Team Free Will

((SPOILERS AHEAD for Psych and Supernatural, and the crossover fanfiction "The Voice of Shawn" by Somilge

I've been thinking about this a lot lately in regards to my book, The Lucky One, which is still in editing and revising stages (and probably will continue to be until I can find the time to actually work on it again). Exactly how much of what we do is our own choice? I mean, Lucky was destined to be the first seraphim hybrid in existence, the only one with the luck hex, the only one with a preordained death date. He's one of a kind-- but is that because his already rare-blooded mother decided to fall in love with a demon, her sworn enemy? Did she know what she was getting into, that her son would be the one to fulfill a prophecy spoken long before she was even born?

And what about Lucky? He could decide to let the world hang and refuse to participate in the war, in which the Apocalypse, the height of the Great War, comes to pass. He could hunker down and hide, never to be seen again, regardless of his distinctive heritage and attraction of trouble. But he doesn't. He does the right thing... but what, in any case, is the right thing to do? And how do we know?

There are a couple of reasons this train of thought has been drilled into my head as of late. One, I just read Helen Boswell's Mythology (as seen in my previous post, a review of her amazing book). I like Hope, the protagonist, who adamantly stands by her non-belief in Fate. Even though it couldn't possibly be coincidental that someone like her could run into angels and demons after years of not coming into contact with them in the span of a week. At the same time, Micah displays extraordinary free will when he insists on loving Hope, rebuking the demon side of him and giving Fate the finger. So even though in this book, there is a ton of evidence that points to Hope's entire life being mapped out on parchment, there are also tons of instances in which Hope makes her own decisions.

I also just read an amazing crossover fanfiction (yes, I am a fanfiction author/reader in my downtime-- I am not ashamed) between Psych and Supernatural. It was mostly focused on the Supernatural side of things, set during the Apocalypse wherein Lucifer walks freely (sort of) and angels need Dean to say yes to becoming Michael's vessel so they could defeat Lucifer (whose vessel is, ironically, Dean's brother Sam). So yeah, where Shawn comes in (the MC of Psych, who is an immature man-child with an eidetic memory who solves mysteries while pretending to be psychic) the Voice of God Metatron needs a vessel and he needs Shawn to do it.

Shawn has a huge dilemma. If he says yes to being Metatron's vessel, Metatron could use him to find God (who mysteriously disappeared for the last two millenia), which may ultimately stop the Apocalypse from coming to pass while simultaneously dealing with the war between angels and demons and the sudden civil war between angels and angels all at once. That's the plus side. The downside is that once Metatron's done using his body as a meat suit, Shawn will be left as a brain-dead walking, drooling zombie-- that is to say, he'll be a vegetable, which is a suckish way to live (no offense to the incapacitated out there in the world).

If he says no, he'll get to keep his body and super sharp mind... but he'll have a target on his head for both angels and demons. And Shawn's only human. A brilliant human, but still. He'll only survive for so long, and he'll never be safe as long as he lives.

In the end, Shawn said no to Metatron.

This is kind of mind-boggling to me. Safety over freedom, right? Or maybe not. Maybe the reason that ultimately drives us to decide for ourselves is that people would rather be free than be a prisoner, even for a good cause. Selfish, maybe. But maybe that's what makes us human.

It's important for me to be thinking about these things if I'm going to be putting them into The Lucky One. Lucky's got a choice, too-- save the world, or save himself. Unlike Shawn, Lucky doesn't choose himself. But maybe the conditions are different. In the Supernatural world, angels are assholes. But to Lucky, they're just people. And people make mistakes.

What do you think? What would you choose? And do you believe in freedom or destiny? Or both?

Review: MYTHOLOGY

Hola, peoples! So I just finished my good friend Helen Boswell's MYTHOLOGY and it was soooo so so good. I suggest you buy it. It's on Amazon. Just click the little linky thing at the top where it says MYTHOLOGY and it'll take you straight there! :D

 

SUMMARY: Hope Gentry doesn’t believe in Fate. Born with an unusual power to see the dark memories of those around her, Hope just wants to be a normal teenager. But on the first day of her senior year of high school, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to a transfer student named Micah Condie. At first glance, Micah seems like a boy that most girls would dream about. But when Hope's powers allow her to discover Micah's darkest secret, she quickly becomes entangled in the lives of mythical entities she never dreamed existed. Was this her destiny all along? And will her powers help her survive the evil of the Demon Impiorum?

Mythology isn’t just for English class anymore.

...

So bear with me, as I've never done a book review before. :P It might turn out ridiculous and/or laughable. Feel free to tease me about it mercilessly.

MYTHOLOGY is about Hope Gentry, who can see everybody's darkest secrets. Yes, it's as bad as it sounds. How does she deal with it all? In reality, she sees people's souls-- everybody's except Micah's. Micah is a drop dead smexy new boy in Hope's English class. Oh yeah, and he's also a demon.

Helen and I both have angels and demons in our books, and that's not where the similarities end. From gray-eyed protagonists to the resistance of Fate and what it has in store for our heroes, I connected with Hope on a level I don't usually connect with other characters. It helps that she's spunky and blunt, full of personality that you don't see often in other books. MYTHOLOGY was different in a good way, twists and turns you didn't see coming that leaves you gripping the pages until the very end.

All in all, five stars! Now go out and buy it. :P

How did I do? Terrible? Awesome? Somewhere in between? Don't be shy-- I can take your teasings. :P I'm looking at you, Pinky.

This is Where the Title Goes

I love titles.

I love titles and summaries, to be exact. People allllways tell me: "Don't title or summarize your book before you write it!" But where's the fun in that? I mean, if you're good at it why wouldn't you make your title and pitch first? Because honestly, writing them makes me feel like it's already a book.

Titles are so hard to get right though. I mean, there are those that feel like they could change the world, those that are silly and let you know it'll be funny. Titles can portray what sort of book it will be-- scary or funny or inspiring or a combination of feelings. Titles stick with you, too. Like, am I ever going to forget "The Fault in Our Stars" or "If I Stay"? Will I forget "The Probability of Miracles" or "13 Reasons Why"? (Hint: This is a trick question.) Of course not! That's the point of a title-- fitting a book so you'll never forget it, even if you forget what actually happens in the book. God forbid.

It's very easy for me to come up with titles. I dunno why that is, but summarizing and titling come natural to me. When ideas pop into my head I need to put them down on paper (or in docs, as the case may be), and the words just kinda... write themselves.

Okay, that sounds silly, but I'm having a bit of a writer's block at the moment. Forgive this rambling post of randomness.

Back to relevance: It took me ETERNITY to come up with the title for Death and Other Things I Fail At. Seriously-- I was sitting in class one day and the title just popped into my head. And it was just perfect! Because it gives hints as to what the book's about-- a girl who dies, but sort of doesn't at the same time-- and it's ironic, since technically she did die, but since she didn't apparently she fails at death. Not to mention it's humorous, and it shows that the MC is a teenager (because what adult would say "Yeah, I fail at dying"?), and female for that matter.

Oddly enough, that title came after I came up with the idea for the book. It's usually the other way around. I wrote a sonnet once for school with the lines: "Rage to blood on pearl and lace/Way to kill the human race", which then spurred this crazy book plot about a girl who grew up after zombies had more or less taken over the world and was used to them. So really, the title came first with Way to Kill, as well as Oops.

The Lucky One was a little tricky. At first it was called Harm's Way, and it was actually about a man whose knack for almost dying on a daily basis was softened by the fact that a guardian angel always saves him-- a mysterious woman who shows up, stops whatever it is trying to kill him, and then disappears without a trace. I'm not sure how that plot evolved to the point of going from Adult Thriller to YA Urban Fantasy/Supernatural, or that it needed a completely new title, but it did. I'm saving Harm's Way for when I actually am an adult and can understand how adult stuff works. :P

Of course, changing the title to The Lucky One was fine up until I learned there already was a book by the same name, written by Nicholas Sparks, no less. And then it was made into a movie. Yeah, I'm still a bit bitter about that. What can I say? I feel slightly cheated. That almost forced me into changing TLO back into HW, but I decided it wasn't worth it. Harm's Way is a future project, and The Lucky One fit.

I like titling things, complicated or not. Titles give a book purpose, make it memorable. And summaries, well-- they keep my ideas together. I dunno why they come so naturally to me. They just do. :P

What about you guys? What are some of your favorite titles? Have issues creating pitches and summaries?

Hello Again!

What's uuuup? I decided to do the Gear Up to Get an Agent Blogfest (SEPTEMBER 12th!), which means it's Meet and Greet time! Feel free to drop a comment, ask a question, etc. I am here to introduce myself to you!

So, the rundown on yours truly: I am a sixteen-year-old Seattlite who dreams of someday juggling singing, writing, acting, and spreading the love to the far recesses of the globe! I'm a Leo and quite talkative, I've got about a billion really good friends (most of which are fictional and/or on the internet) and I like to think of myself as outgoing. :P Right, and I like smileys. And sarcasm. And languages (I am (almost) qua-lingual)! I am a writer first and foremost, a crazy teenager second. :)

RIGHT, so, on to the questions! Getting to Know You, part... uh... lost count.

-Where do you write? Anywhere I can. Usually wherever the computer is, which, at any given moment, could be in the dining room or the couch or my room. It changes hands a lot.

-Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see? THE KITCHEN! Yeah, I'm on the couch right now. It's very comfortable.

-Favorite time to write? Any time I can write. Usually in the wee hours of the morning when my wonderful insomnia kicks up and my mom's not downstairs to yell at me.

-Drink of choice while writing? Orange soda of any kind. I channel my inner Hardison. (And Spinelli... what is it with hackers and orange soda?)

-When writing, do you listen to music or do you need complete silence? Depends. Like, usually I'll turn on Pandora, and then I get distracted, but then it'll play in the background and I'll just zone out writing. So yeah, depends.

-What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it? Well, my latest manuscript is Way to Kill, which is my 2012 NaNovel. And you're going to think I'm crazy, but I got the idea from the cover I made for it. I have this thing where I find pretty pictures on Google and I want to edit them to make book covers. It turned out that way by total accident, but it looked sooo cool and I suddenly realized that I wanted to write a zombie novel. Not to mention, Riley is a character I usually fall back on for writing exercises, and I was excited to find something that fit her personality.

-What's your most valuable writing tip? Write whenever you can. Procrastination is a writer's greatest weakness-- once it gets going there's no way you'll get something done! WRITE! Even if it's crap, write!

SO, that's me! Nice to meetcha!

Flameheads

Yes, I realize that it's Friday and I missed Writing Wednesdays again. I APOLOGIZE OKAY. I WAS SICK. *sticks tongue out* Oh, wait, there's a smiley for that...

Anywho, I have another blog post for yooou! I was talking to my friend Annika (TWO 'N'S OKAY PINKY I DID IT THIS TIME) about how incredibly underloved pyrokinetics are. Seriously, think about it. There are, like, none in canon fiction. And when there are, they're, like, evil and stuff. Fire is not evil, okay? It represents hope and fierceness! At least, it did in Lord of the Flies. Not that anybody wants to revisit that book...

Right, so, I've decided to list my favorite pyrokinetics! Oh, by the way, pyrokinetics are wonderful people who can control fire with their minds. (And it's PYROKINETIC, not TELEPYRIC. I mean, I bet they're both right, but pyrokinetic sounds cooler.) There are some limitations considering-- some can only control it when a flame is present, some can only go for a short amount of time, some can use their hands and others can light separate things or places on fire-- but they all have it to some extent. By the way, there may be some spoilers if you haven't read the books or seen the show of those characters I'm about to list, so... don't blame me if you're spoiled and you don't like it. xD My top five, in no particular order, are:

Philip "Torchie" Grieg:

 Hidden Talents/True Talents

 

So I don't know if I ever told you, but I'm a sucker for those "innocent-as-a-puppy" guys. They're just soooo cute, and Torchie is no exception! Actually, he's one of my favorites, because his power is so friggin' destructive but he wouldn't hurt a fly. You might not know him-- he's from a two-book series about supernatural kids that I stumbled across in middle school. One of my favorites. You should check it out, forseriously!

Zuko:

Avatar: The Last Airbender

 

Come on now, you know this one. Zuko's the exiled prince of the Fire Nation, which means he's got BAMF firebending skills. I love Zuko so much because you could always tell he had a soft side, and when he joined Aang and the others I was like, "YES I KNEW YOU WEREN'T EVIL!" So that made me happy. 'Course, dude's got an attitude problem but that doesn't necessarily mean he's evil, right? Plus it helps that he's cute. (I think him and Katara made a better couple than Katara and Aang, but whatever, to each his own).

 

Leo Valdez:

Heroes of Olympus

 

Another famous pyrokinetic, although he's a bit underloved in the series. I love Leo so much because for one thing, controlling fire is rare and dangerous and that singles Leo out for being special (not that he wasn't already being Sammy Valdez's great-times-whatever relative and the spitting image of Hazel's old boyfriend). Also, he's Latino. And he's trilingual. Well... is Morse Code a language? You get what I mean. He's a runner (one of my favorite types of characters) and ADHD (I find it more prominent in him... and cuter) and is freaking hilarious. I seriously love him. He's one of my favorite fictional characters of all time.

 

Phoenix:
Gifted

 

You don't know her, because the book hasn't been published (yet), but this chick is the ultimate back-talking, baddie-taunting, sweet-and-sour Australian queen of battle humor. Her pyrokinetic powers are a bit different than others'-- like, her skin burns you, for one thing. Poor girl's always gotta wear gloves. But she's funny, wicked awesome in a fight, and is about as talkative as a jackrabbit. Definitely one of my favorites. (Also created by my friend Elyse, so no stealing (not that I would think you guys would haha)).

 

Lucky Freeman:
The Lucky One

 

Oh come on, how can I not include my own pyrokinetic? Lucky's a seraphim, an angel with amazing flame-controlling powers! 'Course, that makes for a really inconvenient disability when Lucky gets angry, or excited, or basically any other extreme emotion, 'cause then his hands spontaneously combust and he has a hard time explaining it to regular mortals such as ourselves (although I would totally understand).

 

So there you have it: my favorite fictional pyrokinetics. There may be more (I didn't really look anybody up). Who are your favorites? Anyone I missed?

What's in a Name?

So I was gonna totally rant about how underloved pyrokinetics are (as my friend Annika pointed out, they all seem to be evil) but then I had this very nice Twitter conversation with this lady whom I don't know about names. Names are very hard to get down in a character. They've got to be perfect. Names practically define their character and personality! The ambience in the room changes when people look to that character.

I've seen plenty of common names. Just look at the Top 100 Names for Girls (and Boys, for that matter) as seen HERE and HERE. See how Sophia is at the top for girls? Now look at my MC for Death and Other Things I Fail At.

Oh, look at that. It's Sophia.

I swear I didn't mean to do that.

My point is not to go out of your way giving unique names to your characters. I mean, if the time period calls for it I doubt you'd name a 1820's Englishman Jay Javelpin. Well, you could, but it would be odd. My point is to name the character what seems to fit best for them. Sophia, to me, means bubbly and excitable, while at the same time curious and intelligent. The actual meaning of the name is wisdom, although I don't go basing my characters soley on the meaning of their name (like my own name, Jasmine, which means absolutely nothing).

I guess it's partially why naming characters is so hard. Authors are so concerned about not having the same name as everybody else ('cause honestly, who else is going to name their character Percy after Rick Riordan made him famous?) that they go out of their way to think up a name that'll fit. I'm guilty of it, I admit, but naming was always more about the personality of the character than trying to be original. Take the nameless little girl in Way to Kill. Yeah, I still haven't found a name for her yet. She's mute and never talks, she has wicked skills with knives, she's only twelve years old and she's Native American. What I want to call her is Jasmine, but that's my name. So even though Jasmine fits, I have reservations naming her that, because then won't people think I'm conceited to call a character my own name?

(Not that that stopped Jay Clark, but still).

So anyway, I don't know what I'll do. I just wanted to point out that having unique names isn't everything to the plot of the book. Nor is basing your character's personality on the unique names you picked. It's kind of a meet-in-the-middle sort of thing, you know? Names need to fit the personality, the ethnicity, the mood of the novel. Names are important, you know. They're what sets the groundwork for the characters to become famous someday. They become synonyms for great (or terrible) books-- like Percy, Cullen, Jace, Katniss. Those names we'll remember... and not just because they're unique.

Thoughts? What are some names you like to use? What are some names you see often?

Heroic Much?

Mkay, so I seem to have this annoying habit of making my male MCs heroic. I mean, in Oops Rocky got kidnapped by a "crazy homicidal kidnapped chick" (his words, not mine... well, they are mine, but you get the picture) and yet once he found out that she was only trying to keep her brother from being killed he immediately offered to help. Like, seriously?

And in The Lucky One, Lucky's pyrokinetic and half angel, half demon with a human heart. He's like the whole friggin' package. Understanding, gentle, fierce when he has to be, and freaking hilarious in battle.

Even the characters who aren't the protagonist get heroic tendancies. Aidan, in Way to Kill, is a self-sacrificing Slayer who is seriously drool-worthy. And Eli in Death and Other Things I Fail At stands up to his father and the rest of society to defend Sophia.

They're all so... perfect! *pulls hair out* Did you know that when we did Character Superlatives in NaNoWriMo's YWP forums, Lucky won five awards? Funniest, Wittiest, Most Charming, Most Accident-Prone (yeah, okay, this is true), and Best Character Overall. That's ignoring the Best Couple catagory (Jasmine and Lucky won that, from SHIFT) and the catagories he got second place in (Most Likeable and Most Unique).

... This sounds a lot like bragging, but really, I'm appalled.

I didn't mean to make him so perfect. :P

'Cause seriously, are guys like that in real life? I wouldn't know. I've never actually really held a conversation with one, soooo... I'm basing all my male characters on idealistic boyfriends? Wouldn't be the first time an author did that, I don't think (Jace. Enough said).

Anywho, yeah, it's not so bad. Boys are so hard to get down. Tips would be great. ;D