RTW: No Samesies Allowed?

Welcome to our 116th Road Trip Wednesday!

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.


We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link in the comments - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.

This Week's Topic:

What SNI (Super New Idea) were you psyched to work on, but discovered it was too close to something already done?

Honestly, I can't say that I've ever had this problem before, at least not in the way of me knowing it. I typically try not to make things like other things (and this involves a lot of "outside the brain" thinking), but I suppose if I did have to draw any lines of similarity between something of my own and something that had already been written, then it would probably be my story about demons. 

It's influenced by Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunters, but only protagonist-wise. The demons are entirely different and I also have a different backstory for how demons were created and how they interact with humans. There are angels involved as well, but not in the same way as in Clare's books. 

The similarities end there. My story isn't nearly as romance based as City of Bones and the rest of that series. I'm still working on it though, so the incidental samesies haven't discouraged me at all. I've found that having some things the same doesn't necessarily mean my ideas should be scrapped simply because that territory has already been covered. 

You can always bring something new to the table. That's what's so great about creativity and imagination. Those traits rise to the occasion and allow us to expand what is known into the unknown regions. It's the only way we can grow. 

We wouldn't have Harry Potter if it weren't for J. K. Rowling's persistence in writing Harry's story despite a lack of encouragement.

Besides, the success of a book is dependent on multiple things: the author, the editor, the publisher, and the readers. And then you have the booksellers and the reviewers. Even if your idea is somewhat similar to another previously published and possibly very successful book, that does not mean your idea won't be just as successful. Who knows, your book may just hit a better chord in the minds of readers. 

And what are the odds that your idea is going to be exactly the same as another one anyway? It's nearly improbable. There's always going to be some variation. And if that happens naturally, just imagine what you can accomplish if you put your mind toward developing differences. Radical idea, right? 

Until next time...

RTW: Best of January

Welcome to our 115th Road Trip Wednesday!

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.


We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.

This Week's Topic: 

What was the best book you read in January?

I'm keeping it short and sweet today because I don't have much time; I know y'all understand. I think I've already posted once about all these things i've done by Gabrielle Zevin, but I don't believe I ever went into much detail about why I enjoyed reading this book. And I won't really do that in this post, haha! 

Just to give y'all a little background information, Goodreads' description is the following:

In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family. 

Engrossing and suspenseful, All These Things I've Done is an utterly unique, unputdownable read that blends both the familiar and the fantastic.

It's all of that and then some. The prose is engaging, the MC is tough but relatable, and the plot does not disappoint. Plus, it's interesting to read about a future world where chocolate and coffee are no-no's. That's just plain inconceivable to someone who has survived off of both of those things more than once during finals week.

I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the week and a great RTW!

Until next time...

RTW: YA MC Showdown

Welcome to our 114th Road Trip Wednesday!

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.


We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.

This Week's Topic: 

 Write a dialogue between two of your favorite YA characters.

Two of my favorite YA characters come from completely separate novels, and I think that if they ever did meet IRL, that this sort of confrontation would transpire. Meet Dru Anderson and Sabriel Abhorsen.

Sabriel

Dru Anderson

Dru: So...you're a necromancer. *fidgets with gun*

Sabriel: *furrowed brow* No. Necromancers employ Free Magic. I am the Abhorsen. I abide by the laws of the Charter. I stop necromancers from playing with the dead. 

Dru: *snorts* 

Sabriel: And what exactly do you do?

Dru: *eyeroll* I try not to get killed by vampires wanting to suck my yummy Svetocha blood and basically save the day even though I don't want to be a part of it. It all started when my Dad came back from the dead as a zombie and I had to kill him. Things started going downhill into crazy town from there. 

Sabriel: *nods* Yes. Dead fathers do have a habit of complicating things. Mine sent me his sword and bells and then told me I had to save the entire Old Kingdom from the greatest Greater Undead that the world had ever seen. 

Dru: It's like they do it on purpose. 

Sabriel: Exactly. I mean, we're only teenagers, what reasonable person would tell his teenage daughter to go into the Old Kingdom without telling her everything she needed to know? I almost died, like, at least five times in the first half of the book. 

Dru: Men. I have two guys fighting over me, I love them both, but Jesus, they both just tick me off sometimes and I want to punch them. Repeatedly. I mean, come on! Stop trying to control me already! I've been practically taking care of myself my entire life and I shot my own zombified father for pete's sake! 

Sabriel: *sighs* The guy I like has memory issues. I found him on a ship, frozen as a figurehead in a spell one of my ancestors put in place because he went a little nutty during some past event he never likes to talk about. I like him and all, but sometimes I feel like he isn't being very honest with me, you know?

Dru: I say just beat the crap outta him and make him talk. Or else just run away and leave him behind. Sometimes I think we'd be better off without them. 

Sabriel: Yeah...but it's my duty to help the Old Kingdom. And he's a part of it. Besides, it's not like he's all bad. He saved me a few times!

Dru: They do have some uses. Stupid jerks. 

Sabriel: This has been nice. The sendings don't talk and Mogget can be a real pain. He never answers my questions and sometimes I feel like he wants to eat me. 

Dru: It has. I've never really had friends before, but you're alright. *eyes her sword and bell-bandolier* So...what do those do?

Sabriel: *pats bells gently* They send the dead back to the realm of death. 

Dru: I need me some of those. 

Sabriel: Umm, perhaps not. 

Dru: ...

Sabriel: *stern look*

Dru: You're probably right. My powers are way cooler anyway. 

Sabriel: I'm sure they are.  

Well, there you have it folks! I modernized Sabriel's speech for the sake of expediency, but just imagine her with an Australian accent. That should help. 

Until next time...

RTW: Where My Money Goes

Welcome to our 110th Road Trip Wednesday!

 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. 


 We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments. 

This Week's Topic: 

Where do you buy most of your books? No one is judging!

Thanks for not judging because I have a problem. This problem is one that usually results on my checking account having a heart attack whenever I enter a bookstore. 

It doesn't even matter which store it is. Barnes & Noble, BAM!, local stores, the library book sales, Walmart, Target, gas stations, yard sales, Amazon, and the list can go on into eternity. I'm not picky about where I get my books. All that matters is that I get them. 

Take yesterday for instance, I wasn't feeling well and my Mom took me to Page & Palette, our local bookstore, and still I managed to come away with two books. 

In case you're wondering, I finally bought Across the Universe by Beth Revis and Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks. Yay! More books for me to potentially review (if I ever have time to sit down and read them like I want to)! 

As it is, I can't seem to kick the habit of purchasing every book I lay my hands on. Seriously. I have to restrain myself from touching books because once they're in my hands, I'm not going to let go. It doesn't matter what they're about. 

I have multiple anthologies that I picked up at used book sales simply because I "wanted to see how heavy they are" and then couldn't pry my fingers away. I have two complete compilations of William Shakespeare's plays and poetry. 

Do I need two? Not likely. They just sit and take up valuable shelf space. Will I get rid of either of them? Probably not. I'm also a book hoarder. 

Alright, well, I know I promised y'all a book vlog about Dearly, Departed, and y'all will get it eventually. I've been distracted the past few days. I just now realized it is Wednesday. Time sure flies. 

Until next time...

RTW: The Great Shelf Journey

Welcome to our 108th Road Trip Wednesday! 

 Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic. 


 We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link in the comments - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments. 

This Week's Topic:
How far would you go to get published?


It must be the fact that I'm scrambling to cram for finals and finish all of these dratted ten page papers, but I couldn't help but chuckle at the topic this week. I know; my mind is in a dark place. Don't judge me. (You were all thinking it, too.)

I suppose I have to provide some sort of answer. Let's just assume for a moment that I'm done with college and I'm on my own. Wow, that sounds nice.

Anyway, in this dream, I'm out there in the world, giving as good as I get and not taking 'no' for a final answer. That world is my oyster. Anyone who stands in my way to publication is going to feel the swift edge of my paper sword. And we all know how horrible paper cuts are. *shudders*

However, I'm not quite sure just exactly how "far" I'd go to get published. It's not a question I tend to ask myself or get asked by other people. I mean, technically I'm already published multiple times over since I have articles in my college paper every week, but I don't think that's the kind of published we're talking about.

So, for brevity's sake, let's just assume that I won't do anything morally or ethically compromising in order to have a larger piece of my work published and on bookshelves across the world. That's probably the best answer I can come up with.

I'm far too easy-going to do anything strenuous or complicated either. Some may say I'm lazy (and that would be true in some sense), but it all comes down to the fact that I'm too good-natured and content with my life to do anything that may jeopardize my success or rock the boat.

I'm happy to work for everything that I get, and it is the journey more than anything that I enjoy. So, there is another answer. I'm willing to put in the time and effort to get to publication the hard way. I like the idea of earning my spot on those shelves.

It appeals to me.



On a different note, I don't know if y'all have noticed, but I've been adding some new doohickeys to the blog of late. There's the new comment system that allows us to have a dialectical relationship. I did lose all of the past comments (here's my post lamenting that), but I think the end result is worth it.

Also, if you address your attention to the end of the post, you will see some links to other posts similar to this one. This is my new favorite thing! I've been lusting after the recommended posts widget that others have on their blogs for a long time, and I finally organized an attack plan and made it happen, resulting in glorious options at the end of each post. Success is the best balm for envy.

RTW: Books of November

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.

We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link -- or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.

  This week's topic: What's the best book you read in November?




This time around the Best of's block, I find that I have a tie on my hands. It's between the book club choice of the month, The Scorpio Races, and my other favorite, Matched. They both have some great things going for them, so I'm just gonna have to say that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

I recently reviewed both of these lovely novels, so if you feel like making a click-stop to see what I have to say about them while you're traveling down the YA Highway, please be my guest.

Just click on either cover to go to the respective post.

Have a great Wednesday!

RTW: Required Reading, Oh Yeah

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.

We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link -- or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.

This week's topic: In high school, teens are made to read the classics - Shakespeare, Hawthorne, Bronte, Dickens - but there are a lot of books out there never taught in schools. So if you had the power to change school curricula, which books would you be sure high school students were required to read?

This question is right up my alley. As an English education major, I've been considering this very problem for a while now. Actually, I was thinking about what I would make kids read if I were a teacher back when I was still in high school.

I like to plan ahead like that. I never really had a problem with reading some of the "classics" that were on the required reading list. I like them. A Tale of Two Cities is one of my favorite books of all time. Same goes for the rest of the lot.

However, I feel like today's fiction and even the fiction of a few decades ago is also worth exploring in the high school setting. Yes, it's good to keep the classics well in mind and to introduce students to them while they're still under some sort of obligation to at least look at them.

But it's also important to show them that some of the more modern texts are worth reading as well. A few that I would include are:  


The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner (Although I know that some high schools do teach it, or so I've heard, but mine didn't.)
 
 


Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling (The post is now complete!)  






The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (In conjunction perhaps with Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.)  


 
The Princess Bride by William Goldman (Because we all need to read a little ridiculous into our lives.)









I could go on forever like this, naming books that I want other people to read and to love, but then I'd be here forever and you'd all get tired of reading this post. Besides, I rather like the list as it is. It's eclectic, but not too much so. I have a modern work, a book that's a classic in my opinion, a YA dystopia, and a farcical whimsy of a tale.

So, what books would y'all require students to read?

RTW: Behind This Door is a Reason

I can see the light! And it's so bright! 

It's that day of the week again, and I'm back for seconds today. 

Welcome to our 101st Road Trip Wednesday!

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.


We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.

This Week's Topic:
What's your numero-uno reason for writing?

Well, I like to think that I write for others, but really, if I'm honest, I write for myself. Writing (since I'm being honest) keeps me sane. Sanity=good.

It's fairly simple, and since I like to be sane most of the time and find that other people like to be around sane people, I write. Although, since I'm taking the honest train today, I can't completely assure anyone reading this that I am sane. Saying I'm not crazy is like a sure give-away that I am, because only truly crazy people think they're completely sane.

Sanity isn't my only goal however. I also write to make a point and to inform people of interesting things. As a student journalist, I get to write about a lot of things, often about topics that I may not have considered covering if it weren't for the fact that I needed an article for my section of the paper.

With the different fields of writing that I'm involved in, whether it be journalism, blogging, essays, or fiction, I find that the mere process of putting words down in any form is enough to make me happy. Today, for instance, I know that I'm going to have to write at least one article, maybe two, and also churn out an essay about some Shakespearean topic in only 50 minutes. Oh joy.

I'm also going to be teaching a writing workshop (that will hopefully turn out alright since it's my first one) to help the students struggling in EDM310 with their own writing skills.

So, to get back to the original point of this post: what is my number one reason for writing?

Well, I guess it's because I love it. Do I need more of a reason? I don't think so.

RTW: The Bad Guys Have It

First off, I'd like to acknowledge the fact that I'm blogging again after almost a two week break. It felt like forever. Now, on to the fun stuff!

Welcome to our 88th Road Trip Wednesday!

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.


We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link -- or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.

This Week's Topic:
Who are your favorite literary villains/antagonists, and why?

This is actually a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. For the most part, I tend to dislike all villains and wish them fiery deaths of volcanic proportions. But that's just me. However, there happens to be one villain in particular that manages to make me feel all tingly inside. And not just because he's so very good looking.

Who is this dashing fellow, you may ask? Well, it's none other than Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. Why is he a villain? Let's recap. At first Elizabeth is all "He's too snobby." So he is a villain.

Next, he becomes not-a-villain, for which I'm lacking a word, when Elizabeth begins to like him because he understands her in a way that no one else can, and their witty dialogue is somuchfun.

That un-villain status changes when Elizabeth thinks Mr. Darcy is a vile man after coming to the conclusion that Mr. Darcy was behind separating Jane and Mr. Bingley. That idea was compounded by Colonel Fitzwilliam's slip about Darcy saving Bingley from an "imprudent marriage." Also, she'd been listening to Mr. Whickham's testimony of Darcy's inherently despicable nature, so it's no wonder she didn't think very highly of him.

Image via Wikipedia

Me? Marry you? Am I being punked?

Of course, all of this back and forth between villain and not-villain is great sport for Elizabeth. She loves it. So it isn't that much of a surprise that she again changes her mind about him when she accidentally meets him while on a tour of his home, after her outburst and refusal to marry him based on his behavior. His change in demeanor takes her off-guard. So, she feels tenderly toward him. Not villain again!

More stuff happens, he does her family a good service, but somehow along the way, they don't know it was him, so of course Mr. Darcy is still a villain to most of the Bennets. It's a wonder the poor fellow didn't just give up.

After another bout as a villain, though undoubtedly less of one than he was at the beginning, Mr. Darcy ends the novel as a hero.

For this magnificent bi-polar villainy, I thank Jane Austen. Well done, madam.

And Mr. Darcy lives on in our hearts as the ultimate bad boy turned gentleman.

RTW: Flavor 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.

We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.

This Week's Topic:
(Back by popular demand!) What's the best book you've read this month?

The best book I've read this month? Somebody give me an easier question.

Do WIPs count? Because I would totally say one of Kelsey Sutton's WIPs completely hooked me and if she doesn't finish it, I will surely die of not knowing what happens. The end. (And I hope she reads this and feels compelled to finish it. Yes, I'm looking at you, Kills. Right at you. But seriously, finish that rewrite of the other WIP first.)

But as for published books (which I know that WIP will be someday), I have to say that the best I've read this June was States of Confusion by Paul Jury. And watch the video that his name links to. It's great.



I don't usually read memoirs, but this one was hilarious, and I don't say that lightly. There were moments when I was reading it that I almost choked on my own laughter. Surprisingly, that can be done. I was planning on doing a more in-depth review of the book next month after my book review of it was published in the upcoming July issue of The Vanguard, but might as well mention it now.

Well, that's all for this Road Trip! See y'all next week!