I was tagged by my friend Cate Woods to answer the following questions. There are a LOT of them, sheesh! But I’ll play, because this way she owes me when I need someone to tag in the future! HA!
1)What’s the last thing you wrote? What’s the first thing you wrote that you still have?
The last thing I wrote was my NaNovel, which is still untitled. The first FINISHED thing I wrote that I still have in a box is an Epic Fantasy short story I wrote in 8th grade for an English Class assignment. In his notes after my grade, my English teacher wrote “Please send me a copy of your first published novel.” That is the best praise I have ever received on a homework assignment; and I’m still planning to send him that published novel, when I get there. (And I would like to complain about the fact that the first question is really TWO questions, making this a 27 question tag. Deception, people–it is most heinous.)
2) Write poetry?
On occasion. But it’s truly abysmal and I never let anyone read it.
3) Angsty poetry?
Oh yes, when I was a teenager, I wrote volumes of awful poetry. I hope it has all been destroyed . . .
4) Favorite genre of writing?
I love Urban Fantasy of the type that Charles deLint and Terri Windling refer to as Mythic Fiction. It’s fantasy set in a contemporary setting, but lacking the “grit” and hard, cocky attitude of most of the adult Urban Fantasy I’ve read.
5) Most annoying character you’ve ever created?
Probably Manny Bozeman in my current WIP. I think he’s funny but I suspect others will find him annoying . . .
6) Best plot you’ve ever created?
I think the plot of my current WIP is my best so far. Plot is hard for me! But I think I’m learning.
7) Coolest plot twist you’ve ever created?
I think this is also in my current WIP–so I’m sorry I can’t tell you what it is.
8). How often do you get writer’s block?
I haven’t really had writer’s block since I started writing again over the past year, but before that I suffered from crippling writer’s block for TEN YEARS. The reasons are very complicated and very boring, so I probably won’t explain them here. I do, though, sometimes find myself in a plot conundrum that stalls me until I can find a solution. I usually get past it by some combination of going for a walk, cleaning something, knitting, and brainstorming with my writing buddies.
9) Write fan fiction?
Only in my head.
10) Do you type or write by hand?
Type. I used to take a notebook when I left the house so I could hand write, but for Solstice the hubster bought me a Powerbook and a thumb drive, so now I am mobile! (Also the Mad Scientist got me this teeny tiny pocket sized mouse for the laptop that works really well. How cool is that?)
11) Do you save everything you write?
Most of it. Unless it makes me ashamed because it is so bad.
12) Do you ever go back to an idea after you’ve abandoned it?
Sometimes. It depends on whether it’s something I just needed to write to get it out of my system, or if it’s an idea whose time just hasn’t come yet. But then, I’m young yet–so maybe those ideas I thought I’d abandoned will come around again. How’s that for a non-answer?
13) What’s your favorite thing you’ve ever written?
I’m ashamed of how few things I’ve completed. I guess so far my favorite completed work is the short story Beauty and the Beast retelling I just finished. My favorite unfinished thing is my current WIP. I really love this story and the characters. I even like editing it. I think that’s a good sign.
14) What’s everyone else’s favorite story you’ve written
Um . . . probably something that isn’t fit for general audiences . . . I even got some fan letters about it.
15) Ever written romance or angsty teen drama?
I wrote a lot of bad romance short stories when I was in high school, including an incomplete one based on the song “Johnny Moon” by Heart. I keep thinking maybe, just for fun, I’ll go back and re-write that. I love songs as writing prompts.
16) What’s your favorite setting for your characters?
Although I’m not sure I’ll ever actually edit the MS, I am very fond of the pirate ship from my last NaNovel.
17) How many writing projects are you working on right now?
Let’s see . . . editing NaNovel, plotting a sequel to NaNovel, final edits on one short story, researching another short story–that’s four right? Dammit Jim, I’m a writer, not a mathematician.
18) Have you ever won an award for your writing?
I don’t think so.
19) What are your five favorite words?
Just five? Seriously? Okay, off the top of my head: plethora, disgruntled, modicum, clearly, and ethereal. Ask me tomorrow and you will probably get a different answer.
20) What character have you created that is most like yourself?
Um, probably Manny Bozeman from my current WIP. His sense of humor is all me–and so are many of his . . . ah . . . apetites. I’m not quite sure what that says about me, considering that he’s probably also the most annoying character I’ve ever written, as stated in #5 . . .
21) Where do you get your ideas for your characters?
I don’t know that I get “ideas” for characters. They just show up and start hanging out, and eventually talking.
22) Do you ever write based on your dreams?
Often I will dream about things that help with writing my stories–dreams about my life being in danger, and once a dream about being in a seriously abusive relationship. But this summer I had a dream that will DEFINITELY become a Young Adult Fantasy story some day. It’s just not time to work on it yet (other than writing down ideas about it).
23) Do you favor happy endings?
Definitely. I’ve blogged about it several times.
24) Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?
To an extent. If I have to stop the writing flow to go look something up, then no–I’ll wait and fix it at the edit stage. Especially if I’m not sure the scene will stay in the novel.
25) Does music help you write?
Sometimes. Instrumental music, or things like medieval liturgical music (liturgical is another awesome word. And I NEVER go to church. I just like the way that word sounds. Liturgical. Awesome.), are nice for most things. If I’m writing lovey dovey stuff, I have a sexy playlist, and if I’m writing mooning, I have an angsty playlist. And when I’m writing an action-y scene, something fast and noisy seems to help stir up the right level of adrenaline. (Mind you, my idea of fast and noisy is probably most people’s idea of easy listening. The hubster is constantly making fun of my taste in music–stuff he calls “Air Freshener Commercial” music.)
26) Quote something you’ve written. Whatever pops in your head.
“I knew there was no love strong enough to see past what I was.”
Told you it was a lot of questions!
And now I will tag two bloggers you may not be familiar with. For other awesome blogs, check out my sidebar. (I think I was supposed to tag three, but most of my blogging writing buddies have private blogs. Clearly I need more blogging writing buddies.)
- Laura’s Universe Laura is my real-life writing buddy, and my friend. At least she was . . . I hope she still is after I do this to her! She is also funny and smart and pretty!
- Liz Staley, another writing buddy who is also an artist and generally all-around neato person. She’s also been instrumental in helping me get back on my writing path. For that she deserves hugs and kisses. Instead I’m being mean to her. I’m a terrible person.
- Anyone else who wants to share–and if you decide to play, leave me a comment and let me know so I can blog-stalk you check out your entry!
Thanks for reading, thanks for playing, and I hope you share the fun with your blogging friends.
I was going to wait to post this list until the last week of December, but a) I am impatient and b) I thought maybe some of you with last minute gift buying to do might like some suggestions. A few things to note–some of the books on this list weren’t released in 2009. I’m going with what I read this year, some of which wasn’t new. Also, I totally cheated, and if I read a series, I included all books in the series as one. So really this is more than ten. I am clearly not to be trusted.
Here, then, in order of how insatiably I devoured them, are my most delicious reads of 2009. I am fairly sure I kept this spoiler-free, so it should be safe for those of you who haven’t read the books in question yet.
Number 10: The Sugar Queen
Josey Cirrini is sure of three things: winter is her favorite season, she’s a sorry excuse for a Southern belle, and sweets are best eaten in the privacy of her closet. For while Josey has settled into an uneventful life in her mother’s house, her one consolation is the stockpile of sugary treats and paperback romances she escapes to each night…. Until she finds her closet harboring Della Lee Baker, a local waitress who is one part nemesis—and two parts fairy godmother. With Della Lee’s tough love, Josey’s narrow existence quickly expands. She even bonds with Chloe Finley, a young woman who is hounded by books that inexplicably appear when she needs them—and who has a close connection to Josey’s longtime crush. Soon Josey is living in a world where the color red has startling powers, and passion can make eggs fry in their cartons. And that’s just for starters.
Brimming with warmth, wit, and a sprinkling of magic, here is a spellbinding tale of friendship, love—and the enchanting possibilities of every new day.
I loved so many things about this story. I love books where the heroine is not conventionally gorgeous but there is someone who finds her totally hot anyway. Because real life is like that, you know? Real women are hot, whether they are a size 0 or not. I love the quirky little mystical touches–the books that follow Chloe around insisting that she read them, the eggs frying in their cartons during a moment of passion. I love the blossoming friendship between two really sweet women, and the secret little twist I should have figured out but totally didn’t. Also, not YA! See, I do occasionally read books that were written for adults.
Number 9: Chalice
Number 8: Hush, Hush
Number 7: Kelley Armstrong’s Darkest Powers series, books 1 and 2–The Summoning
Product description for The Summoning:
My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again. All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don’t even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost — and the ghost saw me.
Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won’t leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a “special home” for troubled teens. Yet the home isn’t what it seems. Don’t tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? It’s up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House . . . before its skeletons come back to haunt me.
It took me a little while to get in to The Summoning, and when I finished it and returned it to the library I thought, hmm, that was all right. But then . . . I don’t know, somehow it got under my skin. So I got the second one, and THAT one I totally couldn’t put down. The characters really come in to their own in The Awakening, and it becomes clear how The Summoning was setting the stage for the things that follow. NOW I am willing to be Sarah Rees Brennan’s murder accomplice to read The Reckoning
Number 6: Rampant
Number 5: The Fever books by Karen Marie Moning–Darkfever
These books were definitely written for adults. And let me tell you, they are HOT. Not because there’s lots of sex, but because there’s lots of WANTING to have sex. Seriously, I felt like I needed a fan pointed at me when I was reading these. Gritty urban fantasy is not often my thing–I tend to prefer more mythic things, or things with a lot of humor to break up the tension, or things with a tender love story to add pathos. There is no tender love story, there isn’t much humor, and there is much grit. Also, the guy our heroine really wants to hook up with is a creep. Or at least he seems to be. Is there more to him than that? Or do I just want there to be? I have no idea, because there’s still one more book left in the series and I don’t even know when it comes out and I am going CRAZY with the waiting over here. Did I mention they are hot? Phew.
Number 4: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. As far as writing goes, I’m pretty sure this was the best book I read in 2009. The prose was so beautiful. Even if YA or Fantasy/Horror isn’t your thing, you should try this book. You all know how I feel about happy in my books, and this book is definitely lacking in the happy, but I loved it anyway. That should tell you how good it is. (I wrote a full review of this book here, if you want to read more).
Number 3: The Twilight Saga
I didn’t want to read them. A friend of mine (who has asked to remain anonymous) had read them and asked me to please just read Twilight, and tell her if she was crazy for enjoying it so much. I rolled my eyes and said “Fine, but you have to know how much I love you that I’m doing this for you.” One day I was feeling tired and grouchy, and had nothing else to read, so I surrendered and sat down with Twilight. And I was hooked.
And here’s the thing. Reading the Twilight Saga flipped some kind of internal switch for me, because after I read it, some things I’d been struggling with became perfectly clear. When I started reading Twilight, I was right on the verge of committing to a demanding, intense vocational path because I thought it was The Right Thing To Do. My obsessive joy in reading Twilight stopped me in my tracks. I was reminded with almost painful intensity that what I love most of all is stories–reading them AND writing them. But I kept telling myself that the kinds of stories I wanted to write weren’t important enough, that there were no guarantees I’d ever earn money from writing, so I couldn’t make writing a priority. It took silly YA vampire romance novels for me to see that if stories are the thing I can’t live without, then I have no business trying to commit to something else. It’s like marrying the guy you don’t really love because your family likes him (I almost did that too–and I think it was a book that saved me from that mistake as well.)
And maybe therein lies the answer to why I liked the novels so much. They are–at least in part–about finding something you want so much you’d risk your life to have it. They’re about the seemingly impossible becoming possible, about knowing what you can’t live without. That’s powerful stuff.
Number 2: The Demon’s Lexicon
Nick and his brother, Alan, have spent their lives on the run from magic. Their father was murdered, and their mother was driven mad by magicians and the demons who give them power. The magicians are hunting the Ryves family for a charm that Nick’s mother stole — a charm that keeps her alive — and they want it badly enough to kill again.
Danger draws even closer when a brother and sister come to the Ryves family for help. The boy wears a demon’s mark, a sign of death that almost nothing can erase…and when Alan also gets marked by a demon, Nick is des-perate to save him. The only way to do that is to kill one of the magicians they have been hiding from for so long.
Ensnared in a deadly game of cat and mouse, Nick starts to suspect that his brother is telling him lie after lie about their past. As the magicians’ Circle closes in on their family, Nick uncovers the secret that could destroy them all.
This is the Demon’s Lexicon. Turn the page.
I’ve talked more than once about how much I love this book. It was tough to rank my top three, because I love them all so so much. This one was almost number one. Funny, because it took me a little while to allow myself to love it as much as I did. When I first read it I was thinking . . . “Why can’t I put this down? This guy is kind of a creep. I really don’t like him. But he’s funny. And . . . well . . . I can’t deny that he’s hot. He’s a jerk, but he’s hot. And . . . nailbiting excitement! And good dialogue. And interesting plot twists. Can’t . . . stop . . . reading . . .” And then I gave the book back to writing buddy Laura . . . and couldn’t stop thinking about it. About how clever it was, how much I liked the dialogue and the relationships between the characters. I finally had to go buy it myself and read it again and see if it was as good when I knew the big secret. I think maybe it was even better the second time, possibly because I wasn’t biting my nails because of the stress and the “dude what’s gonna happen NOW?” thing. Delicious.
And Number 1, which will come as no surprise to those of you who read yesterday’s post, is The Mortal Instruments
In City of Bones, fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is introduced to the world of the Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of warriors dedicated to driving demons out of our world. And she’s introduced with a vengeance, when Clary’s mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a grotesque monster sent by the evil and powerful Shadowhunter, Valentine. How could a mere human survive such an attack.
In the second novel, City of Ashes, Clary just wants her life to go back to normal–but that turns out to be impossible. For one thing, her mother is still in the hospital, in a mysterious coma. For another, she and her newfound brother Jace have fallen under a cloud of suspicion now that the Shadowhunter world knows that Valentine is still alive–and that Jace and Clary are his son and daughter. Then Clary’s best friend Simon is turned into a vampire and kidnapped by Valentine, who intends to sacrifice him as part of a bloody ritual that will make the Mortal Instruments Valentine’s forever.
In book three, City of Glass, Clary has to use all her ingenuity and newfound magical skills to get herself to the Glass City in Idris, the secretive Shadowhunters’ home country, where she is forbidden to go–for it is only there that she can find the cure to the enchanted sleeping sickness to which her mother has succumbed. When Valentine attacks the city and destroys the demon towers, Clary and her allies are all that stand between him and the total annihilation of all Shadowhunters. Love is a mortal sin and the past tangles inextricably with the present as Clary and Jace face down their father in the final installment of the Mortal Instruments series.
And trust me, if you’re going to start reading them, you want to just buy all three. Please to learn from my painful example. I had a pile of books I wanted to sell, so I went to the Powell’s books on Burnside in Portland. I sold my books, and then went browsing in the Young Adult section because I didn’t know what I wanted to read. I saw City of Bones and remembered reading about it on someone’s blog and being mildly curious. I grabbed a copy and took it to the coffee shop to read a bit of it, and decided it was worth bringing home. And since the store had used copies, I bought City of Ashes as well. City of Glass had JUST come out in hardcover and I figured, “I don’t know that I’m going to like these enough to pay full price for the hardcover, so I’ll wait.”
Huge mistake.
I read City of Bones in one day. And when that plot twist came? The one that plays heartlessly with your emotions? I wailed. Writing Buddy Laura and Ms. Mouse (not her real name) came to visit, and I practically threw a tantrum as I said things like “That CAN’T be true” and “How could she DO this to me?” Hey, I never claimed to be rational when it comes to books. Fortunately, they are both readers and didn’t attempt to stage an intervention or have me committed. They just asked if they could borrow the books when I was done with them.
So I read City of Ashes the next day, and the second I finished it I was hysterical with my need to read City of Glass (see not rational, above). So I drove an hour to a different Powell’s, bought City of Glass, brought it home and started reading it immediately. The hubster came home from work and came to my room. I gave him a sideways hug, and without looking up from the book, I said “Sorry, can’t talk, reading.”
He knew I wasn’t going to make him dinner that night, and went to make himself some eggs.
I can’t even explain how I love these books without sounding like a complete idiot, and also giving huge spoilers. Let’s just say the books have everything–demons, angels, vampires, faeries, werewolves, witches and warlocks, hot warriors with black rune marks on their skin, forbidden love, prophetic dreams . . . and Magnus Bane, who is the awesomest leather-pants-and-glitter wearing, smart talking, hair-gel-using, cat-eyed gay warlock ever. Love me some Magnus Bane.
Also there is Jace. But if I tell you about his awesomeness I will have to spoil many things for you, so I will say no more. Except–read them. Read them right now, and then thank me for telling you about them. That is all.
So there you have it–my top ten of 2009. What are yours?
Alexa at Not Enough Bookshelves blog is counting down her favorite fictional couples of 2009, and I’m enjoying the posts immensely. Not only is she sharing with us her favorites, but she’s also having guest bloggers post about their favorite fictional couples of the year. And as if that weren’t enough, she’s hosting a contest! All you have to do is leave a comment to enter, and if you post about your favorite couple of 2009–which I hope you will do, because I LOVE reading these things–you get bonus points. Go check it out, and then come back here to hear all about mine.
Note: if you haven’t finished reading Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments trilogy–City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass
As anyone who talks to me regularly knows, my favorite couple of the year is Clary and Jace from The Mortal Instruments. I love the books for many reasons–awesome world building, witty dialogue, vivid imagery. But what makes me adore them more than anything I’ve read this year is the simultaneously sexy, heartbreaking, and funny romance between Clary and Jace.
From the time they meet each other, you can see sparks between them, even while they’re getting under each others skin. They both try to be prickly and smart-mouthed, but moments keep breaking through where the connection between them is obvious. And then there’s that delicious scene in City of Bones where Jace makes a point of celebrating Clary’s birthday, and the evening ends with a kiss:
The moon, directly overhead now, lit everything nearly to daylight brightness. In between one step and another she saw a white spark struck off something on the floor: It was the knife Jace had been using to cut apples, lying on it’s side. She jerked hastily back to avoid stepping on it, and her shoulder bumped his–he put his hand out to steady her, just as she turned to apologize, and then she was somehow in the circle of his arms and he was kissing her.
It was at first almost as if he hadn’t wanted to kiss her: His mouth was hard on hers, unyielding; then he put both arms around her and pulled her against him. His lips softened. She could feel the rapid beat of his heart, taste the sweetness of apples still on his mouth. She wound her hands into his hair, as she’d wanted to do since the first time she’d seen him . . .
Swoon.
I love that their love for each other brings out the best in them, both their tenderness and their strength, and pushes both of them to give everything they have to save their world. Even when they think they can’t be together, and are miserable because of it, they still draw on their hopeless love to push them to new heights of courage and endurance. This bit from City of Glass made me weep the first time I read it:
It would all be over soon, and she was almost glad. She wondered if she had enough energy to drag herself over to where Jace lay, if she could lie down beside him and wait for it to be over. She stared at him, lying motionless on the churned, bloody sand . . .
Now very much against her will, she thought of the way Jace had looked at her then, the blaze of faith in his eyes, his belief in her. He had always thought she was strong. He had showed it in everything he did, in every look and every touch. Simon had faith in her too, yet when he’d held her, it had been as if she were something fragile, something made of delicate glass. But Jace had held her with all the strength he had, never wondering if she could take it–he’d known she was as strong as he was . . .
. . . Remembering the way Jace had looked at her the night she’d freed Ithuriel, she couldn’t help but imagine the way he’d look at her now if he saw her trying to lie down and die on the sand beside him. He wouldn’t be touched, wouldn’t think it was a beautiful gesture. He’d be angry at her for giving up. He’d be so–disappointed.
*sniff*
Of course there are plenty of moments when their forbidden love brings out the worst in them too, but that just makes me love them more–they’re so human, so complex. It’s always gratifying to see characters who are flawed and fumbling and bewildered find their strengths and persevere to victory. And if you can combine that with some excellent sexual tension and a few hot kissing scenes, well I’m all over it.
So what’s YOUR favorite fictional couple of 2009?
I’m thrilled to have my regular, warm, rainy Oregon winter back! Freezing temps and clear skies just don’t seem right to me. I’ll take dark and damp over freezing any day.
Today was such a lovely temperature that I had to go for a walk even though it was raining steadily. So of course I had to take my camera so you all could see how awesome things around here look in the rain.
Guess What This Is
Pretty water drops!
Wild Rosehips
Rosehips fascinate me. Also they make a nice tea.
Tree Silhouette
One of my favorite things about winter is the way tree branches look silhouetted against the sky. Photos never seem to really do them justice, but I keep trying. And now for the writing prompt!
I Wonder About This House Every Time I Walk Past
Abandoned houses fascinate me–I always wonder what happens that makes a house stay empty until it starts to fall apart. I wonder if the story is interesting, tragic, spooky? Or just boring? Or . . .? What story does this house tell you? And won’t you share it with the rest of us?
Historical fiction is not my thing–even alternate history. War stories are not my thing. Sci-Fi is not my thing.
Leviathan
It i
s the cusp of World War I, and all the European powers are arming up. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ fabricated animals as their weaponry. Their Leviathan is a whale airship, and the most masterful beast in the British fleet.
Aleksandar Ferdinand, prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battle-torn Stormwalker and a loyal crew of men.
Deryn Sharp is a commoner, a girl disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She’s a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.
With the Great War brewing, Alek’s and Deryn’s paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them both aboard the Leviathan on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure. One that will change both their lives forever.
Isn’t the cover pretty? Good packaging is never wasted on me.
I’ve told you all the ways this book wouldn’t normally be my kind of thing. So you are probably wondering how it turns out to be my kind of thing after all?
It helps that Leviathan has several gorgeous illustrations inside. I have a weakness for pretty pictures. I think more novels should have gorgeous illustrations inside, actually. Except for the ones about zombies–that would be too scary.
But, being an emotional/personal reader, I think what it all comes down to is characters. Leviathan has a girl disguised as a boy–a brave, funny, intelligent, strong girl. It has a lady scientist who is ridiculously intelligent, witty, funny, but still in possession of a measure of kindness. I love that Westerfeld has created strong female characters without feeling like he needs to make them hard-hearted or cold. Leviathan also has a male protagonist who is a young boy–on the verge of adulthood–wrestling with his emotions over the loss of his parents while having to run for his life–and sometimes fight for his life. And of course, an important element of the story is the way the characters from opposite sides of the war meet, and have their assumptions about the “enemy” challenged.
Leviathan–like most of what I read–was written for a young adult audience. I like the idea that kids who are starting to learn about the world outside their household and community will see, through the world of the story, how our assumptions about the “other” are often inaccurate. What we find when we get past someone’s appearance or allegiance, etc., is that we are all just people doing the best we can. A good story is a wonderful way to show this without banging people about the ears with it.
If you’re still looking for a last minute present for a reader in your family–especially a pre-teen or teenaged kid who likes adventure-ish books, this would be a good choice. Also, it’s completely chaste, for those of you who worry about such things for your kids.
My rating: Very Nice
At our house we have many silly conversations about music. For example:
Hubster: You know Billy Idol is the Elvis of punk rock.
Me: ?
Hubster: Think about it.
Me: Well, he does that sneer thing. And he sort of pronounces words like Elvis.
Hubster and I listen to Billy singing “Rock the Cradle of Love”
Hubster: See? You can totally hear Elvis singing this.
Me: And notice, you never see Elvis and Billy Idol together.
Hubster: See, you’re on to something.
Me: Do NOT blame this on me.
Hubster revised his theory this morning to say Billy is Elvis’s love child–after noting that Lisa Marie Presley sang White Wedding with Billy at the Conde Naste Fashion Rocks thingy in 2005. Little Sister, huh?
What do you think?
Now that the editing process is underway, I have so many questions. One of them, of course, is how do I DO this editing thing? Fortunately I have a cadre of on-line and real-life writing friends to give me suggestions and share their methods with me. I am SO GRATEFUL that I am not trying to do this alone. I think I would already have given up.
But the question I’m wrestling with at the moment is, how do I know if my hook is good enough? See, I already care about my story, so I’m already hooked. How do I know when I’ve come across an opening that will make other people care about my story? Or at least be curious enough to keep reading?
I’ve been reading the advice of other writers this morning, and also reading opening lines and first pages of novels I really loved for ideas, and e-mailing my opening lines to people and asking what they think. And then I thought–hey, maybe I’ll share some of what I’ve found with my webfriends! Don’t you feel special, knowing how I’m always thinking of you?
So first of all, let me offer up a definition of a “hook”, just in case any of you don’t know what I’m talking about. Forgive me if I am insulting your intelligence! I like to try to be clear (but I won’t ponder my chances of success too closely). So, this is the basic definition, lifted from the Wikipedia entry:
A narrative hook (or hook) is a literary technique in the opening of a story that “hooks” the reader’s attention so that he or she will keep on reading. The “opening” may consist of several paragraphs for a short story, or several pages for a novel, but ideally it is the Opening sentence
So what makes a good hook? There are tons of possibilities. I figured I would look through books that I loved, and see how they open, for examples.
Here are some of my favorites:
On the night that Davis Cooper died, coyotes came down from the hills to the town in the desert valley below. They came from the Santa Rita Mountains in the south. From the Tuscon Mountains in the west. From the Catalinas in the north. From the Rincons, where the sun would rise over the dead man’s body. –The Wood Wife by Terri Windling
I love this opening because it has a storybook feel to it. It tells us that we’re entering in to something magical–and I’m a sucker for magical.
“There are dragons in the twins’ vegetable garden.”
Meg Murray took her head out of the refrigerator where she had been foraging for an after-school snack, and looked at her six-year-old brother. “What?”
“There are dragons in the twins’ vegetable garden. Or there were. They’ve moved to the north pasture now.” –A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L’Engle
I don’t think that one needs commentary, do you? Other than–Dragons in the vegetable garden? Wha?
Brenden Vetch found the Od School of Magic beneath a cobbler’s shoe on a busy street in the ancient city of Kelior. –Od Magic, Patricia McKilip
Again, this one is just sort of–what?
Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians. They met upon the third Wednesday of every month and read each other long, dull papers upon the history of English magic. –Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke
I love how this one mentions magic so nonchalantly. Like it’s just an every day thing. This tells you something about the world of the story, doesn’t it? And makes you think, hmmmm . . . what would it be like if magic was “dull”?
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” the bouncer said, folding his arms across his massive chest. He stared down at the boy in the red zip-up jacket and shook his shaved head. “You can’t bring that thing in here.” –City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Obviously, this one raises all kinds of questions. What “thing”? Where is “here”? Etc.
And finally, my absolute favorite first line in the history of ever:
The pipe under the sink was leaking again. It wouldn’t have been so bad, except that Nick kept his favorite sword under the sink. –The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan.
This one is great for many reasons. It makes me giggle. It uses incongruous juxtaposition, which I love. It tells you that Nick not only keeps a sword under the sink–which shows you that Nick is not your average guy–it also tells you that he has a favorite sword, which means that he has more than one. Which leads you to question why anyone, in the prosaic world of leaking sink pipes, needs multiple swords. Those two little sentences sure accomplish a lot.
You can see how these lines are all very different from each other, but they all have something in common. They are, as my friend Liz put it this morning “WTF worthy.” That is, they make you want to know more.
Of course it’s difficult to have perspective on the catchiness of your own hook. After all, you as a writer are already interested in your story–that’s why you’re writing it. At least I hope this is the case. And that’s why you need writing buddies/critique partners! Because you can run it by them and get their input. Of course, they won’t all agree, as I’m discovering in my own informal survey of my friends. But you can get a feel for how people respond to your hook by sending it around to people you trust.
And where the hook is concerned, I suggest getting some reader friends to have a look at it too. After all, you’re hoping that someday the public will want to read your book (or story), right? So get the opinions of readers.
And finally, here are a couple of articles I looked at that you might find interesting:
How to Hook Your Readers – Right From the Start
There you have it, advice from a total non-professional who is stumbling through the process for the first time!
What about you? What’s your favorite hook?
So, because I know how you all rely on my opinions to decide what to read, I’m working on some “Best of 2009″ posts.
But I have this dilemma.
I have mentioned before that I am shallow. What makes me happy in a book is not always related to its scintillating prose or it’s provocative, though provoking premise. I read mostly for emotional tone, I like happy endings, I’m pretty focused on fantasy fiction, and I’m not a big fan of most literary things.
So the dilemma is: do I list my favorites of 2009 in order of my personal enjoyment, or in order of my opinion of the quality of the prose, etc.? Or should I just list them in random order, as they occur to me? I love a good count down, but I suppose I could do without one . . .
I am undecided, so I thought . . . why not do a poll? That way you, citizens of the blogosphere, get to CHOOSE. Isn’t that democratic of me?
So what do you think?
I’m excited about 2010. Here’s a partial calendar of bookish things to be excited about.
January 1: The Enchanted Conversation’s first issue comes out. This e-zine looks awesome; I love fairy tales!!!!
January 5: Release date for Captivate
March 10: Release date for The Dead-Tossed Waves
April 27: Release date for The Reckoning (Darkest Powers, Book 3)
May 4: Release date for Holly Black’s White Cat
May 18: Release date for The Demon’s Covenant, sequel to The Demon’s Lexicon
September (exact date not yet announced) : Release date for Ascendant, sequel to Rampant
September 14: Release date for The Clockwork Angel
Don’t know the date yet for Crescendo, sequel to Hush, Hush
Seems like the summer is sort of empty! I must be missing something. What are you guys looking forward to reading?
In the interest of full disclosure, I tell you the following:
I don’t work for any publisher or book distributor or anything like that. I don’t even get any review copies of things–I wish I did! But at the date of this posting, I don’t. I don’t receive any kind of money for telling you about these books. The only compensation I might possibly receive is IF you click on one of my Amazon associates links and then actually buy the book. Then I get a few pennies. So you know I’m telling you about stuff I actually like to read (or in this case, look forward to reading). And now you know.
I’ve been fascinated by faeries since I was a child, when faeries weren’t cool–even among my elementary school peers. And by high school, forget about it–only the dorky outcasts were reading fantasy fiction. So I’ve read a lot of faery fiction, and I’m reading the new stuff too. I thought I’d do a series of posts on various faery themed works of fiction; I’m not sure if I’ll do them all in a row, or if they’ll be scattered around throughout other posts. Guess we’ll see!
So for the first installment, I thought I’d look at retellings of The Ballad of Tam Lin.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with The Ballad of Tam Lin, allow me to direct you to this excellent resource on the ballad, the Tam Lin Balladry website. Since the author of that site can tell you everything you need to know about the ballad in a much more organized and coherent manner than I can, I will just tell you that the ballad is the story of a young woman who must save the father of her unborn baby from a group of faeries who are going to sacrifice him to the devil on Halloween.
It’s a fascinating ballad, with an unusually proactive heroine, and it has captured the imagination of readers, writers, and musicians for many centuries. Here then, in no particular order, is a list and some mini-reviews of versions of the ballad that I’m familiar with. This list is not exhaustive; it’s just the stuff I’ve read and listened to.
Before we talk books, we must talk music. Tam Lin is, after all, a ballad, meaning it was originally delivered in song. There are a couple of fairly well known recorded versions of the ballad, including Fairport Convention’s version, and the version by Steeleye span. Go have a listen; they’re pretty fun. I’ll wait here.
Now on with the books! There are, of course, many novels that retell Tam Lin. And I’ve read several of them, because I’m a wee bit obsessed with the story. Here, then, I briefly review the versions I’ve read, for your reading pleasure.
Fire and Hemlock
Polly has two sets of memories . . .
One is normal: school, home, friends. The other, stranger memories begin nine years ago, when she was ten and gate-crashed an odd funeral in the mansion near her grandmother’s house. Polly’s just beginning to recall the sometimes marvelous, sometimes frightening adventures she embarked on with Tom Lynn after that. And then she did something terrible, and everything changed.
But what did she do? Why can’t she remember? Polly must uncover the secret, or her true love–and perhaps Polly herself–will be lost.
There are some wonderful things about Jones’s retelling. The characters–especially Thomas Lynn and his fellow musicians–feel like real people to me. Polly, the main character, is a reader, and I love the way books and stories play an important role in the unfolding of the plot. But I have to confess, I feel sort of dim when I read it, because I really don’t quite understand the end. I think it has something to do with the rules of logic, which would explain my trouble with it. Maybe I’ll try re-reading it, and if I still don’t get it I’ll try to find someone to explain it to me. One thing to note, if you’re looking for YA books for kids, is that the pacing in this novel is pretty leisurely. I enjoyed reading it, but the Hubster and The Mad Scientist found it boring. It isn’t really action packed, so if you have a kid who likes fast-paced, death defying stories (or if YOU like those things) then this probably isn’t the book for you.
Rating: Nice.
The Perilous Gard
In 1558, while exiled by Queen Mary Tudor to a remote castle known as Perilous Gard, young Kate Sutton becomes involved in a series of mysterious events that lead her to an underground world peopled by Fairy Folk—whose customs are even older than the Druids” and include human sacrifice.
When I read this book as a kid I wasn’t familiar with Tam Lin at all, but I found the story compelling anyway. The underground fairy world is eerie and richly imagined, and the writing is excellent. The novel does not rehash the plot points of the ballad faithfully–it is, for example, quite chaste–but it’s an excellent exploration of the themes of love and salvation that are central to the ballad. Plus it’s kinda creepy, in a good way. Again, though, this book has a sedate pace and relies more on subtle tension than fast action, so it’s not for the action fan. But I loved it as a young reader.
Note: The book received a Newbury Honor (it wasn’t a winner of the metal, but was nominated) in 1975. It’s almost as old as I am!
Rating: Very Nice.
Tam Lin
In the ancient Scottish ballad “Tam Lin,” headstrong Janet defies Tam Lin to walk in her own land of Carterhaugh . . . and then must battle the Queen of Faery for possession of her lover’s body and soul. In this version of “Tam Lin,” masterfully crafted by Pamela Dean, Janet is a college student, “Carterhaugh” is Carter Hall at the university where her father teaches, and Tam Lin is a boy named Thomas Lane. Set against the backdrop of the early 1970s, imbued with wit, poetry, romance, and magic, Tam Lin has become a cult classic—and once you begin reading, you’ll know why. This reissue features an updated introduction by the book’s original editor, the acclaimed Terri Windling.
Every time I read this novel, I want to go back to college. Only I suspect that my friends and I weren’t nearly as clever as Janet Carter and her friends, and I KNOW we didn’t have as much poetry and prose committed to memory. Still, this book really breathes for me. Most of the supernatural elements in the story float just beneath the surface, and you get to see very little of what’s going on with the faery element. But you can feel the sinister otherness hidden under an illusion of normalcy. And once again, the novel’s heroine feels real and complex and likeable, and I can’t help but enjoy hanging out in her head.
I’ve seen this version of Tam Lin on the Young Adult shelves, but I don’t know that I agree with that placement. The writing in it seems more suited to an adult audience to me, and I’m fairly certain that when it first came out it was marketed for adults.
Another interesting note; this novel is part of the Fairy Tales series edited by Terri Windling. All of the books in the series are worth reading, in my opinion. Gorgeously written, with fresh new elements brought to each tale. You can’t go wrong with any of them (but Fitcher’s Brides was creeeeeepy.)
Rating: Delicious.
Winter Rose
Roaming wild and barefoot in the woods that border Lynn Hall, Rois Melior meets Corbet Lynn, who has returned to rebuild the estate of his murdered grandfather, and Rois becomes obsessed with Corbet’s secret past and the curse that haunts him.
I love Patricia McKillip’s writing style. I think her prose is gorgeous and dreamy, and Winter Rose iss one of her loveliest novels, in my opinion. I LOVED it even though it is “high fantasy” (my heart belongs to urban fantasy), and even though it does NOT have a Queen Latifah Ending. This version is another one that follows the theme of the story without sticking strictly to the events, and McKillip’s version has more magic than the original ballad.
Rating: Delicious
And there you have it. I know there are other Tam Lin retellings out there that I haven’t read yet, and if I do read them I’ll revisit the subject again. What’s your favorite version of Tam Lin?
Writer, knitter, gardener, partner, stepmother, living in the sticks in Western Oregon.
by Paula Morris: nice
by Sarah Cross: very nice +
by Amanda Marrone: nice
