Sunday 30 June 2013

Book Review; Matched

Hey,
I know it's only been what 2 days? since I last posted but I finished Matched today!! I went to my aunties which is about 2 hours away in the prettiest countryside ever and I read the end of this! Wow! The ending blew my mind! I wasn't sure going into this because I had heard a few bad and mixed reviews about it, but whenever I start a book I try to be completely impartial and I think I succeeded because I loved it. Here's the cover;

So the premise is that a girl called Cassia lives in a time where the 'society' runs everything about a person's lives from even before they are born. When people turn 17 (as Cassia does in the opening of the book) they attend their matching banquet where they will see who has been chosen for them to marry (They don't really have much choice). Cassia has been excited for this forever, she gets matched with Xander (her childhood bestfriend) the odds of her being paired with someone she already knows is minuscule and it being her best friend is even smaller. But she's shocked when not only Xander turns up on the screen but so does another boy she knows ; Ky.
At first glance of the blurb I really thought this whole book was going to be a big love triangle (Twilight style) and it'd be Cassia trying to decide but it's not at all what I thought, She spends most of her time with one of the boys (No spoilers here!) and kind of ignores or forgets the other one exists. She does find herself at odds with what kind of life she wants (The one she's supposed to have with Xander or the one she could have if she had any choice with Ky). The world Condie has built is marvelous. and I loved the kind of government thing that Cassia gets to realise towards the end of this book, she does start to realise how much the government is controlling the citizens which is beyond anything she could imagine. The 'Society' matches people based on the type of children they would provide the 'Society' as a whole. and the teenagers can eaither marry that person or no one at all. But one thing that got to me at the end of it was that it did feel a little like this book was written to set up the story for the rest of the trilogy which I know happens in every triliogy but it still seems pointless to me :P 
I loved the whole '100 things' thing. By this I will explain. In the 'Society' they decided that people couldn't enjoy great things when everything in culture is so cluttered. So the 100 committee chose 100 books, 100 poems, 100 songs etc.. and burnt the rest. The thought of burning books makes me very very sad!! I loved the romance in  this as it's refreshing but not like she's constantly deciding who she's going to be with. At some points I did get a little annoyed at her for being a loon at times to one of the boys but she's still completely lovely most of the time to both of them because she truly doesn't want to hurt either! 
Well I think I'm going to stop now before I give the storyline away. I think the ending was shocking as hell and I cannot wait to get crossed after I finish my to-read pile which at the moment is;
Across the universe, the virgin suicides, and beautiful creatures.

Love,

Friday 28 June 2013

Book Review ; Uglies

Hey!
Right so, I just finished one hugely reviewed books that I have only heard great things about; Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. I have noticed recently that I am changing my reading habits, since a lot of my to read books are eaither dystopian, SiFi or YA where as when I started this blog a lot of my books were romance which I haven't read in a while I don't think :P 
Anyway here's the cover that I've got which isn't the most common or recent one but it's just the one I got sent when I ordered it.;

So my review; I first want to say that I absolutely love this book! I got it on wednesday and if I hadn't had college taster days I would have finished it yesterday! because I just devoured it so easilly. It was really quick to get into since unlike a lot of Dystopian novels Westerfeld didn't start the book with a lot of world building and no actual content, which I think is great as we got to know the world as we followed Tally around it. In case you don't know the book is set in the future where everyone is born an uglie and once you turn 16 you undergo major surgury in order to become a pretty. Tally is just a regular girl in this world who is so ethusicastic about becoming pretty, in the beguinning until she meets her friend Shay she's just annoyed that her birthday is so later than her best friend Perises, who by the way annoyed me because other than to be a common thing between Shay and Tally since they're both alone I don't see the point of him other than to push Tally to do things that she wouldn't have done without him. but Maybe he features more in the other books in the trilogy. So as an ugly Tally is rebelious and plays cool tricks and stuff. and Shay teaches her how to HOVERBOARD!! that's so cool! But I loved how the technoloegey that this world has is aboslutely amazing and futuristic like in a lot of other books set in the future but it isn't without flaws. for example the hoverboards need to constantly be near metal so flying them outside the city is somewhat difficult for Tally and Shay. I love that not every bit of technolegy is perfect like it would seem. I just loved the premise of this book really. I thought the characters were all really interesting. Tally was a typical teenager (including me) she didn't really understand until it was shoved in her face what was happening, she really wanted to be a pretty but she didn't want to betray Shay and the Smokies, really she didn't know what was going on or what she was going to do about it until she had to do something. I liked Shay because she was more forward thinking and really saw what the operation did to people even before they had had it. Like that it made them feel bad about themselves because of their branding of 'uglies'. But my favorite character has to be David, who I won't tell you much about because he's not mentioned in the synopsis or anything but I'll just say he's different to everyone else in the book and I love him! Even though he's an Uglie I still think he's adorable just the way he is around Tally. Another thing I loved was the classification names, like children are called littlies, teens are Uglies, pre-ops are Pretties, middle aged people are Middle Pretties and old people are Crumblies (How cute it that!) it did really make things a lot clearer. But one thing that confused me the whole way through although it wasn't a massive deal to the plot or anything was how families work in this world. From what I understand children don't live with their parents, only on school breaks. They live in their parts of the city which are classified by which group you are in. Tally doesn't even call her parents mum (or mom) and dad, she calls them Ellie and Sol. and she's surprised at David's family when he does call his parents mum and dad. She's also even surprised that David looks like his father (sorry if that's a spoiler about David ). It did confuse me why families were split up like that but since Tally's parents aren't there an awful lot it didn't really effect how I understood the book as a whole. Another thing I loved was the stuff that Tally saw from the rusties who were from the olden times which I suspect is about where we are in time now. There were stuff like rollarcoasters which she had no idea what they were for and she thought that the traintracks were the same as the rollarcoasters but boring since they were just straight, she also saw what we know is a helicopter but she thinks it's some sort of weird hovercar with blades that can fly anywhere without metal, I thought it was funny to know what it was but see it from a view of someone with no idea. Also even though I can't remember there being all that much description but I can picture the whole place in my head easily!Now I can't wait to get pretties!!!

Love,

Monday 24 June 2013

Perfect Clouds Blog tour!

Hey Guys!
So I have had the privillage to read these two books as part of the Playlist street team! and let me tell you first of all, if you're looking for a review that's slating these books. You're not getting it here! and I'm part of the blog tour. Let's start with Perfect Glass since I finished that one first :)

Perfect Glass - Laura Anderson Kurk;


Book Blurb:

Things get messy when Meg Kavanagh gets involved—first with Jo Russell, the eccentric old artist, and then with Quinn O’Neill, the intriguing loner who can’t hide how he feels about Meg. Her senior year isn’t turning out like she planned it, but sometimes the best parts of life happen in the in-between moments. And Henry will be home soon, right?

He commits to one year in an orphanage that needs him more than he ever dreamed. Thousands of miles from Meg and the new punk who has fallen for her, and absent from the ranch that’s in his blood, Henry Whitmire finds out what it means to trust. When you’re so far from home, it’s terrifying to realize you’re not who you thought. But the perfect glass of calamity makes the best mirror.

An identity crisis, long distance love, new temptation, and growing pains teach Henry and Meg how to hang onto each other and to what really matters.

From YA author Laura Anderson Kurk comes the sequel to Glass Girl, a lyrical, multi-generational story about love that teaches, loss that haunts empty rooms, and reunions that feel like redemption.

My review:
Gosh, I loved glass girl so much and sometimes sequels are disappointing for me but this one in a lot of ways was even better! I loved Henry's point of view. His point of view is so different to Megs which is of huge credit to Laura, boys are hard to write! but I think his perceptive is needed and amazing, because at this point in his life, his whole thinking can't revolve around Meg like it could in Glass girl when he was still in high school. He has a lot going on around him in Managua, and he's really trying to get it right when everything is falling down around him. I love the depth his character got in this book as apposed to glass girl. and That Quinn! I could write pages on how much I hate him, I don't care if he was a nice guy I still hate him! but unforunately I can't really explain why I hate him without some spoilers, so let's just say he's just not my type of guy :P One character that I really noticed that I kind of forgot about in my review of Glass Girl is Thanet which I'm kind of ashamed of because I got so mixed up in the Romance that I forgot him :-\ Sorry Thanet! But I loved him because as a daughter of someone with Cerebral Palsy I think Laura got it perfectly. It's a hinderince but it's not the person. At times I forgot Thanet even had it until something happened that made it important again! Because Sometimes people think that because someone has a disability they are completely different but Thanet is portrayed as a completely normal teenager. And I love his little crush! I've just noticed I haven't even foccused on Meg yet. I loved her relationship with Jo, and how she didn't give up on her like so many would with someone who was originally so rude to them. I also liked her worry and slight desperation when it came to Henry. She missed him and was worried about him, but she also saw how important what he was doing was. and when he came back and she could tell he had left his heart back there she didn't just make him stay for her.  Also a little message to Harry (Who I know is reading this) I kind of understand your jealousy a little more thanks to Henry and Laura (You should thank them :P)


Now for a little 'Behind the Scenes' with Laura. and It has a bit in England (I'm Glad your impression hasn't changed Laura, we're still amazing people :P) 



Behind the Scenes

An American Abroad



“Try not to move your arms around too much.” “Oh, and, keep your voice in the ‘this is a library’ range. Even when you’re outside.” “And don’t flip your hair around…they hate that!”
These are things I was told before leaving for a college trip to England and Scotland. I remember thinking, “Gah, I’ve got to pretend not to be American!”
Only two days into the trip, at Hard Rock Café in London, a group of Londoners sat watching my friends and me. We were laughing, feeling incredibly alive and present in this beautiful city. I forgot myself and flipped my long hair over my shoulder.
Within seconds, one of the most gorgeous guys I’d ever seen brought his British self and accent over to our table and sat next to me. He leaned on his elbows and stared into my eyes. My heart stopped. Literally. I couldn’t breathe. He smiled and I thought, “This is it. I’m now meeting the man I will marry.”
But here’s what he said under his sweet British breath, “My friends and I have a wager on about you.”
“You do,” I breathed.
“Want to know what it’s about?”
I nodded.
“We’re wondering how many times you’ll flip your hair in the next ten minutes.”
Memories like these made it easier for me to write the scenes in Perfect Glass where Henry is feeling particularly American. It doesn’t take long in Nicaragua for him to realize how much he stands out. He shuts down and for the first time he’s a non-starter.
The point I hoped to make in the book, though, is that we’re all essentially alike. The episode in London’s Hard Rock didn’t affect my impression of England. What I found were people who reminded me of my southern American roots. They smiled a lot. They laughed as loudly as I did. I tucked a lot of that country and those people into my heart.
Henry learned this, too, in Perfect Glass. Once we get over ourselves and our own insecurities and see that we’re all human, the wheels turn a lot easier and lives are changed eternally.

Buy the Book Links:
Amazon | Smashwords

Author Social Media Links:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest  | Playlist Fiction | Goodreads  | Amazon author page

And last thing on Perfect Glass for all you people who are following the blog tour here's your letter for today!

So onto Swimming through clouds - Rajdeep Paulus


On a side note that quote makes me want to cry!
Blurb:
I live in the in between. Between what if and what is. It’s how I manage. It’s the only way I know. Everyone has their way. This is mine.
When high school, cell phone disruption forces a classroom ban, the words on a Post-it note spark a sticky romance between two unlikely friends. Transfer student Talia Vanderbilt has one goal at her new school: to blend in with the walls. Lagan Desai, basketball captain and mathlete, would do just about anything to befriend the new girl. One Post-it note at a time, Lagan persuades Talia to peel back her heart, revealing her treasure chest of pain—an absent mother, a bedridden brother, and an abusive father. In a world where hurt is inevitable, the two teens search for a safe place to weather the storms of life. Together.
 Review:
I absolutely cannot falter this book! I spent most of my time trying to scream at Talia to realise things that she just didn't, and I think that really showed how sheltered she is in a sense, because she doesn't understand what's actually happened although she's older than I am and I saw it clearly before it was even shown as clear as day. Although It's different when you're on the inside. I hated her dad (obviously), but Rajdeep's portal of him was ingenious to say the least. I loved how she gave little hints to what had forced Talia's mother to marry her father but Talia herself didn't realise what had happened and so Rajdeep never stated it outright.
Lagan (pronounced la - gone) was breath taking! Seriously all the sticky notes (post its to you american friends :P) were adorable, even before Talia had first had lunch with him I was already sold on him. I thought that it was a brilliant idea of Rajdeep's to make the sticky notes a huge part of their relationships because I think it shows that people can and do feel braver on paper or email and such to say what they really feel, and since Talia and Lagan don't have the option to facebook each other the sticky notes are another outlet for Talia to open herself up to Lagan without saying anything at all. and  the waterfall willow!! seriously you'll get it if you read it :P Weeping willows are my favorite tree so that being my idea of romance may just be in my weird head :P. I liked the symbolism in the colour blue too (intentional or not). As for Talia it really did symbolise the true meaning of beauty, she even said she wanted to wear blue on her wedding day.
Jesse also (although I do hate his name, as being a Jessica I get called it constantly and it is more of a boys name than a girls but I digress) his improvement throughout the book really showed how much closer they were getting to getting away. God there's so much I can say about this book! (Also digressing again but I have noticed that since the review of TFIOS Or LFA my reviews are getting longer as I'm reading as a writer :P)  The ending was the best part for me, because I do have a love-hate relationship with ambiguous endings and this one I really did love. I wanted to have my own ending in my head for Talia and it wasn't unsatisfying as some ambigous endings seem to be. i liked what the ending gave us and what it didn't. It explained what it needed to to get you thinking and stopped there in the exact right place!! I'm really looking forward to reading more from Rajdeep as this is her debut novel and I can tell there will be plenty more great ones in her future.


Now for a Fun fact from Rajdeep!;


Rajdeep here: On Crying...


I am a girl who wears my heart on my sleeve, unlike Talia who prefers to cry alone, where she can hide her pain from the world. I cry at just about anything. A sappy commercial, Children’s movies, even a song on the radio can set me off. And if it’s raining, and I’m driving, and I start crying, we’re talking blur to the blur. Someone take the wheel from me asap!

The last kid’s movie I wept like a baby at was The Croods. That scene when [Warning: spoiler alert!] the dad throws his arms back in one last heave of his final family member and you realize there’s no one left to get the father across to join his family. O.M.G. I was in pieces.

And you might have read this somewhere before, but it’s true. The first time I penned chapter two of Swimming, as I reread my first draft, I sat at my lap top and had myself a good ol’ cry.
Love me a good ol’ cry. Yes I do.


Connecting with Rajdeep!
And now for the Swimming with Clouds reveal for today, an extra letter on the sticky note (post it) that wasn't revealed!

and Now the last part (Aw :( ) but It's a giveaway (Yay!) 

and a list of the next stops so you know where to look for the next clues!
Saturday, June 1 –  Laura Anderson Kurk 
Sunday, June 2 –  Rajdeep Paulus
Monday, June 3 –  Melanie Brasher
Tuesday, June 4 –  Tessa Emily Hall
Wednesday, June 5 –  Melissa Tagg
Thursday, June 6 –  ReganStar McBeigh
Friday, June 7 –  April Hamrick
Monday, June 10 –  Diana Garner
Tuesday, June11 –  Stephanie Karfelt
Wednesday, June 12 – Bethany Baldwin
Thursday, June 13 –  Kim Vandel
Friday, June 14 –  Sarah Tipton
Monday, June 17 –  Jennifer Watrous
Tuesday, June 18 – MarniJarman
Wednesday, June 19 –  Peggy Warren
Thursday, June 20 –  Bethany Jett
Friday, June 21 –   Cynthia Toney
Monday, June 24 –  Summer Andrews YOU ARE HERE!
Tuesday, June 25 –  Arlette Geuverink
Wednesday, June 26 – Jennifer Murgia
Thursday, June 27 - JoJo Sutis
Enjoy the final 3 blog stops!!
Love,


Saturday 22 June 2013

Book Review ; The Great Gatsby

Hey!
Well if I'm honest this book review is probally going to pretty much suck. Not because I hated this book, or that I have nothing to say about it because I could talk about this book forever. But because from what I hear most people read this book and analyze it in school (We did of Mice and Men). I wrote this review now even though I finished the book two days ago because I saw the film with one of my friends yesterday so I thought this post could be a book and film review rolled into one. Here's the cover which I've got;

So to start off with this is supposed to be known as the 'great american novel' and since I'm from England I had to google the premice of the american dream. Only to be told by John Green that it is a universal dream that the americans have just claimed it which I found quite humorous. but after knowing what the American dream is I dove straight into the book, pulling out all the symbolism and talking to myself as I went through
Firsly I will say do not go into this book looking for an easy read, It is not one of those books that you can just read without thinking about it. Even though in my version it's only 115 pages it is a difficult read. I had to re-read the first chapter because the first time I read it I wasn't really into it and that makes me read without paying attention and in this book made me miss everything, with all the big ideas that Nick randomly spouts off it's hard to read it without getting confused if you aren't paying attention. So as you probably know the book is not from the point of view of Gatsby as the title would suggest, or even from the point of view of his love interest Daisy Buchanan. It is from the point of view of Gatsby's neighbor and Daisy's cousin ; Nick Carraway. This was kind of distracting at the beginning since I wanted to know about Gatsby and there Nick was talking about how his family got into money and where he lives in west egg. It took a while to get into the story from his point of view and although I get why it's not from any insiders point of view I think I would have liked a view from one of the more central characters. Apart from Gatsby reaching to the green light, the first view you get of who he is, is from the guests and the huge extravagant parties he throws at his mansion next door to Nick. I did find it really funny when they were all drinking his liquor and enjoying his house while they could only ever speculate about the kind of man he really is, and they all sit and enjoy speculating while none of them (apart from Jordan) ever thinks well how about we get to know this man who is nice enough to throw us parties and show him a little bit of decency. He is very different from the rest of the characters and I think that is refreshing, he didn't earn his millions honestly like everyone else but he also wasn't born into it like the others who are all from considerable family wealth. At first I loved his love for Daisy and how it was shown, about him moving across the bay from her and all the parties but then I realised one; that Daisy is not a likable nice person, and two; Gatsby isn't really in love with her, he's very obviously in love with the idea of her, of her wealth and her family and her house and what they could have had had the war not come about. I really did hate Daisy and her husband Tom and I think that's the point of it. They're the old money type who get what they want and who completely go against the american dream, as not everyone in the book gets as good fortune as these two horrible people did. 
Another thing I didn't like so much was the to and frowing about Jordan's relationship with Nick. It was obvious that they were together and he admits that he was half in love with her but how that could be I don't know because she's only ever there when she's needed. She's never seen around Nick alone apart from on a favor to Gatsby and you don't see their relationship so I thought it was just a way to make Nick sort of emotionally involved with some character but not very much. 
So the film. It stuck to the book well with quotes pulled directly from the book that I sat and whispered while in the cinema, although one thing that struck me as annoying was that the sympolism while in the book is done discreatly and cleverly, they butchered F scott fitzgerald's delicacy as instead of the clever whispers it was more like they were shouting at us to realise that it was symbolism which isn't how it's supposed to work. The green light was way too over empasised with Gatsby actually trying to grasp it and Nick noting that the light is what he is trying to get to in his inner monlogue, which in the book he didn't actually realise. 
Also another thing is that while Daisy's daughter didn't get much screen time in the book she got significantly less in the film. There is a rather short but important scene in the book where Gatsby meets her which was missed out and I understand why but It still bothered me. Also Nick got into a weird kissing thing with Mytle's sister which I might be wrong but I can't remember that happening in the book. and his relationship with Jordan was actually none existent which suited me fine. By this I realise that it sounds like I hated the film which I didn't, I loved the modern feel to it and all the yellow and the shirt scene was amazing. but I do think it was over done on the symbolism which annoyed the hell out of me. Anyway I'm done now so Bye:)

Love,

Friday 21 June 2013

Losing your writing;

Hi,
So another post i posted recently was about nearing the end. Well rather ironically a little while after I'd posted that I discovered something that made me actually truly made me cry. When I had been writing in a separate word document in order to count my Nanowrimo word count I had accidentally copied over about 6000 words twice. Which meant that instead of my word count being 53,000. It was actually 48,000. You have no idea how much it pained me.
But something good came out of it. I realised how much more story there is to go before I actually finish and can start the sequel. I've gotten back up to almost 53,000 words again and that made me ecstatic! I realised something that's supposed to happen to them that I hadn't seen. and I think it's going to give the sequel and the characters more depth and reason for the sequel to actually be happening. Which is amazing in the end.
but while it came out great for me you might not always work out that way. Especially if another scenario of losing writing happens and you lose words that you actually did write out. (This has happened to me as well.)
In that case it's a little harder, which is why after every secession of writing I have I always try to make a note of what happened in the story world up to that point just in case. Like on a sticky note, or notepad or on a separate word document (Although I don't do that since my main problem is that my computer crashes and doesn't save said word documents meaning that this method would only cause further annoyance on my part) For example say if over a period of time or words my characters got into an argument, met an enemy and figured out their love for each other (completely hypothetical first thing that came to mind) I would write - in short hand- as much about each of those things as possible, from some things they said that I liked and want to make sure stay there if I do have to re-write it. and the Major plot points about said events. But sometimes I am not all that organised and the words just flow out of me so quickly that I need to just get them on the page so I'm not fussed about writing things down in short hand to give future me a little bit of a break! That darned past me she's always screwing me over!
But I think that even if you do lose your work you yourself after wallowing in self pity for a while can make something better than what it was before, a more edited, cleaner version of it that will hopefully cause you less trouble for the future versions of you that have to edited the first draft that you right now think is the most amazing book you've ever written but that future you will groan at every typo, plot error, and unfulfilled foreshadowing. So Overall don't sweat it, all first drafts can be re-written anyway.

Love,

Sunday 16 June 2013

Short Story Review ; Laura by E.H.James

Hello guys!
Well here's a first for everything I'm reviewing a short story! It was gifted to me by the author. It's an 11 pages (On the kindle anyway) and I've never actually read short stories before, I think this is the first one I've read. Here's the blurb thing :P

George had seen some pretty strange things over his lifetime, travelling those roads. But if he had thought he'd seen it all, he was sadly mistaken. For if he thought finding Laura alone, along some deserted roadside, in the middle of the night, was strange, then he had no idea that what was to follow would challenge the very boundaries of everything he'd ever known.
I thought this was really good, It was intriguing and left me wanting to know more which I think is good in a short story since it's not designed to give everything away. I found Laura strange and alluring at the same time, Like i wanted her to speak and to find out more about her but I was also weary of who she was. I didn't see the ending coming but I guess I should of as It is a paranormal story, but sometimes I'm an idiot and forget things. I think E.H.James gave a good sense of who George is even in the first few pages I felt like I knew him. I liked the ending especially although I started out a little confused and It could have been explored in a little more detail, but the ambiguous ending works well too since I am wondering what happens next for George. and this story is completely worth the 77p (not sure how much it is in dollars :P) that it costs.It is an amazing read and if it had been a novel I would have even paid a novel price to know more about George!
I think reading this will be the start of me reading more short stories, since I've always just assumed there wouldn't be enough entry into the story world for me to get into it, and have it be thought provoking which I always look for in reading material, but I thought this did it extremely well and opened my eyes a little.

Here's the link to the amazon page by the way!

Love,

Tuesday 11 June 2013

Nearing the end;

Hello,
I wanted to do a post today on nearing the end of a novel, especially when like in my case you already have a sequel planned out in your head that you're dying to get written down. As you can see if you look on my side bar over ---> that way. I am about (at the moment of writing this post) 95.35% finished with my novel, Love's sweet curse. And I'm dying to get to the end, to show what I need to and get it all on the page, all ready for editing. but now that I really want to finish it just won't come out. and at first I thought that it's because I'm so attached to the characters in this book that I don't want it to end but then I remembered the small fact that I am planning on writing them into another book and so it's not separating myself from them that's the problem. 
I think the problem is that the writing part of the first book is almost over. and the writing part is my favorite part, I absolutely hate editing and even though some writers love polishing their work to it's best, I hate changing things that in my head really happened to the characters. I know it needs to be done to make the story the best it can be but I hate that it comes at that cost. I also just love writing, I love the ideas flowing easily from my mind onto the page and being able to be completely free with what I want to happen (partially, until characters want to control their own destiny). and I think one problem is I love my stories way way too much.
Like Stephen King said "revising a story down to the bare essentials is always a little like murdering children, but it must be done.”
 Although I'm rubbish at it, it's something I have to learn to do in order to achieve everything I want, because no editor or agent is going to look at my barely edited first draft and think it's magnificent. They're going to think maybe it has potential if a lot of it was changed.
I'm kind of scared of editing as well, I don't really want my first draft to change to a point where it isn't even recognisable as the same story, because that'd just break my heart. because I do think Jason and Sabrina have a good story to tell, and I love their story. I've never written anything that's as tragic as they are, because whenever they think they're alright for a little while it all blows up in their faces. and the two of them as a couple just can't seem to catch a break. but they love each other, and for them, love's all that matters.

Love,


Tuesday 4 June 2013

Trying to decide on a sequel;

Well hello,
recently I'm getting to the end of my recent WIP Jason and Sabrina which I don't actually have a title for (if anyone's good at titles I'd love to talk to you if you had any ideas :P ) and I've made the decision on how to end it and start a sequel which is something I've never done before. It's never been a thought of mine to have books that run on from each and while I love reading sequels I've never felt the need to write one. But now I've firmly made the decision although it was difficult. Here's how I personally made the choice:



1. I asked myself about the development of my characters-
Are they who they need to be yet? Has the reader heard enough back story to understand some of the main characters? Could they continue on some different or similar journey in order to change even more? Do I have more ideas for them?
2. I asked myself how much I enjoyed writing their story and them. Because I absolutely love Jason and Sabrina and all their supporting characters I felt like I can write more about them and enjoy it further. 
3. I asked myself if the sequel is necessary to how I am ending it? Have you left it on a cliffhanger? is that meant to be for ambiguity or for suspense? Would any change on them be forced or natural?
4. I asked myself If I am invested in their story enough to spend the time it would take to edit this WIP and write the sequel at the same time as life is still going on.
5. I brainstormed in my head and on paper what the sequel would entail. and if I'm honest once I had the idea I really started to be inspired about it and made me even more sure.
6. I asked if there were any things left at the end that I could bring out in the sequel and if i'm honest there are a lot of ideas that I originally intended to be massive themes in the story and have faded in to the background, I think that I can bring them out more in the sequel and in edits. 
7. I did try and write a sample paragraph. even though I haven't actually finished the first one, and that gave me a feel for how it would go and really topped off everything else that I already was thinking made this a good idea.

So I don't know if this has been helpful or not but I wanted to share it anyway. 
Love,