D is for Dystopia

the challenge

D is for Dystopia

Dystopian literature holds a special place in my heart. Dystopia is almost synonymous with Utopia since it is impossible to have a utopia without corruption sneaking into the seat of power and turning everything ugly. (See Stephenie Meyer's THE HOST: benevolent alien race still manages to create all kinds of dissonance or the Avatars from WB's CHARMED: supernatural rulers who create utopia by disappearing anybody who causes conflict.)

I think that's the message I get time after time in these books. There is no utopia on Earth. That doesn't mean we should stop being kind. Kindness to strangers is the only thing we can control, can achieve.

Personal charity for the win!

But we can't count on some institution to make everything rosy. Any institution with that much power ends up taking power from somewhere. And where do they get that power? From the people. From taking away individual choice.

I think it's part of the great hubris of mankind that we continue to believe we can construct utopia. That's why these stories come out in so many different stripes and colors. Every author remakes the world with his or her own moral preferences, and utopia turns dystopia with his or her own mortal fears.

Here is a list (not comprehensive) of some dystopias you should definitely check out if you haven't already:

Ender's Game

Memento Nora

Stung

The Hunger Games

The Maze Runner

Possession

The Host

(see my sidebar for links: Dystopias to Devour)

Blog Chain: How I Became a Soap-Making Psychic with Well-Rested Babies (or The Usefulness of Non-Fiction)

Sandra's topic:

We all know it's important to read fiction if you want to write fiction, but what about reading non-fiction? How much non-fiction do you read? What kinds of non-fiction books do you read, and why? Has reading non-fiction influenced your fiction writing style?

I've read a lot of non-fiction in the past from soap-making to unlocking my psychic powers to getting my babies to sleep through the night. I find it very useful, and it tends to stay with me longer in book format than the many articles I graze over during my quality time with my computer.

As far as non-fiction for writers, I'm definitely a fan, as evidenced by my double-parked bookshelves filled with writerly how-to's. My problem is reading non-fic for writers in one straight sitting. I can't. It inspires me too much. I'll read a couple chapters and have to stop to write, even if the author didn't purposely give me an assignment (which, let's face it, they always do). 

The easiest writing book to read in one sitting is probably Lynne Truss's Eats, Shoots and Leaves, but that's because it's about punctuation and doesn't require any practice breaks at all, just a sense of humor and a willingness to read about... punctuation. It's probably one of my favorite non-fiction books of all time.


I've recently read Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass, and that was massively helpful. I took copious notes, came up with several new story ideas and added meaningful scenes to my current WIP's. But it was also exhausting.

 
I guess I prefer to learn the craft of writing from voracious fiction-reading. Though I've learned quite a bit about writing from good memoirists and biographers, too. And the conversational feel of much adult non-fiction lends itself well to YA fiction, too. So there's that.

What non-fiction books have triggered your writing reflex? Which ones have taught you something?



Catch up with Christine Fonseca to see yesterday's blog chain post,

and check out Demitria Lunetta's tomorrow.


Read my Afterglow review of Chasers (Alone #1) by James Phelan.

A Return to Bookishness

Source

All it takes for me to fall into my favorite pastimes of reading and writing is one good book. And by 'good,' I mean emotional, romantic, universal, painful, cathartic. Just one good book, and I'm hooked until the next major life event unhooks me. :)

Granted, with three kids five and under now, I have less time to write and indulge in reading. But time can be managed. And I'm learning to do that out of necessity.

So right now, my bookish to-do list:

• Co-writing a YA time travel thriller with my baby sister
• Revising an MG and YA project of my own, intermittently
• Reading the Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Getting ready email-wise for the New Year's Revisions Conference we're putting on at Operation Awesome. Totally free, totally online writer's conference for your NaNoWriMo hangover. Hope to see you there!
• Unpack some of the book boxes from the move because I've got some serious reviewing to catch up on. 
• Start critiquing again. I so miss this. It's a duty, yes, but it's also a privilege. And I've missed doing it.

Squee! I get so excited when the future holds fabulous stories.

What's on your bookish to-do list?

Read Your Bookshelves in 2011? That's 420 Books!

Four hundred and twenty books! I counted. And listed all the titles on a Word document which is stapled and lying in front of me as I type this. If I follow through with my goal to read all the books in my collection (minus technical text books for hubz's degrees and the whole shelf of children's books), I'll have to read more than one book per day in 2011!

Hmm... might not be able to achieve this New Year's Resolution in one year.

BUT...

I think it's worth a try. Even if it takes a couple years to achieve this goal, how cool would it be to point at my massive library and say, "Yes, I've read every book!"

So cool.

Plus, imagine the wealth of writing styles and random information I'll be able to draw from when writing my own fiction!

Thus, my insane goal of 2011 (and 2012 and 2013 and maybe 2014) is to read my bookshelves.

Your turn to count. How many books would you have to read per week if you chose to read your bookshelves in 2011? (Hint: subtract the books you've read in the last year. You don't need to read those again so soon.)

My purpose with this goal is to

a) learn more about all the subjects and genres I've been drawn to throughout the years,

b) complete the gaps in my public school education, particularly in math, economics, and history,

c) dissuade myself from spending oodles and oodles of my husband's hard-earned cash on shiny new books (oh, I'll still buy a few, but probably not nearly as many as in 2010).

First up: TWENTY books on motherhood, childcare, and developmental psychology. Yeah, I've got three shelves to go before I get to the middle grade fiction shelf, but that will be a compelling carrot for this crazy horse.

How many books on your shelf have you read? How many do you actually want to read? Take inventory and let me know in the comments below.

Book Boyfriends: How much do you heart Gilbert Blythe?

Important notes before we begin:

1) Awesome Plotting Tips by Amparo over at the Operation Awesome blog

2) 1K a day writing challenge and chat room with Kristal

3) Monday, September 27th at 9 PM EST (TONIGHT!) WriteOnCon is back with a live event

Book boyrfiend (from this website)

Do you LOVE your book boys?

Is it a healthy love or a dark/twisted/obsessive/unrealistic love?

And what makes them so delicious?

Here are a few of mine:

Gilbert Blythe: sweet and ornery at the same time, but with a spunky pride and intelligence I can't help but admire. Competitive, but not once intimidated by his true love's genius.

Fitzwilliam Darcy: surprisingly shy for a rich guy, and every time he gets up the gumption to speak to the woman who gives him the butterflies, he sticks his foot in his mouth. But he'd travel a million miles in a night to right a wrong and protect innocent people.

Edward Cullen (my first impression of him, minus the literary backlash): an old soul before he became an old soul, eager to battle on the side of truth and justice, always protecting who and what he loves. Rises to a challenge, even where romance is concerned. Again, not intimidated by greatness in his female counterpart. Passionate, fierce, if a bit unforgiving.

Sirius Black (did I surprise you with this one? I was too old when I read Harry Potter to be crushing on little boys, but Sirius was a character I could fall in love with.): Fiercely protective of his family, a prankster in a former life, but older and wiser now. He was a safe bad boy to crush on at a time in my life when real bad boys could have been fatal (college).

Can you tell what kind of man I married?
Okay, that's enough confession from me. Your turn! Tell me, who do you love?

Why Do Books Excite You? #reading

Mmm, yummy.

That's my question for you today. Why do books get you excited?

I'm thinking about my own crazy behavior lately: staying up all freakin night to finish MOCKINGJAY, then till 3:30am to finish the sequel to EVERMORE; in between times, sifting through the incredible (and copious) contests available right now at WriteOnCon.com. Holy book giveaways, Batman!

And I have to reflect a little on what it is about fiction that gets me so stinking excited...

Is it the new book smell?

Is it the Disney effect?

Is it the unreal other-worldliness?

Is it the prestige of saying, "oh yes, I read that in one sitting, minus bathroom breaks"?

Is it the vicarious thrill of experiencing an adventure through someone else's eyes, ears, mouth, and nose? (Head, shoulders, knees, and toes, knees and toes, knees and toes.)

Is it the sense of completion, that all is right with the world, when the last page is turned and there are no further epilogues to be read?

Why do I love fiction so much?

Why do you?

Late Nights and Good Books: Hunger Games & Paranormalcy

Oh boy! I bet you wish you were me. I'm currently reading

 
An Abundance of Katherines

and tomorrow, a magic mail carrier will bring THESE to my doorstep:


The Hunger Games                           Catching Fire                                 Mockingjay

And I'll get to devour them for the first time, all in a row--no excruciating wait while the publishers get things together. Buwahahaha!!

As if that weren't enough!! Guess what's coming out in a few days (that's also going to appear magically at my door)!!

If you're having trouble, check my sidebar, dudes. It's RIGHT. THERE. Has been for months now. It's...

**drum roll**


Paranormalcy

Despite the ferocious popularity of the dystopian trilogy above, I'm the most excited about Paranormalcy by Kiersten White. I've already glimpsed the first seventy pages per the publisher's website. And now I really, really, really want to know how it ends.

These amazing books are bad for one thing: SLEEP.

I'm not getting much lately, and I can't blame it on my kids (who are angelically sleeping through the night in a shared bedroom these days, thank you very much). No. It's my own fault. Or maybe I should blame the purveyors of awesome themselves: authors.

The other thing keeping me up at night is--if possible--even more exciting! The upcoming launch of Operation Awesome. I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you that this explosive event will take place in two days. September first, here we come!

Get your Nutella ready.