The End of This Blog

So I've needed to write this post for a while now, and I'm just going to get straight to the point: I'm ending this blog.


I'm not deleting it; I'm just not going to be posting anymore. I put a lot of thought into it first, and I realized that blogging isn't as fun for me as it used to be, and I can't really keep up with blogging along with everything else in my life.


I'm not going to fall of the face of the earth- I'll still be tweeting and reading and commenting on other people's blogs, and you'll still be able to e-mail me at brittany@hillsandcorkscrews.com. I'm also thinking about starting a Tumblr or maybe a YouTube channel or something like that.


And I think that sometime in the future I'll start blogging again (on a new blog which I would link to here). It might be in a couple of months, a year, three years, five years. I'm not sure. 


Also, I wanted to thank everyone who has followed and commented and encouraged me. I really appreciate it. 


And to the writers who followed me because of the Writers' Platform-Building Campaign- I'm dropping out of the Campaign, and I won't feel bad if you (or any other followers) want to unfollow me to shorten up your blog list.


Also, if a teen writer who participated in the Teen Writers' Summer Blogfest wants to start it up again next summer, that'd be great. Maybe I'll be blogging again by next summer, but if not, feel free to host it (or not, if you don't want to).


If you want to see my blog as a story, this is the end, or maybe...

On Protagonists and Likeability

What I'm Working On: Getting ready for school to start


What I'm Reading: I finished Wither by Lauren DeStefano in about a day (and I might write a review of it) and now I'm reading an ARC of Darkfall by Janice Hardy that I won.


(Quick note: You can enter to win a copy of Shut Out by Kody Keplinger at Novelteen HERE!)


Today I thought I'd talk about protagonists or main characters or whatever you want to call them. I'll stick with protagonists for this post.


A few of the books that I've read lately have gotten me thinking about how the protagonist is affected by the POV of the story is told in.


On a very basic level, the protagonist of your story is the person who the story is mostly about. They don't necessarily have to be likeable or good or anything. They just have to be a (hopefully) interesting person who is involved in the plot of the story (someone who is against the antagonist), and usually someone you're cheering for. 


In Plot and Structure, James Scott Bell talks about the four elements that most protagonists should have (though there are exceptions): identification, sympathy, likeability, and inner conflict. Along with this, I think your protagonist should be proactive, not just someone who sits around and watches things happen. (Note: protagonist and POV character are usually the same, but sometimes they're different. So your POV character can be an entirely different character from your protagonist.)


Like I said, what I've read recently has gotten me thinking about protagonists and their personalities. I think it's important for your protagonist to have a strong personality, and I'm starting to notice that protagonists in first-person stories occasionally seem a bit... flat. I'm not sure if it's because of how close you are to the protagonist, since it's almost like you are the protagonist, or maybe it's just harder to let the personality of a first-person protagonist shine through when they're the one telling the story.


Most of my favorite protagonists were in third-person stories, and I'm kind of curious about this. In third-person, you're seeing the protagonist with at least a little bit of narrative distance. You're not directly in his thoughts, and you get somewhat of a better picture of what he's like (at least for me). Overall, my favorite POV to read and write is third-person. 


In first-person stories, it's a bit trickier. You're shown all of the protagonist's emotions and thoughts and feelings a lot closer than in third-person. 


Some of my favorite protagonists include:

• Harry Potter
• Meg from A Wrinkle in Time
• Meggie from the Ink Trilogy
• Kat from Heist Society
• Reynie from The Mysterious Benedict Society
• Percy Jackson
• Nya from The Healing Wars Trilogy
• Artemis Fowl

Looking at this list of protagonists, half are boys, half are girls. All of these are MG novels except for Heist Society. And all of them are from third-person stories except for Percy Jackson and Nya . 


Also, some of my favorite books don't have my favorite protagonists. I love the Hunger Games Trilogy, but Katniss is not one of my favorite protagonists. She wasn't really likeable to me for the last half of the trilogy (though that might have been just me), but she was a very compelling protagonist to read about. 


What I like about the two first-person protagonists on my list is that you can really tell what their personality is like. Percy is funny and light-hearted, and also very brave. Nya is independent and smart, and both characters have great voices. 


So now I'm curious. Who are your favorite protagonists? Do you prefer third-person or first-person protagonists?  Why? 


(Also, I was originally going to write a post about POV, but Eileen from Speak Coffee to Me already wrote a great post about it HERE, so I thought I'd share the link to it. Also, something like that happened with one of my other posts, How to Overcome Post-Series-Depression. M.J Horton wrote a blog post called First Draft Syndrome Symptoms in the same kind of style on the same day, and I didn't even know about her blog until Rachael linked to it in her Week in Short post. M.J's much funnier than mine, so you should definitely read it. :) Great minds think alike.)


Picture courtesy of Mikleman

The Third Writers' Platform-Building Campaign!

What I'm Working On: I'm still working on revision. The second draft will be quite a bit different from the first, but hopefully a lot better.


What I'm Reading: Finished Paper Towns (it was amazing) and now I'm rereading Heist Society by Ally Carter


This is going to be a short post today. Rachael Harrie at Rach Writes is holding her Third Writers' Platform-Building Campaign, which I heard about before but only after it was held (this kind of thing seems to happen to me a lot). So now I'm participating in this Campaign. You can read the full post about the Campaign and how to participate HERE. 


This is how Rach describes it:


"Basically, the Campaign is a way to link those of us in the writing community together with the aim of helping to build our online platforms. The Campaigners are all bloggers in a similar position, who genuinely want to pay it forward, make connections and friends within the writing community, and help build each others' online platforms while at the same time building theirs."


The Campaign runs from August 22nd to October 31st, but if you're going to participate, you need to sign up by August 31st. Make sure you read the full post before joining (and I hope you do, because it sounds like lots of fun). :)

The Next Harry Potter?

What I'm Working On: Finally cleaned off my desk and now I'm going to work on the revision, after this post, of course.


What I'm Reading: Paper Towns by John Green


Gracie of I Am Writer… Hear Me Roar!, has extended the deadline of her contest, which is now called the Explore-a-Teen's-Brain-Contest. For more details see her post.


Yesterday, MuggleNet posted a link to a Wall Street Journal article called "Conjuring the Next Harry Potter", and it's mostly about a possible contender. You can find MuggleNet's post HERE and the Wall Street Journal article HERE (which you might want to read). 


The article is mostly about the book The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, and how much hype and publicity it's getting before it's published, because everyone (and by everyone I mean publishers and booksellers) thinks it's going to be the "next Harry Potter".


Here's what the article said about it: 


"Ms. Morgenstern's novel, set at the turn of the 19th century, tells the story of two young, love-struck magicians who compete in a magical circus."

Before I say anything else I should probably say that I don't have anything against the book or the author. She wrote the novel during NaNo WriMo (at least, the first draft), so I think that's kind of awesome. It sounds like an interesting concept (albeit a bit too similar to Water for Elephants), and the author sounds like all this hype isn't really for her. This is what the article said about it: 
"Ms. Morgenstern finds the attention and hype overwhelming and worries about a backlash." 


The end of the MuggleNet posting of the article said: "The better question may not be what can fill the void left by Potter, but is there really a void to begin with and if so, can it be filled at all?" So this post is mostly a response to that question.


First off, I don't think there is much of a void left behind Harry Potter. I know people like the media say things like "searching for the next Harry Potter". I don't know about you, but I'm a huge Harry Potter fan, but I'm not searching for a book or series to replace Harry Potter. I still have the Harry Potter books, and I don't need another franchise to take their spot. (Obviously, I can't speak for all of the fans. Some people probably disagree.)


From this article, I can assume that the people searching for the next Harry Potter are booksellers and publishers. If you read the article, you'll notice that there's all this hype created by the publisher and bookstores (which is not a bad thing, it's called publicity), but this book isn't really getting famous because of readers. I don't mean to sound snobby or rude or anything, but when it comes down to it, a book's popularity comes down to the readers, and whether they like the book, and whether they want to pass it on to their friends. *


To quote the article: 


"The global, multimedia marketing campaign boosting "The Night Circus" certainly seems better suited to a Hollywood blockbuster release than an unknown author's debut novel."

I was only 4 when the first Harry Potter movie was released, but from what I've read and seen, the books were very popular before then, and it was because of the readers. So I think what will ultimately make a book famous is what the readers think of it.


To summarize so far, I don't think there is a void, at least among most Harry Potter fans, and I think if there is one, it will be filled by a book or series that readers like, not one that's being chosen.


So if there is going to be the "next Harry Potter", what will it be like? I think it will:

• Be a YA or possibly adult book series, most likely a genre outside of contemporary (something like dystopian, fantasy, etc.). 
• Have lots of crossover appeal. People of all ages and both genders will want to read it.
• Be made into a series of movies.
• Be actually a good series. Well-written, great characters, high-concept plot. Also, it will be a lot deeper than your average book.
• Not be predicted by publishers or booksellers. Instead, I think it won't become super-famous until after it's published.
• Will be a household name once it's been out for a while.

There was a brief mention in the article of the other contenders for the next HP, including the Percy Jackson series among others. There have been quite a few contenders lately, including (and why they didn't work):

• Twilight- It didn't have a wide enough audience. The vast majority of its fans were teenage girls or middle-aged women, while people of all ages (from little kids to elderly people) and both men and women read Harry Potter. Plus, I don't think it was good enough, which resulted in a lot of haters.**
• Percy Jackson and the Olympians- I'm not sure about this one. It was big, but not quite big enough. It wasn’t a household name, not everyone knew about the books. I do think it succeeded in appealing to both boys and girls (at least, most of the people I know who read them are boys). They were well-written but the books kind of lacked something, like a deeper meaning (and there are a lot of those in HP).
• Water for Elephants- And I'm kind of iffy about even considering this as a contender. I haven't read the book or seen the movie, but I know the basic premise (and it was a NaNo novel). It was also a #1 New York Times Bestseller. The movie had Rob Pattinson in it (which probably appealed to the Twilight fans), and I know a lot of girls my age saw it. Still, it was an adult novel that I think only appealed to older teenagers (like 16+).

All of these books/series were big, and a lot of people say that Twilight was the next HP, though I disagree. While I don't think anything will be quite as successful as HP for a long time, I do think that the Hunger Games trilogy will be big, even bigger than Twilight (but I'm not the first one to think this). Why?

• It was already popular before they started making it into a movie.
• It's a YA series that both genders like, and I know adults like it, too.
• It's one of those series that you can completely obsess over.
• It has a love triangle, which will probably appeal to Twilight fans, and I know lots of HP fans already love the series. 

So, my predictions? I think the Hunger Games will be huge, between Twilight and Harry Potter's level of success. And as for The Night Circus, I'm not 100% sure. I don't think that just because there's been a lot of hype created (though I hadn't heard of it until the WSJ article), it will be big.


I really do think it sounds too close to Water for Elephants, and even that wasn't quite up there. It's not a series, and it's an adult novel that doesn't really sound like it has crossover appeal.  It's not high-concept, not in the way that the Hunger Games or HP or the Percy Jackson series is. I think it will probably do well, it will probably be a bestseller, but I don't think it will come close to being the next HP.


Obviously, these are just my thoughts. I don't work in publishing so I can't be sure.


*I hope I don't sound like I think publishers and booksellers shouldn't promote books before they come out. I think it's great. It's just that the way they're trying to choose the next Harry Potter rubbed me the wrong way, that's all.


**I'm not a Twilight hater, by the way. I read the first 3 books a few years ago, but I don't remember loving them. I've read all of the articles and blog posts and watched all the vlogs about how bad Twilight is, and I agree with those points, but I don't hate it.  


Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this subject. Do you think there's a void left by Harry Potter? If so, what do you think will fill it? And what do you think works better to make a book popular: promotion by the publisher, or word-of-mouth by the readers?

(Also, if you read that whole blog post, you get a cupcake.)

How to Overcome Post-Series-Depression

What I'm Working On: Catching up with all the Write On Con articles that I haven't read yet. (It was a blast, by the way! If you didn't participate this year, make sure you do next year!) Jess wrote a good recap post HERE. 


Also, I've started thinking about revision. I've listed the major problems in my novel and I'm starting to work on how to fix them in Draft 2. It's going… all right.


What I'm Reading: Paper Towns by John Green


First off, I'm really sorry that I didn't blog when I said I would. I'm going to work on blogging more regularly for the rest of the year (at least 2-3 times a week).


Last Tuesday, I finished The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan, which is the last Percy Jackson and the Olympians book. And even though it didn't have a particularly sad ending, I cried. 


And I realized that this was the same kind of depression that set in after the last Harry Potter movie came out a while back. Everyone called it Post-Potter-Depression (and everybody had it), but it doesn't just apply to Harry Potter. So I thought I'd write a post about it.

POST-SERIES-DEPRESSION: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW


Post-Series-Depression is depression caused by the end of a book series, usually a series with five or more books. 


HISTORY


One of the most famous cases of Post-Series-Depression occurred in July of 2011, before, during, and after the July 15 release of the final Harry Potter movie. Bajillions of people from around the world were struck by the condition, and many are still in recovery.


The general public considers Post-Series-Depression to be the stuff of lunacy.* It is not taken seriously among non-reading people, and must be handled without attracting too much attention.


CAUSES


PSD has one main cause: the end of a long book series. This is turn causes many other problems, including:

• Nostalgia
• Fear of not knowing what to read next
• Loneliness caused by not getting to spend any more time with the characters
• Anger at the write for not writing more books
• Depression because of the fact that the story is over

SYMPTOMS


There are a variety of symptoms of PSD, and they depend on the individual. Some of these include:

• Sobbing
• Screaming 
• Inability to let go of the book in question
• Blank stares
• Insomnia
• Sleepwalking
• Hyperventilation
• Dry eyes caused by lack of blinking
• Muteness
• Nausea
• Headaches
• Fainting
• Uncontrollable and irrational anger
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or other RSI caused by cyber-stalking the author for hours on end

TREATMENT


PSD is highly treatable, with a number of steps to return to wellness again:

1. Let it all out. Cry, scream, yell if you have to. Confide in a trusted family member or friend about your feelings. (Make sure you don't sound like a lunatic.)
2. Obsess for 1-3 days. Cyber-stalk the author, see if they've written any new books, or reread your favorite scenes from the series. Watch all the movies (if they've made any), blog or tweet about the series, and read everything on every fan site that you can find (Wikipedia works too).
3. Important Note: Stay away from other human beings during this time. Especially ones who don't like reading. They will think you're crazy (but let's face it, you are) and you don't want them to see you like that. 
4. Step back from the books, slowly. Take a break from them. Read something else. If you're a writer, write something (this helps a lot). Remember, you still have the series, even if it's over. 
5. Remember (in cases of Post-Potter-Depression):

       

And the final step- Eventually, come back to the series. Maybe you want to reread it, or reminisce on the good times you had reading it. But also, remember that there are other things to read out there.

Anyway, I know that Rick Riordan has started writing a second series in the same world as Percy Jackson and the Olympians, so I'm not too sad anymore. Plus, they still have to make the rest of the movies (I heard they're making the second one!), and I'm excited for that, since maybe I can be an extra in one of the PJ movies (it's a bucket list thing).


What series have you gotten depressed about? Did you get over it?


*It is. But only a little. :)

3 Contests

What I'm Working On: Hmmm, that just reminded me that I should be working on something...


What I'm Reading: Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter 


So today I have some contests/competitions/opportunity things that I wanted to blog about:


1. Ask-a-Teen


Gracie from I Am Writer... Hear Me Roar!, a fellow teen writer and TWSB participant, is holding her own Ask-the-Teens Q&A sort of thing. You can find the details of that HERE, but here's the basic information:

• Send questions related to teens, writing, or reading, to kazuntai101@gmail.com, with "Ask The Teens Question" in the subject line, or you can just leave a comment on the post I linked to.
• Send your question(s) by Friday, August 19th.
• Everyone who asks a question will be entered into a drawing to win one of three awesome prizes.
• For teenagers and people who didn't ask questions: You can still enter the drawing by sharing about the contest.

These aren't the complete details, so make sure you read the full post before submitting questions. If you're an adult who has any questions for your teen audience, I highly recommend taking advantage of this.

2. 3-Sentence Story Contest

Laura from Laura + the voices is holding a 3-sentence story contest on her blog to celebrate her blog's anniversary and her 1k Twitter followers. You can enter that contest HERE and win a free critique, but today's the last day. (I know I already blogged about this but I thought I'd add a reminder.)

3. Giveaway 

Romi of The Dreamy Tree and Where the Writer Comes to Write is giving away a print from the Etsy shop of a blogger she guest-posted for, and you can enter until the 19th of August. You can find the details of the giveaway HERE.

So I guess that's all. This isn't my proper post, but I'm doing a Miscellaneous Monday tomorrow and then a real post on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Hunger Games Movie Poster Winner!

Today I made all of the slips for all of the entries, put them into a Mickey mouse hat, and drew out one entry. The winner of the Hunger Games movie poster is....

JENNA COOPER!

Congrats, Jenna! Make sure to mail me your mailing information to brittany (at) hillsandcorkscrews (dot) com so I can send it off to you ASAP.

Also, I'm planning on doing a regular post tomorrow (or maybe today), but for now, I've got to go!