Welcome to The Avid Reader. I am hosting a tour for Making Connections Blog Tours. Featuring Monica Millard and her book the Children of the Gods. I would like to welcome Monica Millard to The Avid Reader. Thanks for joining us Monica. Today Monica will be telling us what it means to be a Panster. Monica will also be giving away an ebook copy of Children of the Gods. So don't leave without entering for your chance to win.
You can read my review of Children of the Gods here.
Book Title: Children of the Gods
Series: A Chosen Novel
Author: Monica Millard
Published: December 24th 2011
Ebook:
Pages: 158
Book Description:
For as long as seventeen-year-old Reka Cushing can remember, she has watched her friends and her neighbors be stolen, their bodies used as hosts for the Halorans; an alien race that has come to earth posing as gods. For just as long, Reka has lived in fear of drawing the eye of a Haloran, keeping her head down, hoping not to be caught in their sights.
The only time she has ever been bold, tried to get what she wanted, a god, one more powerful, more dangerous than all others is watching.
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Guest Post
What it means to be a Pantser
I read a really good book this weekend that had me tied up in knots. The main character was going to turn herself over to the bad guys to save not only the people she loved, but all the people that were fighting on her side. She thought if she gave herself up that no one else would die, especially not the man she loved.
The whole time she is thinking about it, and then doing it I was getting angry with her. (Good writer to get me so emotional over a fictional character, right?) I was angry and felt like she was being selfish. (huh? You say.) She was putting herself at risk and hurting the people who cared for her, plus giving the other side something very valuable. Her sacrifice might save a few people to begin with, but in the end it would only serve to further the bad guys cause and cost even more people their lives. (But vision is 20/20 from a distance, ?)
So, as I’m reading this and getting angry with the character, and then with the author for making her do it. I thought; what a sneaky, clever writer for putting that in there to get me worked up and more invested in the character.
Then I had to stop and have a moment of humility when I realized I have a character in a book I’m working on who is in a similar situation. I didn’t put that in there to work anyone up. It’s simply how the story progressed. I didn’t even necessarily plan it that way initially and it got me thinking about how authors write their stories.
I’ve mentioned in previous posts and interviews that I’m a pantser. No, that does not mean you should be checking around you to make sure I don’t pop out and de-pants you. It’s a style of plotting, or lack thereof.
When I’m writing a story, even novel length stories, I don’t sit down and write an outline, write out flash cards and arrange them in order of events, or even use specific software other than word. What I do when something inspires me is I think about it. Sometimes I think about it for months, while waiting to finish another story. Other times I think about it for only a few minutes.
As I write the story I’m learning about the world it’s set in and get to know the characters as I put each word on the page. They do things that I don’t expect and sometimes make my life difficult when I think the story is going one way and they take it another. I’ve even thought out whole scenes while riding the bus, and once I sat down to write them, they come out as something else entirely.
Before I even knew there was a name for the way I write, I met an awesome author online through a Twitter chat #writechat. She was really nice and so helpful and she had a Twitter novel she had started called Russet One Wing. I’d never read anything of hers before, but I was intrigued. I read it and loved it and couldn’t wait for an update. Based on that, I order the first two books that were out in her young adult trilogy – Skin Hunger and Sacred Scars.
I loved them. I was a little intimidated, because there was so much going on and all these hints that were left throughout the book and as I read everything was coming together and I thought, how does she keep up with all these twists and turns. She must be a super genius. She was actually the one who introduced me to the term Pantser, which is the way she writes too. (FYI - If you haven’t read any of Kathleen Duey’s books you should pick up Skin Hunger and Sacred Scars today! They are great.)
I’m always amazed at how there are some many different ways to come to the same result. When I read a book I usually think the author has plotted everything out and has designed things meticulously to take us where they want, and maybe Pantser do, but just in a different way.
Do you write? How do you get from the beginning to the end?
Author Bio:
Monica was born and raised in Alaska. She doesn’t own a dog sled team, but has worked in a place where there are buildings with caged exterior doors to keep employees from being eaten by polar bears. She lives in Wasilla, Alaska with all her critters, some four legged and others that stand on two. She writes Science fiction, fantasy, and Paranormal for young adults.
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The Prize: 1 Ebook Copy Of The Children Gods By Monica Millard.
One mandatory entry follow The Avid Reader by GFC. All other entries are optional but would be greatly appreciated. The Giveaway will run from July 10 to July 17.
