The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

If you feel like it, come with me. I will tell you a story. I'll show you something.

           In six words. May I take a line from the book?

There's a Jew in my basement.

           I finally finished The Book Thief on the 30th of December. It was interesting that I happened to be reading this at the end of the year. Because all year long I've been seeing how everyone and everything are all such a beautiful mess. And this book really portrayed life that way. A big, beautiful mess. It showed me a thing or two.

           The style, the idea, the characters, even the formatting was so different. Refreshing.

           You know, as refreshing as a book narrated by Death can be. . .

           The fact that it's narrated by Death is absolute genius! Death's voice is original. Not morbid or dark, like you would first think. But dry, blunt, sometimes empty, and somehow colorless. Death is truly personified. Like he's a real person. In fact, I'm convinced he is. He's very apathetic, because what he does demands it. A few times, surprisingly, his feelings show, human feelings. And how often do you get to read Death's thoughts on life?

            As a character, Death made it to the top character list. But not quite my favorite.

            Rudy is hilarious. His and Liese's exploits were so much fun to read. He is audacious and ridiculous. And he gets angry so easily sometimes, but usually for good, just reasons. I loved seeing him grow up and how he turned out. And, Liesel, maybe you should've kissed him. Maybe.

           But he wasn't my favorite either.

           Max! I love Max, everything about him. I love his stories, his sketches, his imaginings. How he goes from being an egotistical young man to being so humble to think himself worthless. I ended up loving Max almost as much as Liesel. Almost. I'm not sure I could outdo her.

           He could've been my favorite. But I'm telling you, this book has some amazing characters. Choosing a favorite is tough.

           Liesel Meminger. She is so much fun to watch grow up. Falling in love with books and words when she doesn't even know what they mean. Learning to read in the middle of the night. Racing with Rudy. Stealing apples with Rudy. Trying not to feel guilt and feeling guilt anyways. Standing up to the mayor's wife's grief. Okay, I won't be like Death and tell you everything before it happens. But I loved how she describes things, how she cherishes things. How she loves. Her childlike innocence and view of the world. I loved it.

           I'm sorry, Liesel, you are not my favorite either. But I think you will understand when I tell who is my favorite.

Somehow,  though, and I'm sure you've met people like this, he was able to appear as merely part of the background, even if he was standing at the front of a line. He was always just there. Not noticeable. Not important or particularly valuable.

             Hans Huberman is my favorite in this whole book. Because even though he is very little seen or noticed, he does things that are important. They seem like little things. But the little things are the kind things which are the brave things, the stupid things, the stand-up things, the things that matter most. He has the biggest heart in all the world. He knows what humanity is. And he leaves room for grace. He is the most loyal person, I've ever read. He doesn't try to stand out. He tries to "behave," but you can't subdue what you truly believe forever. And he is not without fault. He has those. And so he is a beautiful mess, like the rest of the characters, and all of the book. But there is something about his character. In the little things he does that matter. I want to be like that.

           Plot-wise. I loved the plot. I love how the book progressed. How Death told the readers what happens next when we weren't really supposed to know yet. It created a different kind of suspense. The plot is, wow, I loved it. The writing is genius. I loved reading a book that was all about words. One of my favorite topics.

           I admit, I probably could've read it faster. But for starters, the writing is good and considering the plot, it takes a while to digest the book. And to me (yes, I am weird) digesting, or contemplating, a well-written book is almost as good as reading it. And secondly, it's Nazi German, there's a Jew in their basement. So at the end, what happens? THEY'RE ALL GOING TO DIE! My subconscious made this prediction before my conscious did. I didn't exactly want to reach the end. And, no, that wasn't a spoiler. Not a complete one at least.


           Basically the point of this post is:

            Go read The Book Thief. The 500-something pages is worth it. It will change you some way. Promise.

Forks don't belong in the road. Just saying.

          I don't normally make goals. And when I do- They're more like a kind of guidelines. I hate goals.

          Why?

           Because I can never make the goals I set. It's kind of depressing. When every self-motivated goal that has no consequences that will effect anyone else besides me, just, well, think the cliched New Year's Resolution. (I despise those too, by of way).

          Easy solution to depressing-not-succeeding-at-goals problem: Don't make goals.

          Lightbulb!

          My mom on the other hand is very into goals. She's says if you don't have goals then you'll never get anywhere.

         After pursuing the easy solution lightbulb, I have found she is half right.

         Half right because, for me, making goals and not making goals have the same results. Wandering from idea to idea and fizzling out at each one.

        So awhile ago, I decided on an Ultimate Writing Goal Until Changed By Later Circumstances (like I said, guidelines).

The Ultimate Writing Goal Until Changed By Later Circumstances: Do not work on any other project until Oddball is finished.

           The the guidelines increased in limitation with the addition of a due date. (I hate due dates. Pressure. Grr. Why do I do this to myself?)

Due Date: The first draft of the first book of Oddball must be finished by my next birthday.

           That's in February.

           Yes, I'm leaning on the freaking-out side.

           You know, I thought I could do it. Really. I had opened a blank file on Microsoft and just, excuse me, threw up on the page (this phrase has to be coined into writer terminology). Then November hit with traveling, holidays, school, and prep for finals. And the guidelines became less attainable. . .

            The other day, I found something in my room. A fork in the road. I don't know about you, but I prefer my forks beside my plate. Or in my hand, with something yummy on the other end.

            This fork resembled a notebook. A thick 400 paged black notebook with a ton of folded stray papers sticking out from between its pages.

           Warning: the following paragraphs contain great amounts of backstory. . . on a story.

           This is what I was working on before Oddball. When Oddball bumped into me while running from prackles, I didn't commit to writing his story on the spot. I had been working on this other fantasy.

           And I was so, so close to actually finishing the first draft of this fantasy. Like, maybe twenty scenes, give or take. And I was so in tune with the characters. The last ten scenes are mayhem to read because it was all pure pantsing (excuse me, non-writers, this probably sounds very awkward to you). I don't normally do that. It was amazing. It reads terrible. But I was so close to finishing.

         Then I woke up.

         Word of advise: Don't wake up on the home stretch of writing. Ignore reality shaking you, screaming at you. And just keep your eyes shut and dream on. Write "The End." Wake up. Loaf around. And edit.

           This fantasy of mine (literally literally) was huge. It was one of my first stories. It has a broad scope and looks at the bigger picture. It's like the World War but in a fantasy world. (I think a lot of fantasies are like this actually. It's like a trait of the genre or something). I had at least ten POV characters. And it was a series. Some of those characters would die later, but there were plenty more POV characters lined up to take their place (I was a very green writer, still am). And I wanted this to be like the main series off other series. To see the war from a different perspectives and how it effected different people in different kingdoms. But I wanted all the major battles, people, and dates to be accurate through the whole thing. Of course.

           It was all so beautiful. I loved it. It was, is, how Jane Austen put it, my "darling child".

           Then I woke up and realized-

           This project is like ginomormously huge.

           And-

           Way too monsterous for a beginner writer.

           Also-

           I was (am) a beginner writer.

          Lastly-

           I wanted this story to be amazing. It couldn't be my first story. Or my first draft. Because first drafts don't normally get published. Or so I hear. And as I write more I should progress and get better. I don't want this to be my starter project! I wanted it to be one of my best works.

           I'm not sure what I would do if this work wasn't published. Ugh. I don't want to think of it. But I will be honest, I can live with Oddball not being published. I know that sounds terrible. But of all the ideas I've ever had, I couldn't live with Oddball being unwritten, but I could live with Oddball being unpublished.

           So I made a simple sacrifice (ha! that phrase is an oxymoron, simple sacrifice, phfft.) I stopped writing the Sandy series (lovely fantasy name, I know :P), and began writing Oddball's story seriously. Because Oddball was supposed to be a standalone with a few POV characters. Perfect for a beginning writer to start off.

           Yeah, whatever.

           Later I realized how cliched some of the Sandy series is. I decided to say good-bye to it. It was a sad day.

           Until last year, I  had a new twist to it, that would only make it all the more complicated to write. :P The Sandy series was revived. Sort of. In my head, for a later date.

          End of backstory. I think.

          The other day when I found the notebook buried in a bag, I realized (these realizations just need to leave me alone) that I was so close to finishing this draft. This first draft. Something I've never done. I have two notebooks filled with only notes for this series. I outwrote the main notebook and had to dig up the latter 53 pages of the stuff. That's how ugly this series is.
          
           And is it still cliched? Yeah, it has it's moments. Okay, a lot of moments.

           But it's almost February. And this first draft, as opposed to Oddball's, is so near to being finished. If I could finish a first draft, then I could know that I could do it. That I could actually finish something. Well, a first draft at least. I mean, it wouldn't technically be finished, because that would mean readable. For it to be readable, it might also need to be legible. *cough* And rewritten. And edited through and through. 

           The fork in the road presented two choices.

First Choice: Forget Sandy for now and finish Oddball. Maybe finish Oddball before my birthday. Maybe finish Oddball in ten years. Leave Sandy buried and dump any mad scientist ideas of resurrecting her out the window.

Second Choice: Resume where I left off with Sandy. Try to find the last 53 pages in the rubble in my room. Run the risk of it being really hard to edit later because I'm not as in tune with the characters any more.  And finish a first draft before my birthday.

           I'm terrible with decisions. But I did decide.

           Ten or so POV characters? Yes, I was very much a beginner writer. Very much dreaming. And definitely insane.

New Guidelines: Finish the first draft of the first book in the Sandy series before my birthday.

           So it seems I am still an insane beginner writer. Dreaming, of course. Is it shallow of me to change my guidelines because I just want to finish a first draft?

           No, don't answer that. Don't wake me until February.

The Notebook Sister's Link-up Part 2

         

           And here's the writing half. It's not that impressive. I'm sorry.

1. How many books did you write this year? (Estimate your overall wordcount for us too!)

           I didn't finish a single book.

2. Which was your favourite to write?

           I wrote mostly Oddball. And I enjoyed it very much. Though I loved the snippets of the weird idea that I jotted down.

3. Which was the hardest to write?

           Oddball. Grr to backstory.

4. Tell us about you favourite Male Character you wrote this year!

           I'm rather biased toward Oddball. You're so melancholy, realistically pessimistic, sarcastic, and unwaveringly loyal. It's a fun combination, surprisingly.
           Rocky, you're always awesome. Don't bow and say it comes natural. But okay, maybe it does for you. 
         
5. And how about your favourite Female Character?

           Hm, there's not many girls in Oddball.
           I'll have to say Peril. You'll always be my favorite even though you did give me a hard time to write. You out of all of them, were so hard to get on paper. But you're too you to dislike, and I mean that.
           And Mora, I hope every reader learns to love/hate you as much as I do. Just saying.

6. Can you introduce us to some awesome sidekick(s)?

            I'm not sure if Rocky is Oddball's sidekick, or Oddball's Rocky's sidekick, or what. Rocky is awesome though. Oddball's opposite in a lot of ways. They interact like every good duo should. Tons of tension, teamwork when there has to be, and hilarity all around.

7. Any romances in your writing? Which couple didn't go together as expected?

           Hm, Rocky and Skyler. They're currently separated by a mountain range though. There'll be more romance to come, but knowing me and the characters, it won't be much.

9. What challenges did you compete in this year? (NaNos? Personal goals? Challenges run by other blogs?) And how did you go?

           I wanted to get Oddball and Rocky to Vorb before a specific time. I'm not sure if they made it before the end of summer, but they did make it. They've also met Peril (oh, lucky them*cough*), another plot destination made.

11. Epic quote(s) you wrote?

He had an expressive face for a dragon.

12. Last word from your manuscript(s)! Go!

           The last sentence from the rough draft.

He should've stayed in the Border.

14. Show us your favourite funny scene!          

Another knock at the door. Smelt's steady hammer beat jarred. He sighed and looked at Ember. "You see what they do?" He feigned anger. "They say, 'We want you to make more for us, Smelt. You are the best, Smelt. You must make us so many things.'" He spread his arms out wide. "And what do they do?" He put his hands on his hips and made a face at Ember.
             She laughed.
            "What do they do?" he said again. "They come pounding on my door when I work. When I work! When I do what they want, they come to bother me."
           The knock came again.
           "You hear this?" He swung his hammer to the door. "You think it is fair?"
           "It is never fair. Life cannot do it." Ember said.
           "Wait now," Smelt frowned at her. "You cannot use my quote against me. That is not fair!" He beat on his work and frowned when he found it too cold. She giggled. "You find it funny?"

15. Show us a snippet of dialogue you're proud of.

           "Adventuring suits you."
           "It. . . it does?"
           Now she looked at him. With that grin. "Yes. You thrive on it."

17. What has writing taught you about yourself this year?

           I have a long way to go, so I better keep going. And I saw myself in some of the ways my characters thought, spoke, and acted. In unexpected ways actually.

18. Best piece of writing advice you learnt this year?

           Write, write, write, and never waver from that.

19. Anything big on the horizons for next year? Plans to query? Publish? Edit?

           Finishing a first draft! Woohoo! Maybe even two.

20. Tell us a bit about a book you're super excited to write in 2014!

           Well, if I finish two first drafts, I plan to put more effort into the weird idea. The weird idea obviously lacks a good title, and it's a series that revolves around a trilogy (if that makes any sense). It's journals, the future, and superpowers. It's in first person. And I am ecstatic about it. :)