Hello, chaps.
Bethany from Ramblings of a Young Author tagged me in with the Top Ten Most Influential Books tag, so here's my list, in no particular order.
1. Embassy by S. Alex Martin.
This one is free this weekend on Amazon, which is why I put it first on the list. Go download it. It's fun.
I started reading Embassy last summer when Mr. Martin put out a request for beta readers on the Go Teen Writers Facebook group. I'd been thinking about reading someone else's story at the time since my dad and I had recently talked about critique partners, so I thought, "Why not? He only wants someone to read the first chapter, I'll give it a go." Three other readers and I worked with him over the next several months as he polished and polished and then published it. The book itself didn't influence me much (though it is a good book and I did enjoy it) but the process of working with Mr. Martin and the other betas was hugely influential and I loved it. So, go download Embassy while it's free. Read it! Enjoy it! Find my name in the acknowledgements!
2. The Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling.
When my parents read me the first one when I was little, I thought "I want to write books like J. K. Rowling does!" Did I write any stories then? No. (Though for a while I told my sister bedtime stories every night.) Writing was for the future, and why worry about that when there were imaginary friends to play with? I didn't really start writing until I tried to get out of writing a book report by writing a story instead. I think I was about twelve. Mom didn't go for that, but I kept writing that story anyway. That awful thing was the inspiration for my first, awful novel.
3. The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede.
Dealing with Dragons and the following books were the first fantasies I truly fell in love with. I've read the whole series at least twice, and plan on reading them again someday.
4. The Trixie Belden books by Julie Campbell and Kathryn Kenny
My mom bought all but four of the Trixie books while she was growing up (34 total), and my dad read all of them out loud to my sister and I. (He read out loud to us every night for YEARS.) They are falling apart, especially the oldest ones, but I loved them and they fostered my love of mysteries. Same can be said for The Boxcar Children books.
5. The Hank the Cowdog books by John R. Erickson
These are some of the funniest books I've ever read. Or, listened to. The author reads the audiobooks and sings all of Hank's funny songs, and they are fantastic. Like plastic. (Bonus points if you get that reference.) Many a long car trip or day helping my dad at work was spent listening to Hank.
6. All the Shakespeare I read in middle school.
Gotta love the Bard and his poetic, if sometimes practically indecipherable dialogue. I know, technically these are plays and not books, but whatever.
7 and 8. Little Dorrit and Bleak House by Charles Dickens
Little Dorrit is actually the only Dickens I've read, but I've seen the TV miniseries for each a couple times, so I know the stories. As I've said before, I love the complexity of the plots and the characters and how everything ties in at the end.
9. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
I read the Mistborn series last summer, and was blown away by the characters and the plotting. Yes, the books are sometimes creepy and bloody and gruesome but they are AMAZING. I'm thinking about dressing up as Vin for Halloween. Mr. Sanderson was the first author in recent memory to do something I usually dislike in a story and make me love it anyway.
10. The textbooks I've read over the years, especially the science ones and my American government book.
Call me a nerd if you want, because I am one. These books have taught me so much and helped me understand the world better and write better. Pretty much the only reason I read the gov book after that class was cancelled is because I knew I'd be able to apply what I learned to worldbuilding governments. (And I was so right.)
Other books worthy of mention, because top ten just doesn't cover it: almost anything by Dr. Seuss, Eragon and following books by Christopher Paolini, the Bible, Laddie by Gene Stratton-Porter, Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright, The Blood of Kings series by Jill Williamson, and all that poetry Mom made me read in middle school.
I'm not going to tag anyone specifically, so if you want to participate in the tag, go for it! Or feel free to tell me about some of the books that have influenced you in a comment.
Showing posts with label Dickens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dickens. Show all posts
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Sunday, January 12, 2014
TCWT January 2014 blog chain: Dream Co-authors
Time for another Teens Can Write, Too! blog chain. This month's theme is:
“If you could co-write a book with one author–living or not–who would it be and what would the book be about?”
This is a good one.
First of all, I'm not sure I'd want to actually co-author something, but maybe just be apprenticed to a great writer and learn from them. Of course, if I did that, I'd probably give my input on the book, so I'd sort of be co-authoring.
Anyway.
Since this prompt includes dead authors, I choose Charles Dickens. I've only read Little Dorrit, and the first chapter or so of Bleak House, but I've seen the miniseries based on each multiple times, and the characters and plotting are amazing. Everyone is connected to someone else and influences the plot in some way. It's spectacular.
Example from Little Dorrit (CONTAINS SPOILERS): Ms. Wade, a side character you don't see too often, meets Arthur Clennam (the love interest) in Marseille, where they also meet the Meagles. Arthur starts to fall for the Meagle's daughter, Pet. Pet, however, as the story progresses, falls for Mr. Gowan. Who you later find out jilted Ms. Wade. Now, Ms. Wade also tries to lure Harriet, the Meagle's adopted daughter-but-they-treat-her-like-a-favorite-servant away from the Meagles. When, in the middle of the story, Harriet finally leaves the Meagles and goes to live with Ms. Wade, you find out Ms. Wade is involved with Riguad, a creepy-as-all-get-out murderer. He gives her a box to her for safe keeping. Eventually, out of boredom, Harriet opens it, and finds blackmail-worthy documents about Arthur, his family, and how it connects to Little Dorrit's family. Ms. Wade is also involved with Mr. Casby, who monkeys with the plot in other ways, and who's daughter was once in love with Arthur.
(END SPOILERS.)
Oh, delicious complexity. I could learn so much from Dickens. About characters, plotting, weaving together subplots...
The downside, other than his being dead, is that while his stories are genius (at least the one's I've read/seen) his prose can be kind of... tedious to read sometimes. Given that the man was paid by the word, this is not surprising, but it might drive me crazy. However, the opening chapter of Bleak House starts with this wonderful description of fog, so I could still learn from it. I could learn to be patient with lengthy and verbose prose if it meant I could write with him.
As to what our book would be about... Well, it'd be set in Victorian England, obviously, and be nice and complex, with lots of different emotions and subplots. Maybe the MC(s) would go through a couple of changes of circumstance. Rags to riches, perhaps. Maybe it could involve pirates. And one character could be a grave digger. (Random ideas.)
My second choice would be Brandon Sanderson (and he's even alive!), the author of the Mistborn books, which are currently my favorite series. I've learned so much from his Writing Excuses podcast, I'm sure I'd learn even more working with him. (Confession: I've daydreamed about being a guest star on Writing Excuses.) Like Dickens, his plotting and characters are wonderful, as are his magic systems. The biggest downside to working with him would be the fact that he writes books the size of my thesaurus. Of course, so did Dickens, and Sanderson's prose isn't such a loquacious quagmire. So, were I to co-author with either of them, I would have to learn to be patient with very long books. There are worse things to endure.
If I were to write a book with Sanderson, it would have an awesome magic system, mind-blowing plot twists, and characters I adored. Maybe it, too, would be about pirates and grave diggers. Grave digging magic system, maybe...?
Maybe not.
I believe that is all I have to say on this matter at this time. Be sure to check out the rest of the posts on the chain!
5th – http://thescribblingbook.wordpress.com/
6th – http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/
7th – http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com/
8th – http://www.oyeahwrite.wordpress.com/
9th – http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/
10th – [Andrea. No link for her yet.] ... Hmm. Okay then.
11th – http://randomofalife.blogspot.com/
12th – http://www.lilyjenness.blogspot.com/
13th – http://maralaurey.wordpress.com/
14th – http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com/
15th – http://unikkelyfe.wordpress.com/
16th – http://www.brookeharrison.com/
17th – http://nasrielsfanfics.wordpress.com
18th – http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/ (We’ll be announcing the topic for next month’s chain.)
And a lovely day/night/whatever to you all!
“If you could co-write a book with one author–living or not–who would it be and what would the book be about?”
This is a good one.
First of all, I'm not sure I'd want to actually co-author something, but maybe just be apprenticed to a great writer and learn from them. Of course, if I did that, I'd probably give my input on the book, so I'd sort of be co-authoring.
Anyway.
Since this prompt includes dead authors, I choose Charles Dickens. I've only read Little Dorrit, and the first chapter or so of Bleak House, but I've seen the miniseries based on each multiple times, and the characters and plotting are amazing. Everyone is connected to someone else and influences the plot in some way. It's spectacular.
Example from Little Dorrit (CONTAINS SPOILERS): Ms. Wade, a side character you don't see too often, meets Arthur Clennam (the love interest) in Marseille, where they also meet the Meagles. Arthur starts to fall for the Meagle's daughter, Pet. Pet, however, as the story progresses, falls for Mr. Gowan. Who you later find out jilted Ms. Wade. Now, Ms. Wade also tries to lure Harriet, the Meagle's adopted daughter-but-they-treat-her-like-a-favorite-servant away from the Meagles. When, in the middle of the story, Harriet finally leaves the Meagles and goes to live with Ms. Wade, you find out Ms. Wade is involved with Riguad, a creepy-as-all-get-out murderer. He gives her a box to her for safe keeping. Eventually, out of boredom, Harriet opens it, and finds blackmail-worthy documents about Arthur, his family, and how it connects to Little Dorrit's family. Ms. Wade is also involved with Mr. Casby, who monkeys with the plot in other ways, and who's daughter was once in love with Arthur.
(END SPOILERS.)
Oh, delicious complexity. I could learn so much from Dickens. About characters, plotting, weaving together subplots...
The downside, other than his being dead, is that while his stories are genius (at least the one's I've read/seen) his prose can be kind of... tedious to read sometimes. Given that the man was paid by the word, this is not surprising, but it might drive me crazy. However, the opening chapter of Bleak House starts with this wonderful description of fog, so I could still learn from it. I could learn to be patient with lengthy and verbose prose if it meant I could write with him.
As to what our book would be about... Well, it'd be set in Victorian England, obviously, and be nice and complex, with lots of different emotions and subplots. Maybe the MC(s) would go through a couple of changes of circumstance. Rags to riches, perhaps. Maybe it could involve pirates. And one character could be a grave digger. (Random ideas.)
My second choice would be Brandon Sanderson (and he's even alive!), the author of the Mistborn books, which are currently my favorite series. I've learned so much from his Writing Excuses podcast, I'm sure I'd learn even more working with him. (Confession: I've daydreamed about being a guest star on Writing Excuses.) Like Dickens, his plotting and characters are wonderful, as are his magic systems. The biggest downside to working with him would be the fact that he writes books the size of my thesaurus. Of course, so did Dickens, and Sanderson's prose isn't such a loquacious quagmire. So, were I to co-author with either of them, I would have to learn to be patient with very long books. There are worse things to endure.
If I were to write a book with Sanderson, it would have an awesome magic system, mind-blowing plot twists, and characters I adored. Maybe it, too, would be about pirates and grave diggers. Grave digging magic system, maybe...?
Maybe not.
I believe that is all I have to say on this matter at this time. Be sure to check out the rest of the posts on the chain!
5th – http://thescribblingbook.wordpress.com/
6th – http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/
7th – http://miriamjoywrites.wordpress.com/
8th – http://www.oyeahwrite.wordpress.com/
9th – http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/
10th – [Andrea. No link for her yet.] ... Hmm. Okay then.
11th – http://randomofalife.blogspot.com/
12th – http://www.lilyjenness.blogspot.com/
13th – http://maralaurey.wordpress.com/
14th – http://insideliamsbrain.wordpress.com/
15th – http://unikkelyfe.wordpress.com/
16th – http://www.brookeharrison.com/
17th – http://nasrielsfanfics.wordpress.com
18th – http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/ (We’ll be announcing the topic for next month’s chain.)
And a lovely day/night/whatever to you all!
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Dickens and Dragons
Charles Dickens is one of my all time favorite authors. Last night I finished watching Bleak House for the second time. *sigh* Just as good as Jane Austen, if not better. Dickens really knew how to create a twisted plot with great characters. The heroine of the story is young Esther Summerson, who grew up as an orphan. When Esther is an adult, she goes to live as a companion to Miss Ada Clare in Bleak House. Ada and another young person, Richard Carstone, were wards of the late John Jarndyce, who left multiple wills, and thus a lawsuit as to who should get his money. Richard and Ada might be recipients of that money.
Bleak House is owned by a relative of John Jarndyce (another John Jarndyce), and he takes the wards under his care, and gets Esther as a companion for Ada.
The story tells about the progress of the lawsuit about the money, Esther's parents, murder, secrets, complicated romance, and of all the many subplots.
My summary really doesn't do it justice (plus it leaves out most of the subplots), so go read/watch it yourself. While you're at it, look at Little Dorrit too. My second favorite Dickens thus far. Both are brilliant.
Dickens was really good with names. I've had a post written on his names for a while now, and if I remember, I'll post it soon.
I think that's all I have to say on Dickens at the moment. Time to move on to dragons.
First of all, look over to my side bar. See where I put a "follow by email" button? You do? Good. What do you think of the heading? Does it make sense? Or did I bury the "follow me by email" statement under too many layers of recreational word usage?
Moving on. Sometime last week I sent my sister a phony email about dragons, and it turned into a rather silly/funny serial of emails about a mission to find pink dragons. I've been thinking about posting the content of said emails on this here blog. Here are the first two:
My sister's favorite color is pink. After sending that email, I thought I'd better fix it by sending this:
Bleak House is owned by a relative of John Jarndyce (another John Jarndyce), and he takes the wards under his care, and gets Esther as a companion for Ada.
The story tells about the progress of the lawsuit about the money, Esther's parents, murder, secrets, complicated romance, and of all the many subplots.
My summary really doesn't do it justice (plus it leaves out most of the subplots), so go read/watch it yourself. While you're at it, look at Little Dorrit too. My second favorite Dickens thus far. Both are brilliant.
Dickens was really good with names. I've had a post written on his names for a while now, and if I remember, I'll post it soon.
I think that's all I have to say on Dickens at the moment. Time to move on to dragons.
First of all, look over to my side bar. See where I put a "follow by email" button? You do? Good. What do you think of the heading? Does it make sense? Or did I bury the "follow me by email" statement under too many layers of recreational word usage?
Moving on. Sometime last week I sent my sister a phony email about dragons, and it turned into a rather silly/funny serial of emails about a mission to find pink dragons. I've been thinking about posting the content of said emails on this here blog. Here are the first two:
Thank you for subscribing to Dragons Are Awesome! hosted by Annoyingsister! Your dragon fact of the minute is: According to one source, dragons come in all colors, except for pink.
My sister's favorite color is pink. After sending that email, I thought I'd better fix it by sending this:
We at Dragons Are Awesome! (hosted by Annoyingsister) are looking for brave souls to go on the Pink Dragons Exist Mission. Our goal is to prove once and for all that pink dragons do exist. This mission is not for the feint of heart, and those with severe medical problems (including but not limited to: bladder trouble, asthma, chocolate allergies, and mental disorders), queasy stomach, aversion to blood, and artificially colored hair are strongly advised to stay home and watch us on TV (the mission will be appearing on National Geographic, the Discovery Channel, and Oprah). To sign up for this noblest of missions, simply respond to this email. Once you do you will receive a list of supplies that are required on the adventure.
Live long and prosper,
The DAA! teamI haven't decided on whether I'll continue to post these. If you would like to give me input, please do so.
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