Awesome July

Hi everyone! I can't hold it in any longer. I have to say that July was a pretty awesome month. I won four books--Divergent being one--Divergent tattoos, and an amazing blog award--thanks again Francesca Zappia! :D

In May, I submitted an entry to Novel Novice, a dedicated YA book website that has monthly writing contests, and their book of the month at the time was Divergent. Most of the time the writing contest is for short stories, but in May it was an essay and the question was "What's your faction?" Yesterday I discovered that I was one of the five winners, and I just wanted to share my entry with you all. I hope you guys like it!

"To hear my name at the Choosing Ceremony would send my heart into a frenzy. I’ve never been good with crowds, and having hundreds of people hungrily watch me make the biggest decision of my life wouldn’t help my anxiety. And to top it off, they hand me a knife.

Well, at least it’s meant for me to cut myself…

When I ask others, “Which faction do you think I belong in?” I always get the same answer. Abnegation. It’s a complement and I want to help others, but I am too selfish to be eternally selfless.

I will be involved.

As for Candor, I respect honesty, but the truth can hurt others too much for me to bear.

I will be kind.

And let’s face it; I don’t have a brave bone in my body. Though I dream for the excitement of a Dauntless life, I dream of a life in a faction more.

I will be self-sufficient.

As I stand at the faction bowls, the tip of the blade making a scarlet mark across my palm, I am at a crossroads. Erudite or Amity?

I’ve always pictured my bookish-self trying to expand my knowledge, but I question my potential. Intelligence is innate, not learned, and I fear I would fail Erudite’s initiation. Though there is a conflict between Erudite and Abnegation, but I will not let it influence my decision.

I will forgive.

Then there is Amity, a society who cherishes many of the same aspects as I do: forgiveness, kindness, trust. I could have a helpful career as a counselor; I can flaunt the beautiful colors red and yellow.

I will trust, even if only in myself.

So I plunge my hand over a bowl and let my blood drip onto soil.

I am Amity, I am peace."

 If I were really in the choosing ceremony, I would probably panic between erudite and amity, and maybe even dauntless.

Just for fun, what faction might you choose?

Need A Great Revision Tool? Remember "The Backpack"

Photo taken by me; modeled by Courtney C.

I've been meaning to post this for a month or so, but something always seems to intervene, whether my photo shoot for the post was delayed or it was simply my procrastination. After posting When Writing Fails, Facepalm last week--saying how I was having trouble with an overloaded plot--I thought there was no better time than now to finally write this.

Photo by me; modeled by Courtney C.

About a month ago I watched a live streaming of "The Dark Days of Supernatural" book tour featuring authors Veronica Roth of "Divergent"; Tara Hudson of "Hereafter"; Amy Plum of "Die For Me"; Aprilynne Pike of "Illusions"; and Ellen Schreiber of "Vampire Kisses 8: Cryptic Cravings." There was one piece of advice Veronica Roth said that has stuck with me since--only recently have I discovered she has a blog post about it, as well. It was a great advice that I have taken to heart, especially since my book feels so overrun by ideas.

Attention Writers: When revising, remember "The Backpack"!

"I learned about The Backpack from my writing professor (the brilliant Shauna Seliy). And it goes like this: imagine that you are about to embark upon a twenty mile hike through the wilderness, and you have to fit everything you need into one backpack. Do you want to bring your hair dryer? Uh, no. First of all, because there aren't any plugs. Second of all, because no one's going to see you. And third, and most importantly, because it will take up space in your already cramped backpack, and it's completely unnecessary." 

  --Veronica Roth                     

The full content about "The Backpack" can be found here on Veronica Roth's blog.

Photo by me; modeled by Courtney C.

The purpose of the "The Backpack" is learning to cut out what scenes and subplots are not imperative to your characters or the plot of your story, no matter how painful it may be. There are many scenes currently in my book that I want to keep--I even find myself trying to convince myself that it IS essential to my book, other than being just a good scene. Finally, a few days ago, I told myself I'll worry about it when I'm done--throw all the stuff in "the backpack" and deal with the clutter later. This is a revising tool after all ;)

Divergent by Veronica Roth Book Review

I didn't get to post my book review yesterday because I was having trouble with the blog, so I am posting it today. But in addition to a book review I have had planned for two weeks now, I also ran upon a topic from the YA Highway's Road Trip Wednesday:

What is the best book you've read this month?

That's an easy answer.

photo found here

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her.

(Mini-synopsis from Amazon.com)

I wanted to read "Divergent" a few days before its release on May 3rd. The only dystopian novels I have read are Scott Westerfeld's "Uglies"; "Pretties"; "Specials"; and "Extras" . Those books were amazing, and so is "Divergent". Before reading the book, I was so confused about which faction I would join. Now I definitely would choose Dauntless for the experience and because it includes some of my favorite bits of action--guns, fighting, snarky attitudes--even though I would face the horrifying, feasible issue of becoming factionless. A few posts ago, talking about "Divergent", I said I was afraid to become Dauntless because I would hate be factionless. Now I believe that the Dauntless experience would be worth becoming factionless. Shocking, I know. Being factionless is horrible, an eternity alone and struggling for food and clothes with horrible, outcast jobs.

Two of my favorite aspects of a book are romance and action; if the romantic scenes and action scenes are exceptional, I will swoon. "Divergent" is packed with action, and I mean guns-up, butt-kicking action, mixed with a slow flow of romance--picture me swooning. I absolutely LOVED every SECOND of it! As if dystopian isn't an interesting subject already--and I certainly cannot wait to read The Hunger Games now--this futuristic Chicago is a city I would love to visit to observe and learn more about. I know, my Erudite is showing. *Grins*

Also, I would like to state that Tris (Beatrice Prior) is probably my favorite heroine. If I could choose to be like a character from a book, it would probably be Tris--I would love to have Hermione Granger's brain and ability to remember everything she's ever read, though. I love Tris' bravery and will, mixed with her Abnegation-self and her intelligence. To me, "Divergent" is a wonderful story about allowing yourself to be who you want to be, no matter the limits or obstacles, nor how terrifying or challenging those obstacles may be.

I cannot wait for the sequel, whose title has just recently been released:

(picture from Veronica Roth's blog.)

Here are some of my favorite quotes, though I do not have the page numbers:

"Human beings as a whole cannot be good for long before the bad creeps back in and poisons us again."

"What is it with you today?" says Christina on the way to breakfast. Her eyes are still swollen from sleep and her tangled hair forms a fuzzy halo around her face.
"Oh, you know," I say. "Sun shinning. Birds chirping."
She raises an eyebrow at me, as if reminding me that we are in an underground tunnel.

"Moths," repeats Will. "You're afraid of moths?"
"Not just a cloud of moths," she says, "like...a swarm of them. Everywhere. All those wings and legs and..." She shudders and shakes her head.
"Terrifying," Will says with mock seriousness. "That's my girl. Tough as cotton balls."
"Oh, shut up."

To Do List: Enter Contest to Win "Divergent". Check!

Woo! Day two in Blogworld for me! :D Well, here goes with today's post...

I don't know about you, but I think there have been a TON of seemingly amazing young adult books come out this year, and it's only half over! Though there are many I want to read, there is one in particular that I have been on the edge of my seat over: "Divergent" by Veronica Roth. It is a dystopian novel that released May 3rd. I haven't read many dystopian novels (The Hunger Games included) but this one certainly grabbed me from the blurb. I haven't gotten to read all of it yet--I've read the first 100 pages offered at harpercollins.com--and it's driving me crazy. I need to buy it, get it at the library, or win it--which I'm trying to do ^_^

If you aren't familiar with "Divergent" the book is about a girl named Tris who lives in a dystopian Chicago. The society is divided into five factors--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On a certain day all sixteen year olds must choose which faction they want to spend the rest of their lives in. A person can choose an all new faction and leave their family behind, or remain in the faction they are familiar with. The book follows which decision Tris makes.

"One Choice Can Transform You" is the book's motto. And for Novel Novice's contest it was all about choices; about which faction we would choose if we lived in Tris' world.

This was a hard subject for me, only because I was at a crossroads. I could certainly see myself spend the rest of my life studying and with my nose pressed in books, but when it comes to Erudite's initiation, I had to think realistically. There is a good, horrific chance that I would epically fail. If you read the book, you will discover what happens to those who fail initiation--I don't want to spoil it for you.

My other option was Amity. They cherish many of the aspects that I do: truth, kindness, self-sufficiency, forgiveness, and involvement. I could see myself in Amity; I felt confident, so I made my choice. I would be Amity.

I find it a good thing that our societies aren't divided into these factions. In real life, I would never be able to choose between Erudite and Amity. Luckily it was just a writing contest that is still open until midnight tonight (Pacific Time if I have it right) on novelnovice.com. The top 5 winners will receive a copy of the book! *Excitement!!*

Just out of curiosity, which faction would you choose? And are you interested in reading the book? Or have you all ready read it--if so what did you think, I would love to hear your opinion?