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shadows-echoes · 5 years

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Writer’s Questionnaire

tagged by: @negotiator-on-site and @deviantramblings . Thank you guys for the tag! I spent way too long thinking about these tbh.

Short stories, novels, or poems?

For reading? Novels. I love absolutely delving into a world and completely immersing myself in it. In my experience, poems/short stories are like looking through a window: the more you look, the more you’ll probably see. Reading a novel, or an entire series, is more like walking through a door into another world, and that’s exactly what I want from a story. I want it to completely consume me.

With all of that being said, what’s the exact word count that draws the line between a short story and a novel? 10,000 words might be a short story, but is 25,000 still considered a short story? 100,000? 300,000? Where is the line drawn? Tbh, I’m 100% down with any long-ish story that draws me in.

As for writing… Imma keep it real with you chiefs, the shortest stories I’ve ever written are for D:BH. Pretty much every other fic of mine is 25+ pages, and a couple of the longer ones are closer to, or exceed, 180 pages. I haven’t finished those. They’re all drafts, so to speak, and the amount of editing needed makes me balk whenever I think about it, but they’re there. The stories that I’ve actually finished are all short-ish stories lol (at least in comparison to some of the other stuff I’ve written).

What genre do you prefer reading?

FANTASY!!!! We live in a non-fiction world that can be quite depressing at times. If I’m going to fling myself into a story, I want it to be magical. I want it to have something that this world doesn’t. I want magic and dragons and mystery and soulmates and forbidden love and all the crazy shit.

What genre do you prefer writing?

Fantasy/fiction.

Are you a planner or a write-as-I-go kind of person?

It depends on the story. Most times, I’ll write one scene and it develops into an entire plotline as I write it. Other times, like with Of Blood and Biocomponents for example, I’ll spend a lot of time planning everything out before I write it so I can work in a number of clues and Chekov’s guns’, etc.

What music do you listen to while writing?

When I really need to focus, I’ll listen to anything instrumental. That can range from soundtracks (e.g. from The Last of Us, LotR, Hans Zimmer’s stuff), to more individualized and upbeat songs (e.g. Lindsey Stirling, Peter Gundry, Max Richter, Hidden Citizens) to classical (e.g. Chopin, Wieniawski, Mozart), or even just ambiance rain sounds on youtube etc. Otherwise, when I need to get in the mood for a certain scene I have entire playlists dedicated to evoking a certain emotion (e.g angst -obviously-, sadness, love, adrenaline rushes).

Fave books/movies?

I don’t really have any favorite movies so I’m just going to list a whole bunch of books/series I love:

ACoTaR by Saraj Maas

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Learning Not to Drown by Anna Shinoda

Feminist Fight Club by Jessica Bennett

ASoIaF by George Rmartin Rmartingeorge Martin

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (a classic that breaks my heart)

Night by Elie Wiesel (a classic that breaks my soul)

1984 by George Orwell (a classic we practically live in rn and it terrifies me)

Some Quiet Place by Kelsey Sutton

The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda (the plot twist at the end of this series blew me the fuck away. It’s been years and I still haven’t found my wig)

Any current WIPs?

Only around like… 16? (Excluding all of the half-formed ideas and prompts in my “Graveyard” folder, that is). Which is incredibly surprising to me? I thought it’d be way more. However, most of those WIPs are all… heartbreakingly long and only half-finished, so like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

If someone were to make a cartoon out of you, what would your standard outfit be?

Lace-up combat boots, black jeans, and a random, probably blank, t-shirt.

Create a character description for yourself:

Hi, I’m Jayde, an average human person who thinks obsessively writing and learning new stuff are fun activities. I look like Idc but I actually care too much; I’m a ride-or-die bitch. Intovert™ (I would much rather have a first conversation w/ someone be about the trolly problem or systems theory instead of the weather). Often low-key enraged by society.

Do you like incorporating people you actually know into your writing?

Aspects of them? Of course. Actually writing them into a story? Nope. I totally draw on my experiences with certain people to help me write. That’s a given with any writer. However, unless I’m writing a biography on them with a full Chicago-style bibliography then I leave real people the heck alone.

Are you kill-happy with characters?

Depends on the characters. I have killed off a couple, but my soul is fueled on angst and there’s only so much of that a single death can provide. Nah, it’s usually better if people are alive and just… injured or... problematic.

Coffee or tea while writing?

I’m usually most productive writing-wise at night, so it’s either decaffeinated green tea or hot chocolate for me (bc I do try to have some kind of sleep schedule even if I fail with that goal).

Slow or fast writer?

So, so slow.

Where/who/what do you find inspiration from?

Anything, really. Sometimes an idea will just pop into my head and I’ll have to write it. Other times, it’ll start with a feeling, a situation, or an experience that slowly morphs into a fic the more I think about it.

If you were put into a fantasy world, what would you be?

Idk what I would be, but I’d love to be literally anything/anyone with some kind of magic or special ability. Like, bruh, I’m already human, gimme something else. Gimme some of the good shit.

Most fave book cliche? Least fave book cliche?

(Well-written) LOVE TRIANGLES AND MUTUAL PINING!!!!

I’m so fuckn horny on main for a good love triangle. When they’re done badly, they’re atrocious. That’s a given. But when they’re done well??? Hot damn. Like the kind of love triangles in ACoTaR, the Shatter Me series, or even the Trylle series (which first got me into it all). The kind where problems develop naturally between the MC and the first love interest, where the MC has to work with the “bad guy” for some reason or other and it turns out he’s actually super fuckn dope (*cough* Rhysand *Cough*). The kind where the more MC learns about the people she’s/he’s/they’re around, the more their feelings start to shift based on that knowledge.

I do not mean the kind where the MC just can’t make up her/his/their mind bc omg Hot Person #1 is so hot and looks to be carved from marble, but omg Hot Person #2 is also so hot, looks to be carved from marble, and is also mysterious.

As for a cliché I hate (if the poorly written love triangle doesn’t count in and of itself), I seriously dislike the damsel-in-distress thing. Don’t get me wrong, that card can be very well played in some cases, but when it’s the only card in the whole damn deck for 200, 300, 400+ pages? Nah, brah. I’m out. I’m certainly not asking for BAMF MC every time, but like,,, at least give the MC a goddamn spine you absolute cowards.

Fave scenes to write?

Pining and angst, baby.

Most productive time of day for writing?

The ungodly hours between night and day, when the outside world falls quietly into slumber and one’s imagination runs wild in the dark.

Reason for writing?

I started writing because I had some ideas and realized that nobody could/would write them in the exact way I imagined them except for me? I’ve continued writing because it has almost become a coping mechanism to explore and organize my thoughts and feelings and daydreams in some kind of coherent way. Plus it’s fun.

Tagging: @deviantsupporter @deviancy-wasteland @sunstrain @writerscavity @aerynwrites

#tag game #writing

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boldlybloggingbooks · 6 years

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Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1) by Tahereh Mafi

For the record, I read the ENTIRE series (books + novellas) in roughly three days. I COULDN’T PUT THEM DOWN. And then I might have cried when I realized that Restore Me hadn’t come out yet. So now I’m waiting with baited breath because OH MY GOODNESS this was one intense and amazing ride, and I NEED more.

Even before you crack the cover – check out that AMAZING cover art. At a quick glance, it’s just an eye, BUT…! The level of detail around it is so subtle yet detailed (as it is on every cover in the Shatter Me series). I found this a really refreshing and creative cover design. Love it love it love it.

Summary: Juliette Ferrars doesn’t have a touch of gold. No, she has a touch of death. Just one touch and she can completely incapacitate… or kill. She has no idea why she has this power. No one else knows either, so after extensive, inconclusive testing Juliette gets locked up. Alone. For 264 days. While the rest of the world falls into chaos.

Shatter Me opens on the day Juliette finally receives a roommate – the one person from her past who ever cared about her. Now, with The Reestablishment wishing to use her as a weapon, Juliette must find her inner strength and explore a strength she never knew she had.

My reaction: FDkJGN;GKuN;VZsKIUfV;A. Okay, great. That’s out of the way. Like I said, I binge-read all the books and novellas in a few short days. I’m normally a fast reader, but even this pace was insane by my standards. There was something so captivating about the characters, their world, the writing (yeah, yeah pretty much everything) that I couldn’t stop. And truthfully, I almost didn’t pick these books up. I found a few pretty negative reviews about the characters and writing style, and they made me hesitant to start. But I’ve seen these books hyped in SO many places, that I just had to read them. And I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED.

Juliette was a very well-written character. The chaotic jumble of thoughts, random attention to detail, and repetition of words and phrases admittedly took a while to get used to, but you have to remember: she’s basically been in solitary confinement for nearly a year. So, yes, she is a mess before you even factor in the three years before her lock-up where her parents, doctors, and other people made her feel like an abomination and a monster. Juliette is shattered. She hates herself. She hates The Reestablishment. She hates Warner. She’s confused by the world. She knows Adam is the only good thing in her world. And the way Juliette is written captures this so damn well. By writing the main books from Juliette’s perspective, readers are submerged in Juliette’s mind where her thoughts are a mess as she’s suddenly thrown back into the company of others.

Shatter Me (and the rest of the series) is an amazing amazing amazing book. The prose is inventive and captivating, the characters are creative and deepen over the next few books, and the plot is one you won’t soon forget.

#shatter me #shatter me series #tahereh mafi #juliette ferrars #bookworm #book blog #books

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rhysthehighlord · 6 years

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Review: Ignite Me (Shatter Me #3) by Tahereh Mafi

5 STARS FOR WARNER, JULIETTE AND KENJI

You can also find this review on my goodreads.

You shouldn't read this review, if you haven't read Unravel Me yet.

"Fear will learn to fear me."

I love this book so much and this series is now one of my all time favorite book series.

I can't believe it, but I read this entire book in just one day! I actually read all three currently out books of this series and thetwo novellas in just 6 days. I was never that fast with a book series lol.

It was an awesome read and since Juliette isn't freaking out about everything anymore, the writing style (which mirrors Juliette's thoughts) is less complicated.

The plot was super exciting and always kept me on my toes. The quiet, less action packed scenes were amazing too.

The character development of every single character (except Adam and Anderson) were so good and I love them all so much.

Juliette: Just one word: Badass. She started out as a scared girl in Shatter Me, but now she evolved into a confident woman. She's standing up for herself, she accepted her power and even found out new ways to use her power and she won't let anyone tell her what to do anymore. She is strong and isn't afraid to say what she wants. I admire her so so much.

Warner: I LOVE HIM OK? He explains some of the horrible things he has done in the past books and his actions are now in a new light. That doesn't mean that everything is excuseable or that he is a 'good' person now, but he also isn't an insane and evil psycopath. Also he's so damn hot. And he believes in Juliette so much.

Kenji: My adorable sunshine boy. We got to see him being sad/frustated/angry in this book and I liked it, because he can't always be happy and flirty. He is allowed to be negative sometimes. I was also very very happy that he had such a big role in this book and that he was around in certain situations, without him those would have escalated. His friendship with Juliette was amazing and they're friendship goals.

Adam: I get it, that he's tired of fighting and running away and that he doesn't want to risk his life anymore, since he has a responsibility towards James. And yes, Juliette isn't making it easy for him, but none of those reasons give him an excuse for all the shit he pulls off in this book. I was so mad at him at times. In the first two books I was relatively neutral towards him, tho he started to annoy me in thesecond book. And in this book I just rolled my eyes every time he opened his mouth to say something. He was acting stubborn, selfish, idiotic and childish. I really really dislike him.

The Romance: Hot, hot, hot. It's kinda clear that Warner and Juliette happened in this book, right? No? Oh, whatever. Even tho I wouldn't have blamed Juliette if she just kissed Warner, I was glad that they took their time before getting together. It was much more realistic and it was cool that Juliette wanted to be 100% sure. Also the angst, so much angst. Their relationship was amazing, before and after they got together. The anticipation killed me, but the result was worth it.

The ending is the only thing about the book, that was kinda weak. It was a bit rushed and a bit too easy. And the end was abrupt and left many questions unanswered. So I'm glad that this series was recently expended into 6 books in total. I can't wait for Restore Me.

#my review #ignite me #shatter me series

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ilikebigbooks-and-icannotlie · 7 years

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I do not hate Mal!

Hey, so @savagekaz recently got me thinking about Malina hate, and I just kind of wanted to talk about it, I guess? Let me start off by saying that I am not anti-Mal, it’s more that I’m pro-Alina. And time and time again, Mal proved that he was not. Until she suddenly disappeared, and he had a wake-up call and realized that he did indeed need her in his life. Whether that was actual love or a sudden unhealthy need is still up for debate. Either way, I’d like to call your attention to the following (super long) quote from another book. Names have been taken out to avoid spoilers: “I don’t understand!” He breaks, finally losing his composure, his voice rising in pitch. “What could [he] … possibly do for you?” I’m so shocked, so unprepared to answer such a question that I’m rendered momentarily speechless. … So I take a deep breath and try to find the right words, the right way to explain that there are so many bigger, heavier issues to deal with, but when I look up I find [he] is still staring at me, waiting for an answer to a question I now realize he’s been trying hard to suppress. Something that must be eating away at him. … So I take a deep breath. “It’s not something I know how to explain,” I say. “He’s … I don’t know.” I stare into my hands. “He was my first friend. The first person to treat me with respect—to love me.” I’m quiet a moment. “He’s always been so kind to me.” [He] flinches. His eyes widen in shock. “He’s always been so kind to you?” “Yes,” I whisper. [He] laughs a harsh, hollow sort of laugh. “This is incredible,” he says, staring at the door, one hand caught in his hair. “I’ve been consumed by this question for the past three days, trying desperately to understand why you would give yourself to me so willingly, just to rip my heart out at the very last moment for some—some bland, utterly replaceable automaton. I kept thinking there had to be some great reason, something I’d overlooked, something I wasn’t able to fathom. And I was ready to accept it,” he says. “I’d forced myself to accept it because I figured your reasons were deep and beyond my grasp. I was willing to let you go if you’d found something extraordinary. Someone who could know you in ways I’d never be able to comprehend. Because you deserve that,” he says. “I told myself you deserved more than me, more than my miserable offerings.” He shakes his head. “But this?” he says, appalled. “These words? This explanation? You chose him because he’s kind to you? Because he’s offered you basic charity?” I’m suddenly angry. I’m suddenly mortified. I’m outraged by the permission [he]’s granted himself to judge my life— that he thought he’d been generous by stepping aside. I narrow my eyes, clench my fists. “It’s not charity,” I snap. “He cares about me—and I care about him!” [He] nods, unimpressed. “You should get a dog, love. I hear they share much the same qualities.” “You are unbelievable!” I shove myself upward, scrambling to my feet … “My relationship with [him] is none of your business!” “Your relationship?” [He] laughs, loud. He moves quickly to face me from the other side of the bed, leaving several feet between us. “What relationship? Does he even know anything about you? Does he understand you? Does he know your wants, your fears, the truth you conceal in your heart?” “Oh, and what? You do?” “You know damn well that I do!” he shouts, pointing an accusatory finger at me. “And I’m willing to bet my life that he has no idea what you’re really like. You tiptoe around his feelings, pretending to be a nice little girl for him, don’t you? You’re afraid of scaring him off. You’re afraid of telling him too much—” “You don’t know anything!” “Oh I know,” he says, rushing forward. “I understand perfectly. He’s fallen for your quiet, timid shell. For who you used to be. He has no idea what you’re capable of. What you might do if you’re pushed too far.” His hand slips behind my neck; he leans in until our lips are only inches apart. What is happening to my lungs. “You’re a coward,” he whispers. “You want to be with me and it terrifies you.”

That quote belongs to the beautiful and amazing Tahereh Mafi. And yes, it comes from a completely different book, but it speaks to Malina so much, in my opinion. Alina loves Mal because he was her first love. And that’s basically the gist of it. Despite the fact that he slept with so many other women and turned her away for years. You could say that she loves him because he loves her so much, but so do entire armies of people. You could say he was willing to die for her, but again, so we’re entire armies of people. You could say that he loves her before she was the Sun Summoner, but he didn’t. He didn’t fall in love with her until after the fact. And he resented her for it and learned to love her despite it. Meanwhile Nikolai loved her all along. Nikolai also loved and understood her after the fact. Because she pulled him out of the darkness. And she lost a part of herself that she loved, and Nikolai did too, both of them far more so than Mal, who didn’t even know he had the power until the very end. Alina wanted to love Nikolai. She just felt guilty about it. Because she spent her entire life trailing after Mal. Which I guess sort of takes us to my favorite quote from this book series, and my favorite quote from any book ever tbh: “Maybe love was superstition, a prayer we said to keep the truth of loneliness at bay. I tilted my head back. The stars looked like they were close together, when really they were millions of miles apart. In the end, maybe love just meant longing for something impossibly bright and forever out of reach.” I think Nikolai scared her. I think being a queen scared her. I think being understood scared her. But I think loneliness scared her most of all. So I think she picked Mal because he was all she’d ever known, and all she ever really needed to know, and he was easy. And I think Alina didn’t want complicated. I think she just wanted to hide. From herself, from her fears, from her memories. I think she just wanted to forget. And all Nikolai could ever be was a reminder.

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