Reading like Crazy

I may not be writing like crazy, but I've been reading like crazy. I think I've read ten books in the last two months.

3 contemporary YA
6 Dystopian YA
1 paranormal YA

This past weekend, I picked up a book I've been stalking for a long time.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay



I love books set during WW2 and this book didn't disappoint.

It was a great break from all the dystopian novels, not that I don't love them, but I needed a break.

What about you? Do you find you need a break from certain kinds of novels?

PS: There's a great contest over at Monica's Love YA blog, all you have to do is follow her, go check it out.

Just wait five minutes

They have a saying where I live, "If you don't like the weather wait five minutes."

Last Wednesday my soccer game began with a bright sunny sky and a slight breeze (just enough to keep the mosquitos away). Then the wind started blowing and our bright sky became menacing black clouds. Right before half it started to pour. I'm talking, I have to wipe the water out of my eyes so I can see. My bra and underwear were both soaked. Next came the lightening, followed by the thunder. They decided to suspend the game until the weather cleared.

The other team ran to their cars, but my team huddled under a tarp in the middle of the field.(Yeah I know, in hindsight, not too smart). While under the tarp, the rain turned to hail, and then to our surprise just when we thought the sun was going to come out again, we saw funnel clouds to the west of us. A tornado was forming and being the novice tornado people that we are, we stood there and watched.

Eventually the clouds disappeared, the sun came out, and we were all ready to play, except our time had expired and the next two teams were waiting to play.

Just to be clear on the time line, all those weather changes happened in 30 minutes and a tornado did touch down just west of us.

What does this have to do with writing? Well, if you don't like what you wrote, step back and wait then try again and you might just have a completely different perspective, but don't wait too long or you might find yourself out of the game (so to speak).

Question: Does time away from your project make you like it more? And do you think that it's possible to take too much time away from a project?

5 reasons I know I'm reading a good book

1. My kids have to call me Patti to get my attention

2. My husband announces that the booklore monster is back

3. I suddenly have to go the bathroom a lot

4. I can't sleep at night because my neck hurts too much from reading

5. I sneak out of my mother in law's wedding reception to read a few chapters.

How do you know you're reading a good book?

Taking Your Own Advice

For the past couple of weeks I've had some major bouts of self doubt. I said to my husband that I don't think I'm progressing. I'm not getting any better as a writer or a soccer player or a cook (my baking just isn't what it used to be).

Then I taught my primary class on Sunday about the Parable of the Talents and we talked about how even though we're all given talents we have to work hard in order to develop them then it hit me. I've been burying my talent in the ground. (Please note: I use the term talent loosely) I often think that I'm not writing as often as I should be in order to get better. I'm not running as hard as I can in order to get faster. I'm not baking enough to . . . (well maybe that one is okay).My talents don't seem to be growing.

After Sunday I've tried to do better. Monday I went for a run and tried to run faster. I worked on my query today. Tomorrow I'm hoping to write another chapter of my WIP.

I guess all you can do is keep trying and dig up your talents when you feel like you've been hiding them for a while.

Good News All Around

Last week I took some time off and boy did I miss a lot. There was good news all around the blog sphere. Karen Hooper got a book deal, Natalie Whipple announced a book deal. Congratulations to both.

And here I thought things slowed down in the summer.

Both ladies are great examples of hard work paying off, which just gives me further motivation.

How about you do you get motivated when you hear about someone getting a book deal?

I had a thought which led to a question

As I was enduring my run this morning I was pondering about whether I should go back and fix a chapter on my current WIP or just keep writing. I know, it's the age old question. Then a thought occurred to me.

Since I'm a pantser I shouldn't go back and rewrite a scene, because I'm not sure that scene will even stay in the novel. So I decided not to rewrite sections, instead I write notes on what I should change or add.

This lead me wonder. If I were a planner would I be more apt to edit as I go?

So here's my question:

Do you think there is any correlation between being a pantser or a plotter and how you write your first draft?

BTW: Happy 4th of July

Another reason we need books part 2

One of the main reasons I like to go on vacation is to get away from the phone, tv, computer, internet etc. In this digital age it's nice to really unplug, not just from my blog but from all of it.

On my last post, I put up a link to an article that I found really interesting. I don't blame you if you didn't read it, because it was long and frankly when I'm reading blogs I don't often click on links that I'm not extremely interested in.

Basically what the author of the article was saying was that books are becoming one of the few things left that allow our minds to be free of all the noise that surrounds us.

It's hard to admit, but we all sense it: it is becoming almost physically harder to read books.

I think most of us have this sense today, if we are honest. If you read a book with your laptop thrumming at the other side of the room, it can feel like trying to read with a heavy metal band shrieking in front of you. To read, you need to slow down. You need mental silence except for the words. That's getting harder to find.

I know for myself I go through spurts. I can read five books in a month or not read anything for five months, but I also know that I rarely regret opening up the pages of a book, but there are lots of times I regret how much time I spend on my computer.

Here are some of my other favorite quotes from the article:

And here's the function that the book -- the paper book that doesn't beep or flash or link or let you watch a thousand videos all at once -- does for you that nothing else will. It gives you the capacity for deep, linear concentration.

An e-book reader that does a lot will not, in the end, be a book.

T.S. Eliot called books "the still point of the turning world." He was right. It turns out, in the age of super-speed broadband we need dead trees to have living minds.

Since tomorrow is Canada Day up here in the Great White (Green now) North and Monday is the 4th of July down there, I'll catch up with you guys on Tuesday. Hope everyone has a great long weekend wherever you are.