Review of ‘The Haters’ by Jesse Andrews

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Screen Shot 2018-08-06 at 11.10.12 AMSex jokes, cynicism, and risky formatting choices all crammed together in a chaotic masterpiece of a book? Yes, please.

Not many books can make me laugh out loud in public, but The Haters did so repeatedly.

I’m a big fan of Jesse Andrews, ever since I saw the film version of Me and Earl and The Dying Girl and immediately bought the book. A close friend of mine pre-ordered The Haters and kindly lent it to me as soon as he’d finished*. So my expectations were very high, considering how much I loved Jesse Andrew’s first novel. Continue reading →

Star Wars: The Last Jedi–Where it Went Wrong and Where it Went Right

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1512369111_star-wars-last-jediI know I wasn’t the only one who shelled it out for the midnight iMax showing of The Last Jedi–the eighth film of the most iconic sci-fi series of all time. And I also know I wasn’t the only one who found it a little bit disappointing upon closer analysis in the taxi home (spoiler-free review).

It is a visually stunning film and it’s Star Wars–don’t get me wrong, I liked it. If you’ve not seen it, you should.

But I did have a few issues with the complicated plot.

I considered trying to write a spoiler-free review, but that would make it difficult to get specific about the plot from a literary viewpoint–the entire point of this post. So prepare yourself.

(WARNING–contains spoilers. A lot of them.) Continue reading →

Hello Writing, My Old Friend

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I need to figure out how to prioritize my life.

If you live a well-organized existence and feel as though you’re doing everything you’ve ever wanted to do, I applaud you–please tell me how you do it.

Cat potato

He’s a cat potato.

As for the rest of us, trying to choose between working on the novel that university has pushed under the bed, cleaning under your literal bed, or that tricky bit of revision, ultimately results in deciding just to eat breakfast. This lifestyle is not working for me, so let’s re-evaluate. Continue reading →

Writing Prompt #1

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I felt like trying something new today.

I’ve been lazy with posts this April, mostly because any writing at all just seemed like extra work. I figured that extra work was not something I needed when studying for exams, rehearsing for a drama performance, and dealing with the rest of life. It seemed like a decent-enough excuse to me.

This morning I awoke with the thought ‘Hey, since when did writing become work?’

Answer: When it stopped being fun. Continue reading →

NaNoWriMo vs. Camp NaNo

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Commonly known fact: it’s April.

Not-so-commonly known fact: it’s Camp NaNoWriMo.

If you’re a writer, you’ve probably heard of NaNoWriMo–the once-a-year crazy writing frenzy that results in a flurry of novely things (some are more novel-resembeling than others). But you may not have heard of its summer-loving sister, Camp NaNoWriMo, so here is the breakdown of these two events: Continue reading →

Review of All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

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All-the-Bright-PlacesAll the Bright Places puzzled me. While reading it, I was never sure what to think. After reading it, I’m still not sure what to think.

The story certainly shines with its own light. It’s about two teens, Violet and Finch, who meet each other on the roof of the school tower during a rough spot in their lives. It explores the irony of someone wanting to die but teaching someone else how to live and is based off a true experience the author had. It’s cute and funny–hitting upon some deep topics about loss and recovery in an elegant way. Continue reading →

What’s in a Name?

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printable-name-tags-r0zxxuni.jpgWith possibly the most cliched title ever, this post will discuss one of my favorite things about writing–naming characters.

A character’s name can speak volumes about who they are, or it can say nothing. Sometimes the fact that the name says nothing, says everything. But that’s getting too philosophical for a Thursday.

I believe there are two general types of names: ones that someone else made up years and years ago, or ones that you make up. Continue reading →

Whose Voice is That?

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IMG_20170316_165432There are a multitude of things that make up a character. Physicality, goals, fears, and looks are just a few, but there’s a big one that often gets ignored.

Voice.

Sure, maybe it’s obvious when a character has a specific way of talking, but what about when the entire book is written in the main character’s voice? Sometime’s it’s really obvious, but other times it’s so subtle that the reader barely notices. Continue reading →

Bullet Journaling–New-Age Craze

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The idea of keeping a journal or diary has been around since the invention of writing. Essentially, that’s why writing was invented–to catalogue information. Journaling just became a more private form of detail splurging; a place to connect with oneself on a deeper level, complain, and remember the good times.

The journal is exceptionally good at what it does. But it’s needy–it requires cultivation and it feeds off your time.

So the bullet journal (or BuJo) was invented.* Continue reading →