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Writing Notes on Brilliant Legacy
Oct. 26th, 2016 10:01 amSo I'm gearing up for Nano (I don't do it by the rules, I just use the momentum to make progress on an existing WIP). Since moving in August and also finishing up a project, I've been doing the refill-the-well bingeing that seems to be necessary between projects and large moves. It's also writing education, and I need it. Right now I'm finishing up a drama from 2009 called Brilliant Legacy (or Shining Inheritance, depending on how you translate it). Among others, it stars Han Hyo Joo, whose work I really like. I keep stopping to take notes on the show, because it's really well written, and I think it does a number of things well that are useful to study if you're trying to push your book into something more. A brief summary:
Eun Sung (Han Hyo Joo) comes home to Korea from studying in NYC to find that her father's company has gone bankrupt. As they are starting the bankruptcy procedures, her father is reported as a victim in a gas explosion. He leaves behind his wife, her daughter from another marriage (Seung Mi, who is the same age as Eun Sung), Eun Sung, and autistic younger brother Eun Woo (they are both from his first marriage). Claiming she has no money left, the stepmother immediately kicks Eun Sung and Eun Woo out of the house. She gives them money (which is stolen the first night), and they are left on their own. It's hard to find a place to live with an autistic brother, but they finally find shelter with a friend, and Eun Sung goes to work serving tables at a bar. While she's at work, Eun Woo wanders off and gets lost. Stepmother finds him, but drives him out of town and dumps him outside a house without telling anyone. Eun Sung starts selling street food in an attempt to survive.
Meanwhile, enter the halmoni, a grandmother who was once poor who built up a restaurant company and still gives back to the poor. She's disturbed to realize that her family loves money and only money. She goes out on the street to ponder what to do, and ends up falling down some stairs. Eun Sung finds her and brings her home to take care of her until her memory returns/she recovers. When she does, she is so impressed with Eun Sung's care that she brings her home, promising to set detectives on the loose to look for her brother. And, she changes her will. She disinherits her family and her grandson Hwan (a lazy, grouchy dude who Seung Mi likes because he's actually nice to her)--and writes in Eun Sung, instead. As you can imagine, tension ensues. Whether it's for money or love, everyone wants to drive Eun Sung out of there, and the one thing holding her in to the situation is finding her brother. It's good.
1. Characters have complete lives and personalities even before the plot starts. The main character, Eun Sung, has actual friends. She has skills and life plans. She wasn't just a void waiting for a plot to fall out of the sky. She was a person, and then a plot came along that complicated an already well-developed life. This is something that is hard to pull off, and also hard to explain when critiquing. Your reader needs to feel like the characters still exist, even when the book is closed.
2. Family relationships are just really well done here. It's kind of part of #1, I guess, but I think it deserves special mention. Families are complex, and I feel like this really goes through all different kinds of tensions and ties that can run through them. I especially enjoyed the noona-dongsaeng (older sister/younger brother) relationship between Eun Sung and her autistic brother Eun Woo. It came across as very natural and loving. (Noonas are important in Korean culture, apparently. I like it because I have girls who also look out for their younger brother, and it's nice to see that recognized.)
3. Stakes. This is one of those kind of plots where it all comes out of the characters. The writer came up with all the stakes/desires/breaking points of each character, then wound them up and let them loose on the table, and watched them crash into each other. Each character has something/someone they'd sacrifice anything for. It's both their strong point, and their weak spot, because other characters can manipulate them through that. Eun Sung's is her brother. Her stepsister Seung Mi's is Hwan, the boy she's liked for 8 years. The stepmother's is money. Some of the characters have multiple values, and what they ultimately stake their lives on might not be what other characters expect.
4. Character growth. The character of Hwan is pretty unlikable at the beginning, and of course he is supposed to grow and learn to be a much more decent person by the end. However, it is a process for him to get there. The thing that keeps the viewer from hating him and makes you want to stick with him is that early on, you see a couple instances of his potential. Yes, yes, it's Save the Cat stuff, but it's handled in a believable way. You see some backstory of some kind things he did before the plot started, and you also see him affected by tragedies of others--which echo difficult things that have happened to him. He doesn't show that empathy for a long time to others, but as a viewer, you see it, so you are convinced. That's what you have to do in writing, too. Even if the other characters don't see it yet, you've got to somehow convince the reader that this character is worth sticking around for. (In writing, though, I think you have to make that claim even earlier than in a drama.) You don't necessarily have to show the silver lining to the other characters, but I do think you have to show the reader.
5. Mirroring similar characters who choose different paths. I really like mirroring; it underlines thematic and character elements so well. Multiple times, you have characters whose setups are similar, but they make vastly different kinds of choices, and create themselves into very different kinds of people by the end.
6. The antagonists are strong. Actually, the writer scares me a little, because I would have maxed out long ago on how to up the ante with the stepmother. Every time Eun Sung makes a move, you think, whew, the girl finally found a way to best her stepmother once and for all. And then...the stepmother finds yet another way to twist the knife and cover her sins. The stepsister, Seung Mi, is a very pitiable character. She's caught with very little choice in the matter, as she's wholly dependent on her mother, and the only other person she has is Hwan, who is falling for Eun Sung. Seung Mi tells the truth 95% of the time, so people believe her--and then she distorts the other 5% because she doesn't want to lose the only thing she has. I'm hoping she comes out with a conscience, but...I don't know yet.
I realize not many people are on LJ anymore, but I just need a place to stick my notes. It's just really useful to study what another book does well, and to take it apart and figure out how they did that.
Eun Sung (Han Hyo Joo) comes home to Korea from studying in NYC to find that her father's company has gone bankrupt. As they are starting the bankruptcy procedures, her father is reported as a victim in a gas explosion. He leaves behind his wife, her daughter from another marriage (Seung Mi, who is the same age as Eun Sung), Eun Sung, and autistic younger brother Eun Woo (they are both from his first marriage). Claiming she has no money left, the stepmother immediately kicks Eun Sung and Eun Woo out of the house. She gives them money (which is stolen the first night), and they are left on their own. It's hard to find a place to live with an autistic brother, but they finally find shelter with a friend, and Eun Sung goes to work serving tables at a bar. While she's at work, Eun Woo wanders off and gets lost. Stepmother finds him, but drives him out of town and dumps him outside a house without telling anyone. Eun Sung starts selling street food in an attempt to survive.
Meanwhile, enter the halmoni, a grandmother who was once poor who built up a restaurant company and still gives back to the poor. She's disturbed to realize that her family loves money and only money. She goes out on the street to ponder what to do, and ends up falling down some stairs. Eun Sung finds her and brings her home to take care of her until her memory returns/she recovers. When she does, she is so impressed with Eun Sung's care that she brings her home, promising to set detectives on the loose to look for her brother. And, she changes her will. She disinherits her family and her grandson Hwan (a lazy, grouchy dude who Seung Mi likes because he's actually nice to her)--and writes in Eun Sung, instead. As you can imagine, tension ensues. Whether it's for money or love, everyone wants to drive Eun Sung out of there, and the one thing holding her in to the situation is finding her brother. It's good.
1. Characters have complete lives and personalities even before the plot starts. The main character, Eun Sung, has actual friends. She has skills and life plans. She wasn't just a void waiting for a plot to fall out of the sky. She was a person, and then a plot came along that complicated an already well-developed life. This is something that is hard to pull off, and also hard to explain when critiquing. Your reader needs to feel like the characters still exist, even when the book is closed.
2. Family relationships are just really well done here. It's kind of part of #1, I guess, but I think it deserves special mention. Families are complex, and I feel like this really goes through all different kinds of tensions and ties that can run through them. I especially enjoyed the noona-dongsaeng (older sister/younger brother) relationship between Eun Sung and her autistic brother Eun Woo. It came across as very natural and loving. (Noonas are important in Korean culture, apparently. I like it because I have girls who also look out for their younger brother, and it's nice to see that recognized.)
3. Stakes. This is one of those kind of plots where it all comes out of the characters. The writer came up with all the stakes/desires/breaking points of each character, then wound them up and let them loose on the table, and watched them crash into each other. Each character has something/someone they'd sacrifice anything for. It's both their strong point, and their weak spot, because other characters can manipulate them through that. Eun Sung's is her brother. Her stepsister Seung Mi's is Hwan, the boy she's liked for 8 years. The stepmother's is money. Some of the characters have multiple values, and what they ultimately stake their lives on might not be what other characters expect.
4. Character growth. The character of Hwan is pretty unlikable at the beginning, and of course he is supposed to grow and learn to be a much more decent person by the end. However, it is a process for him to get there. The thing that keeps the viewer from hating him and makes you want to stick with him is that early on, you see a couple instances of his potential. Yes, yes, it's Save the Cat stuff, but it's handled in a believable way. You see some backstory of some kind things he did before the plot started, and you also see him affected by tragedies of others--which echo difficult things that have happened to him. He doesn't show that empathy for a long time to others, but as a viewer, you see it, so you are convinced. That's what you have to do in writing, too. Even if the other characters don't see it yet, you've got to somehow convince the reader that this character is worth sticking around for. (In writing, though, I think you have to make that claim even earlier than in a drama.) You don't necessarily have to show the silver lining to the other characters, but I do think you have to show the reader.
5. Mirroring similar characters who choose different paths. I really like mirroring; it underlines thematic and character elements so well. Multiple times, you have characters whose setups are similar, but they make vastly different kinds of choices, and create themselves into very different kinds of people by the end.
6. The antagonists are strong. Actually, the writer scares me a little, because I would have maxed out long ago on how to up the ante with the stepmother. Every time Eun Sung makes a move, you think, whew, the girl finally found a way to best her stepmother once and for all. And then...the stepmother finds yet another way to twist the knife and cover her sins. The stepsister, Seung Mi, is a very pitiable character. She's caught with very little choice in the matter, as she's wholly dependent on her mother, and the only other person she has is Hwan, who is falling for Eun Sung. Seung Mi tells the truth 95% of the time, so people believe her--and then she distorts the other 5% because she doesn't want to lose the only thing she has. I'm hoping she comes out with a conscience, but...I don't know yet.
I realize not many people are on LJ anymore, but I just need a place to stick my notes. It's just really useful to study what another book does well, and to take it apart and figure out how they did that.
Well, I have to say that after years of resisting, I will concede that my sister is right, and Korean dramas are way better than I expected them to be. In fact, they are very much like books (much more so than movies), with 16-20 episodes or so (that's a full hour for an episode), which allows for a ton more plot and character development than any two-hour movie. Unlike American TV, which seems to run on slice of life events until the viewing public gets bored and the show gets canceled, kdramas run for a set number of episodes, with an actual plotline and climax and everything planned out. Given that I don't know much Korean at this point, yes, I need the subtitles, which means I really am reading the thing. It's fun to see entertainment from another culture and it's also a pleasant surprise that their way of storytelling is so satisfying to an American viewer. (Japanese storytelling is very different, much more slice of life and looser than what I generally find satisfying.) It is especially interesting to watch these as a writer, and it's made me think a lot about narrative techniques. I've seen bits and pieces of various shows now, but there are four that I watched back to back that if they were books would definitely be on my shelf of favorites:
1. W--Two Worlds. My first and favorite thus far. Even if it isn't perfect (I felt like a particular main character was underused in the ending), it did a great job of having an exciting plotline, very likable characters, a real heroine who actually DOES something, humor, really heartwrenching sadness, strong chemistry between all of the characters in multiple directions, and a meta level of discussion of good writing and also beautiful illustration. Great use of repetition to show character development, too. About a webcomic artist, his character who comes alive and starts to resist the storyline, the artist's subsequent freakout and attempt to end it, and the artist's daughter who goes into the comic to save the life of the main character. Like I said, it was my first one, and pretty mindblowing. I see from the making-of documentary that all of the comics that show up in the show were actually drawn. If you took apart my brain to come up with the perfect story I never knew I wanted, this would be it.
2. Pinocchio. The title refers to truth-telling, not dolls that come alive. This one has so many personal stakes in it that you can hardly move without setting them off like dominoes. The central theme is truth versus loyalty. It's about a kid whose family was destroyed by the media after his fire chief father led his team into a burning warehouse that exploded and killed all of the firefighters. His father was blamed and his family hounded in the father's absence until the brother disappears and the mom kills herself. He grows up to be a rookie reporter in spite of this, meeting up again with the reporter who wrecked his life. However, she's also the mother of the girl he likes. And when he learns some things about his family, he finds loyalty and truth in direct conflict with each other. The family he grows up with (especially the grandfather who adopts him) are wonderful. There is also a great soundtrack! This is a good one to study stakes.
3. I Hear Your Voice. This is by the same writer (with several of the same actors) as Pinocchio, only it's a thriller (plus ESP--the main character can read minds). Park Soo Ha was just a kid when his dad was murdered by a crazy man leaping out of a truck at them. His life was saved and his story of murder, not accident, corroborated when a girl passing on the sidewalk takes a photo with her cell phone and has the courage to stand in court and testify. The murderer is sent to jail, but not before promising to find that girl and kill her when he gets out. Fast forward 10 years. Soo Ha has been preparing for the day that this guy gets out of jail so he can protect his protector. The girl is now a prosecutor, and sure enough, the murderer comes for them. It's a great story of choices over circumstances, self control over vengeance, overcoming your personal demons, and even learning to understand the stories of others who may be adversaries. All of the character arcs are very well followed-through.
4. Master's Sun. This one starts out really strangely, almost horror. It's about a girl who can barely crawl out of her house because she's so scared of all of the ghosts who keep popping out of nowhere, wanting her to take messages to the living for them. Visually they are really CREEPY at the beginning, and I almost gave up, but I'm glad I didn't. Don't let the creepy faces get to you! Anyway, she runs into the one person whose presence dispels the ghosts, giving her relief. Unfortunately, he's not very nice. He's the CEO of a huge shopping mall, and loves money and only money. He doesn't believe in anything he can't see, and he doesn't care about people at all. And she is not only a person, but just a really strange person! Of course you can imagine the plot trajectory, with him developing faith in the unseen and learning to be a kinder, more decent person, and her learning to have self control and embrace the ghosts around her. What I thought was so awesome about this one (besides the obvious humor and setup) is the fact that while the characters grow, they don't turn into different people entirely. I get tired of the ugly duckling, American movie style, where all the girl needs is a better wardrobe and makeup, and magically she's turned into someone else and now she's the it girl, etc. In this (or rather, these--I see it in other dramas, too), they don't so much turn into some nameless perfect character as simply become their best selves. So Tae Gong Shil is still a little offbeat--but she becomes confident. Mr. CEO still loves the business of making money at the end--but he's become a much better person, too. Also. The show is FUNNY.
If you like kdramas, are there any you would suggest? If you have never watched them, I would have to say I recommend them! There are all different kinds (historical--called saeguks, which often take place in the Joseon era, with a lot of cool costumes--, thrillers, medical ones, sci fi, ordinary romantic comedies, etc.), so if you try one and don't like it, there are always other kinds. In the meantime, we've started learning Korean at our house so that when it's the last episode and we can't wait for subtitles, we can watch it raw. Besides, with that volume of language input, it's almost criminal NOT to study it. If we had that amount of access to family-friendly German shows, our kids would all still be fluent.
1. W--Two Worlds. My first and favorite thus far. Even if it isn't perfect (I felt like a particular main character was underused in the ending), it did a great job of having an exciting plotline, very likable characters, a real heroine who actually DOES something, humor, really heartwrenching sadness, strong chemistry between all of the characters in multiple directions, and a meta level of discussion of good writing and also beautiful illustration. Great use of repetition to show character development, too. About a webcomic artist, his character who comes alive and starts to resist the storyline, the artist's subsequent freakout and attempt to end it, and the artist's daughter who goes into the comic to save the life of the main character. Like I said, it was my first one, and pretty mindblowing. I see from the making-of documentary that all of the comics that show up in the show were actually drawn. If you took apart my brain to come up with the perfect story I never knew I wanted, this would be it.
2. Pinocchio. The title refers to truth-telling, not dolls that come alive. This one has so many personal stakes in it that you can hardly move without setting them off like dominoes. The central theme is truth versus loyalty. It's about a kid whose family was destroyed by the media after his fire chief father led his team into a burning warehouse that exploded and killed all of the firefighters. His father was blamed and his family hounded in the father's absence until the brother disappears and the mom kills herself. He grows up to be a rookie reporter in spite of this, meeting up again with the reporter who wrecked his life. However, she's also the mother of the girl he likes. And when he learns some things about his family, he finds loyalty and truth in direct conflict with each other. The family he grows up with (especially the grandfather who adopts him) are wonderful. There is also a great soundtrack! This is a good one to study stakes.
3. I Hear Your Voice. This is by the same writer (with several of the same actors) as Pinocchio, only it's a thriller (plus ESP--the main character can read minds). Park Soo Ha was just a kid when his dad was murdered by a crazy man leaping out of a truck at them. His life was saved and his story of murder, not accident, corroborated when a girl passing on the sidewalk takes a photo with her cell phone and has the courage to stand in court and testify. The murderer is sent to jail, but not before promising to find that girl and kill her when he gets out. Fast forward 10 years. Soo Ha has been preparing for the day that this guy gets out of jail so he can protect his protector. The girl is now a prosecutor, and sure enough, the murderer comes for them. It's a great story of choices over circumstances, self control over vengeance, overcoming your personal demons, and even learning to understand the stories of others who may be adversaries. All of the character arcs are very well followed-through.
4. Master's Sun. This one starts out really strangely, almost horror. It's about a girl who can barely crawl out of her house because she's so scared of all of the ghosts who keep popping out of nowhere, wanting her to take messages to the living for them. Visually they are really CREEPY at the beginning, and I almost gave up, but I'm glad I didn't. Don't let the creepy faces get to you! Anyway, she runs into the one person whose presence dispels the ghosts, giving her relief. Unfortunately, he's not very nice. He's the CEO of a huge shopping mall, and loves money and only money. He doesn't believe in anything he can't see, and he doesn't care about people at all. And she is not only a person, but just a really strange person! Of course you can imagine the plot trajectory, with him developing faith in the unseen and learning to be a kinder, more decent person, and her learning to have self control and embrace the ghosts around her. What I thought was so awesome about this one (besides the obvious humor and setup) is the fact that while the characters grow, they don't turn into different people entirely. I get tired of the ugly duckling, American movie style, where all the girl needs is a better wardrobe and makeup, and magically she's turned into someone else and now she's the it girl, etc. In this (or rather, these--I see it in other dramas, too), they don't so much turn into some nameless perfect character as simply become their best selves. So Tae Gong Shil is still a little offbeat--but she becomes confident. Mr. CEO still loves the business of making money at the end--but he's become a much better person, too. Also. The show is FUNNY.
If you like kdramas, are there any you would suggest? If you have never watched them, I would have to say I recommend them! There are all different kinds (historical--called saeguks, which often take place in the Joseon era, with a lot of cool costumes--, thrillers, medical ones, sci fi, ordinary romantic comedies, etc.), so if you try one and don't like it, there are always other kinds. In the meantime, we've started learning Korean at our house so that when it's the last episode and we can't wait for subtitles, we can watch it raw. Besides, with that volume of language input, it's almost criminal NOT to study it. If we had that amount of access to family-friendly German shows, our kids would all still be fluent.
Favorite types of books
Sep. 3rd, 2016 08:23 amAhh, do you ever just think about your favorite kinds of books and just despair because you realize your own stuff just falls flat? And yet, it's probably good to think about what works. I just finished revising a book and am now scouting around my WIPs to see what I will finish next, and how to blow it out of the water. So, here are some thoughts right now about what makes a book really go off the charts for me:
- Makes you feeeeeeeeel. This is the single most important element. If everything else is cool but it doesn’t make you feel, it strikes out.
- Makes you think. It has got to have a good plot that is logical and fits in retrospect, yet isn’t see-through and predictable as you go in.
- Early clues planted that have large plot payoff later on. Payoff, payoff, payoff! I love seeing weaknesses turn into The Solution. I love seeing casual background scenery come off the walls and effect major turning points. I love seeing characters we thought were not so important turn out to be. I love adding just a touch more information about someone/a situation that shifts the entire way you see it. It's like laying out all of the pieces of a circuit and then plugging it in.That lightbulb moment of awesome.
- Sacrifice. Characters have to sacrifice something they want for the benefit of someone they love.
- Well, love. All kinds—romantic, family, kindness. It’s the thing that holds the entire universe together, so yeah, it all sorta boils down to this one golden truth. People will make great sacrifices and effect great growth for love more than anything else. True love (of whatever sort) contributes to happiness.
- Therefore, you need some pretty big obstacles. You need a longing for some core principle (ie love or something comparable) that your reader can totally buy into—and then you make it impossible to actually get. (Uhh…and then as writer, you HAVE to find a way to it. The more twists and turns along the way, though, the better.)
- All of this means tons of character growth. It can't just be suffering. It has to be worth something in the end--to make the character more than they were at the start.
- The more serious stuff/core nerves you touch, the more you need to ensure some humor to balance out. This not only gives the reader a break, but it also provides a foil to the tension. If it is all tension all the time, the events start to cease to have impact/meaning. There are books with too much tension and not enough relief where I've actually set them down and walked away because it was like trying to eat straight horseradish. You need balance.
- More true heroines, please. Like, not just a hero and a love interest (or vice versa). I didn't realize until watching W how nice it is to see a female lead be heroic without having to be an assassin or reject all human connections. Just an ordinary girl doing extraordinary things, being smart, using her resources, and making intelligent sacrifices. I want the girl and guy to complement each other and be equally awesome together. I can't think of too many stories that fully pull this off. Maybe The Blue Sword?
- Characters need to feel fully grounded. You do this by adding in mundane, ordinary details as they walk through the world. You can’t take up too much time with them, but you need the reader to feel like they have a life outside what is immediate proscribed by the plot. Example: Do Yoon in W. He barely has any lines. But you know he used to do martial arts and trained Kang Chul. You can tell they’re best friends because of the way he keeps confidences, even when they don’t make sense, and by how he questions Chul. Or, attention to everyday details that sometimes heroes don’t seem to have to deal with in stories—like Yeon Joo realizing after being a couple weeks in the manhwa world that she is getting whiffy and really needs a shower. These real-world grounding details can also provide necessary comic relief in a tense situation.
- Really, the more heartbreaking your story, the more comedy you need. Think of Jordan Sonnenblick’s writing. You laugh even as your heart is breaking. I don’t know how to do this, but it is so, SO effective.
- Gah. I just want to write something that makes people feel and obsess and have it entertain but have the underlying fundamental universal truths in it leak out of the book into the real world and stick to people’s insides.
I normally don't watch much TV because it isn't as satisfying to me as books, but my sister hooked me on this fantastic Korean TV show called W - Two Worlds. It's a portal story about some characters who live in a comic book world, and some other people who live in the real-life world of the comic artist, whose daughter is a cardiology intern. Kang Chul (which translates as "steel") is the hero in the comic. He won an Olympic gold for shooting at age 17, and shortly thereafter, his family were all shot dead by his gold-winning gun. He's innocent, but in the absence of finding the real killer, he spends time in jail, thanks to the urging of an ambitious politician who uses the capturing of the "criminal" to further his career. Eventually, Chul gets free and (as so easily happens in a comic!) manages to become a multimillionaire, running a TV show for unsolved crimes. Many crimes have been solved on the show (called "W"--for "who?" and "why?")--but never his own personal one.
In the real world. W is a bestselling web and print comic. It updates in real time, and the author, Oh Seong Moo, has gotten quite successful over it. But he is also one depressed alcoholic. And the comic is starting to take on a life of its own, not accepting all the changes he makes in it, and sometimes acting of itself. He freaks out and wants to put an end to it all--even if it means killing off his hero before Chul ever reaches his goal of finding his family's murderer. However, the night before the final episode is due, Mr. Oh disappears. His staff are worried. His daughter, Oh Yeon Joo, comes over to help look for him. While in his studio, she is pulled into the Cintiq drawing tablet by a bloody hand. It's Kang Chul. He's been stabbed, and desperately needs help. She's a doctor, so...she saves his life before realizing that something is really, really weird. She's in the comic world, but as she later tells one of her father's assistants--they are just like us. They are human, too. There is a lot of crossing back and forth, with all of the complications that arise from stuff like that, and let's just say that dad isn't entirely in control of the comic anymore. And bad guys are on the loose!
This show is so, so good! It's 16 episodes long (to date I've seen 10). And every one has a major plot twist at the end. I'm a writer, and I've read thousands of books. It's pretty hard to surprise me. But man, this one does! It has quite a metaliterary bent to it (develop your antagonists! Give them names and faces and personalities, or they'll come after you!). It's philosophical (Plato's cave, anyone?). It's got tons of action and romance and how the heck? and oh my gosh what is going to happen NEXT?? And it's FUNNY. I've skimmed a couple of other Korean dramas and been bored because there isn't enough humor to balance out the serious parts. I think that the harder you want serious parts to hit your reader/viewer, the more you need to employ a judicious use of humor. It makes people feel full, it creates contrasts, it allows relief so your reader doesn't get tired.
One of the interesting themes is power--because different characters have tremendous power in certain settings. It's interesting to see what they do with that power, depending on their sense of morality. People in relationships (even without manga portals) have tremendous power over their significant others. Some of my favorite parts are where Yeon Joo and Chul are working together to do extraordinary things, balancing their various areas of power for the benefit of each other.
One of the particular strengths I'm noticing also is that the writer is not afraid to follow the consequences of choices. And, she's not afraid to pause the action scenes and let the viewer feel. There have been a couple of extended scenes (one in a bookstore, one after a dream--you'll know the ones if you've seen it) where the main characters are just GUTTED--and because the script pauses on these, boy, they really hit hard in the feeeeeeelings department. Sometimes I read books and it's like the authors have taken the advice to start late and end early a little too seriously. Yes, you need action and you need plot developments. But if you want all of those developments to mean something to the reader, you've got to give a little screen time to the reaction/consequence. Let the important moments sink in. It's an investment in the characters and the book and the reader.
Anyway, the writing is sooooo entertaining. The acting is excellent. I have no idea how the writer will solve this one, but I really hope she pulls it off! So grab some popcorn and get watching. :)
In the real world. W is a bestselling web and print comic. It updates in real time, and the author, Oh Seong Moo, has gotten quite successful over it. But he is also one depressed alcoholic. And the comic is starting to take on a life of its own, not accepting all the changes he makes in it, and sometimes acting of itself. He freaks out and wants to put an end to it all--even if it means killing off his hero before Chul ever reaches his goal of finding his family's murderer. However, the night before the final episode is due, Mr. Oh disappears. His staff are worried. His daughter, Oh Yeon Joo, comes over to help look for him. While in his studio, she is pulled into the Cintiq drawing tablet by a bloody hand. It's Kang Chul. He's been stabbed, and desperately needs help. She's a doctor, so...she saves his life before realizing that something is really, really weird. She's in the comic world, but as she later tells one of her father's assistants--they are just like us. They are human, too. There is a lot of crossing back and forth, with all of the complications that arise from stuff like that, and let's just say that dad isn't entirely in control of the comic anymore. And bad guys are on the loose!
This show is so, so good! It's 16 episodes long (to date I've seen 10). And every one has a major plot twist at the end. I'm a writer, and I've read thousands of books. It's pretty hard to surprise me. But man, this one does! It has quite a metaliterary bent to it (develop your antagonists! Give them names and faces and personalities, or they'll come after you!). It's philosophical (Plato's cave, anyone?). It's got tons of action and romance and how the heck? and oh my gosh what is going to happen NEXT?? And it's FUNNY. I've skimmed a couple of other Korean dramas and been bored because there isn't enough humor to balance out the serious parts. I think that the harder you want serious parts to hit your reader/viewer, the more you need to employ a judicious use of humor. It makes people feel full, it creates contrasts, it allows relief so your reader doesn't get tired.
One of the interesting themes is power--because different characters have tremendous power in certain settings. It's interesting to see what they do with that power, depending on their sense of morality. People in relationships (even without manga portals) have tremendous power over their significant others. Some of my favorite parts are where Yeon Joo and Chul are working together to do extraordinary things, balancing their various areas of power for the benefit of each other.
One of the particular strengths I'm noticing also is that the writer is not afraid to follow the consequences of choices. And, she's not afraid to pause the action scenes and let the viewer feel. There have been a couple of extended scenes (one in a bookstore, one after a dream--you'll know the ones if you've seen it) where the main characters are just GUTTED--and because the script pauses on these, boy, they really hit hard in the feeeeeeelings department. Sometimes I read books and it's like the authors have taken the advice to start late and end early a little too seriously. Yes, you need action and you need plot developments. But if you want all of those developments to mean something to the reader, you've got to give a little screen time to the reaction/consequence. Let the important moments sink in. It's an investment in the characters and the book and the reader.
Anyway, the writing is sooooo entertaining. The acting is excellent. I have no idea how the writer will solve this one, but I really hope she pulls it off! So grab some popcorn and get watching. :)
Bubbles between books
Apr. 13th, 2016 11:41 amI'm finding myself in this little bubble of time where my manuscript is off for critique and I am not working on anything. It is WEIRD. (It took me four years to write this book.) I've gotten a couple crits back and they seem pretty doable (ie they are fairly minor and pretty much all of them will make the book better). I haven't decided if I'm going to wait until all come in and then combine them all into some monster document, or if I should handle them one by one, or what. What do you do?
In the meantime, I'm trying to let my subconscious swirl around and see what it wants to do next--finish off one of the partials I have (and if so, which one?), or start something new from whole cloth. It's kind of a delicious feeling, to be honest.
I know I'm going to be busy soon enough (we're moving at the end of May), but it just feels very weird not to be stressing about finishing this draft!
In the meantime, I'm trying to let my subconscious swirl around and see what it wants to do next--finish off one of the partials I have (and if so, which one?), or start something new from whole cloth. It's kind of a delicious feeling, to be honest.
I know I'm going to be busy soon enough (we're moving at the end of May), but it just feels very weird not to be stressing about finishing this draft!
Some book reviews
Apr. 4th, 2016 07:52 amI have a Goodreads account, but I never know what to do with it. I wish there wasn't always that star rating attached to leaving reviews in places, because it just doesn't fit the way I read a book. I read primarily for fun and escape, because I have enough real life stress to deal with, thanks! And I can not "like" a book in a fun, escapist sort of way, but still find it valuable reading. Being on the writer side complicates things, too--sometimes I like a book even if the author is prickly in real life. Sometimes I think the world of the author, but what if I don't connect with their book? I could do this easier back when authors were mysterious benefactors of stories, but now that they are real people...yeah.
Anyway, here are some books I've read so far this year that I liked in some way or another.
A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic, by Lisa Papademetriou. A really great middle grade read-aloud. It’s about two supposedly unconnected girls who each go away for the summer to visit family members, and each find a blank book called The Exquisite Corpse. They write in it, and the book writes back. (Well, really, they’re writing back to each other, but they don’t realize that.) One girl is in Texas and one is in Pakistan. And there’s a funeral home. And there is justice for past wrongs, too. And they are all connected.
The Aviary, by Kathleen O’Dell. Middle grade. It reminded me of a book by Sarah Williams. Turn of the century-ish, about a girl named Clara who lives with her mother, the cook, and old Mrs. Glendoveer, who her mother is taking care of. Oh, and five birds who have lived far past their ordinary lifespan. When Mrs. Glendoveer dies, Clara secretly makes a friend, Daphne, and they discover the scandal that happened before. Mr. Glendoveer was a professional magician, only then his kids were kidnapped and drowned. One child, Elliott, the youngest, disappeared. The birds start to talk, and it’s up to the kids to find out what really happened, where to find Elliott, and how to bring the criminals to justice.
The Weight of Feathers, by Anne-Marie McLemore. Interesting Romeo and Juliet retelling. The Cobeau family are a traveling performing family. They wear feathered wings and do an act in the trees. The Paloma family is a traveling performing family. They have a mermaid act. The two families haaaaaate each other, each blaming the other for destroying some family members and their performing location in this one place they always end up at every year. The night the local factory blows, letting loose hazardous chemical rain that can kill people, Luc “Cluck” Corbeau saves the life of Lace Paloma. They don’t know who each other are. But the mark of his feather (yes, they grow feathers under their hair) ends up on her arm. Burned and unable to be in the mermaid act, so goes to the Corbeaus under cover, hoping to even up the score so that the curse of the feather mark can be lifted. But of course, they fall for each other—the rejected ones in each of their clans. (Luc’s mother has never loved him, and his brother regular beats him up.) As they learn the truth about what really happened at the factory long ago, and more importantly, what really happened between the two families, they find the strength to become who they really are.
The Hired Girl, by Laura Amy Schlitz. About a girl in 1911 (Joan Skraggs, only she prefers to be called Janet Lovelace) who runs away from an abusive farm family at age 14 and becomes a hired girl for a Jewish family in Baltimore. She pretends to be 18 but is of course very young, so she makes a lot of embarrassing mistakes, like falling for the charming 21 (!) YO son of the family, and also plenty of religious clashes (she didn’t know much about Jews and she was trying to become confirmed Catholic). Won the youth category of I think the National Book Award. Very well written. Some outcry because of a couple lines showing her ignorance about Native Americans (but that was the POINT—that she was young and naïve).
The Seventh Most Important Thing, by Shelley Pearsall. This was a good one. Maybe fans of Gary Schmidt might like it. I didn’t realize it was based on a true person’s life until I read the afterword, either (which is a good thing—sometimes when you try to novelize something real, it doesn’t feel organic. I read another book recently that didn't quite work for that reason). It’s about a kid named Arthur who is mourning the death of his dad, and in his grief, throws a brick at the Junk Man and breaks his arm. He gets sentenced to helping the Junk Man with his work--which is, indeed, going through garbage cans looking for certain things. At first it's pretty mortifying, but then Arthur starts to understand what exactly the old guy is doing. I loved reading about the transformative power of art and how learning to recognize it changed this kid and his attitude towards other people.
Some of My Best Friends are Black: The Strange Story of Integration in America, by Tanner Colby. Adult nonfiction about racism, why it is still around, and what keeps it going. This was a good one. I don’t know that it offers solutions, but it does a great job of pointing out a lot of less-discussed issues in integration. He covers four areas that seem unrelated, but which really underscore the segregation that still exists in our society: school (why is there still a black table and a white table at some school cafeterias?), housing (creepy history of blockbusting and HOAs), worship (once you force out a group of people, they make their own culture, and don't want to give that up later when people come, wanting to integrate), and work (education is great, but personal mentors and connections in the field are what get people jobs. If you have no one in your group in your industry *cough* publishing *cough* it's hard to break in, no matter what skills you have). It's partly the story of what happens long term when you shut out a certain segment of the population, but it's also about the complicated dance between wanting to have the same opportunities as anyone else, but not letting go and losing your culture.
Dead End in Norvelt, by Jack Gantos. MG; I think this won a recent Newbery. Funny and…strange. The main character shares an exact name with the author. I think it’s part fiction and part true. Set in the 60s with a pro-Bernie Sanders mother and a pro-Donald Trump dad (not literally, of course--but if they lived today, they would each be posting for their respective candidates with loud voices on Facebook), Jack is caught in the middle. He gets grounded for the summer and ends up typing obituaries for the crazy old lady down the street. Meanwhile, the town's elderly are dying at a suspiciously alarming rate. Weird book. Great voice.
Into the Dim, by Janet B. Taylor. Aaah. This was a fun one. As some have said, it’s a bit reminiscent of Ruby Red (the time travel, the jewels, the conspiracy). But still fun. Hope Walton (author is from Arkansas--yay!) goes to Scotland to visit aunt after mother dies. But Hope doesn’t believe mom is dead, and she’s right—mom is trapped in the middle ages. Mystery and warring factions of time travelers and hot boys, etc. This would be pure escapism when that is what you are looking for!
The Hollow Boy, by Jonathan Stroud. Third in the Lockwood & Co series. Not quite as creepy as the last one (which was SCARY), but still good. Lucy can hear ghosts and wants to listen to them, which is rather dangerous when her team is supposed to be eradicating them before they touch and kill people. Her team is trying to find the center of a massive outbreak. Also, they get a new assistant in this book, Holly Munro. She and Lucy do NOT get along. Lucy is a bit jealous of Lockwood’s attention to Holly… Lockwood is a bit of a privileged dude, even if he’s had hard stuff happen to him. I really like the ghost in the jar. He’s got quite a personality! There's a lot of character growth in here, and some developments that make me want the next book NOW.
Symphony for the City of the Dead, by MT Anderson. I grew up on classical music, especially all things Slavic, and in high school, our band did one of his pieces in a concert contest. I also wrote a paper for Russian class (in Russian; I have no idea what the words say anymore) on his 10th symphony. So I came in knowing something about him already, but this was a lot more. (Plus, in English, so I could understand!) Really excellent book about Dmitri Shostakovich's heady young days in the revolution, the scary, scary times of Stalin’s purges (what a person has to complain of when it comes to classical music is beyond me—how can violins be “anti-people,” or how can formalism be punishable by death??). The siege of Leningrad, Shostakovich writing his 7th symphony, the horrors of the siege and the turning point of hope when finally the staggering musicians still alive played his symphony in their city. I cried in that chapter.
A Tangle of Gold, by Jaclyn Moriarty. Ooh. I love it when the last book still manages to have twists and surprises! This was a great ending to the Colors of Madeleine series. This is such a strange and enjoyable series. The writing feels a bit stream of consciousness, but then you wake up and realize that all of it is real. There are spoilers I can't talk about! But it's about of course resolving the plot problems of Worldians and Cellians, and also a bit about people meaning well and messing up (or meaning ill and changing). Very, very enjoyable book!
Anyway, here are some books I've read so far this year that I liked in some way or another.
A Tale of Highly Unusual Magic, by Lisa Papademetriou. A really great middle grade read-aloud. It’s about two supposedly unconnected girls who each go away for the summer to visit family members, and each find a blank book called The Exquisite Corpse. They write in it, and the book writes back. (Well, really, they’re writing back to each other, but they don’t realize that.) One girl is in Texas and one is in Pakistan. And there’s a funeral home. And there is justice for past wrongs, too. And they are all connected. The Aviary, by Kathleen O’Dell. Middle grade. It reminded me of a book by Sarah Williams. Turn of the century-ish, about a girl named Clara who lives with her mother, the cook, and old Mrs. Glendoveer, who her mother is taking care of. Oh, and five birds who have lived far past their ordinary lifespan. When Mrs. Glendoveer dies, Clara secretly makes a friend, Daphne, and they discover the scandal that happened before. Mr. Glendoveer was a professional magician, only then his kids were kidnapped and drowned. One child, Elliott, the youngest, disappeared. The birds start to talk, and it’s up to the kids to find out what really happened, where to find Elliott, and how to bring the criminals to justice. The Weight of Feathers, by Anne-Marie McLemore. Interesting Romeo and Juliet retelling. The Cobeau family are a traveling performing family. They wear feathered wings and do an act in the trees. The Paloma family is a traveling performing family. They have a mermaid act. The two families haaaaaate each other, each blaming the other for destroying some family members and their performing location in this one place they always end up at every year. The night the local factory blows, letting loose hazardous chemical rain that can kill people, Luc “Cluck” Corbeau saves the life of Lace Paloma. They don’t know who each other are. But the mark of his feather (yes, they grow feathers under their hair) ends up on her arm. Burned and unable to be in the mermaid act, so goes to the Corbeaus under cover, hoping to even up the score so that the curse of the feather mark can be lifted. But of course, they fall for each other—the rejected ones in each of their clans. (Luc’s mother has never loved him, and his brother regular beats him up.) As they learn the truth about what really happened at the factory long ago, and more importantly, what really happened between the two families, they find the strength to become who they really are. The Hired Girl, by Laura Amy Schlitz. About a girl in 1911 (Joan Skraggs, only she prefers to be called Janet Lovelace) who runs away from an abusive farm family at age 14 and becomes a hired girl for a Jewish family in Baltimore. She pretends to be 18 but is of course very young, so she makes a lot of embarrassing mistakes, like falling for the charming 21 (!) YO son of the family, and also plenty of religious clashes (she didn’t know much about Jews and she was trying to become confirmed Catholic). Won the youth category of I think the National Book Award. Very well written. Some outcry because of a couple lines showing her ignorance about Native Americans (but that was the POINT—that she was young and naïve). The Seventh Most Important Thing, by Shelley Pearsall. This was a good one. Maybe fans of Gary Schmidt might like it. I didn’t realize it was based on a true person’s life until I read the afterword, either (which is a good thing—sometimes when you try to novelize something real, it doesn’t feel organic. I read another book recently that didn't quite work for that reason). It’s about a kid named Arthur who is mourning the death of his dad, and in his grief, throws a brick at the Junk Man and breaks his arm. He gets sentenced to helping the Junk Man with his work--which is, indeed, going through garbage cans looking for certain things. At first it's pretty mortifying, but then Arthur starts to understand what exactly the old guy is doing. I loved reading about the transformative power of art and how learning to recognize it changed this kid and his attitude towards other people. Some of My Best Friends are Black: The Strange Story of Integration in America, by Tanner Colby. Adult nonfiction about racism, why it is still around, and what keeps it going. This was a good one. I don’t know that it offers solutions, but it does a great job of pointing out a lot of less-discussed issues in integration. He covers four areas that seem unrelated, but which really underscore the segregation that still exists in our society: school (why is there still a black table and a white table at some school cafeterias?), housing (creepy history of blockbusting and HOAs), worship (once you force out a group of people, they make their own culture, and don't want to give that up later when people come, wanting to integrate), and work (education is great, but personal mentors and connections in the field are what get people jobs. If you have no one in your group in your industry *cough* publishing *cough* it's hard to break in, no matter what skills you have). It's partly the story of what happens long term when you shut out a certain segment of the population, but it's also about the complicated dance between wanting to have the same opportunities as anyone else, but not letting go and losing your culture. Dead End in Norvelt, by Jack Gantos. MG; I think this won a recent Newbery. Funny and…strange. The main character shares an exact name with the author. I think it’s part fiction and part true. Set in the 60s with a pro-Bernie Sanders mother and a pro-Donald Trump dad (not literally, of course--but if they lived today, they would each be posting for their respective candidates with loud voices on Facebook), Jack is caught in the middle. He gets grounded for the summer and ends up typing obituaries for the crazy old lady down the street. Meanwhile, the town's elderly are dying at a suspiciously alarming rate. Weird book. Great voice. Into the Dim, by Janet B. Taylor. Aaah. This was a fun one. As some have said, it’s a bit reminiscent of Ruby Red (the time travel, the jewels, the conspiracy). But still fun. Hope Walton (author is from Arkansas--yay!) goes to Scotland to visit aunt after mother dies. But Hope doesn’t believe mom is dead, and she’s right—mom is trapped in the middle ages. Mystery and warring factions of time travelers and hot boys, etc. This would be pure escapism when that is what you are looking for! The Hollow Boy, by Jonathan Stroud. Third in the Lockwood & Co series. Not quite as creepy as the last one (which was SCARY), but still good. Lucy can hear ghosts and wants to listen to them, which is rather dangerous when her team is supposed to be eradicating them before they touch and kill people. Her team is trying to find the center of a massive outbreak. Also, they get a new assistant in this book, Holly Munro. She and Lucy do NOT get along. Lucy is a bit jealous of Lockwood’s attention to Holly… Lockwood is a bit of a privileged dude, even if he’s had hard stuff happen to him. I really like the ghost in the jar. He’s got quite a personality! There's a lot of character growth in here, and some developments that make me want the next book NOW. Symphony for the City of the Dead, by MT Anderson. I grew up on classical music, especially all things Slavic, and in high school, our band did one of his pieces in a concert contest. I also wrote a paper for Russian class (in Russian; I have no idea what the words say anymore) on his 10th symphony. So I came in knowing something about him already, but this was a lot more. (Plus, in English, so I could understand!) Really excellent book about Dmitri Shostakovich's heady young days in the revolution, the scary, scary times of Stalin’s purges (what a person has to complain of when it comes to classical music is beyond me—how can violins be “anti-people,” or how can formalism be punishable by death??). The siege of Leningrad, Shostakovich writing his 7th symphony, the horrors of the siege and the turning point of hope when finally the staggering musicians still alive played his symphony in their city. I cried in that chapter. A Tangle of Gold, by Jaclyn Moriarty. Ooh. I love it when the last book still manages to have twists and surprises! This was a great ending to the Colors of Madeleine series. This is such a strange and enjoyable series. The writing feels a bit stream of consciousness, but then you wake up and realize that all of it is real. There are spoilers I can't talk about! But it's about of course resolving the plot problems of Worldians and Cellians, and also a bit about people meaning well and messing up (or meaning ill and changing). Very, very enjoyable book!Random school things
Mar. 4th, 2016 08:04 amI know we've only been here since August, but when you have five kids in the school system, you get a pretty good cross section of how the district works. If you've got only one year to be in Alabama, I'd say make it your 5th grade year. They study the colonial period and the Revolution that year, and it's been really fun for my 5th grader. They do a great job of running it through the curriculum, so a lot of their reading in reading class has been related, and they even learned the Virginia Reel in PE. (That was fun. Just before Christmas, they all dressed up in period clothing, made hats and wigs at school, and invited the parents to watch them dance. And then pulled the parents in for a round. The level to which the kids enjoyed this was astonishing. And they were good!) This semester, their grand event is a field trip to a living history location some hours away. If they do not remember anything about the 1700s in America after this year, the problem is not with the school!
Meanwhile, the 2nd grader is busy celebrating Read Across America week. In case you're wondering, yes, he DID dress up as a book character today. Jack, from the Magic Treehouse books. Which means he's in jeans and a green shirt and carrying a backpack. Never mind that he looks like that every other day, too. :)
My senior has something like six AP classes this year and in one of them, they lined everyone up and had them take the privilege test. Step forward for every privilege and step back for every one you don't have. He's white and male, so he's got that, but in most of the economic ones, he ended up stepping back. (Note: race and class are horribly entertwined. However, class issues exist quite outside of the race frame as well.) He also got to step back for all of the times when he had to change his accent to fit in, or when he was not a native speaker of the dominant language, etc. The one thing that was really unusual in his class--even the teacher was surprised--was that every single kid stepped forward on the "do you live with both parents" question.
My 8th grader made it through track tryouts and is now doing "throwing things" in field events (I disagree that entry-level sports should have tryouts, but well, I am not in charge, either), and my 10th grader is enjoying running the distance end of track. So even though there is no orchestra here (sniff), the kids at least have something to be involved in. It's been one of the more difficult moves for our family (definitely THE most difficult for some members), but I do think it's good to point out what's working.
Meanwhile, the 2nd grader is busy celebrating Read Across America week. In case you're wondering, yes, he DID dress up as a book character today. Jack, from the Magic Treehouse books. Which means he's in jeans and a green shirt and carrying a backpack. Never mind that he looks like that every other day, too. :)
My senior has something like six AP classes this year and in one of them, they lined everyone up and had them take the privilege test. Step forward for every privilege and step back for every one you don't have. He's white and male, so he's got that, but in most of the economic ones, he ended up stepping back. (Note: race and class are horribly entertwined. However, class issues exist quite outside of the race frame as well.) He also got to step back for all of the times when he had to change his accent to fit in, or when he was not a native speaker of the dominant language, etc. The one thing that was really unusual in his class--even the teacher was surprised--was that every single kid stepped forward on the "do you live with both parents" question.
My 8th grader made it through track tryouts and is now doing "throwing things" in field events (I disagree that entry-level sports should have tryouts, but well, I am not in charge, either), and my 10th grader is enjoying running the distance end of track. So even though there is no orchestra here (sniff), the kids at least have something to be involved in. It's been one of the more difficult moves for our family (definitely THE most difficult for some members), but I do think it's good to point out what's working.
February is that time of year when everything is still gray, and we end up taking the least amount of photos. But Alabama is somewhat less gray. And at least it has trees! It's really hard to get across that sense of deep forest in a single picture, but these maybe help. The sunrise one is from the morning after a series of tornadoes went through the area (none in our town, but elsewhere in the South). The sky was really weirdly colored between the gray clouds and the sun--it almost looked like fire weather in the west.
The other one was during one of the regular torrential rainstorms we have. The size of trees in relation to the houses is ginormous. At night when people's lights are on, it makes you think of maybe elves living in some Middle Earth forest--they seem so small and twinkly amid all that greenery.
One other nice thing about all the trees is that they blank out the city lights to a great extent. So if you find an unwooded spot, you can enjoy a pretty clear view of the stars, too. (That would be my next photography attempt, I suppose--a shot of stars through the trees.)
The other one was during one of the regular torrential rainstorms we have. The size of trees in relation to the houses is ginormous. At night when people's lights are on, it makes you think of maybe elves living in some Middle Earth forest--they seem so small and twinkly amid all that greenery.
One other nice thing about all the trees is that they blank out the city lights to a great extent. So if you find an unwooded spot, you can enjoy a pretty clear view of the stars, too. (That would be my next photography attempt, I suppose--a shot of stars through the trees.)
Czech Cinderella story
Feb. 20th, 2016 06:31 pmSo, here is a fun (true) Cinderella story. I've been doing Czech genealogy with this distant relative, who recently ran across Berta Czuber (b. 1879). (Not literally, I mean in the records.) He's pretty sure she belongs to my branch, and I think I know which person she connects to. There are only so many people with that name who are master tailors at that time period in that tiny village.
So, imagine a family of shepherds. They move every year because they're always following the sheep. Eventually one son decides to settle down, marries a village girl and has kids. The next generation (and every generation thereafter), they are tailors. Well, one guy takes his tailoring and moves to the big city of Prague. And all fortunes change. His son gets educated. Actually, he gets so much education that he becomes a bona fide professor at the university. Rags to riches, right? (*cough* -- obviously, riches of the mind, not riches of the bank *cough*). But the story isn't over yet.
Mr. Smart Math Professor (Emanuel Czuber, if you want to find him in Wikipedia) has a daughter, Berta. She goes off to a ball in Prague--and meets a guy named Ferdinand. Archduke Ferdinand Carl of Austria, to be precise. The little brother of the guy who got shot in Sarajevo, thus starting the War to End All Wars. Ferdinand and Berta fall in luuuuurve, and parents flip out. No way, says professor dad. The emperor is not gonna like this, and he's going to take it out on my job. NO WAY! yells Uncle Emperor Franz Josef. But Ferdinand and Berta have a love that cannot be stopped. So they get married in Switzerland anyway, and keep it secret for two years. Then Uncle Franz Josef finds out. Blam! Blam! Blam! That's the sound of Uncle FJ blasting Ferdinand off the family tree tapestry on the wall. (He can't order them to get divorced because they are all Catholic, and that would not exactly go over well when you're the emperor. Plus--they obviously wouldn't do that, anyway. Because love.) Ferdinand has to change his name. Now he's no longer "von Oesterreich" but merely "Burg." And he's not allowed to set foot in the Austrian empire. They did let him come back for a funeral, though... Unfortunately for Berta, he died in 1915--and she kept on living and living, until 1979, when she was 99 and a half. No children, so the line ends there.
Now I'm thinking that I might need to study WWI all over again. Suddenly it seems very close to home!
On moving and catching up
Oct. 21st, 2015 09:23 amI just sewed on the seventh different council patch on my son's scout shirt. If I even knew where they all were, I'd take a gigantic photo. There should seriously be some kind of merit badge for moving. The last place we lived had great local leadership, but the district level kind of had an attitude of weeding out all but a few when it came to Eagle projects. Both as a parent and as a scout committee member, I often felt discouraged. Kids would come up with a project and either the district would shoot it down, or the lower levels would have been burned so many times that they'd already know it wouldn't fly. My oldest tried to come up with a project before we left, but there were so many additional things hung on it to guarantee he could push it through the district that he never had time to complete it. (Also, we didn't know where or when we were going until quite late.) And now his 18th birthday is approaching and while the scout leaders here are VERY diligent, I just don't know if it's going to happen. When you don't know an area at all, it's hard to think up good ideas for benefiting that area. And of course, you should never ever wait for your senior year to do this! There are just too many things going on that year that you HAVE to take care of. But when you move every two years, it's really hard to find a time when you CAN. I hate the fact that in so many ways, it looks like my kid has been doing nothing. And yet, all of my kids have had to expend twice the energy to keep up as any "regular" kid who hasn't had that upheaval in their lives. I was reading Cynthia Lord's latest book, A Handful of Stars, while in the DMV the other day (waiting on my almost-18YO who was FINALLY getting a chance to take his drivers' test and get a regular license). It's about a girl who makes friends with the daughter of some migrant blueberry pickers up in Maine. And man, that book should have come with a warning--Do Not Read in Public--because I'm sure the people around me were wondering why I was so sniffly. But I realized that while we might not be in agriculture, but we ARE migrant workers, thanks to the universities' destruction of the tenure system.* And that is HARD.
On the positive side, I'm proud of the hard work my kids HAVE done throughout it all. And glad for all the teachers who have worked with my kids. Herr Zündt, my son's math teacher and principal at his German school, just retired this year. He reached out to this kid who didn't even understand the language, and saw that he was good at math, and gave him a voice through numbers. Coach Allan, who gave my older kids a lifelong guide for personal excellence and the importance of teamwork. Mr. Hansen, who took in kids who joined orchestra late--really late, like YEARS late--and helped them catch up and excel. I'm hoping my kids can somehow write this moving experience into their college entrance essays. Because it takes just as much effort to move frequently, catch up with the weird educational theories du jour in each new place, make new friends, change sports/music, have dreams interrupted, have to build respect from teachers all over again, etc. as it does to be captain of your cheer squad, or be student body president, or whatever the Very Important Extracurricular Activities that applications want in order to Prove You Are Special!!
So when you see new people show up once everyone else is already well established, please reach out. Please remember that while they might be new and time might be short, they probably have something to offer, too. Even if they're just "the rental people." Or the migrant workers. Or the I-don't-know-what-the-parents-were-thinking-to-move-senior-year family.
*Nearly 70% of current US university faculty are now contingent. This doesn't mean the absence of cushy tenure positions where a horrible professor can do no wrong. This means severely, dangerously underpaid positions that come with an end date stamped on them the first day you show up. It's bad for the professors, it's bad for the students, and it's bad for academic freedom.
On the positive side, I'm proud of the hard work my kids HAVE done throughout it all. And glad for all the teachers who have worked with my kids. Herr Zündt, my son's math teacher and principal at his German school, just retired this year. He reached out to this kid who didn't even understand the language, and saw that he was good at math, and gave him a voice through numbers. Coach Allan, who gave my older kids a lifelong guide for personal excellence and the importance of teamwork. Mr. Hansen, who took in kids who joined orchestra late--really late, like YEARS late--and helped them catch up and excel. I'm hoping my kids can somehow write this moving experience into their college entrance essays. Because it takes just as much effort to move frequently, catch up with the weird educational theories du jour in each new place, make new friends, change sports/music, have dreams interrupted, have to build respect from teachers all over again, etc. as it does to be captain of your cheer squad, or be student body president, or whatever the Very Important Extracurricular Activities that applications want in order to Prove You Are Special!!
So when you see new people show up once everyone else is already well established, please reach out. Please remember that while they might be new and time might be short, they probably have something to offer, too. Even if they're just "the rental people." Or the migrant workers. Or the I-don't-know-what-the-parents-were-thinking-to-move-senior-year family.
*Nearly 70% of current US university faculty are now contingent. This doesn't mean the absence of cushy tenure positions where a horrible professor can do no wrong. This means severely, dangerously underpaid positions that come with an end date stamped on them the first day you show up. It's bad for the professors, it's bad for the students, and it's bad for academic freedom.
What central Alabama looks like
Oct. 16th, 2015 09:10 pmBy FAR the first thing you notice (if you're me, anyway, coming from tree-starved northern plains) is the TREES. They are so huge! So beautiful! It's obviously not with my ears, but I swear I can hear them somehow. It just FEELS different here. The trees are ginormous, too. Everywhere you look, there are 100-foot pines. (Pictured.) Also sweetgum. (Not pictured.) I had no idea sweetgum trees could grow that tall, but they do! Also tulip trees (not pictured), which people plant decoratively elsewhere, but which appear to grow wild (and also tall) here. There are also occasional cypress and redwood type trees (pictured). There is something lovely and very filling about walking on silent pine needles as the trees look down kindly on you.
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Culture clashes
Aug. 25th, 2015 04:01 pmMy very polite, very respectful 10YO daughter got talked to sternly today while in the pick-up line after school today.
"Is that your car?" the older teacher asked.
"Yeah."
"Yes, ma'am."
Daughter raised her eyebrows, confused. Maybe the teacher didn't hear her? "Yeah."
"Yes, ma'am," the teacher reprimanded.
*both people in conversation are blown away by the utter rudeness of the other person*
I think that one of the big culture shocks going from the north/west to the south is how people show niceness/meanness. I'm from a very egalitarian culture, where you are nice to people and show respect by putting them on your same level. In my "home culture," even if you have a system that looks hierarchical--the LDS church has a worldwide, centralized leadership, for example, and that's certainly part of my home culture--the idea is not one person at the top dictating everyone's choices. It's someone putting their trust in another person as they delegate responsibility: "Here, this is your job, do it the best you know how, I trust you to use your resources and to take care of it, and then we can talk over the results as colleagues." Or, "Let's do this together. I know your brain is different from mine, but we'll work together and complement our differences and something good will come out of it." Any leadership structure is for the sake of efficiency, cohesion, and ease of transmitting information. To me it's a bit rude for one person to decide whose ideas are worthy and whose aren't based on status--and I expect people to speak up when they have something to say, and if they don't, that they don't. Things that point out explicit power structures can seem rude--if a northern kid said "Yes, sir!" to his dad, his dad might (as my dad would tell you) feel like the kid was back-talking. (This really bothered my NJ-born dad when we moved south, BTW. He had to tell himself every time that they were being polite.)
The south, OTOH, is an authoritative culture, which shows respect by putting everyone on a hierarchy, and you are required to give proper obeisance (in words--sir, ma'am, Miz Lizzy--and in exact, unchallenging obedience) to those higher up on the ladder than you are. In Southern, someone who doesn't do this is being very rude and mean. But to a westerner/northerner, the hierarchy thing feels like a smackdown and a power grab, and therefore mean. And sirring and ma'aming your parents? No way! that would be like waking up and finding that your parents don't love you anymore and are turning you into a child soldier! But to a Southerner going north, they feel that the lack of honorifics is a sign of rudeness. Lack of "proper" respect for those higher up the authority chain (by contradicting their ideas or approaching as an equal) is also rude. That close, almost parent-child setup is gone, and it feels very cold and disconnected. Lonely and unfeeling, like people don't care about others, just their own ideas.
After living in the north and west for so long, this setup feels very much in my face, and I have to consciously remind myself that it's not "wrong," and it's certainly not meant to be mean--it's just a different way that people in a different place have used to work for them. So yeah (ahem, not yes, ma'am!), I think we'll be having quite a lot of discussions on this at home...
We've been in Alabama for a week, now. Wow. It's extremely much like moving to a foreign country! Once upon a time, we lived in the south, but it's been a looooooooooooooooooooooooong time. Here are some thoughts:
1. I'm pretty sure there has been more paperwork involved to move to Alabama than there was moving to either Germany or Chile.
2. I miss the Canadian flag (they flew it everywhere in ND), but the Alabama flag is strikingly NOT like a lot of other state flags (ahem, it's essentially a reverse-color image of the Confederate flag, and looks really odd plastered all over).
3. Speaking of flags, the neighbor down the street does not have a US flag, but has a gigantic confederate flag on a pole out front.
4. The schools all lead out with What Your Child Will Probably Do Wrong and What the Punishment Will Be. It's a little discouraging. The teachers, OTOH, are nice in person.
5. It is soooooooooooooooooooo hot!
6. There are a zillion Koreans in town, due to some Korean car plants here, I think. My kids have all come home from school saying they need to learn Korean so they can undersatnd their peers.
7. It is WAY more diverse here than in ND. My one blond son's teacher couldn't remember his name and called him "the blond kid" the other day. Because he was the only one. Lol. That is NOT a distinguishing characteristic in Norwegian North Dakota! It's kind of fun to have a larger ethnic mix--I think it's a lot easier on individuals. You don't have to feel like you represent your ENTIRE race or ethnicity by every move you make. You can just be "regular." (That said, my son's AP classes are unusually UN-diverse. Except for stats, in which he's one of the few non-Koreans.)
8. Thanks to the Koreans, there is a massive Asian grocery store in town that has some fruits I have never heard of (and I am rather wide in my culinary range). Jackfruit, anyone? (It has spines and is as large as a baby. And you have to grease it before cutting because latex??)
9. Every famous African-American you've ever heard of is from Alabama. You probably know this. But not having any ties to the state before, I never put it all together. Also, the courthouse in To Kill a Mockingbird? Real place, in this state. Some kids in my son's class have been there. (Oh yeah, and there's Helen Keller, too.)
10. Football. Oh, my. We've lived in the SEC before, but I'd sort of blanked that part out. I'm already looking for alternate routes out of my house if necessary (the main connector from our subdivision also connects to a primary highway people use to come into town for games.)
11. A southern accent after a ND/MN accent is almost like another language.
12. The trees. THEY ARE WONDERFUL! I knew I missed trees, but I didn't realize just how starved I was. HUGE pines and oaks and sweetgum. Beautiful. Alabama is a very beautiful place!
13. Our house is wonderful. We moved in sight unseen, and are very relieved that that it worked out. It's larger than our ND house (and doesn't leak!), but it doesn't have a garage, so we have to figure out what to do with things like the lawnmower and garden shovels and bikes, etc. However, it is NINETY YEARS NEWER than our last house, and has things like modern outlets, and water pressure, and level floors. It's kind of wonderful.
I'm sure I'll have more things to say about Alabama, but right now I need to make the daily taxi run, plus unpack more stuff.
1. I'm pretty sure there has been more paperwork involved to move to Alabama than there was moving to either Germany or Chile.
2. I miss the Canadian flag (they flew it everywhere in ND), but the Alabama flag is strikingly NOT like a lot of other state flags (ahem, it's essentially a reverse-color image of the Confederate flag, and looks really odd plastered all over).
3. Speaking of flags, the neighbor down the street does not have a US flag, but has a gigantic confederate flag on a pole out front.
4. The schools all lead out with What Your Child Will Probably Do Wrong and What the Punishment Will Be. It's a little discouraging. The teachers, OTOH, are nice in person.
5. It is soooooooooooooooooooo hot!
6. There are a zillion Koreans in town, due to some Korean car plants here, I think. My kids have all come home from school saying they need to learn Korean so they can undersatnd their peers.
7. It is WAY more diverse here than in ND. My one blond son's teacher couldn't remember his name and called him "the blond kid" the other day. Because he was the only one. Lol. That is NOT a distinguishing characteristic in Norwegian North Dakota! It's kind of fun to have a larger ethnic mix--I think it's a lot easier on individuals. You don't have to feel like you represent your ENTIRE race or ethnicity by every move you make. You can just be "regular." (That said, my son's AP classes are unusually UN-diverse. Except for stats, in which he's one of the few non-Koreans.)
8. Thanks to the Koreans, there is a massive Asian grocery store in town that has some fruits I have never heard of (and I am rather wide in my culinary range). Jackfruit, anyone? (It has spines and is as large as a baby. And you have to grease it before cutting because latex??)
9. Every famous African-American you've ever heard of is from Alabama. You probably know this. But not having any ties to the state before, I never put it all together. Also, the courthouse in To Kill a Mockingbird? Real place, in this state. Some kids in my son's class have been there. (Oh yeah, and there's Helen Keller, too.)
10. Football. Oh, my. We've lived in the SEC before, but I'd sort of blanked that part out. I'm already looking for alternate routes out of my house if necessary (the main connector from our subdivision also connects to a primary highway people use to come into town for games.)
11. A southern accent after a ND/MN accent is almost like another language.
12. The trees. THEY ARE WONDERFUL! I knew I missed trees, but I didn't realize just how starved I was. HUGE pines and oaks and sweetgum. Beautiful. Alabama is a very beautiful place!
13. Our house is wonderful. We moved in sight unseen, and are very relieved that that it worked out. It's larger than our ND house (and doesn't leak!), but it doesn't have a garage, so we have to figure out what to do with things like the lawnmower and garden shovels and bikes, etc. However, it is NINETY YEARS NEWER than our last house, and has things like modern outlets, and water pressure, and level floors. It's kind of wonderful.
I'm sure I'll have more things to say about Alabama, but right now I need to make the daily taxi run, plus unpack more stuff.
Oh, it's cold! We had a very warm December, with little snow. January is trying to catch up. My teenagers are all off sledding at the park tonight. Yes, it's -5 with a refreshing breeze. Yes, we have another blizzard warning on for tomorrow. We're busy plugging holes and trying to keep the cold out of the house, but when your house is 135 years old and not restored, well... Let's just say we all got furry blankets for Christmas, and are using those gifts wisely.
So because we just had that large book-gift-giving holiday, I've read a few things this year already. Yay! I'm a paper book girl, definitely, but there are a few things that are only available in e-book format, so I am now also the owner of a Kindle (Paperwhite--which is easy on the eyes, but sort of awkwardly designed in other ways. I can borrow kindle books from the library, but I have to have a separate computer to check them out with, for example--I can't just check them out directly on my device. Which is a large flaw, IMO. But whatever, once they're on there, it's fine.) Anyway, it turns out that Overdrive gives you access to a larger pool of books, outside just your particular library. Which is nice, because every library has their own purchasing biases, and this way you can expand out a bit.
ANYWAY. Here's what I've read so far this year, between Christmas books and Overdrive. Not every book is for every person, and that's okay. But it's always nice to hear of new and interesting books, and who knows, maybe this will help the right person find the right book. Oh, and all of these are YA fiction.
Stravaganza: City of Swords, by Mary Hoffman. I like this series. It's got time travel and an alternate world Italy. Modern teens travel to Talia (Italy at the time of the di Medicis, only in this alternate version, they're di Chimici, instead) by way of talismans. These travelers are called Stravagantes. There is intrigue and mystery and romance and history. Each book stars a different character, although they all interact with the main characters of other books. The first is my favorite, though--I like Lucien and Ariana and have a hard time changing loyalties! Anyway, this is the last of the series. It's been enjoyable.
Fox and Phoenix, by Beth Bernobich. I couldn't help feeling like there was a book prior to it that I missed, but all I could find was that it was the first youth book by this author. So... I don't know. I could follow it just fine, so that wasn't a problem, but a lot of things were referenced, and it would be nice to go back and read about them in more detail. Anyway, it's sort of steampunk, and sort of fantasy, only set in a place inspired by China. There's technology and magic both. I liked this (and my 9YO REALLY liked it)--the Chinese aspect was refreshing, and it had a lovely sense of place to it, especially in the mountains. Story: Kai and his friend Yun and their spirit animals travel out of the mountains to the Phoenix empire to get their princess back because her father is dying under mysterious and suspicious circumstances.
Starry Nights, by Daisy Whitney. I wouldn't say this smacks of realism, but sometimes you just need something light and entertaining, which this is. It's about a French guy named Julien whose mom is an art curator. He loves art, too--and he can see when the paintings in the museum come alive at night. Then a family donates their own painting to the musuem--a previously unknown Renoir--and the girl in it is very interesting indeed. At the same time, all the other paintings start to have things go wrong with them--things that other people, and not just Julien, are able to see, too. So they have to stop what's going on. It's fun.
The Accidental Highwayman: Being the Tale of Kit Bristol, His Horse Midnight, a Mysterious Princess, and Sundry Magical Persons Besides, by Ben Tripp. I think the author usually writes adult books. This has some of that flavor, I think--a tall tale for the young'uns. It's told in old fashioned (like Robert Louis Stevenson) language, a swashbuckling story of a boy named Kit Bristol whose highwayman master gets killed, leaving him to take over the job of rescuing a fairy princess. I couldn't help thinking while reading that this is the sort of story that begs to be told. It has adventure and magic and a plucky young hero and plenty of action--for the right reader, this will hit the spot.
Ondine, by Ebony McKenna. Okay, this book is candy. Sometimes you need something very silly and entertaining. (Really. Sometimes you do--if you are going through something major, you need something light to give your brain a bit of a breather.) It's about a girl, Ondine, who lives in a fictional European country called Brugel. It's modern day (they watch Eurovision, although they've never won it), but they do magic, too. There is a talking ferret (who used to be a man), and there is a plot against the duke. And much admiration of boys. (Actually, Ondine is a *little* young in that she's more influenced by a boy's appearance than what he's actually like. But--she has a bit of growth there, too.) It's a good book to give a reluctant reader because things happen without having to wade through a lof of irrelevant stuff.
No Life But This, Anna Sheehan. This is the sequel to A Long, Long Sleep that came out a couple years ago (although from different publishers--I got this via thebookdepository.com, which takes a looooooong time to ship, but OTOH, has free shipping all over the English speaking world.) The series is clearly sci fi (not dystopian), set in the future, and the first book is a futuristic, thriller setting of Sleeping Beauty. Rose's parents ran the UniCorps company that now runs the solar system--very wealthy and important, but they also had the nasty habit of putting their daughter in stasis whenever they didn't want to deal with her. The last time, they forgot about her, and died--and sixty years later, she wakes up. That was book 1. This book is about her friend Otto, who looks human (aside from being blue), but who has DNA from the native one-celled organisms from Jupiter's moon Europa. Otto can't talk like a normal person--but he can touch someone and communicate directly with their mind. Many of his "siblings" (created like him) did not survive, and now his body is breaking down, not to mention what all the thought sharing is doing to his mind. So to save his life, they take him to Europa and see if someone there can help him. One of the things that Sheehan does so well is to allow for real consequences. She doesn't try to save her characters from their own actions, or the actions of others. It gives the story a lot of weight, and makes the reader curiously attached to the characters. I reeeeeeeally hope there is a sequel to this one. It's set up for one. If you like books by Jackie Dolamore or RJ Anderson, and you like sci fi, give these a whirl. They have a fresh feel to them that is very welcome!
What have you read this year so far?
So because we just had that large book-gift-giving holiday, I've read a few things this year already. Yay! I'm a paper book girl, definitely, but there are a few things that are only available in e-book format, so I am now also the owner of a Kindle (Paperwhite--which is easy on the eyes, but sort of awkwardly designed in other ways. I can borrow kindle books from the library, but I have to have a separate computer to check them out with, for example--I can't just check them out directly on my device. Which is a large flaw, IMO. But whatever, once they're on there, it's fine.) Anyway, it turns out that Overdrive gives you access to a larger pool of books, outside just your particular library. Which is nice, because every library has their own purchasing biases, and this way you can expand out a bit.
ANYWAY. Here's what I've read so far this year, between Christmas books and Overdrive. Not every book is for every person, and that's okay. But it's always nice to hear of new and interesting books, and who knows, maybe this will help the right person find the right book. Oh, and all of these are YA fiction.
Stravaganza: City of Swords, by Mary Hoffman. I like this series. It's got time travel and an alternate world Italy. Modern teens travel to Talia (Italy at the time of the di Medicis, only in this alternate version, they're di Chimici, instead) by way of talismans. These travelers are called Stravagantes. There is intrigue and mystery and romance and history. Each book stars a different character, although they all interact with the main characters of other books. The first is my favorite, though--I like Lucien and Ariana and have a hard time changing loyalties! Anyway, this is the last of the series. It's been enjoyable.
Fox and Phoenix, by Beth Bernobich. I couldn't help feeling like there was a book prior to it that I missed, but all I could find was that it was the first youth book by this author. So... I don't know. I could follow it just fine, so that wasn't a problem, but a lot of things were referenced, and it would be nice to go back and read about them in more detail. Anyway, it's sort of steampunk, and sort of fantasy, only set in a place inspired by China. There's technology and magic both. I liked this (and my 9YO REALLY liked it)--the Chinese aspect was refreshing, and it had a lovely sense of place to it, especially in the mountains. Story: Kai and his friend Yun and their spirit animals travel out of the mountains to the Phoenix empire to get their princess back because her father is dying under mysterious and suspicious circumstances.
Starry Nights, by Daisy Whitney. I wouldn't say this smacks of realism, but sometimes you just need something light and entertaining, which this is. It's about a French guy named Julien whose mom is an art curator. He loves art, too--and he can see when the paintings in the museum come alive at night. Then a family donates their own painting to the musuem--a previously unknown Renoir--and the girl in it is very interesting indeed. At the same time, all the other paintings start to have things go wrong with them--things that other people, and not just Julien, are able to see, too. So they have to stop what's going on. It's fun.
The Accidental Highwayman: Being the Tale of Kit Bristol, His Horse Midnight, a Mysterious Princess, and Sundry Magical Persons Besides, by Ben Tripp. I think the author usually writes adult books. This has some of that flavor, I think--a tall tale for the young'uns. It's told in old fashioned (like Robert Louis Stevenson) language, a swashbuckling story of a boy named Kit Bristol whose highwayman master gets killed, leaving him to take over the job of rescuing a fairy princess. I couldn't help thinking while reading that this is the sort of story that begs to be told. It has adventure and magic and a plucky young hero and plenty of action--for the right reader, this will hit the spot.
Ondine, by Ebony McKenna. Okay, this book is candy. Sometimes you need something very silly and entertaining. (Really. Sometimes you do--if you are going through something major, you need something light to give your brain a bit of a breather.) It's about a girl, Ondine, who lives in a fictional European country called Brugel. It's modern day (they watch Eurovision, although they've never won it), but they do magic, too. There is a talking ferret (who used to be a man), and there is a plot against the duke. And much admiration of boys. (Actually, Ondine is a *little* young in that she's more influenced by a boy's appearance than what he's actually like. But--she has a bit of growth there, too.) It's a good book to give a reluctant reader because things happen without having to wade through a lof of irrelevant stuff.
No Life But This, Anna Sheehan. This is the sequel to A Long, Long Sleep that came out a couple years ago (although from different publishers--I got this via thebookdepository.com, which takes a looooooong time to ship, but OTOH, has free shipping all over the English speaking world.) The series is clearly sci fi (not dystopian), set in the future, and the first book is a futuristic, thriller setting of Sleeping Beauty. Rose's parents ran the UniCorps company that now runs the solar system--very wealthy and important, but they also had the nasty habit of putting their daughter in stasis whenever they didn't want to deal with her. The last time, they forgot about her, and died--and sixty years later, she wakes up. That was book 1. This book is about her friend Otto, who looks human (aside from being blue), but who has DNA from the native one-celled organisms from Jupiter's moon Europa. Otto can't talk like a normal person--but he can touch someone and communicate directly with their mind. Many of his "siblings" (created like him) did not survive, and now his body is breaking down, not to mention what all the thought sharing is doing to his mind. So to save his life, they take him to Europa and see if someone there can help him. One of the things that Sheehan does so well is to allow for real consequences. She doesn't try to save her characters from their own actions, or the actions of others. It gives the story a lot of weight, and makes the reader curiously attached to the characters. I reeeeeeeally hope there is a sequel to this one. It's set up for one. If you like books by Jackie Dolamore or RJ Anderson, and you like sci fi, give these a whirl. They have a fresh feel to them that is very welcome!
What have you read this year so far?
2014 Books--part 3 (YA)
Dec. 31st, 2014 10:34 amAnd now to the category I read most of. Trends I noticed: lots more interstellar sci fi, lots more contemporary books that aren't so much about plot as about rooooomance, some parallel world books, and a number of books with the identical plot of wanting to fill a dead friend's bucket list. A lot of books that I read in YA this year, it turns out, aren't published (so I didn't include them-but someday, hopefully I can!) I was somewhat limited to the flavors my library buys, which are not anywhere as varied as the MG they stock, for some reason. So if there is a YA book you loved that you don't see here, let me know about it!
Nomad, by RJ Anderson. I just needed a book where I could depend on the author to tell a good story, and she did. This is the sequel to Swift, and Ivy the piskey is the main character. She’s been exiled from the Delve by her aunt (who is the Joan, or the leader) who doesn’t believe that there is poison down in the old mine they live in. I have no idea how to talk about this book without spoilers for the series, but suffice it to say that Stuff Happens, and Rebecca is good at getting across great emotion through restrained characters.
Belle Epoque, by Elizabeth Ross. About Maud, a plain girl who leaves home to escape having to marry the 40YO butcher across the street, and heads to Paris. But the only job she can do is at this agency where plain and/or ugly girls are hired to play the foil to more lovely society ladies. Generally people hire their own foils, but in Maud’s case, it’s the girl’s mother who hires Maud without her knowledge. But Isabelle, the girl, doesn’t want to get married—she wants to go to the university. And Maud is caught between her employer and her actual friend.
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Nomad, by RJ Anderson. I just needed a book where I could depend on the author to tell a good story, and she did. This is the sequel to Swift, and Ivy the piskey is the main character. She’s been exiled from the Delve by her aunt (who is the Joan, or the leader) who doesn’t believe that there is poison down in the old mine they live in. I have no idea how to talk about this book without spoilers for the series, but suffice it to say that Stuff Happens, and Rebecca is good at getting across great emotion through restrained characters.
Belle Epoque, by Elizabeth Ross. About Maud, a plain girl who leaves home to escape having to marry the 40YO butcher across the street, and heads to Paris. But the only job she can do is at this agency where plain and/or ugly girls are hired to play the foil to more lovely society ladies. Generally people hire their own foils, but in Maud’s case, it’s the girl’s mother who hires Maud without her knowledge. But Isabelle, the girl, doesn’t want to get married—she wants to go to the university. And Maud is caught between her employer and her actual friend.
( Read more... )
2014 Books--part 2 (middle grade)
Dec. 31st, 2014 10:02 amI lean more towards YA than MG, but this year, the MG books I encountered at my library just had a lot more variety in story, voice, character, and general feel than the YA did. Buying trends? Publishing trends? I don't know. In any case, I read a LOT of them.
Egg and Spoon, by Gregory Maguire. MG, no matter what the publisher and library say. About Russia. And global warming. And Baba Yaga. And want. And magic. Two girls, a peasant and a noble, accidentally get switched when the train they’re on starts moving and the wrong one falls off. Both converge at the party for the Tsar’s godson, one bearing a Faberge egg and one the egg of the Firebird. Things go wrong, and they run to the north to find out why magic is failing and how to get the Firebird to hatch and how to stop winter from ending too early. Baba Yaga is rather funny in this.
The Princess in the Opal Mask, by Jenny Lundquist. Almost a prince and the pauper tale, of twin princesses where, thanks to a historical event involving one princess ancestress revolting against the other, the twins were separated at birth. Then they're reunited when war threatens their country. Many loose ends, but my daughter got the sequel for Christmas, so...
The Princess Curse, by Merrie Haskell. Sort of a mix of the 12 Dancing Princesses and Beauty and the Beast. Could use a sequel. Takes place in Romania.
( Read more... )
Egg and Spoon, by Gregory Maguire. MG, no matter what the publisher and library say. About Russia. And global warming. And Baba Yaga. And want. And magic. Two girls, a peasant and a noble, accidentally get switched when the train they’re on starts moving and the wrong one falls off. Both converge at the party for the Tsar’s godson, one bearing a Faberge egg and one the egg of the Firebird. Things go wrong, and they run to the north to find out why magic is failing and how to get the Firebird to hatch and how to stop winter from ending too early. Baba Yaga is rather funny in this.
The Princess in the Opal Mask, by Jenny Lundquist. Almost a prince and the pauper tale, of twin princesses where, thanks to a historical event involving one princess ancestress revolting against the other, the twins were separated at birth. Then they're reunited when war threatens their country. Many loose ends, but my daughter got the sequel for Christmas, so...
The Princess Curse, by Merrie Haskell. Sort of a mix of the 12 Dancing Princesses and Beauty and the Beast. Could use a sequel. Takes place in Romania.
( Read more... )
I used to do a post listing every book I read all year. Now I think I have too many--not *quite* as many as last year (which, with moving, was a rather stressful year, and the books helped me keep it together), but still, a lot. So I'm just going to list some standouts, by genre. Since everyone has different kinds of books that appeal to them, it makes sense to reveal my biases up front. :) I lean towards books with magic, though I like all kinds of genres. I prefer books with likable characters whose feelings are rooted in reality. I require books to have an actual story where Stuff Happens, and I like an underlying layer of truth in them. I read for hope. Books I have a hard time connecting with include those that depend too much on worldbuilding and not enough on real characters (ie super! quirky!--but shallow--characters!), or books about "life is terrible and then you go on" (as a child I was sometimes forced to read this kind of book in school--adults often like them but the kids they're supposedly for don't relate as well). I like adult nonfiction, but confess that something about the storytelling structure and/or general outlook on life in adult fiction escapes me. And I strongly dislike books of any kind that feel pretentious, porporting to convey Great Wisdom when they are, to quote Shakespeare, "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
That said, here are some standouts from this year that I liked in a variety of genres.
Chapter Books
1-4. Kung Pow Chicken, by Cyndi Marko. This is a fun little series that my 6YO adores. It's about a chicken who is a kid, but has an alter ego that's a superhero. He and his little brother (sidekick name: Egg Drop) go around town, solving superhero crimes. Great fun for your emerging reader!
Adult Fiction
Peace Like a River, Leif Enger. Admittedly, I read this first years ago. But since I now live on the ND/MN border where this book takes place, I figured I should reread it. I liked it because the writing was lovely and because, despite the subject material (boy's older brother shoots and kills someone who was harassing the family, and the family tries to shield him from the law), it was full of hope and miracles.
Words of Radiance, Brandon Sanderson. If you love Big Fat Fantasy, this book is for you! First you have to read The Way of Kings, though. There were some extremely awesome payoff moments for Kaladin in this book. One thing Sanderson is so good at is setting up good payoff moments, and this was really excellent.
Nonfiction
I read a number of interesting ones this year; this category is surprisingly large.
Candy: A Century of Panic and Pleasure, by Samira Kawash. About the history of candy in the US. From people feeling it was poison (late 1800s-early 1900s) to thinking it was actual food,a nd good for you (1910s/1920s--an ad in a 1928 Saturday Evening Post reads, "Do you eat enough candy? See what the modern authorities say about candy in the diet--why and how you should eat it. How candy fills important bodily needs. A hint to women (and men, too) who want to be thinner. How to use candy as a food.") To the 1930s, when people realized candy made you fat, to the candification of all kinds of foods (fruit snacks, sugary cereal, granola bars, etc.) There was even a bit in there on how candy is fed to cows in feed lots. The author's opinion is that candy at least says what it is. There isn't much difference between candy and other processed foods, so if you eat candy along with that, you're just eating more of the same. But if you eat real food and some candy now and then, the world won't end.
Year of No Sugar, by Eve Schaub. Schaub saw a video by Robert Lustig on TV (author of Fat Chance), and decided to lead her family on a year's fast from sugar. She blogged about it, then wrote this book. I think she had a slighly easier time doing this because of relative easy access to nutty fruity organic food (some areas just don't have that as a trend), but it was still really haaaaard. A fun and funny read, and interesting to watch someone (else) put this into action. It was hard to give up desserts, but the most difficult thing was rooting out added sugar from foods that should be savory. Which should perhaps be a wakeup call to America. Maybe we wouldn't have to worry so much about dessert if it wasn't already such a part of the everyday meal.
Last Ape Standing: The Seven Million Year Story of How and Why We Survived, by Chip Walter. Interesting book about all the different kinds of humans (we have found 27, including us), our origins and wanderings and interactions. Did you know we have as many neurons in our brains as there are stars in the Milky Way? Also, 40-85% of the standing metabolism of small children is taken up in brain development. Also, we know that our ancestors met up with other hominids because they gave us head lice, and the evidence is still around. Neanderthals may have split from us, but we got back together, because many of us have Neanderthal DNA. The ending chapters seemed speculative and sketchy, and I'm inclined to not take them seriously, but the rest of the book is fascinating.
Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians but Were Afraid to Ask, by Anton Treuer. He has family ties to the Red Lake tribe in Minnesota. I didn't even know there were that many questions to ask. It was quite fascinating. I learned that Indian politics are extremely complicated! The book made me more knowledgeable about my neighbors, but also a little nervous of making a misstep. Still, things like this should be required reading in school.
Harry Potter Page to Screen, the Complete Filmmaking Journey, by Bob McCabe. Wow. What a cool book! It goes through the entire process of making all the movies--from the directors requiring essays about their characters from the actors, to casting and location choices, to making all the different creatures. (Most of the special effects were real, not just CGI.) I love reading about different forms of storytelling, so I'm always interested in how books get turned into film. You can learn a lot from looking at stories in different ways. I think the designers had a lot of fun--all that creativity, with no price limit! Beautiful artistic creation--it must have felt wonderful to pull that off.
Framed Ink: Drawing and Composition for Visual Storytellers, by Marcos Mateu-Mestre and Jeffrey Katzenberg. By an animator who is a master in the field, this book talks about how to compose frames and sequences for animation and graphic novels. I found it very good, dealing with multiple-sequence visual storytelling. You could use it even in single frame photography for ideas on how to convey a sense of movement.
My Father's Keeper: Children of Nazi Leaders--An Intimate History of Damage and Denial, by Stephan and Norbert Lebert. Horrifying and piteous all at once--about the incredible damage inflicted on the children of high ranking Nazi officials as they dealt with the heritage they were given. Interviews from 1959, followed up in 2000 by the son of the original interviewer. Might be interesting to follow up with the autobiography of Martin Bormann, Living against the Shadow (Leben gegen den Schatten)--he became a priest and seems to have dealt with things better than the others.
Graphic Novels/Art
Sisters and also Smile, by Rain Tegelmeier. Funny and autobiographical. Smile is about falling on the concrete and wiping out her two front teeth, just as she entered adolescence, and the six years it took to put it all back together. Makes me scared of dentists! But it was a good read.
Noah's Ark, by Rien Poortvliet. He's a Dutch artist I discovered when I was a teenager. He is my very favorite animal artist, and I found this book browsing in the library. It's a treasury of animal art, framing the story of Noah's Ark. Such a lovely, intimate look at what it might have been like to be on the ark, plus a sense of wonder and appreciation for animals in general.
Gaijin: American Prisoner of War, by Matt Faulkner. About some Japanese-Americans who were taken into a Japanese internment camp in WWII, and the difficulties they faced. Told from the kids' POV. Great art!
That said, here are some standouts from this year that I liked in a variety of genres.
Chapter Books
1-4. Kung Pow Chicken, by Cyndi Marko. This is a fun little series that my 6YO adores. It's about a chicken who is a kid, but has an alter ego that's a superhero. He and his little brother (sidekick name: Egg Drop) go around town, solving superhero crimes. Great fun for your emerging reader!
Adult Fiction
Peace Like a River, Leif Enger. Admittedly, I read this first years ago. But since I now live on the ND/MN border where this book takes place, I figured I should reread it. I liked it because the writing was lovely and because, despite the subject material (boy's older brother shoots and kills someone who was harassing the family, and the family tries to shield him from the law), it was full of hope and miracles.
Words of Radiance, Brandon Sanderson. If you love Big Fat Fantasy, this book is for you! First you have to read The Way of Kings, though. There were some extremely awesome payoff moments for Kaladin in this book. One thing Sanderson is so good at is setting up good payoff moments, and this was really excellent.
Nonfiction
I read a number of interesting ones this year; this category is surprisingly large.
Candy: A Century of Panic and Pleasure, by Samira Kawash. About the history of candy in the US. From people feeling it was poison (late 1800s-early 1900s) to thinking it was actual food,a nd good for you (1910s/1920s--an ad in a 1928 Saturday Evening Post reads, "Do you eat enough candy? See what the modern authorities say about candy in the diet--why and how you should eat it. How candy fills important bodily needs. A hint to women (and men, too) who want to be thinner. How to use candy as a food.") To the 1930s, when people realized candy made you fat, to the candification of all kinds of foods (fruit snacks, sugary cereal, granola bars, etc.) There was even a bit in there on how candy is fed to cows in feed lots. The author's opinion is that candy at least says what it is. There isn't much difference between candy and other processed foods, so if you eat candy along with that, you're just eating more of the same. But if you eat real food and some candy now and then, the world won't end.
Year of No Sugar, by Eve Schaub. Schaub saw a video by Robert Lustig on TV (author of Fat Chance), and decided to lead her family on a year's fast from sugar. She blogged about it, then wrote this book. I think she had a slighly easier time doing this because of relative easy access to nutty fruity organic food (some areas just don't have that as a trend), but it was still really haaaaard. A fun and funny read, and interesting to watch someone (else) put this into action. It was hard to give up desserts, but the most difficult thing was rooting out added sugar from foods that should be savory. Which should perhaps be a wakeup call to America. Maybe we wouldn't have to worry so much about dessert if it wasn't already such a part of the everyday meal.
Last Ape Standing: The Seven Million Year Story of How and Why We Survived, by Chip Walter. Interesting book about all the different kinds of humans (we have found 27, including us), our origins and wanderings and interactions. Did you know we have as many neurons in our brains as there are stars in the Milky Way? Also, 40-85% of the standing metabolism of small children is taken up in brain development. Also, we know that our ancestors met up with other hominids because they gave us head lice, and the evidence is still around. Neanderthals may have split from us, but we got back together, because many of us have Neanderthal DNA. The ending chapters seemed speculative and sketchy, and I'm inclined to not take them seriously, but the rest of the book is fascinating.
Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians but Were Afraid to Ask, by Anton Treuer. He has family ties to the Red Lake tribe in Minnesota. I didn't even know there were that many questions to ask. It was quite fascinating. I learned that Indian politics are extremely complicated! The book made me more knowledgeable about my neighbors, but also a little nervous of making a misstep. Still, things like this should be required reading in school.
Harry Potter Page to Screen, the Complete Filmmaking Journey, by Bob McCabe. Wow. What a cool book! It goes through the entire process of making all the movies--from the directors requiring essays about their characters from the actors, to casting and location choices, to making all the different creatures. (Most of the special effects were real, not just CGI.) I love reading about different forms of storytelling, so I'm always interested in how books get turned into film. You can learn a lot from looking at stories in different ways. I think the designers had a lot of fun--all that creativity, with no price limit! Beautiful artistic creation--it must have felt wonderful to pull that off.
Framed Ink: Drawing and Composition for Visual Storytellers, by Marcos Mateu-Mestre and Jeffrey Katzenberg. By an animator who is a master in the field, this book talks about how to compose frames and sequences for animation and graphic novels. I found it very good, dealing with multiple-sequence visual storytelling. You could use it even in single frame photography for ideas on how to convey a sense of movement.
My Father's Keeper: Children of Nazi Leaders--An Intimate History of Damage and Denial, by Stephan and Norbert Lebert. Horrifying and piteous all at once--about the incredible damage inflicted on the children of high ranking Nazi officials as they dealt with the heritage they were given. Interviews from 1959, followed up in 2000 by the son of the original interviewer. Might be interesting to follow up with the autobiography of Martin Bormann, Living against the Shadow (Leben gegen den Schatten)--he became a priest and seems to have dealt with things better than the others.
Graphic Novels/Art
Sisters and also Smile, by Rain Tegelmeier. Funny and autobiographical. Smile is about falling on the concrete and wiping out her two front teeth, just as she entered adolescence, and the six years it took to put it all back together. Makes me scared of dentists! But it was a good read.
Noah's Ark, by Rien Poortvliet. He's a Dutch artist I discovered when I was a teenager. He is my very favorite animal artist, and I found this book browsing in the library. It's a treasury of animal art, framing the story of Noah's Ark. Such a lovely, intimate look at what it might have been like to be on the ark, plus a sense of wonder and appreciation for animals in general.
Gaijin: American Prisoner of War, by Matt Faulkner. About some Japanese-Americans who were taken into a Japanese internment camp in WWII, and the difficulties they faced. Told from the kids' POV. Great art!
Searching for summer
Dec. 3rd, 2014 08:01 pmI am still alive, but I haven't had very many interesting photos lately, and we are in the same routine as last year--I spend a ton of time driving kids to school and various extracurriculars, and now that we've entered the cold season, I also spend a lot of time shivering. So it is not from lack of interest in posting--it's just that I don't want to sound redundant!
(When I say cold, I mean the -30 degree windchill of the other morning. Ow. Why do I live here again?)
One thing we have done lately is to get a gym membership. I am not a gym person, and neither is anyone in our family. But we have a kid who's been running cross country this year, like my husband did in high school, and they've been running together all summer. The season may have ended, but they want to keep running (the 14YO just does better at everything when he gets a little regular exercise). But--as you can see, extreme cold is a problem. So we broke down and got a membership for the winter. Our first visit went something like this:
Nice membership lady: I used to work in a bookstore, but it was so awful I quit. Then I got on here--and it's wonderful!
Me: (stares)
NML: And here are all the wonderful $7000 machines we have! Work those upper muscles! Come to the spin class and bike like a maniac! Only...you can only use these ones during class because they cost so much. But any of these machines out here on the floor, you can use. Just ask an employee to show you how to work it first. Because expensive.
Me: (backs away in case of touching something and destroying it)
NML: Look at this fabulous machine! You can watch programs on it, "ride" trails. And look, it comes in different languages!
Me and spouse: (These machines all look eerily like the Roma birthing wheel we saw on a tour of a German labor and delivery room once.We are scared. If we use this machine, do we get to listen to Mayan midwives crooning?)
NML: You can totally hook up your phone.
Me: (Which machines can you put a book on? Better yet, which machines have space to put a laptop on, so I can finish writing a book while I'm getting exercise?)
Both of us: Er...could we just walk around your indoor track once?
NML: (stares as if to say, did you not hear a word I just said???)
Other general observations: there is babysitting for toddlers and there are some limited activities for kids 8 and up, but 6YOs fall into a void. We came back with the family--because we got a family membership, see--and the 6YO was utterly frustrated because there was nothing for him to do. And anyway, a parent has to be right next to a kid while in there. Which means that if we all go, some of us get to exercise and some don't. Although given that those expensive machines scare me a little, I think I'm good with running on the track and swimming (the only two things he CAN do).
Also, Camazotz. I am so grateful there IS an indoor track, don't get me wrong! I like the views of the parking lot, the pool, the tennis courts, and the people doing weights. But all too quickly, you return to the site where people are using treadmills and...all those other machines whose names I don't know. They are all staring at the screen. They are all moving in identical rhythms. It's either a giant hamster wheel or Camazotz (and since we have a building near us that looks eerily like CENTRAL Central intelligence, well...)
Now, feel free to come back in three months and poke fun at me for my ignorance now. Because our insurance will give us money back if we go X times per month, which sort of means we HAVE to go to make it worth it. And given how sore my ankles are after a two-month hiatus from running and then running on a totally new surface, I'm going to HAVE to ask someone how to use one of those mysterious machines.
Who knows. I might even like it. *nods in perfect time and hops on the hamster wheel*
(When I say cold, I mean the -30 degree windchill of the other morning. Ow. Why do I live here again?)
One thing we have done lately is to get a gym membership. I am not a gym person, and neither is anyone in our family. But we have a kid who's been running cross country this year, like my husband did in high school, and they've been running together all summer. The season may have ended, but they want to keep running (the 14YO just does better at everything when he gets a little regular exercise). But--as you can see, extreme cold is a problem. So we broke down and got a membership for the winter. Our first visit went something like this:
Nice membership lady: I used to work in a bookstore, but it was so awful I quit. Then I got on here--and it's wonderful!
Me: (stares)
NML: And here are all the wonderful $7000 machines we have! Work those upper muscles! Come to the spin class and bike like a maniac! Only...you can only use these ones during class because they cost so much. But any of these machines out here on the floor, you can use. Just ask an employee to show you how to work it first. Because expensive.
Me: (backs away in case of touching something and destroying it)
NML: Look at this fabulous machine! You can watch programs on it, "ride" trails. And look, it comes in different languages!
Me and spouse: (These machines all look eerily like the Roma birthing wheel we saw on a tour of a German labor and delivery room once.We are scared. If we use this machine, do we get to listen to Mayan midwives crooning?)
NML: You can totally hook up your phone.
Me: (Which machines can you put a book on? Better yet, which machines have space to put a laptop on, so I can finish writing a book while I'm getting exercise?)
Both of us: Er...could we just walk around your indoor track once?
NML: (stares as if to say, did you not hear a word I just said???)
Other general observations: there is babysitting for toddlers and there are some limited activities for kids 8 and up, but 6YOs fall into a void. We came back with the family--because we got a family membership, see--and the 6YO was utterly frustrated because there was nothing for him to do. And anyway, a parent has to be right next to a kid while in there. Which means that if we all go, some of us get to exercise and some don't. Although given that those expensive machines scare me a little, I think I'm good with running on the track and swimming (the only two things he CAN do).
Also, Camazotz. I am so grateful there IS an indoor track, don't get me wrong! I like the views of the parking lot, the pool, the tennis courts, and the people doing weights. But all too quickly, you return to the site where people are using treadmills and...all those other machines whose names I don't know. They are all staring at the screen. They are all moving in identical rhythms. It's either a giant hamster wheel or Camazotz (and since we have a building near us that looks eerily like CENTRAL Central intelligence, well...)
Now, feel free to come back in three months and poke fun at me for my ignorance now. Because our insurance will give us money back if we go X times per month, which sort of means we HAVE to go to make it worth it. And given how sore my ankles are after a two-month hiatus from running and then running on a totally new surface, I'm going to HAVE to ask someone how to use one of those mysterious machines.
Who knows. I might even like it. *nods in perfect time and hops on the hamster wheel*
Things that make good writing
Aug. 19th, 2014 11:39 amI've been trying so hard to write lately, and I have ideas crowding my head and rising up in my insides and wanting to get out. But at the same time, it's that pre-school runup where schedules are insane and each kid has a unique time and date for registration, dentist, etc. Add in tons of cross country practice and a track meet to the schedule, my own scout committee meetings, startup events for my husband's department (as in social events we should make an appearance at), and basically, I am losing my mind. I just have a hard time writing something intimate and personal (or funny and adventurous--whatever it is, it comes from that quiet whisper in my mind that I need alone time to process) when I'm sitting RIGHT next to someone in the waiting room and they are looking over my shoulder. So I brought a book to read and ended up taking notes. And thinking about not only this book, but others I've read that are particularly strong in something. So here are a couple of things I've learned from books that are especially well-written:
1. I think I have a fairly well developed sense of justice. So one thing that makes me really like a character is if they are essentially decent people in a world that isn't. If they quietly do their good thing without complaining, and let me, the reader, complain about injustice on their behalf, I'm hooked. Arthur in Kevin Crossley-Holland's books. Sam in Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver. Harry against the Dursleys or Umbridge or Voldemort or Snape. I'm pretty sure this is a personal thing, but I am much more sympathetic to these kinds of characters than the Bad Person Who is Misunderstood/aka Hot Bad Boy. Regardless which kind of character you like, though, standing two very different characters against each other can help saturate their colors a bit, and make them for vivid and memorable.
2. The use of weaknesses to solve the ultimate problem. I like a character with weaknesses. Someone likeable who still has something to struggle against. And I love it when they find a way to use what seemed a weakness as a strength. Brandon Sanderson's characters do this quite a lot. And even if it's not exactly a weakness, I notice this kind of "seeding" happening in other books, where the pieces crop up as the book goes along, seemingly unconnected, and then--the final piece falls into place and the MC realizes that this--THIS--is how to solve the unsolveable problem. There's a fantastic kickboxing scene at the end of The Knights of Crystallia (Alcatraz) that pulls a bunch of threads together quite awesomely. No less interesting is the way the ultimate solution in Shiver is laid out. I like this sort of thing because I like to be able to be surprised and at the same time reread and see how it was inevitable.
3. Nouns and verbs. Specific nouns and verbs that show what kind of thing your focal character pays attention to and cares about. I still remember wanting to eat Elizabeth Bunce's book A Curse Dark as Gold when I read it the first time. I'd spent nearly two years in Germany, and while I speak Germany, my reading lags. Being me, I had a library card and checked out books all the time in German. But it was still slow going. To get a book that was in my own language, and to have such LOVELY language...well, I didn't eat it, but I came close. :) The thing with language is, it doesn't have to be all sunsets and purple. It just has to fit the character, be specific, and surprise your reader with new ways of looking at things.
4. Just as you lay in the pieces of the plot solution, you should lay in reasons for meaning. In The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, by Jennifer E. Smith, the actual on the ground plot is slight. Two people get on an airplane. They talk. They get out at the other end, and one goes to a wedding and the other to...well, not a wedding. The thing that makes the book work is all of the investment the author made so we know the meaning of the events. The MC is scared to fly. Her dad was the one who helped her over that fear. Except it's her dad's wedding she's going to--to a new wife, the woman he left their family for. So when this total stranger (but very nice! See #1) helps her through her flying fears, the whole action takes on tons more meaning. In Shiver, we get a bit of backstory about something the characters went through earlier in life. Then in the Now, we get a similar situation--only, the stakes are higher this time. We already have a clue how that character will react, which heightens the tension, because we know how much more is at stake in the Now. In Harry Potter, we have been amply shown--over pages and volumes and bucketloads of story--everything Harry stands to lose if he acts. But we've also been shown why he can't NOT act when he walks into the forest.
What about you? What have you learned about writing from reading good books?
1. I think I have a fairly well developed sense of justice. So one thing that makes me really like a character is if they are essentially decent people in a world that isn't. If they quietly do their good thing without complaining, and let me, the reader, complain about injustice on their behalf, I'm hooked. Arthur in Kevin Crossley-Holland's books. Sam in Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver. Harry against the Dursleys or Umbridge or Voldemort or Snape. I'm pretty sure this is a personal thing, but I am much more sympathetic to these kinds of characters than the Bad Person Who is Misunderstood/aka Hot Bad Boy. Regardless which kind of character you like, though, standing two very different characters against each other can help saturate their colors a bit, and make them for vivid and memorable.
2. The use of weaknesses to solve the ultimate problem. I like a character with weaknesses. Someone likeable who still has something to struggle against. And I love it when they find a way to use what seemed a weakness as a strength. Brandon Sanderson's characters do this quite a lot. And even if it's not exactly a weakness, I notice this kind of "seeding" happening in other books, where the pieces crop up as the book goes along, seemingly unconnected, and then--the final piece falls into place and the MC realizes that this--THIS--is how to solve the unsolveable problem. There's a fantastic kickboxing scene at the end of The Knights of Crystallia (Alcatraz) that pulls a bunch of threads together quite awesomely. No less interesting is the way the ultimate solution in Shiver is laid out. I like this sort of thing because I like to be able to be surprised and at the same time reread and see how it was inevitable.
3. Nouns and verbs. Specific nouns and verbs that show what kind of thing your focal character pays attention to and cares about. I still remember wanting to eat Elizabeth Bunce's book A Curse Dark as Gold when I read it the first time. I'd spent nearly two years in Germany, and while I speak Germany, my reading lags. Being me, I had a library card and checked out books all the time in German. But it was still slow going. To get a book that was in my own language, and to have such LOVELY language...well, I didn't eat it, but I came close. :) The thing with language is, it doesn't have to be all sunsets and purple. It just has to fit the character, be specific, and surprise your reader with new ways of looking at things.
4. Just as you lay in the pieces of the plot solution, you should lay in reasons for meaning. In The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, by Jennifer E. Smith, the actual on the ground plot is slight. Two people get on an airplane. They talk. They get out at the other end, and one goes to a wedding and the other to...well, not a wedding. The thing that makes the book work is all of the investment the author made so we know the meaning of the events. The MC is scared to fly. Her dad was the one who helped her over that fear. Except it's her dad's wedding she's going to--to a new wife, the woman he left their family for. So when this total stranger (but very nice! See #1) helps her through her flying fears, the whole action takes on tons more meaning. In Shiver, we get a bit of backstory about something the characters went through earlier in life. Then in the Now, we get a similar situation--only, the stakes are higher this time. We already have a clue how that character will react, which heightens the tension, because we know how much more is at stake in the Now. In Harry Potter, we have been amply shown--over pages and volumes and bucketloads of story--everything Harry stands to lose if he acts. But we've also been shown why he can't NOT act when he walks into the forest.
What about you? What have you learned about writing from reading good books?
