Miss Nerdy Nicole

Friday, October 14, 2011

The Weekly Post (October 9-15, 2011)

Best Book: This week I read How to Save a Life, the incredible new book by Sara Zarr. The characters and the story were so real and beautiful, it might just be my favorite book by her. I'd definitely recommend it for lovers of contemp.

Anticipated Book:Is the first book in Robin Wasserman's new series, The Book of Blood and Shadow, which comes out on January 10th. Click the link and read the description on Goodreads! It looks SO interesting.

On Writing: I haven't had much time this week and it looks like I'll have even less next week to work on the WIP *sadface* I had a really long poem (a sestina. It was fun but took forever) to write for creative writing. I wrote mine based on the characters and events in my WIP and I'm pretty proud of it. Maybe I'll post that here some time.

Favorite Blog Post: I've been spending much more time on Tumblr (follow me!) Than reading actual blogs (I believe a Tumblr is considered a type of blog, though in my mind it falls under its own category) so instead of a blog post I'm going to recommend an awesome Tumblr that I found today! it's called HIPSTER JOHN GREEN QUOTES. Yes. When I found out this existed I freaked out. See the gloriousness HERE. (Spell check is informing me that "gloriousness" isn't a word. WTF? It should be.)

Song of the Week:

- Nicole

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Finding Direction

The writing process/practices I currently use I've had for over a year, and it's easy for me to forget that the way I do things is really different from the ways of other writers (I love hearing about other writer' processes!). So I thought I'd share today one way that I've found that helps me to find focus and not ramble (quite so much) while I write.

I'm somewhere between a plotter and a pantser, meaning that I have no more than a vague idea of the middle and end of the book when I begin, but I outline each scene before I write it. I outline two or three chapters ahead, but never farther or it falls apart. Before I start a scene I'm usually carrying the idea of it around in my head the in days before, wanting to write it, and I'll start writing the scene in my head. When I start writing in my head then I know I'm in a good place with the project and I am VERY HAPPY. I imagine the dialogue, especially. And I jot it down.

Going into a scene knowing what has to happen and what information has to pass between Character X and Character Z is very helpful, but knowing ahead of time that one beautiful sentence that shifts the balance in that chapter? For me, that's gold. The one sentence/paragraph will be what I work towards for the entire scene, and I can make sure I don't stray from the goal of getting to a place where it makes sense for character X to say that.

For some people, knowing the most interesting line(s) ahead of time might take the fun out of it, so this might not apply, but it might just help you to stay focused :D Do you have specific ways of preparing to write?

- Nicole

Monday, October 10, 2011

Magic Numbers

Last night I finally got past 30,000 words on the novel I'm writing! For some reason, 30k is the magic number where I actually start to believe, after I get there, that I can finish the book. The beginning is the part I hate the most, and I love finally getting away from it. A lot of writers say writing the middle is the worst for them. Personally, I like the middle (sure, I have my bi-weekly complete mental breakdown like every other writer, but that happens at all stages). By the time I get to the middle I have a pretty solid idea of where I'm going for the rest of the book, I know my characters, etc. I'm curious to know if other writers have a "magic wordcount number". Do you?

- Nicole

Friday, October 7, 2011

The Weekly Post (October 2-8, 2011)

Best Book: Was definitely Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and BOY WAS IT AMAZING OH MY GOD. I could rant in all caps for ten pages about my depth-less love for Stephanie Perkins' books, but I won't. Please just read them. Seriously.

Anticipated Book: Is Fever by Lauren DeStefano, the sequel to the first book in her Chemical Garden Trilogy, Wither. The cover is gorgeous and I can't wait to see where she takes the story in the next installment.

On Writing: I've been busy! I've been working on poems and short pieces for creative writing class (check out some of those on my Figment account HERE) and my WIP is at nearly 28,000 words. This weekend I plan on revising some pieces, writing a few others, and hopefully get some more done on the WIP too...

Favorite Blog Post: Holly Black announced the sale of another novel! It looks sooo cool. Read her post about it HERE.

Song of the Week: Check out this awesome cover of an amazing song.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Recommended Writing Books

I'm actually working on and loving my WIP these days, so that's REALLY GOOD. Some of my sudden inspiration/work ethic has definitely come from the awesome book on writing I'm currently reading. When I realized a year or two ago that writing books was something I really wanted to do, the first thing I did was pick up a book on the subject.Today I'm going to share my favorite books (so far) on the subject.

The first writing book I ever got was The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing a Novel. Certain parts of it are a tad outdated (some of the things about publishing) but the vast majorirty of it is totally relevant. It was the perfect book for me as a beginner and I'd definitely recommend it for a good overview. In each chapter there are helpful writing exercise blurbs and quotes from writers that are funny/helpful/inspiring. I've reread it multiple times and my copy is filled with highlighting and pen marks,etc. For a few months after I bought it I just toted it around with me everywhere. I'm odd, what can I say.

The second book on writing I ever read was Stephen King's aptly named On Writing, a semi-biographical writing guide that is funny and personal and very helpful and engaging. I bought it just because lots of writers raved about it, and they were right!

I'm currently reading Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott which is SUCH AN EXCELLENT BOOK. There isn't much that I didn't already know or know of (believe me, I've read A LOT about writing. My pile of printed out blog articles on the subject weighs roughly 200 pounds), but this book is very quotable, very interesting, and offers a wonderful perspective that's really made me want to write. I think I may like it even better than the two aforementioned books.

Two other books on writing I bought online came in the mail today! They are The Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass and Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne & Dave King. I obviously haven't read either of these yet, but I'll let you know what I think!

Happy writing!

- Nicole

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Tumblr!!!

Over the weekend I made a Tumblr account! I've wanted to make one for a while and I love it sooo much. I think it's such a great way to collect and share the things you love and find beauty in. It's also insanely addictive. You can check out my Tumblr/ follow me HERE. My posts pretty much fall into the categories of Taylor Swift, cool photos, Nerdfighter stuff, quotes, etc. from favorite books/movies, some Glee and The Big Bang Theory stuff and some lyrics. If you have a Tumblr let me know and I'll check it out! :D

- Nicole