An opinion

I saw the following quote on Twitter this week:

"It's better to have a terrible first draft, then no draft at all."

Hunger Games

Today I was walking through my local K-6 school and I saw one sixth grade teacher reading Hunger Games to his class. I'm not sure how I feel about that.  I love the series (it may be one of my new absolute favorite series).  But is it OK for 11 and 12 year olds?

What are your thoughts?

Holding Out For A Hero

I recently had a disagreement with someone (technically two people). As I do with most things that happen in life, I found myself relating the situation back to writing. I tried to find their motivations (they were wrong), understand how they could misunderstand me (again, they were wrong), and figure out how that could play into a story (them = antagonists).

But seriously, I love to take every day situations and put them into a magical story land that lives in my head. In these adventures, I am forced to do some self-evaluation, because we all love a well-rounded character, and I sometimes even have to admit that I am gasp wrong. Not often, but there is a rare occasion.

Anyway, I don't really have a point in this. I just wanted to relate that dealing with people is easier if we can look at it from a story standpoint. Analyze their reasons, and understand your own reasons. Of course, there are going to be times when you run into that crazy and illogical antagonist. When that happens, no amount of storytelling will help. But at least you can walk away with the knowledge that you make a great hero!

Reading? Yes! Writing? Yes! Arithmetic? Not so much

After one has work time, kids time, housekeeping time, husband time, and required-sleep-to-avoid-becoming-homicidal time covered, there is only so much left in a day. Thus, I usually end up choosing between reading or writing during my precious solo free time (sure, I do indulge in TV time, but that is part of my downtime with Hubby).

This week, I did much more reading than writing, even though I had done some trash talking on the Inkers' group email early in the week about how I will retain the Inker o' the week title indefinitely. My rationale was, reading a lot is an important part of becoming a good writer, not to mention, the book in question was due back to the library over a week ago.

What I have been reading is The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I have not quite finished it, but decided to go ahead and write about it today. Here is a plot summary from bookbrowse.com:

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

This is a really good story. I especially love the characters and dialogue. There is enough intrigue to keep the pages turning. I'm excited to finish it tonight because I feel like I know these women personally, and I'm rooting for them. Each of the three main characters alternates telling the story in first person every three chapters or so, which makes you really get a good feel for the characters because you are not only in their heads, but also see them from the point of view of the other two.

My criticisms would be, at times through the middle it dragged a bit and I felt like some of it could have been cut to pick up the pace. Also, the author makes several references to To Kill a Mockingbird, which annoyed me because it is one of my favorite books of all time and I thought she might be trying too hard to make people view this work as a peer of that classic.

Another thing that I found interesting is a large part of the plot revolves around the women collaborating on a book and trying to get it published, which of course is something close to my heart.

Overall, I would highly recommend it for its emotional impact and great characters. As I've been reading it, I could see how it would translate well into film, and in fact there is a film version coming out next spring.

Family Ties

The same ties of affection that bind us to the people who have known us our whole lives can also tie us in knots inside. No one knows better how to push our buttons or get our tempers rising and yet we so often let them do it. Why? Because that's who they are to us. As we talk about post traumatic stress disorder and other great insight into the human character let's not forget the ties that bind us. For better or worse they are part of who we are.

This week I've had a chance to be so grateful for family and to feel equally loved and criticized. Why is that? Because its family. When building families in our writing its important to remember how important and infuriating they can be.

PTSD

Arlene did an excellent post yesterday regarding Hunger Games.  She mentioned Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  I've got a friend who is a military wife and she also has an outreach program for returning soldiers dealing with PTSD.  I talked with her at our school's 9/11 commemoration about some of the struggles these soldiers face.  I was totally blown away.

I had no idea the emotions these men and women have to deal with, and all that their families have to endure.  I was amazed at her forgiving and understanding attitude.  I thought I was forgiving, but she takes the cake.

What does this have to do with writing? I'm not sure.  But its interesting to think about in regards to character studies.  The strength that some people have to endure, or to return.  The craziness that is going on in someone's head--in real life we don't see the nightmares, we only see the actions.  Maybe we can all dig a little deeper and bring a little more depth to our characters.

Mockingjay

I was in the shower this morning (where I do my best thinking), reliving various moments of the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. Now, you have to understand that I finished reading Mockingjay about a week ago, so the fact that I'm still thinking about it should be an indicator to you all how fantastic this series is. Specifically, Collins' ability to bring a very unique intensity and reality to the world she created. My dad served in Vietnam...twice. It's not something he has talked about much in the past, but recently, as he's dealt with the post-traumatic stress disorder that has plagued him most of his life, he has opened up about some of the experiences he remembers and still dreams about. It is these experiences that he has shared that my brain jumps to when I read the Hunger Games series. How does a person come through in the end, intact and whole? The answer is: they don't. But it's not all bad either. Decisions are made and lived with and life keeps going. This series encompasses what, I think, most people are willing to fight for. More humanity. More peace. It's just that so much is sacrificed to achieve that end...