I'm Back! And a Bit About Indecisiveness

Hello fellow bloggers/blog readers! I must apologize for the lack of blogging this month. Me and mine have had a difficult month (for a hint at our hardships, see the chicken). But now that we are all healthy again, it seems like the sun is shining a little brighter, the flowers are blooming, and the weather has turned warm. Then again, it could be that spring arrived while we were quarantined to our house!

Anyhow, on to writing stuff. So, my 2-year-old has a new favorite movie. She's watched it about 500 times this month (not much else to do while your sick!). And we've all memorized the songs.

Can I hear a woo-hoo for Disney's Tangled!!!?

Anyhow, we were watching the extras on the Tangled disc and you know what?

The movie had three different beginnings before they finally decided which one was the best! Sound a little indecisive?

This indecisiveness totally sounds like me! But it is typically my endings that get changed. My point is, nothing you write is set in stone (unless it is being published and by then, it will be perfect). So embrace change--Disney does, after all, and they've been in the story-telling business for a looooooong time! Think of different endings/beginnings and don't be afraid to write more than one! Sometimes the best comes after the story is written.

And just so you know . . . It is GREAT to be back!

DIVERGENT :: A Bookanista Review (aka Veronica Roth = Genius)

Veronica Roth's DIVERGENT = Wow. That's all I have to say.

AND...

READ THIS BOOK!

This book is proof that you can write an outstanding story, with really tough characters, without using sex or swearing (okay, there are a few minor cuss words). And for a writer to be able to do that, she has to be a pure genius. So I guess Veronica Roth = GENIUS!

Blurb from Amazon:

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.

And in the words of fellow Bookanista Veronica Roth--via Amazon again (these are precious words so read them twice!)

Q: What advice would you offer to young aspiring writers, who long to live a success story like your own?

Roth: One piece of advice I have is: Want something else more than success. Success is a lovely thing, but your desire to say something, your worth, and your identity shouldn’t rely on it, because it’s not guaranteed and it’s not permanent and it’s not sufficient. So work hard, fall in love with the writing—the characters, the story, the words, the themes—and make sure that you are who you are regardless of your life circumstances. That way, when the good things come, they don’t warp you, and when the bad things hit you, you don’t fall apart.

(By the way, this book comes out May 3!)

For more Bookanista reviews, check out:

Elana Johnson visits Dark and Hollow Places
LiLa Roecker gets silly over Spoiled
Christine Fonseca has a passion for Possession – with giveaway
Shannon Messenger marvels at Moonglass – with giveaway
Jamie Harrington adores Invincible Summer
Shelli Johannes-Wells is in the grip of Possession
Scott Tracey bathes in Blood Magic
Carolina Valdez Miller interviews Invicible Summer author Hannah Moskowitz
Jessi Kirby praises Playing Hurt
Shana Silver presents a Guestanista gushing over Between Here and Forever
Gretchen McNeil parties over The Anti-Prom
Carrie Harris sings out about Shift
Rosemary Clement-Moore applauds Abandon
Sarah Frances Hardy enjoys Me Jane
Matt Blackstone loves Like Mandarin
Corrine Jackson delights in The Duff
Stasia Ward Kehoe discusses Displacement