Category: authors

AH: 5 Truths Your Old Writing Tells You

S. J.1 Comment

Hullo, world!

I feel a little at loss today as I sit writing this because…*whispers* my mental health has been going down. My energy’s been kind of low even though a lot of great things have been happening. 

I took a hit-outs on IG, planned a writing retreat for myself, and in general, am hoping to slow things down a little. But I won’t be taking a hit-outs on blogging since this is one of the “slowing down” things I do. 😉

Also, this is completely random, but I am officially in love with Jujutsu Kaisen. (I mean, who wouldn’t like Gojo-sensei???) And the vibes of old Japanese things are just amazing. Not to mention it’s MAPPA. Plus, the first op. is Eve, who I’ve been following from the start…

Honestly, I just want Yuji & co to be happy…

*End rant*

Okay, let’s get into today’s topic. I often re-read my old works, and I realised there’s a lot of negativity concerning one’s old writings–I mean, I get it. My first major WIP’s protagonist was named Abigail Chemingstunn. But then again, there’s so much more to your old writings than cringey prose and annoyingly cliché characters. 

Me re-reading my old writing…”I have no recollection of this place!”

So, without further ado, let me present to you…AH: 5 Truths Your Old Writing Tells You.

1. It’s not that bad.

I know, it’s kind of obvious, but it’s true! Your old writing isn’t that bad. When I first started writing, I had a lot of ideas. I didn’t really know novels were a thing, so I wrote a lot of short stories and novellas instead. As I re-read some of them this morning, I was reminded how much I actually loved those stories. Some of them got accepted for magazine publication, others didn’t. While still others, I gave as birthday presents to my friends and families, who didn’t complain about this. (Thank you to everyone who read my stories!!) Any story I write, I care about in my heart. And that’s what counts by far. 

2. You’ve come this far.

Another thing I always think of when I go to dig up my old writing is that I’ve written a lot. Last week I talked a bit about my total fictional work’s word count which is almost 600K. If you haven’t done this already, I would totally recommend going back and calculating how many words you’ve written so far. Even if it doesn’t look like much, you’ll probably be surprised at how far you’ve come. 

3. You’re always getting better at this

And obviously, not just the amount of words or WIPs you’ve written, but the quality of them matters. This kind of reminds me of the “oh, look how terrible my prose and overall writing used to be” syndrome so I don’t want it to sound like it…But what I mean is this. 

Each WIP you write teaches you something vital about storytelling you couldn’t have known if you didn’t write that story. Even if you do make mistakes along the way, or feel like your writing is trashy, it just tells you how much better you’ve gotten since then.

4. Every word counts

I really like the Japanese saying, Senri no michi mo ippo kara, which means Even a road of a thousand miles begins with a single step. 

When I first began writing, I didn’t know what I was doing. If you know at all about my earlier blog posts, it’s that I have no idea. What helped me through all of the floundering was the words that I’ve compiled. Words build up and become a part of you. 

5. You’re a writer.

In the end, the fact that you have old writings to read back (and critique) means you’re a writer. When writing gets tough and you start to think that maybe writing isn’t your thing, reflect on your old writings. 

And, you realise that your old writing is what makes your current writing. 

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Thank you for reading! How has your week been? Do you read your old writings? What are some things you like about your old writing? Let me know in the comments below; I’d love to chat with you!

Ignite Blog Tour & WIP Update

S. J.11 Comments

Hullo, world!

It’s a new day, and a very exciting one at that. Vancouver saw its first over 35 °C (and even over  40°C in some places!) which is not the exciting thing that happened, in case you’re wondering, but noteworthy natheless…

I FINALLY GOT TO SEE THE KIMETSU NO YAIBA MUGEN RESSHA MOVIE!!!

(Sorry, I had to do that.) The theatres finally opened toward the end of last month, and I finally caught up with the rest of my Japanese friends who have cried buckets which I also did. (And I don’t think I’ll ever recover from this movie…)

Just looking at this makes me cry😭

AND, JENNA TERESE’S IGNITE IS NOW OUT!!!

(I know, I should probably stop with all the caps.😂 ) I got to ARC-read it, so TBH it feels like some time has already past and people should know about this book, and that’s not the case, so let me present to you Ignite by Jenna Terese…

Ignite

Rating: 4/5 stars

Contents: Thematic elements, deaths

Reminds me of: MHA, TPN, Marvel 

What if superhumans weren’t considered heroes?

When Scarlett Marley is attacked by an illegal super with fire powers, she doesn’t get burned, but now she has a fire-like glow flickering in her eyes.

With superpowers criminalized, she has no choice but to turn herself over to the Superhuman Containment Facility, or risk hurting everyone she loves.

Her normal life seems lost forever, until she is selected to be one of the first to receive the experimental cure to destroy her powers. In exchange, she must first complete one mission:

Infiltrate and capture one of the largest gangs of supers in the remains of once-great Rapid City. 

With the cure and all her future at stake, Scarlett is prepared to do whatever it takes to bring these criminals to justice so she can return to her family. But this gang and their leader, Rez, aren’t what everyone says, and Scarlett begins to question everything she was ever told about the SCF and the fire flowing in her veins.

The cure is her only hope for returning her life to what it was before, but is that life worth returning to after all?

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My Review

Note: I received an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

1. Theme–I loved how the story focused on home and family, which I think is lacking in YA sci-fi/dystopia. Jenna streamlined the themes with the story, the characters, and everything else it felt natural. I loved how faith was part of this theme and was pleasantly surprised it was just as conversational as the rest of the themes, yet at the same time digging deeper into the issue. I’m excited to see how it develops in book 2!

2. Prose–Jenna’s prose is smooth and comfortably fits into the rest of the story. As prose is usually a big factor for me, I’m glad to say I didn’t feel conscious of reading or got startled out of the world. 

3. Characters–This is where the story shines. All the characters of the story come alive, off the page, and I was invested with their stories. I actually wasn’t as into Scarlett’s story as I would have liked (even though she’s the MC). I won’t have to mention it, but I will–I’m so going to adopt Ares. #aresfanclub And being slightly unpopular, I would say Dr Bailey was done well! (Esp. as someone who keeps on getting him for the character quizzes, lol.) And Seth. I really, really want to get to know Seth more. Also, I initially disliked Nadia, but she grew into her character quite well. Overall, the cast is well developed, and it made me want to know more about each of them!!

4. Plot–There’s a major turning point in the middle and I honestly wasn’t expecting the story to take the direction it took until then. It definitely kept me turning the pages, although I think the ending was a little predictable. 

5. Execution–In general, Ignite ties together the story of what having superpowers could look like in modern society and how it affects families. I loved how it stayed focused on a smaller aspect than just a random big disastrous thing happening TM or evil detainment facility ©. 

If you like:

a) superpowers & their consequences

b) families & friends like families

c) slightly dystopian-sci-fi settings

This book is for you!

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AUTHOR BIO:

Jenna Terese believes stories are powerful. That’s why she’s dedicated to creating fiction that will impact the world. You can find this INFP dreaming about the future, fangirling over her favorite books, geeking out about Marvel, playing piano, or sipping a chai tea latte as she writes sci-fi novels.

WIP Update

So, I think the last time I did this was back in March? Since now that half of 2021 is past, I thought it’ll be a good time to recap the last three months + overall WIP progress this year so far. 🙂

Recap of Months 4, 5, 6

April–Camp NaNoWriMo month. I got 30K into Woodstone, which I was very happy about. 

May–I had a major writing crisis where I thought I’d give up on Juliet permanently and wrote 25K in Osthauptstadt with lots of tears. 

June–I recovered from said writing crisis ™ and got 15K of rewrite into Juliet and 6K into an experimental secret project no. 2. (I know, I really should stop wandering off in the middle of bigger projects to pursue dust bunnies…)

So far…

That brings the total word count of the year 2021 so far to 123, 822 out of 300,000 words planned. In the bigger sphere of things, that makes it 593, 566 words written so far in mostly fiction writing. 

Now, some of you may be thinking, Gahh, I loathe numbers! It’s giving me a headache!! In which case, thank you for bearing with me. 

Personally, I find numbers to be comforting because it gives me a clearer picture of where I’ve been and  how far I’ve come. Although I couldn’t make it to the halfway mark of 150K by June, I’m really glad of what I have so far. It’s roughly 40% of my word count goal, and knowing I’m almost there makes it easier for me to plan out my next stage–I’ve come this far, I can make it to the end.

And if you feel discouraged for whatever reason today, remember this: You’ll always move forward one step at a time, one word at a moment. 

Courage, dear heart. We’ve got this. 

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Thank you for reading!  Are you excited for Ignite? (And if you’ve already read it, are you on the #aresfanclub?) How is your writing going so far? Let me know in the comments below; I’d love to chat with you!

AH: 4 Questions to Ask Before Shelving Your Book

S. J.9 Comments

Hullo, world! 

It’s so great to be able to be back writing this post. Now that summer is creeping up on us (although it still feels like winter!!) time is speeding past me and I can’t believe how many things are right around the corner. I feel so underprepared. 

But worries aside, there’s been something that has been on my mind for the past few weeks…and it is on shelving books. 

As authors, I think we feel conflicted whenever we have to set aside our beloved WIPs. It’s even harder when your identity as an author is tied to that book. For me, I came to the tough decision of “permanently shelving” a WIP I’ve been working on for the past five years–and went right back to it this week. (I know, indecisiveness is key to all writers. Or maybe it’s just me, IDK.)

So for today’s Author Health, I’ll be looking at 4 Questions to Ask Before Shelving Your Book. 

Without further ado, let us commence!

A. Are you hungry? (Or simply tired?)

Yup. That’s a legitimate question to be asking yourself. I find that when I’m physically running on empty, I tend to get cranky and moody. Everything is falling apart!  My book is falling apart! Wahhhh!! 

That automatically makes me sound like a toddler, but are we actually that different from adolescents? Like, really?  

So take a break and eat real food. Boil pasta, bake bread, eat curry-on-rice, what have you. Chances are, you’ll be able to make a better decision after that. 

Food is life. Be more like Sasha.

B. Does this story matter to you?

This sounds obvious, but take a deep look at yourself and ask, Does this story matter to me? 

One of the biggest reasons I thought I had to “shelve” my WIP was because I didn’t feel like this story mattered to me anymore. My siblings kept cheering me on (in fact, this was the only story they were waiting for me to write) but I didn’t think it mattered as much to me as it did back when I started. A lot of this was due to question A–I was probably hungry. (Okay, that’s oversimplifying the matter but it’s true! I wasn’t eating well.)

If you don’t know why the story matters to you, then it’s a big warning to take a pause and list all the reasons it matters to you. When you know the story matters to you and why, you can keep going on even when it gets tough. 

Mikasa’s reason for everything.

C. Do you love any of these characters?

A big tell to shelve a book temporarily or permanently (hopefully never) is if you, the author, do not love any of the characters you write about. Now, I’d say this is probably rare. However, I did have instances when the plot took superiority and just dragged the characters away. This spells disaster because characters are what makes your story come alive. I know some people may disagree with me over plot over character over prose (sometimes), but if you don’t care about your characters, neither will the reader. 

Contrarily, if you love your characters to pieces no matter how terrible the story seems to be, there’s hope. Take a moment to reflect on each of your character’s stories and listen to how they play off each other. 

How can you not love this boy??

D. Can you stop thinking about your book?

Lastly, even if you’ve answered no to all of the above, if your answer is yes to this last question, don’t shelve your book just yet! I have so many ideas and I often don’t know where to start  (or stop). That’s just because they’re all in different stages of creation. 

One WIP has been on my mind for four years and I’ve written a third of the story and have it stewing. 

One WIP takes a long time to write, but when I do write, I can pound as many word counts in it as I need. 

One WIP is still brewing in the clouds although I know perfectly how the story begins and ends. 

Sometimes, all you need to do is to sit back and let your mind roam free. Try not to think about your book. If you can’t, then it’s still probably dying to be told. 

IDK, I’m nostalgic for Narnia…

Practical steps to take:

  1. Eat real food. 
  2. List out all the reasons the story matters to you.
  3. Listen to your character’s stories. 
  4. Try to stop thinking about your book. 

NOTE: Also, shelving books doesn’t have to be permanent. It can always be temporary!

And that’s it for today!

Thank you for reading! What did you think? How do you find out if you need to shelve a book? Have you shelved books before? Let me know your thoughts in the comment below; I’d love to chat with you!