Rawr.

Anyone else addicted?

I just discovered MTV's 'Teen Wolf' and it's putting a huge dent in my writing habits.

I'm not mad.

Rawr.

Write and read or maybe not. Or maybe.

You know how some realizations occur to you multiple times, but you don't really acknowledge them until the sixth time around?

Maybe you don't.

Maybe this is just me being stubborn.

(I'm not stubborn)

Either way, this morning I realized this (again): If I'm writing fantasy, it's difficult for me to read fantasy. Likewise, if I'm writing realistic fiction, it's difficult for me to read realistic fiction. And so on and so on.

I've know this for a while. I even remember telling myself "David. Listen. You should probably realize that your writing habits are so slow right now they're riding on the short bus headed in the wrong direction. Maybe this is because you keep thinking about the book you're reading and how it relates to yours. Maybe you should read something else."

"That is ridiculous," I told myself. "My writing clearly just needs a break. I do not have a problem here. Not a big deal"

(I'm not stubborn)

"You don't think it's a problem that you keep thinking about how the book you're reading doesn't fit into the book you're writing?" I said back to myself.

"Absolutely not," I said.

(Not. Stubborn.)

Myself sighed. "And the fact that you keep visualizing your characters in that other books world is not a problem?"

"Self, you are clearly delusional."

"Right back at ya."

This morning I realized all this again, but finally had the smarts to listen. I keep putting my characters into the books I read. I visualize them in these worlds that are not mine. I force them to interact with other characters that are not mine. I even picture them looking differently from time to time. (Did I just rhyme?) The reason for this is that I keep reading books that are so closely related to what I'm writing, that I confuse the two and mix them. This happens to me especially if I'm reading something that's not so special. You know, reading a book just to read it because it has a pretty cover or a good author or an awesome title that let's you know it has blood and kissing and action and pretty things.

(I'm not stubborn. And I'm not a sucker for marketing.)

So. Where was I going with this?

Oh, yeah.

Don't read what you write. Or do, if that works for you. But it doesn't for me.

Except sometimes when it does.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU &%$#!"

There was a recent article in US News and World Report that discussed the idea of profanity in YA literature and mulled around this question: "Is it time to rate young adult books for mature content?" Considering the fact that so many YA authors support each other tooth and nail, it's not surprising that many of them, like the bleeping hysterical Kiersten White, have begun to voice their opinions on the topic.

Here is mine.

So many things in life are situational. Which is why, perhaps, we often say things like "you just had to be there." Things change when we try to explain them. It's beautiful in a way to be part of a moment like that, when you know it can only be truly explained to the people you're with, or maybe even just you. But sometimes we can't explain things. We can only live them.

What is great about so many authors of YA literature today is that they write about these real moments, the good and the bad, and they're doing it in a very real way. Gritty. True. Powerful. Yes, a lot of the more popular YA novels are fiction or fantasy based, but a lot of the situations portrayed in those bestsellers have the possibility to become very real. This article, for an example, stated that there are around "50 f-bombs" in one recent GOSSIP GIRL novel.

Well. Really. There should be.

Side note: Brigham Young University actually spent cash on a study that counted the amount of profanity in YA novels. 

GOSSIP GIRL is a novel series about teenagers, depicting moments that could be real. And yes, although the things seen on the television series and in the book series probably don't happen to normal teens (or even normal adults), the way they talk and dress and feel and love are all very much real in the lives of many young adults. Considering that, isn't GOSSIP GIRL just mimicking the language so many teenagers use today? Shouldn't this argument be flipped?

If so many YA novels are accurately portraying young adults (and they are), shouldn't we be more worried about how our young adults got like that, instead of attacking the authors that got it right?

So often literature and movies reflect the way a society thinks and feels. There is more sex on television because people watch it. There is more swearing on the radio because people listen to it. 50 SHADES OF SEX GRAY? I mean, c'mon. Are those things okay? Is it okay for teens to swear? To have sex?

Is it okay for young adults to love as deeply as we write?

Who really knows. It's all a matter of opinion. But I do know this: The more adults pretend tough situations don't exist, the more they do. Young adults find ways to seek out that information (I know I did) we hide from them, and if we're so afraid that they'll become a Gossip Girl or Boy, then avoiding or banning something just because it's not what we agree with probably isn't the answer. Like this article mentions, I think that parents need to read what their children read. With the variety and the quality of YA books on the market these days, it's so easy to pick one that lends itself well to any tough conversation. We should not forget the fact that we have books like SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson, or CRANK by Ellen Hopkins, or BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver - books that are as real as they are difficult as they are truthful. Books that swear, not because it's cool or because they can, but because they must. Because they show us the possible consequences of real actions. Use these beautifully written difficult books to talk. And, like Gayle Forman mentioned on her blog, if you have questions or concerns about content go to your local Barnes and Noble and ask - or read the book yourself first. Or look online - Amazon has age ratings right next to the page count. It's so simple to be informed these days that there's really no excuse not to be.

But this whole argument is a matter of opinion and personal choice.

I don't swear often. I don't feel like I need to.

But, just like Mrs. Weasley, I feel there are situations that arise when swearing is certainly the right way to go. After all, if and when I'm a parent, and an evil wizard attacks my daughter, you can bet I'll whip my wand out and scream this:

"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!"

"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU &%$#!" just doesn't cut it.

Holla Yo British Clap. What?

What makes a song good?

In my opinion:

1. British(ish) accents

2. Clapping

3. Pseudo-rap

That is all.

Well played, SHADOW AND BONE. Well played.

Those of you who, like me, follow Maggie Stiefvater's blog know she has a rule where she only blurbs about books she loves. LOVES. All caps. Books that move her. Make her cry. Sob. Give her chills. Stay with her long after the last page has been read. Books that are so amazing that they are five stars all the way and nothing less.

Well played, Stiefvater. Well played.

So, I'm doing this. I'll only be blurbing books that are, to me, five stars all the way.


Side note: I've also rediscovered "well played. well played" so I'll be using that a lot. Everything is very 90's to me right now for whatever reason, and I have a huge urge to watch Space Jam and Power Rangers.


Well played, Netflix. Well played.

Down to business. I just finished reading (just = one month ago) an ARC of a book that Veronica Roth says is "unlike anything I've ever read." BAM:

I agree, Veronica! Although I also felt like there was something about SHADOW AND BONE that was very familiar, and I enjoyed the fact that it felt, in places, like it was a story I knew already. This, I think, is because the characters and the world were both so well written that it just felt like home. SHADOW AND BONE is not a love story, but there is love. There is love between family, love between friends, love between strangers, and love that really maybe isn't love just yet. I love that nothing was black and white in this book, but various shades of dark. There was mystery. There was suspense. There were characters I began to care about, and characters I hated. But my favorite part was the world. Bardugo created a world that was filled with shadows and characters that moved them. She created a world so unique and creative and dangerous and different that I wanted to live in it. More importantly, Bardugo's world in SHADOW AND BONE felt so vast that it was almost incomplete. She created it so well that you, as the reader, know there is more to come. You know there are places in this world just waiting for you. You know there are characters you have yet to be introduced to. You know there will be love and heartbreak and danger. And you can't wait to be pulled back in.

The good news? This is Book 1.