We get it. It’s cold, it’s Friday, if you’re in the US it’s the start of a three day weekend. So we’re making things easier for you and compiling some highlights that you don’t want to miss! Before you crack open that bottle of wine or get cosy with your book of the week, take a look at what we’ve been up to.
For a laugh:
Ashley treated us to a Friday LOL with a roundup of this week’s funniest book-related tweets. It’s got it all; Gatsby, Potter, March. Ok, now I’m just listing surnames but they’re all in there! Have a read here.
For a cry:
When you need to sober up from your laugh, have a look at Emilia’s take on tears. The focus is on Heather Christle’s The Crying Book, which gives an insight into tears, human experience, mental health, the works.
It was a BIG week in the realm of book adaptations, with loads of news about all of your favorite books and their move to the screen. We’re talking Witchesand Anne Hathaway, the BBC’s Normal People and everyone’s favorite Netflix stalker.
Making us shiver with antici….pation:
New year, new books. Lauren takes us through a few books to have on our lists coming into the spring. It’s a YA dream!
Bookstr’s Three to Read
Every Friday, Nehal goes live with our current top three titles. She’s covering coffee shop reads, dark horses and hot picks every week so there is something for everyone! Check out this week’s here.
image via bookstr
DRAMA
We live for drama both on the page and off. Luckily, the rest of the booksphere is the same and this week saw some shock resignations and tragic award snubs.
image via pinterest
There you have it, you’re officially caught up on some of this week’s bits and bobs. Remember, the best way to keep up to date on all things book and pop culture is catch us on our socials!
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Who hasn’t needed SparkNotes at some point? Who else can tell you that one character’s name you forgot? If you don’t know by now, I’m obsessed with SparkNotes‘ twitter. Every tweet is a work of absolute genius. From god-tier memes to incredibly hot takes, SparkNotes’ twitter never disappoints. As we look down the barrel of a new decade, let’s take a look at the most mindblowingly relevant of their recent tweets.
And it’s Gender Neutral!
Sure, the original context wasn’t explicitly romantic, but it’s really something you can make your own. Who doesn’t want to be cool, feared, and respected? Think about it. And the implication that your very own calamity is a dragon? I’d be incredibly flattered. How could you not be? That way you’re not just saying your lover is great, they know you think they’re great. You’re telling them they’re powerful and feared in the local land. Goals.
Who’s Who?
The only thing that matters – which person in your relationship tries to kill the king and then panics, and which actually just finishes the job? Because listen. It’s important that one of you be able to get things started and set the ball rolling, or you’ll never get things done. At the same time, some people just aren’t great at finishing projects. Conclusions are tough. Momentum isn’t going to get you there. Someone needs to be more detail oriented. Detail obsessed. Wash their hands over and over.
I Can Relate
Okay, so only two of those things are true about me, but all of them are said. Do you love the sea? Are you probably a ghost? Avoid making appearances, especially during the day. Congratulations! You might be the Flying Dutchman, or another legendary ghost ship! Actually, you could be a vampire. Or just English and Victorian. All three? That’s a dream. Maybe THE dream. I’m not a ghost hunter or anything, but I might BE a ghost.
Red Flags
As we approach the decade that has, in advance, been termed the ‘screaming’ 20s, let’s avoid the pitfalls of the roaring 20s. And especially any choice ever made by Daisy Buchanan. Consider her an object lesson, actually. Don’t take up with lying military men. Don’t bail on them to marry guys who suck. Don’t then STAY with those guys when no one even expects you to. Don’t lead said military man on again years later. Definitely don’t commit vehicular manslaughter.
Awareness is Key
Hey. We know better than to call him foul creature. We’re beyond that. We have to be. But the rest of these are real. The Kids use them all the time. I mean, I’ll double check with my baby sister, but I feel pretty confident. it’s the sort of thing The Kids would definitely text about. Especially the last one. See? SparkNotes is always relevant. This is the cutting edge.
All images via SparkNotes on Twitter
Bookstr is community supported. If you enjoy Bookstr’s articles, quizzes, graphics and videos, please join our Patreon to support our writers and creators or donate to our Paypal and help Bookstr to keep supporting the book loving community. Become a Patron!
On Tuesday night, The Little Mermaid was brought to life on an ABC broadcast, starring Auli’l Cravalho as Ariel, Queen Latifah as Ursula, Shaggy as the sea crab Sebastian, Graham Philitwps portrayed Prince Eric, and finally, John Stamos brought Chef Louis to the stage. While a lot of effort clearly went into the production, the overall reaction was quite, well, mixed to say the least. Some loved it, others didn’t, but here are some of the funniest and best tweets that aired throughout the show! Let’s dive in and dredge them out from under the sea for your viewing pleasure.
Image Via Wikipedia
Let’s take a look at those who thought the show killed it first.
Disney always nails the costume design. Between the parks, broadway and #LittleMermaidLive, they've proved that they CAN DO a theatrical Little Mermaid production. pic.twitter.com/eJkM4Xe8oJ
the little mermaid live is beautifully stitching together live performances with clips from the original movie. I love the transitions, and the small things they’re adding.
— some sarcastic teacher shit™️ (@teachercurses) November 6, 2019
As one of my all time favorite Disney movies, the idea of bringing The Little Mermaid to life combining a live cast with the original movie is awesome, loving it so far. #TheLittleMermaidLive
It seems the consensus is that Queen Latifah was AMAZING but everything else was kinda meh. Ariel and Eric were seen as bland leads, while Shaggy’s outfit was criticized along with the general effects and puppetry on display. It seems the production was a bit of a misfire for the majority of the audience, although not all as plenty of viewers found things to like. Still, we can all live with Queen Latifah as Ursula and pray that the upcoming live action will do better by the source material, as well as featuring a more memorable lead and an equally memorable villain.
What were your reactions to the show? Did you think it was good or bad? Tell us in the comments!
If you’re a writer, then you probably have at least two voices in your head, one in each ear. One voice tells you that what you’re writing is the best thing ever, the next Harry Potter/Game of Thrones/Hunger Games. The other voice tells you that you’re a terrible writer and you should just give up.
You suck down those fears and put a smile on your face. You’re a writer, and you have a short story of a novel or maybe you even have both. You submit your work and sit back.
“No, thanks.”
It’s a stab in the gut, and the ‘thanks’ only adds salt to the wound. You suck it up and submit again. Maybe this time you’ll submit to a smaller agency, a tinier magazine. You hit send:
“No, thanks.”
Now what?
Image Via Twitter
Thanks to The Gotham Writers Conference, we at Bookstr were able to listen in on a lecture given by Kim Laio, author of the essay published on Lit Hub Why You Should Aim for 100 Rejections a Year. Since everyone had a paper and pen, she had the listeners in the audience go through two different exercises. The first exercise was as follows:
Writer down your hopes and dreams as a writer
After telling everyone to do this, the room was filled with a long contemplative silence filled only with the soft scribbling of pens and the soft groaning rattles of the radiator. When everyone’s pens were done, and after some time after that, Kim Liao said this:
Now skip a line. Protect your hopes and dreams.
After giving us a clear warning that her next two directions were “worse” then she first direction, she gave us the second:
Answer what’s stopping you from achieving those dreams
And then the third:
What’s underling these anxieties?
Image Via Twitter
She then turned to the audience, asking them what they answered. Don’t fret, the only people who answered were those who raised their hands and were given the microphone. One person told us a story about how they were writing a book about a “terrible cult” and the effects their actions brought upon their family.
A book about cults? Count me in!
She then said she hadn’t told anyone about the book for the longest time because, well, there was a certain personal conflict with the book.
What was the person problem? Her brother.
Her brother was a member of the cult. He left the cult, but became an apologist for the cult.
It was only after this person was able to tell her brother about the book and give him it that she was able to move on. She doesn’t know if he read the book, if he was angry or upset, but he had the book and it was out of her hands.
This story is about the third direction Kim Liao gave us: What’s underling these anxieties? Turns out the most common reason for anxieties about your hopes and dreams about becoming a writer is this daunting question, “What will happen if you tell the truth?”
See, if you’re a writer, then you probably have at least two voices in your head, one in each ear. One voice tells you that what you’re writing is the best thing ever, the next Harry Potter/Game of Thrones/Hunger Games. The other voice tells you that you’re a terrible writer and you should kill yourself.
Both of these voices are toxic.
Image Via QuoteHD.com
Fiction, non-fiction, they all deal with truths. Even if the book takes place on another planet or another dimension, there is always a person connection the writer has with the work. It came from them, and now it’s out there on a bone writer paper written in black ink. It’s literally out there in black and white, and most often we are afraid to show it because of fear.
That right there is a personal rejection. No one has rejected the story except you. If you’re thinking about your worst review, as one person at the conference was, stop that. Any craft, be it writing or construction or electric or running, gets better as you do it more and more. So keep it, and silence the voice that tells you you’re a terrible writer and know that the story you are telling is one that only you could tell.
Image Via PlayMelnc
Now sit back. Remember that voice that tell you you’re writing is the best thing ever, the next Harry Potter/Game of Thrones/Hunger Games? Bring down your expectations. Humble yourself.
Image Via PInterest
Even the authors of those books didn’t know they were writing something as huge as those. Heck, I’d bet George R R Martin has days where he’d wish Game of Thrones wasn’t as big as it was so the pressure would be off as he finished up Winds of Winter.
Tamper your arrogance, erase your fears
Now you’re ready to submit. Then you get a rejection. And then another one. And then another one after that.
So what do you do?
Well, what do you think that Kim Laio, author of the essay published on Lit Hub Why You Should Aim for 100 Rejections a Year is going to tell you?
Image Via Girl Meets Fornosa
Get 100 rejections of year
This is how you do that:
Set up an excel spreadsheet
Set up one column for the number
Set up one column for the story
Set up one column for the publishing house/agent
Don’t worry, we understand. One-hundred rejections a year? A hundred times of people stabbing you in the gut with that “No, thanks,” as though the ‘thanks’ at the end of that sentence means anything? No, thanks, you go, but don’t reject me now!
According to Kim Liao, she heard this advice from a friend and thought it was the “best advice ever.” By collecting a hundred rejections a year, you’re making it yourself mission. Your goal now isn’t to get published, but to wrap up the rejection list. When you get a rejection now, you can now log it into the spreadsheet and get that rush of a dopamine because you’re productive. That rush, that split second happiness, makes you feel motivated to go and put yourself out there again.
It isn’t about collecting those rejections slips so you know who to stick it to when you make a ton of money, that’s not why Stephen King collected his rejection slips, it’s to give yourself a goal, to turn your disappoint into a mission to keep going and wrap up the rejection list. You’re accepting that you’re going to get rejected and now you’re striving to do so. Odds are at least one person will accept your story. Plus, if you want to be a writer, you have to get used to it.
“For a writer, it’s mostly rejections.”
Image Via Writer’s Digest
Rejections aren’t all bad. Remember: “The door isn’t closing, the path if shifting.”
Rejections can create relationships. Your expert query letter may prove that while the agent isn’t interested in your current work, he/she might be interested in your work as a writer. They might ask to see something else or, worst case, they now know your name. Your name is out there, like a plane traveling across the beach, and you never know who might see your banner.
At this point in the conference, Kim Liao gave us the audience a second set of direction. With pens and notebooks at the ready, the silence was palpable. These are the sets in full:
List 5 or more things you can do in the next year
List 4 things you can do in the next 6 months
List 3 things you can do in the next 2 months
List 2 things you can do this month
List 1 things you can do this week
So what’re you waiting for?
Image Via Author Media
Go on Twitter and search for submission calls. Look for agents and editors, most agents and editors post their emails on their Twitter.
Image Via Webnode
Maybe you should set up a blog; just remember to “write lots of posts in advance.”
Image Via Self-Publishing School
Set up a writing schedule. A writing schedule isn’t necessary just writing. Put time aside for pitching, writing, and querying. All three of these things have to do with writing, and you have to set time aside for each.
Before you query, take a step back and look at your writing. “Whenever you feel that you’re ready, take a week,” and remember that “[y]our writer’s group can help you solve your problems…not your agent.”
You can only query one agent with one project at a time. If you go back and make changes, odd are that agent doesn’t want to hear about that project anymore.
When you’re ready to submit your work, set up the excel spreadsheet and aim to get a hundred rejections a year. Rejection is a “necessary step,” in the writing process. “It can happen anywhere,” even to the most successful writer.
But keep writing and keep submitting. If you get a rejection, and then another one, and then another one after that, then guess what? You have only three rejections and need ninety-seven more to finish out your list! Odds are you’re going to be surprised because the best thing you write might be the thing people like the best.
And don’t forget: if you’re writing a novel and you go “Now I have an agent! I’m done,” then you’re wrong. You haven’t even gotten started yet, but you’re ready.
The raven is a poem with a lot to unpack. I definitely remember an english teacher insisting that the purple curtains were overt symbolism. They’re MOOD you philistine. Anyway. It’s relateable to anyone who’s been tormented by a bird after everyone they love dies of consumption. So maybe just Poe.
I Just Wanted a Nap
Image via Make a Meme
This is the most relatable part of the poem to me. This guy is just trying to take a nice depression nap because his lover died, and now there’s this whole bird situation he has to deal with. Even if it wasn’t talking, a bird inside the house is a whole mess. It’s like all those videos of people trying to chase owls out of their houses. Never mind that this one’s basically dragging him. Can’t a guy get a break? I mean, it’s not like he killed her, there’s no need to rub it in.
Finely Aged Memes
Image via iFunny
Sure, the Netflix and chill meme is deader than Lenore (Netflix has even made jokes about it – yikes), but this actually sounds like a great date. Take me to your wine cellar! I kid. I’d rather watch mortar dry. The nap thing though, that’s a gem of an idea. I’m taking notes. Who doesn’t want to sleep? Plus, it’s cost effective. Perfect for students, really. Poe was ahead of his time. What a relatable man.
Misery Hates Company
Image via Reddit
Sure, it sucks to be alone when you’re sad, but maybe not as much as it sucks to be yelled at by some guy. *New York voice* I’m moping here! But really, you could at least be like… sorry bro. Sucks. Or just say nothing. Was nothing maybe the right thing to say? Just repeating yourself without explanation would be annoying enough at the best of times, but when someone’s mourning it’s just kind of a dick move. What’s your goal, bird?
A Sensible Reaction
Image via Tumblr
Have you seen those SNL skits where people are professing their love and the object of their affection is just like… ok. This has a very similar energy. Also this CLASSIC tweet, when the word limit was expanded. I mean, if a raven came into my house and started shouting I’d either befriend it or chase it out, there’s no need to lose your mind over it, as this Twitter denizen proves. Again, and maybe this says more about me than about Poe, but if some bird was yelling at me in my own house I’d yell right back. Get outa here.
Questionable Practices
Image via Memedroid
Okay, great shot, but I do hope they then took the cigarette. The last thing a person needs is to be harassed by a bird with a nicotine addiction. I also think that’s a crow, not a raven, though. Still, semantics – ultimately they’re both harbingers of death or whatever. Fun fact – I’m sure everyone knows it’s a murder of crows, but the term for a group of ravens is an unkindness. The titular raven really represents that spirit, too. I don’t exactly approve, but still, what an icon.
