My NaNo project...

My NaNo project...

Posted by Raven M on 3:44 PM in nano, out of sight,

In a world where no one can hide - Nia Thorne is invisible.

CONCEAL is a software that makes it impossible for anyone to track or see you. It was created by Nia's scientist father for the Underground - an international group of rebels who are hell-bent on dismantling the government. Luke Thorne had been a member of the Underground for years which is why Nia was a bit confused when he came home and told her that: a.) he quit his job and b.) they needed to go into hiding.

Nia has been hiding for a year now.

She doesn't know where her father is and because he has CONCEAL installed in his brain - she can't track him. Now seventeen, Nia must fend for herself. With invisibility on her side, she can rob grocery stores and malls whenever she pleases, sleep in luxury hotels and dine at five-star restaurants. Sometimes she goes to sit in classrooms and other times she sneaks into movie theaters, anything to keep her from thinking about her father.

And then she meets Julian.

He can see her.

He's the first person she's spoken to in a year.

He tells her that he can help her.

She believes him.

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Should taboo relationships have happy endings?

Should taboo relationships have happy endings?

Posted by Raven M on 10:58 AM in

Someone on AW wanted to know if it was okay for a taboo relationship to have a happy ending in a YA book. I have been contemplating my answer for a while now and I have finally come up with an answer:

My current wip Things Left Unsaid features a relationship that might not sit well with some people. It's between my main character who is seventeen and a twenty three year old painter. The story isn't about their relationship and...just so you know...they aren't going to run off into the sunset together and live happily ever after?

Why?

Well, because I just don't think it's the right thing for them.

That's the thing you have to keep in mind when you're working on a project that features a romance that doesn't conform to today's society. If it's important to your characters and to your story for the relationship to have a happy ending, then by all means...let them have their happy ending. If not...then feel free to torture your darlings.

I will say that I do not cringe at stories where there is a significant age difference between the two characters. Let's face it...Edward is old enough to be Bella's great-grandpa. If that doesn't freak you out then teenagers being with someone four or six or even ten years older shouldn't bother you either.

I'm not saying that I condone relationships between minors and adults in real life but I am saying that it should be written about. Not for the sake of shock value or anything like that but because...it's realistic.

People fall in love (or like) everyday despite age difference.

Getting back to my wip.

I have asked myself many times why I couldn't just make Sam (the twenty three year old) my main character's age. Why couldn't he be a boy who sits behind her in class or the boy next door? The answer I ended up with was this: it just wouldn't work for the story if Sam was same age as Claire.

Claire needs someone who understands what she's going through. Her sister committed suicide and she was the one who found her body and because of that...everyone is treating her differently. Then she meets Sam, someone who does understand what it's like to lose a sibling to suicide, someone who doesn't judge her and someone who could possibly be a shoulder to lean on...despite the fact that he's almost six years older than her.

I know some people might not like the age difference in my story even after knowing all of this but...at the end of the day if you're going to write a 'taboo' relationship then...by all means go do it.

That being said...make sure you're writing one for all the right reasons, and not the wrong. If you just want to write one for shock-value, then maybe you shouldn't write the story at all.

The whole purpose of my story is to explore how different people deal with grief and death and dying and...Sam is a character who is more than just his age. He brings so much to the story because he has lived just a little bit longer than Claire and...he has his own emotional baggage and I would hate to destroy that by making him sixteen or seventeen or even eighteen.

Though Sam and Claire do not end up together in my book...it doesn't mean that their aren't happy endings in real life or that there shouldn't be ones in books. Stay With Me by Garret Freymann-Weyr (one of my favorite books) is a story that involves a teenage girl who falls in love with a man nearly twice her age. I say involves because the story is not about a teenage girl who falls in love with a man nearly twice twice her age, just as my story isn't about a girl who falls in like (I won't say it's love) with a man who is six years older than her.

I don't want to make this a really long post so let me just end by saying if you want to write a young adult book that involves a taboo relationship then by all means write one. Just just make sure you're not writing it just for shock-value and know that your story doesn't have to center around the relationship.

I know a lot of people will disagree with me but I'm really curious about what you guys think.

Are taboo relationships okay in YA books? Should they have happy endings?

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Sunday Seven

Sunday Seven

Posted by Raven M on 6:58 AM in

I know I haven't been good on updating my blog but...I'm going to try to post more often.

1. In case you didn't know...I'm a senior! I never thought my senior year would come, but it's here and even though it's still the beginning of the school year...I am ready to graduate. Sure...I'm a little scared about going out into the "real world" but I'm ready for an adventure. Plus, I already know what I'm going to major and minor in. Creative Writing for my major and Sociology for my minor. I'm so excited!

2. I took my SATs last week. They were easier than I thought they were going to be. There were a few questions that made me go...meh. But I think I did fairly well. The writing section was a piece of cake though...so I hope I get a good score.

3. I'm at a new school this year since my old high school closed. It's hard being in a new school with people I don't know. Some of the kids I went to middle school with go there but we haven't seen each other in three years so it's kind of hard to connect. It would help if I wasn't so shy. I'm more of a listener than a talker. I don't know why especially since my mom is REALLY outgoing. She's the kind of person who can start up a conversation with a complete stranger but I get nervous around people easily...*sighs* Part of me thinks that I'm having a hard time adjusting to my new school because I miss my old one. It was a horrible school but...I knew everyone there. I had nice teachers and even though it wasn't the best school...it was MY school, you know?

4. I made yet another Tumblr: http://ravenamo.tumblr.com/

5. So...I recently started watching Firefly. It was on tv a couple of weeks ago and I watched it and immediately fell in love with it. Firefly is so amazing and...I just don't understand why it had to end so soon. If you have never watched Firefly, I suggest you do so now. Just so you don't have any excuses as to why you're not watching it, you can watch the pilot episode (and a few others) on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb_5nOoAzhA&feature=colike

6. Here's some of the music I've been listening to lately:

7. I started reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. It's a really funny...really inspiring...very heartwrenching read. There are times when I want to laugh and times when I want to breathe in the words. Junior is a wonderful character and if you haven't read this book, please go do so now.

Thanks for reading and I hope everyone has a wonderful day.

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here's another small teaser from my wip

here's another small teaser from my wip

Posted by Raven M on 11:44 PM in teaser, things left unsaid, writing,

I didn't want to completely erase him out of my life especially since I still had so much to learn about my sister. Denise used to talk about you so much. Though he was clearly speaking English, those words sounded so foreign to me. Not like French or Spanish, those languages were easier to understand than this.

Alex was speaking Pig Latin an old, forgotten and dead language that I just couldn't seem to understand.

Maybe I didn't hear him right.

It just didn't make any sense. Why would Denise talk about me to him?

She didn't even know me.

- from THINGS LEFT UNSAID

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first drafts don't equal the end of the world

first drafts don't equal the end of the world

Posted by Raven M on 1:34 PM in first drafts, thoughts, writing,

It's taken me YEARS to realize that but it's true.

It doesn't.

Early Sunday morning there was a really bad storm that woke me up and so I put on some music and started reading over my wip which I had temporarily trunked at 35.8k words.

I know it's not good to read over your wip before you finish it, but by the time I read from beginning to end...I was crying.

Not because it's a sad book (it is) but because there were good parts among the extremely sucky parts. There were A LOT of sucky parts but the point I'm trying to make is FIRST DRAFTS ARE GONNA SUCK...and they're gonna suck hard.

But forget about sucking.

Just think about all the good things you have. Think about how happy you'll feel once you finish. Think about FINISHING.

First drafts are made to be fixed. There is nobody in the world who has written a solid first draft. And if you happen to know someone who has - direct me to that person please!

But, seriously, don't give up on your novel especially if you love it. And if you need to take a break from it, take a break. Work on something else for a few days, and then come back to your wip with new eyes.

You can do it.

I believe in you.

Happy writing guys! :D

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Heartbreak: a poem

Heartbreak: a poem

Posted by Raven M on 10:23 AM in poetry,

It's been a while since I've wrote poetry...so I'm a little rusty. But this is for The Merry Sisters of Fate contest where the winner gets three ARCs of books written by the three authors. In case you didn't know, the MSOF are authors Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton, and Brenna Yovanoff.

They post amazing original stories/flash fiction every week, and if you want to be entered into the contest all if you have to do is write something inspired by the painting "The Turret Stairs" by Frederic Burton.

HEARTBREAK

His hands are shackles
And I am their reluctant prisoner
In the shadows he waits to capture me

Susanna
He says my name like a prayer
Though many bow when they see me
His is the only worship that is true

We shouldn't do this
My lips are traitors
They betray the feelings that wage war in my heart, in my soul,
as he buries his lips in the crook of my arm

I have waited long enough, my queen
And so he has
Every night he comes for me
Every night he wairs

On the turret stairs
Where our hearts beats in synchronicity

Run away with me
His voice is filled with an urgency that makes me wish
That I could forsake the throne to follow him
Into the unknown
But I cannot

I have a duty to my kingdom
When one becomes a queen she must forget that she is a woman
She must ignore the passions that shatter her bones and flutter her heart
She must remember, always, who her first love is

You mean to your king?
I turn my face into the wall,
And blush as only sinners do

I love you enough to let you go
So show me the same courtesy,
And love me enough to let me stay
Those aren't the words that I want to say
Those aren't the words that I feel
But they are the words I must say
They are the words I must feel

He is my reluctant warden
He hesitates to let me go
He gives me one last kiss on the palm of my hand
And it is then the lights dim; signaling the end of the show

The audience erupts into cheers
And we take our bows

I wish it didn't have to end this way
His voice cracks; he is close to tears
I look at him
He looks at me
For only a moment
But a moment is all it takes

Me too
I whisper
As his heart breaks.

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taking risk

taking risk

Posted by Raven M on 8:07 AM in a touch of gold, thoughts, writing,

So...I usually write contemporary.

I like contemporary.

If it's done right, it's magical.

But you know what else I like?

Shows like Doctor Who and The X-Files. Books with kick-ass heroines and high stakes. I am the girliest of girls but that doesn't mean I don't like "getting my hands dirty".

This is exactly what I'm doing with this new project.

Getting my hands dirty.

And you know what, guys?

I'M SCARED OUT OF MY MIND.

This idea is new territory.

It's a mix of dystopian + fantasy + steampunk and...I don't know how I came up with it since I normally write contemporary and I normally don't outline or plot or anything!

There's a lot of worldbuilding I have to do. A LOT of decisions to make.

Guys...when I first thought of Faye (my main character) and her world I honestly didn't think I could do it justice.

I was scared of what would happen if it sucks. I still am scared but...

I like being scared.

I like taking risk.

You never know unless you try right?

So how about you guys? Have you taken any risk with your writing? Or do you like to play it safe?

Happy Friday!

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