Holes by Louis Sachar

Well I finally read the book Holes, by Louis Sachar. I've seen the movie several times. I'm a big fan of Shia LaBeouf. This is one of those rare occasion when a movie actually follows the book, almost to a T. The only real difference is that Shia is not a tall overweight kind of kid. I love the movie, and I love the book.

There are several things I try to think of when reading books. Things that I've been told that "newbies" like myself must stick to religiously in order to get into the business. So when I commentate on a book, I'm going to try to fit it into my scale and see if the writing style helps me on my road of learning or not.

1. Point of view - other than switching from the present to the past and then to the present again, the POV is from Stanley. I didn't notice any POV slips (like there would be any, even when I wanted there to be - I would have loved to see the warden and Mr. Sir squirming back at camp while everyone wondered if Stanley and Zero were still alive)

2. Show vs. Tell - I think it started off just a bit slow, but I've read slower, and in fact didn't finish something before because even after 10 minutes I didn't feel like I'd gotten anywhere. Things were definitely shown and not just told in this book. The desert heat, the food, the pain from digging, the smells :)...

3. Bookisms - If there were any (ending dialogue with something other than "said", "replied" or "asked") they weren't so noticeable to be added to my list.

4. Passive voice - It wasn't action-packed-something-intense-every-scene, but it moved well and once I was hooked I couldn't wait to find out what happened next (or to find out if the next part was different from the movie).

5. Life lesson - This is definitely a positive, supportive story that everyone could learn from. It takes a boy who is wrongly accused, and instead of getting bitter and angry about it, he realizes he wouldn't change the experience for all the money in the world. He finds a new appreciation for life, and even better, he figures out he likes himself, something he didn't do before his predicament.

So on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the highest, I would give this book a 5. It's a good tool to use in learning all my do's and don'ts, and it's also a wonderful story of hope and overcoming adversity. You just can't beat that.

Not in writing mode

So what do you do when you aren't in "Writing Mode". Is it okay to have down times? or is it just laziness? I know there are times when stories need to "rest" but is that really what I need to do right now, or am I just using that as an excuse to avoid it right now. I just don't know.

My ADD (self-diagnosed) is just kicking up a storm right now. I have the focus of a cat with too many paper wads to swat at. If you'd ever seen my cat attack a paper wad, you'd know what I'm talking about.

I set goals, but only half-heartedly. I've been listening to a lot of good books. I have ideas bouncing around in my head. I keep playing games on Facebook!!!! I need to write! I need to write right now! WRITE WRITE WRITE!

OK... SO THE GOAL IS TO WORK ON SOMETHING TONIGHT. IT DOESN'T EVEN HAVE TO BE ON TRUTHSEEKERS, JUST SOMETHING.

I'll keep me posted :)

Trying something new

So, I'm trying something new today. I'm blogging from my cell phone. How cool is that? Spelling is interesting. I already see corrections to be made, but hopefully I'll be able to do that later.

I was frustrated yesterday because I keep getting in my own way. I'm feeling more productive today--more inspired. I was struggling with my "hook" for Truthseekers, only to find I left a pretty good one on my blog. Who knew all I had to do was check my old blog to get past my block. I even have a couple of ideas bouncing around for TQTF. I have to get into the habit of writing things down instead of keeping them locked in my head.

Discipline and Procrastination

That's right, discipline and procrastination. They are the little angel/devil sitting upon my shoulders and like in all the cartoons, the little devil is a head of the game. Of course the angel usually wins in the end, unless it a Bugs Bunny cartoon (I think the devil might have won a few times in those) ... but we're not there yet, are we.

Procrastination. PROCRASTINATION. P R O C R A S T I NA T I O N.

Evil. EVIL. E V I L.

Who's to blame? Me of course. Nobody else. Nada. Zilch. Zero.

I have finished my manuscript of Truthseekers (and the crowd goes wild), but I haven't done anything since then. Oh yes, I've "outlined" a new story idea... even found a name for it, big deal.

I even worked on a story game with my Wednesday night class, but have done nothing with that either.

I could say my writing suffers whenever my life is going easy-peasy, but my life hasn't been that easy-peasy, I've just found other not-so-thought-provoking ways to deal with. Anybody hear of Farmville? Cafe World? Cityville? Oh yes, those delightfully time-sucking games of Facebook. Those are only the three I've allowed myself to start. Can you imagine the danger I'd be in if I tried any others? I shiver at the thought. I would never see my family again. I wouldn't know what day it is. I wouldn't remember the last time I took a shower. You get the picture.

I shouldn't be so hard on these games or spending time networking with friends, even if it is frivolous for the most part, because we need to escape sometimes, no matter how frivolous it may seem. But I am chiding myself for using these games as an excuse not to write. That's just down right irritating and once again, no one to blame but myself.

Discipline is there somewhere, I just have it buried under piles and piles of yarn (knitting & crocheting), plarn (plastic bags cut into strips for knitting and crocheting), computer games and TV shows.

I have made a promise to start tonight... but as my Pastor recently said, we always say we're going to do something later, or tomorrow, or next week, but what we need to say is I'm going to start RIGHT NOW! It is a difficult concept to grasp when you've been surrounded by the put-off-today-what-you-can-do-tomorrow mentality. Or better yet the, let's-not-and-say-we-did concept.

So, here I am on lunch break (clocked out I might add) working on a blog I haven't seen since September! For once in my life (or at least in the recent past) I'm doing something RIGHT NOW!

Whew, that was exhausting... I think I'll come back later...