9 June, 2014

I'm a little late jumping on this bandwagon, but I needed some time to get my boiling blood under control lest I say something irreversibly damaging.  But still, I think I need to respond to this.  Yet again.  It's not like I have done it before.  Ever.

/sarcasm

In any case, on the 5th of this month, an article went up on slate.  You can read it HERE if you really want to, though I'd have no idea why.  It's entitled Against YA.  It also sports the tag-line 'Read whatever you want. But you should feel embarrassed when what you're reading was written for children.'

Ugh!

Look, Ms. Graham, I'm actually not a huge fan of YA as a genre.  I tend to find it dull and difficult to relate to, and always have, even when I was in the demographic these novels are supposedly designed to appeal to.  That said, I am not the arbiter of good literary taste.

And neither are you.

Your entire article smacks of baseless elitism, and I am sick to death of reading similar articles by people who are compelled to exalt themselves as superior through their tastes in literature.  More often than not, those people have not actually enjoyed literary fiction all that much, but still have sticks too far up the own backsides to admit that Harry Potter was amazing... even if they secretly think that.

I'm not, of course, accusing you of the same.

The truth is, adult literature is not superior in any way, shape or form.  It is different, yes, but superior?  You cite The Fault in Our Stars by John Green as an example of young adult that has sub-par writing and is undeserving of the wide, adoring adult readership it has; a readership, you lament, that could spend its time reading "superior" adult literature.

Fine.  Defend 50 Shades of Grey.  No, seriously.  That book is adult, and it is some poorly written dreck (my apologies, Ms. James).  There are numerous other books (even classics) that, by all standards, are terribly written.  The classics have managed to make themselves above such criticism merely by being labelled as classics, when all objective observation reveals that they are quite terribly constructed (and sometimes obnoxiously dull).  And it may behove you to remember than many of the classics revered today were considered populist dreck in their time.  There is plenty of absolute rubbish in all genres, and literary fiction is absolutely no exception.

Moreover, what on earth makes you think that readers are exclusive to one genre over another?  It is entirely feasible that readers of young adult also happen to pick up literary fiction of the adult variety; even if they are more subdued about it.

Look, I get it.  We all get it.  Young adult is not to your taste.  It's not to my tastes either, if I'm honest.  You know what is?  Massive tomes of fantasy and science fiction à la Steven Erikson and Frank Herbert.  I've been reading these genres since I can remember, skipping young adult entirely.  That does not make me any better than those who love to read young adult, nor does it make me any less than those who read literary fiction.

You, for some reason, bemoan the satisfying ending common in young adult, claiming that it is not a reflection of real life.  There is nothing wrong with seeking a "satisfying" ending.  If I leave a book without some sense of satisfaction - be it tears of sadness or joy - then, to my mind, the author didn't do their jobs.  Ending a story without giving the reader satisfaction is not emblematic of adult literature, as you claim.  It seems to me to be no ending at all and a signal that the author might not understand story-telling quite so well as they pretend.  Stories, after all, have a beginning, a middle and an end.  Human life is much the same, incidentally.  It starts.  Things happen.  It ends - in death (100% of the time) - the same death that you bemoan young adult heroes sometimes suffering in their stories.

All of this to say that unended stories are, quite simply, not to my taste.

I greatly fear, Ms. Graham, that your own prejudices against young adult stops you from seeing the great depth available in that genre, and I'm not talking merely about the sheer volume of titles available.  I'm talking about the topics they tackle, the thoughts and philosophies they possess, and the incredible richness of all of these that young adult books can provide to their readers if one just looks a little deeper (you know, like they teach you to do in every English class ever).

I feel that, by denying yourself an open and honest look into young adult, you are denying yourself the possibilities of the genre; seeking and therefore seeing only the superficialities of which, in your mind, the genre is solely capable.  It's like standing in a room of rainbows, wearing glasses that deliberately render you colour-blind.

And I have one last beef.  Young adults are not children.  They are exactly as the title suggests: young adults.  Perhaps it's high time we started valuing them as adults instead of belittling them and their passions as childish.  They are not.  Young, yes.  Children, no.  Treating them as children and their passions as childish is thoroughly insulting to young adults.  It takes away their agency, of which they have a phenomenal amount if they simply apply it.  It detracts from all that they can, and often do, bring to the spectrum of adulthood.  If adulthood is all about abandoning one's passions and shedding anything fun for the sake of not appearing childish, then I want nothing to do with adulthood, thank-you very much.

So, no.  These books were not written for children.  They were written for the adults who have not abandoned who they are and what they enjoy because someone else thought that being, in your own words, 'snobbish, joyless and old' is what adulthood is all about.

One last thought.  If people are flocking in droves to this genre over what you consider to be a more appropriate genre, perhaps it is because there is something missing in adult literary fiction.  Perhaps, just perhaps, it is because there is some spark that readers are seeking, that draws readers in like moths to a flame.  If adult literary fiction was so very superior, it would be the flame that draws those moths.  If it is not, then perhaps the problem is not the readership, but the genre.

Young adult is not to your taste.  Fine.  But keep your ego in check.  You are not the arbiter of good literary taste any more than I am.

As for the rest of you, read whatever you want, however you want.  Now if you'll excuse me, there are shape-shifting people I must go rewrite.

Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

Brace yourselves, because I'm about to sound like an eighty-year-old curmudgeon sitting on a porch with a shotgun in her lap, but...

Whatever happened to good manners?

I mean, good grief, people!

In my day job, I work as a receptionist.  Glamorous, I know.  What can I say?  There aren't too many positions open for "female berserker."  In my work as a receptionist, I have come across the worst phone etiquette I thought possible.  Before this, working in retail, I had encountered the worst general manners you could possibly expect... from normal people... who one would expect to know better!

Rudeness is, in my opinion, becoming a frakking epidemic.

Some of you might not consider it a big deal.  To me, because I'm actually an eighty-year-old curmudgeon stuck in a young girl's body, it's a huge deal.  Why?  Because it comes down to respect.

Respect is something that is given, in varying degrees, automatically to all things everywhere.  It is almost always reciprocal.  And while some things get more than others, there is a base amount you give to everything.  For example, when you go for a hike in the Canadian Rockies, you respect the hell out of the fact that this is rattlesnake territory.  You wear appropriate clothing, and you mind where you put your feet.  In return, the snakes will likely respect you enough not to bite (read here: they're actually terrified of the giant two-legged animals that stomp awkwardly over various terrain for fun (hikers) and will try and stay out of the way).

There is the respect that you give to people you know are your superiors (and I'm talking actual superiors, not just people who are of a higher rank than you, though they count as well).  You yield to them.  When they speak, you shut your gob and listen no matter what.  When they ask you for something, you go get that thing they asked for.  You do this all naturally and happily because there is something innate (or overt, like a sash... or something) in this person which tells you that they are to be respected.

Then, there is the normal baseline respect.  The respect you give to perfect strangers who have done nothing to earn any higher degree, and similarly done nothing to earn any lower degree of your respect.  These people include, but are not limited to, your teacher, your parents, your parents' friends, the wait staff at your local diner, the checkout chick at the super cheap grocery store, the janitor, the bus driver, the cops, the homeless, etc.  While you're not expected to be immediately best friends with these people, the baseline amount of respect dictates that, at the very least, you mind your frakkin' manners when speaking to them!  At least, people used to give that baseline respect.  That's not happening any more.

Look, I realise that we're living in an age of entitlement; that tonnes of people believe that they are simply owed whatever thing they desire, and they should get it no matter how much of an arsehole they are (and whether or not they worked for it... but that's a different rant).  These days, one doesn't ask a waitress for their meal, they demand it and you better get it quickly because I'm spending money on this, wench!  These days, one doesn't excuse oneself from a social engagement, they just up and leave, and no one cares if the people left behind are confused or upset about the sudden absence.  These days, people make demands, not requests of perfect strangers in as abrasive a manner as possible.

It's really starting to piss me off.

Can you tell?

And here's the thing, respect is reciprocal.  The more you give, the more you get.  Unless you're dealing with a grade-A arsehole... which appears to be a much more frequent occurrence than it used to be, I'll admit.  At the very least, at the very least, you say please when asking someone to do something.  And then you follow that with a thank you when they do it.

It's not hard, people!

"Move!" is unacceptable (unless they're deliberately blocking your way and being polite has not worked.  In that case, feel free to also throw a solid right hook, especially if they're getting handsy).

"Move, please" is the absolute bare minimum of acceptability in stranger interactions.

"Yes, please" not "Yes."

"No, thank you" (alternatively, "Thank you, but no") not "No" (there are situations where a flat out 'no' is certainly warranted.  Again, if they're getting handsy, time to bring out that solid right hook... possibly a good knee...).

On the phone or otherwise, when someone wishes you a good morning, 'Yeah' is not the appropriate response, you obnoxious brute!

Speaking of phone etiquette, while it is no longer expected that you state your full name before uttering your request, please and thank you are still a part of the conversation.  "May I speak with [insert name], please" is correct.  "Yeah, [insert name followed by expectant pause]" is so far from correct it makes me want to shove the receiver right up your....

Calm blue ocean.  Calm blue ocean.  Calm blue ocean.

Be warned, if we happen to be interacting in any way and you are rude to anyone, be it wait staff, myself or to my friends, you will be so told.  I will not spare you a tongue lashing for sake of propriety.  I am too old to be putting up with that shit, and no one else should have to put up with it either.

So mind your p's and q's, thank you very much.  You will be surprised how well people respond to just that little bit of respect.

It boggles my mind how people have forgotten what getting along in society is and how to do it, and it makes me sad for my own species when people remark with such genuine gratitude on how polite I am.

Polite is what I should be.  Polite is what you should be.

Now get off my lawn, you hoodlums!

Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

So, I was challenged twice (actually thrice, but I was already uploading the video when the third challenge came through) to do the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  Once by my good friend T.K. and once by the Travelling Ronin, my Kung Fu brother, Martin Fransham.  Third, but late, challenge came from fellow aspirant Éric Desmarais, half of the awesome duo behind JenEric Designs.  They have fantastic stuff, you should really check them out.

In any case, I did it.  Here is the video:

For those of you who don't know, ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease or Charcot Disease) is a really awful motor neurone disease.  It is a degenerative disease.  It essentially means your muscles stop working and start to atrophy.  You are left unable to move, or speak, or swallow.  Your mind, however, is largely unaffected (though some patients do develop dementia).  It is a slow, often painful death that a perfectly sound mind must endure.

I cannot imagine what hell that must be.

One of the people who tagged me in this challenge is particularly close to this cause.  She lost an aunt to this disease.

The Ice Bucket Challenge was designed to shed light on this awful condition and to raise money to help find a way to combat it.  Despite what the nay-sayers have said, it's worked, and millions has been raised and ignorance of this disease has been beaten back.

If you feel moved to help, you don't necessarily have to pour a bucket of freezing cold water on your head.  Instead, you can donate HERE.  And spread the word.

Right, I have to go and write some more or this book will never get finished.  But first, coffee!

Ciao!

Good morning, Readers.

Hello, my name is S.M. Carrière, and I'm a The Quest addict.

I wish I was joking, but I'm not.  I finally understand television show addiction.  Like, proper television show addiction.  I mean, I'm a fan of a fair few shows.  Firefly, Sherlock (BBC), Merlin (also BBC) etc.  I like them.  A lot.  Love them, even.  I get really excited when they're on, and very, very sad when they're not.

But this... this is a special level of watching.  I binged watched the first four episodes.  I'm chewing my nails in anticipation of episode five.  As in, I need it.

And I'm very disappointed in myself for it.  Because this is a reality competition show.  Well... "reality."  Like all reality television, this is scripted.  There are challenges and eliminations.  Unlike all reality television, it's set in a fantasy realm.  So it's a fantasy competition show?  What the hell would you call this?

The Fantastical Race.

Yup.

Contestants must adequately complete their tasks or face banishment.  There are twelve in total, and one and all are striving to become the hero of Everrealm.  Stupid name, I know.  The thing is, the challenges are look like amazing fun!  Three person fights in a vat with straw for cushions, an equestrian martial obstacle course, with archery, javelin throwing, jousting and hammer!  I mean... come on!  How could you not want to do this stuff?

From the website:

And it really is engrossing.  The contestants, called Paladins in this, really get into their roles, and I get the sense that they really feel the urgency and danger of their quest to save the realm, even though they all know that it is scripted and no one is actually going to die.

There are a couple of characters I need to discuss.

The Queen
This is the queen of Sænctum in Everrealm.  She hasn't had much to do yet, though (SPOILER!) she has been poisoned already (and subsequently saved by the Paladins after an urgent side-quest to find the cure).

She really is the only one the Paladins have met who appears to be genuinely on their side.  All of them love her, near as I can tell.

I'm fairly certain that one of the contestants has a crush.  It's hilarious and adorable.

The Grand Vizier
Sarcastic, sceptical and generally unpleasant to the Paladins, the Grand Vizier nevertheless seems to care greatly for his queen.  He is in charge of the magic in the castle, and knows all manner of potions and cures (and probably curses as well).

I have a feeling that the writers are trying to get you to believe him to be a villain; a traitor. I'm not sure he is. What does Frodo say to Sam after meeting Aragorn? That the enemy "would look fairer and feel fouler." Though, they may be pulling a Wormtongue from Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers. Spot the villain in that!

Who knows? In my head I've imagined a perfectly reasonable reason for his overt bitterness.

I couldn't help it.

Sir Ansgar
Would not kick this man out of bed for eating crackers.  I'm a sucker for a man in armour.

That's beside the point. Sir Ansgar is the most decorated knight in all of the kingdom of Sænctum. Charged with turning the twelve Paladins into competent warriors, he's gruff, often rude but also fair. Many of the Paladins really look up to him as a father-type figure and have said as much. He can be hot or cold towards the Paladins depending on their performance.  I am sceptical of him, though. I don't know why.  There's no real reason for me not to trust him, but I don't. Perhaps the twist will be that he's a turncoat. Can you imagine how betrayed the Paladins who look up to him so will feel?

Anyway, assuming he's straight (as in not crooked, not the sexual orientation), then I really like him as a character, despite the fact that he can be a bit of an arsehole at times. Or probably because of that fact.  It's not like his criticisms are ever unwarranted.

There are, or rather were, twelve Paladins who began the quest.  Four have been eliminated thus far.  I'm not going to go through each one, only the two I really hope make it to the end.

Shondo
Dude is an MMA fighter, but isn't afraid to let his geek flag fly.  I really like him.  He's funny and fair-minded, and also very sensible (on the banishments, I have found myself agreeing with his arguments every single time).  A competent fighter, but that alone does not make a hero.

He is genuinely an awesome guy; the kind you'd want to grab a few beers with, you know?  He took one of the other Paladins, his anxiety-ridden room mate, under his wing and helped him along and was really upset when (SPOILER!) the guy was banished.  For that alone, I hope this guy goes far.

Bonnie
This girl is so sweet and kind, she really embodies the spirit of the whole venture to me.  Genuinely eager to help, and generally cheerful, she's no dope.  She's got a good head on her shoulders and excels at organisation.

She isn't as funny as Shondo, but she's just as brave and she tries hard.  And she really, really wants to be there.

Like most of the other Paladins, I've got a soft spot for her adorable red head.  I honestly hope she ends up being the hero, but I'd be overjoyed to see her in the last two Paladins.  My only fear is that she's too nice, and will be taken advantage of by other Paladins who care more for winning the 'contest' than saving the realm (looking at you, Christian).

Yeah... I'm really addicted.  I'm considering hypnosis.

That said, I hope to high heaven there is a second season of this and that I can apply.  I would LOVE to do something like this, you have no idea.  No, you really have no idea.  The competition aspect of it aside, this would be my idea of heaven.

I'd probably be banished pretty quickly though.  I hate competing, and I get nervous with people watching me.  I'd fumble a sword and slice my own leg off or something.  Still, LET ME PLAY!

Ahem....

So, if you haven't watched this show yet, and you like the whole reality competition platform (think Amazing Race or something similar), and you adore fantasy as a genre, you will probably really like this show.

Reality shows in general are a waste of time, I admit.

But this is a good waste of time.

Alright, I'm done.  Have some writing to do.

Ciao!

(Seriously though, producers of this show, if you're reading this, LET ME PLAY!)

Good morning, Readers!

Surprisingly, based on the title of this post, this is not a political rant about the dwindling funds for education, nor is it a rant against the state of education in general.  It's all about me, and how I didn't do my homework...

Again.

No, I didn't make up my word count last night like I wanted to.  In my defence, it's because I got home and promptly fell asleep for a couple of hours.  Then I woke up, completely brain dead, because my body demanded food.  So I fed it, fluffed around on the internet for a bit, then went back to bed.

I was tired, apparently.

The problem with that two hour nap was that it made it impossible for me to get to sleep until quite late last night (well, that and I got a random call from Carbondale, IL.  Which I didn't answer.  I didn't recognise that number and, unless I have it in my contacts or the caller ID is something exciting (fingers crossed for a publisher!), I don't ever pick up.  Also, no offence Carbondale, but that's a horrific name for a town.  I digress).  So, of course, I'm brain dead this morning as well.

Not literally, obviously, or I would be typing this post.  You'll forgive a little hyperbole, won't you?

In any case, my brain started working a mile a minute, and I'm pretty sure I wrote an entire brand new novel in my head last night, but I only vaguely remembered it this morning.  Something about a girl and lots of fighting and dying.  Or something (Of course there was lots of fighting and dying.  It is my speciality, it seems).

Needless to say, I'm really very tired this morning.  I'm not sure I'll get much writing done today because my brain feels so numb and I feel so tired.  I don't understand.  Why do I feel so tired?  I eat enough.  I exercise a fair amount (less so now as training is on hiatus) and I sleep regularly more than seven hours a night.  It makes zero sense.  Maybe I'm one of those freaks that needs nine or more hours sleep a night?

Alright, new pact with myself; bed no later than 10:30pm.

I've always been this way.  I could never stay up late, not even in my teens and early twenties.  When people like me were supposed to be going out and having fun and things (I believe it's called "partying") I was in bed.  This is why I made so few friends!  Seriously though, I'm so boring you have no idea.

That's what happens when most of your life is lived inside your head, I suppose.

Le sigh.

So, today I am going to attempt to break the three thousand mark.  Then tomorrow I'll only have to write two thousand to make my weekly goal.  I can do it!

Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

Well, I have to say that I'm very disappointed in myself.  I didn't do very well writing yesterday, getting just over a thousand words down before the day was over.  While I can claim a defence that the phone technician was in all day yesterday making noise and moving around and forcing my chair into weird angles so he can put in a data port or whatever the hell he was doing yesterday.

It's not his fault, honestly.  He was supposed to be there, doing those things.  If those things don't get done, none of the technology will work when we finally move the office around and have the landlords begin construction to physically downsize the place.

It's not his fault that I found myself too distracted and thus completely unable to write until the end of the day, at which point it was too late.  Still...

I had promised myself that I would make up the word count in the evening when I got home.  Alas, that did not happen.  I got distracted by really frikkin' interesting articles that I am going to call "research."  I regret not writing last night.

My brain today feels fuzzy and wrong.  I was intending to go for a run this evening after work, but I might opt for an early night instead.  I feel like I need more sleep.  Sleep is important.

If I'm very, very lucky, I might find myself in a writing blitz today and make up the extra two thousand words, plus write the three thousand I need to meet today's target.  It's not likely to happen, no matter how many cups of coffee I drink.

Still, I am determined to make my goal today at least.  Maybe if I feel up for it, I'll try and write more this evening.  The emphasis here is on the word "try."  So, in that spirit...

And since I'm so clearly in an octopus frame of mind, watch this for your enjoyment:

Ciao!

Good morning, Readers!

I woke up this morning with gritty eyes and feeling totally exhausted, both sure signs that I did not get enough sleep last night.  There is a good reason for that.

I was up late editing the YouTube video I had promised you all yesterday.  I was up late editing the YouTube video because I had forgotten all about it until about 11:30 at night.  I was all showered and prepared for sleep when the realisation hit me.  So, I got back up and did what I promised I would do.

This is the resulting video.  Don't judge me, I was tired.

I really need to come up with a graphic for the thumbnail of my reading videos.  Sigh.

As a total aside, I love how I'm finally able to embed YouTube videos on my blog!  My other site wouldn't let me, which is one of the major reasons I switched over.

In any case, it's up and available for you to listen to.  I was really nervous, even though there were only three other people there and one of them was my mother.  I almost cried at the end of my reading, and I did tear up earlier during the reading of our night's writing challenge.  Because nerves.  Sigh.  Yup, Thirty-years-old and I still cry in public.

I'm going to go die quietly of embarrassment over here.

In other news, writing went really well yesterday.  While I didn't quite hit my 3 000 word goal, I did manage quite close to that (2 433) and am not too shy to say that I'm proud of myself.  Human just might get finished this year after all.  I'm aiming for a similar experience today.

On that note, I must go and write.

Ciao!