Tag: Mary Sue

Writing update, getting ready for LTUE, & Katniss must DIE

So I’m back at work at WAFH, making slow but steady progress.  At this point, I’m throwing out about half of what’s on the page and redrafting stuff to fill in the gaps, but that’s only going to increase.

It’s not particularly hard, but it does take a lot out of me.  I’m finding that I can write for about two or three hours before my creativity runs dry.  When I’m spending more time online or playing games and less time focusing on the story, that’s a sign that it’s time to do something else to refill the well.

Man, I wish that well would stay full for longer…but in the meantime, 2.5k words per day isn’t so bad.  I’ll take it.

In unrelated news, I’m currently about a third of the way through The Hunger Games and I hate the main character, Katniss.  She’s a total attention whore, and fits all the classic characteristics of a Mary Sue.  A tortured past, a heart of gold, ridiculously well skilled, beloved by everyone and romantically irresistible, even to her enemies…blegh!  I hope she dies or gets tortured beyond all humanity.

In spite of this, I’ll probably finish the novel, just because it’s been such an influential bestselling title–as a writer, I’ve got to do my research.  However, I don’t see myself finishing the series.  There are other reasons why I don’t particularly like this book, but I’ll wait until a later post to articulate them.

In other unrelated news, LTUE 2011 is coming up, and I am so freaking excited for it!  Here are the panels I definitely plan on attending:

Thurdsay

9:00 am:
– Best and worst writing advice ever given
(Anna del C Dye (M), Mette Ivie Harrison, Tyler Whitsides, Frank L. Cole, James Dashner)

11:00 am:
– Self-Publication pros and cons
(Jessica Douglas (M), LuAnn Staheli, Sandra Tayler, Anna del C Dye)

2:00 pm:
– Writing Strong Female Characters
(Sheila A. Neilson, Aleta Clegg (M), Clint Johnson, Jessica Day George, Bree DeSpain)

4:00 pm:
– The Writing Life: how to set and keep goals, how to prioritize.
(Angie Lofthouse, Julie Wright (M), Sandra Tayler, Berin Stephens)

6:00 pm:
– Marketing and Publicity–what can you do?
(Stacy Whitman (M), Bree DeSpain, James Dashner, Dene Low, Elana Johnson)

Friday

10:00 am:
– Tracy Hickman Presentation

11:00 am:
– Main Address: Steve Keele

12:00 pm:
-Charisma is not a dump stat: The real world importance of personal appearance and social skills in achieving your creative dreams.
(Howard Tayler, Jake Black (M), Tracy Hickman)

2:00 pm:
– The Problem of Sequels
(Anna del C Dye, Mette Ivie Harrison, Larry Correia (M), Bree DeSpain, Jessica Day George)

5:00 pm:
– What You Can And Can’t Do In A YA Novel
(Mette Ivie Harrison (M), Elana Johnson, Bree DeSpain, Robison Wells, J. Scott Savage)

Saturday

9:00 am:
– What I wish I had done, if I could do it all over again – A Guide to New Writers
(Lisa Mangum, Dave Wolverton, Brad R. Torgersen (M), Kathleen Dalton-Woodbury)

11:00 am:
– Main Address: James Dashner

12:00 pm:
“Zombies and You: A guide to what does and does not constitute an apocalypse”
Ross Wolfe

2:00 pm:
– Building believable economies/politics
(Dan Willis, Eric Swedin (M), Roger White, David Ferro)

3:00 pm:
– Can your dreams pay your bills?
(Rebecca Shelley, Ami Chopine, Sandra Tayler (M), Dave Wolverton, Michael R. Collings)

There are more, but these are the ones that look most interesting to me.  As usual, I’ll record all of the panels I attend, so if you want a copy, just email me.

Man, I’m so excited!  LTUE this year is going to be awesome!

Once a Hero by Elizabeth Moon

Esmay Suiza never asked to be a hero.  All she wanted was to leave her dysfunctional home and join the navy.  But after surviving a mutiny and leading her spaceship to a most unlikely victory, everyone seems to be showering her with unwanted attention–or worse, examining her files for signs of command potential.

No, all she wants is to disappear–and now that her family has offered her a generous inheritance on her home world of Altiplano, she finds herself tempted to leave the stars behind and settle down for a while.

Little does she know, her family has hidden secrets from her–secrets from her past, which have the power to undo and destroy her.  Unfortunately, being a hero has a price–and the trauma of combat has already unearthed things from her subconscious than she cannot keep buried any longer.

This was my first time reading Elizabeth Moon, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.  Moon is extremely good at portraying a complex, believable military culture; she was a Lieutenant in the Marines, and definitely knows how to do military SF right.

My favorite part of the book was the descriptions of Altiplano, and Esmay’s experience returning to her homeworld of Altiplano.  Elizabeth Moon does an excellent job of creating a captivating world and transporting the reader there.  I fell in love with Altiplano almost instantly–not only with the planet itself, but the culture and the people, the whole society.  Excellent job.

Elizabeth Moon also does an excellent job developing her characters and giving them believable internal conflicts.  The way she portrays Esmay’s PTSD is quite striking, and very interesting.  Her struggles feel very real, and important too.  I think this novel helped me to better understand those who suffer from similar traumatic experiences, and that was very meaningful.

Storywise, however, I had a few minor issues, most of them having to do with the plot.  Things dragged a bit in the middle; when Esmay left her homeworld, I lost a sense of progression and felt that she was just wandering around.

When the antagonists came in–basically, a hostile army trying to capture her ship–I felt that Esmay solved her problems too easily, without any real try-fail cycles.  It gave me the sense that Esmay was some kind of superhero girl–not quite a Mary Sue, but toeing the line.

And Esmay’s love interest…I didn’t really get into him at all.  He seemed like a stereotypical damsel in distress, except with the sexes reversed.  I heard once that in good romance stories, the girl readers want to be the female protagonist, and the guy readers want to be the male protagonist.  Yeah…call me a chauvinist, but I never really wanted to be that guy.

I hate to be too critical, though, because Elizabeth Moon’s writing is quite good.  She has an excellent grasp of character, and her ability to transport her readers to another time and place more than makes up for her shortcomings with plot and story structure.  Also, I get the sense that this isn’t her best work.

In any case, if you’re a fan of military SF, you’ll probably enjoy this book.  I enjoyed it, and I will certainly be reading more Elizabeth Moon in the future.