THOUGHTS: Resolutions and Other Belated Projects

 

I had the most awful revelation this week that some books simply cannot be finished. I have seen the terrible DF (didn’t finish) tag before on Goodreads and other blogs, but I never thought I would be one of those people. Then I got to thinking: there are tons of books out there (some I may never even get the change to read simply because there is not enough time in my life) and more get published every day. I want to read books I’m passionate about, but I also have a long list of books to-be-read. So I have, with a heavy heart, created my DF Stack.

My first resolution for myself and for Color Me Literary is to embrace the DF stack. It’s not a place where slow books, bad plots, and badly developed character go to die, but rather to lie in wait. I don’t pick up books I don’t want to read, so my DF Stack is going to be for those books that just didn’t work for me or were too slow and sludgy for me to finish. My hope is that in the future I may go back to the list and retry some of the books out. They’re not going there to die, but I do need a stack for books that are just not working for me so that I don’t feel forced to finish the super slow books. I want to put out book reviews weekly, and if I’m hung up on slow book that just isn’t going to happen.

This brings me to my second resolution, which has actually been in affect since before the New Year. Every Wednesday I will post a book review. Even if I haven’t finished a book quite yet, I’ll still do a review. It will just be on a book I’ve already read, just before I started reviewing. I love getting to read a big variety of books and review them here, and I want to continue doing that and really commit. So I am and I have. This post is belated simply because I wanted to prove that I could really stick to my weekly book review post, and I have.

My last resolution is something I hope to be rolling out in the next month or so for Color Me Literary. I am going to start reviewing films and TV shows that have been adapted from young adult fiction (I won’t, however, be reviewing films and shows that became YA books afterwards). I’ve always had a two-episode rule for TV shows where I watch the pilot and two episodes. Usually by the end of those episodes, I’ve got a pretty good idea of whether or not the show will be good in the long run. I’ve watched a lot of TV shows, and I’ve read and written pilots for classes. The two-episode rule has not let me down yet, and it is really was sparked my desire to start up this little project.

The young adult genre has really become a big thing and sparked a lot of adaptations. I really think it’s important to see how these adaptation are going and evolving, so that is why I’ve decided to review films as well as TV shows. I am going to try and be very unbiased when reviewing these, because I understand that doing so is one of the hardest tasks ever. Some films will never live up to their book predecessors, but part of the reason is because they’re going to be different, plain and simple. This being said, I’m not going to give away much more. These reviews will be unbiased and truthful, and that all I hope to ever do.

These three resolutions/projects are really going to change things up for Color Me Literary, and I’m excited to get started. I know my resolution should probably be to get people to actually read my reviews, but I’ve always said that this blog is mainly for me. I always want to get the ball rolling before I invite others into my journey, but maybe 2016 is the year I finally get this blog out there. I know I don’t have as many reviews as a lot of blogs, but I’m just doing what I love to do right now.

XOXO Tia

THOUGHTS: Year in Review: 2015

            As the final wispy tendrils of 2015 float into the nether, and the year draws to a close, there’s only one thought that comes to mind: thank goodness it’s the new year!

            The year 2015 for me has certainly been one of those years you just want to throw into the dark, furthest recesses of your closet and never, ever see again. I’ve gone through six jobs this year, people. Six! This has not been a good year for me.

People like to say that you’ll figure your life out when you grow up. They say, “go to college” and “everything will figure itself out in due time”. They’re all liars. I graduated last December and I most definitely do not have anything figured out, and I’m currently day-lighting (or would sun-lighting be the opposite of moonlighting?) as a maid.

It’s more stressful being out of college than in! What I wouldn’t give to be one of those naïve undergrads with no grown-up worries again.

Despite how absolutely insane this year has been, there have been a few highlights (though many more lowlights, but this post is not about those):

1.                    I finally committed to doing this YA review blog. Sure, it’s mainly just me reading and writing everything on here, but it keeps me accountable.

2.                    I’ve been with my girlfriend for a little over a year. We’re like an old married couple, I swear.

3.                    After being lost at sea for a year, I think I’ve finally found solid ground. Both my girlfriend and I have steady, decent paying jobs, and we’re finally starting to pay back all the enormous debts we’ve accrued this year.

4.                    I participated in NaNoWriMo. I didn’t quite make it unfortunately, because I just hit a point where I was writing meaninglessly because I finally understand where my novel was supposed to be. It was a struggle because I wanted to make it, but I decided to begin rewrites before finishing.

Not a long list of accomplishments for 2015, but at least it’s something! This year has been a horrible roller coaster of depression and problems and open sea, but 2016 is my beautiful oasis of an island that I can’t wait to explore.

I hope to read way more books this new year. I’ll, of course, review them all and

write up more thought posts over whatever floats my boat. I’ve got high hopes for this new year. I definitely plan on finishing up this novel before next November, which is when I’ll begin a new novel that I am determined to finish! Third times the charm, right? Or maybe 2016 is the charm. We’ll see! Happy New Year’s Eve!

XOXO Tia

THOUGHTS: Deadlines & Duties

Deadlines & duties; or better known as my adventurous commitment to writing 1,667 words per day for 30 days while dealing with a lot of other life commitments. How do I manage my time? What is more and less important during this month?

Let me go ahead and mention that as of right now I am 10,000 words behind on my word count. Does that make me any less of a NaNoWriMo-er? I don’t think so, because let’s get on thing straight: NaNoWriMo is hard!

Where have I gone wrong so far? Well, while 1,667 is totally a doable word count, sometimes life messes that up. I should go ahead and mention that time management is not a strength that I mention during interviews for jobs.

So this post is here to serve the purpose of helping others during this month as well as myself in all time management heavy endeavors I shall make thus forth in my life. My deadline is midnight, November 30^th, and my current duties are many. But is NaNoWriMo really just a goal, or is it more of a process to learn and to grow as writers?

November is a big month for me. It’s my first full month of a brand new job that has me working Monday through Friday 8-6, which is incredibly adult of me and I don’t usually do adult. It is also the one-year anniversary of my girlfriend and I becoming a couple, and it’s honestly the first time I’ve really had money in about a month or two.

It has been a crazy year, and the first month where this year isn’t innately crazy, I decide to go and make it a little crazy. This is the first year that I’m completely committed to completely NaNoWriMo. I’ve made commitments to myself these last couple of years, but this is the year. I had my story idea and very detailed outline prepped and ready for November 1^st. I may be behind, but I’m determined. Plus, I’m taking this first official year as more of a process trial run, so that I don’t feel completely overwhelmed. I get overwhelmed easily.

So what is this post all about? It’s my written commitment to finally be a NaNoWriMo winner for one. For two, it’s a tip to others and to myself on how to succeed during this crazy month of November.

Deadlines are important and should not be feared. They should be welcomed and loved like baby animals. While it’s great to have a schedule and maintain your time management, it’s also important to have deadlines and not to neglect your other duties during NaNoWriMo. This is so easy to do in the heat of writer’s frenzy.

I’m vegan (which involves a lot of cooking food for my meals), three beautiful dogs, a full-time job, bills, an amazing girlfriend, and a lot of TV shows to keep up with. I was bound to get behind on my word count this month. I had just hoped it wouldn’t happen till later on, or in less of an amount. But things happen. That’s the joy of a deadline. It holds you accountable even when life messes up your daily word count.

Sure, there’s a point when some people get so far behind that they simply cannot come back, but I am. The goal is to keep swimming even when you’re drowning. Writer’s block happens to everyone, and they still eventually recover. I’ve been through college, so deadlines definitely make me accountable.

And honestly, that’s what this post is all about. Different things work for different people, but we as writers and reading have to have something to hold ourselves accountable to both our paying and our recreational duties. No duty is more important that the other, but they have to be managed and taken care of in a certain order that only the owner of said duties knows.

XOXO Tia

THOUGHTS: The Dos and Don'ts of Writing YA

 

            The amazing thing about writing YA is that it is a genre that is really blossoming as of late. There are so many new subgenres, styles, and motifs of writing that were not in this genre even 15 years ago. Times have certainly changed, and YA has become a genre for experimentation in a way. Similar to how teens are constantly experimenting with who they are, the genre has been experimenting with who it is. The genre is always changing just like it’s readership, but there are certain things that should and should not be found in YA books. Everyone is different, but I think this list is a good, comprehensive look at the dos and don’ts of writing YA.

THE DOS

1.     Have a strong, clear main character for the reader to follow through the story’s journey. Even in multiple POV stories where there are two or more main characters, they still need to be strong and clear.

2.     Make sure that at the end of every chapter there’s a slight cliffhanger, peak in the plot, question, new discovery, or something that won’t be cleared up until the next chapter. This keeps readers reading even though it’s five in the morning on a Monday, and they still haven’t done their math homework.

THE DON’TS

1.     I don’t care how amazing the world you have created is, or that you did detailed character charts for your main character’s whole family lineage. Don’t put all that in your writing. Story details have a time and a place, and if you have an awesome detail that doesn’t then you should nix it. Just because you know everything, doesn’t mean the reader needs to or even wants to.

2.     Long chapters are a big no-no. Young adults have busy lives. They’re constantly doing something, and nobody wants to stop reading if they’re not at the start of a new chapter. Plus, short chapters means readers feel more accomplished when they’ve read 15 out of 70 chapters more so than 2 out of 10 chapters.

3.     Please don’t start your book in anybody’s POV other than your main character’s. It’s confusing and a little jarring to be experiencing something exciting in one person’s POV and then find out that person is a secondary character and now the rest of the story will be in this other person’s POV. This, of course, is a little different for multiple POV stories.

Like my list of favorite tropes, this is one of those posts that will probably get updated when I come across more atrocious don’ts in my reading.

XOXO Tia

THOUGHTS: Tropes VS Cliches

A literary trope is the use of figurative language – via word, phrase, or even an image – for artistic effect such as using a figure of speech. The word trope has also come to be used for describing commonly recurring literary and rhetorical devices, motifs or clichés in creative words. – Thank you Wikipedia

Most everyone already knows what a trope is even if they’ve never heard that word associated with the definition. These people just classify everything under the word cliché. There are things that were consistent in different stories that you could just see coming. Female protagonist has hot, straight best friend and there’s a cute new boy in town: love triangle much? It’s easy to confuse tropes as mere clichés seeing as how clichés fall under the definition of a trope. Hopefully this post will clear up some confusion.

First off, I was exactly the kind of person that made this confusion before I went to college. I knew I wanted to be a writer because it was the only thing I enjoyed besides reading really (and there’s no good reading majors in college). College was kind of necessary for me. I know a lot of people are naturally brilliant at writing (coughlindsaycough), but college taught me a lot of things that would have taken me a lot longer to pick up on my own. Tropes are one of those things.

I knew what tropes were of course, I just hadn’t heard the word used before. I mean come on, I was a major TV addict before going to college and losing every second of time I ever had. But tropes are just clichés, right? Why would they be important other than to learn to avoid them? Well they’re way more than that. Readers expect certain things from a forbidden romance trope story that they wouldn’t expect from a twins trope story (aside from the romance bit which is a given). While it’s great to break from tropes and write original works, there are just some things that will always stick with a trope. It’s why it is a trope and not just a cliché.

Clichés are things that are never really going to change. They’re a singular moment in the story where the reader or viewer is like, “yawn! Been there, done that!” Tropes are more overarching though. Like the twins trope. When one says they’re writing a book about twins, it’s easy to come up with all the ways in which they could write about that topic. These are clichés, and they’ve obviously been done a lot. But the story isn’t about that one storyline where the twins switch places which is a little cliché; it’s about everything it could be. Tropes kind of encompass that. They’re all the ways in which you can adapt the twins into the story. There are many ways to do it. Not just one way, a.k.a. a cliché way.

I had a teacher a couple of years ago (the amazing Dr. Jennifer Lynn Barnes), who actually keeps a list of all the tropes she loves, and I think that’s amazing. Tropes tell you what you love to read, and thus what you inherently love to write. Tropes are so important because they will help you write your book if you know what trope you’re going for. It will guide you toward your major plot points. “Guide” is the operative word. Write original pieces of work by all means, but tropes will make the first draft process that much easier because they show you what is needed for that trope and where exactly you can deviate to wow readers and make your book that much more original.

Being that I’m an avid reader and writer, I’ve decided to follow in the footsteps of one of my most beloved teachers and writers, and create my own list of favorite tropes during all of my reading and reviewing for this blog. I’m pretty excited to start this little side project and I can’t wait to figure out all the tropes I adore that I never really knew about! You can check out my tropes list above in my navigation bar, or here’s the LINK if you’re a little lazy like me.

XOXO Tia