Everything I Need to Know About Writing, I Learned From Veronica Mars #2: Be BRAVE
Brave. v. 1. to meet or face courageously. 2. to defy; challenge; dare.
April Reads – 2011
Month number four in my continuing mission to READ MOAR. This month I read 17 young adult books. Almost as many as March!
Not Just Any Dog Will Do
A funny thing happened the other day and between giggles it made me think a lot about how sometimes, as writers, we can be blind to certain characters, plot twists, etc that aren’t working in our manuscripts. Maybe we’ve thrown in a best friend simply because every YA Main Character needs a BFF, but s/he isn’t serving the story. Maybe that explosive plot twist at the end doesn’t really mesh with the tone of the rest of the book.
What made me think of this? Well, last week, my very well-intentioned Dad accidentally kidnapped a neighbor’s pugs.
Stay with me, I promise this is relevant (it’s also kind of hilarious).
Everything I Need to Know About Writing, I Learned From Veronica Mars #1: Be EPIC
The word epic gets tossed around a lot, but it’s something that needs to be taken seriously when writing a novel. Is YOUR novel “impressively great” and of “heroic proportions?” How can you tell?
Ask yourself the following questions: 1) Am I challenging my characters enough? 2) Is the plot plot-ty enough? 3) Is the plot interesting?
A Lesson in Cultural Diplomacy
It’s amazing what kind of beauty can transpire when people around the globe work together. Case in point, Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir, featuring 2,052 performances from 58 countries. One journalist had this to say about the piece: “For whatever precision the performance might lose due to the method–many voices in individual bedrooms spanning the globe–it gains exponentially by connecting them, easily surpassing any previously heard live performance by the sheer impact of linking so many persons at latitudes and longitudes around the world. Choir: Ultimate Edition, anyone?”
Simply put, the effect is stunning.