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Three Things I Would Like to See in More Novels

Book of love

As a reader, I can’t help noticing patterns that emerge in the stories I read. Sometimes these stories are spot on, and sometimes I find myself longing for different kinds of stories than what I see on the pages. Here are a few tropes or plots points I would like see occur in more books.*

1. Books That Start with the Characters Already in a Romantic Relationship

So many stories, from romance novels to YA fantasy, begin with two strangers meeting for the first time, having instant attraction, and ultimately finding their way to love. These stories are great, and I enjoy them just as much as the next person.

But these stories seem to stem from the idea the Falling-in-Love aspect is the only interesting or challenging part of a relationship. If our two heroes can just get past these hurdles, then they’ll realize it’s True Love and they’ll be guaranteed their happily ever after.

The reality is that relationships are hard work. It involves day-to-day acts of compassion, understanding, and compromise in order to stay in love.

Staying-in-Love has the potential to be just as compelling and romantic a trope as Falling-in-Love, and would be great to see more stories begin with characters already in a relationship, which they have to hold on to through the storm.

2. Non-Romantic Relationships

Again this is me not so much turning away from romance, but wanting an addendum to it. Many stories, particularly in YA books, focus on the love story to the end that other relationships fade to the background. Sometimes that happens, a person falls in love and is so wrapped up in the feeling, they can’t make the other valuable relationships with friends and family fit in.

But I think life tends to be more multilayered than that and with all the levels of relationships and love — mothers, fathers, siblings, best friends, cousins, etc. — there is a lot of room for emotional complexity. I’m not saying ditch the romance (though I kind of am with my book), but alongside falling in love, lets have some of the other kinds of relationships, too.

3. Quiet Moments

Roger Ebert talked about quiet moments in an interview he did with Hayao Miyazaki:

I told Miyazaki I love the “gratuitous motion” in his films; instead of every movement being dictated by the story, sometimes people will just sit for a moment, or they will sigh, or look in a running stream, or do something extra, not to advance the story but only to give the sense of time and place and who they are.

“We have a word for that in Japanese,” Miyazaki said. “It’s called ma. Emptiness. It’s there intentionally.”

Is that like the “pillow words” that separate phrases in Japanese poetry?

“I don’t think it’s like the pillow word.” He clapped his hands three or four times. “The time in between my clapping is ma. If you just have non-stop action with no breathing space at all, it’s just busyness. But if you take a moment, then the tension building in the film can grow into a wider dimension. If you just have constant tension at 80 degrees all the time you just get numb.

Reading this, I thought about how many stories just power through to the ending in one action sequence after another without allowing that space to breathe and feel something.

Placing a quiet, still moment into a story seems easier in a movie, because it’s a visual form. But I think it’s possible to achieve in books, too, and I would like to see more stories, normally rife with action allow a space for the reader to feel about the characters before plunging in again.

What are tropes, plots, ideas that you would like to see appear in more novels?

*And, as I long to see these things, I find myself drawn to writing them in order to fulfill that desire.

 * * *

Since this is supposed to be a Friday Five post, here are two more unrelated Things you may be interested in checking out:

1. An awesome blog post analyzes the concept of the “Man Card”, which basically a way of metaphorically and jokingly measuring a person’s manliness:

“The Man Card concept specifically, however, is insulting to men and women in what it’s saying about our respective roles. Men are supposed be this way, not that way. Do these things, not those things. You’re not a man if you don’t fit society’s (or some section thereof’s) definition of one, and, unfortunately, people who joke this way are denigrating empathy, sympathy, respect for women, honesty, sensitivity, and responsibility. They’re saying real men prize getting their way over cooperating or compromising. Real men don’t care what their girlfriends or wives think. Real men do what they want.

This is dangerous.”

2. Check out Malinda Lo’s Guide to YA. Malinda Lo is the author of a great Cinderella retelling, called Ash, and she’s writing a multitude of posts YA novels, particularly those with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender characters or issues. If you’re a writer at all interested in writing about GBLTQ characters or issues, then I highly recommend working your way through this reading list.

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Five Tips and Tricks for Nanowrimo

Since today marks the start of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) — that delightful challenge to complete a ridiculous 50,000 words in a single month — I thought I would pull out an old video for today’s Friday Five.

To summarize:

  1. Don’t Delete Anything
  2. Jump Around
  3. Dares and Prompts
  4. Plot Ninjas Are Your Friends
  5. Be Competitive

While I will be attempting to write 50,000 words this month, I will not technically be doing Nano because I will be working on an old project (the rules of Nano say that it should be a new project). I will be attempting to finish draft one of Under the Midday Moon, so that I can use 2014 to edit it.

The key to Nano, really, is the community and that you are not in this alone. I really appreciate that a lot, especially at moments like now, when I haven’t been feeling very motivated.

For those like me, not technically following the Nano rules, but still wanting to participate in some form, you can do an anti-Nano project. Set your own goal and then post updates on your blog, or if you’re on livejournal join the squidathon and post updates there (they do check-ins on Mondays and Fridays).

I will, however, be updating my progress on the Nano website, under my username blythe025. You are welcome to join me there, if you’d like.


Are you participating in Nano this year? What will you be working on?

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An Assortment of Five Things

1. I picked up my sister from the airport on Tuesday. She had just got back from visiting my grandmother in Anchorage, Alaska. She’s 90 years old and my sister and I started talking about how important it is to record her life in some way. I told her that I have photo copies of her homesteading journal (which I’ve been meaning to do something with for a long time) and we both agreed that it would be great to put together a kind of memoir. Likely we wouldn’t try to publish this, though we might put it as an ebook and make some print copies for family through LuLu or something. We just need to make sure we make steady progress on this and not let it be just one of those things we talk about.

2. Speaking of writing, while I was digging through my filing cabinet looking for the copies my grandmother found me, I noticed a stack of paper about an inch thick in one of the files. I couldn’t help but take it out and read it — turned out to be movie script. I started reading some of the pages.

My thought: What is this? Did I write this? I didn’t write this. There’s no way I wrote this. *keeps reading* Oh, my god. I DID write this. I can’t believe I wrote this.

Turns out that stack of paper was the crappy martial arts script I tried to write about a guy and a girl who train and go take part in a tournament in China. It is so, so bad and I’m sure chock full of cultural inaccuracies. This will never ever see the light of day.

3. I saw Pacific Rim and loved it. It was in truth long sequences of robots smashing kaju, which was stunning in its realization, as in jaw-dropped, me-sitting-up-straight-in-my-seat in awe stunning. Beautifully wrought action sequences. It also had characters I like and story that dealt with countries and cultures working together for a common goal (that, importantly, did not revolve around good ol’ US of A saving the day). Rinko Kikuchi is wonderful and I will now be looking to watch every movie she has ever been or will be in. So, yay! I’m so glad I saw this one in theaters.

4. Also, in movies, I recently purchased Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated, a fascinating art project, in which curator Mike Schneider asked artists from around the world to animate sections of George A. Romero’s 1968 classic, Night of the Living Dead. All of the sound for the original movie is the same, the only difference is that the visual element has been changed (which can be done because the original movie is in public domain). Every minute or so, a new animation style flashes on the screen. It’s a little confusing at first, but quickly becomes hypnotizing to watch. A very cool art collaboration (with zombies!).

5. I went to a Curvy Girls Fashion Show (Curvy Girls is the name of a store in Santa Clara). It was just so cool to see a dozen women of varying shapes and sizes, bravely sporting lingerie walk down this make shift runway, while everyone in the audience cheered them on. Good feelings. Also some really cute stuff, costumes and some day ware too, so I may have some shopping to do soon.

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Five Things to Do Instead of Being Jealous of Your Favorite Author

Writers Block

Or, How I Learned to Stop Lamenting and Enjoy the Process

I managed to get myself into a funk last Friday, I was finding myself despairing over my rarely completed to-do lists and my languishing novel, which is suffering through first draft blues. As much as I keep plugging away at the book, there is a deep, ugly, grumbling that believes I’ll never finish the novel or any novel and even if I do, none of them will be worth reading.All this tied into the fact that I had picked up 17 & Gone by Nova Ren Suma (my review is here), which was blowing my mind with awesome in terms of both writing style and storyline. Normally, I don’t bother with being jealous of my fellow authors, but on this particularly day, I felt it and it layered onto my anxieties. I began to spiral into doom-gloom with “I’ll never write like this, never this good” and “My writing sucks” and “I’ll never inspire or move someone the way the writing of this author does for me.”

Dwelling on this kind of stuff is less than helpful and can lead to an avoidance of writing and/or feeling blocked when staring at the blank page. At least, I know this can happen for me. So here are a few things I’ve done and that others can do to let go of all the negative gobbledygook.

1. Remember that Every Voice Isn’t the Same

I can thank my mom for reminding me of this when I was despairing on Friday and it’s important. No two voices are the same. Every writer has their own stories to tell and their own way of telling it. Therefore, it’s not necessarily an issue of better or worse, but just about being different.

Just because one author writes an amazing book, doesn’t mean that your own story, words, and thoughts are not valuable in their own right. If you have a story to tell, then tell it. Your words are unique to you, and chances are someone will find them valuable.

2. Keep in Mind that Drafts are Called “Rough” for a Reason

I think Anne Lamott says it best in her essay, “Shitty First Drafts” (link to a pdf). Most drafts suck the first time around, and they many continue to suck after the second or third go throughs, but somehow a good story gets drawn out in the rewriting/editing process.

It doesn’t really how many books an author has published or sold, or how great their writing, chances are that author has been through bouts of despair and flailing over the suckage of their own writing at various stages of the process. For an excellent example, check out Libba Bray’s fantastic post on writing despair.

So, be gentle with yourself. Be forgiving of your early mistakes. Be forgiving of your later mistakes. You have to work through each mistake to learn how to write, and every word you write gets you to the next one. You can’t get to the finished story/book/poem if you don’t walk through the tangled, mangy woods of the first (and sometimes second, third, fourth, etc.) drafts.

3. Do a Writing Analysis on the Book

So you’ve found a book you love, with writing you adore, with delightful worldbuilding, compelling characters, and a smooth plotline. Instead of feeling inadequate in all its glory (as I did), use this as an opportunity to learn something.

Once you’ve finished the book take a look at what it was about it that made you love it. What is the plot structure or how it launched immediately into the fray? What it the eloquent scene descriptions? How about how the characters were portrayed?

Create a list of what worked for you and what didn’t. What techniques can you use to improve your writing? What can you try to avoid?

I don’t tend to get too heavy handed with these sorts of analyses, as I don’t want to overshadow what naturally comes out when I’m writing and it’s important not to try to force your writing to fit a mold that doesn’t work. But I’ll often keep these kinds of lessons sitting in the back of my mind while I write and will draw on them when I’m challenged on how to handle a certain aspect of the story.

4. Practice Celebrating Your Fellow Writer’s Successes

Both Justine Larbalestier and Seanan McGuire have posts about how life, art, and publishing are not a zero sum game. One writer or artists success doesn’t take success away from you.

I’ve heard some people say that books like Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey should never have been published and lamenting about how many people were taken in by these horrible books. But my sister hated reading, mostly because high school taught her to, and it wasn’t until she read Twilight that she became a reader. That book series taught her that reading could be fun, and that enjoyment has led her to read a multitude of other books in a variety of genres.

What authors like Stephanie Meyer and E.L. James have done is manage to tap into their enjoyment of their readers in such a way that lots and lots of people wanted to read their books. They may not be perfect books, but I salute both authors for their success. Hats off to them, and I’ll keep writing the stories I feel compelled to write.

It’s even easier to salute the writers you love, because their success means more great books for you to read.

But more importantly, if you’re sending out joy and good wishes, then you’re not bogged down by jealousy. Personally, I find it much harder to write when I’m in a fowl mood, so keeping positive (if I can) helps me.

5. Just. Keep. Writing.

Just that. Keep writing.

There’s a momentum to the writing process. I find the more I write, the easier it is to keep writing. If I stop and let myself fall into a mood, it just makes it that much harder to come back to the blank page.

And whatever else is going on around you, whoever is on the bestsellers list or winning awards, one thing you know you can control is the work you put into your own stories and and effort you put into making them the best they can be. That’s a powerful thing.

How do you handle little writing jealousies? What do you do to keep from despairing about your writing?

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Friday Five: Top Tabletop Games

Whenever we’re traveling or on vacation, my family is known to whip out the board and card games, and it’s great. Because, you know, we get to talk and interact and drink beers in a way that doesn’t involve the television, and it’s good (if not always wholesome) fun.

Lately, we’ve starting bringing out the table top games for more than just ‘special occasions,’ and have been turning to this while prepping dinner or hanging out in general. This has led us to start watching Wil Wheaton’s Tabletop video series, which is all board and card games all the time (some of which are the more complex role playing games).

For my family, a level of simplicity is a key with our selection of games, so that we can sit and chat and drink beers and wander off and the afternoon or night is fully relaxed. Here are a few of our favorite games (not including classic games like Sorry or Clue or Monopoly, which we also love), some new and some we’ve been playing for years.

1. Zombie Dice
Zombie Dice

With Zombie Dice, you are playing the part of the zombie on the hunt for tasty, tasty brains. You roll three dice at a time, which will come up either as brains (which you get to eat), a gun shot (three of which kills you), or feet (which you keep chasing by rolling again. There’s a little bit more to the rules, but essentially you win by being the player to nosh down on the most brains.

We like it because it’s easy game play and zombies. We also have the expansion pack, which includes three additional dice that provide variation and complication to the rules above.

(Actually it was this game that causes us to turn on the Tabletop episodes in the first place, because he features it in one episode.)

2. Cards Against Humanity
Cards Against Humanity

Cards Against Humanity is available for purchase, as well as a free download, which allows you to print the cards yourself. Each round a player A asks a question with a black card, which the other players answer by choosing what they think is the funniest white card. The winner of the round is the one who player A thinks has the best/funniest card.

This is a great game to play while sipping on some form of booze. It’s full of foul language, sexual phrases, and politically incorrect statements. Playing this game usually results in one of more of the players falling off their chair in laughter.

If you’re looking for a clean, kid-safe version of this game, there’s Apple to Apples, which is also quite fun.

3. Liar’s Dice
Liar's Dice

Liar’s Dice is a game that’s been around since the 1800s. You can see a version of the game being played aboard Davey Jones’ ship in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

Each player has five dice and a cup. Players shake the cup, then slam it down on the table. Looking at your own dice, you call out a bid, declaring how many of each number there are (i.e. two 3s, four 5s, etc.) for all the dice on the table (not just your own). The other players either up that bid, or call “liar.” If “liar” is called, the dice are revealed. If your bid is correct, then the person who called “liar” looses a die, if you are wrong, you lose a die. The challenge is to not get caught in a lie and/or to catch others in a lie. The last one with dice left wins.

Where it gets really complicated is that there are dozens of variants to the rules (for example, we play where you can call “spot on,” meaning the number called out is the exact amount, as well as “liar”), thus some preemptive work is recommended, so that you can nail down your house rules before you start playing. This will ward off any shouting matches (and I know this from experience).

It’s not as confusing as it sounds. Also, it’s fun because there’s trickery involved. Sometimes it’s best to lie. Others it’s best to tell the truth and make them think you’re lying.

4. Thirty-One
Thirty-One (card game)

Thirty-One is a long standing holiday tradition with my family, which started at my brother-in-law’s house. Every Christmas, we gather around our entire 10+ group of people, each with our set of three $1 bills and set to playing for the next few hours.

Each player is deal three cards and tries to assemble a hand in the same suite that is as close to 31 as possible. Each player can either take the card on top or select from the deck, then discards one card. After the first round any player can “knock” on their turn, which forces everyone to show their hands. The person(s) with the lowest number put a dollar in the pot. However, if you are dealt 31 at the start of the round, then you have to show your cards automatically and everyone has to put a dollar in a pot. The last person with money in front of them wins the whole game and the pot of cash.

Our group tends to be so large when we play this game that if becomes very time consuming, especially if we’re all drinking and not quite paying attention. It’s a good way to bring the family together and fill the night, while incorporating a bit of betting without having it hurt too much (most people can easily afford to loose $3).

5. Cthulhu Dice
Cthulhu Dice

Created by the same people who made Zombie Dice, this is a new addition to our repertoire, and we’re still trying to figure out what we think about it, as it’s not quite as simple. But, hey, it’s Cthulhu, and the Elder Gods must be appeased.

Cthulhu is at the heart of this game and is represented by the center of the game area. As worshipers with limited sanity (represented by three marble pieces), players will select an opponent to curse and roll a 12-sided die to see the outcome, either stealing sanity from the opponent and taking it from oneself or giving it to Cthulhu at the center, loosing ones own sanity to Cthulhu, or other options. After casting, the victim has a chance to retaliate. If you lose all your sanity pieces, you can still play as an insane worshiper. The only player with sanity left at the end of a round wins.

The game rules say the game is for 2+ players, however, playing it with only two was a little confusing, so I think it’s probably best played with 3+ players.

Still, good fun. All hail the Elder Gods.

Tabletop Games I’m Looking Forward To

I haven’t played either of the following games yet, but I’m hoping to soon. First, there’s The Machine of Death: The Game of Creative Assassination, which I preordered through their kickstarter project.  I love the anthology series, so I’m hoping the game is great.

Then, there’s Tsuro, which we saw Wil Wheaton playing on one of his episodes. It’s a strategy game involving pathways and the placement of cards and you play as dragons that must not run off the board or into each other. It looked quick and simple and cleverly fun. So that’s on my list, too.

If you’re a tabletop game fan, tell me what your favorite games are in the comments.