E.R. Arroyo's Blog, page 2
August 25, 2014
Plotting & Outlining Novels
Hi friends. This post originally appeared as a guest post during my release tour with The Offering but the site has since been removed. The topic recently came up so I decided to share the post again here on my blog. If you're an upcoming writer and want to know more about how I create outlines and plots for my books, here's my best attempt to describe my process. Though no one ever heard of me until I published a book, my writing background is actually in screenwriting. It was not necessarily a successful endeavor but I studied the craft for years and I took away some very valuable lessons and skills that I’ve been able to apply to writing my novels. The most important thing I picked up during my screenwriting stint was plotting.
In scripts it’s all about the plot points, sometimes down to the very page number. A formula if you will. Things can be a bit more flexible in prose, but with the same principles I’ve had pretty good success with writing solid plots that remained fairly set-in even through the various rounds of revisions. So far I’ve never had to do a massive rewrite and I think I owe that largely to my screenwriting roots.
So what do the screenwriters know that we could learn from? I’d love to tell you!
I’m going to go out on a limb and say most of us have watched the movie Twilight. I’m not asking for a show of hands, don’t worry! Whether you love or hate this book and/or movie, it’s a great example because the screenplay for the film perfectly illustrates what I want to show you.
When I’m breaking down a plot, I’m looking for five plot points and those set the foundation for my outline. This concept goes right along with the three act structure. Here’s what it looks like:
·ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Act 1 = the first 25% of your book/script
·ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Act 2 = the middle 50% of your book/script (from 25% mark to 75% mark)
·ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Act 3 = the final 25% of your book/script (from 75% mark to end)
Here’s where the plot points fit into that. (Note: Some people call plot points turning points because they change the story).
1.ÌýÌýÌýÌý “Inciting Incidentâ€� â€� What sets the story in motion, this is your story’s ‘hookâ€� and should occur within the first 10% of your story.
2.ÌýÌýÌýÌý “The Lock In/Change of Plansâ€� â€� Your character becomes committed to a new course of action that sets the stage for the rest of the story. It’s a game-changer. This occurs at the end of Act 1, roughly 25% through your story.
3.ÌýÌýÌýÌý “The Point of No Returnâ€� â€� Also known as your midpoint. There’s no going back now â€� the character has fully accepted the new course for better or worse. This occurs in the middle of act two, 50% through the story.
4.ÌýÌýÌýÌý “Major Setbackâ€� â€� This is where everything finally comes to a head and your hero is faced with his/her final challenge. Everything has led to this final series of events. This begins at 75%.
5.ÌýÌýÌýÌý “Climax/Third Act Twistâ€� â€� This is where you put your final throes, pull out all the stops, and let your characters really have it. This is where you devastate, destroy, and leave your reader on the edge of their seat, worried to death for your character. This is from 90-99% of your story.
So, now that we have that ground work, let’s apply this to the screenplay for Twilight. The script is 103 pages long, so the percentages will be pretty close to the actual the page numbers.
1.ÌýÌýÌýÌý Inciting Incident â€� Bella sees Edward Cullen arrive at the school cafeteria. Page 10. Bam, there’s your hook.
2.ÌýÌýÌýÌý The Lock In/Change of Plans â€� Edward stops the van from crushing Bella. Page 24. Now Bella knows there’s something different about Edward and becomes desperate to find out what.
3.ÌýÌýÌýÌý The Point of No Return â€� Bella has just figured out that Edward is a vampire and confronts him in the woods on page 50. She doesn’t care what kind of danger that puts her in, she’s into Edward and that’s that.
4.ÌýÌýÌýÌý Major Setback â€� Alice flips out in the middle of the baseball game because the bad vampires are coming. This occurs on page 75. On page 76, Edward admits he shouldn’t have brought Bella along, letting us know she’s in grave danger. Then James, Laurent, and Victoria step out of the woods in all their menacing, blood-sucking glory.
5.ÌýÌýÌýÌý Climax/Third Act Twist â€� Bella meets James at the ballet studio on page 90. And you know the rest.
As you can see with the page numbers, these plot points are almost spot-on with the formula I mentioned. This is what I love about scripts and I apply this same technique when I’m plotting novels because it’s effective and keeps my stories moving at what is hopefully a good pace. Everything that happens in between those plot points is intended to build toward the next plot point, and ultimately toward the end.
One more example? How about The Hunger Games? Larry Brooks over at Storyfix.com did an excellent break down of the plot of Hunger Games in .
I suggest you read his post as it’s more in depth, but here’s the gist:
1.ÌýÌýÌýÌý Inciting Incident â€� Katniss volunteers in the reaping
2.ÌýÌýÌýÌý The Lock In/Change of Plans â€� Peeta fabricates a romantic relationship with Katniss for the sake of viewer sympathy and Katniss agrees to play along
3.ÌýÌýÌýÌý The Point of No Return â€� Katniss enters the arena
4.ÌýÌýÌýÌý Major Setback â€� After the announcement that there can be two winners, Katniss reunites with Peeta, who is seriously injured
5.ÌýÌýÌýÌý Climax/Twist â€� Katniss and Peeta survive the mutts, defeat Cato, and pull the berry stunt
(Mind you Mr. Brooks’s terminology is different from mine. I recommend you research a number of different sources until you find a set of information that makes sense to you).
How I apply all this information to plotting my own story
First, I start with an empty template like this and fill it in. This is the most basic form of an outline.
1 � Inciting Incident:
2 � The Lock In/Change of Plans:
3 � Point of No Return:
4 � Major Setback:
5 � Climax/Twist:
After I’ve identified those major parts of my story, I expand my outline to include each chapter of the book. I allow myself twenty chapters as a general framework. This may be different if you prefer shorter chapters.
Okay, let’s say I’m doing twenty chapters, I know my second turning point needs to happen by chapter five. Using that idea, I fill in my list of plot points. After that, I make a list of the main “thing� that happens in each of the proposed twenty chapters in between the plot points I have already plugged in.
Chapters:
1 � Inciting Incident (I would put the actual incident here)
2
3
4
5 � Lock In/Change of Plans
6
7
8
9
10 � Point of No Return
11
12
13
14
15 � Major Setback
16
17
18
19 � Climax
20 � Denouement/Resolution
These are my guidelines and not set in stone. It gives me a framework, which is what an outline is meant to be. Often, things change along the way as I’m writing and I rework my outline to accommodate the new ideas, but I always, always have an outline to keep me on track.
In my latest work, The Offering, I have 22 chapters and an epilogue, so obviously the plot points aren’t exactly where I originally planned them to be, particularly in the second half of the book. But I began with the above framework of twenty chapters and adapted as I went along.
On a creative note, I am always willing to go with the flow once I’m finally writing, and I very often get a better idea once I’m in the process that didn’t occur to me during plotting stages. My outline is not meant to be rigid—it’s a guide. I have to have a general idea of where I’m going in order to begin getting there. If the road changes, I go with it.
Here are some of my favorite resources:
I do quite a bit of pre-writing before I ever start. I use my own tailored version of a method called the Snowflake method. You can learn more about it .
The Script Lab � Plot: Five Key Moments �
The Script Lab � Plot: The Eight Sequences --
Story Mastery Screenplay Structure �
The Screenplay to Twilight � (Mentioned above)
Storyfix � Hunger Games in Nine Sentences � (Mentioned above)
As I said, do your research and figure out what works for you. What I do might not be your cup of tea. I hope this inspires you to think more about how to structure your outlines more purposefully. There are many aspects that go into a great novel, and an outline such as the one I’ve proposed is simply the skeleton of the story. The character arc and development, the emotion, the stakes, the consequences, and the conflict are all necessary as well, but they are built upon the outline/plot.
In scripts it’s all about the plot points, sometimes down to the very page number. A formula if you will. Things can be a bit more flexible in prose, but with the same principles I’ve had pretty good success with writing solid plots that remained fairly set-in even through the various rounds of revisions. So far I’ve never had to do a massive rewrite and I think I owe that largely to my screenwriting roots.
So what do the screenwriters know that we could learn from? I’d love to tell you!
I’m going to go out on a limb and say most of us have watched the movie Twilight. I’m not asking for a show of hands, don’t worry! Whether you love or hate this book and/or movie, it’s a great example because the screenplay for the film perfectly illustrates what I want to show you.
When I’m breaking down a plot, I’m looking for five plot points and those set the foundation for my outline. This concept goes right along with the three act structure. Here’s what it looks like:
·ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Act 1 = the first 25% of your book/script
·ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Act 2 = the middle 50% of your book/script (from 25% mark to 75% mark)
·ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Act 3 = the final 25% of your book/script (from 75% mark to end)
Here’s where the plot points fit into that. (Note: Some people call plot points turning points because they change the story).
1.ÌýÌýÌýÌý “Inciting Incidentâ€� â€� What sets the story in motion, this is your story’s ‘hookâ€� and should occur within the first 10% of your story.
2.ÌýÌýÌýÌý “The Lock In/Change of Plansâ€� â€� Your character becomes committed to a new course of action that sets the stage for the rest of the story. It’s a game-changer. This occurs at the end of Act 1, roughly 25% through your story.
3.ÌýÌýÌýÌý “The Point of No Returnâ€� â€� Also known as your midpoint. There’s no going back now â€� the character has fully accepted the new course for better or worse. This occurs in the middle of act two, 50% through the story.
4.ÌýÌýÌýÌý “Major Setbackâ€� â€� This is where everything finally comes to a head and your hero is faced with his/her final challenge. Everything has led to this final series of events. This begins at 75%.
5.ÌýÌýÌýÌý “Climax/Third Act Twistâ€� â€� This is where you put your final throes, pull out all the stops, and let your characters really have it. This is where you devastate, destroy, and leave your reader on the edge of their seat, worried to death for your character. This is from 90-99% of your story.
So, now that we have that ground work, let’s apply this to the screenplay for Twilight. The script is 103 pages long, so the percentages will be pretty close to the actual the page numbers.
1.ÌýÌýÌýÌý Inciting Incident â€� Bella sees Edward Cullen arrive at the school cafeteria. Page 10. Bam, there’s your hook.
2.ÌýÌýÌýÌý The Lock In/Change of Plans â€� Edward stops the van from crushing Bella. Page 24. Now Bella knows there’s something different about Edward and becomes desperate to find out what.
3.ÌýÌýÌýÌý The Point of No Return â€� Bella has just figured out that Edward is a vampire and confronts him in the woods on page 50. She doesn’t care what kind of danger that puts her in, she’s into Edward and that’s that.
4.ÌýÌýÌýÌý Major Setback â€� Alice flips out in the middle of the baseball game because the bad vampires are coming. This occurs on page 75. On page 76, Edward admits he shouldn’t have brought Bella along, letting us know she’s in grave danger. Then James, Laurent, and Victoria step out of the woods in all their menacing, blood-sucking glory.
5.ÌýÌýÌýÌý Climax/Third Act Twist â€� Bella meets James at the ballet studio on page 90. And you know the rest.
As you can see with the page numbers, these plot points are almost spot-on with the formula I mentioned. This is what I love about scripts and I apply this same technique when I’m plotting novels because it’s effective and keeps my stories moving at what is hopefully a good pace. Everything that happens in between those plot points is intended to build toward the next plot point, and ultimately toward the end.
One more example? How about The Hunger Games? Larry Brooks over at Storyfix.com did an excellent break down of the plot of Hunger Games in .
I suggest you read his post as it’s more in depth, but here’s the gist:
1.ÌýÌýÌýÌý Inciting Incident â€� Katniss volunteers in the reaping
2.ÌýÌýÌýÌý The Lock In/Change of Plans â€� Peeta fabricates a romantic relationship with Katniss for the sake of viewer sympathy and Katniss agrees to play along
3.ÌýÌýÌýÌý The Point of No Return â€� Katniss enters the arena
4.ÌýÌýÌýÌý Major Setback â€� After the announcement that there can be two winners, Katniss reunites with Peeta, who is seriously injured
5.ÌýÌýÌýÌý Climax/Twist â€� Katniss and Peeta survive the mutts, defeat Cato, and pull the berry stunt
(Mind you Mr. Brooks’s terminology is different from mine. I recommend you research a number of different sources until you find a set of information that makes sense to you).
How I apply all this information to plotting my own story
First, I start with an empty template like this and fill it in. This is the most basic form of an outline.
1 � Inciting Incident:
2 � The Lock In/Change of Plans:
3 � Point of No Return:
4 � Major Setback:
5 � Climax/Twist:
After I’ve identified those major parts of my story, I expand my outline to include each chapter of the book. I allow myself twenty chapters as a general framework. This may be different if you prefer shorter chapters.
Okay, let’s say I’m doing twenty chapters, I know my second turning point needs to happen by chapter five. Using that idea, I fill in my list of plot points. After that, I make a list of the main “thing� that happens in each of the proposed twenty chapters in between the plot points I have already plugged in.
Chapters:
1 � Inciting Incident (I would put the actual incident here)
2
3
4
5 � Lock In/Change of Plans
6
7
8
9
10 � Point of No Return
11
12
13
14
15 � Major Setback
16
17
18
19 � Climax
20 � Denouement/Resolution
These are my guidelines and not set in stone. It gives me a framework, which is what an outline is meant to be. Often, things change along the way as I’m writing and I rework my outline to accommodate the new ideas, but I always, always have an outline to keep me on track.
In my latest work, The Offering, I have 22 chapters and an epilogue, so obviously the plot points aren’t exactly where I originally planned them to be, particularly in the second half of the book. But I began with the above framework of twenty chapters and adapted as I went along.
On a creative note, I am always willing to go with the flow once I’m finally writing, and I very often get a better idea once I’m in the process that didn’t occur to me during plotting stages. My outline is not meant to be rigid—it’s a guide. I have to have a general idea of where I’m going in order to begin getting there. If the road changes, I go with it.
Here are some of my favorite resources:
I do quite a bit of pre-writing before I ever start. I use my own tailored version of a method called the Snowflake method. You can learn more about it .
The Script Lab � Plot: Five Key Moments �
The Script Lab � Plot: The Eight Sequences --
Story Mastery Screenplay Structure �
The Screenplay to Twilight � (Mentioned above)
Storyfix � Hunger Games in Nine Sentences � (Mentioned above)
As I said, do your research and figure out what works for you. What I do might not be your cup of tea. I hope this inspires you to think more about how to structure your outlines more purposefully. There are many aspects that go into a great novel, and an outline such as the one I’ve proposed is simply the skeleton of the story. The character arc and development, the emotion, the stakes, the consequences, and the conflict are all necessary as well, but they are built upon the outline/plot.
August 14, 2014
GIVEAWAY & NEW RELEASE: Transgression: A Short Story (Sovereign Series)
Transgression: A Short Story (Sovereign Series)There is nothing that can drive a man like the need to be acknowledged. There is nothing as dangerous as the desire to be appreciated, if not loved. There is nothing as complicated as family.
Before there was Antius, before there were mind-altering drugs, and before there was Corinne Cole, there was Nathan Burke and his colossal Transgression.Ìý
Transgression delivers the must-read story of the fall of civilization through the eyes of Sovereign's most-hated villain. It is the first of three short prequels to the bestselling Sovereign Series and is best enjoyed as a sequel.
Buy Transgression Ìý |ÌýÌýÌý | ÌýÌý |ÌýÌýÌý |ÌýÌýÌý ÌýÌý Want to win signed Sovereign Series Paperbacks?ÌýEnter below!
August 7, 2014
COVER REVEAL: UNSPEAKABLE by Michelle K. Pickett
I love when my author friends have new releases and I'm excited to celebrate this upcoming release with my friend Michelle Pickett! Check out this beautiful cover and make sure to put Unspeakable on your TBR list on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ and pick it up in February!
-ER
COVER REVEAL: UNSPEAKABLE by Michelle K. Pickett Ìý
Genre: Mature Young Adult Contemporary Romance (Realistic Fiction) Publisher: Clean Teen Publishing Release Date: February 10, 2015 Ìý Å·±¦ÓéÀÖÌýBook Giveaway
Ìý Ìý Ìý Unspeakable byÌýMichelle K. Pickett Giveaway ends September 30, 2014. See theÌýgiveaway detailsÌýat Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. Enter to win Ìý We are excited to share with you the official cover reveal of UNSPEAKABLE by Michelle K. Pickett. UNSPEAKABLE is a young adult contemporary romance that is scheduled to release in February of 2015. Check out more information below and make sure to add it to your TBR List!Ìý Summary from Good Reads:
Ìý
“Breathe. No one will break me. I’m strong. Breathe. Just breathe.�
On the outside, Willow appears to have it all. She’s beautiful, smart, from an influential family, and she dates the most popular guy in school—Jaden. But she would walk away from it all in a second. Willow is tormented by lies and suffocating guilt, not the hearts and flowers people believe her life is full of.Ìý She carries a dark secret. Plagued by nightmares and pain, the secret dominates her life. If she hadn’t walked away. If she had justâ€� but she didn’t. And now she has to live with her choices. But when someone uncovers her family’s past, they use it against her, crushing her spirit little by little. She tells herself she just has to make it to graduation. Then she can leave Middleton, and her secret, far behind. When Brody transfers to Cassidy High, he turns Willow’s life upside down. He shows her what it feels like to live again, really live. And suddenly, she isn’t satisfied with just surviving until graduation. She wants a normal life—with Brody—and he wants her. But the closer they become, the more it threatens to unravel the secret she’s worked so hard to hide. Willow finds true love with Brody. Will she let his love save her, or walk away from him to keep her secret safe? Ìý ABOUT MICHELLE K. PICKETT: Michelle is the bestselling author of the young adult novel “PODs.â€� She was born and raised in Flint, Michigan, but now lives in a sleepy suburb outside Houston with her extremely supportive husband, three school-aged children, a 125 pound “lap dog,â€� and a very snooty cat. Red Bull or Monster Khaos are her coffee of choice, and she can’t write without peanut butter M&Ms and a hoodie. A hopeful romantic; she loves a swoon-worthy ending that will give her butterflies for days. She writes across genres in the young adult and new adult age groups. She loves to hear from her readers. Michelle signed her new young adult contemporary novelâ€� Unspeakable, with Clean Teen Publishing in 2014.Ìý Keep up-to-date on her current and future projects at Ìý More from Clean Teen Publishing: ÌýBe the first to know about our giveaways, new releases, cover reveals and more!Ìý!Ìý Ìý
Ìý Ìý
-ER
COVER REVEAL: UNSPEAKABLE by Michelle K. Pickett Ìý
Genre: Mature Young Adult Contemporary Romance (Realistic Fiction) Publisher: Clean Teen Publishing Release Date: February 10, 2015 Ìý Å·±¦ÓéÀÖÌýBook Giveaway
Ìý Ìý Ìý Unspeakable byÌýMichelle K. Pickett Giveaway ends September 30, 2014. See theÌýgiveaway detailsÌýat Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ. Enter to win Ìý We are excited to share with you the official cover reveal of UNSPEAKABLE by Michelle K. Pickett. UNSPEAKABLE is a young adult contemporary romance that is scheduled to release in February of 2015. Check out more information below and make sure to add it to your TBR List!Ìý Summary from Good Reads:
Ìý
“Breathe. No one will break me. I’m strong. Breathe. Just breathe.�
On the outside, Willow appears to have it all. She’s beautiful, smart, from an influential family, and she dates the most popular guy in school—Jaden. But she would walk away from it all in a second. Willow is tormented by lies and suffocating guilt, not the hearts and flowers people believe her life is full of.Ìý She carries a dark secret. Plagued by nightmares and pain, the secret dominates her life. If she hadn’t walked away. If she had justâ€� but she didn’t. And now she has to live with her choices. But when someone uncovers her family’s past, they use it against her, crushing her spirit little by little. She tells herself she just has to make it to graduation. Then she can leave Middleton, and her secret, far behind. When Brody transfers to Cassidy High, he turns Willow’s life upside down. He shows her what it feels like to live again, really live. And suddenly, she isn’t satisfied with just surviving until graduation. She wants a normal life—with Brody—and he wants her. But the closer they become, the more it threatens to unravel the secret she’s worked so hard to hide. Willow finds true love with Brody. Will she let his love save her, or walk away from him to keep her secret safe? Ìý ABOUT MICHELLE K. PICKETT: Michelle is the bestselling author of the young adult novel “PODs.â€� She was born and raised in Flint, Michigan, but now lives in a sleepy suburb outside Houston with her extremely supportive husband, three school-aged children, a 125 pound “lap dog,â€� and a very snooty cat. Red Bull or Monster Khaos are her coffee of choice, and she can’t write without peanut butter M&Ms and a hoodie. A hopeful romantic; she loves a swoon-worthy ending that will give her butterflies for days. She writes across genres in the young adult and new adult age groups. She loves to hear from her readers. Michelle signed her new young adult contemporary novelâ€� Unspeakable, with Clean Teen Publishing in 2014.Ìý Keep up-to-date on her current and future projects at Ìý More from Clean Teen Publishing: ÌýBe the first to know about our giveaways, new releases, cover reveals and more!Ìý!Ìý Ìý
Ìý Ìý
July 31, 2014
COVER REVEAL! Transgression: A Short Story (Sovereign Series)
Cover Reveal
Transgression: A Short Story
(Sovereign Series)
by E.R. Arroyo
Ìý Ìý ÌýThere is nothing that can drive a man like the need to be acknowledged. There is nothing as dangerous as the desire to be appreciated, if not loved. There is nothing as complicated as family.
Ìý Ìý ÌýBefore there was Antius, before there were mind-altering drugs, and before there was Corinne Cole, there was Nathan Burke and his colossal Transgression.Ìý
Ìý Ìý ÌýTransgression delivers the must-read story of the fall of civilization through the eyes of Sovereign's most-hated villain. It is the first of three short prequels to the bestselling Sovereign Series and is best enjoyed as a sequel.
()
Release Date: August 15
Add to Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ
If you haven't read The Sovereign Series yet, there's plenty of time to pick the novels up before Transgression releases, and Sovereign is FREE!
SovereignÌý
**(FREE)**
Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ
Ìý
Ìý
The Offering
Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ
Ìý
Ìý
E.R. Arroyo’s Links:
Ìý|ÌýÌýÌý |ÌýÌýÌý |ÌýÌýÅ·±¦ÓéÀÖ
About E.R. Arroyo Ìý Ìý Ìý
Ìý Ìý ÌýAn entertainment junkie, E.R. Arroyo is equally passionate about books, music, and movies. Her favorite title is “mommyâ€� and she loves to dabble in all-natural health, wellness, and homemade beauty products.ÌýHer bestselling debut novel, Sovereign, was published in 2012. She can’t wait to share more of her stories, and she loves to hear from readers!
Transgression: A Short Story
(Sovereign Series)
by E.R. Arroyo
Ìý Ìý ÌýThere is nothing that can drive a man like the need to be acknowledged. There is nothing as dangerous as the desire to be appreciated, if not loved. There is nothing as complicated as family.
Ìý Ìý ÌýBefore there was Antius, before there were mind-altering drugs, and before there was Corinne Cole, there was Nathan Burke and his colossal Transgression.Ìý
Ìý Ìý ÌýTransgression delivers the must-read story of the fall of civilization through the eyes of Sovereign's most-hated villain. It is the first of three short prequels to the bestselling Sovereign Series and is best enjoyed as a sequel.
()
Release Date: August 15Add to Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ
If you haven't read The Sovereign Series yet, there's plenty of time to pick the novels up before Transgression releases, and Sovereign is FREE!
SovereignÌý**(FREE)**
Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ
Ìý
Ìý
The OfferingÅ·±¦ÓéÀÖ
Ìý
Ìý
E.R. Arroyo’s Links:
Ìý|ÌýÌýÌý |ÌýÌýÌý |ÌýÌýÅ·±¦ÓéÀÖ
About E.R. Arroyo Ìý Ìý ÌýÌý Ìý ÌýAn entertainment junkie, E.R. Arroyo is equally passionate about books, music, and movies. Her favorite title is “mommyâ€� and she loves to dabble in all-natural health, wellness, and homemade beauty products.ÌýHer bestselling debut novel, Sovereign, was published in 2012. She can’t wait to share more of her stories, and she loves to hear from readers!
June 26, 2014
In Praise of The Fault
I'm going to make a confession. I didn't want to read this book. I had a friend telling me how great it was for quite a while and I just didn't want to hear it. It's a cancer book -- that's all I thought. There's enough real life in my real life, thank you very much.And then another friend read it and she told me as a young adult author, I HAD to read this book -- that it was a matter of literary importance. How could I argue with that?
So I bought the book, and I read the book, and I laughed and cried over the book. And to my surprise, I don't regret it.
Yes, it's a cancer book and it's very sad. BUT ... BUT it's not about cancer. I didn't believe the people who told me that, but it's true. It's about these amazing, intelligent, spirited, unique, and witty teens who come to love each other fiercely and in the process win the hearts of readers.ÌýAnd I tell you this, I have been effectively swooned by Augustus Waters.
There are so many things I could ramble about that I loved in this book. The fact that the characters were smart and quirky and they reminded me so much of myself at that age. The fact that the writing style was refreshing and wonderful -- just plain GREAT writing. The dialogue ... oh the dialogue was remarkable. THIS made me proud to be a young adult author. This showed an incredible respect for teenagers, especially those who are the exception. Teens who are smart and quirky and special. Teens who GET life even in their young, naive, and sometimes small ways.
Another aspect of this book that I feel is worthy of praise is this: Hazel and Augustus have great parents. So often in YA, the main characters are often victims of dysfunctional families and/or absentee/neglectful parents. That's no insult to other authors -- I've done this often myself. But it's rare and beautiful to see teen characters fall in love without sneaking around to grope each other while their parents are none the wiser. ÌýNot so in this case. Hazel's parents were great. Gus's parents were great. That alone made the story so incredibly uplifting despite its obvious sadness. As a new parent myself, this meant so much to me to see in a YA book. You CAN be a remarkable teen -- a remarkable main character -- without your parents being villains or missing in action. I love that. Thank you, John Green, so much for that.Ìý
Gus and Hazel are flawed and beautiful, and depict so perfectly the notion of soul mates because this is real life: you fight, you screw up, you have goals that aren't realistic, you might be naive, things matter to you that shouldn't. But that one special person, with all their equal and parallel faults, will still GET you and LOVE you come hell or high water -- come cancer and dying. And that's beautiful.Ìý
I want love like Hazel and Gus, though I'd like mine to last quite a while longer.
June 11, 2014
Band of Dystopian Authors and Fans - New Group!
Last week a friend, Cheer, and I started with the purpose of connecting authors and fans of dystopian fiction. We wanted to create a space where people could discuss books they love and find new books to love as well.
So far, we have had some awesome discussions and we've learned about some great dystopian novels.ÌýHoping for much more to come!
Join the group and use it however is comfortable for you. You can engage in the discussions or simply peruse for your next great read.
We are open to readers, bloggers, reviewers, and authors.
Authors, if you want to know more about what's to come and how to get involved, please join the group and reach out to me via private message. We'd love to have you all.
We're barely a week old and we've already passed 250 members! To celebrate, we're giving away a $10 Amazon gift card. All you have to do to earn entries is join the group and invite other fans of dystopian fiction to join!Ìý
VisitÌýto enter.
So far, we have had some awesome discussions and we've learned about some great dystopian novels.ÌýHoping for much more to come!
Join the group and use it however is comfortable for you. You can engage in the discussions or simply peruse for your next great read.
We are open to readers, bloggers, reviewers, and authors.
Authors, if you want to know more about what's to come and how to get involved, please join the group and reach out to me via private message. We'd love to have you all.
We're barely a week old and we've already passed 250 members! To celebrate, we're giving away a $10 Amazon gift card. All you have to do to earn entries is join the group and invite other fans of dystopian fiction to join!ÌýVisitÌýto enter.
May 25, 2014
Blog Tour & Giveaway
Ìý The Offering went on a small tour this week and got some wonderful reviews AND there's still plenty of time for you to win this awesome handmade bookish necklace. So check out these reviews and enter the giveaway! Open until May 31st. Giveaway
May 5, 2014
Cori, Tyce, & Dylan Teasers - CHARACTER CONTEST (w/ Prizes!)
Character Contest
Pick Your Prize Extravaganza Ìý I am so excited to share these character teasers with you. The incredible has helped bring Cori, Tyce, and Dylan to life -- Thank you so much Naj!
The unveiling of the three characters who have dominated so much of my life for the last two years calls for a lot of fun and prizes! I'm holding a massive contest on Facebook that I invite you all to come over and participate in!
Ìý
Ìý It is my great honor to present .... the cast of The Sovereign Series. 
Thank you Samantha Kurtz Photography for allowing the use ofÌý
Nicole Fancher's headshot for the Cori promo! Check out Samantha's
Pick Your Prize Extravaganza Ìý I am so excited to share these character teasers with you. The incredible has helped bring Cori, Tyce, and Dylan to life -- Thank you so much Naj!
The unveiling of the three characters who have dominated so much of my life for the last two years calls for a lot of fun and prizes! I'm holding a massive contest on Facebook that I invite you all to come over and participate in!
Ìý
Ìý It is my great honor to present .... the cast of The Sovereign Series. Thank you Samantha Kurtz Photography for allowing the use ofÌýNicole Fancher's headshot for the Cori promo! Check out Samantha's
April 30, 2014
April 28, 2014
Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi | Book Review
Juliette now knows she may be the only one who can stop the Reestablishment. But to take them down, she’ll need the help of the one person she never thought she could trust: Warner. And as they work together, Juliette will discover that everything she thought she knew � about Warner, her abilities, and even Adam � was wrong.Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
(Shatter Me, #3)
YA Dystopian/Paranormal
4 Stars OVERALL:ÌýIt has taken me a month to get around to writing this review, mostly because I just wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I adore this series and this author. The book left me very satisfied where the love story was concerned, but everything else may have slightly underwhelmed. As Mafi’s book always are,ÌýIgnite MeÌýwas incredibly easy to fly through, very engaging, and entertaining. Great fun, good characters. Well worth the read.
REVIEW:ÌýThe Shatter Me series has finally come to a close, and what a fun ride it has been! If you’ve read my reviews of the other books in this series, you know I adore it. Mafi has the most unique writing style I’ve ever seen. Visceral, exhilarating, and memorable.
Juliette is finally ready to fight back against the reestablishment, and she’ll need the help of Warner, the oh-so-swoon-worthy antagonist from the first book, not-so-antagonistic-after-all in the second book as well as the novella, Destroy Me, of which he was the POV character. Not going to lie, I adore Warner, baggage, flaws, and gorgeousness included.
Ignite Me finished up the series in a shocking turn of events that really, really made me a happy camper. In fact, I was a happy camper for most of the book. But, sadly, when the end came, something felt hollow and I had to take time to consider why that was. Things were revealed, particularly with a specific character who had powers stronger than originally thought. As a result I began putting together clues that I thought were intended as foreshadowing. I pictured this huge battle where Juliette joined her talents with someone in particular, and together they would create an X-men-worthy final stand together. It was going to be epic.
But here’s where things went wrong. That moment never came, nothing even close. Things panned out way too pleasantly, making me feel like Mafi was being slightly indulgent, and was very easy on dishing out hard times to her characters. I am treading lightly so as not to include a spoiler, but I will say on a character level, on a romance level, this book was perfect. On a big-picture plot level, I wanted much more.
(Oh, and for the recordâ€� Kenji might be the best YA character ever, what a great job she did on hisÌývoice.)
FINAL THOUGHTS:ÌýIf you are a fan of The Shatter Me Series, you don’t want to miss this book. While I found the end underwhelming, I needed to know what happened to these awesome characters, and I’m so glad I stuck around to find out. Sorry to see this series come to an end, it has certainly been one of my very favorites.
Review originally appeared on GliteraryGirl.com
