http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100406/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_money_saving_fonts

This is super helpful to me because I have be holding back on printing too many drafts because I want to save money and paper. I will for sure be changing the font for my drafts.

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/trends/vampire_lit_gets_its_scholarly_due_157516.asp?c=rss

Um, yeah. I don’t even know what to say about it. I’m positive, based on how many different vampire books I have read, I could finish top of the class. Heck, I could teach the class. Hmm, maybe I’m onto something with that last part.

I just wonder how practical this could be. I hope to start on my masters in the next fews years. Right now I can’t afford to go back to school but I still think about it a lot. The degree I have decided on is writing science. Originally I thought about creative writing but I decided the writing science would be better because it focuses more on the business side of things which I would think would be more practical. I have trouble seeing how vampire studies would be advantagous in the future. But then again, my Lord of the Ring studies have came in handy on a few occasions so maybe vampire ones would too.

1- Adam
2- The Fall
3- Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind
4- Eulogy
5- Garden State

Hmm, notice a trend?  What can I say, I’m a sucker for a great indie film.  Although honestly, I can never, and I mean never, turn down a horror flick.  Went and saw The Crazies tonight and it definately made my horror movies I enjoy a lot list.  That would include movies like The Amityville Horror, The Unborn, The Texas Chainsaw Masscre and on and on.  Why is it that so many horror movies have the word ‘the’ in front of them?

Still tons more left though.

Okay, back to editing for this girl.

The temple part is 2007 and the plane/not crashing is in 2004 right? Instead of them being different realities are they somehow just different times of the same story?

Sorry this is really random. I would love to hear at the end of the series what exactly the writing process was. I’m just jumping on the Lost train so maybe I missed some kind of explaination. Did someone come up with a master plot first?

So hooked on Lost now.

I have been a huge New Jersey fan forever.  I have vacationed there three times.  It is amazing.  The show makes me laugh.  The only part of the Jersey Shore I’ve seen is Asbury Park which is completely different.  When I’ve been there it was all emo kids.  Again, amazing.   I have given serious thought to moving there.  I could still see it happening.  I feel like I belong there, lol.  The book I’m currently editting is placed in NJ.

Off topic, I know.

          Anyways, I realized that if I was going to write a certain genre, I should get familar with it.  I started with the Harry Potter books (although I guess those are more youth than YA)  and over the last year read quite a few teen books.   Most of them were very good. It opened my eyes a lot to the fact that just because it is written for young readers does not mean that it isn’t extremely good writing.  John Green for example quickly became one of my favorite authors. 

          While reading these books I tried to come up with my own version of what made a YA book YA.  Originally I would have said content but I realized that really isn’t it.  It really almost seems that as long as your characters are young, nothing else really matters.

          This stood out to me the most while reading The Immortals series by Alyson Noel.  Let me preface this by saying I do love her books and think she is a great writer.  I am in no way putting her down.  With that said, the series seems to have a lot to do with sex so far.  Especially in the latest book, Shadowland.  Ever is made she can’t consumate her relationship with Damen.  Later she starts to think in her past lives that she might have been sleeping with someone else.  It is a lot of sex for a teen book I would think.  Is that what it takes to be a popular teen book?  Gossip Girl certainly had a lot in it.

          I guess it is another sign of how much things have changed since I was young.  I know it wasn’t all that long ago but I do not remember reading a single book with a much sex in it.  Even the shows I watched didn’t have much in them.  I remember Sabrina the Teenage Witch being my favorite and seeing it in reruns lately confirms that it was all sweet, innocent entertainment. 

            Call me old fashion, but I think in my writing I’m going to stick to sex only in the non young adult ones.  If it does get in my books, I see it more in a realistic fashion.  The way John Green involved it in Looking For Alaska was very real and age appropriate. It was completely awkward like I feel that it should be for kids  that age. 

          Any thoughts on teen books and sex from anyone else?  Do you think it fits or not?  Do you think it reflects a change in society?

          Personally, my thoughts are mixed on it.  Obviously, as a writer I want the right to publish what I want without having it ripped from the shelves because someone was upset about something in it.  If I want to put a sex scene in, I don’t see a problem with that.  If I want to talk about drinking and drugs, that should be fine.

          On the other hand though, I see how there is a line.  I think authors and definately publishers have to take some responsiblity for drawing that line.  Just the other day, my boss at work was looking over the first draft of my book.  She was shocked that there was swearing.  Note, there is maybe five swear words total and one kissing scene.  That is it.  I immedinately answered back that I had no intention of the book being on a young adult shelf.  It is meant for the regular fiction section or possibly mystery or crime.  I feel that for that genre, what I put in the book is apprioriate.  However, another series and a stand alone book I’m working on are meant for young adults.  In those ones I have no intention of swearing or doing anything that in a movie would go above PG rating.

          For the most part, I think authors are fairly aware of the audience that there book is meant for.  I find it interesting that Zoey Dean’s novel How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls is being challenged.  She said it was an adult book and every store I have seen it at put it in that second.  The book is definately on the mild side anyways.

          The issue becomes more complicated when you look at authors like Zoey Dean.  They have popular series meant for young adults but also write for older audiences.  If a teen loves there books though they might seek out the adult ones.  Is that the author’s fault though?  Should that be a reason to ban a book?  The bookstores might be actively trying to keep these books in different sections but that can’t stop someone from buying whatever they want.  Should we card kids for buying books like we do for music and movies?

          The particular side of this I have thought about for a long time.  Two things I have worked for over a year on have been a young adult series and a memior of my stories involving musicians.  The latter would definately be something that parents would not want their kids to read.  If I put out one wild adult book will that mean parents will not let their kids read my one intended for them?  Will that hurt my career?  Should I not publish something I really want to for risk of other books ending up being challenged?  I’ve even considered writing the adult one under a false name.  My thoughts on that are complicated too though.  If I put in that much work, I want to be proud of it and put my name on it.  It isn’t really about money or fame for me.  Although those would be good, even if I write something one person reads, I want to have my name proudly written on it. 

          Since yesterday I have also been thinking if there really is a reason to ban some books.  What if someone writes a guild to killing someone or a plot to kill the president or that are horribly racist or something and somehow publishes it?  It is super easy these days to “publish” books online for people to buy on demand.  Should we view books like that as just the authors right to say what they want?  I don’t know that we should.  There is a line, even if it is nearly impossible to define.  

          Do you think that in some cases book banning is okay?  Does the author have some responsibilty to think about who is going to be reading their book?

View all Portland events on Eventful ]]> http://www.heatherfinley.net/2009/09/29/do-this/feed/ 0 http://www.heatherfinley.net/2009/09/25/labron-james-gives-credit-where-it-is-due/ http://www.heatherfinley.net/2009/09/25/labron-james-gives-credit-where-it-is-due/#comments Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:31:42 +0000 heatherfinley http://www.heatherfinley.net/?p=282 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090921/ap_en_re/us_book_review_shooting_stars

          This is a really good review.  I just came across it and instantly was like, I WANT to read that book.  Sport memiors are not even my thing at all.  Actually, the only one I have read was Drive by Larry Byrd.  It was for class.  However, this writer makes Labron James’ new books sound extremely interesting.  I just might look for it next time I go to Powells.

          First off, lately I have been thinking a lot about ghost writers.  I don’t really like the idea.  Yes, I do understand that you can make a lot of money from it and such but I would think that if you put in the effort you would like to get recognition.  A lot of celebrity books are written by ghost writers.  I like that this one has a cowriter.  It adds to the idea that James was trying to give credit where it is due.  I don’t know anything about him but I like him because of that fact.

          I love the idea that the book focuses on a whole group of kids.  No one person can carry an entire team.  I don’t care if there is one superstar; you also have to have people supporting him.  It is good to see this idea ephasized in a story. 

          Have you read this book?  Do you think you will?

**************

          Sidenote: Editting my book is going good! I’m so excited.  Still no ideas on the title.    Hopefully that will come to me soon.