Hedanicreations

I know every writer has their own approach to writing. Mine has always been write, edit, write some more, edit some more. But that doesn’t work when you’re trying to hit the magic word count for NaNoWriMo.

I was actually doing really well to start off – about 2,000 words per day – before the editor in me rear her head and refused to let me go on. Now, it isn’t just that side of my personality that stalled my forward momentum. There has been some personal stuff that was thrown into the mix, which demanded my attention and frankly took priority. But now, I’m deadlocked. Do I push forward and try to write the base draft of a NaNo novel when the editor in me is having a fit over what I have written?

In the spirit of NaNoWriMo, my answer to that is yes, but I still cannot break past that editor’s wall. Bottom line, the editor in me tells me that the first part doesn’t mesh the way it’s suppose to because of my speed writing and until it meshes I’ll be stuck hovering at 9,000 words. I didn’t think I’d actually hit 50,000 by the end of the month, but I thought I’d be at least halfway there. I still have twelve days to go, so I’m not going to give up hope, but I have to say the NaNo approach just isn’t my approach at all.

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The last book I read that everyone “loved,” I found that I didn’t share their enthusiasm — not only with that book but with the entire series. So, with a movie in the works and all the “love” out there for “The Hunger Games,” I was a little hesitant to touch the Suzanne Collins series. However, this is one series that does deserve the hype, the praise and the silver screen.

Humanity at its darkest is never a beautiful thing and Collins’ dystopian society leaves a bitter taste in anyone’s mouth who values humanity. People are allowed to starve to death and surviving means death if caught “poaching.” There is a level of government control and lack of compassion that is beyond disturbing, and even more so when the nature of the games is spelled out in print. Children, from age 12 to 18, are entered into a lottery for the games. One boy, one girl from every district and only one can survive.

How do you balance humanity when your survival means murdering other children? Your life or theirs? How would you react if put into that kind of situation? The games push the extreme. They bring out the worst, but they can also bring out the best.

Collins uses the games to bring out the best in Katniss. While others sink to the lowest rungs of humanity, Katniss rises above it. She takes life, but she also honors it. She does what she needs to survive, but her very survival goes against the will of the Capitol, which oppresses the districts. The games change her, but those changes are so subtle that you don’t even realize how deeply they have affected her until the very end of the book. And once you reach it, you hunger for more of the girl on fire.

Finally, a series worthy of the hype. I just hope that holds true in “Catching Fire,” the second book.

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When you cannot suspend reality for a fantasy novel, there’s a problem, but that’s exactly where I found myself with Angela Carlie’s “Loramendi’s Story.” It was a puzzling place to be because Carlie is one of my favorite indie authors.

“Loramendi’s Story” started with the poetic hook and the pretense of a seemingly normal world. But where the trouble started for me is when Lora meets Chance. There was a certain level of creepiness about his comments and behavior that had me searching for the panic button, and yet Lora wasn’t hitting it or trying to escape. I understand the draw, the connection that was supposed to be there, but I never felt it.

The creepy commentary, of course, was explained when Lora’s past was revealed. It was then you understand Chance’s out-of-place remarks and how they fit into context. Unfortunately, by the time it came, it killed the Chance and Lora bandwagon, and I never could get fully behind a tale that focused on her and her Prince Charming.

By no means does this change how I feel about Carlie as an author, because despite my frustration with the lead couple, I do feel like she does so much more right.

One of Carlie’s strengths is that she writes her stories in settings that she knows. One of my biggest pet peeves as a reader is to read a story set in a place the author has never been – and then they get it wrong. Carlie lives in the Pacific Northwest, where I’m also from. I’ve read two of her novels thus far and both were set in Washington, the Columbia River gorge and Portland area. When you read her books, the setting is colorful and rich. You get a sense of the area, the feel, the culture. Even if you have never been there, you could say you have by reading her books. She does just a beautiful job in that area.

The other thing I did like about the novel was the back story. It just felt like the world she created had so much more depth and that only the surface was scratched in “Loramendi’s Story.” I see a lot of potential for the series with what she started here, although I’m not sure I’m ever going to be a Chance and Lora fan.

Check out “Loramendi’s Story” by Angela Carlie.

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I love when a novel makes me impatient. Not in a this-is-ridiculous way, but in anticipation, excitement and a need to know the answer to my question. Well, questions in truth.

In a series where the politics are as shady as Washington and no one can get along, it’s still a guess who is trying to kill the princess heir as she tries to return to the Fells and claim her throne in Cinda Williams Chima’s “The Gray Wolf Throne” – the third book in her Seven Realm series. The usual players are the usual suspects, but by the end of the novel, there are more players on the board and more questions than answers.

With Chima’s books, however, the unanswered questions don’t bother me as much as they do with other writers. Chima has a way of charming the reader into “just one more chapter” or “just five more minutes.” In this case, I have to wait for book four to know the full extend of Chima’s fantastic political game of chess, which only makes me impatient. But from experience with her other books, I know the wait will be worth it.

What I also love about “The Gray Wolf Throne” is the foreshadowing. It calls into doubt the very truth of what the characters believe and has even driven me to reread a section of “The Demon King,” the first book, to make sure what I think I remember is correct. I’ve always been a firm believer in the truth setting someone free, and if I’ve caught Chima’s hints correctly, by the end of the next novel Raisa will have her foes in check.

As for book three, all hail the queen!

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Since I decided to give eBooks a chance earlier this year, I’ve noticed distinct differences between traditionally published books and the indie authors’ contributions to the literary world. It’s something I’ve even noticed my writing group does, and I wonder what the other writers in my life think about my analysis.

When I write, I have a general idea about plot, where things are going, and I focus on telling the story. I don’t want to waste words or plug in scenes just to fill space or expand the story. But what it boils down to is that I focus on the story content more than I do the word count. I want the climax to wrap up the lose threads. I want the story of the book to be complete, even if some things are left to expand the story. Therefore, I do not worry about count, I worry about writing an engaging story – whether a blog, a travel piece or a novel.

The trend I’ve notice and hear a lot of talk about is “word count” this and “word count” that. I understand knowing the average word count of traditional stories, but what bothers me, especially in eBooks, is authors seem to be sticking strictly to a short word count even when the story doesn’t feel “concluded” because people don’t want to read a “long” eBook. Really?

For example, I read yesterday Sarra Cannon’s “Beautiful Demons.” The book was first person – not my favorite – but overall, it was a good story. Cannon is definitely a talented writer. The book still wasn’t my cup of tea, but I don’t consider it time wasted either. What bothered me about the book was where it ended. One resolution among a hundred questions created by the novel was answered at the end of the book, and I don’t consider that an adequate resolution even if the series continues. I believe that a novel should be a complete story arc, even if it leaves things open for more. And I’m finding that the word counts of some of the eBooks I’ve been reading are just too short to adequately tell the story. I don’t know if Cannon “kept it short” on purpose, but I do know “Beautiful Demons” is just another to add to the list of the trend I’m noticing.

I do understand writing for an audience and traditionally, I understand that certain audiences have a different attention span than others. I also understand that sticking to a shorter word count, your story is more likely to be read because a shorter story is easier to dedicate time to finishing than a 1,000 page Dickens tome. But what is the fine line between the two? Should content be sacrificed for the sake of staying within an optimal word count? Or, should a quality novel speak for itself regardless of length?

Frankly, I’m in the content camp. I believe in editing and not wasting words, but I’m not going to say, “oh, I’ve hit my word count, the story is done.” I am curious what the other writers in my life think.

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I’ve been in love with Cassandra Clare’s writing since I picked up “City of Bones” several years ago. The world she has crafted is so intricate and meticulous, you feel as if it would take a lifetime to know all the stories and tales that serve as a back story for the lives of her characters. There is faith, love, laws that define an evolving culture and characters that draw you into their lives. No word is wasted; every moment has a purpose. And she always pulls it together in a beautiful climax.

When I picked up “City of Fallen Angels” when it was released, the posted reviews seemed almost disappointed in the Mortal Instruments’ fourth installment. So, I started reading it with diminished expectation. I always expect great things from Clare, but if the reviews were correct, I didn’t want to get my hopes up. When I finally finished the novel yesterday, I was glad to know that those early reviews were wrong.

“Angels” is definitely filled with much more emotion than the prior novels, but when you reach the end, you understand much of the teen angst Clare has woven into her tale. Love is one of the greatest emotions, but it is often said that love can lift up and it can also destroy. “Angels” has a climax that will have you shouting “no,” and saddened by the effect. But with two more novels following in the wake of “Angels,” I know that whatever new story arcs Clare has started with this ending will come together by the time she wraps “City of Heavenly Fire.”

My only regret is having to wait for books five and six when I want to read them now.

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Day Ten: If you’re wondering what happened to days one through nine, they were about the same as today. I unpacked, I cleaned, I job hunted, I played music to break the silence or played Netflix just to hear another voice. Yes, I’m going stir-CRAZY. Yes, all caps.

I’m the type of person that has to have something to do. Too many days of isolation really does drive me nuts. I want to interact, I want to edit and write, and I want to communicate with the outside world and not just via the internet. Yet, until someone decides I’m worth employing in a tough job market, I have a feeling that I’m going to continue to go stir-CRAZY.

I applaud housewives, but this no work existence really is not for me.

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I’m having one of those days. You know the kind where you don’t get any sleep, it’s busy, you feel like the world doesn’t have a single intelligent person left, and then you have to work with no downtime to catch a nap so that you can make it through to midnight? Yes, my day is full of newspaper thief neighbors (no joke), frustrating people and lots of things that make me want to swear profusely and forget the manners my mother taught me.

Deep breath.

I guess the fortunate thing about today is that, now that I’m at work, I’m around the coworkers that actually make work-life enjoyable. And, it does make me sad to know that I’ll no longer have their fun, off-beat conversation to help turn around my day. But, I have them for two more weeks, and that counts for something. I guess it goes to show, though, that no matter how many lemons you start the day off with, you can always stop to make lemonade.

No matter how frustrated I get at times, I hope they know how much I appreciate them.

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I’ve been avoiding Facebook, Yahoo, pretty much anywhere on the Web that would throw Sept. 11th coverage in my face. Even more so since, as a page editor, I’ve had to get all the coverage in the print edition this weekend, and it’s just too much. It isn’t that I’m trying to forget; I just don’t really want to read the ‘this is where I was’ posts or view photos from ten years ago. I don’t need to see it; I don’t need to relive it. I know it happened. I remember it just like everyone else and will for the rest of my life – the same way my aunts remember Kennedy’s assassination and the same way my grandparents remember Pearl Harbor. There are just somethings that remain.

Although my way of remembering is decidedly different than most today, it isn’t a bad thing to reflect on the past or what matters the most to you. I had a kick today from a friend of mine in the ‘reminder’ area for what matters. We were discussing my stress and worries about relocating to San Diego in two weeks, and he, in turn, was sharing similar worries regarding his significant other.

What about a job? What about cost of living? What about health care and job benefits? What about whatever else I could possibly think of to worry about?

I guess the correct question for the day and to put it all in perspective is: What about happiness?

Happiness isn’t something you can put a price tag on. Happiness doesn’t come in the form of a paycheck, or how many weeks of vacation you get per year, or even how much you earn. Happiness is the joy of being with the person you love, with being with family and friends. Happiness is created in family picnics, days at the beach, hikes through the forest, or curling up with a good book. Happiness is your creation and it cannot be bought. And when you really think about it, all the stress, all the worry, all the ways we make ourselves unhappy are trivial next to the one state that makes life worthwhile.

Often, we forget about what matters and instead worry about the future. We fail to live our lives for happiness, when it’s something more of us need to do. After all, everyone who died on September 11, 2001, didn’t wake up that morning thinking ‘today, I’m going to die.’ None of us really do. And when I die, I want to leave this world without regret, without stress, and with memories of the things that made me happy. Otherwise, what is the purpose of life, of sacrifice or in taking the time to reflect? We are but hollow shells when we forget what matters most in life.

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Check out my latest Sun Spots column in the Arizona Daily Sun on Megg Jensen’s “Sleepers” at: Sun Spots: The ‘Sleepers’ awake

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