NaNoWriMo 2013 Post #3

Although this is my third NaNoWriMo post, this is the first one during NaNoWriMo.  It has begun.

I was in Spain during the 1st and the 2nd of November and found it surprisingly stress-free to hand write my words for each day.  I hit my target of 2,000 (I need those extra 300-400 words a day to keep away from the exact word count.  I have to be ahead!) both days without much hassle.  My friend helped me work out where was best to start and then I was off.

Counting it up at the end of each page so I didn't have to do it all in one go though, was very irritating.

The real challenge was yesterday, the 3rd.  I arrived home late on the 2nd and unpacked everything but that was just the very beginning of my list of stuff to do.  I read three books on holiday meaning I had three more reviews to write (which I still haven't done - they're coming, just slowly, it is WriMo after all) to add to the two that are still unwritten from before I left.  So now my reviews to write are totalling five - the most I've had to write since I decided to do them.  I also read through the beginning of the novel I finished in October and have a few changes to make to it before the big print out.  I had to put my holiday photos on my laptop and send them to my friend.  I had to sort out my word count on NaNoWriMo.org.

I had to write this blog post.  I wanted to track my progress so that's what I'm going to do.

I had to write up my words from holiday.  (This is coming along in bits and pieces which makes it even worse trying to work out my word count).

I had to do my words for that day.  And today I have to do my words for the 4th.

It's strange how I thought this year would be easiest.  Last year I had work on Friday nights, Sixth Form on the weekdays and tons of homework to do in my spare time and I still got it done.  This year I've got none of that going on.  I go to the lovely writing community - Movellas www.movellas.com - where I intern on Tuesdays and Thursdays but that's it.  And there I write a lot on my train journey into London.

This shouldn't be so hard.

I think it's getting into the swing of things that's the trouble here.  Being in Spain and having some stuff to sort out now I'm back means I haven't had a very good writing routine.

But I am a very driven person.  I would go as far as saying I'm scared of failure.  So that means I will write 2,000 words every day regardless.  Because I will not admit defeat.

I'm coming to get you, Wrimo.

Molly Looby

Author / Wrimo / Editor / Reviewer / Writing Coach / ZA Ready

15 Ace Quotes

NaNoWriMo 2013 Post #2

So November's coming up fast.  Not long now.

You'll be pleased to know my novel idea is growing by the day and I couldn't be more excited about bringing the characters to life.

That's not why I'm posting today.  Today I'm sharing my fundraising page so I can help NaNoWriMo reach it's goal so it can stay for years and years and years.  I couldn't imagine November without NaNoWriMo.

NaNoWriMo is an amazing cause helping thousands of writers to discover their potential every year.  NaNoWriMo helps me grow as a writer more than the rest of the year as I'm forced to do nothing but write.  It also helps me remember how much I love my craft.

So please give to NaNoWriMo and help thousands of writers realise their dreams:

www.stayclassy.org/nanomollylooby

Thank you,

Molly Looby

Author / Wrimo / Editor / Reviewer / Writing Coach / ZA ready

Have any of your own NaNo stories?  I'd love to hear them.  I'm simply mollylooby on NaNoWriMo.org or contact me here: molly.looby@hotmail.com

15 Pictures About Reading

The House We Grew Up In - Lisa Jewell

A Spoiler Free Bit About the Book

'The House We Grew Up In' follows the Bird family through their very different, very separate lives.  But when they were children they were so very close.  Until one Easter Day when disaster changes their lives forever.

'The House We Grew Up In' follows the characters from their childhoods until their adulthoods, switching from the past to the present to show the reader how everything has come together to bring them all back to the Bird House, the house they grew up in.


My Review

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.  It wasn't that it didn't sound good.  Everyone around me was telling me it was brilliant.  It was because I couldn't remember the last chick lit book I read.  (A check of the bookshelf confirms it was Cecelia Ahern's 'PS, I Love You' which I must of read in '10 or '11).  I'm not a huge fan of chick lit.  Too much pink, too many housewives.  Too predictable.  That's probably because I'm a reader of YA books which contain none of this.  So it takes a really special chick lit book to impress me.  And my god did this book impress me.

I loved the backwards and forwards from the past to the present.  The way we discover things about the family is perfect.  Every chapter we learn something new and understand their situation a little more.  The information is fed to us in such a way that we're always asking for more, but never bored because we've been given too little.

I also enjoyed that we got an insight into all the characters' thoughts and feelings.  As we follow the whole family, it's difficult to say who really is the protagonist of this story.  As the novel continues you feel more and more attached to the characters and end up wishing their lives had gone differently.

There was a lot going on in this novel and for that I was glad.  Each character had their own sub plot within the main plot of the book and I loved hearing about all of them.  I didn't find one sub plot to be tedious or boring, they each added to the story in their own way.

Because of the jumps between narrators, chronology and the way it was all put together, what more can I say but that this book was expertly crafted.


Evaluation

Plot Idea - 5/10 - I didn't expect the family's problems to be as intense as they truly were.

Way Plot Was Pursued - 7/10 - I loved the narrative and chronology jumps.

Characters - 6/10 - I liked them and cared for them but felt distanced by the style at times.

Style - 6/10 - I was immersed into the story but sometimes it felt a bit too reported.

Pace - 8/10 - the story moved on quickly as there was so much to cover.


Would I recommend it? - Yes.  More to women than men.

Would I look up the author? - No.  But I have been given another of Jewell's novels which I plan on reading once my 'to read' pile has decreased a bit.  Although this will not be this year!


'The House We Grew Up In' surprised me and reminded me to not always stick with what you know and try out new styles and genres every once in a while.


Anyone else been reading a new genre recently?  Let me know!

Molly Looby
Author / Wrimo / Reviewer / Editor / Writing Coach / ZA Ready

Contact me about writing, books, vampires, zombies, werewolves and the like here: molly.looby@hotmail.com

NaNoWriMo 2013 Post #1

I never do a chatty blog so what better time to start than the run up to NaNoWriMo 13.  I think I can honestly say that this year I'm more excited about NaNoWriMo than ever before.  In 2011 - which was my first year - I was just petrified the entire time.  In 2012 I was blind to anything else but my forming novel.  This year I'm filled with anticipation.  Maybe it's because I'm rushing to finish the novel I'm currently writing!  God knows if I'll finish it in time.

This year I'm going to write a story that's been in my head close to five years now.  It's gone through many changes since then (plot, characters, genre) but I've never been able to just drop it like other half formed ideas.  I would try and explain the plot to you here but I'll just get carried away.  Also, I want to save some stuff for November.  I'm planning to track my journey as it happens.

NaNoWriMo is the perfect time to procrastinate.

So for those of you WriMos out there, I don't have any buddies on NaNoWriMo.org which is really sad.  I'd love to chat to my fellow WriMos so feel free to add me.  My username is simply: MollyLooby
I'm the one who's written ZA (2011) I Dare You (2012) and my 2013 novel is called Ice Flame - for now.  I have a feeling I'll change it.

So don't be shy!  I'd love to hear your NaNoWriMo tales!

Molly Looby
Author / Wrimo / Editor / Writing Coach / Reviewer / ZA ready

Contact me about writing, reading, NaNoWriMo!, vampires, werewolves, zombies and the like here: molly.looby@hotmail.com

More Than This - Patrick Ness

A Spoiler Free Bit About the Book

A boy drowns.  He dies.  And then he wakes up.

My Review

I adored ‘More Than This’.  If ever there was a book to make you think, this is it.

You are immediately thrust into ‘More Than This’, Ness escaping that awkward getting to know what’s going on phase and plunging the reader straight into the action.  I loved how anonymous ‘the boy’ was, the possibility that it could be anyone.  The realisation that it didn’t matter who he was.  I was amazed that even though I knew almost nothing about the boy, I could still care about him as a character. 

The scattering of memories across the novel is extremely effective as it allows us to never know too much or too little.  Not to mention that the memories are always relevant and always add something to the story immediately.  But what more had I expected from the creator of the phenomenal ‘Chaos Walking’ trilogy?

As the novel continued, I read at any given opportunity just so I could find out more about the boy and this place he’d woken up in.  I had to know more.  There’s an air of mystery surrounding ‘More Than This’ which just further adds to the feeling that you need to keep turning the pages and ask ‘What’s next?  What’s next?’.  This makes it near impossible to put down.

Ness creates an unnerving atmosphere that made me huddle close to the pages and fully immerse myself there.  At times I was blown away by the beautiful description and the way he phrases certain things to really make you stop and think.  Interesting observations of human thoughts and behaviours grow deeper and deeper as you read the novel until you feel cleansed by its conclusion.

As always, I was awestruck by Ness’s pace.  I know of no other writer who uses a dash to such monumental effect.  The chapters are short, making it so easy to pick up and yet impossible to put down.  At times I felt my heart pounding as I was reading as though I was there.  The pace was perfect.

The only possible criticism I could have for ‘More Than This’ is that I felt one too many adverbs were used.  This is because they jump out at me on the page because of my hatred for them and I didn’t think they were all needed.

Evaluation

Plot Idea - 10/10 - Waking up from death is always a fascinating concept.

Way Plot Was Pursued - 10/10 - I never expected where 'More Than This' went.  It shocked me multiple times.

Characters - 10/10 - Perfectly rounded and loveable.  Ness's characters always feel real.

Style - 9/10 - I love Ness's style, I had to mark it down one for the adverbs though.

Pace - 10/10 - Always the perfect pace.

Would I recommend it? - Yes.  Unlike most books, I will recommend this book to everyone, everywhere.

Would I look up the author? - Yes, although I really don't have to.  If you haven't read Ness's 'Chaos Walking' trilogy - you should.

Patrick Ness truly is the master of his craft.

Is there an author you're just crazy about?  Let me know.

Molly Looby

Author / Wrimo / Reviewer / Editor / Writing Coach / ZA Ready

Contact me about writing, books, vampires, zombies, werewolves and the like here: molly.looby@hotmail.com