Novella news...and chocolate chips

Today I'm what you'd call *absolutely thrilled* because....

drumroll please.....

I've just hit 6,000 words in my novella!  Which, for me, is a huge deal, because that's halfway.  (Excuse me for a minute.)

I'M HALFWAY!!!!!!

Thank you.

Things are going swimmingly (which usually means something is about to go wrong...).  I've written parts one and two of four and done a once-over edit on both.  So I'm ready to continue to Part Three!  The excitement is growing!  The writerly happiness is brewing!!  The chocolate chips are disappearing!!

I think I'll have my brother make some frappuchinos to jumpstart Part Three.  What do you think?

In other news, I have a very long summer reading list.  To provide you with some droll enjoyment I shall show you some of the upcoming titles, and you can see what I'm reading.

I'm in the middle of this wonderful tale at present.  Yes, this is a school leftover, and yes, I've already passed the balcony scene.  I hope you don't need an overview of the plot.

I've read this before, but I don't remember anything.  This is also a school leftover.  I'm looking forward to it very much - Lewis is my all-time favorite author.

Apparently a collection of short stories in the Sherlock Holmes style in which Father Brown, a Catholic priest, solves crimes with panache.  This should be interesting.  Leftover from school.

A collection of fantasy short stories by a contemporary of C.S. Lewis.  Also for school.

This looks interesting.  It's science fiction - that's basically all I know about it.  It's the last book in my lit program.

This looks like a pretty hefty read.  I still haven't had time to do this one yet; hope I have time for it this summer.

Ugh, I STILL haven't got around to reading this!!  It's plaguing me with its presence!!!

Still haven't got a hold of this one.  The one at my library was checked out.

Finally decided to find out what this was all about.  The waiting list at my library is 40 people long, I kid you not.  So I guess it'll have to be Borders for me.

My grandmother swears this is the best book in the world, and my brother happened to have it on loan.  So I guess I'll read it.

I heard about this from a friend - so I want to check it out.  Again, the waiting list at the library is astronomical.

A perennial favorite of mine that I'm certain you're all familiar with.  Ah, the adventure, the pathos.  It never gets old.

Now, as I'm looking at this list, it seems a little ambitious.  But I'll see what I can do.  I'm a champion reader. *grins*

Till the end!  Endurance and victory!  For Narnia, and for Aslan!  Tora! etc, etc.

~ Madeline alias *the Bedouin*

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

The story of Mrs. Frisby is a truly charming tale among children's novels, lighthearted, but at the same time gravely serious about the problems of the animal characters.
The writing is quaint, readable, and engrossing, and Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four small children, is a main character you cannot help but sympathize with. I rooted for her all the way on her journey to save her youngest son, Timothy - braving the cat, an owl, and Farmer Fitzgibbon along the way.

Don't be mistaken, though - this is not simply a whimsical farm tale with talking animals. Subtly and quietly, certain pertinent issues are introduced - and even though they're not very deep, it carries the book out of the realm of simply a story for kindergarteners. All in all, it's a lighthearted, matter-of-fact story that you'll most likely enjoy, whether you're in first grade or a college graduate.

Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre is one of those old books that comes with a reputation - I knew it had one, but wasn't exactly sure what it was.  So it was without very much bias that I cracked open my 643-page paperback copy - basically, I had no idea what to expect.  I found myself very pleasantly surprised.

One might expect such a long book with such old-fashioned language to be dry or tedious - happily, it was neither.  I found myself helplessly and very willingly compelled to read until past midnight in order to find out what happens to Jane.  The old-fashioned language and British grammar, far from being cumbersome, added quite a charming touch to the story (I admit I often "tried out" the various accents in my head!)

Jane's story is mostly one of tragedy - there is a central love story, but it is not sappy or sentimental in the least (I've never seen the movie, but I'm pretty sure it's highly romantic).  The characters, Jane at the foremost, are highly realistic - none of them are perfect, all their flaws are evident, and the physical descriptions are nothing short of brilliant; she outlines in precise, encompassing detail every aspect of a character's appearance and attitude and what Jane learns about their personality through it.

In short, Jane Eyre kept me completetly enthralled all the way - I felt for her, was keenly aware of her emotions, and wished for her dreams to be fulfilled - sometimes a frustrating task for the reader!  Like Jane, the storytelling is level-headed, sensible, and realistic, with just enough imagination and fantasy.  I was thoroughly satisfied with this tale.

So many books, so little time...

Well, at the moment I feel kind of swamped.  First, I'm way behind in reading for school...which makes it harder to read what I have lined up to read for fun (which is the reason I'm trying my best to avoid lining things up for fun...).  It's just that *Robinson Crusoe* can get a little tedious...it's taken me quite a while to get through it.  You don't even want to know how many weeks (yes, weeks) I'm behind in school reading.  *sigh*  But I just wanted to share with you my lineup so you guys can just get a glimpse of the stuff I'll be reading (hopefully) in the near future.

Going Solo, an autobiography by Roald Dahl of his years as a military pilot...

A Separate Peace by John Knowles...don't know much about what it's about...

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien - no idea what that's about  *looks a little scared*

and the last of the school books (up to now) - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

Now for the for-fun titles...Dewey by Vicki Myron (my grandmother gave it to me for Christmas and I still haven't read it...*sigh* I feel bad...)

Aaand last but not least, the book we all know and love...*winks*...Eragon by Christopher Paolini.  Everyone's always telling me how "amazing" it is and I've just never gotten around to reading it.  I guess I'm behind the times a little...heh heh...

Obviously, I've never read any of these books before.  If you have, I'd love it if you'd drop me a comment and tell me what I'm in for.  ;D

Historical fiction or fiction set in history?

My assignment: write a historical fiction short story set in any time period I choose.  My problem: what constitutes historical fiction?

I've been wondering about this lately, and I wanted to know what you guys think about it.  Is historical fiction a story surrounding a particular, specific event?  Or is it a work of fiction set in any time that's before now?

I could easily come up with a storyline that is set in a historical time...but doesn't really have much to do with an actual event or social issues of the period (for example: is Anne of Green Gables historical fiction?).  Obviously, a story like To Kill a Mockingbird is historical fiction, as it deals with social problems of the time.  But technically, if the setting is before now it's in history, and if it's not nonfiction it's fiction.  That presents a very broad scope.

What do you think?  I'd like your opinions if you have the time.

Start Here

I'm pretty sure the majority of you have either heard about or read the book Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris.  I own it myself, and it has got to be one of the best books I've ever read.  It's an inspirational, challenging book, written by teens for teens, in order to spread the message that we can do more than we think (and more than our culture expects us to do).

Now Alex and Brett have authored a new book, Start Here, which illustrates how to put Do Hard Things into practice in our day-to-day lives.  It's basically a starting point - and if you reacted to Do Hard Things like I did - will hopefully help to channel the excitement that comes from reading the first book!

This is an excerpt about the book from their website:

"The Rebelution is an unlikely movement. It isn't the result of carefully laid out plans -- it was just two ordinary teen guys with a blog and a desire to glorify God.

It's also never relied on slick marketing or targeted ad campaigns -- instead it has been driven by ordinary teens like you spreading the word in your circles of influence.

Do Hard Things -- and the Rebelution as a whole -- is a grassroots success story. For the message to continue to reach our generation, it will take that same motivation and determined action. That's why we're asking you to join us in an exciting effort.

Two years ago, rebelutionaries drove Do Hard Things to the Top 5 on the Amazon.com Bestseller List - where it stayed for over 24 hours and shocked the publishing world.

Here's the question: Could we drive Start Here even higher? To the top spot? And what a platform to spread the message to a wider audience than ever before!"

To get this book off the ground, the Harris brothers are having an Amazon Book Bomb on February 23, 2010.  For every book you preorder on that day (if you plan on doing that, put your email address and the number of books you plan to buy on this page), Alex and Brett will donate one book to a ministry or organization to distribute free to people who can't afford them.

If Do Hard Things was any sign, I would highly recommend Start Here to any teen who is ready to do what they thought they couldn't.