You know, once you comment with some ideas.

…so let’s make this quick. I wanted to blog about the positive aspects of being a writer–things you learn, things you do, things you are, etc. We hear way too many times about the negative parts of writer-dom–isolation, over consumption of sugary drinks and/or food, obsession with writing, anger with writing, adoration of writing, etc.–so I feel the need to bring a little positivity into this disscussion.

1. Writers understand POV and how it is important in life. I’ve written many stories and even a novel from alternating POVs, and one thing you learn very quickly is the miracle that is opinion. I always find it fascinating, as I blogged about in yesterday’s post, how one simply issue can be presented, and two different people can have completely different opinions of it. Writing the same incident in many POVs opens your eyes to this–and honestly, since I started writing like this, I feel as if it’s easier to understand where people are coming from when they present an opinion radically different from my own opinion. Important life skill? I think yes.
2. Writers know how to take criticism. All right, all right; I’ll admit that I’m still working on this one myself. But something I’ve learned through sharing my writing with others is that what works for you may seem ridiculous and stupid to another reader and/or writer. It’s extremely important for writers to learn to open up and share their WIPs. I mean, what is writing without an audience? That said, though, it always hurts inside to have your beloved story and characters ripped apart at the seams–analyzed, perfected, even thrown out all together…I’ve seen it all. I remember that, when working on one of my older stories, the main character was written with a very similar outlook on life as mine. When my best friend and alpha reader told me she didn’t like the character, it felt like a deliberate strike at me. I’m beginning to learn, though, that this is the business. If you can’t take criticism, you’re not cut out for it.
3. Writers get the best kind of escape. I’ll be the first to say that, although I love my life, I live a rather boring existence. Writing–whether about worlds similar or vastly different than my own, about characters alike myself or radically different than me–allows me to escape. I get to look past the suckage of every day life and slip into the mind of someone else. I always like to make the comparison of being a writer to being a dictator; when you’re a writer, you have absolute power over your own fictional world. It feels good, being empowered. You get a chance to live the life you’ll never live.

LINGER
Maggie Stiefvater

Okay, okay–it’s no secret that Maggie is pretty much my idol. She does everything I love–she’s a musician, artist, and writer, all at once–while being undisputeably awesome. So it’s no wonder that I love her books regardless of my crush on her life and talents. I mean, how could you not? Maggie is da boss.

So anyway, LINGER picks up where SHIVER left off. The first thing I noticed was that it’s written differently, in first-person, past-tense rather than first-person, present-tense. I love the variety. The next thing I notice is that it’s told in four alternating POV’s instead of two. Four. Wow. That’s a big number, and yet Maggie manages to pull it off with the professional and engaging style she’s so good at.

The reason this difficult style works so well for Maggie is something she’s blogged about before: the contrast between her characters. You’ve got Sam and Grace, one a creative soul and the other practical minded; Grace and Isabel, one sensible and reserved and the other not afraid to say what she’s thinking or lash out. This use of contrast is great for highlighting strengths and weaknesses of characters, and it makes you feel as if you can really relate to the people in her stories.

Another thing I loved about LINGER was the fluidity of the story–how the entire thing was pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle, with pieces from each character’s POV, and yet the different POV’s made the story richer by showing you different views on the same topic. It amazed me how vastly different two characters, Sam and Cole, can feel about being a werewolf: one views it as an escape from the hardships of life, and the other as a curse that turns him into a monster. This whole contrasting-opinions thing is a wonderful life lesson as well as a great way for us to get to know the characters.

All in all? LINGER was a fantastic read. I loved it more than SHIVER, honestly. 5 stars FTW.

I am already behind, though, by two entries. This means that, at least twice, I’ll have to do multiple posts a day. As they say in Jamaica, “No problem, mon.” S’all good. I love blogging here, and this little pledge just gives me more of an incentive to do so.

The next day, we woke up and docked at the also gorgeous St. Thomas, another mountainous island with wondrous beaches and a great reputation. The boat had docked at 6:30 AM, but we’d all had late nights, so we chose to get off the boat at 9:00 AM. It turns out the island is even more beautiful from the shoreline; when we took a taxi to the beach, the driver stopped on the mountain side. It was fantastic.

The beach itself was beautiful, too. We didn’t have as long a day to spend at the beach as we did for St. Maarten, but we still amused overselves. I mean, how couldn’t one have fun on the practically wave-less (and perfect for swimming or lounging in the water) ocean at Magen’s Bay? I frankly don’t know the answer to that question, and I hope I never have to find out.

The next day, we arrived in the awesome (and just as beautiful, but I might explode if I use the word “beautiful” again) Grand Turk, which is part of the Turks & Caicos. This island was memorable because we had the wonderful opportunity to snorkel and play with sting-rays! Now, I realize that that last bit may sound insane to the unadventurous types, but it really isn’t all that crazy. These sting-rays were used to seeing and greeting humans, and in all honestly, sting-rays only sting if you step on their tails once they’re buried in the sand.

The divemaster’s suggestion was to shuffle our feet in the sand to prevent this.

The snorkeling was great. I saw your typical Caribbean specimen: angel fish, parrot fish, those little zebra-colored ones whose name I cannot remember off the top of my head. I also had to privilege of seeing not one, not two, not three, but four cuttlefish! Cuttlefish are tiny little squids; they aren’t particularly rare, but it’s pretty cool to see them…and even cooler to be able to identify them. We saw four, and they were lingering in a perfect line formation just for us. T’was very cool. No pics, though, since I don’t have an underwater camera.

And, I can honestly say that I kissed a sting-ray, and I liked it! (Joke courtesy of Aaron, my travel buddy.)

Yeah. Honestly, that’s about the end of our cruise experience. All that I have left to mention is that we ate at the wonderful Harry’s Steakhouse twice during our trip, and it was well worth the extra money. The food, between the lobster and filet mignon, was great…I think we were served by a combination of, like, 8 different waiters. It was a great experience in itself.

Cruises? I like them.

Anyway, we began the voyage by going to Miami. From the main port in Miami, the Liberty took off. It was quite beautiful, watching the city slip out of view.

Our first day aboard was a rather exciting one; we woke up to the ship-wide announcement, “Bravo, bravo, starboard side!”. Of course, being cruising noobs, we had no idea what this meant. It turns out that, as the cruise director Butch announced ten minutes later, “Bravo, bravo” was code someone jumping overboard! Obviously, the only reason someone would diliberately throw themselves overboard would be in a suicide attempt. And, trust me, no one was simply falling–you would have to try to fall over the edge. The railings were high and well-suited for keeping people in.

Here I am, boarding the boat. That itself was an experience, too; I’m talking three long lines and lots of people screaming, “US CITIZENS! CANADIAN CITIZENS! Show us you are one!” Rascist much? Apparently, you can’t board a cruise unsuspiciously without being a citizen of those two countries. Grr.

So, anyway, we were onboard for the first full day. It was a ton of fun; my dad and my friend’s dad participated in the Men’s Hairy Chest Contest, which wasn’t so much about chest hair as it was the embarrassing things the contestants had to do. Fun, but I wouldn’t have wished it on myself.

Since the whole man-overboard incident had occurred, we weren’t able to dock at our first stop, Half Moon Cay, as we had originally planned. So instead, the cruise director announced that we’d be going to Puerto Rico! Honestly, the place we went, San Juan, was kind of a bust; once we found stores that actually sold high-quality things, they were closed because it was so late at night. We didn’t take many pictures, so I don’t have any to show. I did have fun though. I guess that’s all that really matters.

(By “fun”, I mean “I had Starbucks in Puerto Rico”.)

The next day, we went to St. Maarten. Compared to San Juan, it was amazing: beautiful beaches, houses built on a mountain side, trees everywhere…it was my kind of heaven. Everyone was amazed at how awesome it was; even our view from the boat was fantastic. Everything about the island was incredible.

Well, folks, that’s it for Part 1. I’ll be back soon, probably tonight, with Part 2 of the Cruise-of-Awesome.

I’ll be doing a 2-part post on the trip, m’kay?

Right now, my WIP is a freaking mess jungle of words, messy characters, and an obnoxious plot. I love the basic premise–two friends agreeing to kill themselves together–but it’s tough to write. It’s hard to capture the emotional state of two people so damaged yet brilliant, not to mention an emotionally draining process. I love my main characters, Gage and Rowan, but man, are they stubborn. They’d rather act on whim than follow what little outlines I had for the plot of the story. Add to that that I would have to research various things along the way: the actual Victorian era, bipolar disorder, suicide…the list goes on.

Because of this, I had almost given up on the story. Three times.

Honestly, when I began writing this story, I didn’t think I would like it enough to finish it. Hell, I barely knew what I wanted the characters to do or be like. It was very hard to slip into the mind of Rowan, a genius plagued by bipolar disorder and severe OCD with an obsession with the Victorian era, after writing from Valerie’s POV–Valerie being a tough, no-bullshit girl who punches first and asks later. Two very different characters with two very different stories.

I didn’t think I could this story.

And yet, here I am: three months later, with almost 27,000 words clocked in on OVERDOSE. I’m at the halfway point, a place I never thought I would reach but am ultimately glad I have.

The motto here? Don’t give up on the story you’re dying to write. Chances are that if it’s spiked your interest, you obviously have some sort of idea what you’re doing. Even if you’ve convinced yourself that you can’t write it–even if you think you’re not good enough, that you don’t have enough practice, that you suck and there’s no hope for you–give it a shot anyway. You might be surprised about what happens.