Trains and Writing

To say Small Child is obsessed with trains is an understatement.




The other day when we were playing with one of his tracks on the floor, he got bored and tore up part of the track. Instead of getting mad, I created a new game. I called it, "Oh no! Ice!" inspired by The Polar Express. When the trains went off the track, they slid into an ice field and there was much chaos until the trains made their way back to the track. After a couple of rounds of that, to make it even more interesting, the trains ran into a field of dinosaurs who kept jumping in front of them and landing on the cars. Much fun was had by all.

As we were playing I got to thinking how our game applies to writing as well. Characters doing the same things over and over again gets boring. Going in circles for hours will make a reader close a book fast, but throw in an ice field or a herd of dinosaurs, and they just may keep reading.

Friday Fun!

For all of you writers out there -- http://writtenkitten.net

Simply copy and paste your word count into the box and you get a new kitten for every hundred words (or however many words you choose.)

Link found at kellyrfineman's Live Journal page. Stop by and say hi.

Beware the Danger Punches!

Over Thanksgiving, my family and I went on a Royal Carribbean cruise. If you've ever been on one of those ships, you know they have all sorts of cool things to do on board, many of which will earn you a danger punch.

You sign away your life on a waiver, and they punch your sea pass card. At first, we scoffed. And then, this happened:

After 40 minutes, I had a blister the size of quarter on my foot. I will spare you the pictures, but suffice it to say, I had to buy emergency flip flops, and a week later, I am still unable to wear any other shoes.
Fortunately, we all remained safe while doing this:

But then came roller blading where my brother in law tore something in his knee, and the water park where a friend fell off a 15' iceburg in a reverse belly flop.

In addition to those injuries, my mother in law hurt her rib on a chair, Small Child got a black eye from a bed, and my husband got his nose cracked by Small Child's hard little head. In fact, there was only one person in our party who escaped injury altogether. Needless to say, we stopped scoffing the danger punches, lest they heard us and inflicted more injuries upon us.

Beware the danger punches, my friend. Beware.

Realistic Characters

I've been watching Terra Nova this season, because dinosaurs = yay! And I've been willing to forgive its other flaws, but since I write YA, this particular one bugged the snot out of me.

On a recent episode, a 16-year-old boy and girl were sharing their first kiss. The boy breaks away because he has a girlfriend 85 million years in the future. The girl he was kissing says (paraphrased of course), "It's okay. I still like you, and I will help you get your girlfriend here."

My immediate reaction was, "No self-respecting teenage girl whose only competition was 85 milliion years away would offer to bring that competition face to face with her."

My husband, who was watching with me, said, "Forget about the girl. No 16-year-old boy would stop kissing a pretty girl when his girlfriend was 85 million years away."

In any type of storytelling, there must not only be rich and interesting characters, but also characters that stay true to their age. For me, the scene felt more like a plot contrivance than something that would organically occur. However, I might have believed it if the couple was older. Perhaps the guy was married, and his wife was not allowed to come. For 16-year-olds, it simply didn't ring true for me.

So what do I take from this? When I'm writing, I need to strive for honest, real reactions from my characters. If an interaction doesn't feel right, perhaps that bit of business needs to occur with other people or under different circumstances. Will it always ring true for everyone? I doubt it. But it's a worthy goal.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

I fell in love with If I Stay the first time I read it, but for me, once I turned that last page, I continued the book in my head, creating my own happy ending for Adam and Mia. So I was hesitant to pick up Where She Went. I didn't want my happy ending to be shattered. Well, I have to admit it was shattered, but brilliantly so.

I love this book.

When Adam fell into that void, so did I. When Adam wept, so did I. And when the ending came, I was blown away. Left with a hangover in the best possible way. I only hope that one day, I can write such powerful words and leave such lasting effects. Thank you, Gayle, for giving me an ending that I love even better than my own.

And now, can someone please recommend something light and fluffy?

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

"Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That's fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when a monster sandstorm arrives, along with four cloaked horsemen, Saba's world is shattered. Lugh is captured, and Saba embarks on an epic quest to get him back.
Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the world outside of desolate Silverlake, Saba is lost without Lugh to guide her. So perhaps the most surprising thing of all is what Saba learns about herself: she's a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. And she has the power to take down a corrupt society from the inside. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization." (Description from Goodreads)

Reasons you should read this book.

1. This is a dystopian that manages to break the mold that so many have fallen into lately. Namely, the "My world is perfect...wait...no, it's not," syndrome. There is never any assumption that this world or its inhabitants are perfect. But, it's very very real.

2. The prose is amazing. Moira Young shows so much of the world and Saba's character just through her language.

3. Saba is an unforgettable heroine -- flawed, courageous, determined, and loyal.

4. And the romance is hot. (That alone is enough for me.)

Seriously, read this book.