Sunday

oh look it's my #nanowrimo novel

NANOWRIMO IS IN...3 DAYS AND I HAVEN'T FINISHED PLANNING YET. procrastination is not a friend.

This year, I sat myself down and me and myself had a nice little talk. It involved half of me screaming at the other half to: WRITE ANOTHER FREAKING FANTASY. And the other half screaming: NO. YOU FOOL. CONTEMPORARY. 

The fool receded back into my system and I decided on CONTEMPORARY. I'm going to try to write happy things! Just kidding, outlining this book made me cry tears of non-fantasy sorrow. 

Psh. I don't hate it. But I don't love it. I write and read fantasy to escape the depths of shrinking reality. But writing realistic fiction means I have to face the horrors of reality. It's dark and twisted. And definitely not happy. 

Nonetheless, I'm writing it, and I'm kind of excited. I'm actually really excited, because I finally think I have an outline that works for me, even though I haven't actually.. finished... it.. yet. heh. 

I'm linking up with the Beautiful Books meme to introduce my NaNo novel to you!



also quickly, ADD ME AS A FRIEND ON NANOWRIMO!! do it. 

1. What inspired the idea for your novel, and how long have you had the idea?


I was actually inspired by a Grey's Anatomy episode?? It's one of my favorites, and it's about this girl who was kidnapped at a young age, who's found and shares some disturbing secrets about her kidnapping and her capture. It's creepy and dark and sparked my imagination when I watched it a couple of months ago. 

I REALLY REALLY wanted: a POC main character, some representation of mental health, just lots of representation, enchiladas, and an Arctic Monkeys loving hiker secondary character. Of course, all the things a normal teenage girl wants in a book. 

2. Describe your novel.


Sav Mills is found at the side of the river at exactly 5:09 AM in nowhere town, New Jersey. Plot twist! She's been missing for 7 years. Plot twist! She acts like a normal person and is educated up to the college standard. Plot twist! She won't tell anyone anything.

6 months later, Sav starts school, and meets Kat(herine) Brawksi. Call her Katherine, and she'll rip your head off. Throughout her time with Kat, Sav learns more about adjusting to her new life and coming to terms with what happened to her.

Plot twist! Her captor is found, and the memories come flooding back. 

3. What is your book's aesthetic?



4. Introduce us to each of your characters.


SAV - the main character who means well but sometimes (always) lets things get into her way. Doesn't know what she's doing yet, but she'll figure it out.. eventually. She has spirit, which comes from her mom, and she will never pass up on a plate of enchiladas. All she wants is to stop feeling weak, and to just forget.

KAT - secondary love interest who is short (don't bring it up or she will fight you) but feisty. She takes pride in her Russian Indian heritage and cares the most about her little brother, who she will protect to her death. She secretly not so secretly wishes she had lived for more of the 90s, and her ultimate idol is Scary Spice. 

TASHA - Sav's kind and gentle therapist who has a love for jazz and sewing with her boyfriend. Her only priority is to make others feel good, which can be the downfall of her own health. Her holy grail fashion item is mom jeans, which she always pairs with a good striped sweater. Her guilty pleasure is Oprah, although she doesn't really feel guilty for it, Oprah is a true queen. 

SARAH - the woman no one knows about, but Sav feels like she knows too much about. Our villain of the story, although she doesn't feel like one. She feels like she was doing her duty to herself, to make herself feel better, but Sav has some other ideas about that. 

5. How do you prepare to write?


A pep talk in the mirror, index cards, and the biggest cup of tea I can make. You want more? fine. 

I talked a little bit about my loose outline last year, and while it has changed a bit to better fit my needs, it basically contains it all. I am a self proclaimed #planster, or a Mama Bear, not too much, not too little. 

i just compared myself to a bear.

I also create a schedule for the entire month of November because with school, violin, and soccer, I can't just go at it and hope it works. That's where the plan part of planster comes in. 

The tea thing is most definitely not a lie. Coffee is gross, hot chocolate doesn't give me a kick. so. tea.



6. What are you looking forward to about this novel?


THE ENDING. Act III is so dope, I just can't wait. I also can't tell you about it. I should probably choose something else. 

- #KatSass. Kat is sassy, she's funny, she banters with just about everything that moves. It's hilarious.

- REALITY. No monsters, no magical powers besides Tasha's soothing voice, just straight realness.

- Sadistic villains. Sarah isn't a villain who lives in a booming tower, but that doesn't mean she's not evil. I'm super excited for her character, and to see how I make her wicked without magic.

7. List three things about your novel's setting.


- It reminds me of my home town! I based Patter, NJ a lot on my town. Nowhere Ville, USA. Where nothing ever happens, but when it does, it's freaking crazy.

but its sooo boring.



- There are a lot of beautiful settings. Kat takes Sav to this one part of the neighborhood that's a string of old houses covered in vines, and in the backyard, there's a gorgeous patio surrounded in flowers. Finding pictures on Pinterest for that was a stunning experience.

- There's a lot of deja vu besides a river. That's all I'll say.

8. What's your character's goal and who (or what) stands in the way?


Sav's goal is to adjust to her life again, and try to forget about everything that happened to her. She thought she would leave it all behind, but then Sarah is found, and she's forced to relive it, every excruciatingly painful moment.


9. How does your protagonist change by the end of the novel?


She overcomes her demons and is able to face her fears. She may or may not find love. She will dye her hair purple with the help of Kat's mastery hair techniques and much to the discontentment of her father. 

10. What are your book's themes? What do you want your readers to feel when the story is over?


The main themes are: life can change with time, the truth is harsh but we must face it, and we must let go.

There are two endings: one that can I can sort of hint, and one that I want to keep a secret because it's evil and I hate it but I AM SO EXCITED FOR IT.



ahem. The reader should initially feel content, like she achieved what she needed to achieve, and all is well. but then. BUT THEN. it's so evil i feel so sneaky hehehe. 



ARE YOU DOING NANO? Describe your lovely novel to me! And if not, are you working on anything else? It doesn't even have to be writing related! Also... happy early Halloween! Stay safe out there <3


peace out y'all,
noor

the ninth grader's love hate relationship with shakespeare: interviews with kids in my english class

I'm currently delving through Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew for English, and let's just say I love it and I hate it. Shakespeare was a great writer, there's no doubt about it.

But in the modern time, we have to ask ourselves: What is so special about Shakespeare? What makes people love him? What makes people never want to pick up one of his plays ever again after they leave high school? 

SO FOR FUN. and for extra credit. I asked every kid in my English class if they liked or disliked Shakespeare, why they do, and if they plan on reading more of his plays in their spare time.

this. was. fun.




"I don't hate Shakespeare, but it is a strong dislike. The strongest of dislikes. It's just... boring."

"I would rather chug vinegar than read another one of Shakespeare's plays." (graphic..)

"Why should I have to read a play set in the 16th century? It's 2017, no one talks like that!"

"I don't think I've ever heard someone say "How now!" or "Fie" in my entire 14 years of existence."

"This one [Taming of the Shrew] is super sexist. It's basically saying that girls can't stand up for themselves and they have to be quiet and reserved." 

"I don't really have an opinion but Shakespeare was a mysterious dude. We don't even know if he was one person. Fishy.

"It's not that I don't like his plays it's that we're expected to find a literary device in every line of the play! I don't think it's that deep."

"The first thing that comes up when you type 'Why do ninth graders' on google is 'Why do ninth graders read Romeo and Juliet' and I think that says it all."

"There's nothing special about a dead guy who wrote about people dying." (harsh)

"His plays are just so predictable. That might just be because people from Elizabethan times were stupid uneducated and they wouldn't have understood such a complex play." (again. harsh.)

"Our teacher refuses to let us use translators so how are we even supposed to understand it?"

"The kids who said they like it are lying to themselves."

"I'd rather watch the Romeo and Juliet movie with Leonardo diCaprio than read the actual play, thank you."

"I haven't found a single character in any of the plays that doesn't make me want to strangle them. Except for Mercutio. He's chill." (MY CLASSMATES ARE SO WILD)




"Once you understand them, you realize that Shakespeare's plays are extremely complex and well done. Barely anyone can develop such a perfect plot."

"Okay some of them may be kind of lame but some of them are super interesting. Like Julius Ceaser, that one's my favorite."

"You can apply so much of it to real life! Juliet picking the wrong guy, Katherina not getting a suitor just because she's not like the average girl, it all fits in with our modern life in a way."

"He captures the human condition exquisitely. He understands human flaw, human pain, and how that affects our actions."

"It's all so very romantic and poetic. Especially the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet, I cry every time."

"The man invented words. Like he made up his own slang. Enough said."



Ninth graders really aren't a fan of Shakespeare. To us, it's hard to understand, and with all the work our teachers give us on it, it doesn't really make it fun? But we're able to recognize the genius of Shakespeare, and how his work was truly great. 

also my classmates are truly brutal. and hilarious. ah. 




Have you read Shakespeare? IF YOU HAVEN'T, are you currently living under a rock? IF YOU HAVE, did you read it for school or for fun? Are you a Shakespeare hater or a Shakespeare lover?


peace out,
noor

five book genres that i will never be able to read


this picture is so sad but hey its me

My personal favorite genres are fantasy and contemporary, and I tend to not read outside of those genres.... IT'S BAD. I KNOW. 

Occasionally I'll pick up another book that's sci fi or historical fiction but there's a few genres I will NEVER touch. 


Of course, it's not like these books aren't good or well written, it's just that I personally don't find them interesting or fun to read. SO PLEASE PLEASE DON'T TAKE OFFENSE FROM THIS LIST <33


horror

I HATE BEING SCARED. More importantly, I would not willingly scare myself. I don't watch horror movies either because I don't want to pay to lose my dignity in a theater. No thanks. 


When I pick up a horror book and the first page says "based on a true story", I lose all of my sanity. I can just look at the demon clown on the cover and not be able to sleep for a week. I don't care HOW good It and Steven King novels are, I will not read It. 

I don't care if it's Halloween, I don't care if "it's not so scary" (because it usually is), I don't want to "face my fear", and I really don't care if there's a happy ending because THAT DOESN'T MAKE THE THINGS IN THE MIDDLE LESS SCARY. 


the classic boy and his dog stories

THEY'RE CUTE. YES I LOVE DOGS. YES I LOVE KIDS AND DOGS. but they're all the same story. The boy finds a lost dog, it becomes his best friend, and then it runs away or dies. AND THE BOY GETS OVER IT SO FAST? like did he ever have a dog? I don't think he seems to remember. 



AND MY HEART IS IN PIECES ON THE FLOOR. I remember reading Shiloh in the fourth grade and petting every dog I saw on the street for months because I was just so heartbroken. 

there's also always something about summer?? My next post is going to be all the similarities of dog books. The list will be ENDLESS.


short stories

They're too.. short? YES I KNOW THEY'RE SHORT STORIES. But there's just not enough time to fit everything in? I've only read a few short story collections and I honestly did not finish half of them because I got bored and there was just too much story for one book but not enough story for each story. 


HOW DOES ONE NOT WANT TO WRITE MORE. I mean you see my blog I just have so many words and so many things to say I couldn't possibly fit an entire story in 10 pages. Plus I am so obsessed with character development that THERE JUST WOULDN'T BE SPACE. ugh. 


westerns

Surprisingly there aren't that many western YA books out there or maybe I don't know because I've only read one. And it was basically people on horses saying y'all. I'm not being stereotypical it was literally about a lost horse and it was set in 1845. There was actually a gun fight at the end over the horse. 



And I'm not even sure how entirely accurate half the things are? If you're not American, please do not rely on Westerns for information on American history in the 18th and 19th century, people were not running around having fights with guns. actually i'll get back to you on that..


dystopian

I used to LOVE LOVE LOVE dystopia novels, it was everything I read as a 10/11 year old, especially because dystopias were extremely popular at the time. 

But honestly, I don't think I've read a dystopia in FOREVER, the current series I'm reading is the first dystopia I think I've read since 2015. Because like the dog/boy stories, they're all the same.



Same teenage girl, same world in terror, same love triangle, same evil ruler, same rebel force, same "symbol of the rebellion status" it's old, it's boring, and I get serious deja vu. Didn't I just read this book? Nope. That was Divergent. 


What are some of your least favorite genres? What's your GO TO genre? How do you feel about switching it up to reading a COMPLETELY different book?


peace out,
noor

Tuesday

cozy covers : ten autumn themed book covers



Let's be real. How many of you have judged a book by its cover?

GASP. YOU FIENDS. kidding kidding. I sometimes... am guilty.... of choosing books.... because of the pretty cover........ ooPS. #sorrynotsorry (is this a blog post or a demi lovato song, the world may never know)

Today I am linking up with The Broke and the Bookish for their weekly Top Ten Tuesday and today's prompt is ten books with fall themes and covers.

I went basic and simply chose ten books I own that have covers that remind me of fall :D (spoiler alert: there's a lot of red... sorry to .... bulls)




wish you were here - rita mae brown

This cover features a cat and for some reason I associate cats with fall. DO YOUR BRAINS EVERY MAKE .. strange.. CONNECTIONS. like cats with fall??? or am i crazy. Probably the latter. 


harry potter and the sorcerer's stone - jk rowling

This is one of the only books on the list that actually relates to fall. Because back to Hogwarts? And the halloween chapter? IT MAKES SENSE OK. 

'


the seven dials mystery - agatha christie

LIKE I SAID. LOTS OF RED. basically the red just sold it for me. But for real, I literally grew up on mysteries. My mom owns every single Agatha Christie, Anne Perry, Georgette Heyer novel EVER. crazy. 




the book of saladin - tariq ali

OK I ACTUALLY HAVEN'T READ THIS BOOK YET.. but this book cover screams fall. the colors. drool. 



linger - maggie stiefvater

Because it's kind of set in fall?? Right?? Yes? Also peep my obsession with Bath and Body Works lingering (AHAH THE PUNS) in the background. 



queen of attolia - megan whalen turner

dark skies??? fall?? right. Except it's been sunny here for the past week and I really miss fall :')





the copper gauntlet - holly black/cassandra clare and the kill order - james dashner

RED AND ORANGE COVERS. and ps i will never stop using the fuzzy blanket and orange fairy lights in my pictures. NEVER. 




the book thief - markus zusak

While this isn't exactly a ... cozy book.... the cover does give me a warmish feel and there's some parts that are set in the cold? I'm reaching here. 




a court of thorns and roses - sarah j. maas

RED. ALL THE RED. i own way too many red books. I don't think I buy them for their colors, but who knows maybe it's another weird brain connection. 



Do you buy/read books by their covers? YES I KNOW YOU DO.  What are some weird connections your brain makes? WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE “fall” BOOKS? Let’s talk!


peace out,
noor