Writing Workout: Awkward Stock Photos Challenge

                Thanks to the polar vortex, my school is going on a six day weekend. The downside is I was supposed to take my Statistics final six days ago. The upside is all this free time has enabled me to get some work done on my novel, work on finishing the Crash Course literature reading list, and come up with a new writing workout.

                The concept is ridiculously simple and also simply ridiculous. Pick a photo from Awkward Stock Photos and try to write an at least semi-logical short story about it. The point of this exercise is to learn to write yourself out of seemingly impossible situations, for when you have writer's block or need to up your word count on Nanowrimo. If you can't think of anything good, write all the possible ways the story could go. Then choose the best one and go with it.

Here are some pictures to choose from, or pick one from the Awkward Stock Photos blog:

                             Uptight boss who keeps the meeting going even after a gas leak?

               New smartphone that punches user whenever he or she posts something stupid online?

                                                    I don't even know what to tell you.

Back to Book Reviews: Flawed by Kate Avelynn

    First book review of the new year! Actually first book review since this summer. To be honest I’ve have pretty much only been reading books for my AP Lit class. Do you want a review of Old Man and the Sea from someone who is not an English professor? Didn’t think so. But I have found the time to read a few good Young Adult books. Here’s the first:

    Twelve years ago, Sarah O’Brien made an unbreakable pack with her brother, James. He would protect her from their abusive father if she promised to never leave him. But as they grew older, James hold on Sarah grew tighter and tighter. When Sarah falls in love James’ best friend, Sam, her brother proves to be more broken and dangerous than anyone ever thought.

This book was from my Black Friday book hall and I had never heard of it before I found it at Half Price Books. Not surprising, since this is Kate Avelynn’s first and only novel. Despite that, this book is suspenseful and compelling. Avelynn masters the art of keeping the reader on the hook of the drama without creating a soap opera. She delves into the guilt abuse victims feel and the flusters of first love at the same time. I would absolutely recommend reading this book, then checking out the alternative endings and all the other goodies Avelynn has on her website.

Coming up next: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

A Broken Resolution Against New Year's Resolution

     I learned a long time ago that making a New Year's resolution is the best way not to achieve anything you wanted. The only resolution I've ever finished is getting into the habit of asking someone how they were doing after they asked about me, and that only worked because I'm excessively Minnesotan. But there is something I really want to accomplish in 2014, so I'm breaking my resolution against resolutions.

     I've always wanted to be the kind of person who journals every day. The problem is I don't always have something to say and journaling quickly begins to feel like a chore. Then there are days when I do have an interesting observation about my life to write down but I have nowhere to put this mostly unformed thought. So in 2014, I have resolved to carry a journal around with me at all times.

     This will not be the "Dear diary, my day was..." kind of journaling. It's an idea I got partly from the book Spilling Ink by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter, which recommends making your journal entries as creative as the rest of your writing. I won't write in it everyday, just when the mood strikes me. Yesterday, I sat down at the Walker Art Center after exploring the galleries and wrote a two page character study. It turned out to be my favorite piece of writing in months.

     Today I wrote another bit inspired by the Walker. They currently have multiple installations by Lawrence Weiner, a contemporary artist who believes in the power of words in art. He created the Walker's slogan, "Bits & Pieces Put Together to Present a Semblance of a Whole." While I was looking at his art, I thought of my own art-worthy slogan. Not very original, but I wrote in my journal, "Everything must go."

     This one little sentence got the ideas rolling. It somehow fit perfectly in the novel I'm working on and managed to move my plot along. My New Year's resolution is already paying of. It knocked me out of my funk. Perhaps I'll stick with it.