Day 357: 'Flip' by Martyn Bedford

I first saw this book in Mr B's Bookshop in Bath and was captured by it's tagline:

Even wake up in someone else's body?

Sold. It sounded really exciting. A boy wakes up someone else's room, with someone else's family and has to go to someone else's school as Philip, or Flip to his friends.

But I really struggled to get into it. Is it because I find it hard to identify with a 15 year old teenage boy? I mean, I've never been one and never will be. I managed to get into the character of Lucas in Finding Violet Park and the character of Martyn in Martyn Pig, so it can't be that...

The blurb describes it as a phycological thriller, but to be honest, it's just not that thrilling. Apart from the fact Alex is living in Flip's body, nothing particularly out of the ordinary really happens. There's a lot of theory about what's happened to him and description of how he feels about it and...that's it. It kind of just went on in a loop of emotion and reaction, emotion and reaction.

Until the end. I finally got into Alex's story about two thirds of the way through and wanted to know how he was going to figure this all out. Is two third' too late?

Like I said, I'm not a teenage boy, so give it a go. It's always best to make up your own mind about books and film or any creative media for that matter.

Check out the trailer too...

Day 331: Sharing Harry Potter

I was flicking through the channels on the TV as I eating my lunch and finally settled on a show about book clubs. The programme went from a studio of presenters to an idyllic country house where 8 people were sitting around discussing a book they'd all read. They shared ideas and opinions on the book and looked like they were having a pretty good time.

There's something about sharing the experience of reading a book. When Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows came out, I remember my sister and I read it together. Sometimes we would read it aloud to each other and sometimes we'd read independently at the same time. It was really nice being able to finish a chapter and then talk about it with someone else.

Making reading into a social activity seems like a really good idea to me and watching this programme made me want to join a book club. Everyone who reads a book takes slightly different meanings from it, based on their own experiences of the subject matter and where they're at in their life, so sharing reading gives you a bigger picture of what that book is about.

I've made the decision. After Uni (everything is after uni at the moment!) I am going to set up a book club. Are you with me? Why not set one up yourself with your friends, at your school/collage or at work? Try teenreads to start you off on your way or contact your local library to see what's already going on in your area.

Reading doesn't have to be done alone...

Day 324: Writers' Block

What do you do when you run out of ideas, when nothing inspires you to be creative?

Sometimes I get like this, especially when it's sunny. All I want to do is go outside and have fun in the sun, rather than sit in front of my laptop and write.

So what can we do when we don't want to get creative? How can we find inspiration?

Well, I've decided that I need to be proactive about it. If I wanna be out in the sun, then I need to find a creative way to do it. Sometimes I read or knit in the garden, which I love, so I think it's time I took my writing into the garden too.

Who needs a laptop when you've got pen and paper, eh? I think it'll help to write in different places. Maybe I could try writing in the park or at the beach, on a bench in town or even in my sister's tree house.

Right, that's it, I gotta try it. It's my next project, writing in different places. Wanna join me? We can be like Richard Long, whose art is walking and finding different ways of documenting it. New, exciting, experimental...

Just by writing this blog entry today, I've managed to find inspiration to get back on it.

What will you try...?

Day 307: Free your imagination with the BBC

The BBC have got a new season of programs on TV and Radio all about books.

It's focusing on old-school literature like DH Lawrence and Micheal Faber. They've recreated their stories through dramas which will all be on iPlayer for you to enjoy at your leisure. What do you fancy? Documentaries, debates, events, films? Well, they got it all, so have a peek and get involved.

Check out their website for loads more exciting recreations! You can even get email updates of what's going on. Don't miss out on this opportunity to get into books and their inspiring ideas...

Day 306: My annotated bibliography

On Monday I have to give in 5000 words of my novel, which really isn't that much considering how long a novel is. A small one is 40,000 words and I've written in total about 17,000, so not even half way!

Anyway, I also have to give in an annotated bibliography, which means I have to explain how each book I've read has helped me with my story. Don't worry, I'm not going to bore you with everything I've 'learnt', I'm just going to star one thing from Adele Geras' Ithaka. (See Day 265 for more on that.)

In her story Geras tells Homer’s well known tale, The Odyssey from the point of view of those left behind in Ithaka’s palace. Geras’s uses loads of characters’ which means you get a really rounded view of palace life, as well as what each character wants/feels about the situation they're all in. In other words, each character has a little story of their own within the bigger story, which was really realistic.

Think of your family. The chances are most of you have pretty different days (at school, work, collage), even though you all live in the same house. You all have different things you want (a new car, a girlfriend, a cat) so when you all sit around at the dinner table, you're still a family, but also individuals. When you ask your mum/dad a question, they don't always give you the answer you want 'cause they have their own thing going on too. 

Well, this is what I was lacking in my story. In one scene, Holly is having dinner with her Mum and older brother, Tom, but Tom didn't even mention the fact that he was getting suspicious of Holly's behaviour, (she's being all secretive because of the laptop she stole, as you'd probably expect!) By Tom not mentioning it made him two dimensional, like only Holly's situation existed within the family, which is totally unrealistic.

BUT, when I read Ithaka, I saw how each character had their own thing going on and I was like, hang on, my story doesn't have that. It really made me want to write more convincing character. Cool, huh! That's why it's so great to read. The more you read, the more you understand writing. If you want to become a truly brilliant writer, you need to become obsessed with reading. That's how all the greats (like Stephen King and Jacqueline Wilson) got to the top.

Here's a list of some other great reads from my bibliography, just in case you want to read them too. I think I've written about most of them before, so search them out if you want:

Ithaka, Adele Geras

Finding Violet Park, Jenny Valentine

Breathing Underwater, Julia Green

Martyn Pig, Kevin Brooks

13 Reasons Why, Jay Asher

Life on the Refrigerator Door, Alice Kuipers

Holes, Louis Sachar

My Name is Mina, David Almond

Day 298: Jenny Valentine's 'Finding Violet Park'

You know sometimes you think you've done something and then you realise you haven't? Well that's exactly what I've done with the last book I read. It was so good I thought I must have told you all about it, but, no, I haven't!

Scatty, as ever...

Finding Violet Park by Jenny Valentine follows a boy called Lucas who gets concerned about an urn left in a taxi cab office for over five years. Lucas has a real quirky voice which I really enjoyed getting to know.

The evidence of reading a good book:
You think about the characters way after you've finished, like you want to visit them again or wonder what they're doing.

Lucas' story twists and turns as you get to know all about his family and their dysfunctional dynamics. Can Violet, the dead lady in the urn really link in any way to his strange family? I mean, what do you do with the urn of a lady you never knew?

For me the best part was the ending. I'm usually disappointed with then, but this one was really affective. You'll have to read it to find out why...

Jenny Valentine won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize for this story and she's written more since, so check her out.

My cover doesn't have the teeth on it - weird!

Day 293: The Fiction Project

So, yesterday when I was 'researching' Takeshi Kawano's Melting Sculptures, I found an advert for this;

It's a project which is fusing words and visual art and making a book out of it, which will tour America, from coast to coast. Just think of your ideas, in a book, wandering around America...what a great opportunity! The cool thing is anyone from anywhere in the world can get invovled, which includes YOU! If you're into art, drawing, writing, graphic design, illustration...then check out their website. Once you're there, you can chose a theme and away you go! You could use an idea you've already got or be inspire here and now by one of the themes.

So, what are you waiting for? Go be inspired and be part of the project.

Day 276: Poetry Archive

This morning I have been looking at loads of children's poems on the poetry archive and they are great. So much imagery. There were funny ones, poignant ones, peculiar ones and loads more in between. Snake hotels, iguanas, battles, even scissors!

Take a look for yourself. There's an adults site too if you fancy. Even if you've only got five minutes, see if you can be inspired to get creative from poets who are writing now...you can even listen to the poet read them to you!

Here's a few I particularly liked:

The Sssnake Hotel by Brian Moses

Walking with my Iguana by Brian Moses

Winter by Judith Nicholls

Please Mrs Butler by Allan Ahlberg

Day 273: Rebecca the witch

This picture may appear to be a bit of old school writing and I guess it is, but it's what it writes about which intrigues me.

The notebook of a witch finder has been put online for the whole world to see. It tells the stories of women living in the East of England (where I'm from) who, suspected of witchcraft, were tortured and hanged. Seems brutal to us now, but in those times, witches were the feared terrorists of the day. The notebook talks of one girl called Rebecca who was tortured because her Mum mentioned her name under torture. Rebecca then reveals her own mother to be a witch. Along with many other women, her mum was hanged because of Rebecca's confession, but she herself was spared.

If that doesn't inspire a story I don't know what does!

Rebecca lived in Colchester, which is where I went to sixth form. I mean, that's crazy! 350 years ago, girls were being tortured and hung where I went to school! My own sister is called Rebecca and she went to sixth form there too, so the whole thing is just super creepy for me...

Notebooks have always intrigued me. When I was younger, I read Celia Rees' Witch Child. The main character Mary writes a diary and sews each page into her quilt for fear of discovery. In the story I'm writing, one of the characters, Holly, finds out about another character through reading her diary. They are curious things that tell us secrets...

Check out this notebook's stories from 350 years ago and see how they play with your imagination....

Day 271: World Book Night

Following on from World Book Day on Thursday, tonight is World Book Night, which is aimed at encouraging adults to read and enjoy books. 1 millions books will be given away for free across the UK and Ireland by givers. They are enthusiastic readers who have applied for 50 books each to spread around. My housemate, Alice managed to get involved and is putting 50 copies of Beloved by Toni Morrison on a train in Swindon for people to pick up, take away and read.

There are twenty different book titles being given away including One Day by David Nicholls and Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. So, keep your eyes peeled folks and you could land yourself a free book!

There are hundreds of events going on all over the place tonight, so get involved. Find out what's going near you here. In Trafalgar Square, London, there is a big celebration with over 5000 people attending and readings from famous authors like Mark Haddon and Phillip Pullman.

If books are your thing then this is your night. Hey, if books aren't your thing, this is the perfect opportunity to try them out.

Day 265: Adele Geras

When I was a teenager, I read Troy by Adele Geras and LOVED it! It follows the epic battle of Troy from the point of view of two Trojan sisters, Xanthe and Marpessa. I had learnt about the Trojan War at school and loved how Adele Geras had weaved a fictional story into the legend of Troy.

So, imagine my surprise when I go into Waterstones looking for a new teenage fiction novel to read (to help my own writing) and find Adele Geras has written Ithaka, a book about Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, a Greek king who fought in the Trojan War and took twenty years to return home to Ithaka.

I'm about half way through now and am really enjoying it. She cleverly uses language to portray the ancient time and intertwines the character's lives with visits from the Greek gods; Pallas Athene, Artemis and Poseidon. I think the fact that I studies The Odyssey when I was a sixth form makes me love it and want to fall back into that world of heroes, gods, and adventures.

Don't you just love it when you get stuck into the world a book creates? It always makes me want to write if I'm reading a good book.

Turns out Adele Geras has written loads of great books. She's even got her own website.

Take a minute to think about what you really like. What subjects interest you? What do you enjoy learning about a school/college? I bet there's a good fiction book about that somewhere. Google it and see what you find. Better yet, go into a shop and ask. Sometimes it's nice to ask someone who can answer you back, rather than a machine who can only guess. Know what I mean?

Happy hunting. Happy Reading!

Day 256: Tavi Gevinson: Teen Queen of Fashion

Now if this girl is not an inspiration, then I don't know who is. She is a teen blogger who just started writing about what she loves; fashion. Now she is considered a big name in the fashion industry, and has been invited to fashion shows around the world. She even has her own clothing label now and is in the process of starting a magazine about, you guessed it, fashion.

Check out her blog, Style Rookie, here.

What do you love? What are you passionate about? I think it's time the world heard about it to be honest. So get on it and blog it!

Day 247: Never judge a Julia Green by its cover

So, I want to share a lesson I have learnt this week. It's one we've all been told about a millions times, but I just never listen. I'm going to put it down to the fact that I'm a visual person!

I have just finished Julia Green's Breathing Underwater. My friend, Celia gave it to me and told me to read it, but I've had it for ages. It's been sitting in my room getting dusty and I'm pretty sure it's because I don't like the cover. I don't like the colours, or the image. I think it looks kinda dull and I know full well that if I picked it up in a shop I would not buy it based on that alone.

BUT, it's one of the best books I've read in a long time. Julia Green has a real knack of making the reader care for the characters. As I read I wanted to share Freya's story and see what happened, what she found out, how she changed. For me, that's what makes a good story. Freya has a really believable voice and she felt real to me. Her little tale will stay with me for a good while longer. That's what you want as a writer, I guess.

Have you ever read a book where you think about the characters long after finishing? Do you judge books by their covers? The book that's sitting in the corner with an unappealing cover, give it a go...you never know what will inspire you next!

Day 244: Library Cuts

Yesterday saw 'read-ins' and protesting at the governement's plans to close Libraries across the UK. In Oxfordshire 20 of the 43 libraries are due to shut. In Doncaster (Yorkshire) 14 of their 26 will be closed.

So what do you think? Do you think it's a smart move? Is it a good way to save money? I mean, better that than taking it from Elderly care? Do people even use libraries anymore?

What do creative thinkers like us have to say on the matter?

If you ask me, keeping libraries open, you're not just caring for the elderly, you're caring for the whole community. It seems to me like the new government are squashing everything that brings happiness to people. You know, the free stuff. If I'm honest, I don't take out many books from the library, but I do spend a lot of time there. I study in the quiet area for hours, I sit in the reading corner before I start work, I brouse the books from time to time, I use their internet when I need too...

Libraries are free places where anyone can go and just sit, read, think, play, keep warm. The amount of people that gather in Bath's Library is amazing; children, business men, unemployed, homeless, students, retired...where else does this mix of people gather?

I used to get tons of books from the library when I was a kid. What are kids gonna do now?

Famous authors like Phillip Pullman and Mark Haddon have been joining the protesting too. If it's important to them, then maybe it should be important to us.

What do you think about it...?

Day 238: Daniel Pennac

As I mentioned yesterday, I've just finished reading a great book called The Rights of the Reader by Daniel Pennac. He's an author and a teacher and it's certainly evident from his book that he has a lot of opinions about how we get taught to read.

In one chapter he talks about reading and how we find time for it. Do we find time for it? Well, it depends if it's important to us. Daniel Pennac says it beautifully, 'time to read is always time stolen.'

Isn't that true of all things we love? I know I should definitely read more, but I'd much rather spend that stolen time doing some knitting!

What do you spend stolen time on? Most people spend it doing the things they love and I guess for many of us, it involved creativity, am I right?

I think creativity begins to take over our time in some ways, not just the stolen bits. Should it take over? Pennac quotes Legend of the Fall by Jim Harrison, whose character, Burlington says, "Yes, when you buy a jacket, it's important the pockets are big enough for a paperback!"

The things we love spending time on do affect other areas of our lives. I've heard drummers say they bought that car 'cause its boot's big enough for the whole drum kit. Or student artist demanding the biggest room in their shared house so they have space to paint.

So what about you? Do you steal time for your creations? Do you customize your life for your 'art'? Should you?

Something to think about...

Part Two: In other news...

I thought I'd share with you all a good book I've just read. In fact, I might dedicate a few entries to it, 'cause it's got a lot of good stuff in it!

It's called The Rights of the Reader by Daniel Pennac. He's a French writer/teacher and has a lot of interesting things to say about how children read, or don't read.

Do you like reading? When we're kids, people read to us, but as we get older we're left to our own devices. At school we're forced to read books we're not interested in, or are we not interested 'cause we're forced to read them...?

Anyway, there was one line which showed me how powerful books can be if we let them,

''When you don't have the time or means to treat yourself to a week in Venice, why not spend five minutes there?''

So why not? Dip in to a book (of your choice) and see where it take you today...

Day 215: How do we improve out creativity?

I have spent the morning reading through a story written by a friend of mine. Unfortunately, I can't tell you anything about this story 'cause it's not mine to tell. So, why mention it?

As I was reading through, I kept thinking about all the writing I should be doing, rather than reading someone else's. It's not going to get me anywhere helping them out, so why am I spending all this time doing it...?

Well, the truth is, none of that is true. Reading other people's work really does help me. If I can see how they can improve their work, I am also learning to improve my own. Take dialogue, for example. Does the old man's dialogue sound like an old man? Does the old man sound different to the little girl? If they don't then, it's not convincing dialogue...

...Now, when I right my dialogue, it'll be better. If you're a writer, reading and editing is learning.

What is your creative thing you do? How do you learn about it? How do you get better? Could helping others along, help yourself along too?

Something to think about...

Day 193: Holidays are comin'

So today is the last day of my term and I have to say, I have never looked forward to going home as much as I do now. Christmas is a time for rest, eating, family...

...but what about creating? Do you guys have any creative plans for this festive season?

Let's decide together to put our hands/ears/eyes/mouths to something creative over the next 3(ish) weeks, people!

I am going to do some knitting, maybe even on Christmas day!
I'm going to read lots of good books...and maybe some writing too(?)
I'm going to do some colouring with my littlest sister, Olivia.
I'm going to do some baking...maybe decorate a gingerbread house in sweets and icing (yummmmm)!

What will  you do this holiday season to keep your creative side full this Christmas. Have a think, make a list and check it twice...

Day 181: Kevin Brooks

At the moment, I am reading Martyn Pig by Kevin Brooks. It's about a teenage boy who accidentally kills his dad. Dark stuff. But I'm really enjoying it and you know why? Because Martyn's a really convincing character. It's written in 1st person and he 'speaks' like a real teenage boy would:

'It wasn't that I was jealous. Well, I suppose I was a bit jealous. But not in a namby kind of way, you know, not in a snooty, pouty kind of way. No, that wasn't it. Not really. That wasn't the reason I was glum. All right, it was partly the reason...'    p22

I love the way Martyn is arguing with himself here, justifying the fact he's jealous of Alex's boyfriend. It's honest and I love that about his character.

Look at how Kevin Brooks uses short sentences. That's how we think, isn't it, and that's why it's so realistic. And it's funny too. All in all, it makes for a good read. You should check it out if you like good books. In fact, check out Kevin Brooks in general. He's written loads. This is his first ever book.

Good writing makes me want to write. To create.

What makes you want to create? Whatever it is, get into it. Inspire yourself through what other people have done...and then get involved! I figure it's like a house. One person creates and inspire another, then they inspire someone else and so on. Together we make up the bricks, built up and up. A wonderfully creative house!

So go, start creating your brick, ready to inspire the next generation...

Day 179: Harry Potter

Over the past couple of weekends, I have been catching up on the Harry Potter films, ready to watch the 7th; Happy Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1. I know, I know, it's been out for ages. I'll get there.

Tonight, I watched HP4, The Goblet of Fire. They miss loads of the book out, don't they! But then, how are you supposed to fit 400 pages into two and a half hours?

It must be such a challenge to make a book into a film. How do they decide what's important and what can be left out? How do they decide what clothes the characters wear and who to cast? Which bits of dialogue do they keep and which do they edit out...?

Touch one.

That's my challenge for you today. Take a book you really like and see how you would turn it into a film, or a play, or maybe a game. Why not take a film you like and think how you would turn it into a book...

Be creative with the stories you love. How else could they be seen, heard, enjoyed...it's up to you!