Contractions

It's been so long since I have blogged! However, I have a viable excuse. Would you like to hear it? .......Of course you do. As some may know, I am a student and it takes a lot of work to juggle writing, classes, and blogging. So to make my life easier, I stopped blogging for a bit, but now I'm back and ready for the summer. I really need a break from college life.

Anywho...

A few updates... I have paused writing Neacel and Jess' story to focus on my original WIP for Aiden and Elle. I have to be fair. They were here first.

I tanked the last version of their story (I've had about five different ones) and am currently working with a combination of the ones I have. It has made it much better to my surprise. (Why didn't I think of this two years ago?) I am a solid 8K into the new draft. ^_^

Now on to today's topic....

I speak for myself when I say contractions are a part of everyday speech, unless I'm writing a term paper where it is informal to write that way.

Since I write YA, I try to stick with how I remember teens speaking when I was growing up. (I'm only 19 heh) No one spoke "properly" because that was considered lame. Plus contractions are just more fun.

But when does it get to the point where you are using too many contractions in your work?

I have lost count how many contractions I have used thus far in my current WIP. I don't know whether to think this is good or bad.

My female lead, since it is in 1st person, constantly speaks in contractions. The gods, Greek mythology, never speak in contractions. Did I do that on purpose? Yes. I want to differentiate between the older and the younger, but when does it become too much.

I'm trying to keep a fine line between going overboard, but I don't want to change my lead's voice, but I also don't want it to become distracting for the reader.

What are your thoughts on contractions in YA?

-AshMash

Oh and for your viewing pleasure....

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Inspirations.

Lately I've been doing a lot of writing for my current WIP and when I woke up today, Harry Potter was on ABC....It's another once of those Harry Potter weekends. They do it every other week and although I own every book and DVD, I still make it my duty to watch.

Why?

Because without JK Rowling, I don't think I'd want to be a writer. Which brings us to today's topic. Inspirations. Which novelists inspire you to write?


1. JK Rowling

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I have a small confession to make. I did not start reading the Harry Potter series until like....2007...Gasp!!!!! I know, but I just didn't understand why people were so crazy about this boy in a Wizard School who was constantly in a state of danger.
It was during a Harry Potter weekend that my brother actually forced me to watch it. I finally decided to go for it and I haven't looked back since. I immediately went back and read Books 1-7 and  bought all the DVDs. Now I can quote Harry with the best of them.

Like many a fan of Rowling, I loved how she brought her story to life...the talking pictures...her own school...even her own laguage. I mean, where can you find this creative genius nowadays? She inspires me to write from the heart and not just to write because I'm forced to. (This was my favorite novel of the series. Prisoner of Azkaben. (And my favorite character.))

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2. Lewis Carroll

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Contrary to popular belief, I thought Lewis Carroll was a genius. In high school, my class had to complete a Literary Criticism paper based on an AP worthy novel. My pick? Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. I actually had to petition my teacher to do it because it wasn't on her approved list. (And yes she did approve it). Overall we got three grades on the paper. I got two A's and a B.

Anywho, I enjoyed his creative use of the english language, the clever twist on words, and the overall message, if there was one. (And boy did I enjoy the Hatter)

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I could always keep going with other authors because there are MANY, but I'm going to leave it at these two because these are my top two. And sometimes their order switches. I hope you enjoyed and I would love to know who inspired you to write. Drop me a line below.

Thanks for reading!

Cheers!

-Ash