Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Write Stuff [24]


Write Stuff  is based on the Wannabe Writers meme hosted by Sarah at Confessions of the Un-Published. This meme is what prompted me to start Writer Quirk, so I am thankful to Sarah for creating it.

I use this meme to talk about the ups and downs of writing, what I'm working on, and, in November, to chronicle my NaNoWriMo journey.


After a nice break through most of December, I got back to working on my WIP (purple progress bar on the right). Since starting up again I've added about 5k words to it, but I can't seem to keep up my motivation.

Then recently I ran across The Writer's Dojo and their revamped NiNoWriMo (Ninja Novel Writing Month) and decided to sign up. My goal is to write at least 3k words a week. That won't get me to meeting my own personal deadline of the end of March, but hopefully it will get me in a better pattern so that I'll at least be closer. For more info on The Writer's Dojo and what all great things are going on over there (there are dojos for revising and querying too!) click on the graphic below.

the writer's dojo


Are you working on any writing projects? What goals have you set for yourself? Let me know in the comments! ^_^

Friday, January 25, 2013

Ink to Image [1] - The Twilight Saga


Hey quirks! I've decided to do a new feature that focuses on books that have been adapted for the silver or small screen. Rather than just reviewing the books/movies/shows, I plan to discuss what makes one or the other better, why I chose to read the book or watch the movie/show, and my plans, if any, on continuing to read or watch. I kind of want to give you an idea of how this will work, so for my introductory post, I decided to use a franchise that is well-known, well-loved, and well-hated: The Twilight Saga*.



I'll begin with 'Which came first, the chicken or the egg?' question: Did I read the books or watch the movies first?
I had just started reading the first novel, Twilight, when I watched the movie, so I say I watched the movie first. But for the rest of the series, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, I read the books first.


Which was better?
Neither the movie franchise nor the book series is the best of what each medium has to offer and the pitfalls of both have been well-documented. Still, I found both forms of the story to be entertaining, and each had some great aspects. I liked some of the additions in the films, specifically the twist in Breaking Dawn Part 2 and the higher level of action throughout the series, but overall I think I enjoyed the books more because of all the details that were in the books but ultimately left out of the movies. (This is a common issue with book adaptations and will likely be mentioned frequently in my Ink to Image posts.)


What made me read/watch?
The Twilight movie buzz was just a hum when I became aware of it, but then some of my friends who had already read the first book invited me to come along when they went to see the movie. Having been informed by them that it was based on a book, I decided to read the story as well. I was more interested after seeing the movie, and then became enthralled (like pretty much everyone else) after finishing the first book, so I completed the series.


Will I read/watch more if available?
I do not think the world of Twilight needs to be revisited on screen for a very long time. That is not to say I wouldn't eventually watch a related film or show, but I would do so reluctantly if they appear within the next decade or two. However, if Stephenie Meyer wrote more Twilight stories/books, I would definitely read them. Not only do I want to know more about what happens to certain characters (not the main two) but I enjoy the lore. I read the novella that came out a while back (The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner) and loved it. I think not only does Meyer have some good story foundation to go with but she is also getting better as a writer, so it would be great to see her do something else with it beyond the scope of Bella and Edward.



That's it quirks, short and sweet! I hope you enjoyed my first foray into this feature. What are your thoughts on this book to movie comparison? Let me know in the comments! ^_^

*Click on a book's cover to be taken to the book's Goodreads page and click on a movie poster to be taken to the movie's IMDB page.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Happy Book Birthday to THE ARCHIVED + Giveaway!


Quirks! THE ARCHIVED, an amazing novel by Victoria Schwab (one of my favority-fave authors everrrrr) is out TODAY! Keys, secrets, Guyliner, murder, death, muffins, histories, and so much more is waiting for you in this book!

My gushtastic review is HERE.

Where you can buy THE ARCHIVED:

AND, because I love my quirks and I love this book, I'm giving away a copy!

Unlike my previous giveaways, this one is INTERNATIONAL (so long as The Book Depository ships to your country), so just use the Rafflecopter to enter!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Off-line Update [1] - Plus 1 Year, Minus 4 Teeth


Off-line Update is my new feature where I can give you quirks a little heads up into what is going on in my life when it is not involving reading, writing, or YA.


Back in early October, one of my wisdom teeth broke. Despite having things wrong with my teeth, I had no trouble with them outside of some sensitivity now and then. But after just a little piece of this wisdom tooth flew the coop, the pain started. It wasn't so bad at first, some aching, more sensitivity, but nothing major.

Then my teeth, gums, mouth, what-have-you, became infected on that side. I went to the doctor and got some antibiotics. That helped tremendously until the very last day of my treatment when that night, I went from having 90% of that tooth to 50%. It hurt, to say the least.

The pain continued to grow and two more rounds of antibiotics came and went without much relief. Due to the nature of dentistry, I had to pay in advance for my procedure to have all four of my wisdom teeth removed. I didn't have the money, so I had to wait until the beginning of the year when I got a card through my insurance program at work that would allow me to pay the upfront costs.

So that was more than a month of downing every ibuprofen pill I could find, plus some acetaminophen to keep things interesting. If you don't already know, taking too much ibuprofen can give you stomach problems, including ulcers, and taking too much acetaminophen can damage your liver, so I was trying to not hurt my body while at the same time trying to knock out severe pain. That is not an easy juggling act.

Through December and into January, I woke up every night from the pain, had to take more medicine, and then sit and wait for it to kick in before I could lay back down (as laying down before the medicine started helping meant the pain didn't go away). Then one of my other wisdom teeth broke, only adding to the already unfortunate experience. By the second week in January, I was exhausted.

My 27th birthday arrived and I overslept and was late to work thanks to this cycle of pain and unrest. That was this past Thursday. That same day, my special insurance card came in the mail. I don't know if there is a limit to how much one should "raise the roof" but let's just say I went over it. I drove to my dentist, paid for my procedure, and scheduled it for Friday (a.k.a. yesterday).

I think I am one of the few people out there who was super glad to be going to the dentist to have surgery. The only unexpected part of my procedure was that they had to remove a bit of my jaw bone when they cut out one of my teeth, but other than that, it went swimmingly. Everyone I had talked to said I would sleep the rest of the day, but I didn't. I slept on and off for about six hours, woke up feeling ill, threw up, drank a bunch of blue Gatorade, and then threw up again. After that I did dishes, cooked, and played cards with my mom before going back to bed.

Today I feel great. I'm a little sore and a little swollen, but mostly you can't even tell I had my wisdom teeth removed. There are stitches in a couple of my sockets and they are annoying because it feels like I've got food in my teeth, but that is the worst part about it. All of my medicine is wonderful and I feel better than I have in months.

These last couple of weeks being the worst is why I have been absent from the blog and the internet in general, so now that I feel like a human being again and not a giant mouth of pain, hopefully postings and things will become more regular as I had intended before this whole mess.

So that's what I've been dealing with off-line! Let me know if you have any toothy horror stories or what the experience of having your wisdom teeth removed was like for you.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Ink Anticipation [7] - January 2013


This old feature has a new use!
Ink Anticipation is now for sharing what books I am looking forward to that will be released during the following month. Clicking on a book cover will either take you to the book's Goodreads page or to my review. Don't forget to share your most anticipated releases in the comments!



January 1st
 


January 2nd


January 8th


January 22nd


January 24th


January 29th


January 31st