Blogging from A to Z Challenge: Day 11 - Letter K

Not a whole lot of writerly words beginning with the letter K, so this post might be a tad bit of a stretch - but that's the beauty of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge! So to embrace the letter K and the fact that I write fiction, my topic today is:

Keyser Söze: One of the greatest multi-dimensional ficticious characters, of all time.

Writing is tough enough. But writing characters that have dimension? Yeah, that's an even harder task. It's so easy to think that the characters you've had in your head for so long, easily translate to your readers as just the best characters ever. But do they really? Which brings us to today's topic: Keyser Söze.

And who is he you may ask? Well, only one of the most brilliantly devised fictious criminal characters, from one of my all time favorite movies: The Usual Suspects, circa 1995. 

If you haven't seen The Usual Suspects, the premise of the film follows the interrogation of Roger "Verbal" Kint (Kevin Spacey), a small-time con man who is one of only two survivors of a massacre and fire on a ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles. The entire movie follows Kint's narration during his interrogation, as he fabricates a convoluted story about events that led him and four other criminals to the boat - and of a mysterious mob boss known as Keyser Söze, who commissioned their work. Using flashbacks and narration, Kint's story becomes increasingly complex, leading his interrogators to believe Keyser Söze is the mastermind behind everything. 

But it's all just a masterfully crafted plan by Kint's character, as he pieces together lie after wonderful lie - many of which are concocted simply by what Kint sees in front of him on the cork board in his interrogation room - creating one of the most brilliant fictious villians...hiding the real man behind the crime: himself. In the end, as he limps out of the pricinct - free on bail - and drives away, the police realize all-too late, that they've been had.

A brillant movie with so many twists and turns - all of it coming together in the last five minutes of the film, leaving you scratching your head and asking: did that really just happen? Friggin' fan-diddly-tastic!!!

And all of the above circles us back around to: writing characters that are multi-dimensional. This may be one of the hardest aspects of writing, whether you realize it or not - but to make a story grand, your characters must have more than two-dimensions. They need to be a story all in themselves, just like Keyser Söze. 

So this leaves me to ask:

Are your characters Keyser Söze worthy?

And just a reminder - the polls are open to vote for your favorite book blog via Goodreads! If you'd like to support my blog and all the book reviews I post (and thank you very much!), please click on the voting button over there to your left (just above my Twitter and Linky sections). Thanks again!!

Also, today is operation Rock the Drop! hosted by the amazing peeps over at Readergirlz and Figment, to support Teen Lit Day.

I purchased three of my favorite books: THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH by Carrie Ryan, THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES (sequel to THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH), also by Carrie Ryan, and THIRTEEN REASONS WHY by Jay Asher. Now I just need to figure out where I'm going to drop them!

Blogging from A to Z Challenge: Day 10 - Letter J

It's J day in today's Blogging from A to Z Challenge - and my topic:

J. K. Rowling

One of my most absolute favorite authors, J.K. Rowling is right up there with Roald Dahl.

Her imagination is crazy amazing. And it's insane the number of children and adults alike, she turned on to reading through her fabulous Harry Potter series. Some even say, she started the craze for Young Adult books - and I'd like to thank her for that, if I could.

J. K. Rowling has inspired my imagination, along with my writing. From a great article found on Bio. True Story - here's a little about her:

J.K. Rowling (b. July 31, 1965, in Chipping Sodbury, England) became an international literary sensation when the first three installments of her Harry Potter children's book series took over the top three slots of The New York Times best-seller list. The phenomenal response to Rowling's books culminated in 2000, when Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire became the fastest-selling book in history.

A graduate of Exeter University, Rowling moved to Portugal in 1990 to teach English. There, she met and married a Portuguese journalist named Jorge Arantes. The couple's daughter, Jessica, was born in 1993. After her marriage ended in divorce, Rowling moved to Edinburgh with her daughter to live near her younger sister, Di. While struggling to support Jessica and herself on welfare, Rowling worked on a book, the idea for which had reportedly occurred to her while she was traveling on a train from Manchester to London in 1990. After a number of rejections, she finally sold the book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (the word "Philosopher" was changed to "Sorcerer" for its publication in America), for the equivalent of about $4,000. The book, and its subseqent series, chronicled the life of Harry Potter, a young wizard, and his motley band of cohorts at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

By the summer of 2000, the first three Harry Potter books, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban earned approximately $480 million in three years, with over 35 million copies in print in 35 languages. In July 2000, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire saw a first printing of 5.3 million copies and advance orders of over 1.8 million. After a postponed release date, the fifth installment, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, hit book stores in June 2003. The sixth installment, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, sold 6.9 million copies in the United States in its first 24 hours, the biggest opening in publishing history. Prior to its July 2007 release, the seventh and final installment in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was the largest ever pre-ordered book at chain stores Barnes & Noble and Border's, and at Amazon.com.

Rowling, now Britain's 13th wealthiest woman—wealthier than even the Queen—does not plan to write any more books in the series, but has not entirely ruled out the possibility.

Most every writer dreams of having stats like J. K. Rowling - and while her's is such a rare talent, it's still fun to dream. I mean, to sell over 35 million copies, and be printed in 35 languages? Holy cow. And then there's the fact she's wealthier than the Queen of England. Jeesh. It's a good thing she started to scribble that story down on that napkin, all those years ago - not to mention kept pushing forward, when all those publishers said no. 

J.K. Rowling: Has she inspired you in any way?

Blogging from A to Z Challenge: Day 9 - Letter I

The great letter I is up in today's Blogging from A to Z Challenge - and my topic:

Inspiration

Inspirtion can come from many different places. And thanks to my passion for writing, I'm constantly looking for sources that inspire - here are some great places I go, for writing inspiration:

The Internet:

1. Pinterest
2. Google
3. Twitter
4. YouTube
5. Blogs

In Nature:

6. Going for a long drive
7. Opening my front door and taking a 5 minute walk
8. Watching a child swing at the local park
9. My garden

In my home:

10. Where I write
11. Where I cook
12. Where I watch TV
14. Where I read 

Out and About:

15. A great bookstore
16. The mall
17. The library
18. A sporting event
19. A previous vacation
20. Sitting in traffic

So many places can provide inspiration, if you just stop for 5 minutes to look at what surrounds you!

I find I get much of my inspiration for my writing, from my travels and the pictures I've taken. Not only do the pictures bring back great memories, but they give me a visual image to focus on. Here are a few pictures I've taken that I like to keep on hand: 

Anniversary in Kapalua, MauiBusiness trip to Machu Picchu, PeruHoneymoon in Italy

Inspiration: where do you find it?

Also - today the polls are open to vote for your favorite book blog via Goodreads! If you'd like to support my blog and all the book reviews I post (and thank you very much!), please click on the voting button over there to your left (just above my Twitter and Linky sections). Thanks again!!

Blogging from A to Z Challenge: Day 8 - Letter H

Tomorrow's a pretty crazy day for me and I'll most likely be off-line, so I'm posting my H post today!

We've got H on the table in today's Blogging from A to Z Challenge - and my topic:

The Harvard Comma

According to online sources, the Harvard comma (also know as the serial comma or Oxford comma, and sometimes referred to as the series comma) is the comma used immediately before a coordinating conjunction (usually and or or, and sometimes nor) preceding the final item in a list of three or more items.

Clear as mud? No?

Okay, here's a good example of the Harvard comma in action: a list of three countries should be punctuated as "Portugal, Spain, and France" (with the Harvard comma placed just after Spain and before the and) - not as "Portugal, Spain and France" (without the Harvard comma).

Or better yet, let's let the picture do the talking:

I’m not gonna lie, I'm a big fan of the comma in general - even more so of the Harvard comma. Probably because while tiny in stature, it serves a muey important function. Like ensuring that writers don’t fly through their writing without taking a single breath. Or, yanno, separating a series of words from one another so there isn't any confusion.

But I find it quite humorous how so many of us disagree on the proper usage of this diminuative dash...which now brings me to your opinion.

The Harvard comma (or serial comma or Oxford comma): Are you a believer?

Blogging from A to Z Challenge: Day 7 - Letter G

G is up for grabs on today's Blogging from A to Z Challenge - and my topic:

Goodreads

I'm sure there are a million websites out there, where you can learn all about the latest new releases in book titles, share reviews of books you've read, chat with others who have similar likes, and enter contests to win the hottest upcoming reads - but there's really only one site for me, and that's Goodreads.

I'm a huge fan of this site for a number of reasons, but primarily it's to find new books to add to my TBR list. And of course - I never thought I'd say this after high school - but I absolutely love to post my book reviews, once I've read something.

As well, I've met some pretty incredible writers and friends via Goodreads - and I've found some of the best books I've ever read over there. If you're not a member yet, I'd recommend stopping by and checking it out for yourself (just click on the g icon down there to your right) - it's free! Oh, and feel free to friend me while you're at it - I'd love to hear what you're reading, and add some more great books to my TBR list!

Direct from the Goodreads website, here's a little about this gem:

What Is Goodreads?

Goodreads is the largest site for readers and book recommendations in the world. We have more than 7,500,000 members who have added more than 270,000,000 books to their shelves. A home for casual readers and bona-fide bookworms alike, Goodreads users recommend books, compare what they are reading, keep track of what they've read and would like to read, find their next favorite book, form book clubs and much more. Goodreads was launched in January 2007. 

Our Mission

Goodreads' mission is to help people find and share books they love. Along the way, we plan to improve the process of reading and learning throughout the world.

Why We Do It

Every once in a while you run into a friend who tells you about this "great new book I'm reading." And suddenly you're excited to read it. It's that kind of excitement that Goodreads is all about. 

How We Do It

Most book recommendation websites work by listing random people’s reviews. On Goodreads, when a person adds a book to the site, all their friends can see what they thought of it. It’s common sense. People are more likely to get excited about a book their friend recommends than a suggestion from a stranger. We even created an amazing algorithm that looks at your books and ratings, and helps you find other books based on what fellow Goodreads members with similar tastes enjoyed. Ultimately, it’s all based on our foundation of true-blue readers. Our members also create trivia about books, lists of the best books, post their own writing and form groups and book clubs. 

Goodreads: Are you a member? What do you use Goodreads for?

You've gotta check out my great writerly friend, Alison Miller, as she plugs along on the A to Z challenge!

Blogging from A to Z Challenge: Day 6 - Letter F

Day #6 and today's letter is F on the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. And my topic today is:

Favorite Books

Everyone has at least one.

Me? Way too many - but that's a good thing, right? Afterall, isn't that the point of reading - hoping to find that next amazing book that you just can't put down?

My list of favorites is constantly growing - and when I look back on all the good books I've read, here are ten great books (or series) that always pop up as books I'd recommend to anyone - plus, I've included links to my reviews, if you're interested in hearing what I thought:

1. Anything by Roald Dahl:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The B.F.G.
The Witches
James and the Giant Peach
The Twits
Matilda
The Enormous Crocodile
Fantastic Mr. Fox

2. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

3. The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay trilogy by Suzanne Collins

4. The Divergent series by Veronica Roth

5. The Forest of Hands and Teeth, The Dead-Tossed Waves, and The Dark and Hollow Places trilogy by Carrie Ryan

6. If I Stay and Where She Went by Galye Forman

7. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

8. Unbroken by Laura Hilenbrand

9. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

10. Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Favorite Books - what have you read lately that will have a permanent home on your all-time favorites list? 

If you're out and about today, head on over to Jaime Morrow's website and check out her E post from yesterday on the 80's - it'll make you wonder, how did we survive that decade? 

Sarah Pearson is all about Friends, on her F post today - stop on by!

And Colin D. Smith has a Friday Fives post on his Favorite Fables - say THAT three times fast!