A Little Quote

I'm reworking a short story right now, and whenever I feel a little lost I always find inspiration in other writers' quotes. This one stood out today:

“Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind, is written large in his works" -Virginia Woolf

Review: If I Stay

If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Contemporary fiction
Four stars

Mia is a seventeen-year-old cellist set to go to Julliard, a decision that would mean moving away from her family and boyfriend, Adam. A tragic car accident soon puts this choice in perspective and forces her to make a new, infinitely harder one - to stay in a world that promises only loss and hurt or to leave everything, including Adam, behind. Caught in between life and death, Mia is able to watch those around her as they grieve and hope while she decides what matters most and where that will take her.

The idea of it sounds kind of cliché, but something about the writing and the characters pulls everything together beautifully. The style is simple and poetic, and the musical aspect adds so much depth and character - Mia's passion colours all of her relationships, especially with Adam. And her connection to him doesn't dictate the whole novel; it's not really about the love story, it's about friendship and family and music and what living means. There's something honest about her character and her struggles, not only with this decision but in her insecurities, her dreams. Good writing always connects you with the character, and this novel is really truthful in the way it portrays emotions and the weight of loss - you feel what this decision means and what it will cost.

“You can have your wishes, your plans, but at the end of the day, it's out of your control."

Finish the series: Where She Went by Gayle Forman (I haven't read it yet, but I've heard good things)

A Little Note on Bad Writing

There's a lot of crap out there. The YA genre is notorious for its uniformity and generally bad writing, and that's part of the reason I started this blog. There are good writers and there are good books in this category, but it took me a while to be able to pick them out. The trouble is, a lot of the bad writing sells because people want fast and easy reads - and there's nothing wrong with that, but it can be hard to find books in this genre if you want to be challenged. And that's a lovely definition: good writing should challenge you, it should make you think about the characters and their decisions and their relationships. The function of all literature is to communicate some kind of truth, and when it doesn't accomplish this, writing suffers.

“Bad writing is more than a matter of shit syntax and faulty observation; bad writing usually arises from a stubborn refusal to tell stories about what people actually do― to face the fact, let us say, that murderers sometimes help old ladies cross the street.” -Stephen King

A Little Experiment

A whisper. A tremble. That fluid motion, that nothingness that wraps around. A stirring. A gust. That gentle lift, that skimming and shaping. The branches shift and lean, the grasses shimmer. A murmur, a movement. The leaves shiver and fold, shiver and fold. A silence, a tension. A building up, a turning in and tightening of things. The strong boughs creak, the earth quivers and breaths are held and everything is suspended – a pause. Then it comes, a rush, pushing, shoving, curling out and pouring over, whistling and slicing and curving around the edges, ripping through that emptiness and the hollow trees and pulling and clawing, dragging pieces and parts. A swirling, a screaming, a spectacular chaos, those mad fingers gripping and tearing and all the fragments twisting and spinning and the branches leaning and cracking and the dirt uplifted and everything losing its breath. A final thrust of air, that triumphant blast while the leaves still linger, the trees still sway, the world seems to shift and then – then just as soon a falling, a lessening, a quieting of it all. That hollow moan of things returning, drifting, settling. A hush, a stillness. The soft slow glow of life, the spreading calm and swelling silence. Everything sighs, everything waits. Everything has breath again. 

Review: The Casual Vacancy

The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling
Adult fiction
Four stars

The town of Pagford appears to be a quaint countryside community, but when council member Barry Fairbrother dies suddenly, it becomes a war zone. The now empty council seat is up for grabs in the next election, and the fight to win it leads the town into chaos. Relationships between friends, neighbours, spouses, and children are pushed to breaking as secret motives and dangerous lies are uncovered.

I had heard mixed reviews about this, but after reading a bunch I realized most of the negative ones were just complaining about how it wasn't Harry Potter. Really. So I gave it a go, and the book does start off pretty slow, but around halfway through I couldn't stop reading. I wasn't sure what to expect since this was Rowling's first shot at adult fiction, but she's a strong writer and her characters are fascinating. The novel is very much about the complex relationships and attitudes that the characters have, and you're reading from various perspectives so you get a very comprehensive view of everything that goes on. And all of them are three-dimensional and so different - some you understand, some you hate. I think the best part of the book is its portrayal of humans and their lives and interactions, it's beautifully realistic and broken and messy. It focuses on the ugly bits of life, the hate and the insecurity and pain, and it's just incredibly honest about it all.

“You must accept the reality of other people. You think that reality is up for negotiation, that we think it's whatever you say it is. You must accept that we are as real as you are; you must accept that you are not God.” 

Some Things About Writing

Writing is what I want to do. I know this in the deepest part of me because I honestly can't picture doing anything else. It's the most incredible experience when you find the right word, the right phrase, when you create something that breathes. Writing is one of the most beautiful ways we connect to each other, and I'm so glad that I know this is what I want to spend my life doing. But it can be bloody hard.
It's so easy to get discouraged when you can't find that word or phrase, when your ideas just seem disconnected or worthless. I've fallen into a bit of a block, and I think it's because I haven't been practicing. Writing, like any other discipline, takes work and constant focus - it's not just something you do when you feel inspired. If you really want to write, I'm learning that you have to work at it every day, play with new ideas, and create your own inspiration. Don't force yourself in one direction, but write whatever comes to you. It may be brilliant or terrible, but taking the time to get something down is better than nothing, and it keeps up your creative flow. You might surprise yourself.

So here is a small list of exercises to inspire you (and myself) to keep writing:

1. Stream-of-consciousness. Just sit down for about 3-5 minutes and write whatever comes to your mind. This one is hard for me because I have a tendency to over-think when I write.

2. Create a small character sketch. Give them a name, a personality, a back story. What motivates them? What do they want?

3. Describe something using a list of adjectives or associated words. You can pick an object in the room (a clock), an occurrence/event (rain), anything that speaks to you.

4. Write a dialogue between two people. Don't worry about characters or descriptions, just focus on the words and conversation. This is usually a tricky part for me in writing, because I find it difficult to come up with something that sounds natural.

5. Read. Reading good books and good writing is the best inspiration you can get. Learn from other writers and immerse yourself in their style, their words. Writing is a relational process, and it's so important to experience it from the other side.

A Small Reflection

Why is it that we are so inclined to destruction?

Why are we so intrigued by danger, accidents, disasters?

Is it because we rejoice at the chance for renewal? For healing?

Or do we simply want to watch the world

collapse

cave

crumble

and fall away until there is nothing left to burn?