Reading Round Up

When I started this blog, one of the things I wanted to talk about is books. As a writer it’s important to read, and read a lot. Well I’ve been trying to do just that and I wanted to share two books of which I just finished reading.

The first book I want to talk about is K.M. Weiland’s Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success. This is an excellent read that I would recommend to any author who's on the fence as to whether or not they are a "pantser" or an "outliner". I learned that I am most certainly an outliner, but the thing that this book enforces, that I really like, is that it encourages you to outline creatively, whether that means doodling characters and scenes, mind mapping, or writing your own reviews to gain a sense of your goals.

 A lot of people think outlining will take the va voom out of their writing journey, which for some people it does, but I like how the author approached the outlining process and enforced creatively putting together a rough plan that will keep you on track and help you to avoid writing yourself into a corner. I think this is something I struggle with a lot. After it's all said and done, some of us (like me) just want to go, get started, and light those keys on fire as you blaze through the first draft. Mrs. Weiland encourages readers to slow down a little and scribble out that rough plan in whatever words necessary to get that plan on paper. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read on writing craft.

My Rating (on a scale from 1 to 5): ****

“Writers often look upon outlines with fear and trembling. But when properly understood and correctly used, the outline is one of the most powerful weapons in a writer’s arsenal. With the help of the book Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success, you will learn how to choose the right type of outline for you, brainstorm plot ideas, and discover your characters.”

Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success is published by Pen For A Sword Publishing and is 192 pages in length.

You can find K.M. Weiland's Website here.

 

The second book I finished reading recently is Julie Kagawa's The Iron King. This book started off quite quickly getting to the punch after only a few short chapters. Meghan Chase is a heroine you can root for and totally agree with. The scenery depicted is beautiful and represents each of the faery courts perfectly. The romance aspect of the book didn't come into play until halfway through the book and seemed a little sudden and rushed to me. If I could've made any suggestions, I would've explored that relationship a little further and at least give a little more foundation for Meghan's love interest. Otherwise, this was a pretty riveting read and I would definitely recommend it to anyone into faeries and faery lore.

My Rating: ****

“Megan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan’s life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

 When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she’s known is about to change.

 But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she’ll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.”

The Iron King is published by Harlequin Teen and is 368 pages in length.

You can find The Iron King and other books by Julie Kagawa at her website here.

ISWG 2013!!!

Wow! Sometimes it’s hard to believe another year has come and gone. 2012 was full of so many good and bad memories, but now 2013 stands before us like a clean slate waiting to be utilized. A lot of times when I get new journals, I hate to mar the brand new cleanly, pureness of the pristine white pages, but this year, I plan to make the most of it and so I’m going to mark those pages up until there’s no blank space left! ^^ Okay maybe there will be a little white space in there somewhere, or else I’d probably have trouble reading it, but you get the idea, right? J

Around this time of year, everyone starts making their resolutions about what they’re going to do more of, different, or better. Well…I’m not going to do that. Or rather, I’m not going to make resolutions. I was thinking this morning about resolutions and how I never seem to hear that many people doing anything to accomplish their resolutions. I always hear things like, “Oh well. It’s just a resolution, so it’s okay. At least there’s always next year!” So I’ve come up with a plan. I’m going to write down one goal and the steps it takes to reach that goal, kind of like an outline or a road map, and hang it up somewhere I can see it every day. Studies have shown that people who write down their goals are more likely to accomplish them. Even more so are the ones who put what they wrote somewhere they can see it.

With that in mind, I’d like to share one small goal I’ve set for myself.

My first goal for 2013 is: Complete a full outline for my novel.

I’ve never actually been good at outlining and as such, I’ve avoided them like the plague, but more and more I feel like I really need one. In order to accomplish this goal, I’ve started using index cards to write down scenes that are vital to the plot and organized them into the three different parts I have planned for my book. So far I’ve got a good feeling so we’ll see! ^^

Today is also the first Wednesday of the month so Happy IWSG!!! The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is a wonderful place where writers can share their worries and failures as well as their successes and advice. Led by our fearless leader Alex J. Cavanaugh, IWSG meets the first Wednesday of every month and you can join on his site here.

Thanks for stopping by everyone! Got goals for the New Year? Share them down below in the comments! ^^ J

Happy New Year’s everyone!!! ^^ :D