Happy NaNoWriMo Eve!

I can't believe it's finally here, NaNoWriMo Eve! I am so excited to get started as this is my very first year participating in the ultimate writing challenge of 50,000 words in 30 days.

Yes, I'm so excited I feel the need to use a gif or two.

Any who, I finally narrowed it down to which plot I'll be using, you can take a look at my synopsis under Writing, I've got my outline and research together, all that's left, planning wise, it putting together an EPIC writing soundtrack. I am definitely someone who does not function well in silence, some type of background noise is a necessity but I find my best work happens when my ears are completely engulfed in music. Makes sense doesn't it? Creativity to help spur creativity. Once I've got my music together, I will be ready to WRITE!

BEHOLD, my magical pencil which shall produce 50k words of pure genius!

Are you guys done planning for NaNoWriMo or I'm dealing with a bunch of pansters here? Good luck everyone on the writing process and, please, add me as a buddy on the NaNoWriMo Forum. The only way we'll get through this is together! Happy writing!

Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Allegiant
Veronica Roth
526 pages
Published October 22 2013 by Harper Collins Children's Books
Rating: 4/5 

Now many reviewers have given Allegiant low reviews and I probably would have too had I written my review immediately after reading the book. I was in complete and utter shock muttering to myself, "I can't believe this!" However, I decided to step away and really think about and evaluate what I read. My goal is to give true and honest reviews and I can't do that when I'm still reeling from the emotional roller coaster. So without further ado, here is my honest review of Allegiant by Veronica Roth.

The story, near the end, definitely took a turn that I wasn't expecting and at first I didn't really like it but after I thought about it, Allegiant is a dystopian so it's not going to give me an ending where everything magically works out and we go running off into the sunset happily ever after. Dystopians are about the real world, our world, and how easily it can get so messed up so naturally it needs a real world ending. Was the ending bad? No. Was it what I wanted? No. Was it fitting for the story? Yes, a thousand times yes. 

The world can be a crappy place, people can be crappy, a lot of damage can happen to us and unfortunately nine times out of ten our lives do not have a perfect ending. Allegiant shows that despite this, there is hope. Everything may not be perfect but grab hold to things that do/did work well and never let them go. They have molded you and make you the person, hopefully a better person, you are today. You will grow, you will change, and as Tobias stated you will be mended. Most importantly, you will live on. 

Speaking of Tobias, I really had an internal tug-of-war over him in Allegiant. He was not the same cool, super bad ass we met in Divergent. This really bothered me because that was the guy I/we all fell in love with and all I/we ever knew when it came to him and that's just it, that's all I/we ever knew about Four. The guy we fell in love with was great but he was incomplete, not whole. In Allegiant, Roth allows Four to grow leaps and bounds so that he could finally become a whole person. We may not like it because he occasionally comes off as a "pansycake" but it was necessary for him to go through that cathartic journey. As much as we think he was a total bad ass, Tobias was still that scared little boy who lived in the Abnegation sector. Allegiant finally forced him to face his fears and become the strong man he always wanted to be. 

Point, blank: read Allegiant. It may not have the ending you're used to or want but it was the perfect ending for the Divergent Series. I laughed, cried, was happy, surprised,got angry and was left, for the most part, satisfied. Hats off to Veronica Roth for being bold and giving us an ending that we truly needed.

NaNoWriMo: Get in the Game

I read books. I love books.  

I was the kid in high school English clash that went WAY over the page number requirement for fictional essays because I would just keep writing, keep getting ideas, keep seeing scenes play through my mind.

I am the reader who continues the story in her head way after the book has ended adding my own twists and turns, developing the characters further, exploring their worlds deeper and deeper.

I am now the high school history teacher dissatisfied with my daily goings and mourning the loss of her creativity. I don't draw anymore, paint anymore, and especially don't write anymore... until now.

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is upon us and I am stepping out onto the ledge and signing up for the challenge to write 50,000 words in one month. It's daunting, its scary, its challenging, and its just what I need to bring some spark back into my creative side. I'm sure I will produce something I wouldn't even want caught on the bottom of my shoe but it won't stay that way. It will be reviewed, edited, revised, and further crafted and will come out better than before.

There's something in me that has been urging me to write and that is exactly what I plan to do. It's time for
me stop sitting on the sidelines watching everyone else have all the fun. I'm getting in the game and making my own calls! Put me in coach, I'm ready!