Friday Fives: Things I need to write

The nice people over at Paper Hangover come up with a blog prompt every week. This week they want to know what five things we need to write (apart from the obvious).

1: Coffee. This is a common one I think. I never sit down to write without a double shot Americano.

2: My office chair.I have a lovely office chair that is possibly the comfiest thing I own. Plus, when I adjust it for my kitchen table my feet don't touch the ground making me feel like I'm about five.

3: Polly Pocket to be asleep. Newborns and creativity don't go together. Though I can now type while holding her, which I feel deserves some kind of prize.

4: Write or Die. Without this application my productivity would be even lower than it is now. Which, my friends is really saying something.

5: Wikipedia. Necessary for fact finding. It isn't without its perils, sometimes I fall down the black hole of procrastination and research crazy things like 1970s fish finger adverts. It's truly a double edged sword.

What about you? What do you need?

Banned Books

Yay! It's Friday again and that means - among other things - that it's time for Paper Hangover's Friday Fives. This week they want to know what your favourite banned books are. So here are some of mine.

Honestly, when I find out a book has been banned it makes me think that this book must be good. Most books are banned because they're controversial and challenge the status quo. Anything that challenges the way you think - regardless of whether it ultimately changes your mind - is a GOOD THING.

Nineteen Eighty Four is a fantastic book. It's one of those books that you read and realise you will never think of society in the same way ever again. Double plus good on the banned book scale.















It's no secret that I love Richelle Mead. Her books have been banned from many high schools, but Last Sacrifice has the distinction of being banned before it was written. Ok, it was part of a series, but that's still overkill in my opinion. 












The Great Gatsby is another classic. Great book.

Brave New World is another  book that changed my world view. It was banned in Ireland in 1932.












Orwell again, but then the man was a genius.




What are your favourite banned books?

Friday Fives, Attention Grabbing Titles, and Writing Update

I can't believe it's Friday already. But it is, and that means that it's time for the Paper Hangover blog prompt. Every week the people at Paper Hangover come up with a question for writers and readers of young adult fiction to answer on their blogs. This week they want to know the five book titles that caught my attention.

1: Across the Barricades by Joan Lingard: This is a story about two teenagers who fall for each other in 1970s Belfast. Sadie is Protestant and Kevin is Catholic, and in the political climate of Northern Ireland in 1973 this makes their relationship very difficult. I love the title because it sounds so stark. It lets you know at the start that there are high stakes and possible violence in the story.

2: Divergent by Veronica Roth: I love this title because it works on two levels. Not only is the word used to describe the protagonist, but because it literally means 'going the other way'. Again, this tells you that this is a story about going against the grain of society.

3: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer: I love this title, really atmospheric. It also describes that period in adolescence where you're not quite a child, but not quite an adult either. A time of transition, which is really what the series is about underneath it all.

4: The Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman: This is the first book in the His Dark Materials trilogy, known as The Golden Compass in the US. I've always been fascinated by the northern lights, and was taken in by the mysteriousness of the title.

5: Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson: This is a book that I haven't read yet, but the title is attention grabbing. Especially for a book concerning eating disorders.

Writing update: I have my foster placement 24 hours at this point, and I've managed to get 2,000 words down. So I'm not doing too badly. Hopefully I'll get some more work done this evening.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Paper Hangover and Anniversaries

Every Friday the writers behind the YA website Paper Hangover give a blog prompt. This week they want to know about everyone's five favourite back to school books.

I don't actually have a 'top five', but I did enjoy reading books set in schools when I was a child. Going back to school when I was a child meant rereading books by Enid Blyton, primarily the Mallory Towers and the St. Clare's books. They are fantastic and I used to fervently wish that I could go to boarding school. As a complete homebody I would have been miserable as hell in a boarding school, no matter how many midnight feasts were consumed or the lashings of ginger beer.

I'm having a lovely day today, because it's my two-year wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe it's been that long. We're going out to a Thai restaurant and to my favourite cocktail bar after that, which should be lovely and romantic. The we're going to spend the rest of the weekend ignoring each other while my husband enjoys his anniversary present (LA Noire) and I enjoy mine (The Song of Ice and Fire series). Is it still anti-social if we do this is in the same room...?

Anyway, hope you all have a great weekend :)

Paper Hangover, Beer Festival and Lucille Austero

I've had a cold hovering for the last ten days and it hit yesterday with a vengeance. Today it's even worse, and I look disturbingly like Rudolph the red nosed reindeer crossed with a laboratory mouse i.e., all red nose and watery eyes.

Still, tonight I have to go out because it's beer festival time. Remember I was writing part of the programme for a beer festival a few weeks ago? Well it's on tonight, and as the husband and I are beer buffs, and as we both wrote in the programme, we're heading along. I love offbeat, imported beers so this promises to be fun times.

Anyone read about the world markets? It's vertigo-inducingly scary. In a Lucille Austero way...

Got to love Arrested Development.

 Every week Paper Hangover gives a blog prompt for the YA writing community, and this week they want to know the five apps that you use most for writing or recreation. So here are mine:

1. Focus Booster : This is a great app for reducing procrastination. It is a little window that changes colour as the time you set to complete a certain task runs out. It makes you more concious of your time, and therefore more productive.

2. Write Or Die : This menacingly named app lets you write in a window, which turns pink when you've gone too long without typing. When it reaches dark red it plays a punishment sound, such as a baby crying or Hanson's Mmmbop. This app forces you to keep writing, thereby increasing the number of words you can churn out in a set amount of time. Great app, but for first drafts only.

3. Tweetdeck : This is a great app. I use it for scheduling tweets about my blog, which is handy because most of my readers live in different time zones to me.

4. Kindle for PC : I haven't yet succumbed to the lure of the Kindle, but this app means I can read self-published books by my writer friends on my computer.

5. Angry Birds : I haven;t yet succumbed to the lure of the smartphone, but I play this regularly on my husband's Samsung Galaxy. Seriously glad I don't have it to hand, as it would be another large thief of time.

What about you? Any useful apps that you couldn't live without? Hope you all have a great weekend!

Friday Fives: Creative Inspiration

Every week, the lovely people over at Paper Hangover give a blog prompt to help those of us who, very occasionally, run out of ideas for posts. This week they want to know: What are the five things that get your creativity juices flowing? Because Paper Hangover is predominantly YA, I'll be listing things that help me write YA urban fantasy, rather than my other genre, women's contemporary fiction.

1. Music: When I get stuck in a scene, I find playing music can jog my brain. Maybe it's because music appeals on an emotional level? 

2. Rain: I find that I get inspired by the rain, and I find it easier to get write on cold, damp days. Good thing I live in Ireland then.

3: Reading history and mythology: I find that my YA fiction depends more on my university education than my adult fiction does. The political situation in Ravensborough is inspired by historical research, and my steampunk WIP is based in an alternative Victorian era, a period I've specialised in. So non-fiction comes into play.

4: Eavesdropping: It's amazing how many ideas you can pick up from listening to people talk in public. Not that I would lift an idea completely, but if gives you a starting point. Then you ask 'what if...' and a plot strand begins to take shape.

5: Life: This sounds like a bit of a cop out, but it really isn't. The more things you do, people you meet, and places you see, the more your imagination grows. Like any living thing, creativity needs fuel.

What about you guys? What inspires you?

'It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday...

...Everybody's lookin' forward to the weekend.'

Say what you like about that song, it's seriously catchy. Anyway, every Friday the nice people at Paper Hangover give a blog prompt. This week's prompt is your five best summer reads.

Summer reads conjures up visions of lying on a beach, under a baking hot sun. That's a far way from the weather here which, even for an Irish summer, is disappointing. We've had thunder and lightening this week (twice), hailstones (twice) and rain every day. Still, here are the books I'd recommend for summer.

1.Sophie Kinsella Can You Keep A Secret?


This book is really good fun, and laugh out loud funny. It follows Emma Corrigan, a woman who goes on an airoplane and, thinking that some mid-flight turbulence means that she's going to die, she tells a stranger beside sitting next to her all her secrets. When she survives, she goes into work to find out that the stranger was in fact her boss and he now knows all the things that she keeps secret, like her tactics for skiving off work. Emma goes into damage limitation mode, and ends up tying herself up in more knots. Sophie Kinsella is a fantastic writer, and this is one of my go-to feel-good books.

2. Marian Keyes This Charming Man

Marian Keyes is my favourite women's fiction author, and this is in my opinion her best book. It has her trademark wit throughout, yet deals with a very dark theme in a sympathetic way. I've loved her books ever since I read Rachel's Holiday when I was thirteen. This story is told from multiple points of view, including in an abrupt diary-style from Lola's POV, which you either love or you hate. Can't recommend this book enough.

3. Jodi Picoult My Sister's Keeper


This isn't quite as light as the other's, but it's a great book. I love the way Picoult manages to put over multiple sides of the same story, and can make you see where all her character's are coming from in amazingly difficult situations. Plus, her style of writing is so beautiful it makes me want to cry with envy. Sigh!







4. Richelle Mead Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid Series)


I love Richelle Mead. She writes really witty urban fantasy that keeps you reading late into the night to see what happens. Five of the six books in this series have been released, and the sixth book is coming out in August. The premise is that the heroine, Georgina, is a succubus who falls in love with a mortal man. Unfortunately, she can't touch him in case she takes away his soul. Add in some adventure and danger, and you have a great series.

5. Richelle Mead Vampire Academy Series


This is Mead's YA series, and it's excellent. The protagonist has a lot of conflict going on but, unlike some other YA novels, has ambitions outside of her love life which I really like. I have read most of these books in one sitting, they are totally escapist and this series inspired me to write my own YA novels.







What about you, have you any summer book recommendations? Hope everybody has a great weekend :)

The Five Excuses You Have To Give Up To Be a Better Writer

The nice people over at Paper Hangover give a blog prompt every Friday. It's really cool, because it gives you a question to think about and you also get to read what other people think about a topic. It's seriously worth checking out.

Today's prompt is about excuses. What are the five excuses that you needed to let go of in order to be a better writer?

1) I'm too busy to write: This is a common excuse. We all have other commitments such as work, school, and family. But the truth is that you have to make time to write. Everyone can clear space in their schedule, even if it's just fifteen minutes a day, to commit to writing.

2) I'm not good enough: This a common thought that runs through a writer's head, and I'm not sure that it ever really goes away completely. It is an excuse though, because convincing yourself that you aren't good enough gives you an excuse not to try.

3) It's too hard: Writing a novel is hard, but that's not an excuse not to give it a try. And the more you write, the easier it becomes.

4) You need to wait for the muse to strike before you start writing your novel: If you have had an idea for a story, then the muse has already struck. You need to work at the rest. Though the more often you sit down at your computer and tap out words, the more often she'll stop by to visit. She's a fickle mistress, though. Don't rely on her too much.

5) I'll start writing...tomorrow: Much like the diet that you promise you'll start tomorrow, tomorrow rarely comes. Just start right now.

What excuses do you use to put off writing? Or are you all more virtuous than me?

Friday Fives: Internet Distractions

Every Friday the nice people over at Paper Hangover come up with a blogging prompt. This week's topic of choice is your top five internet distractions.

I have to say, I'm finding this one difficult. Not because I can't think of five, I must say, but because it's hard for me to narrow it down to just five. I'm a champion procrastinator. I could probably compete for Ireland in a procrastinating competition (wouldn't that be cool...see! I'm always getting distracted!).

So here we go:

1: Blogger: It's hard for me to believe that a couple of months ago I didn't have a blog. I knew they were a good idea, I know that every aspiring writer should build a platform, but I thought I was too busy for one. Now though, it sucks in hours of my time. Because what I love about blogs is that not only do I get to ramble incessantly about musings of my choice (which gives my husband's ears a break, thereby saving my marriage) but I can follow people and get a little glimpse into their lives. And for someone as interested in other people as I am (read: as nosy as bedamned) it's completely addictive.

2: Salacious celebrity gossip: Yes, there are more important things going on in the world than the fact that Cheryl Cole has been dropped from the American X-Factor, but hey. As I said above, I'm nosy.

3: Newspaper sites: Hours of my like are sucked into reading articles and opinion pieces. But I'm a journalist and a writer so I can claim that it's work...ahem!

4: YouTube: I love watching YouTube, particularly clips from the Ellen DeGeneres show. I love her so much! I wonder if Ellen and Portia would adopt me...(God I hope that my mother never finds this blog)

5: Wikipedia: I love facts. Maybe it comes from being a historian, maybe it comes from my nosiness (as you can see, I'm working hard to get this character flaw seen as a good thing by y'all. Though it probably isn't working) but I tend to go off on mad tangents, and Google crazy things to find out more about them. I can do this for hours, because every answer presents a question.

These are the main things on the internet that take me away from my writing. What internet distractions do you all have?

Five Things I Can't Live Without...

Ok, the lovely people over at Paper Hangover have asked us to talk about the five things that we just can't live without when we're writing. So here are my top five:

1: Coffee. I used to be addicted to tea, but it proved to be a gateway drug. I now drink double shot espresso Americano whenever I write. And the number of them I drink daily is slowly increasing...

2: My lovely Ikea office chair. When my husband and I bought it, it cost us the same amount of money as two weeks worth of groceries. Money was super tight back then, so it really was a ridiculous extravagance. However, I spend so much time writing that if I sat in a normal chair I may have spent ten times as much in the physiotherapists. (If you think ten times is an exaggeration, you should see the cost of healthcare in Ireland. It's unbelievable. And not in the good way.)

3: Focus Booster. I think I've talked about it before. It's a free app that aims to make you more aware of your time so that you are more productive. And it really works. Anything that can stop me wandering into various internet fora is a good thing in my book. And a good thing for my book.

4: My dog. I have a chocolate Labrador, and she lies by my feet when I write. I sometimes read parts aloud to see if the rhythm of the language is right, so she knows what is going on in my stories. She sometimes makes suggestions, like maybe one of my characters might like to run like crazy after a frisbee, catch it in her mouth and slobber over it. I politely decline these suggestions.

5: My husband. I could get all emotional and talk about how supportive he is, and it would all be true. However, he is also practically helpful. He's my number one beta reader and he picks up all my grammatical errors. I also talk about plot with him. He's my sounding board.

What about you? What things can you not do without?

Top Five Pieces of Advice for Aspiring Writers

Every week the nice peeps over at Paper Hangover give a blogging prompt. Today they've asked people to write about the top five pieces of advice that they have gotten as an aspiring writer.

1: You need to write regularly. Very regularly. All the reasons that you come up with to explain why you haven't written your book yet? They're excuses. You have to find time to write.

2: The first draft sucks. But that's ok, because the real part of writing is in the editing. That's when you convert your basic line drawing into a three dimensional work of art.

3: Don't try to write like anyone else. Don't write in a genre just because it's commercially viable or highly regarded. Write the book you want to write in your own voice. It might take a while to find your voice, but its worth taking time to hone. A writer's unique style is the reason why a reader buys more than one of their books.

4: Get someone else to read your book. Get as much constructive criticism as possible. At first it's difficult to take, writing is such a personal thing, but it gets easier with time. Also, when people have taken time out of their busy lives to read your material, remember to show your gratitude. Even if you don't like what they say.

5: Unless you are to doing this as a pure hobby, remember that writing is a business. When traditional publishers take you on they are taking a financial risk. They pay an advance (if you're lucky!), editing costs, advertising costs and fund the print run and transporting of books. None of this includes admin. If you want to persuade a publisher to spend money on you, you need to show them that you are a professional and that you will take the process seriously. That means all submissions should be edited a gazillion times, your letter should sell your book yet still sound modest. It's a job interview in paper form.

They were my favourite ones anyway. Hope everyone has a great weekend! :)

T is for...'The Five Things You Wish To See More of In Fiction'

Ok, so this is a little bit of a cop out, but the people over at Paper Hangover are great at coming up with blog prompts, and if I don't take them up on it then I'll end up talking about how much I missed my broadband connection. Again.

So...

5: More non-white protagonists. I'm Caucasian, but one of my sisters in Chinese and another is mixed race (my parents have seven children, but I'm the only one that's biological). I never realised until my sister's came along just how unrepresented they are in popular culture. Though that is getting better.

4: Strong female protagonists. I like there to be more going on in my YA fiction than just the love story.

3: Less of a dichotomy. Some YA books pretend that teens don't swear, drink or have sex. Other books assume that all teens do these things all of the time. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

2: More elements from medieval history, but that's probably just the historian in me. Or the fact that I've just discovered Game of Thrones.

1: More books with the name 'Christine Murray' on the front.

H is for...History

Hmmm. Now I know why I have such a bad back.

Other than writing, my other love is history. I've been interested in since I was a kid, and I think part of the appeal of the urban fantasy genre for me is that you get to create your own new histories and mythologies from scratch.

I studied for my BA in Trinity College Dublin. I met my husband there, also a history student and we met on a history society trip to Edinburgh.

After graduating I went to University College Dublin and got my MA in the Social and Cultural History of Medicine. When I told people I wanted to study history at BA level, they assumed I wanted to be a teacher, when they found out that I was doing an MA in the history of medicine they assumed I wanted to be a doctor. And the embarrassing thing is, at 24, I don't really know what I'm going to do with my life at all.

When I was younger, I was so definite. I was going to get my PhD, write in my spare time, and raise children. I was energetic and determined, but then I got ill. I just don't have the same amount of energy as I used to. I'm currently on a year out from college, and I don't know whether I should go back and start my research doctorate this autumn. My husband thinks I should focus on writing, but I worry if I do that I'll end up five years down the line no nearer to being published with all my dreams in the dust. I really don't know what to do.

If I do my PhD, I won't be writing as much. That's a fact. But other people seem to juggle lots of things in their lives. How do you all juggle everything?

The guys over at Paper Hangover are asking people what are five things they'd wish they'd known before becoming a writer. Here are mine:

1) No matter how great an idea sounds in your head, it always loses a slight something when it moves onto the page. This is normal, and not a sign that you are a failure.

2) When you're a writer, everything is material. Worried about going to a family occasion because you can't stand someone? That's ok. Save up the negativity and use it for a character. Stuck waiting in a queue at the grocery. Eavesdrop on other people's conversations. It helps you learn what makes people tick.

3) Coffee is fuel. It has magical qualities, the stronger the better.

4) Sometimes I will prefer my imaginary world to the real world. Though, I've been like this all my life, even before I started to write.

5) I wish I'd known how much writing can hurt. Your wrists, your back, your fingers (not to mention the whizzing of caffeine through your veins). I see physiotherapy in my future.

And that's it. Have a good Friday! ;)