Twists and turns, tears and smiles

Sorry about the little hiatus I've had. I wanted a complete break after the April blogging challenge and just have a bit of time reading and concentrating on other stuff. :)

Recently most of my favourite programmes have all ended for the year. There has been disappointments, satisfaction, and a flood of emotions.  That flood is thanks to the Vampire Diaries and it reminded me why sometimes I do actually enjoy the writing and why that writing can be inspiring.

TVD is my guilty pleasure.  I usually don't do paranormal romance and tbh I'm not a fan of the endless love triangle consisting of Stefan/Elena/Damon.  Girl, just pick a guy, realise you're a lesbian, or just be happy being single.  Choose SOMETHING!

Buuuut, there are aspects of the show that I really enjoy at times.  There can be some great character development, great acting (especially by Nina Dobrev), and interesting plot lines that has taken a series of books and used it to weave it's own plots and worlds.  The programme is by far a LOT better than L.J.Smith's series.  And if a finale like Graduation can have me crying, laughing, gasping in horror, feeling tense, feeling angry... the writing has done it's job, I think.

Graduation started with the ghosts being able to return thanks to the veil (keeping the spirit world and real world separate) dropping.  While favourite loved ones returned to our paranormal-with-only-one-human-left group the veil also allowed others to cross.  Unfortunately those others were ghosts from our characters past that they had a hand in murdering.  Three vampire hunters, two groups of 12 sacrificed witches and hybrids, and one Original.  It almost sounds like a twisted, paranormal version of the 12 Days of Christmas.

So I'm worried for these characters.  These characters who can drive me up the wall sometimes but I care for them.  Not matter how unlikeable the writers make them at times they can still make me care for them and hope they get out of this alive.  Even Rebekah. Damn, those writers make her hate one minute then like and feel sorry for her the next.

That's one of the strengths of these characters the writers have developed. There will be a time when you both hate and like the character whether they are a hero or a villain.  The heroes have their dark days and shady pasts.  They've done terrible things and the writers aren't afraid to delve into that.  And then the villains always have an understandable motive. A miserable past.  Take Rebekah for example. She can be a cow sometimes and was responsible for a death last season and an almost death but then underneath that Original identity she was only a young teenager when she was murdered by her parents and turned into a vampire.  And now she sees teenagers having fun at school with dates and proms, choosing their own paths and careers, starting a family and that's all she wants.  Being a vampire and pretending to blend in just isn't the same.  Choice is really important, especially for Rebekah and if you're deprived of all these different paths you could have because someone else made the choice of who you're going to be for you I'd understand that you'd be a little bit miffed.  Being a vampire isn't for everybody. 

These are very grey characters.  My favourite type. :)

Another thing that the programme loves to do is break my heart.  This show doesn't mind killing off characters.  It's never unnecessary, it keeps the plot moving, and sometimes they're unfortunately my favourite characters.  The awesome do die. :( And then they bring the awesome back because the veil is down and since they're deaths were sudden they have a chance to finally say a proper goodbye.  So when the veil goes back up and they disappear... I'm bawling like a baby.  Worst thing is, they're with the person who they were close to the most when they disappeared so then I see the emotions in their loved ones faces... now I'm wailing. I can't really decide whether it was great to see my favourite dead characters back or not because I had to see them go all over again. 

Now for the twists.  To some these twists will be a bit too much but TVD is always dramatic.  And I thought it worked, especially when it led to one hell of a cliffhanger.  I like these little surprises that the writers come up with because while they make the situation worse for these characters (there's hardly any happy endings for this lot) it means there COULD be a solution.  Another reason to have hope and this group needs a bit of hope to keep going and keep fighting.  And you as the audience have hope too because after all these deaths and disappointment for the characters you want to be optimistic as well that whenever this series ends it'll finally end on a good note for them and for once they'll win.

Are there any programmes you watch where the writing blows your mind and inspires you? :)

Currently...

Loving: The weather.  England finally has a bit of warmth!

Reading:

Watching:

Thinking about: Writing.  After deciding to take a rest and not complete NaNo I'm starting to get the urge to do some more writing, finishing off my Camp NaNo WiP and making notes for an old fantasy idea I got during university. 

Anticipating: The Royal Armouries on Monday.  There's an event on all Bank Holiday called the Arms and Armour of the Superhero.  Sounds really interesting! =D

Wishing: For June to come quickly.  Looking forward to my first school trip to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park. 

Making me happy: Getting back into my reading routine now that I don't have any blog challenges or NaNo deadlines.

Got any news to share? :)

RTW - Best Book of the Month

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

This Week's Topic: 

What was the best book you read in April?

I got back on my reading this month, finishing The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd off and reading Anna and the French Kiss by Stephenie Perkins and This Is Not A Test by Courtney Summers.

And the best book out of those three...

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephenie Perkins 

I'm not a contemporary romance fan but I really enjoyed Anna and the French Kiss.  Anna had a great voice.  Witty, confused, paranoid - she's a bundle of emotions and doesn't necessarily understand all of them which a teen reader could relate to a lot.

I was relieved to see a Nice Guy LI for once.  St Clair is not a brooding, bad boy type character.  When he meets Anna for the first time he's not being arrogant and rude because he has issues and secretly insta-loves the girl.  He's friendly, ready to help her settle into Paris, and they share a close bond that grows into best friend territory.  And from that best friend relationship their attraction grows.  It was nice to see a relationship develop like that for once in YA.

It's also more than Anna finding love in the world's most romantic city.  She's there for school, sent unwillingly by her parents and she struggles.  She doesn't know the language, she wants to fit in, and she's worried that she'll lose the people she knew and cared for back home because she's been gone.  Paris is this alien world to her but slowly through the help of her friends, she explores and discovers how amazing the city is.  She gains a bit of independence.  And Summers does a great job in bringing the streets of Paris to life.  You'll want to visit Paris or return to the city if you read this book.  

What's your best book of the month?

Z is for Zombies!

This is my last post in the A-Z blogging challenge.  Thank you to everyone who has read and commented! It's been awesome and I've discovered some awesome new blogs from it! =D

I'm quite new to zombie fiction.  For ages I wouldn't touch anything zombie because I was terrified of them.  But I signed up to 2.8 hours later last year, loved it, and decided that maybe zombie fiction wasn't so bad.  In fact, don't I watch horror because I loved to be scared? That's the whole point.

They still creep me out and I always have a plan in the back of my head in case the zombie apocalypse happened (you have to be prepared for these things) but I enjoy watching them and now I'm slowly collecting a TBR pile of zombie fiction to read.

My top five zombie films?

1) Zombieland

This was actually the perfect zombie film for me to watch first because it was quite comical.  So the humour really calmed me down a bit.  And anything with Woody Harrelson in it is awesome.

 2) The Walking Dead

So after Zombieland it was time to go for the really serious stuff.  I caught an episode of The Walking Dead, found it interesting and decided to catch the first two seasons on BT Vision.  Fantastic.  The characters, their story arcs.  The writers take a group of people with different personalities, even some with more nastier traits and merged them together to create a group of survivors desperate to stay alive in a world completely taken over by the reanimated dead.  It's grim and the writers love to break your heart but it's awesome.

3) Dead Set

Dead Set was a British mini series where the zombie apocalypse breaks out and a group of Big Brother contestants and staff use the house as temporary shelter while the undead slowly surround the studio.  I guess the undead are fans of BB.  And yes, there is also Davina McCall as a zombie. Hilarious!

4) 28 Days Later

Another British zombie flick.  I think we really dig zombies in Britain.  There's some hidden meaning there.  I loved the zombie virus in this or rather the rage virus.  It's so easy to get infected.  A cut, a drop of blood, saliva etc and in seconds you're a raging animal with one prime instinct: kill.  I mean, the whole reason for the title is that in the 28 days since the virus began to spread the world is no more.   These zombies don't procrastinate.

5) Shaun of the Dead

More British zombies! Again, Shaun of the Dead is great for first timers who are a bit nervous of watching a serious zombie flick.  A team of unlikely heroes get together to find shelter and survival as they wake up to what should have been another slow day with the usual stops and jobs to go to but instead they wake up to slow zombies and the world taken over.  I guess this means the pub won't be open?

Anyone else a zombie fan? :)

Y is for... Younger Self

Yesterday I was reading Phoebe North's post on YA Highway about the writing you did when you were younger. It got me thinking about all the cringe worthy stories I wrote.  The awful supernatural series that was nothing but drama and cliches.  The three little dolls who came to life at night called Molly, Polly, and Dolly.  That bloody puppy who kept getting lost and having different adventures.

I definitely wrote some right crap when I was younger.  Maybe I still do but I'm not published so I'll have to wait to find that out. ^^

So if I could give any advice to my younger writer self this would probably be it.

1) Flaw those characters!
2) Please stop describing every character's appearance as soon as they say something.
3) Go look up an author called Stephen King.  Also buy his book called On Writing. When you're 23 you're going to want to have wished you had these tips ages ago.
4) You're very afraid of killing your darlings at this point.  I know you love them but get some writer balls and do it. You're writing horror anyway.  It's a very unforgiving and merciless genre.

If you could give your younger writer self any advice what would it be?

X is for... X-Men

I've always loved superheroes.  I think part of me would still love to gain those superpowers I wished and wished for as a kid.  X-Men has always been one of my favourites because I loved the idea of humanity evolving and gaining certain powers.

So I always think about what power I'd like if humanity suddenly gained powers.

And then the even sadder part of me thinks about what powers would my characters get?

For some reason I like to know random, trivial bits of information about my characters.  It's not like this would even make the planning notes let alone the actual WiP but whenever I'm taking a break from writing I always end up thinking about my characters and whether they would love this programme I'm watching or what takeaway they would get for the night.

If I use the characters from Lapse and Consequences these would be the superpowers if they got struck by lightning, exposed to radiation etc:

Darren: Definitely mediumship.  His biggest love in life other than journalism is ghost hunting so to be able to see and communicate with the dead would make his hobby ten times better.

Riley: Psychometry.  Riley loves ghost hunting just as much as Darren but she loves knowing a place's or ghost's history.  This power would help her get the past information she craves.

Chelsea: Maybe a flight power.  Whether it's the actually ability to fly or teleportation.  Then she can fly or teleport to all the fashion cities of the world and attend every fashion show without the need to pay for travel.  Perfecto.

Scott: Omniscience.  He may be able to get away with doing barely any revision and still pass exams with flying colours but there's always a possibility that he really will screw up if he continues being cocky like that. 

So if your character suddenly gained a superpower what would it be and why? =D

W is for... Where in the World?

So I recently finished Anna and the French Kiss. *Sudden gasp* I know what you're thinking.  I'm reading a contemporary... romance? She who gags and groans at romance to begin with and would rather be reading about psycho killers and ghosts because she grew up a tad weird?

But *le sigh* I loved the book.  What I really loved was the Paris setting.  Stephanie Perkins brings Paris right into the room with you as you read about Anna's adventure in France.  You're right there outside the Notre Dame and walking up the Eiffel Tower with her.  I've been to Paris so reading this book reminded me of all the memories I have.  Remembering how Paris looked lit up at night as I toured the city on a batobus.  Walking down the Champ-de-Mars at all times during the day and seeing it full of families, friends, and couples having picnics.  Entertainers all around.  I think if anyone asked me what my favourite book is that involved travel I would have to say Anna and the French Kiss.  Seriously, I need to go back to Paris. 

And there are fictional fantasy worlds.  Just like I love a good realistic setting I also love a well thought out make-believe world.  While I haven't read the series (yet) I do love the known world in Game of Thrones by George RR Martin.  The different kingdoms, the known families and their crests and mottos.  I find it amusing that in Westeros the accents sound so similar to what Northern and Southern accents can sound like in England. 

Any books where you've loved the real world or fantasy world setting?