What I'm Reading Wednesday - If I Stay, It Starts With Food, Write Your Novel In A Month, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

I am writing this post from a Starbucks at Target, because I've suddenly found myself without internet for a week :(. I expect I'll get a lot of reading done. 

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

I'll admit I haven't really gotten that far into this one, I've been more focused on reading It Starts With Food this week. But since I finished that this morning hopefully I'll have more time for this one. 

It Starts With Food by Dallas & Melissa Hartwig

Just finished this morning! This is a reread for me, however this time I'm actually doing the whole 30 and not just considering it. Day 9 and I'm already starting to feel like I have more energy. We'll see. 

Write Your Novel In A Month by Jeff Gerke

Trying to finish this one quick in preparation for Camp Nanowrimo. I've decided it's just the thing to kick me out of this writing rut I've fallen into (aka I feel like my writing will never be as good as my favorite authors' and therefore I just give up trying. Not good.)

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling (audio)

This has been a savior since I don't have internet! This morning I just sat on the couch, snuggled up with my dog and a cup of coffee, crocheting and listening to Harry Potter. While it was storming outside. It was pretty amazing and cozy. 

My 2014 Resolutions

Unsurprisingly, 4 of my 5 resolutions this year relate to writing.

Resolution #1: Finish TGITP

Resolution #2: Query at least one agent

Resolution #3: Attend a conference or workshop and give someone a business card

Resolution #4: Read 52 books. (Unless 5 are the GOT series, aka what happened to me in 2013)

Resolution #5: (This is somewhat of a given) Graduate college.

The 13 Best Books I Read In 2013

It actually just happened to work out that I had exactly 13 favorites, so that was exciting!

FYI: E-Books From The Library

For those of you who had no idea this existed (aka me, about three months ago), most public libraries now have ebooks. This means that if you have some sort of e-book reader (Or a computer, if you don't mind reading on one. Or a smart phone.) all you have to do is get a library card, and you should be able to go online and check out e-books for free.

They work much like regular books, there's a certain amount of time you can check them out, only one person can check a copy out at a time, etc. I love my library's system, because I can put a certain number of books on hold and get notified as soon as a copy is available.

Thought I'd share this advice for others like me who love to read but don't have $50+ a month to spend on books!

Murder Your Darlings

I first heard this phrase when I was reading On Writing by Stephen King.

"Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler's heart, kill your darlings."
-Stephen King, On Writing 

At first the advice didn't make much sense to me. Why would I want to kill the best parts of my story? But I think I finally understand.

Last month I was about 30,000 words into my first draft of TGITP (aka the book I'm currently working on), when I realized that about 20,000 words in the middle didn't need to be there. Now, don't get me wrong, I needed to write them. They showed me where my main character needed to end up, and they taught me a lot about the world she's living in. However, they didn't add to the overall story. It was tough, but I ended up cutting them and finding a much better, much quicker way to get her from the inciting incident to where the story really begins.

And now I think I understand what it means to murder your darlings. I certainly had darlings in those 20,000 words. In fact, I had two very real darlings who were characters that I axed, as well as a few plot points I was excited about. To me, murdering your darlings doesn't mean killing off the best parts of your story, it means killing off the parts that, although you may love, don't add to the story you really need to be telling at that moment.

What does your character hide in their underwear drawer - or other secret location?

The inspiration for this post came from a post on YA Highway (yeah, haha, I realize that it's over three years old).

I've always kind of scoffed at questions like these, because they felt superficial to me. I would think, "Yeah right, like that's going to tell me anything new about my character". However, I figured I might as well try it (after all, I have struggled in the past with creating characters who aren't flat).

Wouldn't you know, I had a sudden flash of insight into my main character, and it turns out that including a moment like this in the first few chapters of my book is exactly what I needed to show (versus tell) something from my character's past.

I guess the cliche "Don't knock it 'til you try it" is a cliche for a reason.

I Thought I'd Introduce You To The Love Of My Life

Her name is Andie.

Sorry if you thought this post would be about my boyfriend, but no, it's about my adorable, frustrating, lovable dog, who is currently sleeping on my feet as I write this post. She is one-and-a-half-years-old, and her favorite pastimes include rolling over, waking me up early, and ripping toys to shreds. 

Time left in my life - time it will take to read all the books on my "to read" list = sigh.

This post was prompted by the addition of four more books to the aforementioned list.

What I'm Reading Wednesday- The Longest Ride, The Giver, The Grapes of Wrath, Divergent

I have a feeling this will be a regular feature (as long as I remember to keep up with it), seeing as how often I read.

The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks

It's been awhile since I've read a Nicholas Sparks book (though I was obsessed with them my sophomore year of high school) and I'm struggling to get into this one. I'm still at the beginning though! So far I'm very intrigued by the changes in pov and tense.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

I'm currently listening to The Giver on audiobook. I usually listen to audiobooks in the car, when I'm cooking, or when I'm getting ready for the day or for bed. This one is actually a re-read for me, because I'm so interested in dystopian fiction recently (and I haven't read it since...sixth grade?).

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

I'll be honest, I've kind of stalled on this one. I'll let you know when I start reading it seriously again...and since I have a large list of books to read, I don't see that happening any time soon. 

Divergent by Veronica Roth

This is actually a re-read for me too! I only read it a little over a week ago, but I read it very quickly and I wanted to go through it again and really soak it in. Actually, Veronica Roth is the one who inspired me to start this blog. After I read Divergent I looked her up, and it was so interesting being able to go back and read her blog from before she was a published author. I'd really like to be able to do that myself, one day, and well...here we are!

Say "Yes" to Everything

As of now, I don't really think of myself as qualified to give advice about writing. So until I do, I see this blog as a space to share any interesting tips or advice or thoughts or ramblings or anything at all that I've found about writing! I'll start with this:

“What’s the worst mistake a writer can make?” she asks. “Thinking too much. Don’t think. It’s not about thinking. You think when you edit. When you create, say yes, yes to everything.” 

I found this quote in the post Mistake #122 from What Not To Do as a Writer. Enjoy :).