Fairy Tale Retellings (aka my obsession with Cinder)

I'll admit it. I'm that person that takes about a solid year to two years to give in to a trend. One category in which I tend not to follow what's popular is my reading choices. It's not that I don't keep up with popular books, I do, both as a writer and reader. I like to know what people are interested in, while at the same time seeing how reader's tastes change over time.

Well I have been seeing the trend and hype for the book Cinder for the last, I'd say year and half. I've seen it on booktube, goodreads, on blogs I follow, and so forth. When I read the synopsis for it, I thought that it really wasn't for me. It sounded too difficult of a world to get into. Well fast forward to May 2015, and I finally gave in. Book outlet had both of the paperbacks for the first two books, and I had a five dollar coupon to cover most of the cost.

After a weekend of binge reading, and I realized why the book was so hyped. The world was amazing, the characters were tangible, and my love for fairy tale retellings had resurfaced. Marissa Meyer sucked me into a world that I still haven't quite gotten out of. Who would have thought, Cinderella, a cyborg living in a place called New Beijing. It was fresh and new, and gahhh amazing. (I apologize for the fangirling)

I've chosen to put off reading the third installment until the fourth one comes out, thereby saving both books for a weekend of binge reading.

Anyways back to my point. Fairy tale retellings have been popular for quite a while. I don't really think they're ever going to fade away completely, because they have an appeal to a large audience range. We (as in people born in the 1990s) grew up with fairy tales, but so did our parents, and our grandparents. They are a multi generational tradition.

I think each new generation that comes along, offers the opportunity for a brand new take on fairy tales. The idea of a happily ever after is timeless. People want to be taken out from reality and into another world. No two retellings are the same. I'm now on the search for more retellings, but I'm afraid none of them will live up to my expectations now that I've read Cinder. I'll find some, I'm sure.

In the meantime though, I will be working on a small side project of my own. A retelling of Beauty and the Beast but way beyond anything I've read. I also have to work on Breakup FM (contemporary). But I will keep you posted on my to be named Beauty and the beast retelling.

Keep writing, and keep reading friends. :)

Sometimes it's okay to let it go (no references to frozen)

The past few days have been a bit of paradox for me. On one hand, they've been the most stressful days I've had in a while, but on the other, they've been sort of liberating. I've been working on the second novel in the collection of YA contemporaries I am writing. The title of this one is Breakup FM. It's basically about a radio show where people call in to tell their relationship stories, and let listeners decide whether or not they should break up with their significant other over the air. Anyways that's the basic premise, and I have about 20,000 words of the novel ready to go. Or at least I thought I did.

Today I woke up, and realized I haven't been writing with enthusiasm for at least a week. I get up add to my word count, but feel completely stressed about how incomplete the manuscript feels thus far. I love my characters but the story right now feels bleh. It's not a lack of motivation or discipline, because I'm still writing. I want to write every day in fact. I love writing. It's just that I finally realized I have to scrap what I have so far. There is nothing to salvage from these 20,000 words, and honestly, I'm okay with that. I'm more than okay with it. I feel sort of relieved actually. I get to start fresh, with a concept I love, but in a different direction.

Time to start a new outline, and see where this project is headed. This was just my two cents about the matter of letting certain projects pass. To my writers out there, it's okay to let things okay. Don't wear out the muse. No writing is wasted writing. Everything builds up and makes you a better author. Okay time to get back to outlining. Love all my nonexistent readers.

<3

Daniela

Talent, Fears, and the Blank Page

Writing like any art form, any true skill, takes time to truly hone. There are the rare exceptions, of young geniuses and artists through history, but for now let's assume that you fall somewhere in the middle range of writing talent. Let's say you have a certain grasp on vocabulary, or you write dialogue that flows, or maybe settings are your forte. Whatever you are skilled at, the talent you have been told you have for writing, it won't make a best selling novelist. It won't even get you a finished novel.

I've spent the last two or so years learning this, truly grasping the concept that my own supposed talent for crafting a story, would get me nowhere.

Don't get me wrong, talent will get you somewhere. Without persistence though, talent will leave you in that dark corner of somewhere without a way out.

The key to finishing a novel, is persistence mixed with a sense of discipline. Talent gives you a head start in that arena. What I notice though, is that a lot of talented writers, young as they may be, get lazy because of the fact they think they're very talented. I'm not saying they're not. I'm not denying you the right to say you're a writer or a future bestselling author. You might very well be.

I didn't finish my first full novel until my freshman year of college. Up until that point, writing had always been a bit of hobby, some typing here, some character descriptions there, nothing more. My mind was an endless swarm of ideas, with nowhere to go. Then it hit me, this strange inspiration to write. I spent six weeks working on a pretty crappy first draft. But the feeling of holding my first novel in my hands, there is nothing in the world that can replace the happiness I felt that day.

I wrote a novel. Maybe it would stay in the bottom of my closet, but the impossible task I had thought would be accomplished in the distant future, was done. Writing a novel took away my fear of putting words to paper. It was magic. It really was. A week later, when I sat and read through it, I realized something else to. I had no sense of how to write a novel. I had the backbone of something, the hint of a story, but I needed to learn my craft. Talent convinced me to write the words, persistence kept me going, and discipline told me one novel wasn't enough.

To everyone out there, talented writers and newbies as well, if I can tell you one thing, it would be to write. Write every day. Write without thinking about when you're going to get published or whether anyone will read your story. Read. Write. Rinse. Repeat. I can tell you that a year of doing this, has improved my ability to write a novel immensely. I'm not saying that I'm a genius or that I've reached the pinnacle of my writing. I'm only 20 so I hope I haven't. But writing and publishing my work through different forms, some free, others paid, has allowed me to get rid of my fear of what the reader might think.

It's simple. Don't be afraid. You are in a field where fear is your worst enemy. Not the agent you emailed, or the Big 5: just fear. Write and expose your work to new eyes. Grow and learn that not everyone will love your book. And that's okay. Find the people that do, and shower them with appreciation by writing more. I can assure you for every story idea, there is someone who will fall in love with it. Go the traditional route or self-publish. Whatever your path is find it. But first hone your talent and let go of your fears.

In time I promise you'll make it past that blank page.

Those are my ramblings for tonight.

Love to all those writers out there. Your idea matters. You'll find your calling. Keep writing my friends.

- Daniela

Exciting but Delayed News (It's a Pun, Okay?)

Hey, so I have been MIA for a few weeks, but that's because I have been working on the finishing touches for a special project, that I can finally share with everyone.

That's right, my book Delayed is finally out today!!!!!!! (Excuse my overuse of overly excited punctuation for the rest of this post). 

After many months of hard laboring (aka endless periods of binge writing sessions). I will be doing more post on my writing and editing process, as well as my publishing journey, as I write my next book, which happens to be the followup to this one, entitled Breakup FM. I will do a separate post for that book later. 

For now though, here is the summary of this bad boy. 

One delayed flight can change everything.

On the day of her forgotten fourteenth birthday, Olivia comes across a crying boy at an airport gate.

On the saddest day of his life, Nick finds solace in a strange girl named Olivia.

The encounter entangles their lives in a way that can’t be undone. Two years later, a delayed flight brings them together again. And the randomness of their first meeting unravels into something much greater than either one of them could ever imagine.

Set over the course of ten years, Delayed is the story of two strangers falling in love, and they journey they face in having to find their way back to each other.

You can snatch a copy for your kindle by clicking on the picture of the cover. For the next three months it will be available in kindle format only, but I hope to expand to other outlets soon, including a possible paperback format. This is just a quick update, but stay tuned for more posts, and a possible giveaway.

Keep reading and to my fellow authors, keep writing. And to everyone, keep dreaming.