The Rules:
Go to page 77 of your current MS/WIP.
Go to line 7.
Copy down the next 7 lines--sentences or paragraphs--and post them on your blog.
Tag 7 authors and let them know ;-)
Here's mine from EXTRACTION:
----------------
I don’t know what I will find, but I will look regardless.
“What're you—” Oliver starts, but something distracts him, and then I don’t hear him anymore. Moss and jungle leaves muffle gunshots.
The canopy of branches overhead makes it darker in here, harder to see where I’m running. I stumble; I pick myself back up. A body appears behind a tree trunk, teetering toward me. Then another with an arm outstretched, reaching for my face. I gasp and try to shoot it down, but I don't wait to see if it works.
I search for the tallest tree.
---------------------------
Anyone who's interested in this meme is tagged, because I'm too lazy to go through and find people. :P
4.17.2012
4.03.2012
Book Trailer: Insurgent
Spreading the Divergent love, check out the trailer for the sequel by Veronica Roth. It's due in stores May 1st. Less than a month! *squee*
And if you have no idea what Divergent is (you silly person, you), here's the blurb from Goodreads:
In a future Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.
And if you have no idea what Divergent is (you silly person, you), here's the blurb from Goodreads:
2.18.2012
2.14.2012
2.02.2012
A Song for the Stars
It's hard to pinpoint that exact moment in time when you realized you love something you keep on loving forever. I can't remember the day I first sat down and wrote a story. I can't remember the first time I sang. But there's one first that leads to another - a first that offers an idea of the age I was when I grew to adore the stars.
The day I wrote my first song.
Okay, so it's not really a song. It doesn't have a chorus or a bridge or any guitar chords to go along with it. But when I was age four, I wrote two lines in my journal and whipped up a tune for them. This was my first song:
Stephanie goes to outer space
and all the wayy
Stephanie goes to outer space
at dinner time
You are probably in awe right now. That right there is a work of genius.
I remember singing that song, quite proudly, at the dinner table. (That same day I may or may not have also penned a song about french fries and how much I liked them.) It's a silly memory nowadays, but it speaks to me because of the subject matter. When I was that age, I dreamed of growing up to be an astronaut. A wish coveted by many children, but I was gonna go to space for real. At a slightly older age, I tried to build an actual space ship out of cardboard. I was gonna traverse among the stars and planets, then keep on flying farther and farther, 'cause nothing would ever stop me up there. I would be free, floating through beauty.
The funny thing is that that's still my dream. I still get out of my car to walk into my house at night and pause for a moment to stare at the sky, at the moon and the sparkling lights. When I was on a roller coaster at Magic Mountain, we were going straight up toward the moon, and I imagined we'd just keep going until we got there.
Unfortunately, I'm stuck on earth at the moment. Until that day when space travel becomes available to the public and I miraculously have enough money to book a flight to the stars, I find an escape in stories, whether they're mine or written by others. Books are way too awesome. So are the stars.
The day I wrote my first song.
Okay, so it's not really a song. It doesn't have a chorus or a bridge or any guitar chords to go along with it. But when I was age four, I wrote two lines in my journal and whipped up a tune for them. This was my first song:
and all the wayy
Stephanie goes to outer space
at dinner time
You are probably in awe right now. That right there is a work of genius.
I remember singing that song, quite proudly, at the dinner table. (That same day I may or may not have also penned a song about french fries and how much I liked them.) It's a silly memory nowadays, but it speaks to me because of the subject matter. When I was that age, I dreamed of growing up to be an astronaut. A wish coveted by many children, but I was gonna go to space for real. At a slightly older age, I tried to build an actual space ship out of cardboard. I was gonna traverse among the stars and planets, then keep on flying farther and farther, 'cause nothing would ever stop me up there. I would be free, floating through beauty.
The funny thing is that that's still my dream. I still get out of my car to walk into my house at night and pause for a moment to stare at the sky, at the moon and the sparkling lights. When I was on a roller coaster at Magic Mountain, we were going straight up toward the moon, and I imagined we'd just keep going until we got there.
Unfortunately, I'm stuck on earth at the moment. Until that day when space travel becomes available to the public and I miraculously have enough money to book a flight to the stars, I find an escape in stories, whether they're mine or written by others. Books are way too awesome. So are the stars.
1.29.2012
There's Always Money in the Banana Stand (i.e. What Arrested Development Can Teach Us About Storytelling) - Part 1
For those of you who have never seen an episode of the show Arrested Development - which aired on Fox from 2003 to 2006...you have been missing out.
It's clever, it's intriguing, and it is mind-blowingly hilarious.
It is quite possibly the best show in the history of television.
Why is that?
1. The Characters are each so different and so captivating. They all have their quirks.
2. The Dialogue is fresh, quick, and nothing like people say in real life. But also everything like real life, at the same time.
3. The Plot is simple enough that it's never too difficult to follow, yet also complex enough that numerous situations can arise out of it.
In the next segments of this series, I'll be going into more detail about how the show can help us writers create a fantastic story engine. For now, I'll leave you with this:
1.27.2012
Book of the Week: Delirium
Rating: 4 out of 5
Oh my, I've been reading so many amazing books recently. This one kept me going for five hours straight to see how it would end. Definitely check it out if you get a chance. Here's the blurb, courtesy of Goodreads:
Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.
But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.
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