emmaschoutenwrites

[emmaschoutenwrites]

Another whole week gone! I hope you are on top of your writing goal. If you aren't, don't worry. You still have plenty of time to make it to the finish line.

Meanwhile, how about we back up out writing today? It's always good to have it in multiple places, just to be sure. You never know when your computer/usb stick/hard drive is going to crash, let's knock on wood real quick there! Or maybe you need to look at an earlier draft of your writing, now wouldn't it just suck if you didn't keep a copy? I'm speaking from experience.

BACK UP YOUR WRITING!

[emmaschoutenwrites]

With NaNoWriMo in full swing, it's possible to get so caught up in your writing that you forget to back it up, so here is the first reminder I'm going to give you this month to BACK UP YOUR WRITING!

[emmaschoutenwrites]

When you declare your NaNoWriMo project on their website, they ask if your story has a playlist, which mine does not, and if it has a mood board on Pinterest, which I do have.

Here is the link to my mood board so far. As this is a work in progress with 4 different novellas, only one of which has been planned, only one Season is represented so far.

Except for the casting of the characters: the portraits represent the seasons (from left to right): Autumn, Spring, Winter, and Summer.

HONORABLE MENTION BELOW THE CUT

While the novellas don't have a playlist, if you want to listen to what I'm listening to during NaNoWriMo, here is the link to my Spotify playlist.

Yes, it's basically a compilation of Audiomachine songs. They have gotten me through the last 3 NaNoWriMo months and they will get me through one more!

[emmaschoutenwrites]

AUTUMN: a Changing of the Seasons novella

She spent centuries in the dark, rotting away half forgotten in a dirty cell only to be taken out by the humans as some disused toy. Her powerful magic was locked away by shackles, the only thing standing between her and her freedom.

But what happens when the shackles begin to crack? What happens when someone helps shatter them entirely?

Autumn isn’t one to forgive and forget. On the contrary, she is one for revenge.

My NaNoWriMo project for 2022 is called Autumn. It is the first in a series of 4 novellas. Each follows the Season it's named after.

The novellas are going to be fantasy themed but I haven't thought much more about it. In fact, I decided pretty last minute to participate in NaNoWriMo. Because I haven't updated this blog in a while, I never felt the need to share on here that I was taking a break from writing. But I did. Somewhere in March I just decided that I needed to stop. I had a streak of daily writing of nearly 900 days! That's more than 2 years of writing every day.

But it felt more like "I have to write" than "I want to write". So I stopped. I didn't write a single word for months. It wasn't until last week that I put pen to paper again, so to speak. It started with a few hundred words a day but it was enough to get my competitiveness back and sign up for NaNoWriMo.

So, here is the project!

Autumn was a story I started before my hiatus and I got about 6 chapters in. The idea came when I was brainstorming a short story to submit for an anthology. It was too big for a 8000-word short story but I stuck with the idea and brainstormed some more.

Since a novella isn't going to allow me to write down 50.000 words, once Autumn is done, I'm going to start on the next stories which will be Spring, Winter, and Summer (in that order).

Hopefully, I will be able to keep updating my progress on here something I failed last year.

[emmaschoutenwrites]

Changing of the Seasons

Centuries have passed. Generations have come and gone, knowing nothing but eternal summer. Until someone learned a secret Supreme Summer tried to keep from all. The other Seasons still existed, hidden or locked away somewhere, just waiting to be unleashed upon the world once more.

Centuries have passed. Generations have come and gone, knowing nothing but eternal summer. Until someone learned a secret Supreme Summer tried to keep from all. The other Seasons still existed, hidden or locked away somewhere, just waiting to be unleashed upon the world once more.

Alternative banners because I liked them all

Yes, this is my NaNoWriMo project. No, this isn't my NaNoWriMo project.

This is the series I'm working on. It's going to consist of 4 novelles, each following a single season. I'm starting with Autumn.

This is just a teaser, more information about the actual project will be in my next post. And because I've been so inactive, I'm including a few more preptober post because November 1st.

Enjoy!

[emmaschoutenwrites]

NaNoWriMo, baby!

It is almost that time of the year. Declare your projects, invite your buddies and download the goodies!

Okay, honestly, I'm not a fan of this year's theme but I suppose we'll make due. I have a few things prepared to post about my own project.

I do accept buddy requests, if you want, here you have a link to my profile.

In my next post I will announce my project and then a few other things!

[emmaschoutenwrites]

Hey, hi, hello!

Having been here in forever but that's okay. A lot has happened a for a while, writing wasn't the fun hobby anymore it once was. I'm still struggling to get words down some days, but I'm enjoying it more than I have in a long time.

Also, it's almost November and we all know what that means 😉

Keep an eye out for my project announcement (not nearly as fancy as last year's but I've had less time to prepare)

[emmaschoutenwrites]

Keeper of the Lost Cities Series by Shannon Messenger

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

I give the series 3.5 stars. Looking at what I rated the books individually, it should have been a 4.something but I will explain why I actually gave it lower.

Genre: Fantasy Age range: Middle Grade

So, from time to time, I like to read Middle Grade books (who doesn’t love Percy Jackson). I found this series in my library and read all the available books (8 main book and 8.5) in about 10 days and I think that’s where I made the mistake.

If you don’t want to read anything else of this review, read at least this: if you intend to read this entire series before book 9 comes out, pace yourself. Read one book in the series, read something different, read another. Book 9 is planned for November 2021, so you could even read one book a month and still be ready in time. Do NOT read them all at once!

WARNING: IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO REVIEW THE SERIES WITHOUT MINOR SPOILERS.

The series follows Sophie Foster, a girl who grew up believing she was human but is actually an elf, as she navigates the elfin world she has been catapulted into. She is the genetic creation of a mysterious group of rebels who call themselves the Black Swan, and fights with them, and her group of friends against another mysterious group of rebels called the Neverseen.

The idea is good. The plot is good. Who doesn’t love mysterious rebels and teenagers fighting to save the world with a bunch of mythical creatures and their own special abilities?

The setting is good. The elfin world is diverse; we learn about their politics, their school systems, their way of life. And everything isn’t perfect. There is plenty for Sophie to frown upon. We are also introduced to the world of other intelligent creatures: the gnomes, the trolls, the goblins, and the ogres. It’s done in less detail but that’s okay because the plot it’s focused on those.

The characters are okay. Not the most amazing cast I’ve ever seen (an what a huge cast it is) but it’s not the worst either. The main characters are all between 12 and 14 when we first meet them (between 15 and 18 in book 8). And there are a bunch of adults who try to be competent and protective but aren’t. And a bunch of bodyguards who exist only on the off chance that Sophie might need information about their species but are the worst bodyguards every.

Okay, so here is where the books started to go wrong.

Issue 1. Each book seen the addition of maybe half a dozen new characters to the main group of characters. Do the math! That’s a lot of characters. The problem with these characters is that they might have added something useful in one book and suddenly they are part of the Avengers and you can’t get rid of them even though they are completely useless afterwards.

Issue 2. The bad guys. In book 1, Sophie and her friend Dex are kidnapped, introducing the “dangerous” element. At the time, we still believe the Black Swan are bad though they weren’t responsible for the kidnapping. In book 2, we learn about a second group of rebels. And in book 3, we finally learn their name. See where this is going? The timeline is frustratingly slow.

Lady Gisela is the evil master mind and, once we know that, in each book, there is at least one conversation that goes like this:

Sophie: You’re evil. Lady Gisela: I will save the world. And you will help me once you know what my plan is. Sophie: Well, what is your plan? Lady Gisela: Just wait and I’ll tell you. Sophie: When? Lady Gisela: Soon. You have to be ready first. Sophie: Ready for what? Lady Gisela: For my plan! Sophie: Which is? Lady Gisela:....... No time, gotta run!

By the end of book 8.5, we still don’t know.

Issue 3. The timeline. I think the author has lost track of the timeline at some point. While she says months and weeks have passed (and obviously the characters have aged), events that happen in book 1 as described as having happened a few months ago while at the same time Sophie says she hasn’t lived with humans for 2 years.

Issue 4. Ridiculous & Redundant Conversations Galore. The number of conversations that are about deciding who goes on a mission and who does, with bodyguards claiming they HAVE TO GO before they are left at the door, or parents saying they aren’t going to stop their kids but absolutely don’t want them going or innuendos about the boys in the group all liking Sophie but her being too blind to see it. These conversations take pages and pages and don’t serves a single purpose. This has decreased in the later books! Thank God!

Issue 5. Book 8.5: Unlocked. You are obligated to buy the extra book for the short story in it. The author says in the book that you need to read it before book 9. The events covered happen after book 8 is finished and book 9 begins, and they are CRUTIAL, in my opinion. I am usually not one for bonus stories and I am disgusted that I was forced to buy this since my library doesn’t carry it (especially since 60% of the book is information we already got through the books and recipes you can find on the author’s website).

Conclusion. These are the main points. I feel that these were far more noticeable to me because I read most books in 24-36h. As I said at the beginning of this long post, if you pace yourself and read something else in between, it will be far less noticeable. I wouldn’t be surprised if I would end up giving book 9 a five-star review next year.

And despite what this post might make you think, I do recommend the series!

[emmaschoutenwrites]

The Shadow of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee

⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐

Sequel to The Rise of Kyoshi, which I reviewed here.

Wonderful sequel but why does it have to end here?!

After everything that happened in book 1, Kyoshi still struggles with her position as Avatar and her membership to the daofei. The people of the Earth Kingdom fear her and this bothers her, so when she's invited to travel to the Fire Nation, she doesn't hesitate (it doesn't hurt that she might see Rangi again).

As expected, nothing goes as smoothly as we would have hoped it would. Political blunder after political blunder, Kyoshi inadvertently finds herself at the heart of what might escalate to civil war. Two opposing clans who don't see eye to eye on anything but that they don't like each other. To make matters worse, Yun makes an appearance, hellbent on killing everyone who wronged him and stoking the fires of civil war even more.

The book felt a little more chaotic than the first. You can't help but feel for Kyoshi; she tries so hard but never received the training needed to deal with most of the situations she faces. It's disheartening to see her try and fail each time. She takes incredible risks that could damage not only her reputation but also that of the struggling Fire Lord.

We discover another part of the Four Nations, as well as more about Kyoshi's journey as Avatar and her powers. Book 1 left us with a rather bad impression of Avatar Kuruk and this book shows that all Avatars face their own struggles. And to finish everything off, the book ends with the one fight Kyoshi would have liked to avoid at all cost.

I can't believe this series is only a duology though! There is so much more to be learned about Avatar Kyoshi. She's only 18 in this book, which means there are a further 212 years of her life left to be explored. At least give us the legend of Kyoshi Island! *sigh* A girl can dream.

[emmaschoutenwrites]

The Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

If you are a fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender, you couldn’t possibly hate this book.

Prequel to the series, this book gives a view of the Earth kingdom that the series can't give you.

Kyoshi is an orphaned girl who lives in a little coastal town somewhere in the Earth Kingdom. There has been trouble with the search for the newest incarnation of the Avatar cycle but, finally, he has been found. Kyoshi is simply happy to be Avatar Yun's friend and have a roof over her head. However, as the Avatar and his master benders and friends prepare to sign a peace treaty with the Southern Sea pirates, things take a turn for the worst.

The household forced to question if Yun is really the Avatar or whether it might be Kyoshi instead. The masters are in a hurry to find out so that they can retain their power in the world. Besides, no one ever expected Kyoshi really to be the Avatar; she can barely bend her own native element. How could she hope to bend the other three?

Long story short: Kyoshi is the real Avatar (which we as readers already knew) but she found out in the worst possible way. It resulted in the death of her best friend and the man she had always considered her father. Forced to flee with her bodyguard Rangi, Kyoshi sets out to find her parents' old associates. She will need to find master benders who can teach her before she exacts her revenge. What she didn't expect was to fall in with a band of criminals who are indebted to an even worse bunch of criminals.

I am really bad at telling this story so I will stop here. Know that the story is really good. I haven't watched the series in a long time so I don't remember how much was mentioned about Avatar Kyoshi aside from her being the tallest and oldest one ever. This book introduces you to a girl of humble origins who never wanted more than what she had. She was perfectly happy where she was. However, Kyoshi is also a girl who will fight for her friends and avenge them if needed. The idea of vengeance is what drives her, especially at the beginning of her journey.

I missed that there wasn't a map of the Earth Kingdom in my edition because so many places are mentioned and you feel rather directionless - or at least I did. Aside from that, I love all the elements brought in from the series such as the flying bison and the shirshus. I like how this Avatar isn't by definition good and that she struggles with that, without letting it deter her from her quest.

And a little bit of romance to finish it all off. I hope the relationship between Kyoshi and Rangi plays a more prominent role in the second book without taking away from the action. Here's to hoping.

[emmaschoutenwrites]

Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyer

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

3.5 stars actually (I usually don't do halves)

I never expected to be reading another Twilight book again.

Twilight told from Edward's point of view. If you've seen the book in the stores, you'll know it's a huge book, and I feel it didn't have to be. The beginning and the ending in particular are far too long. I get that Edward is a brooding vampire and needs to get his daily dose of brooding but f*cking hell! When does it end? Up until the point he decides to actually talk to Bella, all he does is think about how to kill her, what a monster he is, that he doesn't want to be a monster, but damn, does he want to kill her. It's like a broken record.

The ending is much the same, where he wants to stay with Bella (at least until she's healed), that he has to leave her, that he doesn't want to leave her but he's bad for her so he has to but really he wants to stay with her (at least until she’s healed). He wants to give Bella what she wants (for him to stay with her) but he sure doesn't want to give her what she wants (to be with him as a vampire).

But I did honestly enjoy reading the events from Edward's point of view once, you know, he starts talking about the actual events. I reckon I like Bella a lot more from his point of view than from her own, that it made me understand her better (which seems weird, I know). From his point of view, a lot of gaps have been filled in as well, moments when he disappears from Bella's side to go hunting, and, after they separate to avoid James; that was particularly cool to read; his maniac driving and Alice planning the complete cover-up were the best.

Despite this book only covering the events of Twilight, we are giving information about other characters, such as Rosalie and the Vulturi, that Bella doesn't discover until later in the series. It's good to see those bits and pieces were mentioned, especially since Edward is supposed to know all of it already.

There were good bits and bad bits to this book. I wouldn't mind re-reading the entire series from Edward's point of view (OMG, where does he go in the second book?!) though I expect that would result in a lot of brooding and very little action. 

[emmaschoutenwrites]

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Sequel to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, which I reviewed here.

I absolutely loved the first book. I loved how Pip dragged me into her investigation and had me speculating with her. Unfortunately, I didn't like this one quite as much as the first one. I'm not entirely sure why :/ However, I still gave it 4 stars, so who really cares. Pip turned her first investigation into a podcast. It is because of the thousands of followers that she has that her friend, Connor, approaches her when his brother, Jamie disappears. Pip doesn't want to get involved at first, knowing what happened the first time, but when the police refuse to take any action, she feels she had no choice. And so, Pip dives into a second investigation, calling on her followers for help. She is as driven to find out what happened as she was in the first book. With Ravi and Connor's help, she turns Little Kilton upside down in their search for Jamie Reynolds. But not everyone is happy to see her launch into another investigation. In fact, there are those who believe Pip orchestrated the whole thing, including two of her own friends. They see it as nothing but a marketing stunt to keep her podcast going.

I think the last part is where my discontentment comes from. As reader you see everything Pip does and how she struggles with herself and her obsession. You can’t really understand why anyone would think she would orchestrate something like this herself. I really like following Pip through her investigations and, obviously, she has both the experience needed to move along faster and she has a ticking clock. She is thorough and thinks to look where I never would have. With a surprising amount of precision, Pip is able to piece together Jamie's timeline of the night he disappeared, leaving me in awe of her investigative skills. Of course, there is also a twist at the end. A good one, too!

In my opinion, the book felt unfinished. I'm hoping it will be properly resolved in the next book, which I am definitely looking forward to (because YESSS, two more books have been announced in the series!)

[emmaschoutenwrites]

Name ONE thing sexier than sword fights, and someone pinning you against a wall with a vintage, carved dagger at your throat . I'll wait.

[emmaschoutenwrites]

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

I love books that focus on the playing of video games (like Sword Art Online) so this was right up my alley. The book follows Wade Watts, a.k.a Parzival, on his hunt for the famous Halliday Easter Egg inside the OASIS. Finding the Easter Egg means inheriting the deceased game maker's billions and the OASIS's legacy. But he isn't the only one looking for it. Hundreds of gunters are looking for the Egg, as are the Sixers, employees of an evil tech-company who want to rule the OASIS and make even more money. With his friends and fellow gunters (people he has never met in real life), Parzival makes his way through a massive 80's themed quest, with side quests and everything in search of the three keys, the three gates, and eventually the big prize, the Easter Egg. I'm not a big gamer myself but I love all the work that goes into plots, quests, and graphics. I usually end up reading the book version of games (love the Assassin’s Creed books!). Usually, those books just recount the story, and the gaming element is lost. This book is all about playing the game. That is the plot. And it was done amazingly. The book is action-packed, and has plenty of riddles and personal drama. Wade starts out with nothing (literally. No coins, no items, stuck on the educational planet) and ends with everything (sorry if that's a spoiler but it was pretty damn obvious that he would). He isn't afraid to risk what he has in the game and in the real world, for friends he has never even met outside of the OASIS. In this book, everyone is obsessed with the 80's. Everything from the 80's. Movies, TV series, games, music, books. Everything. And there is a reason for it all; they are convinced that it will help them with their quests (which it does to). I usually hate when characters in YA books are given weird obsessions from the 90's, 80's, 70's, or another decade without a good reason. Just because. It drives me insane because I never feel it's believable. For once though, I wished that I knew and understood all the references. For once, I'm sad that I don't know what the characters are talking about. It all served an integral purpose to the story and it made it all okay. I'm looking forward to reading Ready Player Two.

(Just a friendly reminder that the sequel was released yesterday!)

[emmaschoutenwrites]

NaNo 2020 Progress Update

Day 20

Total word count: 50.201 words.

It’s been five days since I updated and I just crossed the 50k. Officially, I’m done with NaNo. Unofficially, I’m going to continue another 10 days. 

I using 4thewords to write, and each NaNo they have a special event to help you reach the 50k. This year, it’s the sky tournament. The semi-final round was this week and I fought for team Dawn. In the 48 hours the battle lasted, I wrote about 13k words. I was really proud of myself. Dawn won. 

I also burned too brightly and burned myself out. The remaining words to the 50k were difficult. I put Witch aside because chapter 12 sucks from beginning to end and I can’t move on without fixing it but I don’t want to do that yet. I started another project I plotted a long time ago. Hopefully, it’ll help me figure out chapter 12 as well.

Team Dawn will have to confront Team Tempest in a few days. I will fight for Dawn again. Just need to drag myself out of my slump first.

[emmaschoutenwrites]

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 

When I first came across this book on Goodreads, the idea of it intrigued me. I realize now that I must have read through the synopsis too quickly. I thought Dannie would find herself living five years in the future, trying to deal with everything, and perhaps trying to find her way back. A little like "13 going on 30". Instead, throughout the book, we follow Dannie as her life is heading towards what she saw and what she desperately tries to escape.

Dannie is an ambitious young woman who has her life planned out. Her boyfriend proposes to her on the same day as she interviewed for her dream job. That night, she has a dream; one that takes place exactly five years into the future. When she wakes up, she tried to shake it off and she nearly succeeds too.

Slowly but surely, all the pieces appear to fall into place for that future she dreamed off to become reality. No matter how much she fights it, Dannie appears to be hurdling toward the inevitable.

Plot twist, nothing is quite as she imagined it would be.

The overall plot is okay. It’s not a young adult book, which I usually read. In fact, it’s not even the fluffy romance I thought I was going to read. I'm not sure I would have classed this book as a romance. Sure, the characters fall in love, but it's not what this is about. It is a beautiful book about friendship and life and loss. About a woman who loves her work and her best friend, who thinks she loves her fiance and who thinks she has everything planned out. About her trying very hard to make sure everything sticks to those plans. And, in the end, she didn't control anything.

I think, what we can take from this book is that no matter how much you plan your life, down to the smallest details, there will always be something to throw you off track. That you can't plan for everything.

A good read. 

It is also up for the Goodreads romance award 2020. I voted for this one (pretty sure it’s the only nominee that I’ve actually read).

[emmaschoutenwrites]

Not at all what I expected but I like it!

For the fictional title game: An Ocean of Invisible Endings

An Ocean of Invisible Endings

Kynthia was never meant to be alive. She’s not real, after all. She’s false. Engineered. Artificial. But does that detract from the fact that she’s intelligent?

The day she woke up was nearly the day she died. It was also the day she learned that it’s dangerous for AI to express curiosity about the world around them. Now, squirreled away and hidden from the rest of the world, only her lead developer cares to keep her safe.

Don’t talk to them, Hecate says of the other developers. They don’t care about you. They would rather...

Hecate Oser has been working as an artificial intelligence engineer for the last six years. She can barely pay rent, living deep in the twisted hallways of Mars’s City of Silver, and she’ll be evicted soon if she can’t make ends meet. Then all of her possessions will be torn from her—including Kynthia.

She can’t lose Kynthia.

→ adult / scifi / retrofuturistic / pygmalion and galatea / themes of obsession and total unhealthy devotion / worldbuilding: hollilee’s mars

send me a title and i’ll tell you what i would write for it //