Getting back into my story a day routine has been more challenging than I anticipated.  Just as writing often leads more writing, not-writing simply perpetuates the not-writing cycle.  Last week I wrote an update about the things that help me get my daily writing done.  Today I will discuss the things that are not helpful.

In order to protect my daily writing, I will not…

• …allow one false start to sabotage the rest of the writing day or week.
• …gripe or complain about writing.  I’m doing what I love; there is nothing to complain about.
• …rationalize or make excuses for not writing.  Excuses take up energy that could be poured onto the page.
• …procrastinate.

And if I do have a bad writing day I will…

• …acknowledge and move on.  I will not mentally flog myself until every ounce of creativity has been beaten from my brain.

After all, the point of this challenge is to jump-start my writing and in that regard, I’ve already made some progress.

I don’t know about you, but one of the things that drives me crazy about critiquing pieces for workshop or critique groups is the mountain of paper.  Not only does it mean that a lot of paper gets used in the printing of individual pieces, but it also means that after receiving critique from a group, I end up with piles of paper clogging up my apartment and when it comes to implementing the changes, I have no idea where to start.

To that end, I’ve come up with an almost-paperless method of critique, using my trusty Kindle and MS Word on the Mac.  Why a Kindle, you ask?  Personally, I like the portability of it; I like being able to read critique pieces on the subway or bus.  In addition, I’m not a huge fan of reading pages of text on a back-lit screen and I find the Kindle screen easier on the eyes than other paperless alternatives.

Here’s a step-by-step how-to for using your Kindle to read and comment on workshop pieces.

1. Get the critique piece on your Kindle.  The best way to do this is to convert the piece to a mobipocket file (.mobi) or an Amazon Kindle (.azw) file.  My critique group emails MS Word documents to each other for each submission so all I need is my Mac and a little program called Stanza (which you can download for free on the web).  Here’s how you do it:
        Step 1:  Open Stanza.
        Step 2:  Go to:  File –>; Open –>; [Select the file you want to convert]
        Step 3:  The file should open on your screen.  Now go to: File –>; Export Book As –>; [Select either mobipocket (.mobi) or Amazon Kindle (.azw)] and save file.
        Step 4:  Now just transfer the .mobi or .azw file to your Kindle and you’re ready to read on-the-go.
2. Why a .mobi file?  Why not just a .pdf?  When you open a PDF on a Kindle, the entire page of shows up on the screen meaning that the text is very small. Also, the page is “locked” that way so you can’t make comments using the Kindle’s note-taking function.  If you use a .mobi file (or .azw) it adjusts the text that appears on the screen depending on the size of type you choose.  It also allows for taking notes.
3. Making Comments on the Kindle.  I haven’t figured out yet how to export comments I make on my Kindle back to my computer, but I do find the note-taking function on Kindle useful and I use it like this:
   • I make a note of something using the Kindle note-taking function.
   • Once I’m done reading, I go back and retype the notes in more detail using track changes in MS Word, which I can then email back to my critique buddy.
   • TIP: I delete comments from my Kindle as I go so I know which comments I’ve already done.  When all comments have been deleted from the Kindle document, I know I’ve finished my critique.
   • Finally, I’ll type up a page or two of “big picture” comments which I bring with me to the workshop or critique group meeting.

I’m still working out the kinks in this process, but overall, I’m enjoying not having so much paper everywhere and also having the portability of the Kindle.

I first learned about this book at a conference and from the minute I heard the premise, I knew I had to read it.  A teenage girl who sees invisible faeries… how cool is that?  These are not cute little pixie faeries either, but creepy, dark, scary things and from minute one I expected this to be the best.  Book Ever.

Right away I wanted to like this book, and I have to admit, when it came to living up to every expectation, it delivered.  Sort of.  Problem is, it delivered a little too perfectly.  Every time I got to a part where I wanted something as a reader (“gee, I really want to know what Grams thinks of all this…” or “What’s Seth been up to during this scene?”) bam! Marr would hit me with the answer in the next scene.  I felt like I was reading this as a piece from workshop and Marr was anticipating every possible critique I could make.

There’s a fine line between a book that fills a reader’s expectations and one that is predictable.  Wicked Lovely skirts that line throughout.  There was a bit of a lull in the middle when it became very clear to that there was no “easy” way for the central conflict to be resolved.  This meant I had to keep reading in order to figure out exactly how Marr was going to paint herself out of this corner.  Thing is, making a reader keep reading just so they find out how the author resolves the conflict means the reader’s focusing on the mechanics, not the story or the characters.  This is not entirely a good thing.  Also, the inevitability of the central conflict–the fact that there was no solution–meant that the plot slowed down.  After all, there’s only so many times a character can think “there’s no way out of this situation” before the reader says “I get it.  Now get over it and get to the point.”

Also, the way Marr always seems to know just when the reader needs something (a nugget of one character, a hint of a plot thread) means that I never felt like she was holding out on me.  There’s something comfortable about a book that always delivers and in a way, that comfort worked against this novel.  For example, at the end, during a somewhat gruesome scene,  I read the words but I didn’t feel the characters’ agony because I was so used to being in that comfort zone.  Marr did such a good job of making me comfortable as a reader that the book lost its edge.  I know this book is supposed to be dark and edgy with scary-looking fey and characters that have lots of piercings and live in steel train cars, but while my brain registered these details, I didn’t feel them.

I wanted this book to push me outside my comfort zone–to mess with my head a little–and it never quite went there.  When it comes to a good, comfy read, this book does exactly what it should.  It pleases because it’s predictably edgy and conventionally unconventional.  The characters are complex enough to be interesting but not complicated enough to make the reader confuse the good guys from the bad.  We know from the get-go who’s coupling up and who’s going down in the big show-down.   All we need is to find out how the author plans to get there.  This is not a challenging book, but it’s a fun, entertaining read… good for summer and the beach.

iggi says…

Last night I finished the first full-length novel I’ve read on my Kindle.  Let me say first and foremost that when I started reading said book on the Kindle, I was rather reluctant to buy into the whole e-reader hype.  I wanted to like the concept of electronic books but I was afraid that the experience just “wouldn’t be the same” if I wasn’t holding the book in my hands.  While the idea of having all these books in my e-library (and not on my shelves) was a happy one, I was skeptical.  Something about the feel and smell of a real book seemed irreplaceable to me and I was fairly certain that the Kindle would not live up to the experience.

The verdict?  It took a little getting used to, but I have become a Kindle fan.  What I realized while reading this book on the Kindle is that if the story is good and the writing is engaging, the page (or in this case, the screen) fades away.  This is true whether the page is an actual piece of paper or e-reader screen.  In the end, good writing can transcend the medium in which it is presented.

Those who know me and know how strongly I feel about the “book as experience” are probably shocked that I have been so easily won over by the digital page.  Truth is, there are advantages and disadvantages to the Kindle and the trick is finding a balance and using this tool in the way that works best for you.

Pros:

•  You can store thousands of books on a device that’s smaller than one book.  This frees up tons of shelf space that you can use for… what else?  More books.
• The Kindle screen (unlike the iPad which is back-lit) doesn’t strain the eyes the way a computer screen would and is pretty similar to reading a printed page.
• It’s portable and great for travel (says the girl who packs a suitcase of books for a one-week trip).  You can take all your books with you in your carry-on.
• You can download tons of classics for free (check out project Gutenberg).
• The Kindle has a cute little built-in keyboard for easy note-taking, which is great for reading critique pieces on-the-go.

Cons:

• Let’s face it, in terms of graphics, the Kindle still leaves much to be desired.  Apple’s iPad definitely wins in the pretty department and has the lovely full-color screen, but that device has a host of other downsides (which is a whole other post topic).
• When the battery runs out, you have to charge it.  Paper books don’t require batteries.
• The note-taking feature, though useful, does not export to your computer (not in any pragmatic way… at least, not yet).

In the end, I find that the Kindle is great for storing and reading average, everyday books.  I am certain that there will still be plenty of books in my apartment (more than I’ll ever be able to read in a lifetime) but my shelves will now be reserved for books where the function of “book” is key.  This would include signed books, art books, books where pretty pictures are important, antique books and other books that hold a special place in my heart.  But for all those regular books that make it into my library but are not books I absolutely need in book form, having them digital and stored on my Kindle is a great space-saving alternative.

iggi says…