tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67273524391077628012024-03-21T07:45:02.309+08:00Wistfully Lindalinda's writing bloglindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-78103241321965748592012-12-31T18:16:00.000+08:002012-12-31T18:21:55.100+08:00Books I Read in 2012It seems like everyone's putting up their 2012 best-of lists, so I wanted to join in on the fun! Most of the books I read hadn't been published this year, but whatever. I decided to come up with my own categories and highlight the books that I found particularly memorable, whether for good or for ill. These are all my personal opinions based on my very particular set of pet peeves and preferences, so please don't take these mini-sort-of-reviews as assessments of quality — they're basically just me ranting and raving about my reading experience.<br />
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Let's start out with a good one:<br />
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<b>The Only 5-Star Rating</b></h3>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7042434-jellicoe-road" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1302049803l/7042434.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7042434-jellicoe-road" target="_blank"><i>Jellicoe Road </i>by Melina Marchetta</a></b></div>
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So I guess this would be my favorite book of the year (and yes I am super stingy with 5-star ratings, and even 4-star ones). Unfortunately, since I read it in February (which was a long time ago and before I started writing status updates while reading), I don't quite remember all the details. But I do remember that it made me cry (which isn't hard to do), and that it impressed me (which is), and that I loved the unconventional story structure. I am <i>such</i> a sucker for nonlinear story lines. I don't think I really fell in love with the protagonist and the love interest, but they didn't annoy me, which is actually saying a lot considering how picky I am. I do remember being moved by the relationships and the way we found out more and more about the group of kids from the past. Great read.</div>
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<b>Made Me Laugh the Most</b></h3>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34504.Wyrd_Sisters" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1275974472l/34504.jpg" width="127" /></a></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34504.Wyrd_Sisters" target="_blank"><i>Wyrd Systers</i> by Terry Pratchett</a></b></div>
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Dude, this book made me crack up SO much. I've been slowly and haphazardly making my way through the Discworld novels (I'm fortunate my library carries many of them), and while some of them turned out to be duds (at least to me), this one was a blast. I laughed so hard that my friend thought I was completely nuts, and that just made me laugh more. And it happened more than once! Ahh, Granny Weatherwax is so badass. I liked her a lot in the <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/series/75586-tiffany-aching" target="_blank">Tiffany Aching</a> series, which I'd read before (love that series, particularly <i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34501.A_Hat_Full_of_Sky_Discworld_32_" target="_blank">A Hat Full of Sky</a></i>), but in this one she was just absolutely hilarious, and definitely made me eager to pick up all the rest of the witch books in the Discworld series. (Incidentally, the runner-up for this category is a Discworld book as well: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/64222.Going_Postal" style="font-style: italic;">Going Postal</a>, featuring Moist Van Lipwig.)</div>
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<b>Pissed Me Off the Most</b></h3>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13538816-stormdancer" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345651276l/13538816.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13538816-stormdancer" target="_blank"><i>Stormdancer</i> by Jay Kristoff</a></b></div>
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This year I abandoned 30+ books while reading, but this particular DNF probably annoyed me the most out of all of them. I ranted about the <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.com/2012/09/part-3-green-eyed-asian-love-interest.html" target="_blank">green eye thing on my blog</a> and the <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/411737628" target="_blank">cultural appropriation stuff on Goodreads</a> (with some great input and discussion from my friends — their posts are very much worth reading, more so than mine, haha). The disappointment hurt, a lot. I'd hoped so badly for this to be an amazing YA Asian fantasy because we definitely need more of those, but instead we got an author who doesn't think "exoticism" and "appropriation" are real things and that it should be ok for him to make stupid mistakes about someone else's culture and language just because he wanted his novel to have an aesthetic that's not overdone. Sigh.</div>
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<b>Favorite Series</b></h3>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6043848-the-knife-of-never-letting-go" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327874178l/6043848.jpg" width="123" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7003779-the-ask-and-the-answer" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327873408l/7003779.jpg" width="130" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8100904-monsters-of-men" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327876498l/8100904.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/series/44939-chaos-walking" target="_blank">Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness</a></b></div>
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I don't manage to finish many series, since I frequently give up after disliking the first one, or get too lazy to hunt down each book, or worry the sequel will ruin the first book, or whatever. But I managed to check out all three books in the Chaos Walking trilogy from my library this year, and I thought this series was great in spite of all those elements I usually dislike: cliffhangers, protags that annoyed me, a romance I didn't much care for, weird dialect. But the experience of reading these books is just so intense I couldn't put them down; I felt exhilarated by the roller-coaster ride despite the fact that my fondness for the protags deteriorated rapidly over the three books. I think this was because my increasing dislike for them was balanced by my growing sympathy for the villains, which amazed me. There were characters I'd absolutely hated at first who grew on me and earned my compassion. By the end of the series, I wanted happy, redemptive endings for the villains even more than I wanted the protagonists to stay alive. Ultimately, I loved the masterful characterizations and the edge-of-your-seat pacing. I definitely didn't expect to like this series so much.<br />
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<b>Favorite Historical Fiction</b></h3>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6202556-the-evolution-of-calpurnia-tate" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312066975l/6202556.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6202556-the-evolution-of-calpurnia-tate" target="_blank"><i>The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate</i> by Jacqueline Kelly</a></b></div>
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This book isn't for everyone, as there isn't much of a plot, and the voice of the main character didn't really fit her age. But I loved this book because I adored Calpurnia so, so much. I love science, and I love smart, strong-willed female characters, and this book had both. I very much enjoyed reading about Calpurnia's interactions with her family, her scientific outings with her grandfather, and the way she fought against the prescribed roles for women and girls. She is a feminist scientist in the making, which is AWESOME, and she completely won my heart.</div>
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<b>Most Miserable</b></h3>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6101718-the-magicians" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1313772941l/6101718.jpg" width="130" /></a></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6101718-the-magicians" target="_blank"><i>The Magicians </i>by Lev Grossman</a></b></div>
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I don't even remember how this book made it to my to-read list, but I probably thought, "Huh, Harry Potter plus Narnia for grownups, sounds good," and made a note to look for it at the library. But I had no idea that it'd actually be about a miserable, selfish, hateful young man who makes a lot of stupid, self-absorbed decisions and mopes around being angsty all the time and then acts in such an jerkass way that terrible things happen to the one decent-ish character in the entire book. But it takes place first at a Harry-Potter-ripoff-magic-boarding-school and then in a Narnia-ripoff-fantasyland, so I guess that accounts for the description. It was so freaking depressing to read, and I hated pretty much everyone in the book (they mostly all hated themselves and each other, too). I was just like WHAT THE HECK IS THIS CRAP and was so disappointed and depressed and angry when I finished (plus relieved that it was over, I guess). Not to mention very, very miserable as well.</div>
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<b>Favorite High Fantasy</b></h3>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68428.Mistborn" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312038619l/68428.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68428.Mistborn" target="_blank"><i>Mistborn: The Final Empire</i> by Brandon Sanderson</a></div>
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I've had this on my to-read for a while, but it was <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6545351-maya" target="_blank">Maya</a>'s recommendation that really spurred me to get it from the library. And I really enjoyed it! Vin was a great protagonist — smart, capable, brave, had to work for her skills, and wasn't whiny. I rooted for her throughout the book, and it was great to see her inner and outer transformations and growing relationships with her co-conspirators. All the plotting, cons, secrets, and mysteries were right up my alley. Plus, it had an interesting and unique magic system. Over all, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, and I look forward to reading more by this author. (Also, I ended up recommending this book to a friend and we read it at the same time, so I'm relieved it was good and that we both liked it!) (<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/315593685#comment_62585018" target="_blank">Longer review for <i>Mistborn: The Final Empire</i> here.</a>)</div>
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<b>Most Relieved I Liked</b></h3>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13163449-the-raven-ring" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328327919l/13163449.jpg" width="128" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13163449-the-raven-ring" target="_blank"><i>The Raven Ring</i> by Patricia C. Wrede</a></div>
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I bought the 5-book Lyra series bundle for Kindle because of a Cyber Monday sale, and also because I adore Patricia C. Wrede's <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/series/40390-enchanted-forest-chronicles" target="_blank">Enchanted Forest Chronicles</a> (particularly<i> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/169875.Searching_for_Dragons" target="_blank">Searching for Dragons</a></i>) and very much enjoyed her <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/series/43838-mairelon" target="_blank">Mairelon</a> series. The first four books were a little disappointing, though -- they weren't as good as her latter books, and the ratings for those ranged from 1.5 to 2.5. But I'd heard that <i>The Raven Ring</i> was the best, so I was hoping it'd be good. And I ended up liking it, even though it has a prophecy and a love triangle, both of which are usually things I don't like. But Wrede handled both those elements really well and while I didn't love those elements, they didn't frustrate me. Most of all, I loved Eleret — smart, sensible, capable, practical. Ah, definitely my kind of character. Seriously, I was <i>so</i> relieved after I finished this book and liked it, because I would've been so sad if I didn't like any of the Lyra books, given how much I enjoy Wrede's later work! (<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/476588261#comment_63505768" target="_blank">Longer review for <i>The Raven Ring</i> here.</a>)</div>
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<b>Everyone Loved But Me</b></h3>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8490112-daughter-of-smoke-bone" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1338613368l/8490112.jpg" width="132" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8490112-daughter-of-smoke-bone" target="_blank"><i>Daughter of Smoke and Bone </i>by Laini Taylor</a></div>
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It's kind of sad how many of the books I've read this year are contenders for this category. Ultimately I decided to go with <i>Daughter of Smoke and Bone</i> because of how popular it is and how little I liked it. I know a lot of people absolutely adored this one, but I just could not get over how the romance in this book turned the characters into people I hated. I found them to be shallow, stupid, and selfish, and I just couldn't bring myself to root for them. I know a lot of people like Taylor's writing, and I did like it in <i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6369113-lips-touch" target="_blank">Lips Touch</a></i>, but the descriptions of how enthralled these characters were by one another's beauty seriously put me off the prose in this one. I did find the worldbuilding interesting, but since characters and plot are what matter most to me when reading, in the end I did not enjoy this book the way most other readers did. I'm still very curious about how the series will end, though! I'm secretly hoping Karou and Akiva will actually <i>not</i> end up together, haha. (<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/315593967" target="_blank">Longer review for <i>Daughter of Smoke and Bone </i>here.</a>)</div>
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<b>Favorite Fan Fiction</b></h3>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10016013-harry-potter-and-the-methods-of-rationality" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1293582551l/10016013.jpg" width="122" /></a></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10016013-harry-potter-and-the-methods-of-rationality"><i>Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality </i>by Eliezer Yudkowsky</a></b></div>
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I don't usually read fanfic, but I saw <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/365665907">this review by Livia Blackburne</a> and decided to give it a try. And guess what, I really liked it! In fact, I may have liked it better than the original <i>Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone </i>(don't kill me!). I mean, this Harry is brilliant, and he's trying to turn Draco to the good side by teaching him about genetics, and he's doing experiments to discover the rules of magic with Hermione (both Ravenclaw, of course), and Professor Quirrell lets all the students compete in a giant mock-war with generals and traitors. The plot may not be the strongest element, and the writing isn't the best either, but the fanfic is full of nerdy goodness that I found incredibly fascinating and fun, so I was never bored. Plus, I liked the fanfic take better than the original take for so many aspects of Harry and the wizarding world. The story by turns made me laugh, made me think, and moved me to tears. Over all, a wonderful reading experience that gave me a lot to think about.<br />
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<b>Side Character Who Stole My Heart</b></h3>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13056868-vessel" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1333623438l/13512017.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13056868-vessel"><i>Vessel </i>by Sarah Beth Durst</a></div>
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So for most of these other books, my comments tend to focus on the main character, because how I feel about the main character has a very good chance of determining what I feel about the entire book (although an amazing twisty plot or well-executed nonlinear story structure or laugh-out-loud humor can win me over as well). It's rare for me to latch on to a side character so strongly, so the last spot on this post goes to a character from the last book I read (and probably the last book I'll read this year): Raan, vessel of Maara of the Scorpion Clan. I love Raan so freaking much, you guys. She's spirited, clever, tricky, brash, and is fiercely determined to stand up for her own right to life when everyone else demands her death. I love that she rebels against the gods and tradition and the ritual of human sacrifice, and searches for a way to save her clan without the need for her own death. She drinks and swears and is always running away, struggles so much with her prescribed role of a vessel, somehow become friends with the other vessels despite their complete opposite views, and then, in the end, does what she thinks is best even though it costs her so much — and even then she never stops fighting. Just, love. (And best of all, she doesn't spend most of the book mooning over men when she has so much more at stake!) Anyway, Raan was the one who made <i>Vessel</i> a worthwhile read for me, and I so wish she had been the protagonist instead. Then this book would've been competition for <i>Jellicoe Road</i>! ;) (<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/460434602#comment_64235002" target="_blank">Longer review for <i>Vessel</i> here.</a>)</div>
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So yeah, those are a few of the books I read in 2012 that made an impression on me, for better or for worse. I'm looking forward to reading more books in 2013 — and hopefully I'll be better at choosing books I like!</div>
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<b>Feel free to steal one of the categories I've used above, or make up your own, and tell me about one of your 2012 reads that was memorable, whether in a good or not-so-good way!</b></div>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-89738397413684232222012-12-23T14:37:00.001+08:002012-12-25T15:53:04.505+08:00Sunshine and the Next Big ThingSo I usually put awards and memes on my <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.com/p/awards-and-memes.html" target="_blank">awards & memes</a> page, but since I haven't blogged in a while, I thought posting some Q&As in my actual blogging space would be a good way to get back into the swing of things. (Except not really because I'm on vacation in the States right now, so it probably won't work, haha.)<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">THE SUNSHINE BLOG AWARD</span></b></h3>
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Thanks, <a href="http://sophiathewriter.blogspot.tw/2012/11/sunshine-blog-award-duckfaces-welcome.html" target="_blank">Sophia</a>, for passing this to me (and our fellow cabinmates from this summer's Camp Nanowrimo)! :)</div>
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I'm going with the set of questions Sophia posted, so here goes:</div>
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<b>1: Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? </b><br />
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Um, basically in whatever configuration they're in when I fall asleep. Most of the time one would be open because I like the convenience and am too lazy to bother closing them, but sometimes I close the doors for aesthetic purposes.<br />
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<b>2: Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotels? </b><br />
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Not often. I don't like taking random free things unless I'm likely to use it (I dislike clutter), so I'd only take them if I really like them and would use them in the near future.<br />
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<b>3: Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out?</b><br />
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Hm, the only sheet on my bed is the bed sheet; I don't use a top sheet. But in hotels, they usually tuck in that top sheet and it always annoys me because it's so uncomfortable! If it's hot, I want want to be able to uncover my legs sometimes, and if it's cold, I want the blanket tucked around ME, not the entire bed. Warming up all that extra space is a waste of my body heat!<br />
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<b>4: Have you ever stolen a street sign before? </b><br />
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No. See above re: dislike of free things that will just become clutter. I guess a really cool street sign would make an awesome decoration for some people, but that's not really my style.<br />
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<b>5. What is your favorite time of year?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Vacation time! I like being lazy. Weather-wise, whenever it's not too hot or too rainy. In Taiwan, that would be autumn. It's the best time to visit!<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>6. What is your favorite time of day?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Late afternoon, for the pretty golden glow, and nighttime, because that's when I get to do my own things. Mornings are the WORST. Do not try to make conversation with me at breakfast unless you like monosyllabic answers served with a side of scowl.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>7. Which are better, Legos or Lincoln Logs? </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
I never played much with either when I was a kid. Legos, maybe? I feel like they're more versatile. And also they have more books on the NYT Bestseller List. (WHICH IS TOTALLY LAME, btw.)<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>8. Do you always smile for pictures? </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Ha. I'm one of those people the photographer is always telling to smile more. To which I usually want to say, "But I'm already smiling!" I guess I prefer smirks and small smiles to big, toothy grins, and have a tendency to err on the side of not being smiley enough. People have told me I look mad when I thought I was being perfectly neutral. (Poll: Do I look mad in that photo of me in the sidebar? I think I look relatively neutral. But I'm pretty sure I thought I was smiling, at least a little bit, when that photo was taken. See how much effort it takes me to even get to neutral? Sigh.)<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">THE NEXT BIG THING</span></b></h3>
<b><br /></b>
I was tagged by <a href="http://luraslowinski.com/2012/12/17/the-next-big-thing-title-fail-edition/" target="_blank">Lura</a>, whose non-traditional epic fantasy sounds fascinating! Thanks for thinking of me, Lura. :)<br />
<br />
<b>What is the working title of your book?</b><br />
<br />
Ahh... I don't really have one yet. For Camp Nanowrio I just went with "PURE AWESOMENESS" because I'm optimistic like that. :P I really suck at naming things.<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Where did the idea come from for this book?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
I still remember reading <i>Deep Wizardry</i> by Diane Duane and becoming fascinated with the idea of a magical reenactment of past events. I think I've seen that in other books as well, but that was the book that really made an impression on me. I love the idea of people having to take on the roles of great legendary figures of the past, and going through a ritual reenactment of an important major event, and having it actually do something magical rather than just for symbolism. So that's how the premise came to be.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>How long did it take to write the first draft?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
*cries* It's not done yet! I have random beginnings and free-writes but no draft of even a full outline yet. I do mull over my idea a lot and I do have some of the characters and pieces of the plot figured out, but my progress is sooooo slow. I'm someone who needs to have everything planned out before I write, and plotting is SO HARD, so I'm still very much in the brainstorming/plotting/outlining phase. Where I've been for a really long time. But I really don't want to plot AND write at the same time — I'm determined to come up with a good outline, with most of the holes filled in, before I officially begin drafting.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>What actors would you use for a movie rendition of your book?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Meh, I'm not really fond of this whole choosing-actors-for-book-characters activity. I don't care much about matching book characters to photographs of real people. Plus I don't watch a ton of movies, so the only actors I can think of are the major stars, and none of them really fit for my story. Since my characters' looks would be similar to that of East Asians in our world, ideally they'd be cast with Asian American actors. (Which I think would be preferable to stars brought over from Asia, but even that would be better than — universe forbid — WHITE ACTORS *shudder*). Ooh, maybe <a href="http://sophiathewriter.blogspot.tw/" target="_blank">Sophia</a> can be in it, since she totally qualifies as an Asian American actress. :D<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>What is a one-sentence synopsis of your book?</b><br />
<br />
Gah, I suck at this one-sentence thing! It sounds so dumb when I try to condense the story. Didn't realize how impossible it is until I had to do it myself. And I don't even have definitive names for people yet (yes I suck at names)! This will probably be revised later, but here's my (terrible, horrible, no good, very bad) shot at it for now:<br />
<br />
Confident and talented [protagonist] fully expects to be her goddess's representative for the Empire's most important ritual reenactment; but when an inexperienced newcomer is chosen instead, she takes it upon herself to make sure the girl's incompetence — and the rebel group determined to see a different outcome for the ritual — won't put the entire Empire at risk.<br />
<br />
<b>Will it be self published or represented by an agency?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Eh, dunno. Possibly neither. I'll worry about it after I've actually written the thing; I feel like it's too early for me to be thinking about this stuff already. I'm mainly interested in writing this story as a fun thing for myself. If it turns out to be decent then I'll think about monetizing it. Haha.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Who or what inspired you to write this book?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
If you follow me on Goodreads or have discussed books with me, there is a good chance you've noticed that I have an inordinate amount of pet peeves (and <a href="http://a-nudge.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Alz</a> says they're even peevier than hers, so you know how bad they are!). Given how <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.com/2012/08/end-of-august-wrap-up.html" target="_blank">particular</a> I am, it can be hard for me to find books that don't push my RAGE buttons while hitting all the right notes, like making me laugh or having characters I love or a brilliant plot (and all of that is very subjective and personal). So I guess I wanted to write a book for myself — one that includes my favorite tropes and stomps on the ones I hate. You know, like making a custom pasta dish yourself instead of going to a fancy Italian restaurant and picking one of the ones they have. Sure, the execution might not be as good (I'm a terrible cook), and some people will probably think my custom pasta is gross, but at least <i>I</i> will like it because it will have all of my favorite ingredients and NO MUSHROOMS!!!<br />
<br />
Ahem. Mushroom hate aside, here's an old blog post about <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.com/2011/06/for-my-fifteen-year-old-self.html" target="_blank">why I want to write</a> that goes a little deeper.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Other than the YA Asian fantasies already out there, I'd want to compare it to <i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13056868-vessel" target="_blank">Vessel</a></i> by Sarah Beth Durst. <i>Vessel </i>also features a PoC heroine in a non-traditional epic fantasy setting who is involved in magical rituals that are important to her people, and decides on her own to take up a quest to fix an unexpected complication that pops up after years of training and dedication. At least that's my impression from reviews I've seen, since I haven't read it yet, so... yeah. But I got the ebook so I'll be reading it soon, and I'll let you know how it goes! (Also crossing my fingers that it doesn't have TOO many similarities with my story.)<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?</b><br />
<div>
<br />
Hm. I guess you could say that it's the story of someone who'd usually be the "bitchy mean girl." I mean, there's a special snowflake in this story — she's suddenly swept into a new life, surprises everyone with an incredibly rare and powerful ability; she's expected to do great things; she doesn't think she's beautiful, but catches the eye of the Most Desirable Male on the first day (along with many of the slightly-less-desirable ones); she doesn't fit in with the popular girls, and her quirky sidekick — er, loyal friend — assures her that they're just jealous. But though she'd usually be the protagonist, she's not for this story.<br />
<br />
One of the popular girls is the actual protagonist. She cares about looks, can be kind of conceited, and isn't particularly warm toward strangers. But she's also fiercely ambitious and practices her spells in the early hours because she's determined to be the best. She also has a close group of girlfriends (the other "popular girls") with whom she enjoys jokes and banter and gossip — particularly about Most Desirable Male, who she's been crushing on for longer than she'd like to admit. ;)<br />
<br />
It might not work out, I know, but I thought it'd be kinda fun to try anyway. :P</div>
<br />
<br />
<b>That's it, and I hope you enjoyed reading my answers to these questions! Now I'm so curious about what everyone is working on. If this is something you'd be interested in doing, PLEASE steal these questions from me and do your own post about your WIP. I'd LOVE to hear about your inspirations and ideas! :)</b></div>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-60457180583827218832012-09-20T22:28:00.002+08:002012-09-20T22:28:30.973+08:00Twitter Roundup 09.20.2012It's been a while since I've done one of these link roundup posts, probably because I've been tweeting posts I like instead. So I thought it'd be nice to collect some of the links I've been sharing recently, in case you missed them and might find one or two of them interesting as well.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b><a href="http://fozmeadows.wordpress.com/2012/09/04/politics-ya-and-narrative/" target="_blank">Politics, YA, and Narrative</a></b> | Foz Meadows</li>
<ul>
<li>On how personal politics is tied to writing, and the importance of dissecting our assumptions.</li>
</ul>
<li><b><a href="http://catvalente.livejournal.com/450101.html" target="_blank">Let Me Tell You a Story</a></b> | Catherine M. Valente</li>
<ul>
<li>Response to Race Fail '09 about why diversity matters in stories.</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://escapepod.org/2012/05/17/ep345-the-paper-menagerie/" target="_blank"><b>The Paper Menagerie</b></a> | Ken Liu</li>
<ul>
<li>2012 Hugo Award winner for short story. So amazing it made me cry at work.</li>
</ul>
<li><b><a href="http://www.weheartya.com/2012/09/is-book-blogosphere-too-nice.html?spref=tw" target="_blank">Is the Book Blogosphere Too Nice?</a> </b>| Kristan Hoffman</li>
<ul>
<li>I'd say yes. Part of the reason is because "niceness" is not a trait I value. Helpful, relevant, well-reasoned, honest, entertaining, thought-provoking — I'd much prefer any of these to <i>nice</i>.</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://elloecho.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-importance-of-proper-research.html" target="_blank"><b>The Importance of Proper Research</b></a> | Ellen Oh</li>
<ul>
<li>THIS. It bothers me a lot when authors get things wrong (when I notice, that is). Totally pulls me out of the story.</li>
</ul>
<li><b><a href="http://pcwrede.com/blog/an-illusion-of-reality/" target="_blank">An Illusion of Reality</a></b> | Patricia C. Wrede</li>
<ul>
<li>Different things break different readers out of the story, so as a writer it's best to avoid as few of those as possible</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://pcwrede.com/blog/eight-million-or-so/" target="_blank"><b>Eight Million or So</b></a> | Patricia C. Wrede</li>
<ul>
<li>On the flip side, the most important element is different for every reader, and not every book should focus on the same ones</li>
</ul>
<li><b><a href="http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2012/09/guest-post-the-omniscient-breasts-by-kate-elliott/" target="_blank">The Omniscient Breasts: The Male Gaze Through Female Eyes</a></b> | Kate Elliot</li>
<ul>
<li>The male gaze is a gendered gaze, but sometimes readers and writers don't realize it.</li>
</ul>
<li><b><a href="http://thezoe-trope.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/diversity-vs-cultural-appropriation.html" target="_blank">Diversity vs. Appropriation</a></b> | Zoë Marriot</li>
<ul>
<li>Yes, there's a difference. Cultural appropriation is not cool.</li>
</ul>
<li><b><a href="http://requireshate.wordpress.com/2012/08/10/magic-vs-science-the-fucking-singularity-and-anti-intellectualism/" target="_blank">Magic vs. Science, the Fucking Singularity, and Anti-Intellectualism</a> </b>|<b> </b>acrackedmoon</li>
<ul>
<li>Attitudes toward science and technology in spec fic are things I do think about. A lot of YA does seem to be very anti-reason/logic/intellectualism. (Should be obvious from the title, but yeah, there's profanity.)</li>
</ul>
<li><b><a href="http://www.khaalidah.com/?p=672" target="_blank">On Worldbuilding, Patchwork and Filing Off Serial Numbers</a></b> | Aliette de Bodard</li>
<ul>
<li>On why worldbuilding matters, and how it can do harm when done poorly</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<br />
So yeah, these are just a few of the posts I enjoyed in the past few weeks. Hope you find these posts worthwhile and thought-provoking! :)</div>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-39099365005991192482012-09-06T00:05:00.002+08:002012-09-18T21:13:39.622+08:00Part 3: Green-Eyed Asian Love Interest<i>Sorry for the long wait between Parts 2 and 3, but here it is! Part 3 of my series on thoughts I had about YA Asian fantasies and green eyes that kept me awake and made me waste my rare opportunity to sleep in on a weekday. Here are <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.tw/2012/08/part-i-asian-american-fantasy.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a> and <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.com/2012/08/part-2-asian-by-authorial-decree.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a> if you haven't read them already.</i><br />
<br />
<br />
So as I thought about how I wanted to go about writing Asian characters in fantasy, I decided I didn't want to write about a fantasy version of Ancient China. And I also didn't want to go the route of <i>Ash</i> and have the characters be Asian in my head but not apparent to anyone who's only read the story and not any notes by me. And since the characters in <i>Ash</i> are supposedly Asian but the love interest has green eyes, that made me think of an upcoming (or is it out already?) YA Asian fantasy that actually has a green-eyed Asian love interest, and that was the main thing that made me so mad I couldn't fall asleep.<br />
<br />
This book has been getting a lot of buzz, and you may have recognized it as <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10852343-stormdancer" target="_blank"><i>Stormdancer</i></a> by Jay Kristoff, in which case you'd be right (points for you!). Ok, so I have to admit I have not read this book either (I know, I'm doing an awful lot of commenting on books I haven't read, haha), and only thought of it in my half-asleep stupor because, a few days before, I'd read <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/272554123" target="_blank">Nafiza's awesome review</a> of it on GoodReads.<br />
<br />
Here's the relevant excerpt from Nafiza's review.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">So, here’s the thing, as far as I know, Japanese people (you’ll have to forgive me for the assumption that the setting is a mythical Japan, all evidence points to that) do not have green eyes. Yet the samurai who features so prominently in Yukiko’s dream has green eyes. (She met him for half a minute and that was it, insta-lust, she didn’t even see his face, just his eyes and she was gone!) I initially got excited because hey, gaijin slave promenading as a samurai! Interesting stuff! Right? Wrong. No explanation given there but maybe it’s just me being extra picky on the details. </span></blockquote>
Oh hey look, a green-eyed Japanese love interest! In an Asian fantasy! Finally, I'm talking more about the green-eyed part of my <a href="https://twitter.com/wistfullylinda/status/230831124799176705" target="_blank">initial tweet</a>.<br />
<br />
So, I understand that there actually ARE some East Asians with green or blue eyes (hazel/green would be a lot more common than grass-green or sky-blue). But the vast, vast majority of East Asians have brown eyes. So what's the message behind giving the Asian love interest green eyes? Our culture already tells green-eyed people that their eyes are beautiful, but we rarely see media telling us that Asian features are beautiful, and Asian males especially don't get enough love. And there are so many slurs and jokes about Asian eyes already. Why is it ok to take away this awesome opportunity to present Asian features as desirable and beautiful and turn it into an ode to green or light-colored eyes that we already see all the time?<br />
<br />
But maybe it's not really about how green-eyed people are better than brown-eyed people. Maybe it's about that struggle when you look different from everyone else. Maybe it's about internalizing what society tells you is the norm and hating the non-voluntary non-conformity that shows up in the mirror. Maybe it's about how it feels to be called a freak by your family and outcast for something you have no control over, and being seen as a dirty foreigner despite your loyalty to your people. Maybe it's about having someone else look past your appearances and loving you for who you are. Maybe it's about struggling to come with grips with identity when you're neither accepted by your people nor by those for whom green eyes are not so rare. Maybe it's about fighting the conventional standards of beauty and believing you are attractive when everyone who matters in the narratives you see is praised for features you don't have.<br />
<br />
But from what I can tell from the review, the Asian protagonist takes one look at his gorgeous green eyes (half a minute, according to Nafiza) and falls desperately in love with him. WTF??? Insta-lust is terrible enough as a trope in YA fantasy (see my <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.tw/2011/08/ya-romance-pet-peeves.html" target="_blank">list of pet peeves</a>), even worse when based pnly on a single physical trait. Don't people notice this problematic message that green eyes are inherently soooo attractive that, even someone who hasn't been conditioned by the media to think of them as gorgeous, and have never seen anything like it, will of course fall over herself for this trait? (Not saying that green eyes aren't attractive, because they can be very pretty, but people who'd never seen them before would probably freak out or be taken aback at first rather than rhapsodizing about their beauty.) And if an Asian girl in an Asian fantasy is going to fall for one physical trait, of COURSE it's going to be one that's more commonly found among non-Asian people. Heave forbid she finds a brown-eyed Asian man attractive! WTF.<br />
<br />
I remember how it felt to think that I could never be like a fantasy heroine because I wasn't white and my eye color wasn't special enough. Whenever my sister, friend, and I played princess, we always made our alter egos white — blonde, brunette, redhead. Green, blue, gray eyes. Because only white girls get to have magical adventures and be princesses, and of course they only marry other white people. Even our pretend maids were white. I don't think there was a single PoC in our entire make-believe kingdom, which sounded right to us because, hey, that's just how fantasy magic kingdoms are, right?<br />
<br />
But having only white people in fantasy is pretty messed up. Let's write an Asian fantasy! Let's have a kick-ass girl protagonist! Let's have a hot love interest! But here's a problem
— black hair, brown eyes are just so unattractive and boring, and you know how Asians all look the same, how would any reader ever be able to figure out who I want them to see as "special"? Oh, I know! Everyone knows that in a fantasy kingdom, if you have light, special eye colors (mega points for violet!) that means the author is pointing you out as a special snowflake. So... I'll just give my Asian love interest green eyes! Now they don't all look the same, and anyway it's much easier for readers to relate to being attracted to brilliant sea-green eyes than to boring, dull, squinty, dung-colored brown eyes. Ugh.<br />
<br />
Look, I think it's great that people find green eyes attractive; I think green eyes are nice, too. But the media is already white-centric enough with their standards of beauty and I'm disappointed that the author chose to go this route and, rather than making most of the chance to present something other than typically white characteristics as attractive and desirable, instead chose to add another voice to "aren't people with light-colored skin/eyes/hair just SO BEAUTIFUL AND SPECIAL??" That particular camp is already loud enough, thank you very much. In fact, it's kind of drowning out the other voices.<br />
<br />
I mean, if you're going to write an Asian fantasy, is it too much to ask that you let go of your white-centric ideas of beauty while you write about Asian characters in an Asian culture? There are few enough Asians in YA fantasy, please don't force your white-centric aesthetics on one — especially if it's only for omg-special-snowflake-insta-lust.<br />
<br />
So yeah, now you know why green eyes made me so mad I couldn't fall back asleep. :P<br />
<br />
P.S. And for those people who want to point to Japanese anime and manga (aka <a href="http://dashcooray.wordpress.com/2012/07/30/an-interview-with-jay-kristoff-stormdancer/" target="_blank">the author's primary source of research</a>) and say, "How come you're not calling them out for being full of Japanese people with weirdly-colored hair/eyes/crazy features?", the context is totally different. I assure you that Japanese people are in no danger of being whitewashed or underrepresented in Japanese media.<br />
<br />
P.P.S. For those of you interested, here's a <a href="http://ykmreviews.blogspot.tw/2012/08/071-stormdancer-by-jay-kristoff.html" target="_blank">great review by Cyna</a> pointing out other problematic cultural/linguistic/gender issues in <i>Stormdancer</i>. Definitely worth a read!lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-3987103424929162072012-08-31T22:59:00.000+08:002012-09-03T12:09:12.860+08:00End of August Wrap-UpWhoa, this month just zoomed by! Here's how things went on the reading/writing for me in August:<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Camp NaNoWriMo</b></h3>
Uh, yeah, that was kind of a... total fail. AGAIN. But I did write slightly more than last year, so that's something, I guess. At this rate, I should be able to win my first NaNo in, oh, about forty years or so. Sigh. Momentum is SO important! (Also, I got struck by another Shiny New Idea. Oops.)<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Reading</b></h3>
These are the books I read in August:<span style="text-align: center;"> </span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="320" src="http://instagr.am/p/NqIafBGDy0/media/?size=l" width="320" /></div>
<br />
I was super excited about diving into this stack, but unfortunately I found most of them incredibly disappointing, including the two books I was most looking forward to reading. Turns out that reading them in order of ascending average Goodreads rating did NOT actually result in a similar increase in my reading experience.<br />
<br />
Here's the books I read, average ratings on Goodreads, and my own rating with links to my status updates (may include spoilers):<br />
<br />
1.<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/169762.The_Pox_Party" target="_blank"><i>The Pox Party</i></a> by M.T. Anderson | 3.55 stars | <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/379341490" target="_blank">DNF and 1 star from me</a><br />
2.<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5982927-dani-noir" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Dani Noir</a> by Nova Ren Suma | 3.77 stars <span style="color: #444444;">|</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/379357972" target="_blank"> 3 stars from me</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">3. </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68496.Un_Lun_Dun" style="background-color: white; color: #504277; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><i>Un Lun Dun</i></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> by China Mieville | 3.78 stars | <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/379414558" target="_blank">3.5 stars from me</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">4. </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1661957.Wake" style="background-color: white; color: #504277; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><i>Wake</i></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> by Lisa McMann | 3.78 stars | <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/380908173" target="_blank">DNF and 1 star from me</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">5. </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/473869.A_Fistful_of_Sky" style="background-color: white; color: #504277; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><i>A Fistful of Sky</i></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> by Nina Kiriki Hoffman | 3.92 stars | <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/380934892" target="_blank">2.5 stars from me</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">6. </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6202556-the-evolution-of-calpurnia-tate" style="background-color: white; color: #504277; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><i>The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate</i></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> by Jacqueline Kelly | 3.97 stars | <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/382361868" target="_blank">4 stars from me</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">7. </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9591398-the-girl-who-circumnavigated-fairyland-in-a-ship-of-her-own-making" style="color: #504277; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland...</a> </i><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">by Catherynne M. Valente | 4.06 stars | <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/383234956" target="_blank">1.5 stars from me</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">8. </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19057.I_Am_the_Messenger" style="color: #504277; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">I Am the Messenger</a></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> by Markus Zusak | 4.08 stars | <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/315594411" target="_blank">DNF and 1 star from me</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">9. </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8537327-inside-out-and-back-again" style="background-color: white; color: #504277; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><i>Inside Out and Back Again</i></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> by Thanhha Lai | 4.09 stars | <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/393220742" target="_blank">DNF and no rating from me</a></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">10. </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8835379-ruby-red" style="background-color: white; color: #504277; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><i>Ruby Red</i></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"> by Kerstin Gier | 4.14 stars | <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/315591561" target="_blank">2 stars from me</a></span><br />
<br />
So yeah, like I mentioned in my Goodreads status update, it turned out that I didn't particularly like any of the books that had average ratings of >4 on Goodreads. Guess that means I have peculiar taste.<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span>
Anyway, this made me think about what kinds of things appeal to me or put me off in fiction. (Great post by Patricia C. Wrede on the subject!) The main categories that I think of when it comes to a book are: plot, character, writing, setting, and message. In order for me to enjoy a book, at least the plot or main character has to be stand-out excellent (by which I mean, a good match for my tastes) and the rest has to be decent-to-good.<br />
<br />
So here's how my tastes usually run when it comes to books (though there are always exceptions):<br />
<br />
<b>PLOT</b><br />
I can love a book for plot alone. I tend to like mysteries a lot, and time travel stories with one consistent timeline (none of that changing history crap, thanks). I get impatient if nothing seems to be happening, or if things are happening too slowly, unless the other elements are strong enough to capture my interest. And no insta-love or love triangles, thanks. (See my post on <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.tw/2011/08/ya-romance-pet-peeves.html" target="_blank">romance pet peeves</a>.) Plot holes and and cliffhangers also bother me a lot, and so does predictability (I was great at annoying my sister during family movie nights because I loved to predict what would happen next). Most of all, I am a sucker for really intricate, clever, twisty puzzle plots. Those are the best.<br />
<br />
<b>CHARACTER</b><br />
If the plot isn't mind-blowingly amazing, then I need to love the characters. I prefer to find them likable, admirable, intelligent, relatable, and engaging. I lose respect for protagonists that do stupid or hurtful things, and I tend to dislike feeling detached from the protagonist. I particularly despise characters who start doing dumb things because they've "fallen in love." I'm much more fond of sensible, capable, and funny characters who have a good grasp of logic. (No speshul snowflakes who whine a lot, thanks!) I also have a difficult time reading about characters who don't see the world, or social interactions, or themselves, the way most people do. For example, Jack in <i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7937843-room" target="_blank">Room</a></i>, Marcelo in<i> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3700085-marcelo-in-the-real-world" target="_blank">Marcelo in the Real World</a></i>, and Lia in <i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5152478-wintergirls" target="_blank">Wintergirls</a></i>. I think these are all worthwhile books that shed light on important issues, but they're just not enjoyable reading experiences for me. I know those characters don't see things the way I do, but it's frustrating for me to be able to see what they don't and not be able to do anything about it.<br />
<br />
<b>WRITING</b><br />
I am not a fan of description, lyrical, or flowery writing. I tend to prefer writing that's straightforward and clear, and doesn't call attention to itself. I care more about story than word-smithing, so I definitely notice when the writing is so over-the-top that it distracts me from my reading experience. I strongly dislike narrator interruptions, awkward and stunted prose, and overly creative/nonsensical metaphors. I do enjoy a gorgeous turn of phrase here and there, but great writing isn't enough to make me like a book if the rest was only ok (unlike with brilliant characters or plots). I don't think I have any strong preferences for POV or tense, other than my dislike of second person.<br />
<br />
<b>SETTING</b><br />
This, like writing, is something that would bother me if done badly, and best when it doesn't call too much attention to itself. I tend to skim description, I don't really notice if the details are on the sparse side, and I'd probably be bored by too much of it. I'm perfectly fine with filling things in myself, so setting only bothers me if there is so little there I have nothing to go on or if there are things that don't make any sense or if there is clearly a huge gaping hole that ought to be addressed but isn't. As long as the world building isn't too obviously lazy or implausible or unreasonable, I'll be fine.<br />
<br />
<b>MESSAGE</b><br />
I don't think I would love a book solely because I agreed with its message, but messages I don't agree with can definitely kill a book for me. I think a lot of this has to do with characterization, as well — if the protagonist gets away with being petty, whiny, or useless, I'm not going to be happy about that. I'm not ok with misogynistic messages, either, and I'd be annoyed if superstition plays a positive part in the story (hate chosen one/prophecy plot lines). Also, I hate when authors attempt to bash me over the head with their messages. It pulls me out of the story and makes me feel manipulated, which will definitely cause me to think poorly of the book.<br />
<br />
So yeah, I tend to be a pretty picky reader. I am also easily swayed by positive reviews. This usually results in me reading a lot of books I don't particularly like, which is unfortunate and why I adore <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.tw/2012/04/reading-and-writing-negative-reviews.html" target="_blank">negative reviews</a>.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Blogging</b></h3>
I think part of the reason I didn't write as many words for NaNo is because I got distracted by blogging as a semi-acceptable form of procrastination (even though it isn't really). But still, I'm glad I got these blog posts out there. I still have some drafts in the works and ideas I'd like to blog about, but my motivation will probably decrease once I stop seeing blogging as procrastination and as what I'm supposed to be doing. XD<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Life</b></h3>
I got a new bunny! And he is adorable! :D Meet Mochi:<br />
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Hope all of you enjoyed your August! :)lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-22314874334236533902012-08-22T23:37:00.000+08:002012-08-22T23:37:10.195+08:00Portrayal of Science in YA Spec FicSo, a (very long) while ago, I wrote a post on <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.tw/2012/05/on-human-cloning.html" target="_blank">human cloning</a> (which I put a lot of work into and think you may benefit from reading! :D *hint hint*) and
promised a follow-up regarding my thoughts on science and YA spec fic.<br />
<br />
Lest you think I'm a fiction-hater, let me say up front that I adore reading fiction, particularly fantasy. I love spec fic and think that imagination, creativity, and emotional resonance in stories are all important and valuable.<br />
<br />
But I also love
science and the way it allows us to understand the universe as it
actually is, rather than viewing it through superstition or wishful
thinking. In case you couldn't tell from my human cloning post, I am a big fan of rational thought.<br />
<br />
Sometimes these two things come into conflict because <a href="http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-ways-you-dont-realize-movies-are-controlling-your-brain/" target="_blank">people often confuse fiction for fact</a>. I am all for writing about unicorns and elves and colonies on Mars, because people, for the most part, do not confuse those as applicable to our reality. They're not going to read a book and start believing that we really do have
unicorns and elves and colonies on Mars (at least, not yet), and that's why I'm perfectly ok with incredible, non-existent technology and other fantastical elements. But less obviously fictional elements can be more problematic. When fiction influences people's attitudes toward existing technologies or scientific concepts in such a way that contradicts reality as known through science, that's when I get annoyed.<br />
<br />
<br />
Last year, I read a YA sci-fi novel and barely blinked at the alien or currently-non-existent technology. What really bugged me was when the author presented
erroneous information about how mutations and genes work in a context that is relevant to issues today. (This really
stuck out to me because, in college, I took a course on genetics and liked it so much I made it the emphasis of my molecular and cell biology major.) Not only was the explanation about how genes work not very
relevant to the main plot, but it can be misconstrued as being
scientific fact, thus encouraging unfounded fear of existing
technologies. And this, to me, is both unfortunate and irresponsible.<br />
<br />
And I'm not the only one who noticed this in the book. Here's a <a href="http://www.seanwills.com/?p=310" target="_blank">great post by Sean Wills</a> about the importance of getting the science right, and I am in full agreement.<br />
<br />
What intrigued me, though, was that <a href="http://www.seanwills.com/?p=310#comment-456" target="_blank">the author chimed in</a> in the comments section to say she didn't get anything wrong. Her statement of "genetically modified corn caused widespread sterility," as expressed in her novel, struck me as unscientific and incredible, so I was very interested in seeing her justification of her statement.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, though, I found that her defense doesn't hold up to scrutiny. While the concepts she referenced were scientific, stringing up a number of truths does not necessarily mean that your conclusion is therefore also true and scientific, especially if each step in the argument is incredibly implausible and there are several missing steps.<br />
<br />
If I were to do the same thing, here's how it'd look: "First of all, <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=could-certain-frequencies" target="_blank">electromagnetic waves can affect the brain</a>! Especially solar radiation. And <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2005/0907-flying_and_radiation_risk.htm" target="_blank">frequent flyers</a> are often exposed to solar radiation. And guess what, there's an area of the brain called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernicke%27s_area" target="_blank">Wernicke's area</a> that controls use of speech! THEREFORE, in my sci-fi story that takes place in a future world where everyone's a constant jetsetter, it is TOTALLY PLAUSIBLE that a whole generation of people were exposed to excessive solar radiation that affected Wernicke's area in the brain, so they all got Wernicke's aphasia and walked around talking in a way that sounds totally nonsensical to us."<br />
<br />
I hope that illustration conveys why her argument fell flat for me. All my links are "real science" too, but that doesn't make my conclusion any more scientific, due to the many gaps in logic, especially the lack of conclusive studies. While it is true that there are likely to be some risks to both genetically modified food and radiation exposure due to frequent air travel, negative portrayals of existing technology based on simplistic, implausible, and ultimately unrealistic cause-and-effect scenarios aren't helping anyone; rather, they merely spread misinformation and encourage unfounded fear. (No, you're not going to get Wernicke's aphasia through radiation exposure from frequent flying or become sterile from ingesting GM corn. Doesn't mean those things are perfectly safe (what is?), but there's no conclusive evidence about the negative effects. No reason for knee-jerk reactions, either.)<br />
<br />
<br />
The funny thing, though, is that sometimes I don't even catch all the science!fails in novels. In another YA sci-fi novel, the author had character A give an explanation that
defied the laws of physics and had character B accept it, no questions asked.<br />
<br />
In my defense, it was incredibly obvious (to me) that there was no way
any explanation character A gave at that point would actually be true,
despite the fact that (or maybe because) it was set up to seem like a BIG SHOCKING REVEAL. (Due to my experience as a reader, I recognized that the reveal had to be fake for there to be somewhere for the plot to go for the rest of the trilogy. Plus, this novel in particular had an especially
predictable plot.) So it's kind of funny that I didn't realize how
unscientific the explanation was because I'd already dismissed it out of
hand from a story perspective. It's possible the author meant for that
exchange to showcase the lack of formal education/incredibly
gullibility of character B, but I rather think that the author, like me, knew it was a fake explanation and so didn't
think to check for scientific accuracy.<br />
<br />
But still, fake science = BAD, because although I didn't notice it, a lot of other readers did, and for some of them, <a href="http://pcwrede.com/blog/an-illusion-of-reality/" target="_blank">it interfered with their enjoyment</a> of the book. And although it's not as horrible for people to have mistaken ideas about space travel as about genetic engineering (given the difference in exposure in most people's day-to-day life), it would kind of suck for some teen to get that wrong on a physics test, haha. (And yes, this author also had, ah, <i>interesting</i> ideas about genetics, and that bothered me WAY MORE than this physics slip up.)<br />
<br />
<br />
So, even though it can sometimes be fun/funny to read about the fantastical science of writers' imaginations (recent read: Margaret Atwood's <i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46756.Oryx_and_Crake" target="_blank">Oryx and Crake</a></i> — not YA, but her ideas
about genetic engineering are hilariously absurd), and sometimes most people don't notice, it's important to get the facts right. Most people can't tell fact from fiction in books and movies (I'm not always so great about it, either), and
given the terrible state of science literacy in the US, I can't stress enough that I wish writers would be more conscientious about presenting science and technology as accurately as possible so as not to propagate unfounded fear/disgust
of advancements.<br />
<br />
Controversial scientific subjects like cloning and genetic modification should ideally have their merits and risks addressed scientifically and not according to writers' runaway imaginations. Fiction affects people's attitudes and thoughts, and I wish writers would take their ability to influence reader opinions more responsibly by not promoting counter-factual ideas (not to mention it really takes me out of the story when I notice scientific inaccuracies). Feel free to make up things and talk about technology that doesn't exist today if you're going to be all like THIS IS EVIL AND BAD in your book. (Also, read <a href="http://www.intergalactic-academy.net/2012/03/19/your-science-might-be-terrible-if/" target="_blank">Sean Wills' post on genetics</a> if you're going to be writing about that — yup, I discovered Sean Wills while researching for this post and I'm now a fan.) Fiction, creativity, and imagination should be celebrated and valued, but let's not be responsible for propagating lies and falsehoods about science and technology, mkay?lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-6802169150233830892012-08-10T22:23:00.000+08:002012-08-10T22:23:13.084+08:00Part 2: Asian by Authorial Decree<i>This is my second post about some thoughts I had about YA Asian fantasy while I was half-asleep during last week's typhoon day. You can find <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.tw/2012/08/part-i-asian-american-fantasy.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a> here if you haven't read it already. Also, quick warning: this one is LONG.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
Part of my last post was about how to help readers identify characters in a fantasy as Asian without sticking to a mythical Ancient Asia as the setting. And when I was thinking about this instead of sleeping in like I'd planned to, I recalled a <a href="http://www.malindalo.com/2008/10/writing-about-race-in-fantasy-novels/" target="_blank">blog post by Malinda Lo</a> that talked about race and Asianness in her lesbian Cinderella fantasy, <i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6363322-ash" target="_blank">Ash</a>, </i>which doesn't sound very Asian as far as the world-building. (Disclaimer: I have not read <i>Ash</i>. Curse you, my sleep-addled brain, for prompting me to write blog posts about books I haven't read.)<br />
<br />
Let's start out with some quotes from her post:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">It’s been my experience that most humans in fantasy novels are white, and when you think about it, the descriptors that we Americans (or people of Earth) use about race simply do not apply in most fantasy fiction. There are no African Americans in fantasy because there is no Africa (usually). So what do you do?</span></blockquote>
I must disagree with what she's saying here about fantasy and race. Yes, most humans in fantasy novels are white. But just because everyone is white in most fantasies, that doesn't mean it's right or desirable. And I don't think the main reason for the overwhelming whiteness is because there are no useful words for race in fantasy fiction (for example, <a href="http://nkjemisin.com/2009/04/ways-to-describe-characters-of-color/" target="_blank">N.K. Jemisin</a> does an awesome job writing about black people in fantasy). I think it's obvious that you don't have to use the word "African American" in your fantasy in order to include black characters, and I'm a little surprised she would think so.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">So I guess I have two different rules. In a fantasy world where there is no racial distinction, describing race is unnecessary, although I see my characters through my Earthbound eyes as being Hapa. In Earthbound fiction, race cannot be left up to the reader’s imagination, because I believe it is fundamental to a character’s identity.</span></blockquote>
I absolutely do not buy her claim that there is no racial distinction in fantasy; there is no racial distinction only because EVERYONE IS FREAKIN WHITE. So yes, I agree, it's hard to do things differently from the way we've seen them done, and it's hard to figure out how to write PoCs in fantasy when there hasn't been tons and tons of precedents to draw upon, like there is for fantasies about white people. But that doesn't mean it's not possible. It just means it takes more work, and thought, and trial-and-error. (And I'm really glad that she did write PoCs into her second book, <i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9415946-huntress" target="_blank">Huntress</a>, </i>which I'll cover later in this post.)<br />
<br />
I also do not agree with her distinction between how things work in fantasy and how things work on Earth; fantasy is written by and for people who are "Earthbound." Which means there are real-life implications of how race is (or isn't) described in a work of fiction, and why I think it's so important that there are more characters in fantasy that are identifiably PoCs.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">I want readers to imagine the Charming that they would fall in love with, because everyone has different tastes. But for me, she’s Asian. Except she has green eyes, because, frankly, I’ve always liked green eyes and she’s </span><em style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Charming</em><em style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">,</em><span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"> you know, and that’s how I see her. So I guess to be specific using terms we are familiar with, she must be biracial, or Hapa. And so is Cinderella, because she has brown hair.</span></blockquote>
(Aha, so here's where the green eyes start sneaking in.) In this paragraph, she's saying that she wants readers to cast her characters themselves, and that for her she sees Charming as Asian. But, you know, biracial — because of the green eyes. Which makes no sense, because how am I supposed to cast Charming as an Asian with brown eyes if that's what I'd want? So the whole "let readers imagine whatever they want" thing doesn't really work because the text still gets in the way (although some people, it must be said, have no problem reading characters as white no matter what the text says). And I find it interesting that she says the characters must be biracial due to brown hair and green eyes, since it IS possible for Asians to have brown hair or green eyes, even if not biracial, as a reviewer points out later in this post (though it's certainly rare).<br />
<br />
Honestly, the whole "up to the reader to decide" thing is problematic, because we read so many fantasies in which everyone is white that most readers, even PoCs, will assume everyone's white as the default. Which is why the solution is not to just leave out all descriptions and let it be completely up to the reader, because colorblindness = no racial distinction = everyone is white, and we already have more than enough of that.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">Can you imagine how bizarre it would be to insert the term “biracial” in a fantasy novel? </span></blockquote>
Actually, no, I do not think it would be bizarre at all. It's better than "half-breed," which is not all that uncommon in fantasy.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">(In case anyone is wondering, I am also of a mixed-race background, which may be why I started out with that as the default option for my characters. There are other characters in the book who are distinctly Caucasian, though.)</span></blockquote>
Huh. How nice that there are characters who are distinctly Caucasian, so we don't get confused and accidentally cast them as PoCs in our minds. How about characters who are distinctly Asian? I know there are Asian characters in <i>Huntress</i>, which is supposed to take place in the same world as <i>Ash,</i> but hundreds of years before. Are there any distinctly Asian characters in <i>Ash</i> or did they all disappear by the time of <i>Ash,</i> à la <i>Firefly</i>? From what she says about the lack of racial distinction, though, I'm not optimistic; but maybe someone who's read the book can tell me what's in the book.<br />
<br />
<br />
Although that blog post was the one I thought of that morning, Malinda Lo actually wrote an <a href="http://www.malindalo.com/2010/03/asianness-or-the-lack-thereof-in-ash/" target="_blank">updated post</a> on race in <i>Ash</i>, which clarifies some of her points. Though I have to say I'm still not fully on board with the newer version:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">When I wrote </span><em style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Ash</em><span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">, I had a mental image of what my characters looked like. In my imagination, they appeared to have Asian features. However, there is no Asia in Ash’s world (it’s a fantasy world), so there is </span><em style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">no way</em><span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"> they could </span><em style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">actually</em><span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"> be Asian. </span></blockquote>
I fail to follow the logic here. What, people in Ash's world can't be Asian because there is no Asia, but they can be "distinctly Caucasian"... uh, because the Caucus mountains exist in Ash's world? What? That makes no sense. Why can there NOT be any characters who share physical resemblance with people who, on this world, would be termed Asian, but there CAN be characters who share physical characteristics with people who, on this world, would be termed Caucasian, when it's a fantasy world without either Asia or Europe? It is totally unfair that all fantasylands that are not explicitly modeled off a particular time and place somewhere in Europe still tend to have all white characters, since that's the fantasyland default, whereas the only way to get Asian characters is to specifically model your world on somewhere in Asia (or an amalgamation of everything you can think of that sounds semi-Asian, which is even worse).<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">But also — and this is very important: My opinion is only my opinion. I think that sometimes readers tend to give too much credence to an author’s thoughts about her own work. Every reader brings his or her background to a book, and a book’s meaning is always a negotiation between the reader (and her experiences) and the story itself. What the author says outside the pages of the book is largely irrelevant.</span></blockquote>
Oh good; I'm in full agreement here. Yay! :)<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">For those who are still confused about why I see the characters as having Asian features, though, I will say this: It probably stems from the fact that I’m Chinese American and I live in a diverse place (California). There are Asian American faces next to Latinos next to white people next to African Americans, and yet we are all (mostly) Americans. This is the world I live in, and it makes sense to me that this is also the world I envisioned in my fiction.</span></blockquote>
Can someone let me know if the characters in Ash can actually be read as racially diverse? Or are they just racially diverse by authorial decree? Because that, to me, still wouldn't fly. Racially diverse in the author's head but not in the text = white in everyone else's heads. Which is really sad, and says a lot about our culture, but it just means that not talking about race in fantasy is not the answer.<br />
<br />
Just look at this <a href="http://galnovelty.blogspot.tw/2010/01/review-ash-by-malinda-lo.html" target="_blank">AMAZING review of <i>Ash</i></a> by an Asian-Canadian, Yuan. Unlike me, she's actually read the book (XD), and here are some excerpts:<br />
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<span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I’m not sure how much I was affected by the fact that I read this </span><a href="http://www.malindalo.com/2008/10/writing-about-race-in-fantasy-novels/" style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #de7008; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">post</a><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> by Malinda Lo wherein she said that she imagined her cast as Asian before having read the novel. I tried, and I tried to buy it, that the cast were Asian but I just </span><i style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">couldn’t</i><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">. I wrestled with this in myself and wondered why can’t I imagine this fairy tale world with people who look like me. It’s most definitely not because one of the girl has green eyes and the other girl is a brunette because I </span><i style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">know</i><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> Asians who have such features and they are most certainly not mixed. And I think, after reading Zetta Elliott’s </span><a href="http://zettaelliott.wordpress.com/2010/01/09/breaking-with-convention/" style="background-color: #f6f6f6; color: #de7008; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">review</a><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> of </span><i style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Ash</i><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, a large part of it had to do with the way beauty is described in this novel. It felt to me like a very </span><i style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">white</i><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> standard of who is considered beautiful, from the “jeweled” glittering, awesomely coloured eyes to the “golden” silken hair to the “ethereal” paleness of the skin, all used as examples of beauty. This, plus the European-inspired pseudo-medieval setting made me equate the general populous of this novel as white. I’m so resigned and used to medieval fantasy excluding all non-white persons from their stories, and this novel failed to show a “medieval” fantasy that can include non-white characters. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Though, as an aside, if I streeeeeeeeeetch my imagination, I can kind of picture Kaisa as Asian, due to her name and the bit about her being from the “South” which I may be reading too much into it. (Even </span><i style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I</i><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> feel like I’m grasping at straws over this.) Though, any of these tiny little hopes were largely crushed by the eyes thing; her Very Awesome Green Eyes of Awesome is off-putting. (Not that I don’t think green eyes are nice, but it’s such a white beauty standard thing, to emphasize Awesomely Coloured Eyes.)</span> </blockquote>
YES YES YES, especially about what she says regarding green eyes and white beauty standards. ([spoiler alert] That's going to be the main point of Part 3 of my series, so keep that in mind, and stay tuned!)<br />
<br />
<br />
So yeah, <i>Ash</i> is kind of a fail on the Asianness front, at least for me, based on her blog posts on the subject. But I kept looking for other mentions of race and fantasy on her blog after I read the previous two, and, believe it or not, read <a href="http://www.malindalo.com/2011/09/on-avoiding-the-exotic-in-huntress/" target="_blank">this awesome post</a> on<i> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9415946-huntress" target="_blank">Huntress</a></i> AFTER I'd written Part 1 of this series on my blog. (Good thing I found it, too, or I'd look like an idiot for criticizing her for <i>Ash</i> without giving her any credit for <i>Huntress.</i>) It's scary how much her post talks about the same things I talk about in mine.<br />
<br />
I mean, look at this paragraph:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">The Kingdom in </span><em style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Huntress</em><span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"> is influenced by Chinese and Japanese culture, but it </span><em style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">is not </em><span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">China or Japan. It is a fictional fantasy world that also must eventually become the fantasy world in </span><em style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Ash</em><span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">, because </span><em style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Huntress</em><span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"> is set several centuries earlier. So it simply could not be the kind of “Asia” that exists in movies like </span><em style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon</em><span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">.</span><sup style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><a class="footnote-link footnote-identifier-link" href="http://www.malindalo.com/2011/09/on-avoiding-the-exotic-in-huntress/#footnote_0_4356" id="identifier_0_4356" style="color: #bc4d2c; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Just want to note that I don&#8217;t think there&#8217;s anything wrong with those kinds of fantastic &#8220;Asia.&#8221; They can be very entertaining and enjoyable to experience in film or books. But that&#8217;s not what my intention was with Huntress.">1</a></sup><span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">Also, there were elements of the fantasy world in </span><em style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Huntress</em><span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"> that were simply not Chinese: there is no homophobia, for one thing, and there isn’t nearly as much sexism as there was in imperial China.</span>
</blockquote>
And that's exactly what I said I wanted! A world that's not China or Japan, but still has Asian influences, and not so strictly that it makes it difficult to tell the kind of story you want to tell. (Although I do wish she hadn't made it set in the same world as <i>Ash</i> because of the problematic issue of all the Asian people somehow disappearing.)<br />
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But I'm not sure how I feel about this:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">I know that if the cover had depicted a white girl or even no girl at all, probably even more readers would never have guessed that the characters look Asian.</span>
</blockquote>
Hm. I don't know if the characters were specifically described as Asian-looking in the book (since I didn't read all of it — shame, I know) and she's making a statement about how easy it is to whitewash characters in our heads, or if she purposefully didn't emphasize the Asianness of her characters and this is exactly the effect she was going for. I have mixed feelings if it's the latter. On one hand, sure, it's good not to make Asianness super obvious by exoticizing it. But on the other hand, if the only reason people realize the characters are Asian is because of the cover, then is the author somehow failing to convey her vision through the actual text? Or is it the fault of our white-centric culture? How obvious should Asianness be?<br />
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And also, what influenced her thoughts on race in fantasy? (And in a direction I can get on board with!) How did she come to change her mind about people being allowed to look Asian in a fantasy world that doesn't have Asia in it? What happened to her "let readers cast the characters how they like" idea — can they still do that with an Asian girl on the cover?<br />
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Lots of questions, as you can see. But I'm mostly just happy that there's another fantasy with Asian people in it and an Asian girl on the cover. Because that is AWESOME and necessary (regardless of my personal feelings for the actual story).<br />
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And I love what she says about exoticism:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.875em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">
What makes something exotic? It can certainly be philosophy or beliefs, but more often, I think exoticism resides in things you can actually see or hear. Clothing, food, music, architecture: these are the external markers of difference. So I decided to minimize, when possible, the descriptions of these things in <em style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Huntress</em>, except when I was making a point. For example, when Taisin visits the royal palace, I describe some of the palace to show how luxurious it is compared to what she’s accustomed to. When Taisin and Kaede dine with the king, he has a very grand feast of delicacies that ordinary folks don’t get.</div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.875em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">
Otherwise, the things that might seem “exotic” to an outsider are actually considered “normal” to an insider. Kaede is an insider in her world, so she’s not going to find most of it terribly exotic. The clothes she wears and the way the students at the Academy do their hair are pretty ordinary to her. The spiritual and philosophical beliefs that provide the backbone to the magic that Taisin practices aren’t going to seem unusual to Taisin.</div>
</blockquote>
That's a great point about writing descriptions in general. It should be in your character's PoV, and people don't usually pay a lot of attention to things that are normal and ordinary for them. This is awesome advice about bringing in Asian influences without making them too exotic.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">Hopefully, they don’t seen too unusual to the reader, either. This can result in a few different reactions, of course. There are readers who won’t see the Chinese influence at all because it’s presented as entirely normal, and besides, they’re reading a fantasy novel where magic happens — maybe it’s all made up. </span></blockquote>
I'd have to disagree a tiny bit here, though. Just because something is normal to the characters doesn't mean it's going to be normal to the readers, since sometimes authors use this technique to shock readers with how desensitized or accustomed characters may be to situations that are disgusting or horrific to the reader.<br />
<br />
However, I love the idea that Asianness doesn't have to feel exotic, because there's so much made-up and strange elements in fantasy anyway that readers are more accepting of unfamiliar concepts and influences, which definitely helps when you want to work in concepts or world-building that aren't already known to the majority of readers — which can be Asian-inspired.<br />
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But hands-down, here is my favorite excerpt from all three of her blog posts:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">Ultimately, I think my project with </span><em style="border: 0px; color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Huntress</em><span style="color: #555555; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"> was a fairly Asian American one. I am Asian American, and I move through the world as an Asian American. Kaede’s world has elements of both Asia and America in it, and I like that. </span></blockquote>
And that is EXACTLY what I want for myself, too. I love that she's writing fantasies as an Asian American and admire her for the evolution of her thoughts regarding race in fantasy. I hope that I'll also be able to write fantasies that reflect my worldview and experiences as an Asian American. It's not easy, as there isn't a whole lot of precedent, but I'm excited that Asian-American fantasies featuring Asian characters have been growing in number, and I can't wait to read more of the novels in this category. And one day, maybe, I'll add my own to the number.<br />
<br />
<b>What are your thoughts about race in fantasy? Do you automatically cast everyone as white when you read, unless (or maybe, regardless of whether) race is otherwise specified/suggested? Or do you try to read all characters who are not specifically described as white as PoCs because that's how much you're hoping for PoC representation?</b>lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-10259914801567274212012-08-08T22:39:00.001+08:002012-08-10T22:24:52.096+08:00Part I: Asian-American FantasySo remember how in my last post I mentioned the very high probability of getting a day off from work because of Typhoon Saola? Well, work and classes did end up getting canceled in Taipei last Thursday, which is awesome as I strongly prefer snuggling in my dry, warm bed to braving the storm in order to get to work. I'd fully planned on sleeping in, but somehow I woke briefly in the morning, started thinking about my Camp NaNo project, then about YA Asian fantasies, then about green eyes in said fantasies. And as I laid in my bed and thought about these things, I got angrier and angrier, to the point I couldn't fall back asleep — which I'm usually awesome at (much to the annoyance of my parents).<br />
<br />
Since my <a href="https://twitter.com/wistfullylinda/status/230831124799176705" target="_blank">cryptic tweet</a> wasn't rant-y enough for me to feel like I've fully expressed my thoughts on this topic, here is part one of my long, rambly blog post on some of my thoughts regarding reading and writing Asian-influenced fantasies. I originally dumped everything in one post, but it turned out SUUUUUPER long, so out of consideration I split it into a series of three posts. (Aww, so sweet.) I'll get to green eyes in parts 2 and 3; part 1 is more general. (And if you want to see my previous post on this subject, see: <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.tw/2011/06/for-my-fifteen-year-old-self.html" target="_blank">For My Fifteen-Year-Old Self</a>.)<br />
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[Note: when I use the word "Asian" I'm often referring specifically to "East Asian," but sometimes writing it out the more specific, longer way is awkward, so in most cases I leave out the "East."]<br />
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<br />
I want to write a fantasy with Asian characters, but I don't want to write a fantasy version of one specific time and place in Asia.<br />
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I'm not saying it's a bad thing to take inspiration from a particular culture/time/place. Writers do so with non-Asian influences, too, setting their stories in fantasy versions of Renaissance Italy, Medieval France, or Victorian Britain. But in most cases when a fantasy world doesn't correspond to one specific era or place in history, everyone's automatically white, because that's how it goes in generic fantasyland. Which makes me think the main hint for readers that the characters in a fantasy could possibly look similar to East Asians in our world is if the story takes place in a world recognizable as fantasy Japan/China/Korea. Another case of white = generic/normal, PoC = specific/exotic.<br />
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Which kind of sucks. I wonder if I could pull off writing Asian-looking characters that <i>aren't</i> set in a fantasy version of ancient China or Japan or Korea. That's my goal, because I love fantasy and would like to read something that includes representations of Asian-Americans. I mean, I'm Taiwanese-American and grew up in the States with first-generation immigrant parents, and I still occasionally get culture shock living in Taiwan. I don't want to write a fantasy set in Ancient China just so I can have Asian characters — many of the values and worldviews and traditions of that period would feel largely foreign and unfamiliar to me, not to mention rather bothersome for the kind of protagonists and plots I like. I want setting and characters that appeal to my imagination, which has been influenced by both Western and Eastern cultures.<br />
<br />
But there's a risk in not sticking to one particular time and place (and researching the hell out of it) as inspiration for an Asian fantasy. After all, there are writers who don't know anything about Asian cultures, don't do their research, and just pick out all the Asian-sounding elements they can think of (I mean, it's all the same as long as it's somewhat Asian, right? Who cares if those elements come from all different countries and time periods? Or aren't even authentically Asian?) and throw them together for that exotic Oriental feel (ugh). And then they end up looking like idiots who have no respect for other cultures and only appropriated Asianness because they wanted an exotic atmosphere. And I definitely don't want to be one of those writers. But I also don't think that the only acceptable way to write Asian-inspired fantasy is to stick to what's historically true during one particular dynasty in one particular country, because that would be totally unfair given all the fantasies out there that don't directly correspond to any particular time or place in history.<br />
<br />
So, I'm not sure how to balance everything. I want to make up my own fantasyland with both Western and Asian influences, and still convey to readers that the characters are not white people who all just happen to have dark hair and brown eyes. (Or, like, at least most of the readers. As evidenced by recent events, there are people who will think all the characters are white no matter what you do.) And I don't want to have to describe anyone as having "<a href="http://racebending.tumblr.com/post/28810148431/a-simple-little-suggestion-for-writer-anon-how-about" target="_blank">almond-shaped eyes</a> and pineapple-colored skin" (uh, not that people actually use pineapple as a description, but you know what I mean). I can probably increase the chances my characters will read as Asian by putting more obviously Asian elements into the world-building, but I'm not sure how I can do so without coming across as an irresponsible masher-upper or making it so overwhelmed with traditional Asian culture that it no longer feels mine.<br />
<br />
And some people might ask, "But why would anyone bother making their characters anything other than white if they're in a made-up fantasyland that's not obviously a mythic historical Asia? It only makes sense to have Asian protagonists in clearly Asian-inspired fantasies with strictly Asian cultures and values.* Anything else should just have white characters." And then I will want to rip out my hair, which may prompt them to feel bad enough that they say, "Well, you can throw in an Asian secondary character/sidekick, if you insist."<br />
<br />
Sigh. Anyway, I'm unsure how to do the world-building correctly to get the effect I want. Or maybe I'm just over-thinking it and it's actually not as complicated as I'm making it out to be.<br />
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<b>If you have any thoughts/comments/suggestions on this topic, it'd be greatly appreciated! I definitely don't have all the answers, so any ideas would be awesome. Also, can you think of any examples of Asian protags in fantasy that's not set in a mythical version of Ancient China/Japan/Korea? Did it work for you, and what clued you in to the characters' ethnicity?</b><br />
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<i>*And sometimes, even when it's clear the world/culture/characters are all Asian, they still get whitewashed. Ugh.</i>
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<b><br /></b>P.S. Here is an AMAZING post about writing non-Eurocentric fantasy that you should read: <a href="http://deepad.dreamwidth.org/29371.html" target="_blank">I Didn't Dream of Dragons</a>.<br />
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P.P.S. <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.tw/2012/08/part-2-asian-by-authorial-decree.html" target="_blank">Part 2 can be read here</a>. Part 3 coming soon! I know I say "soon" all the time, but this time I specifically mean that I will get them both up by the end of next week.<br />
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P.P.P.S. Also, I totally need to get back to actually writing my Camp NaNo project, rather than writing about writing it. :Plindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-31090332937657886492012-08-01T14:08:00.001+08:002012-08-02T07:57:28.071+08:00August UpdatesHappy August, everyone! I know I said I'd write a post about science and YA to follow up on <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.com/2012/05/on-human-cloning.html" target="_blank">my post on human cloning</a>, and while I did get distracted (for, oh, a few months), I've outlined it and wrote part of a rough draft. So, hopefully that will get done before the Apocalypse hits in December, ha.<br />
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But it's probably not going to get done during August, because, guess what, I'm participating in <a href="http://campnanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">Camp NaNoWriMo</a> again! I don't know why I keep signing up for these things when I always fail, but hope springs eternal, I suppose. And even though I didn't win last year, I still <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.tw/2011/09/five-lessons-from-camp-nanowrimo.html" target="_blank">learned some valuable lessons</a> that I will do my best to apply this time around.<br />
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This year I'm especially excited about my awesome cabinmates. Our camp counselor will be posting a feature on our cabin, so I'll link you once that's up so you can be envious at the amazing people I get to NaNo with. :)<br />
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<b>Update:</b> Find out more about all the members of the <a href="http://sophiathewriter.blogspot.tw/2012/08/tiger-tea-tent-debuts-at-camp-nanowrimo.html" target="_blank">Tiger Tea Tent</a> at Camp Counselor Sophia's blog!<br />
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Meanwhile, I'm showing them all up by being currently in FIRST PLACE with regard to word count. <i>Eighteen</i> words, baby! And yes, I am totally cheating because August 1st arrived for me 13-15 hours before it did for all my other cabinmates, and it is actually excruciatingly pathetic that I only managed eighteen words in that time. But hey, this is my one opportunity to take the lead, because in a few hours I will be very behind. Unless they all make the very wise decision of sleeping instead of pouncing on their NaNo projects when the clock strikes midnight, in which case I will get to keep my lead as I deviously write while they're all in bed! But somehow I <i>really</i> doubt that's going to happen, especially given our camp counselor's insomniac tendencies. At least that means there'll be someone to keep me company!<br />
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And I am definitely exploiting any advantages this time difference thing grants me, because it can be very annoying to deal with the rest of the time. Like that time when we were planning to submit our cabinmate requests at the same time, except the discussion took place from 4 to 8 a.m. in my time zone. Which I obviously missed due to my habit of <a href="http://sophiathewriter.blogspot.com/2012/05/day-in-life-wistfully-linda.html" target="_blank">waking up after 9 a.m.</a> on weekdays. Oops. But I made up for it by waking up at 8:30 a.m. on my usually-reserved-for-sleeping-in Saturday (huge sacrifice, I'm telling you! nevermind that I went straight back to bed afterward...) and it all worked out, so YAY! :D<br />
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In other news, it's typhoon season! Typhoon Saola is likely to be passing through northern Taiwan later this evening, so there's a good chance we'll get the day off tomorrow (instead of snow days, we get typhoon days, whee). I've never encountered a typhoon day since I started working in Taiwan, so I'm really hoping we get the day off tomorrow. I mean, who wouldn't rather stay at home under nice warm blankets than have to go to work? Besides, it'd be the perfect time for me to get a good start on my Camp NaNo project. :)<br />
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That is, if I don't get sidetracked by this gorgeous stack of MG/YA hardcovers I've checked out from the Taipei Public Library:<br />
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I know, right? What was I thinking, checking out all these books when I'm supposed to be spewing words out like crazy? Sigh. Why does the library have so many awesome books?<br />
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The good news is that I'm on my fifth book already (I did abandon a couple of them part way through). I had a really hard time deciding which order I was going to read these books in because they all looked so good, so I decided to read them in ascending average GoodReads rating, haha. I was hoping that meant my reading experience would improve as I go, and it did seem to work for the first three books, but the fourth book broke the pattern. Ah, well.<br />
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Here are the books and the order in which I'm reading them:<br />
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1. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/169762.The_Pox_Party" target="_blank"><i>The Pox Party</i></a> by M.T. Anderson | 3.55 stars on GoodReads | DNF and 1 star from me<br />
2.<i> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5982927-dani-noir" target="_blank">Dani Noir</a></i> by Nova Ren Suma | 3.77 stars on GoodReads | 3 stars from me<br />
3. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68496.Un_Lun_Dun" target="_blank"><i>Un Lun Dun</i></a> by China Mieville | 3.78 stars on GoodReads | 3.5 stars from me<br />
4. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1661957.Wake" target="_blank"><i>Wake</i></a> by Lisa McMann | 3.78 stars on GoodReads | DNF and 1 star from me<br />
5. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/473869.A_Fistful_of_Sky" target="_blank"><i>A Fistful of Sky</i></a> by Nina Kiriki Hoffman | 3.92 stars on Goodreads | currently reading<br />
6. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6202556-the-evolution-of-calpurnia-tate" target="_blank"><i>The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate</i></a> by Jacqueline Kelly | 3.97 stars on Goodreads<br />
7. <i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9591398-the-girl-who-circumnavigated-fairyland-in-a-ship-of-her-own-making" target="_blank">The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland...</a> </i>by Catherynne M. Valente | 4.06 stars on GoodReads<br />
8. <i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19057.I_Am_the_Messenger" target="_blank">I Am the Messenger</a></i> by Markus Zusak | 4.08 stars on GoodReads<br />
9. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8537327-inside-out-and-back-again" target="_blank"><i>Inside Out and Back Again</i></a> by Thanhha Lai | 4.09 stars on GoodReads<br />
10. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8835379-ruby-red" target="_blank"><i>Ruby Red</i></a> by Kerstin Gier | 4.14 stars on GoodReads<br />
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I'm particularly excited to read <i>I Am the Messenger</i> (yup, giving Zusak another chance despite not having loved The Book Thief as much as everyone else did) and <i>Ruby Red</i> (heard soooo many good things about this one!). Recently I've been writing more GoodRead status updates and ratings as I read, so if you're curious about my thoughts on these books, feel free to check out my <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6125858-linda" target="_blank">GoodReads profile</a>.<br />
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So yeah, that's what I'll be up to during the month of August — dodging typhoons, procrastinating on my NaNo project by cuddling with a book, and hanging out with my amazing cabinmates. (And, you know, <i>writing</i>. Hopefully.)<br />
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<b>Got any exciting plans for August? Have you read any of the books I checked out, and what did you think of it?</b><br />
<br />lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-20771863609417399732012-05-18T10:32:00.005+08:002012-05-18T10:32:59.490+08:00Guest Post and WelcomeWhen <a href="http://sophiathewriter.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">the lovely Sophia</a> asked me to contribute to her <a href="http://sophiathewriter.blogspot.com/p/join-day-in-life-series.html" target="_blank">Day in the Life series</a>, I was kind of hesitant, but I'm glad I agreed! <a href="http://sophiathewriter.blogspot.com/2012/05/day-in-life-wistfully-linda.html" target="_blank">My guest post</a> is now up at her blog, and you can read it to find out what a typical work day is like for me in Taipei, learn about my awkward department acronym, and, most importantly, see photos! Be sure to check out other posts in the series as well as subscribe to Sophia's blog because she is an awesome person.<br />
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As for any of you who may have clicked over from Sophia's blog, bienvenue! I decided I needed this welcome mat because my most recent post is practically a dissertation <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.com/2012/05/on-human-cloning.html" target="_blank">on human cloning</a> (which you should totally read because I spent forever on it), but I assure you that it's an anomaly. You have not accidentally stumbled into an alternate universe filled with scientific mumbo jumbo; this blog is still (mostly) about YA fiction and how much I fail to follow through on my intentions to write a novel (ha). </div>
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Please check out the list of popular posts in the sidebar for a better idea of what my blog is about. Thank you for checking out my blog, and I hope you like what you see!</div>lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-72212589971695262872012-05-13T11:15:00.000+08:002012-08-31T21:56:34.254+08:00On Human CloningAbout a month ago, I became slightly obsessed about the issue of human cloning. I meant to write a blog post about it to let out some steam, but, as you can see, it took me a while. And not only is the post longer than I expected it to be, it is also totally off-topic for this blog.<br />
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So feel free to ignore this post, jump to the comments and chime in with your favorite clone movie/book, or just read the TL;DR below:<br />
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If human cloning ever becomes possible, clones will not be copies of people or soulless drones as some sci-fi may lead you to think, but individual human beings that can be thought of as someone that is similar to a twin (same DNA as another individual) + IVF (artificial implantation) + time delay (needs 9 months gestation after successful implantation).<br />
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Well ok, this isn't exactly accurate, of course, but closer to the truth than what you tend to see in sci-fi. For more information on cloning, including why that's not a perfect analogy, read on!<br />
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<b>Intro & Backstory</b></h3>
I majored in Molecular & Cell Biology and currently work at at biotech startup, so I was excited to see <a href="http://thegoldeneaglesblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/z-blogging-challenge-biotechnology.html" target="_blank">biotechnology</a> featured in Golden Eagle's A-to-Z series. In the comment thread, there were a couple comments of the cloning-is-scary variety, and while I did wonder whether those sentiments were based on a scientific understanding of cloning or just because it feels icky and unknown, I gave those commenters the benefit of the doubt.<br />
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Fast forward a week, and cloning is the subject of S.L. Hennesy's A-to-Z challenge: <a href="http://pensuasion.blogspot.com/2012/04/i-is-for-ishiguro-and-island.html" target="_blank">I for Ishiguro and The Island</a> (finally read <i>Never Let Me Go</i>! And The Island is a fun film but omg the science is AWFUL). S.L. asks good questions about cloning, but a few of the responses revealed serious misunderstandings of what cloning actually means. (You may or may not have noticed <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/wistfullylinda" target="_blank">my tweets</a> on this subject.)<br />
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I noticed that some people were expressing opinions of cloning based on misrepresentations in the media rather than on cloning as a real science, so that's what prompted me to write this post. I'm hoping that a discussion of what human cloning is in biotechnology (as opposed to science fiction) can educate those interested in the subject as well as dispel common myths.<br />
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<b>What is cloning?</b></h3>
When it comes to cloning, there are two types: therapeutic and reproductive. Therapeutic cloning is the cloning of tissues and organs through embryonic stem cells for research or medical use. Reproductive cloning is the cloning of a human being and is the topic of this post.<br />
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Here's how cloning works: take a donor egg and remove the nucleus (which contains most of the egg's original DNA), then fuse it with a cell (which contains new DNA) from the DNA donor. This process is called somatic cell nuclear transfer. Implant the resulting embryo into the womb of a surrogate mother, wait 9 months, and if all goes according to plan, you'll have a live, healthy, beautiful baby clone! (Not possible at this time, but you never know!)<br />
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<b>What is a clone?</b></h3>
This baby will have pretty much the same genetic profile as the DNA donor (other than mitochondrial DNA, which is inherited through the egg). And really, this in itself should not be cause for alarm; I'm sure you know at least one pair of monozygotic (aka identical) twins, and just because they share DNA doesn't mean they're exactly the same in every way.<br />
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The fact that the embryo is artificially implanted would not be unique to cloning, either. In IVF (in vitro fertilization), embryos are conceived artificially in a lab, then implanted in the womb. After that, the embryo goes through gestation and birth just like everyone else.<br />
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The main difference that separates clones from twins or IVF babies is the process: asexual vs. sexual reproduction. I'll discuss the implications of this later in my post, but it can be useful to consider your clone as someone like an identical twin sibling who's younger than you by decades and likely to turn out very differently from you.<br />
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Now that we've gone over what cloning is, let's talk about a few common myths regarding human cloning:<br />
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<b>1. Clones don't have souls!</b></h3>
If you think twins and people born through IVF have souls, then clones would have souls. Clones would have individuality, consciousness, personality, agency. They would not be an exact copy of the DNA donor because they would grow up in a totally different environment, and people are products of both nature and nurture (genes and external influences/environment). And whether the way you came to be was human-assisted or not should have no bearing on whether you are considered a human being.<br />
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This "clones don't have souls" sentiment makes me angry because saying a group of people have no souls is a way of dehumanizing them and stripping them of their human rights, which allows some people to feel they are justified in doing terrible things to them (see later point re: organ farms).<br />
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And if you happen to believe that people with less than 100% non-artificial origins are soulless, then I've got a newsflash for you — the soulless are already among us! And I think <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Brown" target="_blank">Louise Brown</a> would have something to say about that.<br />
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(Side note: Honestly, everyone has their own idea of what constitutes as a soul, which makes it rather difficult to talk about in a meaningful way. According to neuroscience the concept of soul is irrelevant since it is unnecessary for a workable understanding of the mind, not to mention completely unsupported by evidence, which means it doesn't exist as far as science is concerned. But I know most people are very attached to the concept of souls — I suppose it's generally used as a term for empathy or identity or humanity, among its many possible definitions — so the reason I can't stand "clones have no souls" isn't because I think souls are real and clones have them, but because it's a dehumanizing rhetoric with no scientific basis whatsoever.)<br />
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<b>2. I'd love to have clones to do all my work for me!</b></h3>
Ok, when people say this it means they are referring to sci-fi!clones and not science!clones. (Stealing the exclamation notation from <a href="http://a-nudge.blogspot.com/">Krispy</a>, hehe.)<br />
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If cloning ever becomes possible, the clones will be born as babies 9 months after successful implantation, which means your clone will be ages younger than you (um, not implying that you're old or anything). Which means you'd have to wait a while for your clone to grow up and develop useful skills, and once that happens your clone might even demand compensation for doing your work (oh the horror!). Your clone won't be an extension of you and it would be absolutely inhuman to treat your clone as a slave (which is how people tend to want to treat their sci-fi!clones — by giving him or her all the undesirable tasks).<br />
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Plus, experiences that your clone has will not magically transfer to you — the two of you are separate, individual people, which means you can't get your clones to do your reading or exercising for you since it won't do you any good. But you <i>might</i> be able to bribe him or her into doing laundry. If you're nice about it.<br />
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<b>3. We can copy ourselves and live forever!</b></h3>
A clone is not a full replicate of you, just an individual who happens to share your DNA profile. You will not be able to gain immortality through cloning any more than you can gain immortality through a twin. Your clone will have different experiences and memories and opinions and attitudes than you do, rather than be a copy of everything that makes you you.<br />
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You may think that memory transfer technology (something that doesn't exist at the moment) would take care of this problem, but even if it ever became possible, another person walking around with your memories would at most keep you alive from the perspective of other people. Once you die, you're dead, and it won't much matter if someone is there to pretend to be you or not (though some people may feel better if they can groom a clone to succeed them when they die). Ultimately, though, your consciousness will not magically transfer to your clone no matter how badly you wish it were possible.<br />
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<b>4. Cloning = evil: evil dictators will create evil armies of evil clones!</b></h3>
Cloning is a tool, and as such it is neither good nor evil in itself. Clones would be just like any other human being — they wouldn't be evil just because they're clones, despite what certain sci-fi would have you think.<br />
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As for an evil clone army, clones would not submit to the will of the DNA donor just because they happen to share DNA. Conditioning would be a much better way to get the desired response, which means brainwashing existing people for your evil army would be significantly more practical than creating clones AND having to brainwash them.<br />
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And if you're a evil dictator, cloning yourself would just be a bad idea. Too easy for people to pretend not to notice when a clone kills you and takes your place, despite the age difference. Your clone will probably do a better job, too.<br />
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<b>5. Clones are unnatural and subhuman!</b></h3>
"Test tube babies," aka children conceived in petri dishes during IVF, are not considered subhuman for not being conceived in a fallopian tube. Neither are individuals who share a DNA profile with another person. Why should a clone be treated as anything other than a regular human being? In most cases it wouldn't be immediately obvious if someone you meet is a clone. Even if the clone is being raised by the DNA donor, we all know people who look exactly like one of their parents even though they weren't cloned.<br />
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But it is true that people might be prejudiced against any clones that may come to be in the future and mistreat them out of ignorance. This is why it's important people have the right information, so that if cloning becomes a viable technology in the future, clones are afforded the rights they deserve.<br />
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And with that thought, I'll transition into some issues or considerations concerning the implications of cloning.<br />
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<b>1. Clones would be born as or forced to become organ donors</b> </h3>
Sci-fi seems fond of this idea (see The Island, <i>Never Let Me G</i>o), but there are already children born as donors for their siblings even without cloning. Clones should not be treated any differently — people cannot be legally forced to donate their organs or tissues against their will, even if they're a perfect match for someone. (Yup, totally thinking of Jodi Picoult's <i>My Sister's Keeper</i>.) This is called basic human rights, and I fail to see why it would not apply to clones like it would apply to any other person. Saying they have no souls and so it's ok to take their organs against their will is just total bullshit.<br />
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Reading <i>Never Let Me Go </i>was a particularly upsetting experience for me since I was in the middle of writing this post. [SPOILER-ISH WARNING] <span style="color: white;">It made me so angry that the people in that world really thought clones didn't have souls and that it was ok to treat them as walking organ farms! @#$%#& I can't even....</span> [END SPOILER]<br />
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2. Designer babies and rampant narcissism</h3>
It's pretty unlikely that celebrities will turn to DNA donation since there isn't exactly an issue of rampant celeb egg or sperm donors. So there probably won't be too many designer babies in that sense. And even if you did get your hands on your idea of the perfect DNA (people being cloned without their consent may be an issue as well), the clone baby most likely will not turn out the same or achieve similar success as his or her genetic twin, since environment/experiences has a huge hand in how someone turns out.<br />
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As for saying that cloning yourself is narcissistic, well, if you think of it that way, so (in a sense) is propagating your own DNA through sexual reproduction. I don't really think it's an issue since people will be narcissistic with or without cloning, and if a gazillionaire feels like spending money on cloning, that's a personal choice. Much like deciding whether to have kids or not.<br />
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3. The clone may suffer psychologically</h3>
First of all, clones may grow up with intense pressure to be like their DNA donor. Those expectations can be stifling and negatively affect their psychological well-being. But honestly, even without clones there are overbearing, dictator parents who think they deserve absolute control over every aspect their children's lives. If people are giving clones that much undeserved pressure, it probably means they're uneducated about cloning and are selfish jerks who don't truly love their child. Clones, like children, are not copies or accessories or slaves to your expectations or ways for you to live out your fantasies vicariously!<br />
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Clones may also face prejudice from people who insist they are sub-human and soulless, and they may have to fight for equal treatment and their full human rights. This is why people need to be educated about clones so they don't face that kind of oppression if they ever come into our world. We have more than enough inequality to fight already.<br />
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Another issue that is not as avoidable: clones who are raised by their DNA donors would face complicated family relationships. A clone is more of a twin sibling than a son or daughter, so if a clone is raised by his or her genetic twin, the DNA donor would be socially a parent but genetically a sibling, and the grandparents would really be the genetic parents. That can kind of mess with your head, so it might not be a good idea for people to raise their own clones.<br />
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4. Cloning results in less genetic fitness than sexual reproduction</h3>
This is a major way clones would differ from twins and IVF babies. All babies today — including both fraternal and identical twins and IVF babies — are conceived through the fusion of an egg and a sperm. This is sexual reproduction, and it confers several advantages on the offspring of a population due to increased genetic variation, which is important for the evolution, disease- and parasite-resistance, and general well-being of a species as a whole. (Please keep it to yourself if you don't believe in evolution, because otherwise my head will explode.)<br />
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This means that while a few clones here or there would be ok, it would be a bad idea for <i>Homo sapiens</i> if cloning became the norm. Given the current biological landscape and our place in it, sexual reproduction is a way better evolutionary strategy than asexual reproduction.<br />
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5. Cloning is an inefficient process that's not well-understood</h3>
I think this is the biggest argument against cloning. To date there have been no proven human clones, and the process of cloning is a difficult, risky, even dangerous one that involves a large number of eggs, much trial and error, and the creation (and destruction) of many embryos. The technology is simply not advanced enough, and given that the process of researching said technology would result in the death of a large number of embryos and fetuses, it's unlikely that people will be enthusiastic about human cloning.<br />
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The issues I've listed above are relevant for IVF as well. IVF is a risky procedure that results in a low number of live births despite the large number of embryos that are generated and implanted. So what happens to the embryos that don't make it to birth? Sometimes the excess embryos are frozen, sometimes donated to scientific research, sometimes destroyed in the lab, sometimes aborted in favor of a sibling.<br />
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I agree that the ethics of creating and destroying embryos is controversial, but it wouldn't be unique to cloning (see therapeutic cloning in addition to IVF, and maybe even abortion in general). But there <i>are</i> issues unique to reproductive cloning that makes pursuing human cloning even more controversial, and one of them is our lack of understanding regarding the effects of using a somatic (non-reproductive) cell as the genetic material for an egg. In the past, cloned animals have suffered from a number of serious developmental abnormalities or shortened lifespans (we'll skip details about shortened telomeres and epigenetics). Until scientists have perfected the technique with animals, it would be best not to attempt cloning due to the high chances of bringing into the world a baby with serious abnormalities that will significantly affect his or her quality of life. And if we can't get it right with animals, then yeah, not a good idea to try it on human beings.<br />
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Why this rant?</h3>
Cloning comes with a lot of issues and I'm not saying it's awesome and we should all immediately embrace it. It's a dangerous process with complex consequences (probably why it's currently banned in many countries). Cloning won't be possible without significant scientific advancement, and it may not be something that's in our best interests to pursue due to the likelihood of serious complications for the first clones. But I hope that the controversy would be fueled not by misunderstandings of what cloning and clones are, but because of real and valid social/scientific/ethical implications.<br />
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It's not cloning itself I feel strongly about — I have no stake in whether cloning ever becomes possible, although I think it would be a great technological breakthrough if it ever becomes a safe and reliable process. But I'm pretty sure our society's not ready for clones, and given the serious biological, psychological, and societal problems that are likely to plague clones due to our general lack of knowledge and understanding, I'm glad, for the sake of those hypothetical clones, that they don't yet exist. Maybe one day, if we move past those issues... but I don't even know if that's even possible.<br />
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What I <i>do</i> feel strongly about is ignorant attitudes toward science and technology in general. It bothers me when people choose pure emotion or superstition over facts or reason in a discussion involving science. I think it's important for us as a society to think critically and logically about these issues because it can have strong ramifications for our future. I understand most people aren't scientists, and that's ok, but it makes me sad when people hold a fearful, suspicious, or dismissive attitude toward science and technology out of misunderstanding. And if this attitude is the norm, it will hold us back from future advancement and breakthroughs in science and technology that can improve our standard of living.<br />
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So I guess part of the reason I wrote this post, in addition to venting my thoughts and feelings, was to dispel some common misconceptions and introduce more science to the discussion on clones in the writing blogosphere. (Even though I'm fashionably — er, <i>terribly</i> — late. Sorry about that!) Plus, I learned a lot!<br />
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(Random side note: writing this post made me realize that although most sci-fi novels and movies get a lot of things wrong about cloning, at least they're starting to portray clones as people with thoughts and feelings and agency and individuality and humanity, so YAY for that! Though they should still get their science right.)<br />
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Anyway, now that I've (hopefully) gotten this clone thing out of my system, in my next post I'll write more generally about my thoughts on science in MG/YA speculative fiction, so stay tuned for that!<br />
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<b>Did you learn anything new from this post? Got any thoughts on what I've said? Or if you prefer to go the non-controversial route, what's your favorite book or movie featuring clones? (I realize some of these may be spoiler-y, so consider putting warnings for the spoiler-sensitive!)</b><br />
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<b>Further Reading / Sources</b></h3>
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/genetic/human-cloning.htm" target="_blank">How Human Cloning Will Work | How Stuff Works</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jacob-m-appel/should-we-really-fear-rep_b_183308.html" target="_blank">Should We Really Fear Reproductive Cloning? | Huffington Post</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/AnimalCloning/ucm055512.htm" target="_blank">Myths about Cloning | FDA</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/mcgee.html" target="_blank">Primer on Ethics and Human Cloning | Action Bioscience</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/cloning.shtml" target="_blank">Cloning Fact Sheet | Human Genomics </a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.philforhumanity.com/Human_Cloning.html" target="_blank">Reasons For and Against Human Cloning | Phil for Humanity</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art1293.asp" target="_blank">Identical Twins Versus Cloning | BellaOnline</a></li>
<li><a href="http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1055&context=dlj" target="_blank">Reproductive Misconception: Why Cloning is Not Just Another Reproductive Technology | Duke Law Journal</a></li>
<li><a href="http://reason.com/archives/1997/05/01/the-twin-paradox" target="_blank">The Twin Paradox: What Exactly is Wrong with Cloning People? | Reason.com</a></li>
<li><a href="http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/tech/cloning/cloningrisks/" target="_blank">What are the Risks of Cloning? | University of Utah</a>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-86376145404355310562012-04-04T12:45:00.000+08:002012-04-05T09:43:03.602+08:00Reading and Writing Negative ReviewsRecently I've been considering whether I want to do more with my Goodreads account. I made one a while ago for better access to some of the features, but I haven't added any books or friends because I'm not sure how, or if, I'd rate and review books.<br />
<br />
The main reason is because I'm nervous about writing negative reviews and giving less-than-glowing ratings. Sure, I'm incredibly grateful for other people's negative reviews, since they can:<br />
<ul>
<li>help me avoid books with elements I know I won't like</li>
<li>temper expectations for hyped books</li>
<li>make me feel less alone in my dislike of certain books</li>
<li>inspire me to read more critically</li>
<li>educate me on issues in literature</li>
<li>remind me that taste is totally subjective</li>
<li>make positive reviews more meaningful</li>
<li>provide lots of entertainment (ok, I admit it's a guilty pleasure of mine!)</li>
</ul>
<br />
Still, I'm not sure if I'm brave enough to write them myself. Here's a few obstacles I can think of:<br />
<br />
<b>1. Don't want to hurt the author's feelings</b><br />
<i>I know you worked that that book forever and totally poured your heart into it, but, no offence, I thought it was terrible.</i><br />
<br />
This is really for my own peace of mind, since I have no idea which authors read their negative reviews and which don't, and anyway mine won't be the only negative review out there. But if I publish a negative review there's always the chance the author might come across it, and imagining it makes me feel kind of guilty because it's not like I would write a negative review to hurt an author on purpose but she would probably still be hurt, you know?<br />
<br />
This is especially terrible when you "know" the author. I hate that feeling when I read a book by a writer whose blog/tweets I enjoy, only to INTENSELY DISLIKE said book. It's so awkward and makes me vaguely uncomfortable, and putting my dislike for it out on the Internet for everyone to see would just intensify that feeling.<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b>2. Desire to be (or be seen as) a nice, positive person</b></span></b><br />
<i>I'm a NICE PERSON, dammit! Only unicorns and rainbows and sparkles allowed!</i><br />
<br />
So I'm not really one of those "if you have nothing nice to say, keep your mouth shut" people, but at the same time I can totally understand the desire to not be or be seen as a jerk by keeping public criticisms of other people's work to a minimum. Also, some people are committed to positivity and prefer not dwell on negative experiences (e.g. a book they didn't like) by spending time and effort writing about how awful the book was. Plus, people might like you more if they know you only say nice things about others and so don't have to worry about getting on the wrong side of your snarkbazooka someday.<br />
<br />
<b>3. Karma</b><br />
<i>Ok, whoever's keeping track, I've written ZERO negative reviews in my entire life so I'm owed a little consideration when my book comes out, right?!</i><br />
<br />
I can see how the concept of karma would affect someone's decision about writing negative reviews, even if I'm not a big believe in karma myself. Some people are strongly affected by criticism themselves and so, out of consideration to other people's feelings, refrain from posting critical reviews online, hoping that spreading a little goodwill will make a difference. For some, it's just the right thing to do.<br />
<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b>4. Avoid backlash from fans or authors</b></span></b><br />
<i>How dare you dislike the best book of all time! You clearly misread the book and failed to appreciate its brilliance due to your inherent stupidity.</i><br />
<br />
Sometimes readers take it personally if you criticize a book they like, since it can be seen as a direct criticism of their taste in books. People might even attempt to tear you down for daring to write about their favorite writers in a negative light. And if you're really unlucky, you might even hear from an angry author. Yeah, not fun.<br />
<br />
<b>5. Career considerations</b><br />
<i>I don't know why so many people buy your books, which are clearly awful, but I'm really desperate for a blurb by someone other than my mom.</i><br />
<br />
I have no idea if I will ever pursue publication. But in the (unlikely) event that I do, it'd be better not to have burned any bridges with scathing reviews. Authors/agents/editors/publishers are more likely to be favorably disposed toward you if you don't bash their books, and they probably won't want to help you if you say their book sucked. So it could be safer to err on the side of caution and refrain from writing any negative reviews if you're working or hoping to work in the industry, just for the sake of your professional relationships.<br />
<br />
<br />
Anyway, those are just a few I could think of. In the end, I think it comes down to your purpose for writing reviews. Some people write reviews to promote books they love, support other writers, sell books, share their opinions, or help others choose what to read next. Depending on what you want to accomplish with reviews, including negative ones may or may not be in your best interest.<br />
<br />
For me, the appeal of writing reviews stems from my desire to express my opinion and join discussions about books I've read. I'd want to gush about books I loved and vent about ones that disappointed me. I'd want to talk about books that made me laugh and cry and books I wanted to throw against the wall. I'd want to analyze books as well as record personal, emotional reactions. I'd want honesty and openness.<br />
<br />
This means that writing only positive reviews wouldn't be for me. After all, when it comes to reading reviews by other people, I give significantly more weight to the opinions of people who write both negative and positive reviews than people who write only positive ones.<br />
<br />
But of course, all of this is possibly moot as I am most likely too lazy to write any reviews at all (particularly considering my track record with blogging). Still, it's something I've been thinking about lately, so I wanted to get my thoughts out there and hear what you think!<br />
<br />
<b>What's your take on negative reviews? Do you post both negative and positive reviews, positive reviews only, or neither? Why or why not?</b>lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-86609125459866496582012-03-03T22:24:00.000+08:002012-03-03T22:24:26.261+08:00Still Alive!Hello! I'm officially back from my unplanned five-month long hiatus. Wow, was I really gone for that long? Crazy.<br />
<br />
I guess I got distracted and fell behind, what with the trip to Europe in November, spending the holidays at home in SoCal, then being ridiculously chill (read: lazy) for Chinese New Year... and then it felt easier just to give in to denial and ignore my internet presence than face up to how much I was sucking at staying current with things. Thus the long silence. Sometimes I have this attitude where I feel like if I can't do things right or am already "failing" anyway, I should give up already. Yet here I am, with a rather substandard post as my first in five months, and I'm going counting it as a triumph against inertia and unreasonable perfectionism. Every puny victory counts, right?<br />
<br />
Oh, and I really appreciated everyone who emailed/tweeted/commented to ask about how I was doing when I was MIA! That meant a lot to me. You're my motivation for eventually coming back instead of staying away forever, so THANK YOU. <3<br />
<br />
Anyway, it's good to be back. I'll have a more substantial post next week, but for now I just wanted to say I missed you guys and I hope you've been well! I did keep up with all my favorite blogs (though in a regressed-to-lurker form — I've slowly started commenting again), but I'd still love to hear from you personally!lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-70650656977807048862011-09-26T22:28:00.001+08:002011-09-26T22:28:54.558+08:00Choosing a Story Idea<i>Hey everyone, sorry I've been MIA from the blogosphere for the past week or so. I'm planning on catching up as much as possible, so I'll be going around to comment on posts I missed. Also</i><i>: the amazing <a href="http://peggyeddleman.blogspot.com/2011/09/awards-awards.html" target="_blank">Peggy Eddleman gave me an award</a>! Yay, thank you, Peggy! :D Definitely check out her fun, gorgeous blog if you haven't already.</i><br />
<br />
In one of my previous posts, I talked about <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.com/2011/08/if-all-else-fails-theres-always.html" target="_blank">how I get story ideas</a>, and I loved hearing from all of you about your sources of inspiration!<br />
<br />
For this post, my question is: what do you do with all those ideas once you get them? How do you choose which one to focus on first?<br />
<br />
I tend to be pretty good at recording potential stories. When I was younger, I got so excited whenever I got an idea that I didn't bother much with planning ahead. Instead, I'd jump right into writing the opening, whether by hand or in a Word document, and maybe make some rough notes about how awesome my character is. (Sadly, that was usually as far as I got before I got stuck and moved on to a new, similarly plotless idea.)<br />
<br />
Now, I keep track of story seeds in OneNote, which allows me to organize information in a hierarchy of notebooks, groups (which I treat as folders), sections, and pages. I have a separate folder for each story, and that's where I jot down my plot, character, and scene notes. Sometimes I'll find myself daydreaming about a particular story and adding to it that way; other times, I'll think of something cool and then find the story it'd fit into best (or, sometimes, start a new story folder).<br />
<br />
So I guess you could say I like to brainstorm for multiple stories simultaneously. That's my way of dealing with the Shiny New Idea Syndrome: start a new file and add bits and pieces to it when inspiration strikes. It's fun to have different stories to think about, and if I come up with a concept I love but is totally wrong for my current project, it's satisfying to be able to find it a home elsewhere.<br />
<br />
I like having lots of ideas, but I know it's important to pick one story to prioritize; my goal is to finish a manuscript, and that means choosing one idea and seeing it through to completion. Which brings me to my second question: how do you pick?<br />
<br />
I wish I had an answer that was rational and helpful to others. The way I chose which idea to focus on is probably the opposite of what you're actually supposed to do. I mean, most people probably choose the idea they're most passionate about, or is the most developed, right? Here's how it works for me...<br />
<br />
<b>How Linda Chooses a Story Idea</b><br />
<br />
1. Inspiration strikes! I have an awesome story idea! Yay! :D<br />
<br />
2. *Starts developing plot and characterization, and dreams up a few scenes*<br />
<br />
3. OMG it's going to be the BEST STORY EVAR! I even have a plot! So exciting! :D :D :D<br />
<br />
4. Oh wait, I've never completed a novel before.<br />
<br />
5. First novels usually suck, right? So if I want this story to turn out decent it can't be the first thing I write. :(<br />
<br />
6. What to do, what to do?<br />
<br />
7. No problem, I'll just have to become a better writer first so I can do my AMAZING STORY IDEA the justice it deserves!<br />
<br />
8. *Stashes idea in folder labeled STORY IDEAS FOR WHEN I SUCK LESS*<br />
<br />
9. *Thinks up new story for practice novel*<br />
<br />
10. *Writes character studies and begins plotting*<br />
<br />
11. Wow, I adore my MC! And her love interest! This is so fun! <3<br />
<br />
12. Oh no, I like this story TOO MUCH. Argh, this is not supposed to happen! >=[<br />
<br />
13. My awesome MC should totally have her story written by someone who knows what she's doing.<br />
<br />
14. I guess that means I don't want this one to be my practice novel either. Hm.<br />
<br />
15. *Stashes idea*<br />
<br />
16. Next!<br />
<br />
17. *Digs around in old files for another one*<br />
<br />
18. *Blows off dust on old idea*<br />
<br />
19. Ooh, this one seems interesting. I think it can work if I add in this one bit from that idea over there and this other thought from a few months ago.<br />
<br />
20. Uh oh. The pieces kind of don't fit together.<br />
<br />
21. What was I thinking?!<br />
<br />
22. Ugh. I'm so stupid! Stupid stupid stupid.<br />
<br />
23. *Brainstorms some more*<br />
<br />
24. Wait... wait... omg I think I just managed to get them to make sense!<br />
<br />
25. YES! I'm brilliant! This is going to be so amazing! Can't wait to write this!<br />
<br />
26. But what if I ruin this story with my lack of experience???<br />
<br />
27. *Pictures self inadvertently mangling lovely story idea*<br />
<br />
28. *Bites nails*<br />
<br />
29. *Whimpers*<br />
<br />
30. *Glance furtively at stashed ideas*<br />
<br />
31. *Takes a deep breath*<br />
<br />
32. No! I will NOT repeat the cycle! I'm going to write this story even though I'm hopelessly in love with it and terrified of messing it up. I know it won't match up perfectly to my vision, and that will hurt, but it's ok. The important thing is to move out of this story-choosing limbo, get something finished for once, and learn from the experience.<br />
<br />
33. Plus, my story will be awesome!<br />
<br />
34. Ok, maybe not. But I'm sure I'll come up with more ideas later and probably adore those, too, so I shouldn't worry about ruining or using up my precious ideas. I can always improve the story later, if, after writing other projects and getting better, I still think it has potential.<br />
<br />
35. Whew. I guess this one's the winner, then.<br />
<br />
36. That wasn't so hard, was it?<br />
<br />
37. Oh wait, I think the hard part will be actually writing...<br />
<br />
<br />
So there you go, my lovely 37-step process for choosing a story idea. It's a bit ridiculous that I kept coming up with new ideas because I loved the other ones too much and didn't want to ruin them, but at least I've put an end to the cycle. And now I don't have to worry about not having any ideas!<br />
<br />
But since my method is probably not too helpful to anyone else, here are some recent blog posts on the topic by other writers:<br />
<ul>
<li>Kate Ellison at Southern Scrawl made a super cute <a href="http://thesouthernscrawl.blogspot.com/2011/09/hoarding.html" target="_blank">cartoon about idea hoarding</a> and why it's better to use great ideas than to save them.</li>
<li>Jennifer Hubbard tests <a href="http://jenniferrhubbard.blogspot.com/2011/09/starting.html" target="_blank">whether ideas have staying power</a> by drafting 10 pages or so.</li>
<li>Patricia C. Wrede reveals her thought process for <a href="http://pcwrede.com/blog/mailbag-6/" target="_blank">choosing a novel idea to work on next</a>.</li>
<li>Allison Winn Scotch tends to work on one idea at a time, but for those with multiple ideas, she suggests <a href="http://www.allisonwinn.com/ask-allison/2011/9/22/streamlining-your-ideas.html" target="_blank">fleshing out each idea</a> to make sure there's enough for a novel.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<br />
<b>So, what about you? Do you work on multiple ideas simultaneously or just one at a time? How did you decide which idea to focus on? Feel free to leave me links to other blog posts on the topic!</b></div>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-91917319987019767732011-09-14T00:48:00.000+08:002011-09-14T00:48:12.868+08:00Five Lessons from Camp NaNoWriMoNow that <a href="http://campnanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">Camp NaNoWriMo</a> is over (and has been for two weeks), I thought I'd reflect on my experience. Never mind what my actual word count was; I assure you it's a pathetically abysmal figure. But even though I was nowhere near completing 50k, I gained a lot of insight about my writing process from the experience. Well, ok, there were some things I already knew, but since I was secretly hoping I would wake up one day and suddenly be able to churn out 50k of beautiful shining prose in no time at all, I had to re-learn some of those things. (Ha.) Here are some things about my writing I either learned or reconfirmed during the challenge:<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><b>1. </b></i><b>I AM NOT A PANTSER</b><br />
It's sad that this is even here, because I totally knew I'm a plotter at heart. (This is one of those things that, surprise, didn't magically change overnight.) I'm the type of person who likes to have at least some sort of plan, even if I decide to ditch the entire thing later. Not having a good grasp of the structure of my story made me feel antsy. I had some vague ideas of what was supposed to happen, but not organized or detailed enough that I felt comfortable drafting, which made it hard to move forward with the story. I wrote a lot of beginnings that didn't feel right, and I couldn't fix it because I wasn't sure how I wanted it to go in the first place. So I kind of got stalled and didn't know how to continue. :(<br />
<br />
<i>Tip for future Linda:</i> <b><i>O</i></b><i><b>utline first!</b></i><i> </i><br />
Well, first I have to brainstorm a lot of random stuff, but outlines are great for organizing information so my ideas aren't a giant mess in my brain. I'm trying all sorts of different plotting tricks, from synopsis-writing to note carding to plotting by spreadsheet. It's a lot of fun and I'll let you guys know how those methods work out for me!<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><b>2. </b></i><b>DON'T LOSE FOCUS</b><br />
The dumbest thing about the previous point is that I'd originally planned to use NaNoWriMo not to draft a story but to brainstorm for my outline, precisely because I knew I worked better that way. But somewhere along the way I forgot my purpose. Instead, I decided I should be writing the actual story because that felt like what I was supposed to be doing. That's what everyone else was doing! And then I realized I had no outline and started trying to make one up ASAP so I can write the story, even though the whole point of this particular NaNo was supposed to be brainstorming so I can come up with a solid outline later. *facepalm*<br />
<br />
<i>Tip for future Linda:</i><b style="font-style: italic;"> </b><i><b>Stick to your objective!</b></i><i> </i><br />
I had a personal goal but then got confused, went off track, and started sabotaging my own efforts by trying to skip ahead. Next time I will be clear about what I want to accomplish and not change my plan for silly reasons, like impatience or wanting to be like everyone else or temporary insanity. (I still can't get over my own stupidity.)<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><b>3. </b></i><b>MOMENTUM IS KEY</b><br />
At the beginning of August, I wrote every day for a week. I don't think I ever hit my daily quota, but it felt awesome to know that I was actually writing. (Never mind that I was basically writing a ton of crappy beginnings I would never actually use.) I was productive! I felt like a writer! It was amazing! And then... I got sidetracked. Writing was so fun I wanted to skip right over the brainstorming and outlining phases to the drafting phase (see point #1 about my denial of my plotter-ness). Needless to say, it didn't really work out (see point #2), and when I broke my streak I couldn't get myself started again.<br />
<br />
<i>Tip for future Linda:</i> <b><i>Don't stop writing!</i></b><br />
I don't think someone has to write every day to be a writer, but I can see why it'd be really helpful when you're starting out. I'm terrible at daily routines despite how much I love the idea of them, but I do want to make writing a bigger part of my life. So I signed up for <a href="http://750words.com/">750words.com</a>. Right now I mostly write word vomits of whatever's on my mind (lots of rants and raves about recent reads [oh look, alliteration!]) but I'm hoping to transition to fiction [oh look, rhyming!] once I spend September doing what I was supposed to do in August; namely, brainstorming and building an outline. [Sorry about the ridiculous bracketed asides. I don't know what got into me.]<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><b>4. </b></i><b>DON'T WORRY ABOUT PERFECTION</b><br />
It is so, so hard to give my inner editor a temporary vacation (I don't really want to kill her; she'll be so useful during revision!). But apparently it actually is possible; just look at my previous paragraph. (Heh.) Anyway, everyone emphasizes how important it is not to worry about quality during a first draft, and while I could kind of see why, I also wonder, "But why not get it right on the first try so you don't have to spend so much time fixing it later?" I suppose I want to strike a balance. I don't want to write complete gibberish for the sake of word count, but I also don't want to get so hung up about quality that I never finish. It's painful to recognize how bad my NaNo writing was, but somehow it still makes me happy that I wrote those few thousand words during the challenge.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Tip for future Linda:</span> <b><i>Just write — you can fix it later!</i></b><br />
I hate producing terribleness. It's annoying and discouraging and excruciating and <i>utterly unavoidable</i> when you're a normal person who hasn't written all that much, like me. (This is in contrast to literary geniuses who've been writing forever. There is a very slight chance that such luminaries may find it possible to avoid producing terribleness, and I wouldn't want to offend anyone.) I need to get it through my head that it's ok, that I need a huge quantity of thoughtful practice (which means no random banging of the keyboard), that everyone has to start somewhere, and that I can revise later. And that I will improve, if I keep at it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i>5. </i></b><b>SPREADSHEETS ARE AWESOME</b><br />
This is the part where I reveal my geekiness. I love spreadsheets and graphs and metrics! I would use it to track every little thing in my life if I were disciplined enough to log everything (I'm not, but it doesn't stop me from trying). I still use spreadsheets to track personal finances and books I've read, though I've abandoned many others over the years. (Like the one that cataloged everything in my closet. I wish I hadn't stopped maintaining it; that one was pretty useful.) I made a word count spreadsheet for Camp NaNoWriMo, and even though I didn't do a great job of keeping up with my quota, I still enjoyed tracking my (pitiful) progress and admiring the pretty charts I made.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">Tip for future Linda:</span> <b><i>Motivate yourself with metrics!</i></b><br />
I really like how Savannah J. Foley <a href="https://letthewordsflow.wordpress.com/2011/08/24/staying-motivated-with-word-count/" target="_blank">tracks her daily and weekly word counts</a> with a spreadsheet, and I'm totally making myself some spreadsheets for when I get to the drafting phase. It makes it easy to visualize progress, and I will be motivated to beat my goal so my graphs and charts look good. Plus, spreadsheets are fun! :D<br />
<br />
<br />
Anyway, I might not have won the challenge, but now I have a better idea of what I need to work on in order to write more successfully. No more getting ahead of myself and losing focus and momentum! Easier said than done, of course, but I'm glad to be more aware of my issues and to get back to my general <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.com/2011/06/novel-writing-game-plan.html" target="_blank">plan</a>/<a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.com/2011/06/deadlines-and-schedules.html" target="_blank">schedule</a>.<br />
<br />
I don't think I'll be able to participate in the official NaNoWriMo since I'll be in Europe for half of November (so excited!!), but maybe I'll do a <a href="http://hddodson.blogspot.com/2011/09/mynowrimo.html" target="_blank">MyNoWriMo like Holly Dodson</a> and challenge myself to writing 50k in October... or not. The thought of it kind of freaks me out. If I do, though, I'll be sure to review the awesome Krispy's <a href="http://a-nudge.blogspot.com/2010/10/dos-and-donts-of-nanowrimo.html" target="_blank">Dos and Don'ts of NaNoWriMo</a> — her tips are so funny and helpful!<br />
<br />
<b>How about you? Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo? Are you going to this year? Let me know if you have any tips or resources to share!</b><br />
<br />lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-84252128999883300702011-09-10T21:11:00.002+08:002011-09-13T22:37:28.245+08:00Inky Linky Love 09.10.2011I didn't get a long weekend for Labor Day, but never fear, I'm getting one this weekend! The Mid-Autumn Festival is on Monday this year, so I'm looking forward to getting the day off. Yay! We've been eating lots of delicious moon cakes, pineapple cakes, and mochi at work lately, since vendors have been gifting boxes and boxes of them. (My favorites are the red bean ones!) And we got cake on Friday to celebrate September birthdays. In the evening, I went with a few coworkers to eat in a bus. Seriously. This restaurant took out the seats, poles, and handles in old buses and put in tables and chairs. It was pretty cool. (Sadly, I didn't have my camera with me. :( Wish I could show you guys pictures!) But yeah. Lots of eating. It's not a real holiday unless it revolves around food, right? :P<br />
<br />
In other news, <a href="http://pensuasion.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">S.L. Hennessy at Pensuasion</a> gave me the Liebster Award! I was very encouraged by her kind words. Also, she <a href="http://pensuasion.blogspot.com/2011/08/agents-and-manuscripts-and-edits-oh-my.html" target="_blank">recently signed with an agent</a>, so be sure to send her some hearty congrats! :)<br />
<br />
(Edit: <a href="http://katecoursey.blogspot.com/2011/09/awards.html" target="_blank">Kate Coursey</a> also gave me the Liebster Award! Yay, thank you, Kate! :D)<br />
<br />
My favorite posts this week are kind of hard to separate into categories, so the links are not as organized this time around. But then I'm only sharing a handful, so that shouldn't be too big of a problem. I loved these thought-provoking posts, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!<br />
<br />
<b>AWESOME LINKS</b><br />
<ul>
<li>In my last post I wrote about <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.com/2011/08/if-all-else-fails-theres-always.html" target="_blank">how I get story ideas</a>, so I was intrigued by the thoughtful post Therese Walsh at Writer Unboxed wrote about <a href="http://writerunboxed.com/2011/09/06/internal-and-external-inspiration/" target="_blank">different levels of writing inspiration</a>.</li>
<li>Patricia C. Wrede talks about her <a href="http://pcwrede.com/blog/order-and-outlines" target="_blank">sequence for writing a book</a>. So helpful to see the process broken down, and I needed to be reminded that the outline is an organization tool and not an end in itself.</li>
<li>Amazing post by Austin Kleon on <a href="http://www.austinkleon.com/2011/03/30/how-to-steal-like-an-artist-and-9-other-things-nobody-told-me/" target="_blank">how to steal like an artist</a> (via <a href="http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/">Janet Reid</a>). Brilliant.</li>
<li>Juliette Wade talks about how worldbuilding, point of view, and characterization are all interrelated, and how <a href="http://talktoyouniverse.blogspot.com/2011/09/point-of-view-and-characterization-mean.html" target="_blank">divorcing from yourself</a> is necessary to do justice to those aspects.</li>
<li>Lura Slowinski tackles <a href="http://luraslowinski.blogspot.com/2011/09/myth-of-lone-american-hero.html" target="_blank">the myth of the lone American hero</a> and discusses how American culture values individualism as the most important heroic trait. Her post focuses on one of the points Aliette de Bodard brings up in her post on <a href="http://aliettedebodard.com/2011/08/31/on-the-prevalence-of-us-tropes-in-storytelling/" target="_blank">the prevalence of US tropes in storytelling</a>, which is definitely worth a read as well. It's a fascinating topic and definitely got me thinking.</li>
</ul>
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And that's it! Enjoy your weekend, and if you want to have a moon-viewing party, Monday would be a great time for it. ;)</div>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-81853738409461060342011-09-04T01:09:00.000+08:002011-09-04T01:34:48.228+08:00Inky Linky Love 09.03.2011Happy Labor Day weekend to those of you in the States! No long weekend for me. :( I think the Taiwanese equivalent was in April or something.<br />
<br />
Anyway, some updates from me:<br />
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First, check out the gorgeous new blog button in the side bar! It was designed by the incredibly talented Carrie Butler, and I won it for following the directions for her giveaway. :) You can see the other buttons she made by clicking over to <a href="http://soyoureawriter.blogspot.com/2011/09/blog-buttons.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a>.<br />
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New meme on my Awards and Memes page: <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.com/p/awards-and-memes.html#ten">The Ten Random Facts Meme</a>, which was passed to me by the awesome and hilarious Alz at <a href="http://a-nudge.blogspot.com/2011/09/friday-five-x-two-10-random-facts.html" target="_blank">A Nudge in the Right Direction</a>.<br />
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Carrie also tagged me with the <a href="http://soyoureawriter.blogspot.com/2011/08/7-x-7-link-award.html">7x7 Link Award</a> (thanks Carrie!) which I'll get to once I have more posts in my archives. Maybe I'll do it for some sort of blogging milestone?<br />
<br />
Ok, on to the links!<br />
<br />
<b>CRAFT</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Love these helpful posts by author Patricia C. Wrede on how to write <a href="http://pcwrede.com/blog/narrative-summary/">narrative summary</a> and <a href="http://pcwrede.com/blog/telling-details-vs-clutter/" target="_blank">telling details</a> effectively</li>
<li>Agent Mary Kole at Kidlit talks about <a href="http://kidlit.com/2011/08/24/two-signs-of-overwriting-and-why-its-a-problem/" target="_blank">how to avoid overwriting</a></li>
<li>Shannon Donnelly at Book View Cafe wrote an article <a href="http://blog.bookviewcafe.com/2011/08/24/writing-muscles/" target="_blank">how to develop writing muscles</a>. I'm terrible at consistency and discipline so this is just what I needed!</li>
</ul>
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<b>CHARACTERIZATION</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Victoria Mixon gives <a href="http://victoriamixon.com/2011/08/22/4-tricks-for-improving-your-fiction-in-one-day/" target="_blank">four tricks to improve your fiction</a>, focusing on what makes a great protagonist.</li>
<li>K.M. Weiland lists <a href="http://wordplay-kmweiland.blogspot.com/2011/08/captain-americas-10-step-guide-to.html" target="_blank">ten traits of a likable hero</a>, based on Captain America</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>MISCELLANEOUS</b><br />
<ul>
<li>I adore Juliette Wade's thought-provoking posts on worldbuilding. Here are her thoughts on <a href="http://talktoyouniverse.blogspot.com/2011/08/cultural-expectations-about-food.html" target="_blank">cultural expectations about food</a> and on <a href="http://talktoyouniverse.blogspot.com/2011/08/psychogeography-whats-that-enormously.html" target="_blank">psychogeography</a></li>
<li>Shannon Whitney Messenger wrote an amazing post about <a href="http://ramblingsofawannabescribe.blogspot.com/2011/08/things-i-will-never-forget.html" target="_blank">her writing journey</a>. I love posts like this, and always wonder what mine will look like</li>
<li>Go check out Alz and Krispy's post on <a href="http://a-nudge.blogspot.com/2011/08/lets-talk-love-triangle-dudes.html" target="_blank">love triangles</a>! Alz's illustrations are awesome, and she makes a lot of great points. Sarah Enni also has a love triangle post about <a href="http://www.sarahenni.com/2011/08/love-triangles-when-the-best-choice-is-none/" target="_blank">when the best choice is none</a>.</li>
<li>A great article I found through <a href="http://yahighway.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">YA Highway</a>: this post on Feministe about the <a href="http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2011/08/23/step-into-my-film-school-the-importance-of-casting-in-breaking-open-movie-stereotypes/" target="_blank">importance of casting in breaking racial stereotypes</a>. I think this is important to consider when writers cast their characters, too.</li>
<li>I stumbled on Erin Morgenstern's blog the other day and fell in love with her <a href="http://erinmorgenstern.com/category/flax-golden/">flax-golden tales</a>. I totally want to read <i>The Night Circus</i> now!</li>
</ul>
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Enjoy your weekend, everyone!</div>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-6734769569316998762011-08-31T00:28:00.000+08:002012-08-08T17:08:36.778+08:00If All Else Fails, There's Always IdeaMart<i>Sorry I haven't been as good with posting lately. I meant to get this posted over the weekend, but <a href="http://aglimpseofwistfulness.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-i-survived-my-weekend.html">that didn't really work out</a>. Oh well, better late than never, right? ;)</i><br />
<br />
"Where do you get your ideas?" It's a question I come across in a lot of author FAQs and interviews. Popular answers include "my brain," "life," "everywhere," or, with a dash of irony, "that grocery store around the corner." I know it's a vague question, one especially difficult to answer for people who are constantly inspired, and yet I can relate to that sense of curiosity regarding writers' creative processes. I love reading posts about how people write. Sometimes I try to steal one or two of their tricks, and other times I just marvel at how personal and idiosyncratic the writing process can be. So here's my take on how I get story ideas, for those of you also fascinated by the writing process. I'm hoping this post will come in handy when I'm a rich and famous author and get asked that question all the time! ;)<br />
<br />
When I was younger, my story ideas centered around characters I wished to be. I've mentioned before that I loved pretending to be a magical princess with my friend and sister, and we spun stories about our adventures that I tried (unsuccessfully, I'm afraid) to knit into a novel. Later stories I wrote featured wish-fulfillment protagonists, such as a recent graduate from the mages' university, a shape-shifter with golden eyes, or the new girl in town who wins the heart of the hottest guy in school (so yes, I can understand the appeal of <i>Twilight</i>).<br />
<br />
I didn't stop daydreaming when I got older, but I did stop trying to turn them into stories for a while. By the time I began to consider writing again, my story ideas were no longer inspired by fantasies wherein I was a special snowflake. Instead, real life intruded, and traumatic emotional experiences became my muse.<br />
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Of course, "traumatic" is subjective. I'm fortunate enough to live a life that has been, for the most part, happy and trouble-free. I have not experienced the death or severe illness of a close friend or family; I have not been abused or assaulted; I have never been in want of food, or shelter, or love and support. I am beyond grateful for the blessed life I live. Any difficulties I've encountered seem trivial in light of all the good I enjoy, but they nevertheless evoked emotional struggles that were real and significant to me. They marked me and forced me to grow. They inspire me to write.<br />
<br />
There was the time I lost a close friend due to my own flaws. Maybe I deserved it, but it hurt, so much, to feel that I wasn't worth a second chance despite my apologies. It pained me that someone whose opinion I highly valued had deemed me irredeemable and found my worth as less than the obstacle of my imperfections.<br />
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There was that crisis of faith in my sophomore year of college, when I grappled with guilt and doubt and fought surrender. I tried to ignore the internal battle because I couldn't see how I could ever force myself to choose. It seemed impossible.<br />
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Or the time my family was on the verge of falling apart, and I hated myself for not being powerful or brilliant or strong enough to fix everything that was wrong. I cursed my helplessness and drowned myself in despair, unable to bear the burden I'd placed upon myself.<br />
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Small, perhaps, in the grad scheme of things, but these and other experiences mattered to me and shaped who I am. I saved up those feelings of hurt and anguish and anger, and amplified them by imagining greater stakes and harsher consequences. What if someone's crisis of faith could cause a war? How does someone face a responsibility, too great to bear, that could mean the life or death of hundreds? What would force someone to fight through feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness to save the world? Those heightened emotions become the heart of my stories, the dark moment my protagonists must face and conquer.<br />
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Some things flow easily from that kernel. Theme, for one, is closely tied to the greatest struggle the protagonist must face. I also consider what traits, values, personality, and experiences would make the decision the most difficult for someone, and thus flesh out my main character and her arc. These elements can influence certain worldbuilding decisions, and a few plot points come to mind, too, as the dark moment must be triggered by a crisis and bring about a climax and resolution.<br />
<br />
Other aspects of developing story ideas are difficult for me, though. High-concept premises would be one; I try to come up with a cool-sounding idea separately and see if it can fit with any of the stories I want to tell. Settings have never been my strong suit, either, and beginnings tend to be nebulous since I essentially start with the ending.<br />
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I wonder what it says about me, that most of my story ideas come from inflicting an intensified version of my personal struggles on a figment of my imagination. Maybe I write as a form of therapy, as <a href="http://letthewordsflow.wordpress.com/2011/08/01/7127/" target="_blank">Biljana at LTWF does with her fiction</a>. It's my way of writing what I know, and I hope that I can become skilled enough to take my readers on an emotional journey with my words.<br />
<br />
So, enough about me. I want to hear how other writers come up with story ideas. Are you consistently inspired by certain observations, experiences, or media, or is it different for every project? What usually comes first when you get a story idea? How does that influence the way you develop the story? Feel free to leave me a link if you have a blog post on the topic!lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-85567919092953439202011-08-21T06:55:00.000+08:002011-09-01T21:37:37.021+08:00Inky Linky Love 08.20.2011Everyone was too busy with WriteOnCon to notice my lack of a post this week, right? :P I'd seen WriteOnCon around the blogosphere before but had no idea what it was. I was totally missing out! Once I found out how awesome it is, I deprived myself of sleep in order to go through all the vlogs and articles from last year, haha. Here are my favorite posts from this year's WriteOnCon, as well as some other blog posts I enjoyed recently.<br />
<br />
<b>WRITEONCON</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Jodi Meadows on <a href="http://writeoncon.com/2011/08/how-to-write-a-synopsis/" target="_blank">How to Write a Synopsis</a>: love her idea for a verbal diarrhea pre-drafting synopsis!</li>
<li>Taran Hudson on <a href="http://writeoncon.com/2011/08/on-pacing/" target="_blank">Pacing</a>: her Chapter Sandwich is a good trick for making sure there's lots of tension and excitement</li>
<li>Kendra Levin on <a href="http://writeoncon.com/2011/08/your-own-heros-journey/" target="_blank">Your Own Hero's Journey</a>: how to balance your writing with everything else in life</li>
<li>Carrie Ryan on <a href="http://writeoncon.com/2011/08/revising-your-way-to-success/" target="_blank">Revision</a>: great tip about starting with the big picture before looking at detail</li>
<li>Martha Mihalik on <a href="http://writeoncon.com/2011/08/i-dont-care-that-hes-hot-building-believable-romance/" target="_blank">Building Believable Romance</a>: love her point that romance doesn't have to be stated directly</li>
<li>[Vlog] Lisa Schroeder on <a href="http://writeoncon.com/2011/08/novel-beginnings-how-to-know-where-to-start-by-author-lisa-schroeder/" target="_blank">Novel Beginnings</a>: great point about being intentional with your starting point</li>
<li>[Vlog] Lindsey Leavitt on <a href="http://writeoncon.com/2011/08/the-debut-year-by-author-lindsey-leavitt/" target="_blank">The Debut Year</a>: omg she's so adorable!</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>PLOTTING</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Marina Cohen wrote for Let the Words Flow about how <a href="https://letthewordsflow.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/thinking-plotting/" target="_blank">thinking = plotting</a>. I feel so much better about all the time I spend daydreaming!</li>
<li>Jennifer Hubbard talks about why <a href="http://jenniferrhubbard.blogspot.com/2011/08/marvelous-middles.html" target="_blank">middles are marvelous</a>. I think openings and endings are incredibly difficult for me, too!</li>
<li>Patricia C. Wrede says you need to <a href="http://pcwrede.com/blog/where-are-you/" target="_blank">know where you are</a> in order to determine if you can get to where your destination. Great analogy for plotting and knowing your story.</li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>CHARACTERIZATION</b></div>
<ul>
<li>Juliette Wade muses on <a href="http://talktoyouniverse.blogspot.com/2011/08/develop-your-antagonist.html" target="_blank">developing antagonists</a> through story events.</li>
<li>Lori M. Lee has a great post about <a href="http://lorimlee.blogspot.com/2011/08/on-inequality-of-switching-gender-roles.html" target="_blank">the inequality of switching gender roles</a> in YA fiction. Go read it!</li>
</ul>
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<b>SETTING/</b><b>WORLDBUILDING</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Cam at The Empty Pen wrote intriguing posts on the <a href="http://theemptypen.wordpress.com/2011/08/11/personality-of-setting/" target="_blank">personality of setting</a> and <a href="http://theemptypen.wordpress.com/2011/08/14/characters-in-settings/">how it affects characterization</a>. Those posts made me more excited to think about setting — definitely one of my weaknesses.</li>
<li>N. K. Jemisin talks about <a href="http://nkjemisin.com/2011/08/considering-colonialism/" target="_blank">colonialism in worldbuilding</a> and how that affects culture and society in her books. </li>
</ul>
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<br /></div>
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In other news, I've realized that I should've spent more time plotting and planning before diving into Camp NaNoWriMo. I make a terrible pantser. But participating forced me to think about my project more and I've made a lot of progress in figuring things out (if not actual word count), so I'm glad I signed up! </div>
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<br /></div>
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I keep thinking up potential plot events and scenes, but because I hate how everything feels like a muddle in my head, I bought a ton of note cards and sticky notes in order to storyboard the plot. I'm hoping that organization and getting the structure down first will provide a smoother writing experience down the road. I'm excited to see how it goes! I'll blog more about whether the note card method worked for me once I've gotten a chance to try it out.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Oh, and here's an interesting post from Slate about <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2301243" target="_blank">how to write faster</a>. Are you a Beethovian or Mozartian drafter? I bet you can guess which one I am!</div>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-28517808094071665462011-08-12T22:00:00.011+08:002011-09-01T21:38:19.363+08:00YA Romance Pet PeevesSome of my friends say I'm a cynic, but I say it's only because I am a true idealistic romantic at heart. I love reading about romance. I want to follow along on a character's love life and vicariously experience the thrill and giddiness and sweetness of budding love (probably because my own love life isn't so exciting). I want the romance to be something I can admire and aspire to — something that feels real and solid and steeped in truth, even if it is fiction. I want to root for the characters as they spend time together, find that they complement and strengthen one another, and commit to the effort necessary for the relationship to blossom. It makes me so happy and gushy when I come across a YA romance like that!<br />
<br />
I suppose I love true romance too dearly to have much patience for the obsessive, lustful infatuations that frequently pass for romance in YA these days. And so I thought I'd share a few my pet peeves when it comes to YA romance. Of course, this is entirely based on my personal reading preferences, so your mileage may vary. It's not a particularly unique or ground-breaking list, but maybe you'll find yourself nodding along with a few of these points. Or shaking your head vehemently. (Feel free to speak out in the comments!)<br />
<br />
Here are the things I'd want to avoid in my own reading and writing:<br />
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<b>Love at First Sight</b><br />
I know some people believe in love at first sight, but I'm not one of them. I don't think love is something that springs up out of nowhere the second you lay eyes on someone. Attraction? Intrigue? Fascination? OMG-I-think-this-person-might-be-The-One? Sure. But until the characters get to know each other on a deeper level and have a relationship built on something other than physical attraction and chemistry, I'm skeptical about their "love." True love, in my opinion, needs a foundation of trust and commitment, and that takes time to nurture.<br />
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<b>Lust-Based Relationship</b><br />
This is part of the reason I'm not sold on love at first sight. Physical attraction is a wonderful thing in a relationship, but it shouldn't be the only aspect. After all, appearances can be deceiving, and people are so much more than their looks. Sure, I've harbored crushes on guys who had more looks than substance, but I never kidded myself that it was love. I prefer reading about protagonists who are more self-aware and realistic. If a heroine declares herself in love with a guy because he is just soooo incredibly hot, fails to mention any other reason, and never realizes how shallow she's being, she will lose major points in my book for being superficial.<br />
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<b>Obsessive Mooning</b><br />
Another reason I hate reading about purely lust-based relationships is that I don't want to read the protagonist talk about "his dark, brooding eyes" or "his ripped muscles" or "this inexplicable connection between us" or anything else along those lines FIVE MILLION TIMES in the same book. And if she must think about him, why can't she think about something else besides his looks or how she's so mysteriously drawn to him? Why can't she be blown away by his kindness? His integrity? His courage? His intelligence? Why can't she admire those traits and be inspired to cultivate them?<br />
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<b>Lack of Personality</b><br />
Because some protagonists can really use a bit of self-improvement. I know some authors write with an everygirl in mind so the reader can slip herself into the place of the heroine, but personally I prefer reading about heroines I can admire and learn from. Sometimes I wonder why every guy in certain novels is infatuated with the protagonist when she doesn't seem to do much of anything. I want to know that the guy loves the protagonist for <i>her </i>strengths and personality and admirable traits. I want to see these traits in her thought process and actions, not by authorial decree.<br />
<br />
<b>Excessive Angst</b><br />
One major tip-off that the protagonist has no personality would be if she spends all her time angsting about her relationship(s). As much as I love reading about romance, I'd prefer if the heroine has other things going on so she's not spending every. waking. moment. thinking about her love life. I'm not particularly interested in spending time in the head of a character who lets thoughts of a guy take over her entire life (particularly if she just met him). Even worse if it's a constant reminder that her relationship is made of nothing but lust and insta-connection.<br />
<br />
<b>Love Triangles</b><br />
Protagonists in this category are the most likely to be guilty of the previous point, because two guys = double the angst. I know lots of people like to indulge in the fantasy of being fought over by two hot guys or cheer for a favorite team, but I'm not a fan of love triangles. It can be done well, I'm sure, but it's been overdone to the point that I'm relieved when a novel doesn't boast one. There are so many things that can go wrong with love triangles (and by "go wrong" I mean "annoy me to death"). I think it's awful when the female protagonist leads on two guys. I hate finding myself on Team Other Guy because I want to see him happy but I know he's doomed by the author not to be. And when compounded with other things on my list, the entire situation is likely to make me want to destroy something in frustration.<br />
<br />
<b>Betrayal</b><br />
To me, this is the worst part of love triangles. I cannot stand reading about betrayals of a friend or a significant other and, worse, being expected to root for the guilty party. I know people make mistakes, but I wish there were more characters who did the right but difficult thing by telling the truth and facing the consequences, rather than giving in to their passions and then trying to hide it by lying to loved ones. I am a big believer in the importance of commitment, honesty, loyalty, and communication in relationships, and I find it hard to apply the label of "love" to anything that lacks those elements. That goes for friendships, too.<br />
<br />
<b>Selfish, All-Consuming Passion for No Reason</b><br />
Basically, this sums up my gripe with many YA romances. Characters meet, fall in lust, become entirely obsessed, and throw everything else to the wind. They can't see anything else but each other, and make decisions without considering the bigger picture of other things going on in their lives, or caring if they will hurt the people closest to them, or taking into account the consequences of what they're doing. Or maybe they do think about it, but selfishly decide that their "love" trumps all. I get so annoyed with these characters I want to shake them and tell them to open their eyes and think about what they're doing. But I'm sure they wouldn't listen anyway. Sigh.<br />
<br />
<b>Examples of Classic Romances I Can't Bring Myself to Love</b><br />
Since I don't want to bash any recent YA novels by name, I decided to list classics as examples (ok, I may have cheated on the last one). I know these are all widely-beloved stories and have heavily impacted our culture, but I cannot stand the romances in these works. Of course, you may feel differently about them, and if you do, I'd love it if you share why in the comments!<br />
<ul>
<li><i>Romeo and Juliet:</i> I have no idea what they saw in each other besides physical attraction, and their double suicide was tragic in its wastefulness and not my idea of romantic at all.</li>
<li><i>Tristan + Isolde:</i><b style="font-style: italic;"> </b>OMG I hated the movie version. I yelled at the characters for being so selfish and superficial and for betraying their king, who adored both of them. (I think I kind of alarmed my friends with the intensity of my frustration.)</li>
<li><i>Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot</i>: Similar to the above. Another love triangle and betrayal of someone loved and admired by the lovers (well, depending on the version, I guess). Anyway, just not the kind of story I enjoy. </li>
<li><i>Twilight</i>: I think this is enough of a cultural phenomenon to count as a classic. Plus it's the one that spawned all the paranormal angsty love triangles so popular in YA right now. I neither liked nor hated the first book, but I couldn't get myself through <i>New Moon</i> without wanting to strangle Bella multiple times. So I never read the sequels.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Further Reading</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Enjoy reading long rants? Here's one I wrote on my personal blog called <a href="http://aglimpseofwistfulness.blogspot.com/2011/04/in-defense-of-good-guy.html" target="_blank">In Defense of the Good Guy</a>, in which I complain about how the romance plays out in the DreamWorks animated film, <i>Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas </i>(contains spoilers).</li>
<li>Here's a great post from Beth Revis about <a href="http://bethrevis.blogspot.com/2011/07/what-is-love.html" target="_blank">obsessive love versus true love</a>. She makes thoughtful points about both, and I definitely recommend reading it for an interesting perspective on romance in YA.</li>
<li>Rachel Stark at Trac Changes talks about <a href="http://trac-changes.blogspot.com/2011/07/little-bit-more-on-twilightand-how.html" target="_blank">how YA romances affect teen girls</a> and the kind of romances she'd want to acquire as an editor.</li>
<li>Sarah Furlong Burr at Starving Novelist writes about her <a href="http://sarafurlongburr.blogspot.com/2011/06/romancing-cliche.html" target="_blank">pet peeves in Harlequin romances</a>. Not about YA, but some of her points still apply.</li>
<li>Lisa Shroeder gave tips for <a "="" href="http://writeoncon.com/2010/08/romance-in-ya-by-author-lisa-schroeder/" target="_blank">writing great YA romance with the acronym CUPCAKE</a> in this vlog for WriteOnCon 2010. Spot-on points for how to write amazing romance.</li>
<li>Want to know what guys think of YA romance? Here's a fun post by Bryan at Boys Don't Read on <a href="http://www.boysdontread.com/?p=41" target="_blank">love triangles</a>. (Thanks for the great link, <a href="http://www.adamheine.com/" target="_blank">Adam</a>!)</li>
<li>I can't seem to stop myself from adding more links! Fun post by Nicole at WORD for Teens on <a href="http://www.wordforteens.com/2011/08/thoughs-on-disney-princesses-and-you.html" target="_blank">Disney princesses and love</a>. It's DISNEY! How can you not go check it out?</li>
</ul>
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<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Anyway, those are my thoughts on the subject. Now I'm really curious about what you think! Do you also get annoyed by the issues and examples I've listed, or are there some you actually quite enjoy, and why?</b></div>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com66tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-28198948970079079532011-08-07T18:30:00.003+08:002011-09-01T21:35:37.323+08:00Inky Linky Love 08.07.2011Oops, kind of late with the linky post this time. But since I'd banned myself from Google Reader for much of the week, I had hundreds upon hundreds of posts to wade through, and that's basically what I spent yesterday doing. I think next week I'll go back to checking the reader when I have a spare moment; it's too daunting to tackle so many at a time.<br />
<br />
But wow, there are so many beautiful posts on the writing journey in the blogosphere lately. These amazing writers are open about the struggles and challenges that accompany being a writer while being incredibly inspiring with their perseverance and hard work. I hope you'll check out these posts if you haven't already:<br />
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<b>AWESOME POSTS ON THE WRITING JOURNEY</b><br />
<ul>
<li>S.J. Kincaid wrote a beautiful post on Ellen Oh's blog about <a href="http://elloecho.blogspot.com/2011/08/whats-best-writerly-advice-youd-give.html" target="_blank">why she wouldn't have changed anything about her writing journey</a>, despite being obsessed for years with a manuscript that would never be published.</li>
<li>In a similar vein, Natalie Whipple recounts her <a href="http://childrenspublishing.blogspot.com/2011/08/wow-wednesday-natalie-whipple-on.html" target="_blank">journey to publication</a> on Adventures in Children's Publishing, sharing her struggles and heartaches and how she fought through them.</li>
<li>On her own blog, Natalie explains <a href="http://betweenfactandfiction.blogspot.com/2011/08/that-green-eyed-thing.html" target="_blank">why she's not jealous</a> of Kiersten White's successes and how to deal with jealousy in general.</li>
<li>Speaking of which, Kiersten is amazing as well. This week she wrote a post on <a href="http://kierstenwrites.blogspot.com/2011/08/talent-versus-work.html" target="_blank">talent versus hard work</a> and why both are important. </li>
<li>And the fabulous C.J. Redwine wraps everything up — the journey, the hard work, the success, and how to handle others' good news — in this post on <a href="http://cjredwine.blogspot.com/2011/08/youre-kind-of-big-deal.html" target="_blank">what it feels like to get a book deal</a>.</li>
</ul>
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Amazing articles, right? And here are posts on everything else. It kinda kills me to throw them all together instead of organizing them into separate categories as I usually do, but if I did that I would mostly have only one link per category, and that would annoy me even more. Thus, this compromise:<br />
<br />
<b>EVERYTHING ELSE</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b><i>Worldbuilding:</i></b> Adam Heine has a great post with tips on <a href="http://www.adamheine.com/2011/08/fantasy-slang-starting-from-scratch.html" target="_blank">creating your own fantasy slang</a>.</li>
<li><b><i>Dialogue:</i></b> Sara Furlong Burr gives advice on <a href="http://sarafurlongburr.blogspot.com/2011/07/dialogue-development.html" target="_blank">how to write compelling dialogue</a>.</li>
<li><b><i>Characterization:</i></b> Savannah Foley talks about <a href="https://letthewordsflow.wordpress.com/2011/08/03/contrarianism-i-have-it/" target="_blank">writing realistic, flawed characters</a> by harnessing your inner contrarian.</li>
<li><b><i>Plot: </i></b>Juliette Wade talks about <a href="http://talktoyouniverse.blogspot.com/2011/07/be-tender-be-terrible-with-your.html" target="_blank">balancing tender and terrible moments</a>, and Kat Zhang underscores the <a href="http://katacomb.blogspot.com/2011/07/consequences-of-story.html" target="_blank">importance of consequences to character decisions</a>.</li>
<li><b><i>Revision:</i></b> Danyelle Leafty at the Query Tracker Blog provides a great <a href="http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2011/08/pre-revision-before-you-break-out-red.html" target="_blank">step-by-step pre-revision guide</a>.</li>
<li><b><i>Growth:</i></b> Beth Revis shares about <a href="http://bethrevis.blogspot.com/2011/07/learning-curve.html" target="_blank">the writer's learning curve</a>, and the Storytelling by Ira Glass video she embeds in her post is so inspiring.</li>
<li><b><i>More Linda:</i></b> Over on my personal blog, I wrote a post about <a href="http://aglimpseofwistfulness.blogspot.com/2011/07/why-i-wont-tell-you-to-be-yourself.html" target="_blank">why I won't tell you to "be yourself"</a> — I see that advice all the time on writing blogs, but I don't find it particularly meaningful or useful.</li>
</ul>
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Oh, and there's a new tab under my header, featuring awards and memes I've been tagged with. It's entirely <a href="http://soyoureawriter.blogspot.com/2011/08/girl-talk.html" target="_blank">Carrie Butler</a>'s fault that I had to make one of those. Thanks for thinking of me, Carrie! Though I'd appreciate a less awkward one next time. ;)</div>
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In other news, I am still horribly behind on Camp NaNo. But I don't feel all that guilty about it, haha. I think the best part about participating is learning to develop a consistent writing habit, so even if I don't make it to 50k (I'm pretty sure I won't), I'm happy as long as I'm making some progress on my WIP and knocking out a few hundred words every day.<br />
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Hope your writing plans are going better than mine, and have an incredible weekend! :Dlindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-35927727660883080722011-08-06T10:00:00.003+08:002011-09-01T21:34:54.828+08:00Villains<i>I'm a little bit (ok fine, a LOT) behind on Camp NaNoWriMo, but since I'm dying from my self-imposed Google Reader ban, I thought writing a post would help take the edge off blogosphere-withdrawal. At least I'm producing words, right? Can't wait until the weekend when I'll let myself catch up on blog posts (all several hundred of them — yes, I peeked a few times) regardless of word count!</i><br />
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I'm always on the lookout for great articles about villains and antagonists since I have such a hard time with them. I really liked the amazing <a href="http://jmeadows.livejournal.com/">Jodi Meadows</a>' post about <a href="http://bravenewwordsdebut.blogspot.com/2011/07/villains-you-like.html">Villains You Like</a> because it resonated with me and got me thinking more about the different types of villains out there. Here are some of my thoughts:<br />
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<b>Generic Villainous Overlords</b><br />
When I was in elementary/middle school, this was the kind of villain I thought up with my friend and sister. We'd play pretend and spin stories where we were magical princesses rebelling against an evil stepmother (so original, I know). I think she also had an evil sorcerer ally.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span">I've since discovered that evil villains out to take over the world for no good reason tend to fall flat and be utterly boring, so I'm glad I know better now. Imagine my surprise when I came across one in a recent debut! The one-dimensional villain actually claimed "I'm evil" as sole motivation for world domination, dashing all my hopes for an interesting and nuanced antagonist. It was hard not to groan or roll my eyes. (Oh well, the book pretty much nosedived into terribleness halfway through, anyway.) So yeah. No cliché, boring evil villains, please!</span><br />
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<b>Sympathetic Villains</b><br />
I guess it was so shocking to encounter such a lackluster villain because it seems that sympathetic antagonists are all the rage these days. And for good reason — characters that the reader can relate to are so much more engaging than cardboard cut-outs, no matter where they fall on the good/evil spectrum.<br />
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One way to add complexity to a villain is to give him or her a redeeming quality, vulnerability, or troubled past. A villain with motives that are understandable, or even almost noble, would make the protagonist's inner struggle that much more difficult (and who can say no to more conflict?). And who knows, maybe the villain actually thinks he or she is doing the right thing, even if the protagonist strongly disagrees. Jodi's example was Magneto from <i>X-men: First Class</i>; he's a likable character with an understandable motivation, but he's a villain because he wants to exterminate normal people (something I imagine most people would frown upon).<br />
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We (as in magical princesses) did later try to do this for our evil stepmother character. We decided she was our late mother's adopted sibling (heaven forbid we're related to her by blood!), jealous of our mother all her life, in love with our father, and basically out to take for herself everything her gorgeous, saintly sister ever had. Oh fine, I guess our attempts to bump her up to "sympathetic" wasn't all that successful, but we did try to give her some personality and motivation. (I think evil sorcerer remained irredeemably evil, though.)<br />
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<b>Villains You Love to Hate</b><br />
I think this might be where our poor evil stepmother ended up. These sorts of villains are dastardly, selfish characters who, through some twist of fortune, ended up with more power than is good for them to have, and then proceeded to annoy the heck out of everyone else. And you can't wait until this villain is defeated because he or she is just so despicable and pathetic. Not to mention rather useless once stripped of power. (I think they tend to be pretty wormy. You know, like Wormtongue from <i>Lord of the Rings</i> and Wormtail from <i>Harry Potter</i>. What is it about worms?)<br />
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These villains are probably best as irritants in the path of the hero and not as the Big Bad. I think I'd get pretty frustrated if the protagonist is fighting someone like that for an entire book. But maybe it's all in the execution?<br />
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<b>Villains with Flair</b><br />
These characters are not-very-nice people who become fascinating on the strength of their personality. Not a literary example, but I adored Regina George in <i>Mean Girls</i>. She's a lying, cheating, manipulative b— ah, <i>w</i>itch who insulted and played everyone around her. But her confidence, charm, and determination to get what she wanted made her a lot more fascinating than Cady, the actual protagonist. (Plus, Rachel McAdams is gorgeous!)<br />
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Or take Artemis Fowl. He's a kidnapper who exploits the fairies for money and amusement. But because he's so brilliant, we can't wait to see what he has up his sleeves, even kind of hoping he'll succeed despite the fact that what he's doing is so wrong. It also helps that he's the main protagonist.<br />
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[<b>*EDIT: </b>Thanks to lovely comments from Mike and <a href="http://thecanaryreview.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">CanaryTheFirst</a>, I think I'd put Artemis and their examples in a new category: <b>Villains as Protagonist</b>. What do you think?]<br />
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Villains can become attractive despite their moral flaws if they have personality traits the reader can admire. The danger with these villains is that they may steal the spotlight and become more interesting than the protagonist, so you'd have to make sure your protagonist is up to the challenge! I think it'd be a lot of fun to write such a character. :)<br />
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<b>Villains that Give You Nightmares</b><br />
These are the sadistic, genius serial killers of pure unadulterated evil. The crazed monster from the underworld who delights in bloodlust. The creepy clown, or alien predator, or that girl with the long hair crawling out of the TV... ok, I seriously need to stop before I scare myself witless.<br />
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Why? Because I am a total wimp. (I assure you, it pains me to admit it.) I avoid horror flicks and books as much as possible; even thrillers might be too much for me. I have an overactive imagination and do not appreciate having images of menacing evilness roaming my mind at night. So while others might love reading or writing about this sort of villain and enjoy the thrill of being thoroughly scared, I'm afraid (har, har) they're not for me.<br />
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<b>Not-a-Villain</b><br />
Of course, not every book has to have a villain. Some stories have antagonists that are made of sunshine and loveliness, and so sweet you want to gag — except their goals happen to conflict with that of the protagonist. Or maybe the antagonist isn't quite that innocent, but more morally ambiguous than outright evil. A lot of antagonists fall into this category, but it's fun to think about evil characters once in a while and consider how to make them interesting to the reader.<br />
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<b>What other types of villains can you think of, and which ones are your favorite?</b>lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-12371098429504320762011-07-31T09:53:00.000+08:002011-09-01T21:34:07.018+08:00Odds and Ends 07.31.2011Not exactly a linky post, just random stuff I wanted to share:<br />
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<b>ONE</b><br />
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I got a <a href="http://yahongchi.blogspot.com/2011/07/so-apparently-im-not-crazy-crazy-people.html" target="_blank">bloggy award</a> from <a href="http://yahongchi.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Yahong</a>! Thanks for your kind words and all-around awesomeness. :)</div>
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<b>TWO</b><br />
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<a href="http://sophiathewriter.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Sophia</a> is running a <a href="http://sophiathewriter.blogspot.com/2011/07/48-hour-dark-experiment-marathon-july.html" target="_blank">48-hour internet fast marathon</a>. </div>
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I think it's absolutely insane. I'm too much of a wimp to sign up, but I do kind of want to give it a shot. Maybe 24 hours would be more doable? I don't know. I meant to try it yesterday but got sucked into TV tropes and didn't find my way out of it until hours later (and look, I am such a good friend I'm not even linking you). On second thought, maybe I really, really need to participate in this marathon. The internet is a dangerous, time-sucking, productivity-wrecking thing, I tell you.</div>
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Sigh. I think the only way I can do this is if I cheat and let myself use email. But then I will see blog comments and Twitter mentions (at least I turned off Facebook notifications) and gchat, and Google Reader is only a click away and I'll want to comment on stuff, and... yeah, I can see why it'd be a slippery slope. I guess I'll have to think about it some more.</div>
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<b>THREE</b><br />
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<a href="http://a-nudge.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Krispy</a> somehow talked me into doing<a href="http://campnanowrimo.org/sign_in" target="_blank"> CampNaNoWriMo</a> (basically NaNoWriMo in the summer, which I think works a lot better for me than November). </div>
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I seriously have no idea how that happened. Um, hello, self, are you completely crazy?? This is not going <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.com/2011/06/novel-writing-game-plan.html" target="_blank">according to plan</a>. I do not have a nice, detailed outline. I have no idea what I am doing. I have never completed NaNo before despite my previous (and very pathetic) attempts. I am sure I will fail.</div>
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But you know what? It's ok. I already have quite a few ideas for what happens in the beginning, middle, and end of my story, so I'm not starting with a total blank. I'll mostly be using NaNo to develop my ideas. There will probably be a lot of messy freewriting, things out of order, random scenes, and ramblings on worldbuilding/backstory stuff that nobody needs to know but me. Afterward, when I've discovered most of the things I want to say, I'll organize all my ideas into an outline and use that to write a draft that actually reads like a story. (Who knows, maybe I'll do that for the official NaNo. :P) So I guess it's not <i>that</i> far off my plan. I'm just brainstorming more intensely and starting to write a bit sooner. </div>
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And even if I don't make it to 50k words, or only manage to generate a ton of junk, I think it'll be a good learning experience. I'm terrible at commitment and discipline, so this is a good challenge for me.</div>
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So yeah, August will be pretty crazy. I'll still be posting at least once a week (at least, I hope to), and I might also post writing updates. We'll see.</div>
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<b>What are your writing goals for August? Any tips for turning off the internet or writing 50k words in a month? Anyone want to join me? :P</b></div>
lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-10773680323415408932011-07-27T10:37:00.001+08:002011-09-01T21:38:50.989+08:00Critiquing<i>When I wrote this post last week, I had no idea I would be asked to critique again before the end of the week! I felt incredibly honored to be asked and was glad that I'd been thinking about how to be a better critiquer, but I still think I wasn't as encouraging as I'd hoped to be. Definitely something to work on.</i><br />
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A couple weeks ago, I agreed to look at my friend's med school personal statement for her. It wasn't the first time this year; another friend had asked the same thing a month ago, and I'd looked at hers, offered several comments about what could be improved, then returned it with a note along the lines of "Great job! A few tweaks and you're there." (Although she did later tell me that she was shocked by the amount of comments I gave her, despite my encouraging note at the end.)<br />
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So I was hoping this time would go that smoothly too. But as I opened the document and began to read, my heart sank. She'd asked for feedback on awkward sentences, unclear sections, and rough transitions, but her essay needed a lot more than line editing. In my opinion, it would take a major content/structure overhaul for it to become an effective essay.<br />
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I'm pretty sure nobody ever likes to hear that their writing isn't working. And I didn't relish being the one to tell her, either. At that moment, I wished I were one of those readers who always found everything perfectly fine, and said so. It would make things sooooo much more comfortable for everyone involved.<br />
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Unfortunately, I am not one of those readers, and I thought it was more important that she knew the truth, even if her feelings got hurt. So I resigned myself to my task and drafted a long email to (hopefully) prepare her for the comments I was going to make on her essay. Things like, "I'm not doing this to hurt you, but to help you improve your essay," "take a deep breath before you read my comments," and "I know this will be hard to swallow, so brace yourself."<br />
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Then I annotated the document with comment bubbles everywhere. I wrote down my thoughts and reactions as I read and commented on almost every sentence; by the time I was finished, the comments I made added up to be much longer than her essay.</div>
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I attached the document to the email I'd already drafted, edited what I'd written, typed in her email address... but, in a sudden fit of — thoughtfulness? restraint? sleepiness? — <i>something</i>, decided to wait until the next morning to send it to her.</div>
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And I am very<i> </i>glad I did. I tend to be straight-forward and blunt when critiquing. Combined with my critical eye and high expectations, my comments can seem harsh even when I don't mean for them to be. I have to <i>work</i> at being encouraging; I tend to forget to point out the good parts until the end, when I realize I need to balance my comments with praise so I don't get stabbed to death by the writer. (Not that it would've been easy for her to do so, since I live on the other side of the Pacific. But still.) Some people may process criticism fine this way, but I knew it would have been too much for my friend to handle.<br />
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So. Good thing I didn't send it. But then what? I couldn't lie to her, or give her the silent treatment. She needed to know her essay wasn't working, and why, so she could improve it. But how could I do it without making her hate me?<br />
<br />
Fortunately, things turned out ok. I talked to her on gchat and tried to figure out where she was in her writing process, and whether she wanted to hear what I thought. I then went over the essay with her through IM instead of sending her my comments, which allowed me to rephrase my comments more gently.<br />
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I was alarmed when she got defensive at first, but as I moved on, she came to understand and agree with many of my points. I pointed out why certain sections wasn't working, made suggestions for revision, and helped her brainstorm new ways of spinning her stories so they conveyed what she meant. (I also told her to get lots and lots of second opinions.)<br />
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I was <i>so</i> relieved when she said that she appreciated my efforts and knew that I was pointing out the flaws not to put her down, but to help her. Yay, crisis averted! I really do need to learn to be more encouraging though. And I should put my work out there more often, too, so I know how it feels to be on the receiving end of critiques.<br />
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<br />
[While we're on the subject, here are some great posts I came across regarding critiquing and being critiqued: James Killick offers a few tips in his post on <a href="http://jameskillick.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-to-write-critiques-that-dont-kill.html" target="_blank">how to write critiques that don't kill </a>(or get you murdered, heh). Beth Revis wrote a post on <a href="http://bethrevis.blogspot.com/2009/01/this-is-how-to-critique.html" target="_blank">how to critique</a> that made me glad I'm nit-picky and honest about my thoughts. For those being critiqued, Jane Lebak at the Querytracker.net blog writes about <a href="http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2011/07/productive-arguing.html" target="_blank">how to argue productively with critiques</a> (hint: not with the critiquer).]<br />
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Anyway, the whole thing made me wonder how people deal with similar situations in the writing world.<b> </b><br />
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<b>What do you do if you discover the manuscript you'd agreed to critique for a friend needs a ton of work? Do you use the sandwich method and try to balance criticism and praise, or are you brutally honest?</b></div>
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lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6727352439107762801.post-12963622604196444572011-07-23T20:09:00.001+08:002011-08-05T18:26:47.240+08:00Inky Linky Love 07.23.2011Time for another link roundup post! (I know they're kind of random. But at least they always show up on a Saturday?)<br />
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Lots of amazing worldbuilding links, since they inspired many of my thoughts in <a href="http://wistfullylinda.blogspot.com/2011/07/settings-and-worldbuilding.html" target="_blank">my last post</a>. Be sure to check them out, as well as the other writing posts I found thought-provoking or helpful:<br />
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<b>WORLDBUILDING & SETTING</b></div>
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<li>Sherwood Smith at Book View Cafe wrote an insightful and in-depth <a href="http://blog.bookviewcafe.com/2011/07/10/writers-on-writing-worldbuilding/" target="_blank">post about worldbuilding</a>, internal consistency, and things that pull her out of the reading experience. Definitely made me want to write a secondary world that's logical, despite how much work it is!</li>
<li>Steven Popkes, also at Book View Cafe, <a href="http://blog.bookviewcafe.com/2011/07/10/why-evolution-is-important-or-how-i-imagine-avatar-ii/" target="_blank">applies evolution to the movie <i>Avatar</i></a> and comes up with some interesting conclusions. Great thoughts about how flora and fauna of your world should make evolutionary sense.</li>
<li>Juliette Wade posted a TTYU retro about how <a href="http://talktoyouniverse.blogspot.com/2011/07/ttyu-retro-how-much-description.html" target="_blank">descriptions should have relevant support structures</a>. Love her points about keeping the viewpoint character in mind and slipping in the worldbuilding subtly.</li>
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<b>CRAFT</b></div>
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<li>Kristen Lamb uses the acronym LOCK to help writers <a href="http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2011/07/18/testing-the-idea-is-it-strong-enough-to-make-a-novel/" target="_blank">test the strength of their story ideas</a>. This showed me that I need to give some more thought to what my protagonist <i>really</i> wants.</li>
<li>Janice Hardy provides some great tips on <a href="http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/07/nope-not-buying-it-how-do-we-maintain.html" target="_blank">maintaining believability</a>. Nothing is more jarring than implausible plot points or character decisions.</li>
<li>Alicia Rasley at Edittorrent talks about how <a href="http://edittorrent.blogspot.com/2011/07/making-moment.html" target="_blank">drawing out a scene can increase the emotional payoff</a>. I think it'd be great for surprises, too.</li>
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<b>PLOT</b></div>
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<ul>
<li>I adore the INTERN's posts on breaking down <i>The Hunger Games</i>! I love that book and I enjoyed reading her analysis of what makes the book so addicting. <a href="http://internspills.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-books-work-hunger-games-part-1.html" target="_blank">Part one</a> is about structure on the sentence/scene/chapter level, and <a href="http://internspills.blogspot.com/2011/07/how-books-work-hunger-games-part-2.html" target="_blank">part two</a> is about video games (yes, really).</li>
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<b>DIVERSITY</b></div>
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<li>Kate Hart does an amazing job of creating cool info-graphics to analyze the covers of 2010 YA novels in her post, <a href="http://www.katehart.net/2011/07/uncovering-ya-covers-how-dark-are-they.html" target="_blank">Uncovering YA Covers: How Dark Are They?</a> The answer to her question? Not very. In fact, they tend to be overwhelmingly white. I'm hoping there will be more diversity in YA in the future!</li>
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That's it for this time. Have a great weekend!</div>
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lindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524291742541007382noreply@blogger.com7