Summer Writing Project(s)?

Tomorrow is already the start of June, which pretty much marks the start of summer. (I don’t want to hear about how summer doesn’t officially happen until June 21st. Here in Michigan, Memorial Day usually signals the beginning of summer.)

Similar to many people, I’m excited to take advantage of the warm weather and do summer-like stuff. Activities such as riding my bike or heading to my local metropark. And eating more ice cream than usual.

Unlike other people, though, I also use the summer months to work on a large writing project. I’ve only just started thinking about it, but there a few questions I have to answer before I embark on this year’s project:

1.) When should I begin?

Obviously, I’m not starting on June 1st, simply because I’m not ready. Two years ago, I began in the middle of June and wrote all the way until the beginning of August. Last year, I commenced on July 1st and only wrote for the month.

I guess it all depends on…

2.) What should I write?

If I plan on writing a story with a manuscript length, then I’m going to have to start early (aka: sometime in June). But if I’m just doing something similar like NaNoWriMo (where I just write a bunch of stories and see where they all go), then I could probably repeat what I did last year and begin on July 1st.

I haven’t written anything in almost two months, though, so my fingers are starting to itch on my keyboard. If I work on any stories in the next week or two, will that throw off my “groove” for whatever ends up being my summer writing project?

But if I wait until July, then I can spend some time brainstorming some ideas in June. Maybe pull out my handy dandy plot chart.


3.) Should I concentrate on having a word count? If so, what should it be?

Judging by how well my March and April writing projects went (yes, this is sarcasm), I think I need to impose some kind of total word count. If I don’t, I’m prone to skip days and not write, ultimately sweeping the whole idea away.

Really, it comes down to how ambitious I feel. If I want to have a more laidback approach, I try to write at least 1000 words a day. But if I’m really serious about working on a particularly long story, then I tend to kick it up to 1500 words/day. (Not like I’m doing anything exciting this summer, anyway.)



Yes, I really do think about all of this. As you can tell, I’m very much a Planner of Things. It’s a wonder that I actually do anything at all, haha.


P.S. And in case you were wondering, I did indeed finish reading AS I DARKEN by Kiersten White. I finally completed it last Thursday. Since I’ve mentioned it in my last three posts (yes, I am aware of it), you should know by now that I highly recommend the low-fantasy/alternative history novel.

Appreciating Power-Hungry Female Protagonists

One of the themes I have been noticing lately with YA fantasy books is that the female protagonist could basically be seen as an anti-hero. They thirst for power; woe to any character that gets in their way. I find their journey quite fascinating. (What are they willing to sacrifice to get what they want?) Obviously their authors and readers must feel like this is an important story to tell if it’s popping up everywhere.

Yes, I’m still reading AND I DARKEN by Kiersten White. (I’m on page 246. I’m gradually getting there. Don’t rush me.) Although I’m not finished with it, I can see where Lada’s story is heading based on her goals and personality. And I can’t wait to see her rise to power.

Because of this theme of ruthlessly focused female protagonists, I decided to scour my bookshelves and make a short list of novels that could be categorized within this category. Even if these girls may go about obtaining power through cruel ways, perhaps we should all admire their determination, strength, and perseverance.

Side note: As always, I may have included some mild spoilers. I want to say sorry, but since I keep doing it in my posts, I’m obviously not that sorry. Sorry?

Adalina from The Young Elites series by Marie Lu

What kind of list of power-hungry female protagonists would be complete with Adalina? Through her entire story arc, she did everything she could to become queen. And even after she got her status, she still wanted more. More territory, more power, more subjects. She was unstoppable…until her otherworldly powers began betraying her.

Helene from AN EMBER IN THE ASHES by Sabaa Tahir

First off, you’ll have to forgive me for not reading its sequel yet. It’s been sitting on my dresser since it came out in August. I haven’t been putting it off because I dread it or anything; I just remember how awestruck I was with the first book that I’ve been intimated to pick up the second one. And Helene isn’t technically a protagonist in AEitA, but she has her own chapters in the sequel. Is this considered cheating? Probably, but it’s my blog, so I can bend my own rules.

With the above said, I don’t know how Helene’s character arc is in the second book, but she definitely kicked butt in AEitA. She gave Elias a run for his money, ultimately becoming the Blood Shrike instead of him. Personality-wise, she isn’t hardened by the world or even considered a tyrannical character, but I admired her extreme focus and grit, hence why she made it on this list.

RUINED by Amy Tintera

Okay, this one I’m on the edge about including onto this list. I give Emelina credit in that she led her broken kingdom, decided to marry an enemy prince in order to gain information, rescued her captured younger sister, and tried to win a battle against her enemy kingdom. And she did all of this despite not being a Ruined – a person with powers, which her entire kingdom is known for.

However, I kinda want to include her sister, Olivia, instead. She’s not the protagonist - and we only meet her finally at the very end of the book - but she is definitely out for revenge and to reclaim her throne. I would not mess with her.

Its sequel, AVENGED, just came out two weeks ago. I haven’t bought the book yet, but I’m certainly intrigued to see how the conflicting ideals of the two sisters play out. 

And there you have it! I wish I could include more characters to this list, but all of my other possible candidates only pursued power because it made a sibling (usually a sister) safe. They were doing cruel tasks in the name of being a protector, not because they genuinely wanted to.

All in all, I realize how difficult it must be to create such abhorrent characters. To make them harsh, but not too evil so that they lose their humanity and become completely unlikeable. We readers want to root for these people, after all.

But I love reading how these characters claw their way to the top.



P.S. This September, when ONE DARK THRONE by Kendare Blake comes out, I’m hoping to include Katharine into this list as well. Judging by her last chapter in the previous book, I can see her brutally trying to cut her two sisters down in order to become the queen.