July 14, 2009 at 11:06 pm (Random, YA, blog, fantasy, writing)
Tags: blog, harry potter, novel, synopsis, website, work in progress, writing, writing retreat
I’m sure that one of these days I’ll break down and get a website or something, but as I do not want a free one and am a broke college student, that route is not currently an option.
In the meantime, I’ve added a few (ie two) new pages to the non-blog section of the blog. The first covers past projects and the second covers current projects, so that bored and interested parties might be able to learn a little bit more about my writing. Both pages will be permanently accessible through the menu on the left-hand side of your screen (under the “About Anna” page which is directly beneath the sultry grad-day photo of yours truly).
The best part of either page really must be the little banners. Actually, they’re the reason why I decided to do the listings in the first place. I got on a bit of a paint.NET binge and decided that it’d only be really pathetic if I couldn’t say that they had some purpose. Purpose is born!
But you shouldn’t be reading over my random projects right now; you should be heading to the theater to watch Half Blood Prince along with everyone else in the world. I’ll be going that direction myself in the next couple of hours, so just pretend that we’re theater buddies. But I warn you: I scare easily. Yeah, I’m totally that annoying viewer in the back of the audience who jumps and gasps when they aren’t supposed to, and then acts as if it’s the result of a nervous condition. I can’t help it if I spasm! Ask my doctor!
Then tomorrow I’m off to spend some time with my grandmother again. I don’t know how long I’ll be there—I’m assuming till at least Friday, but it may turn into a shorter stay than expected. But my work-in-progress needs a kick-start so we’ll see.
In the meantime, while you’re pining away for me like I tell myself you will be, watch that movie and give me your thoughts. And then read my project summaries and tell me how silly I am. Mind-reading squirrels…? Seriously, Anna? Yes, seriously. It’s a nervous condition. Ask my doctor.
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June 24, 2009 at 4:55 pm (Random, Reading, YA, fantasy, writing)
Tags: book lists, movies, plot, puppy, reading, research, thai, writing, ya fantasy
Letters of the alphabet, that is. I’m not quite popular enough to get real mail. Well, excepting requests for money. I don’t want to think about tuition right now, thanks very much.
But I’m well plugged into meeting my summer reading goals. I’m working on three books right now, all of them pretty different:
Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine, which I’ve been meaning to get to for a while now, and which is fascinating. Very much recommended for anyone looking for non-fiction.
Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones, which was lent to me by a friend and which is a refreshingly easy read. Lovely prose and straight forward.
Chris Wooding’s Storm Thief, given to me upon leaving Scholastic. The concept of probability storms is interesting. It reminds me of Douglas Adams’ Infinite Improbability Drive except not funny because it might make your heart stop.
Other than reading, I’ve actually buckled down and started teaching myself Thai. I was doing awesome until I got to shapes. Rosetta Stone why must you be so cruel? You speak far too fast and I can’t decipher the words in your complex geometrical statements. Ah well. I’ll get it eventually. I also watched Everything is Illuminated with my brother last week. Without subtitles. Don’t do it. It’s a complex film, made totally confusing if you can’t speak Russian. We argued about it for fifteen minutes when we finished, then looked up the plot and found out that we were both wrong. Maybe Russian should be next on my language-learning list.
And of course I’m still working on my next novel. I want to take a really gritty look at what exorcism means in the modern world, and see how YA Urban Fantasy fares under a more traditional/historical view of demons and possession. I’ve been researching intensely, and I’ve got a new book coming in the mail next week. I just finished Malachi Martin’s Hostage to the Devil a few days ago. Intense! And he’s a spectacular writer. If possession and exorcism interest you at all, go grab a copy.
I’ve been developing my plot while reading Hostage to the Devil. I now have a tiny notebook full of scribbles and lots of graphite in the margins of my paperback. I hope to sit down soon and get something a little bit less nebulous on notebook paper. My brother runs a writing/art group at a nearby library (I know, I’m such a proud sister!) so I may go sit in this Friday to show my support. With luck, I’ll start laying out my foundations during that time. Since I missed NaNoWriMo last November, and since deadlines are the only way to get me to do anything, I’m going to self-impose 30 days of writing in July. I think I’ll start on the 10th, after sending my revised draft of Grim back to Scholastic, but I haven’t really planned that far ahead yet.
So that’s it for me. Oh and one of my best friends watched The Proposal and then went out and bought an American Eskimo Dog puppy. Oh. My. God. Google it. Such an adorable breed. It’s like a baby polar bear clothed in cashmere.
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