NEW STORY: A Panther In the Snow | #OliviaJisPublished

"I am aware of being in a beautiful prison, from which I can only escape by writing," -Anais Nin

First off, thank you to everyone for purchasing my book! I have about 25 copies left, so buy them before they're gone. My novel is also available on Amazon, but why pay tax and shipping and wait 3 business days, when you could have it for a flat rate of $14?

Anyway, yes, I've already started on a new project. What else do you expect me to do with my time?

If you've substantially started or finished A Cactus In the Valley, then this will make more sense and you can highly anticipate this next installment. Regardless, my newest project is a novella about some of the minor characters in ACITV. 

It's going to be a novella because I've projected that it's going to be about half the size of A Cactus In the Valley. ACITV  is about 103,000 words, however, I'm about halfway done with A Panther In the Snow, and it's only 22,000 words. 

Now, onto what it's actually about, since that's the meat of this post anyway. Here's the back cover blurb I've dreamed up: 

The companion novella to A Cactus In the Valley, A Panther in the Snow follows Harper Holmes, Nick Lombardi, and Lilly Murphy-Hartman as they grapple with the loss of Terra and Wyatt. Through their pain, they connect by creating a memorial video of the two lost teens, and find that they have their own struggles amidst their shared loss. 

Told through Harper's poignant and witty narration, A Panther In the Snow takes a glimpse into what goes on in Wyatt and Terra's families during the events of A Cactus In the Valley. 

Harper Holmes is Terra's lifelong best friend, and Nick is obviously her brother. Lilly Murphy-Hartman is Wyatt's beloved half-sister. As stated above, this novella is about what happens in the aftermath of the crash, and how the families handle it. Harper takes center stage, along with Nick and Lilly as they mourn and push some of their own boundaries. 

tentative cover

Beware, though. If you loved the emotional and intricate style of ACITV, then take note that this is substantially different. Not only because it's a drastically different story surrounding a drastically different character, but also because I wanted to experiment and write in a whole nother style to push myself. 

My dilemma now is - do I publish it? Part of me wants a nice beautiful copy right next to ACITV, but I'm not sure if I want to spread it so widely, or even make it canonical with the world. I'm writing this story not to write the story, but so Harper Holmes' voice will get out of my head. ;)

I still will be taking beta reader requests - just email me! Only requirement is to like reading and have already read A Cactus  In the Valley. 

Excuse the rambles, <3

~The WordShaker

The Missing Song from The Hunchback of Notre Dame

"Drop the word 'aspiring'. Write. Then, write some more," -Joanne Harris

Don't get me wrong, I loved The Hunchback of Notre Dame. 95% of it, at least. 

Recently, I viewed Hunchback when our local theater put it on, and since my best friend was in it, I had to see it. Even though Lauren pretty much told me the whole plot and I had sampled some of the soundtrack with her while driving, I was mostly unfamiliar with the show to begin with. 

However, I loved it. Both the performances and the source material. The actor playing Frollo disappeared into his character was a full bass, and the actor playing Quasimodo was absolutely charismatic, and had a voice like butter on hot toast. No one else in particular blew me away, but the cast was solid despite any weak links. The set was exquisite and the atmosphere/staging added a lot to the show. 

The source material is a whole nother beast. On one hand, songs like "Out There" and "God Help the Outcasts" are spine-tingling and moving, and the musical motifs tie the musical together.

But on the other, it's lacking a climax. Sure, you could pinpoint the 'climax' on a story arc, but it's missing the intensity and the emotional power that a climax should have. 

The problem about the last song, specifically when Quasimodo has just killed Frollo, and he brings Esmeralda's body up front, is just that. There's no true last song. 

Hunchback is lacking a final number of just Quasimodo. Throughout the whole show, it is shown to be a character trait of Quasimodo that he expresses himself through powerful song - see "Out There" and "Made of Stone" - and the end almost feels out of character for him because of that. One could argue that he was too sad to sing because everyone he ever loved was dead, and to that I say, his emotions should have been more clearly shown through the music and Quasimodo's acting, which it wasn't. 

We, the audience, have come through this musical deeply caring about Quasimodo, and, as this show is an almost Greek-like tragedy, the audience also deserves that deep look into Quasimodo, that catharsis that makes tragedies so universal and great. The audience wanted - and deserved - to see Quasimodo go through the stages of grief in a heart-ripping song, and to also explain why he wasn't able to move on. Without the last long depicting how Quasimodo has changed and the depth of his grief, the ending doesn't feel final, unlike what the whole show was building up to. 

Hunchback needed that final Quasimodo solo, of the finality of the show and for the finality of Quasimodo as a character. The audience shouldn't have to infer this much on the thoughts and emotions of a character - the job of the writers and musicians and actors is to make the audience feel them, and this is one of the few places Hunchback fell flat. 

Overall, I liked it, and actually loved it. But you all know me, I get off on analysis, so try and enjoy it anyway. 

~The WordShaker

The Problem with Teaching Creative Writing

"Only a true author will realize the sheer terror of the slight pause that follows the words: 'So I read your book . . .' " -Neil D'Silva

Disclaimer: based on my own personal experience, duh. 

So, I'm taking my very first creative writing class - shocker, huh? Well, this was the first opportunity I've had to take it in high school. 

As someone who's been writing essentially my whole life, I've been through the writing process multiple times. I spend most of my waking time either reading, writing, researching writing, or thinking about writing. 

Granted, this is only a high school level creative writing class, and the teacher is teaching from the ground up. However, as we're closing out our first unit - on poetry, unfortunately - I've realized something about the way many people view and teach writing. 

The writing process begins with brainstorming, then writing, then time away, then editing, and then finalizing and submitting your work. However, in this creative writing class, the ratio of brainstorming and writing to editing is about 9:1. And that's bad when writing and editing should be a ratio of 1:1, or even 2:3.

 Regardless of your skill level, the teacher should be stressing that no piece of writing is ever finished in its first draft. It is absolutely essential, and I'm under the impression that in this class, and especially in the world of newer writers, not enough emphasis is put on editing - editing your novel, a scene, a poem, anything. 

Editing is awful, but it's essential. And so is feedback. Feedback is grouped under the umbrella term of editing, and throughout the poetry unit, out of 8 poems, two people looked at two poems, one each. That's absolutely ridiculous!

Maybe I'm expecting too much out of pretty much a 101 class with a crunch for time, but I demand excellence, so that's what I will get out of myself. 

In other news, I hate poetry and I can't wait to move on. Except next we're doing memoirs and I hate writing about myself outside of my diary. 

Yes, I keep a diary. It's a good writing habit. 

~The WordShaker 

#OLIVIAJISPUBLISHED | Life Announcement

"Any good writer is going to be well-received and also not be well-received; that's how you know you're a great writer," -Karrine Steffans

Is this even a life announcement at this point? You must have been living under a rock if you haven't heard about #OliviaJisPublished!  Read about A Cactus In the Valley here!

follow me on instagram @olivia.j.the.wordshaker

But yes, my novel is published and is now available for purchase!

It is available for in-person purchase September 10th, and then on Amazon subsequently - link coming soon!

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION: 

Release Date: September 10th, 2017Price: $13.99

Disclaimer: this book is self-published, and even though I've had many people proofread this book, it's still not perfect, and I guess I have to be okay that it's never going to be perfect. 

So, this is it, I guess. I'm beyond excited to share this book with you guys, and truthfully, I'm glad to be done with this process and this story as a whole. 

I love you all, and I appreciate every single person who purchases my book, even if you don't read it because I understand that not everyone is a reader. But I appreciate it still, because it means you still want to support me in my journey, in my passions, and, ultimately, in my career choice. 

Even though my book is now out, I won't stop talking about #OliviaJisPublished, just so I can still get the word out, and because I might have more to say. 

Conclusively, I am forever grateful and am unbelievably excited. This truly has been a labor of love, and I hope it pays off. 

~The WordShaker

Some Thoughts Before Ending the #OliviaJisPublished Journey...

"Writers are desperate people, and when they stop being desperate, they stop being writers," -Charles Bukowski

I'm not sure why I'm attempting on amassing my thoughts this late in the game. I suppose because now, it's become real. 

25/75 copies. 

But what I can concur is that I'm afraid.  I'm afraid of what people will think when they read it. I'm afraid that the story won't come off the way I intended it to. 

I'm scared because I think I've lost sight of why I'm doing this in the first place. I'm scared because I know this story will never be perfect, and I hate that. 

I'm worried about leaving this story behind. It was such an integral part of my high school career, and I suppose, by finishing this off, I'm putting the period on high school too. I have to move on, to other projects. 

On the flip side, this has been a massive learning experience. Now I know that I can publish a book! I know I can do it, not for others, but for myself. I had to do pretty much everything by myself, and, since I'm going into this career field, I ought to know this sooner or later. I'm eternally grateful for this opportunity and this amazing - yet gruelingly difficult - journey.

But, in the end, thank you, Sonoran desert, for giving me a place to blossom, and thank you, Terra and Wyatt, for helping me find myself. 

Not sure what else to say. I'm humbled and scared all at the same time. All glory be to Christ. 

~The WordShaker