I saw the movie Avatar on Christmas day. I don't watch tv and I haven't seen any movie in the theatre but New Moon since the summer so I haven't seen any previews. I knew nothing about it. Which made it better I think, and fun to have it unfold not knowing the premise at all.


The concept of the new planet and developing avatars for humans to walk around in, cool. The plot--not so much. It was an action movie with a love story. Rather predictable. And at times really slow. My brother said it reminded him a lot of Dances with Wolves. I concur.


What I loved so much about this movie was the world of Pandora. It was awesome. The people of the planet were intriguing: their beliefs, the literal connection they had with their world, the way they looked. The animals and colors, trees and plants. It was really neat. I loved it. I keep thinking about it for days after seeing it.

And I'm jealous.

That is the kind of world building I want to do in my writing. I want to create a world that is original, new, exciting. I read Kristen Cashore's book Fire a few months ago. The world of Pandora reminded me of the world she created in her books. Not that they were similar, but the opposite. That they are so original and fresh. That is what I want to do. Create something memorable.

writing

I was at the Treehouse Museum this morning for the 2nd annual Writing for Charity event. (I had forgotten how faraway Ogden was). WfC is where a bunch of Utah authors donate their time to talk about writing and then critique a first page or text of a picture book. The participants have to pay and that money goes to charity. I did it last year and it was fun.

Have you ever been anticipating some exciting event and then when the day arrives you're just tired and cranky? So the event isn't as great as you feel it should be? Yeah, that was me today. I'm tired. And I've been struggling with a bad attitude for the past few days. I'm totally going to bed early tonight.

But that is off topic. On topic, it was good. The last part where we were in small groups critiquing is always hard for me. I an not good with sharing an opinion on writing until I've had a chance to reread and think about it. Also, I am not good speaking in front of groups unless I know them. I didn't know anyone. So I finally get the courage (how old am I? and this is still hard?) to talk out and I don't explain what I mean very well, but I'm wrong. Completely wrong. And I felt completely stupid. So of course I couldn't offer any more advice on anyone else's pieces. And things like that kind of ruin my day and when I'm tired already it's hard to combat.

I think I enjoyed last years better. But that could be because it was last year and I have a tendency to romanticize the past.

Anyway, here's my first page (from The Masters' Key):

Rule #1: You must never be noticed
In my very first memory I’m three or four years old. I’m walking down a beach somewhere with my aunt Bunny, crying because I don’t like the feel of the sand between my toes. Bunny isn’t a particularly patient person and after I repeatedly ignore her reprimands about crying in public, she finally picks me up and holds me in her arms. That might sound like a tender thing to do, but really she’s pushing my face into her shoulder to quiet my sobbing.

I remember the exact words she whispers in my ear. “Poppy, you must never be noticed. Do you see everyone looking at you? Do you want to be taken away from me? Because if you make a scene, they will come and steal you and I’ll never get you back.”

I stop crying.

That hadn’t been a onetime warning. With every move, with each new school, Bunny explained that my safety depended on blending in with everyone else. Attention was dangerous because “they” were always there, searching for me. So I studied groups of people, how they moved together, each individual person faceless when taken as a whole. And I blended. I became practically invisible as I moved through schools, a faceless nobody in a sea of nobodies.

With that sort of fear gnawing at me for so many years, I was rather surprised that on my very first morning in Riverdale I started screaming incoherently while kicking my car’s tire, stuck by the side of the road.

I was in Riverdale to begin with because my aunt had decided it was time to move. Again. Without anymore warning than her picking me up from school the day before, we’d driven to the smallest town I’d ever seen. Where she expected me to live.

I was on the side of the road because some girl had rear ended me at the only stoplight in the whole, horrible town. To make the situation worse, the stoplight was only one block away from the high school and every student that passed by was staring straight at me. Straight. At. Me.

authors anonymous

I went to BYU's workshop for 'writers and illustrators for young readers' in June and I left with a renewed commitment to write something worth reading. And I decided one way I was going to do this was by starting a writing group. So that is what I did.

The group: Jaime I know through my church. Jen I currently work with. Mara I worked with a few years ago before she left to have a family. And Amelia is my newest roommate. And they are rad!

We had our first meeting in July but only three of us were able to meet. We talked about how we wanted to run the group for 45 minutes, and then we just talked for another 2 hours.

We met yesterday night for our first 'official' meeting. Last week Jen and I emailed out a few pages of the novel we were working on and then last night we read a few pages out loud and started to discuss. I am so impressed with the discussion and insight. It was also really helpful for me to find places that were confusing and dumb. Thank you girls! I'm excited to be able to read Amelia, Mara, and Jaime's stuff next month. Yay!

We tried to find a name for our group but didn't really decide on anything concretely. My favorite was Authors Anonymous. So hopefully that one sticks. How awesome is that to have an AA meeting every month? (though I guess it's only awesome if it's not a real AA meeting, right?)

stacks of books

Before I began working in a library I'd come and browse the shelves for books with no real idea of what I was looking for until I'd see it. I would read what I had time for and take back the rest without any real regret if I didnt have time. I read because I could.

Now I work in the library. I'm a librarian and an author blog stalker, so I know what books are coming out. I put tons of them on hold and take at least a stack home every week. I feel compelled to read them. Now I read because I should.

I don't know if that is why my attitude towards reading has changed or if it's just because I have so many other things going on right now. I still love to read, but I'm having a hard time finding books I want to read. For the last while I'll begin books that I then put down and dont pick back up. They sit around in limbo because I'm not that in the mood to continue, but I don't want to give up on them. I feel that I need to finish the story I began. So I keep them and renew them as many times as I can until I start to accrue fines. Then I do finally finish them, or I turn them in unfinished which is what I should've done in the first place. Out of all those stacks I checkout, probably 1 in 10 actually gets completely read. Some don't even get opened.

Right now I have seven books that I've read at least the first chapter, but no more because I went in search of a different book that would grab me. I want to finish them. there is a part of me that is curious on what's going to happen. But not enough to sacrifice to get it done.

Ramble over.

my first post

I don't know why I'm doing a second blog. I just decided a few hours ago that I would, though I really cannot guarantee how often I will write in it. Mostly I wanted to write about what I write and what I read. But I wanted to keep it separate from my other blog, which is more whatever.

So, as my first blog, I will write about what I am writing. I am working on two YA novels right now.

The first is SPUN GOLD. It is a take on Rumpelstiltskin as you can probably guess from the title. But it takes place after the queen refuses to give her daughter to Rumpelstiltskin and it explores the reasons why he wanted the princess in the first place.

The second is called THE MASTERS' KEY. It's contemporary but with fantasy elements. It begins when Poppy moves to a new town, again, with her Aunt Bunny. She's moved so many times before, but this move is much different. And the fact that it's her eighteen birthday is one of the reasons why.

They are both finished, sorta. They have a beginning, middle, and end. What they lack is quality. I'm editing them, but not doing such a hot job at it. ugh. It can get frustrating trying to get my mental vision of a story down on paper.

I have a few short stories and other ramblings, but mostly these are my two babies. I have two because I have a hard time focusing. Just the other day I kept going back and forth because I'd get stumped with one or the other and need a break. Which is one of the reasons the writing is going so slowly.