because ideally what you are looking for is the one agent/editor/publishing house that loves your work as much as you do, and takes that love of your manuscript and gets it published. Finding that passion can be hard because even though your work may be flawless and technically correct in every manner, you still need someone to connect with your work on a deep level. This experience really jump started my thinking.

By the time Saturday seminars rolled around, I was losing the zest and excitement for writing. It was somewhere between learning how to write synopsis of varying lengths and hearing how to look for red flags on the first page that things suddenly got hugely real for me. Getting published is not only hard work (which I knew prior to this conference), its downright insanity. With the deck stacked so far against you, the odds of succeeding are like finding a twelve of hearts in a deck of cards. I began to wonder if I was nuts for thinking I could do this. Was this really what I wanted? I'd shelled out quite a bit of money to attend this conference. I've spent countless hours writing, editing and seeking out critiques. I joined the local writer's guild. All testaments to how serious I am about writing. So I'm doing all the right things and learning a lot but it is enough? Does it even matter when the odds seem impossible? What the hell was I thinking?

As the crazy began to overwhelm my thoughts and I felt a hollow shell forming where writing used to sit inside me, something amazing and unexpected happened during my last session of the day. As I sat listening to Christie Craig discuss how to add humor to your writing, my mind wandered to how I needed to head home and let my dog out. I was about five minutes from walking out early when the most amazing thing happened. Looking back it was one of those defining, prospective setting moments.

Christie pulled out a manilla envelope stuffed full of crinkled paper. Slowly she pulled a few from the envelope and said I want to end with this. "Rejection hurts." She dropped the letters into a suitcase on the floor and pulled out a few more from the envelope. "Its a part of writing. People don't believe me when I say that I've received over ten thousand rejections." She continued pulling out letters and letting them fall into the suitcase. She talked on while dumping more and more letters into the suitcase. "But you have to know its not a reflection of who you are as a person. And you have to decide whether or not your are going to let these rejections define you." She picked up a half sheet of paper off the floor and said "and this one, it really pissed me off because they couldn't even reject me on a whole sheet of paper." And then continued to fill the suitcase. When she emptied the envelope she reached underneath the pile of rejection letters and pulled out a second envelop and continued on filling it. "So when do you decide to quit? After one hundred rejections? two hundred? a thousand?" The suitcase was nearly over flowing with rejection letters at this point. "Because if a girl like me, with a tenth grade education can write books and get published and make the NY times best seller list you can too. You are in control of you dreams. So go out there and make your work the best it can be and keep pursuing your goals. Never give up."

In that moment I remembered why I was doing this. Writing came unexpectedly into my life but its something I love to do. I want to be published one day and that dream is enough. The shear fact that I want this and I'm going to do what it takes to get it is more than enough.

On Sunday more as I sat through Christie's master class on POV, I learned two things. One I finally understand POV, its taken a year and a half of struggling but she explained it in a way that made perfect sense. And two, as I watched her fill the suitcase a second time and recite her speech again, there was no doubt in my mind. I am going to find my twelve of hearts even if it means getting creative, because I want to be a writer!

Battling Writer's Block

We all have those times where we sit down to write and things just don't work out. We don't know what to say or we are stuck on a plot point or a character issue. But its how we deal with those times that help define us as writers.

Diagnose the problem
Figure out whats keeping you from writing and try to fix it. I know easier said than done in some cases, but if we know what's bothering us then sometimes we can come up with a solution and move on. Although other times the issue is bigger and we need time to clear our heads and really work through a solution. Its in those times that I really define myself as a writer. However, its almost always not in the way I expect. Its when I'm stuck on one problem, that a new idea usually presents itself. More often than not its completely unrelated but its exactly the distraction I need. It gets me going on something else and allows for my subconscious to deal with the issue behind the scenes. When the right solution presents itself, it bursts through loud and clear. Although, don't always expect a quick fix, sometimes the right answer can take days, weeks or even months.

Take a break
If its not working, don't force it. Usually a little distance helps the juices start flowing again. And when you take a break don't let your mind worry about the time you are "wasting". You aren't, in fact "wasting" any time, you are resting your mind. Only when your mind gets a true break, can it naturally flow back to the world of writing and the story you are telling.

Talk it out
The expression two heads are better than one holds true with writing. Writing is not a solo sport as much as a lot of people would like to believe. Talk through your issue with someone else. Sometimes the other person doesn't even have to say anything, and just hearing yourself talk through the plot or the characters presents the right answer. Other times its something the other person says that sparks an idea or possible solution. Don't keep your writing to yourself. It's okay to get help!

Stay positive
A positive attitude goes a long long way. Keeping your spirits up and being excited about your writing causes a chain effect. One good idea can start a spark and one spark is all it takes to cause a wildfire. Run with the ideas, get excited about them and keep writing.

Do what you need to do to keep moving forward
If you need validation get it, but do realize seeking criticism is a two way street. Not everyone is going to like everything you write and that's okay. Criticism will usually be constructive. Odds are you have a good idea but you may need help with execution, description, character development, point of view, you name it. No one is perfect and writers all need help with something. So don't beat yourself up over the criticism, use it as a guide to improve

Find inspiration wherever you can
Read the news or blogs, watch TV, read books, people watch. Whatever it takes. You never know where your next big idea is lurking. So if you're sitting around staring at your blank computer screen waiting for inspiration, odds are its not going to strike. Get out there and live your life, inspiration will find you.

The law of averages
Yes I'm an engineer and yes that sounds like math but its not entirely. I swear it applies to writing. So you had a bad day you only wrote five hundred words, or maybe two hundred or maybe even just one hundred. Or maybe you only wrote one single word. Hey you wrote something and that's more than you had yesterday. Don't sweat it though, because remember that day last week when you wrote two thousand? Or maybe tomorrow you'll have your best writing day yet. Tomorrow is always a new day and you never know what it might bring you. So if you only wrote five words today, at some point it will balance out with the thousands you write another day. Not everyday can give you the word count you hoped for. Some writing days are like Mondays and others are like Fridays. Take each day as it comes and let the numbers fall where they do. It all averages out in the end.

Don't let yourself get hung up on the right wording
The right words come but not always when you are writing a first draft. Don't let this stop your flow. If the right word or phrasing isn't coming, try a thesaurus. If you cant find it quickly, write down what you have and move on. Don't waste precious writing time on looking for the perfect phrase. You'll never find it that way. Wait until editing. You never know that sentence you spent hours trying to make perfect, might just get thrown out later. So don't sweat the details early on.

Whatever it is that's causing you to struggle with your writing, don't let it define you or take over. Take a deep breath, stare the beast in the eyes and tell it "you don't own me." Then go out there and have fun with it. We write because we feel. If nothing else turn this horrible experience into a small writing piece. Who knows one day you may look back at that piece you wrote at your low point and smile at how far you've come.

The Hunger Games: A Perfect Example of How to Effectively Adapt a Book to Movie

Screenwriters, producers, directors, and actors take note, The Hunger Games is exactly how you execute a book to movie adaptation. Were scenes added, things removed, details change? Of course, but it was the exact right blend of those things that made The Hunger Games as a movie such a fantastic adaptation. This is really saying something when you go from inside the head of one character in the book to an outsider perspective in the movie. It's even more powerful when you do this in such a way that anyone including fans of the series and those unfamiliar can understand and fall in love with the story and the characters.

The world The Hunger Games exists in, was built and put to life on the screen in spectacular fashion. The premise and the stakes were clear from the instant the film began and the juxtaposition between The Capital and District 12 was evident right off the bat. It was abundantly clear that The Capital had it all and the districts had nothing.

The right pacing. The story moved and didn't have any extra fluff. They got in all the essentials, told the story and moved on to the next important piece of the puzzle. There were no extraneous scenes and nothing felt out of place. The flow was spot on.

The Additions. The added scenes with Seneca Crane and President Snow not only set the stage for the first movie but also the entire series. They were effective in showing the iron fist with which President Snow rules and controls the twelve districts. The scenes with Caesar Flickerman showed that The Hunger Games above all else is a sport and for the sole entertainment of others, not just a reminder of the past. The control room scenes illustrated that no matter what the tributes did, the gamemaker was still pulling the strings. Finally the scene between Seneca and Haymitch proved the importance of the ideology - if things don't go according to plan you fix it so it does, because if you don't the wildfire gets out of control. All groundwork set forth for the second installment Catching Fire.

Casting. I'll admit I had some reservations about some of the casting. However after seeing the movie, I 100% agree with every single casting decision made. The actors did an amazing job bringing their characters to life and I couldn't have imagined it better myself. In some cases such as Haymitch, I actually enjoyed the movie portrayal better than the book. And that is really saying something.

With that I say a huge thank you to every single person involved in bringing The Hunger Games to life. I've never been so impressed with a book to movie adaptation. It was exactly what I hoped for and you've made fans extremely happy. Thank you for proving that even though nothing can replace the imagination generated from a good book, movies representing the characters and worlds from books can be done right. The odds are certainly in your favor for future adaptations in the series!

And the winners are....

Thanks to all who entered my first blog contest!

Three people won Starters bookmarks signed by Lissa Price.

Kerry
Priya
Ishita aka Fishy

And the winner of the signed bookmark plus a copy of Starters is ....

Rhee!

Congrats to all the winners, I emailed you, please send me your mailing addresses and I will send out your prizes!

Enjoy!

Starters Review + Giveaway

I had the pleasure of reading an Arc of Lissa Price's Starters, and in addition to the following review I will be hosting my very first giveaway! **Squees with excitement** Giveaway details below.
Callie Woodland is a sixteen year old Starter living in a dystopian version of Los Angelos. Her world has been ravaged by the Spore Wars. Only the very young and the very old were inoculated against it. Those between the ages of twenty and sixty died when the spores were released. Starters unclaimed by Ender relatives were forced to the streets unable to work or make money to survive - until Prime Destinations.

Prime Destinations is a secretive company that allows Starters to work by renting out their bodies to Enders who want to feel young again. The Starters go to sleep for a period of time and wake up much richer.

Starving on the street and with a sick younger brother Tyler, Callie inquires at Prime Destinations and ultimately decides to become a donor. Things seem to be going well, until she wakes up at a nightclub in the middle of one of her rentals. She quickly finds something is wrong with her chip. The discovery sends her on a journey that causes her to question her actions and everything she knows. She risks her life to try to uncover a much larger and more sinister plot

From the moment I heard about Starters, I knew I wanted to get my hands on this book. It definitely did not disappoint. It reminded me a bit of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse in premise but there are only a few similarities. The book was exciting, hard to put down, and left me guessing what the next surprise would be at every turn of events.

I loved Callie's character and strength throughout her journey. She changed nearly every person's life she touched. Despite having to make difficult choices, she stuck to her beliefs along the way.

Starters is an eery and twisting ride that takes a deep look at human behavior. As adults we all want to be young again but at what cost? The story makes you take a deep look inside and wonder about the choices we make and the costs we may not have considered. Starters had me squirming in places wondering if people could really be that cruel for their own benefit. And it ultimately forces the question, if you were in Callie's situation what would you have done?

Starters debuts Tuesday, March 13 and I highly recommend you check it out! An e-short entitled Portrait of a Starter: An Unhidden Story is available now and also well worth a read. It sets the stage for the story that unfolds in Starters. For more information about Starters, to see the book trailer or read an excerpt visit http://www.randomhouse.com/teens/starters/ . For more on author Lissa Price visit her website http://www.lissaprice.com/ .
I'm definitely looking forward to two more upcoming e-shorts and the second book Enders!

And now for the giveaway! One winner will receive a copy of Starters plus a bookmark signed by Lissa Price. Three other winners will receive signed bookmarks. All you have to do to enter is follow my blog and leave a comment below answering the question, if you were an unclaimed Starter, would you go work for Prime Destinations or would you find another way to survive? Don't forget to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win. If you tweet/facebook/blog etc. about the giveaway you'll get an extra entry, just be sure to leave a link as proof.

Contest ends midnight CST Monday, March 19, 2012. International entries welcome!

Turning 30!

Today I turned the big 3-0, an age that has always seemed downright terrifying to me. When you are little, thirty sounds so old but now that I've arrived its not so bad. In fact its pretty great!

I've done many things in my life so far to be proud of. Went to school, became a Bat Mitzvah, passed my drivers test, got good grades, graduated high school, got into college, graduated from Purdue with a degree in Aerospace Engineering, received a masters from Wash U, got my first full time job, got a promotion, and wrote a book. To name a few. ;)

I've been fortunate enough to travel quite a bit both inside the US and to places like Israel, England, France, Spain, Italy, Andorra, and Monaco. I've seen many beautiful and fantastic places that words could not do justice to.

I have the best friends and family in the world. They are supportive, loving and caring and I wouldn't be where I am today if not for their presence in my life.

I've also filled many roles in my thirty years. Swimmer, dancer, engineer, podcaster, sister, daughter, cousin, granddaughter, girlfriend, sorority girl, spacecadet, reader, and writer. The list goes on and on. Many of these roles have stuck, others I've moved on from. Regardless of the role, each of these has in some way shaped who I am today.

After my sum of thirty years of experiences, I'm starting to learn that I'm a strong, smart, independent woman. I'm discovering who I am as a person and shaping my life for who I want to become. And although I certainly dont have all the answers, in thirty years I have laid a great groundwork for the next thirty years and beyond.

There are many things I still want to do in my life. More travel, publish a book, get married, start a family etc. I'm ready for those things and look forward to them because of the person I've become.

My life has had its ups and downs, but I am determined to make thirty a great year. Getting old isn't most people's idea of fun, but there are reasons to look forward to it. The more you age the more experiences you have to help mold even better ones in the future. I have so many things still to look forward to, and I intended to look age in the face and laugh. Thirty is a fabulous age, and I'm sure it will be a fantastic year!

The Edit Monster!

I spend a lot of time editing. Editing podcasts and editing the first draft of my manuscript. These are both very different kinds of editing, but editing nonetheless. For podcasts I used to call myself the edit monkey. Mainly because it got to the point where it felt like a task a trained monkey could do. So naturally when I started editing my novel I said the same thing.

BOY WAS I WRONG!

The edit monkey has transformed into a full blown edit monster! Once I start, I can't stop myself. Even if I'm not editing my manuscript, I want to edit everything in sight, including bad grammar, spelling and typos on twitter, friends facebook posts and anywhere else I look. My mind has become hypersensitive to things that need to be edited! Its become a sickness. I've physically had to stop myself from replying to posts on facebook to correct grammar or retweeting twitter posts without typos! And don't even get me started on people's bad grammar when having a conversation. YIKES!

The edit monster has hijacked my life! I will try my best to refrain from correcting other's posts, tweets, work etc. Hopefully the edit monster will crawl back into his dirty little cave soon. But not too soon I still have a book to edit ;)

*image from http://writingspectacle.blogspot.com/2011/11/using-editminion-to-your-advantage.html