Avengers Book Tag

The Endgame approaches. I hope you're ready.

So I noticed one of my favorite bookstagram accounts coffeeforpages did this Avengers book tag, 

and it looked like so much fun, I stole it.

[her post]

[i'm not back]

Iron Man | book that made you laugh

I feel slightly bad that most of these are middle grade books. Does that say something about my sense of humor? Nah.

So sorry, Tony, but your a middle grade read [the side effects of adopting a Spider-Man].

Howl's Moving Castle gives me so much joy. It's like when you're ten years old, the weather is your favorite, someone randomly gives you your favorite candy, AND you get to run outside and get dirty to your heart's content all on the same day. Simple joy, guys. The best.

Percy Jackson never fails to make me laugh. I could just open any of the books to a random page and within two minutes people will serve me glares and nervous glances because I'm laughing at a social unacceptable volume.

Word by Word is not a middle grade book, but--

It's a nonfiction book about dictionaries, grammar, and anything related to the English language [ok, it's about lexicography]. Aka: much nerd. And it's soooo hilarious. I'm always smirking or chuckling to myself. But when I try to explain the nerd jokes to my mom, she's just kinda like " . . .ok."

Thor | character with strength you admire

Any time I do one of these tags, my brain goes "book, wat book? U red book? Huh." My mind completely blanks, and I have zero memory of what I've read. Ever. So I'm going to go with a movie instead, and I'll be mind-numbingly obvious about it.

Thor. Ok? I like Thor. [Mind you, I like Loki better, but Thor has his merits.] He has one of the greatest character arcs in MCU [right under Tony Stark and Doctor Stephen Strange if you're asking me]. And I'm not talking about his physical strength, so listen.

Everyone regards Thor as ditzy or uncaring because he walks around smiling all the time when his friends hunt his brother down or because he'll team up with someone who had once betrayed him or overstepped boundaries. I could go on for ages pulling examples out of my metaphoric beanie. But I don't think this has anything to do with Thor being stupid. Thor's real strength lies in his character. 

Thor knows how to prioritize properly. Worrying about his situation isn't going to improve it. It'll likely make it worse because he's not focused on the goal. He doesn't let his circumstances keep him from moving forward and taking care of what needs to come first. Infinity War for instance? His family, his kingdom, and all his people, whose lives he was responsible for, and his brother was wiped away in front of him. He had nothing in Infinity War, but did we see him whining on and on about it? Um, no. Some of the other characters cling to their personal squabbles or brood over their awful past or present while the world is literally ending, but Thor doesn't take much part in this. It's not that Thor doesn't care about what happened to those he cares about. It's that not dying and saving the world is a little more important than feeling the feels at the moment. If they succeed, there'll be time for that later. 

He also doesn't let others' actions hold progress back either. He's willing to forgive people, even when he knows they'll likely double cross him [*cough* Loki *cough*]. He wants to let them change and become better. He knowingly opens himself up to a ton of hurt so that he can give people room to grow and cheer them on as they do so [you know, if they do so]. But to him, it's about priorities again. It's more important for that person to be given a chance to become a better version of themselves than for him to be bitter and angry.

[End rant]

Captain America | book set in another era

Who doesn't love the Victorian England setting of Sherlock Holmes? And nowadays, Sherlock Holmes retellings take place in all sorts of settings. [Do you have any fav SH retellings recs?]

Since resurrecting the dead is totally a fabulous idea, I can't leave out Frankenstein in all its literary Romanticism, particularly since Captain America is this category's patron avenger.

Hulk | book that made you angry

I'm about half way finished with Game of Thrones [the book, not the series A Song of Ice and Fire], man, some of the characters . . .

Stark makes me angry almost 505% of the time. I liked him when I first met him, but now all he does is make the worst possible decisions. After I finish the book, I'll rant more, but for now, I'll add that Catlyn annoys me nearly just as much. Why, you might ask? 

Exhibit A:

Catelyn: *is hysterically distraught over one child's unconscious state and refuses to acknowledge her four other children exist and need her*

Catelyn five minutes later: *uncovers a possible conspiracy* "Somebody needs to tell people about this. But it has to be someone smart who'll be believed . . . Oh, wait. That's me."

me: Yes. Everyone's going to readily believe the lady who was last seen barely cognitive. Great plan, Cat. I wouldn't put you in charge of a potato chip.

Need we move to an Exhibit B? I think no.

Lysa, wow. It seems near madness is a Tully trait.

I'll stop there before I destroy a small city.

Hawkeye | underrated book

A Wizard of Earthsea, or rather the whole Earthsea Trilogy, is one of my favorite fantasy books. I'm not sure if they're really underrated? But I never hear anyone talking about them. They deserve more love.

Also, The Princess Bride.

[sorry not sorry]

Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch | sibling love

If you want to go Medieval, I'll throw in Njal's Saga because it's blood-for-blood in old Iceland. If you don't avenge your brother, shame on you. 

If you avenge your brother, you or your other brother is at the top of your arch enemy's hit list. 

It's been nice knowing you.

Antman | book you want to read but can't

I've owned The Lost Hero for a while. And I've really, really been wanting to start the series, but I need to read other books first: Hamlet because I want to, Vengeful before my friend stabs me, The Five Poisoned Apples to reread for review, A Thousand Perfect Notes because I'm late for every party. But I still need to finish my three current reads. 

Do I have too many books?

Loki | evil character you like

Um, Loki? Yeah, Loki. [From Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology]

Also, I say Cynfael from Falling Snow [by Skye Hoffert], but I wouldn't really call him evil. Self-serving, yes. A trickster type like Loki, double yes.

___

Don't mind me while I add a few more Avengers to the list.

___

Black Widow | unreliable narrator

The Boy in Striped Pajamas has an unreliable, heart-breaking narrator. We can get even more literary and add The Dubliners by James Joyce. Nearly, all his narrators offer such minimal information, or, worse, they don't even have a real voice of their own? While we're in literary land, I could make a case for Pride and Prejudice. Just think on it for a bit.

Rocket Raccoon | book full of murder babies

Oh, this is my favorite place to be, home to Vicious and Red Rising. I'd love to observe to an encounter between Victor and Sevro over morning coffee.

Doctor Strange | magical settings

Cabeswater in The Raven Boys is mystical and weird. And the trees speak Latin? 

So yeah, I haven't finished the series yet because I'm always behind in everything. [Wait, did I already say that?] But thus far, I love it! Also, because it's Maggie Stiefvater's writing, Henritta, Virginia seems magical too.

Steal the tag if you like it!

Spring Cleaning Writers Tag // in August

So while I was busy dashing about doing the bidding of various professors earlier this year, Skye @ Ink Calamities tagged me for a tag. I'm grateful for it. It's nice to realize I was thought of while I was drowning in the higher education system.

If you wish to know the rules of the game, refer to her post because I haven't time for them. [You should read her blog if you don't already. In fact, she is getting PUBLISHED soon! I want to scream it from the top of Mt. Everest, but I'll have to settle for the peak of my tbr.]

1) Dust Bunnies and Plot Bunnies: Reorganize your goals or make new ones

My goals have undergone recent renovation. I've been writing a novel for my last class, so it needs a place on the list.

-- properly combine the original material of Zuezak with the new material

-- finish writing the first draft of Zuezak

-- edit Oddball the First

-- while editing, maybe write or brainstorm for something else

-- edit Zuezak, while continuing above

-- edit Oddball the Second?

-- who knows

-- I don't plan this far ahead

-- but serious? probably take a dragon nap

2) Which stage are you at?

a. Planning a story

b. Writing

c. Editing

d. Combining all the above

Definitely d. Always d. I used to hop from story to story too often. Recently, I've learned how to have one story as my main focus while I occasionally divert to the others [totally disregard the goals list described above]. 

Sometimes when I work on only one for too long, I'm just smashing my imagination into brick wall A without finding any solutions that'll make it phase through smoothly. So if I smash my imagination against brick wall B, sometimes I find the solution to phasing through wall A even if wall B remains unconquered.

I didn't make the rules to The Funny Way Creativity Works, so don't expect me to explain them properly.

3) Treasure from the Back of the Closet: Share 1-3 snippets.

Sure. How about

"Bay needed to stretch her legs with nice wrong."

People, that's supposed to be "'with a nice run.'" XD My typos are the worst! It's cracks me up.

Ok. Here's some serious ones. They've not been edited, so excuse the mess.

“Damon!” Zuezak dashed after him. “Damon! Get over here! Don’t go near—Aaahmmf. . . .”

A hand jerked him against a wall as another covered his mouth.

“Not so loud,” Damon whispered. “they’ll hear you.”

He pulled Zuezak down to crouch behind some barrels. They peered around. Boxed into the dead end alley, two kids shivering against a wall with a gargan snapping at them.

Swell. He knew exactly what Damon was thinking.

“Look, you don’t have your sword,” Zuezak pointed out.

“And you didn’t bring your bag of science tricks, I see. So we use our own brain and brawn.”

“Damon, this is madness.”

“They’re just kids. You think they’re going to get out of there alive?”

“I won’t let you go in there.” Zuezak tried to keep his voice to a whisper.

“Why?” Damon rolled his eyes. “Because I’m the prince.”

“What? No. Because you’re—”

“Get the kids away once it’s clear.” Damon dashed off.

“—my brother.” Zuezak clenched his teeth. “My insufferable ninny of a brother!” he yelled.

---

“You can’t make me leave.” Tyke crossed his arms. “And I’m not going to, you and I, we’re in the same boat.”

Zuezak rolled his eyes. So they should stick together like pals for the remainder of their lives? Whoop-de-doo. “No, we’re not.”

“Sure. Damon was kind to both of us even though nobody else likes us. He always stood up for me and never laughed at me when everyone else did.”

“You’re a jester.” 

---

“And you make magic weed killer for a living? And in your spare time . . . save princes from imminent doom?”

---

I'm still wrestling with this beast of a sentence. Not sure if I like it or not. 

Everyone he encountered so far, Zuezak, the Seeker, even Cassie looked at him with surprised hollow eyes that held the relief that he was here and alive but the bewilderment of not knowing what would come next as if his return was something that they had anticipated in the despair of believing their anticipation would be disappointed.

4) Show some actual spring cleaner of your writing life.

I don't quite understand what I'm supposed to do here. But my bedroom, where I regularly write has changed since I got a new mattress. A new mattress that's too small for the box frame . . . oops. I'm glad for it though as it has allowed me to use the extra space well.

How blurry.

Also, I take my coffee in the living room, thus, here's where I write with coffee in hand.

What are some of your writing goals? Do you tend to write in the same place or will anywhere do?

[ps: in case you cared, I'm currently working on the rough draft of something that is not Oddball. aka Zuezak. Give me any questions you want answered in the comments, and I'll answer them in a proper post.]

Evil Writer Tag

 

So Skye @ Ink Castles tagged me for this ages ago. I was quite excited until the black hole of college swallowed my life for an unholy amount of time. But now that I've been released from my exile in the academic void [thank God for spring break], I've not forgotten!

Thanks Skye!

1) How many characters do you typically kill per book? And how many people have you killed in real life, dear? Do you. . . feel any remorse about this? I'm concerned about you.

I don't tend to kill my characters as often as one might think. I prefer to keep them alive for further suffering. 

2) Do you prefer to use weapons of mass destruction like explosions and famine and world war or more personal torture like killing family, friends, and pets? 

Personal torture is always the most painful and touching way to die. So beautiful.

But, when an opportune scenario presents itself, I'm not one to shy away simply because I have a better, grandiose plan in my head that could later be foiled. Take the chance when it comes, dearie.

 

3) Are you more like Loki who perpetrates great evil with a creepy grin, or. . . give me a minute. . . Darth Vader, who secretly weeps inside his. . . fake head, whilst destroying the world.

I have to admit, some days, the clever plans of mass destruction are just so beautiful, I do shed an internal tear or two.

4) What is the most dastardly crime you have ever committed as a writer?

5) What kind of chocolate do you most like to devour as you burn things? White, milk, semi-sweet, or dark? Bonus points if you are so evil you find unsweetened cacao palatable.

Anything but white. White is for the good wizards. Evil dragon writers eat real chocolate.

Chocolate milk is good [I can be an evil child mastermind if I want]. Also, chocolate cheesecake [a sophisticated evil child mastermind].

6) What is your villainous title? You may not have "Evil Overlord" because that one is mine.

I like to go under the radar. Strike when nobody's looking and disappear without a clue. They never know who or what hit them. Titles have never been my forte. . . in any aspect.

7) Which one of your characters would actually be a match for you if you were to duke it out one on one?

But I don't have to. I hold all the strings. 

 

8) Do you wear a cape? Face paint? A mask? Special underpants? Or do you hide in plain sight like Moriarty? Give me details!

I prefer a low key look.

 

9) How do you react when you kill off a character who is dear to you? Do you laugh evilly out loud? Do you chuckle under your breath and quickly glance around for your next victim? Do you go weep in the corner like you just lost your best friend? Or do you just shrug indifferently?

I move on in life . . . and sketch out blueprints for a barricade in case future readers seek revenge.

10) If you had to chose a fictional character (from books, movies, etc.) to sum up your villainous style as an evil writer, who would it be? Why?

I could say President Snow. Because he narrows down a target, obsesses over it, and destroys everything it loves.

I could say Loki. Because he disappears into the void and then returns with amazing plans for mass manipulation, but the other characters have their own ideas. . .

He also stands on the fence and will help either villain or hero depending on his current mood.

11) Do you believe in killing off main characters, or are they your smol precious babies whom you can't even fathom laying a hand (or a steel-tipped ax) upon? (#whimpyevilwriter)

Story trumps all. Even protagonists.

12) Have you ever chickened out of your evilness and tried to resurrect a fallen character who you have already brutally murdered? Or do you-- as they say-- let the sleeping skeleton life?

 What makes you think that resurrecting a character back into the world of my imagination's making is an act of mercy?

12) When murdering a character, do you often describe it in cringe-worthy detail, or do you prefer to say "SPLAT! He's dead," and be done with it? (Bonus Question: have you ever actually said, "SPLAT! He's dead" in one of your writing projects?)

Hm, depends in what way I want to manipulate the readers' emotions. Different characters and situations call for different deaths.

What about you? Let me know in the comments, or even better, steal the tag!

The Book Sacrifice Tag

Thank you Genni @ Ready, Set, Read! for tagging me with The Book Sacrifice.*bites nails* But books!

1. An Over-hyped Book

[Situation: You’re in a store when the zombie apocalypse hits. The military informs everyone that over-hyped books are the zombies only weakness. What book that everyone else says is amazing but you disliked do you start chucking at the zombies?]

The Fault in Our Stars

Don't hate me. I'm saving you from zombies after all.

2. A Sequel 

[Situation: A torrential downpour. What sequel are you willing to use as an umbrella to protect yourself?]
 

 Books don't make good umbrellas. So what's the point?

 Ok, ok.

Raging Star

I think at least? I mean, it's not actually a sequel [I make my own rules]. It's the last of a trilogy. I'm not sure what I think about it. It wasn't awful, but it could've been better. And so much shorter.

3. A Classic

[Situation: You’re in English class and your professor raves about a Classic that “transcends time.” If given the opportunity to travel back in time, which Classic would you try to stop from ever publishing?]  


 

 Have you not watched any sci-fi movies!? You don't mess around with history. That is NOT ok. One thing leads to another and you risk seeing yourself see yourself and thus creating a time paradox. 


 

I haven't a clue what the implications of a time paradox are, but it sounds catastrophic.

4. A Least Favorite Book

[Situation: Apparently global warming = suddenly frozen wasteland. Your only hope of survival for warmth is to burn a book. Which book will you not regret lighting?] 

James Joyce's Dubliners

It's not awful, but it's not life and breath as a certain professor possibly believes.

Also, my middle grade English textbooks.

Probably my community college history textbook too.

Are we seeing a pattern?

So what book would you chuck or burn in the name of survival? 
[Or just steal the tag and leave a link to your post!] 

The Wisteria Writer Tag

Thank you so much Eve @ Edge of Night for tagging me for this! It's a lot of fun.

You should definitely go check out her blog, people! She post some awesome poetry.

1. What current story or book are you working on?

I'm editing Oddball the First.

2. What is your favorite genre to write in?

Fantasy. Anything not normal. Anything that can be funny and loaded with dialogue.

 

3. Have you been published? If not, do you plan to be?

Eh, sorta? This website published one of my short stories.

I do plan to be a published author, yes.  

4. Which aspect of writing are you best at (mood, theme, plot, etc.)?

So these are hard questions.

Characters

 Dialogue maybe

 Awkward scenes [not that I have real life experience in this, never]

 
 

5. Which part could you improve upon most in your writing?

Plot

Not adding too much dialogue

Endings

Not making sad things funny

Titles

There could always be more dragons. Always.

6. Do you prefer to write fiction or nonfiction?

What is this nonfiction that you speak of?

7. Do you remember the title of your very first work?

Story length

The Surprise.
[It was a stupid, predictable story about a rainbow, if you care to know. I was probably 7.]

Book length

The Sandy Series
I promise it's a fantasy and not some MG school drama. 
[Yes, I know. The title burns your eyeballs. Just run some cold tap water over them. That's what I do.]

8. Are you typically a planner or a panster?

I'm a bit of a hybrid, but I lean heavily on the pantsing side. 

9. What is your definition of a "successful" writer?

 Gee, this is subjective. Sure, by nature of the question of course. But don't go away thinking that what I consider "a successful writer" to be is the firm and immovable definition of a successful writer.

Success is different for everyone. [So by nature, subjective?] Figure out what it means to you. Go on now. Be free!

*cough*

So for me? Gosh, I know, but I don't know. Like I don't want to tell you.

I hate telling people my "plans." My plans are always subject to change, and they will most assuredly change if I tell them to people. Plans are funny like that. They're like secrets. You tell them to people and everything blows up in your face. End of action movie.

10. What would you say to someone wanting to be an author?

Write a lot, man. Write everything. Read a lot. Read everything.

Experiment to your heart's content.

You don't have to use big words to talk about deep stuff.

Make 'em laugh. [That's a song, by of way.]

Make it worth your time by having fun with it. Have so much fun other people get jealous.

Be addicted to writing [but you didn't hear that from me].

Steal the tag if you'd like!

Do you make a mean outline? Or are you a panster through and through? And what is the title of your first work? Do your plans turn on you when you tell people about them?

inspire me tag

Coming to you from Liz @ Out of Coffee, Out of Mind is the inspire me tag. Thanks Liz!

1) What is one of the most inspiring things for you?

I've been inspired by various things and they don't fit into one particular category well. Sorry to be vague. But that's how it is. 

 

2) Where do you look for inspiration?

Inspiration comes to those who don't look for it.

Seriously though, I'm never looking for it when I get it. Like when I discovered Oddball, I was hanging up clothes in the backyard [obviously, my brain was five million miles away].

 

3) When and where does inspiration tend to hit you?

*cue the various kinds of inspiration mentioned in #1*

So the weird idea was first inspired by this tv series called The Cape. I really enjoyed it, but it died after the first season. The weird idea came from a single scene in one of the latter episodes [which is strangely unrelated to the plot and characters, but there's inspiration for you: impossibly irrelevant]. Also, I wanted to write in first person present tense. And I challenged myself to write scenes that most people would place italics but, of course, with no italics. [I see you rolling your eyes. Stop that.] I had a small fascination with photographic memories and wanted to experiment with writing a character who had one.

I got ideas for this character who loves coffee while drinking coffee and searching through pinterest.

 

 

On holidays, my family makes baked oysters, so while I was eating a lunch comprised solely of leftover oyster goodness, this amazing wonderful scene and a bunch of characters hit me in the face.

So the protagonist's name is Oyster. Ok, maybe that sounds lame. But it's not! It shall be awesome because now it actually has some semblance of plot. *ahem*

 

The Sighting of the Albinos comes from challenging myself to write a dragon story without saying the word "dragon." [In retrospect, this is not particularly difficult as any well-read fantasy lover will know that the words "reptile" and "wings" will likely indicate a dragon.]

Also, writing myself into corners always tends to inspire me to write my way out. I love writing myself into corners [not that I do it on purpose]. It gives me a problem to solve, and my whole world becomes writing.

To sum up, having a problem or challenge to solve keeps me more engaged or inspired to write. Also, food. Having food or coffee does the trick too.

4) What's the first thing you do when inspiration strikes?

Well, considering that I'm usually not expecting inspiration, sometimes I don't recognize it for what it is. I'm the idiot who'll awkwardly hold inspiration in my hands and oo and ah wondering what the heck it is. Usually, it grows and rages at me until I finally write the idea down. 

 

5) What is the most inspiring song/book/website/etc. that you've found?

Switchfoot is eternally inspirational.

 I recently read Grettir's Saga, and Norse humor rocks.

The Mentalist. Yeah.

Any book or show that has good banter.

 

Um, the dictionary can be wondrously inspirational.

 

6) What's one piece of advice you'd give to people who are struggling with inspiration?

So yeah, I'm totally going to steal Liz's answer. 

 

Inspiration is not everything. Actually, it's hardly anything. When I read back on my writing, the best words came out of those hard places where I didn't want to write because I didn't have the words. But I wrote anyway [of course I never write stuff like "they did things and drank coffee and Oddball had a cold" haha, ha, stop looking at me like that].

Here's one of my favorite quotes that's sorta, but not really related. I'm not even going to interpret it. Just do with it whatever you will. It's by James Scott Bell: "Talent is overrated. The ability to get tough, stick with it, and produce words beats lazy literary giftedness every time."

Inspiration is such a fickle thing. It's not something that's meant to be sought or waited upon. It just happens, and if so, then that's great. But if not, we carry on and write relentlessly, yes?

Where do you get inspiration from? What do you do with it? And what is one of your favorite inspirational moments?