I'm not a prude by any means, but holy money shot Batman is there ever a lot of sex on TV these days. I can't watch any cable TV anymore without being inundated with tits and ass and graphic gettin' it on at least every 15 minutes. Sometimes a sex scene is important to the story, but mostly, the show would work just fine without it. I don't get why the US, and I do think it's predominantly the US, thinks the only way to keep anyone's attention is to use crude language and flash boobies all day long.  I don't find it more interesting, I don't find it sexy and I don't find it titillating. In contrast I find it crass, cheap, lazy, and boring. 

As I said, I'm not a prude, I've read every one of Kresley Cole's books, I hung out in strip joints when I was a twenty something student, and I can tell a dirty joke with the best of them, but there is a time and a place, and family TV isn't it.

The US should take a look at what they have on TV in the UK and Canada,  Great SHOWS, and not a peep of raunchy moaning and skin slapping. TV should be smart, funny, and entertaining. I shouldn't be embarrassed to be in the room with my dad when I'm watching Game of Thrones.  If people want to watch sex on TV there is a media for that, it's called a porno. If I'm not watching a porno then why am I still watching porn? I don't get it. And that's pretty much my rant for today.

After writing my first draft I gave a copy to one of my best friends. His name is Ivan, and he has a lot of talent and insight into books, movies, and pretty much everything. Now the old saying is, if you want an honest opinion don't ask friends or relatives, but Ivan was kind enough, (yes Kind) to pretty much rip it to shreds. Most of it was crap, but he did like the story, which was the most important part, to me. It was after my consultation with him that I started the long process of editing, and now 12 versions later and 70,000 words less, I have my finished manuscript. Ya, I cut 70,000 words. I don't know how many pages that is, but it's a lot. So thank you, Ivan!

Nobody wants to hear that something they have spent so long working  at isn't the best book ever, but let's face it out of all the books in this world only one can have the title of best book ever and chances are it isn't going to be me or anyone else I know. Probably not even anyone else living. But everyone can have his or her best book, and the only way to get it is to take a few hard punches, look at what you have with a different perspective and start improving it.  People who love you generally don't want to hurt your feelings, but it doesn't do anyone, whether it be a writer, or a skater, or a football player, or a math student, to be told that their mediocre effort is brilliant and wonderful and nothing needs to be changed. Critique propels greatness. The Olympics just wrapped up, and I bet every single athlete had a coach who drove them every day to be better. That spin was awful, do it again. You're not fast enough, try it this way. You're not strong enough, you need to work harder. And it's the same with writing.

If you have a manuscript, or any other project that you are working on, don't be afraid of criticism, it is what will make you better.

I didn't get much done yesterday, I was laid up on the couch feeling crappy. I was pretty sure I was coming down with the flu, but I woke up today feeling pretty normal. Now I think I may have just had a bad reaction to the nasty fast food I had for lunch. A bout of nausea will cure a person of hamburger cravings pretty darn fast.  It will be a vegetable and water diet for me for a few days. I just posted Chapter 7 of Amaranthine, so check it out.

I think writers fall into two general groups. Those who know what they are writing and those who don't. And by that I mean, people who have painstakingly plotted out their whole manuscript from beginning to end, and then start writing. And people who sit down with a blank slate, write, and see what happens.

I fall firmly into the plotter camp. For the most part I have everything all worked out in my head before I start. I have scenes dancing around between my eyeballs and I know every character like a good friend. Then I sit down and try to transfer what I have spent months daydreaming about into words. (This is actually a lot harder than it sounds.) The result is a very rough draft. I never get writer's block because I always know what's coming next, and I think I save myself a lot of revision time.

In contrast, I'm not really sure how anyone writes off the cuff. I imagine that people who write a lot for a living are forced to do this because they just don't have time to spend developing a story in their heads beforehand. They get a topic or an inspiration and they just start writing. (I like to call it puking onto the page). But now that I think about it, that is how I wrote the majority of my papers in Uni, and how I come up with blog posts so...maybe I do a little bit of both after all.

This is just part of the writing process, of course. There are as many processes as there are writers. Some people listen to music, (I can't). Some people write on paper, (only if I'm not at home). Some people sit down and write at the same time everyday no matter what, (this is called butt in chair. I can't do it. I can only write when the urge strikes and that can be anytime.)  Some people have strange rituals involving chickens and burnt sage. (I don't actually know if this is true, but the world is full of weirdos so maybe).

I didn't have anything to rant about today, even though it's rant Wednesday. I'll try harder to be annoyed by next week. See you all soon, and if you haven't already check out the short story I wrote listed under Odds n Ends. I am trying to write another couple of short stories to post as well.

Bunratty Castle in Ireland

When I visualize the castle that Davn and Astral have been living, Bunratty Castle is the closest representation I can find. Squat and square, with small windows. Old and crumbled down. The roof is falling in and leaks in the upper floors. Most is uninhabitable. This picture is actually in much better shape than their home. The forest around them is old and encroaches on the Castle. Tall trees surround the building and it is gloomier and more enclosed than this picture.

I'm going to start  a weekly Wednesday rant, where I vent about all the annoying stuff that I read, hear and see during the week. I might not have enough to do one every week, but probably pretty close. This week, it's the people who say this to me, "Oh ya, I want to write a book one day, too"

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that no one else is capable of writing a book, but it's the way these particular people say it. Flippantly, like it's the easiest thing in the world to do. As though the only reason they are not best selling authors right now is because they've never bothered to put it on their Saturday 'to do' list. Because it's just that easy to crank off an amazing, relevant novel in a few weekends.

Now, this annoys me because it devalues all the really hard work that goes into writing. It isn't easy. It takes a tremendous amount of time. Years of research and planning. Years of sitting at a computer or notepad. Reading and re-reading and writing and re-writing. Even after all that time and effort sometimes it's still crap. Once it's "finished" then it gets picked over by friends and family and critique partners. Then it gets re-written again, maybe two or three more times. If you get an agent and an editor then it gets picked over by them as well and they will go through line by line and edit every single word.

It does get easier. You learn from past mistakes. You avoid the over writing and cliches that you spent so much time fixing on your first manuscript. Seasoned writers can pump out books much faster than the beginner, but that's after they spent the first years of their careers doing all of the above.  But I assure you that just because Stephen King can write a book in a few months doesn't mean that Sally hairdresser or Larry plumber can write the next great American story while on 3 weeks vacation.

And before all that. Before you put a single word to paper, you have to have a really good premise. No one wants to read your thinly veiled memoir of a C student who over comes a drunk dad, moves to the city and gets an accounting degree.

So, for all the people who have said, "Oh ya, I want to write a book one day too",  please listen. You are not going to sit down and write a book one day when the mood strikes you, any more than you are going to sit down at the piano for the first time ever and play Mozart. When you say shit like that it is an insult to all the real writers out there who have sunk years of their lives and great big chunks of their hearts and souls into their work, so please stop. You sound like an asshole.

I went through a stage with 'the kid' where I had a lot of time to read. He wouldn't sleep unless I was beside him so at 7pm every night we would lie down in his bed and I would wait not so patiently for him to settle down. He would zonk off eventually and I would lie there with my tiny book light and read for a few hours. I read more in those few months than I have been able to since before he was born; about 10 books altogether. Most of what I read was well known stuff, by established authors who have enviable publishing deals so they don't need my book review, but I will give you the list of books I think are definitely worth your time and money.

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire - a little sexy and easy to read, I couldn't put it down. The story of this opposites attract love story was wholly captivating, although there was a patch in the middle that felt like it was written by somebody else: It was a little disconnected from the rest of the book. But still I would give it a good 81/2 out of 10.


The Blondes by Emily Schultz- I liked this book, it was well written and kept me reading but it didn't have the urgency that some books have. You know the ones where you just can't put them down and you have to keep yourself from reading the last few pages because you are just dying to know how it ends. Ya this book wasn't like that. I enjoyed it and it was different which is something in this day and age of carbon copy drivel but it wasn't riveting. All in all I would give it a 7 out of 10.


Matched by Ally Condie- this one was really good. It had a very 1984 feel and was well written. It's the first in a series and had a good story and was well paced. I would say  that like The Blondes it lacked a little urgency but I would still give it a solid 8 out of 10.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn- This book is being made into a movie and I get why, it has a great story  and is well executed even though it's told in great part in journal entries. The main characters are both likable and detestable at the same time and it's not until the very end that you finally decide which one you are rooting for. But, it's long. Too long for me. About 1/4 of the way through I started looking at the large chunk of pages still to go and couldn't help but think; really? I read it on my KOBO so I'm not exactly sure how many pages it is but it's loooong. Worth it, but a little exhausting. I'll still give it an 8 out of 10.


finally,

Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren- This book has a lot of sex in it. I'll give it a 9.

Sometimes I think my writing is beautiful, rhythmic and succinct, every word just fits. And sometimes I think my writing is a 20 car pile up on the highway. It's awkward and hard to follow. Pronouns don't follow who they are supposed to follow and there are way too many convoluted sentences. That's how I feel about my Prologue. I hate it. I have re-written those few pages more than any other part of the entire book and I still hate them. I finally gave up and just left it as they were.
Feel free to comment on them. It's o.k, I can take it.

I don't know why some scenes are so much easier to write than others. Some pages practically wrote themselves, while others have been deleted and re-written so many times I wore out my backspace button. My main character's voice was the hardest for me, which sucks, because she is in pretty much every scene. But her naive insecurity coupled with earnest kindness was really hard to put into words without making her sound like a whiny brat all the time. Davn was the easiest strangely enough considering I'm not nearly so broody and angry as he is and can't relate to his self loathing.

On a funny side note, I always thought Georgianna had the personality closest to my own, and guess how many people have told me they hate her? LOL. I just smile and nod.

Since I was a teenager I have read mostly romance novels or SF/Fantasy. Kathleen E. Woodiwiss is still one of my favorites. She writes entire books of the most beautiful prose and her stories have more meat to them than contemporary love stories. A mystery and murder, scandal, and of course a great passion. I think more than any other writer she has influenced my style and taste the most. If I ever get to be half as good a writer as her I will be happy.

SF and fantasy tickle the imagination in ways that no other genre can, I love thinking outside of the real world and looking beyond the everyday. Terry Goodkind was a favorite, as well as the Wheel of Time books by Robert Jordan (although seriously it's time to wrap it up). The Game of Thrones books are the newest big thing, but really I'd rather watch the TV show and save myself some time for other things.

I suppose I should give a shout out to good old animal stories. I read books about animals voraciously when I was a kid, and as I grew older it tapered down to almost never. Watership Down by Richard Adams is still one of the best books I've ever read. I must have read it a dozen times when I was a teenager and it never gets old. There are stories within stories, trials and perseverance, but without the heartbreak of most animal books. Black Beauty and Whitefang as  well as others were hard to read at times because of the horrible cruelty inflicted upon the characters. I don't think I could ever write a book that didn't have animals as a major force within the story.

What are your favorites? If you wanted everyone to read just one book what would it be?