writers – Laura Lee Anderson

Most of the time, biting books aren’t this obvious.

I’m doing a lot of prep for NaNoWriMo. (That’s National Novel-Writing Month, which is November)

Most of it involves research- I’m subscribing to some new blogs, clicking around websites, and (maybe) signing up for a few classes.

Some of it involves plotting- I have a beautiful stack of multi-colored 3×5 cards. Whenever I get a scene idea, I jot it down. Soon I’ll be arranging them in a pleasing, plot-climbing order.

A lot of it, however, involves reading. Not just research books. I’m reading YA fiction. A lot. Because (as evidenced in this post), I can’t read while I write. So I’m reading two or three or four books a week in order to the make up for the month I’ll be book MIA.

Once in a while, however, I come across a book that makes me want to stop reading. Sometimes it’s because the book is so beautiful and amazing that I’m sure whatever comes next will pale in comparison. I need time to digest it and sigh about it. This happened with The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I was daydreaming about that book for weeks! (My review is here, if you want to read it).

Most of the time, though, when a book makes me want to stop reading, it’s because I feel like I’ve been bitten by it. 5-star reviews, critical acclaim, and NYT Best-seller lists mislead me into thinking that it will be fantastic. And, in short, it’s not. Sometimes it’s the writing, sometimes it’s the story, sometimes it’s the lack of either. Woe to the first person who talks to me after I slam the back cover! Two hours later, I may be done stewing about it, but probably not. Sometimes it takes days. Sometimes weeks! People ask me what I’m reading and I scowl and say, “Nothing.”

There are a smattering of authors that I read after such occurrences, because I know that their beautiful stories will heal my gaping book-wound. After reading something by Laurie Halse Anderson, Sarah Dessen, or Marcus Zusak, I am ready to give it another go.

Does that happen to anybody else out there? Can a single book put you off of reading for a week or more?

Oo! EB Pike tagged me in this Lucky 7 meme!

I don’t know what a meme is, but here are the rules:

1) Go to page 7 or 77 from your current WIP (that’s “work in progress.”)

2) Go to line 7

3) Copy down the next 7 lines- sentences or paragraphs- and post them as they’re written. No cheating!

4) Tag 7 authors

5) Let them know

Bleeder is done until an agent or editor gets his or her hands on it. Here are 7 paragraphs from the 7th page of Bleeder 2. Keep in mind that this is total first draft stuff! Never once been edited! So it definitely isn’t my best! And don’t worry, it will someday have a better name than Bleeder 2. That’s just what I’m calling it for now. *All shaky and nervous* *or maybe it’s just the coffee I had for lunch.* *This is like exposing a raw nerve.* Ok, here goes…

“We fell asleep…” she said, “watching a movie…”

He nodded once, face unreadable. “Ok.”

Auger’s hawklike gaze fixed her. “Thought we’d let the kid have a little fun,” he said, his eyes showing a fierce amusement.

Angela shook her head and yawned. “You might have to step in and save his life now.”

“Kenneth!” the old man took a few steps toward the other room. “Leave him alone! And sit down for heaven’s sake. What the hell does ‘limited physical activity’ mean to you?”

Kenneth straightened up as he walked out of the second bedroom and into the common room, still favoring his left side. Edan darted out behind him and bounded onto a couch, crouched in a corner, still grinning ear-to-ear. The couches were in an “L” shape around a coffee table. There was an armchair, too, and each seating space had a view of the front door.

Kenneth sat in the other corner of Edan’s couch and tried to look nonchalant, but the pain was evident on his face. Running after the younger boy was the most he’d moved since he’d been helped into the van outside the hospital. The guys wouldn’t even let him carry stuff into the hotel room. His helplessness was killing him.

So that’s it. Go here if you want to see what Bleeder‘s about, and go here if you want to see what everybody looks like. I promise the writing is better. 🙂

Time to choose 7 authors. Here goes!