5K Fever (And A Little About Writing)

I signed up for my second 5K today--the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. It will be April 30 in Rogers, so if you're in the neighborhood and want to watch my face turn flame red (no joke) then drop by. (Also, it's for a good cause.)

I'm trying to raise $100 before the race, so, if you're interested in making a contribution (yes, I'm a donation junkie) go here: bit.ly/i1EIRo


Despite having a race under my belt, I'm a little nervous. My husband has agreed to run with me, and I know that he (and everyone else I know) will leave me in the dust. That's okay, I guess, but I can't help but want to keep up. I've told myself that as long as I meet my time of 34:20 at the previous 5K, I'm good. Heck, it would be GREAT if I could shave a minute or two off of it. I'm going to train like crazy over the next two weeks. 


Okay, now for the writing stuff.


There was a discussion about how the more you learn about craft, the less you're able to ignore "bad" writing in books. Authors that you normally devoured lost their appeal. Errors leapt from the pages, the characters were flat, the plot static. And then you find that the book you loved two, three or five years ago isn't as spectacular as you remembered. 


What do I say to this?


Woohoo!


Maybe it's because I'm an overzealous editor, but I think it proves to a writer just how far they've come when they can find flaws in their past favorites. Sure, it can be annoying and it sort of takes the joy out of reading at times, but here's where I want you to know a little secret: you'll find better books and better authors and once again you'll be that blissfully happy reader. You will just be a special kind of reader: a finnicky one.


As I used to say when I was more arrogant (man, I miss being arrogant): I only read books by authors who can write at least as well as I can. Despite the snootiness of that comment, it's true. If a book is below your own skill (or at least your knowledge of skill), then it's very difficult to make yourself read it. So, you see, you're not becoming a worse reader, you're becoming a better writer!


Write on!

Monday Madness: Not In the Mood

I'm reintroducing Monday Madness, and while I'll certainly try to be helpful, more likely than not it will just be my inane ramblings about what I'm reading or writing at the moment. Enjoy!

I have book binges that totally depend on my mood. If I'm in the mood for something angsty, I'll usually go for YA. If I want an adventure, I'll find something in fantasy. If I want a love story, well, I go for romance, naturally.

Which brings me to a dilemma. What do you do when you're not in the mood?

I have Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher sitting on my coffee table right now. It's a library book, so that means I should get around to reading it soon (like, before it's due back). It's also supposed to be one of those books that will "change your world" so I've been really looking forward to reading it.

I'm just not in the mood. You see, I'm in a pretty good mood this week (mainly due to sunshine and reading Anne McCaffrey's Dragonsong, which was so good) and I'm reluctant to change that. And Thirteen Reasons Why is guaranteed to put me in a not-so-happy mood. I mean, it's about a girl's reasons for committing suicide. Not lighthearted in the least. And I'm one of those weird people who are easily influence by books, movie and music. A sad story, movie or song makes me sad. There's no getting around it. (And it really annoys my husband when I start moping over nothing.)

So, instead of reading the book I was supposed to read, I dug through my bookshelves and found Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which I've read no less than six times. Lol.

I'm sure I'll be in the mood for a serious story soon, and probably force myself to read it just because I hate having to renew my library loans (and also because a less happy part of me really does want to read it) but just not today. Tomorrow doesn't look good either.

What do you do when you're not in the mood? Do you move on or hunker down and read anyway? Please share!

Harry Potter (Belated Banned Book Review)

I was twelve when the first Harry Potter came out.

That's right: twelve.

And I was SO disappointed that I never got my Hogwarts letter. I kept checking my window, hoping that maybe the owl was delayed or had gotten lost and that my letter to the famous school of wizards was on its way. (Never mind that I live in the U.S. and using an owl to fly from Britain to Arkansas would be a form of animal cruelty.) I was seriously obsessed with this book. It opened a whole new world for me. A special world where magic and flying broomsticks secretly existed beside parking meters and burger joints. Looking back on how obsessed I was with these books (and still am obsessed to some degree) I can understand why some parents might flip out.

It's sort of the same thing with Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. It's often misconstrued as a gateway for evil and an encouragement for murder (where they get the connection that rolling dice and slaying dragons equals a desire to pick up a gun and blow your neighbor away...I have no idea). Growing up in the Bible Belt, I dealt with a lot of narrow-mindedness when it came to ANYTHING dealing with magic. I had friends who weren't allowed to watch Beauty and the Beast because the dishes were "possessed." Seriously. So when Harry Potter came out and started a literary fire, I remember all the church officials marching up to my school and demanding that such unholy filth be removed from the reach of innocents.

Nope. Not kidding.

Now, even though I was obsessed (maybe even unhealthily obsessed) with Harry Potter, there are some things a twelve year old understands immediately when she opens a book.

1. It's a book. Therefore, no matter how real the characters/situations feel, it's NOT real.
2. There's a difference between a satanic how-to and a story. Harry Potter is definitely not the former. (Though maybe if you highlight every fourth word every three paragraphs... Nope, gibberish.)
3. Reading a story (or even an instructional how-to) does not mean that you will start a cultish following and start waving wands at people and shouting "Expelliarmus!"

My thoughts? While some people forge into the unknown without a second thought, that same uncertainty scares the beejeezus out of others. Banned books are really about people being afraid; afraid of magic, the Devil or even immorality. And they think that books are powerful tools in conveying such dastardly ideas. But what they don't understand is that even a twelve year old--heck, even an eleven year old--can take what they want from a story and leave the rest.

What I thought was hilarious? At the time they were fighting to keep Harry Potter out of the schools, I discovered a lesbian erotica in the school's library. But there wasn't any magic in it...so I guess it's more appropriate for junior high kids than Harry Potter. ;)

Note: Yes, I was going to do Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings but I haven't had the time or the energy to get to the library. I highly recommend it, however.

Bad Brandi!

OK, so I'm bad. I'm supposed to be rereading The Hobbit, right? Right.

But...

Anne Bishop's Shalador's Lady arrived in the mail Tuesday. I'm happy to admit that I resisted reading it Tuesday. But I didn't read The Hobbit either. Instead, I vegged out in front of the TV.

But yesterday it was calling me. I told myself it was a bad idea. I told myself that if I picked it up and started reading, I wouldn't be able to go back to The Hobbit until I'd finished. Nah, I can read just one chapter, right? Just to get a feel for it, right?

I read 12 chapters last night. And growled when I had to go to sleep. And then I dreamed about reading it. Sad, but true.

And now I just want to get out of here and start reading again. Sigh. But I promise I will finish The Hobbit before I dig into Shiver. I hope, anyway. :)

To be a good writer, you must be a good reader

I love to read. But there's a problem. I am a book-addict. Meaning that once I pick up a book, it's really hard for me to put it down. And I get snarly and snappy when someone tries to pry me away from the story. When you have a fiancee, a dog, a cat (that is recovering from some sort of nightmarish encounter with either a motor, a tire or a large predator), stories to write and a wedding to plan, there's not much time for reading. So, I've compromised.

When I work out, I read. That gives me at least 120 minutes a week (if I use the elliptical) to read. However, it's pretty hard to read when you're moving. I'm getting better at it though.

But what does this have to do with writing? For me, I get so wrapped up in my own stories that they begin to strangle me. I delve too deeply into the technical aspect of the writing and the real reason I'm writing (the story) begins to get murky. Critiquing someone else's story (no matter how well-written the story is) does not draw me out of the abyss, but often pushes me deeper. Because I'm looking at individual words and sentences and asking myself: Does this work? Can it be better? What emotion is this portraying? And the story eventually gets lost as well (which is why I make myself read the piece twice before I comment).

But to read for nothing more than the pleasure of it--ahhh, it's nice. And it serves as a reminder that THIS is why I write. For the joy of a story. For the feel of pages beneath my fingers. The smell of the binding. THIS is what gives me hope for my own works. I still appreciate the technical part of their writing, but that FINALLY takes a backseat to the story. A much needed break. :)