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Book Review, Books and Literature, Entertainment

Book Review: 11/22/63 by Stephen King

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Rating: 10 out of 10.

If you’ve scrolled through my Instagram then I don’t need to be the first to tell you that I’ve read a fair few books – from romances and thrillers, to murder mysteries, fantasy, and children’s fiction. I’m a book lover, and I will never turn down a recommendation. But there is no other book I have read that has affected me like this one.

Before this, I had never read a Stephen King novel. I’m not a fan of horror, so most of his works don’t really appeal to me very much. So, when I said to my best friend, Isaac, that I wanted to start reading his work, he suggested that I begin with 11/22/63. And holy moly cannoli with a side of pepperoni, what a book to start with!

I have a confession: this is not a recent read. I actually read this five years ago, in 2019, but I think about it constantly. When someone asks me what my favourite book is, this is the one with which I reply. I am not a fan of historical fiction, but this is the exception. It combines history with fantasy and thriller, and is an exquisite piece of writing that I urge everybody to read.

I never ever thought I would be crying at a Stephen King novel. The words “crying” and “Stephen King” don’t usually fit in the same sentence unless they’re tears of fear and horror. But the ending of this book had me sobbing for forty-five minutes. I cried, re-read the ending, and then cried for another forty-five. The ending was so profoundly moving that it was overwhelming for me, and I never wanted it to end. It was beautiful and bittersweet – both heartbreaking and comforting, and I couldn’t have imagined anything better.

This novel is over 800 pages long – something which is probably intimidating to a lot of readers, especially if they have the “big book fear.” Tackling something so dense in length can feel overwhelming, like climbing a mountain and wondering if you’re ever going to reach the top, while also asking whether the payoff is going to be worth it. I myself will admit that I had the same thoughts and was apprehensive at the beginning. It was the first book over five hundred pages that I had ever tried to read, and my fear was that I was going to lose interest or I wouldn’t be able to make it to the end.

I’m not going to lie: the story is quite slow to begin with, and doesn’t really get started until around 200 pages in. There is so much detail, description, and backstory that it can be a lot to process. But once the story really starts, it’s an utter page turner. It took me two days to read the entire thing because I couldn’t put it down, and once I finished it, I wanted to re-read it all over again.

Of course, you’re probably asking whether all of the 800+ pages are necessary? The answer: yes. One hundred percent, yes. It is in my honest opinion that I don’t think the book would have been the same without them. Does it get a little bit repetitive at some points? Sometimes. After all, you’re reading about a time travelling English teacher journeying back to the same day in history over and over again, with a detail/action changed each time (both big, and small). But, it is this repetition that upholds the ending. It is this repetition – the feeling of having lived Jake and Sadie’s story over and over again with them, that allows for the emotional final pages. (And yes, I believe that this is Jake and Sadie’s story more than anything.)

Honestly, I can’t really say any more about this book without giving things away, and I really don’t want to spoil anything, as this is a book you have to read without knowing much about the plot or the characters. I wish I could forget everything I know about this book and read it again for the first time because it was a rollercoaster and a half.

And to those who are still hesitant about picking this up: don’t be. I promise it’s worth every moment.

This is a book that has irrevocably changed me, and it is a story that I will carry with me forever.

Favourite Quotes:

✨ ‘When all else fails, give up and go to the library.’

✨ ‘We never know which lives we influence, or when, and why.’

✨ ‘.. stupidity is one of the two things we see most clearly in retrospect. The other is missed chances.’

✨ ‘A person who doesn’t learn from the past is an idiot, in my estimation.’

✨ ‘But I believe in love, you know; love is a uniquely portable magic. I don’t think it’s in the stars, but I do believe that blood calls to blood and mind calls to mind and heart to heart.’

✨ ‘Life always turns on a dime. Sometimes towards us, but more often it spins away, flirting and flashing as it goes: so long, honey, it was good while it lasted, wasn’t it?’

✨ ‘Sometimes the things presented to us as choices aren’t choices at all.’

✨ ‘If you’ve ever been homesick, or felt exiled from all the things and people that once defined you, you’ll know how important welcoming words and friendly smiles can be.’

✨ ‘Even people capable of living in the past don’t really know what the future holds.’

✨ On the subject of love at first sight, I’m with the Beatles: I believe that it happens all the time.’

✨ ‘I saw something even more beautiful than a sense of humour: an appreciation for life’s essential absurdity.’

✨ ‘Things do happen for a reason, but do we like the reason? Rarely.’

✨ ‘Home is watching the moon rise over the open, sleeping land, and having someone you can call to the window, so you can look together.’

✨ ‘Resistance to change is proportional to how much the future might be altered by any given act.’

✨ ‘For most of us, I think it’s easier to admit doing wrong than being stupid.’

✨ ‘Sometimes life coughs up coincidences no writer of fiction would dare copy.’

✨ ‘Life’s simplest answers are often the easiest to overlook.’

✨ ‘Life’s too sweet to give up without a fight, don’t you think?’

✨ ‘History doesn’t repeat itself, but it harmonizes, and what it usually makes is the devil’s music.’

✨ ‘A person could see a lot without ever leaving his own living room. Especially if he had the right tools.’

✨ ‘You know how it’s going to end, but instead of spoiling things, that somehow increases your fascination. It’s like watching a kid run his electric train faster and faster and waiting for it to derail on one of the curves.’

✨ ‘Sarcastic people tend to be marshmallows underneath the armour.’

✨ ‘Like all sweet dreams, it will be brief… but brevity makes sweetness, doesn’t it? Yes, I think so. Because when the time is gone, you can never get it back.’

✨ ‘The multiple choices and possibilities of daily life are the music we dance to. They are like strings on a guitar. Strum them and you create a pleasing sound. A harmonic.’

✨ ‘Because the past isn’t just obdurate; it’s in harmony with both itself and the future.’

General

‘Rent a Friend’

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Daily writing prompt
Come up with a crazy business idea.
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Yes, this is as crazy as it sounds… or is it?

The need for companionship is an innate human desire. We long to be with others–from sharing coffees, spinning yarns, sitting quietly in rooms together scrolling through our phones, or simply doing nothing. We crave contact, and yet, loneliness is a growing epidemic. (Between 2022 and 2023, nearly 1 in 4 adults reported feelings of loneliness.)

We see it all the time on social media–people posting perfectly edited photographs with their friends, living it up large, and showing how happy and enriched their lives are. (But are they? Remember that what you’re seeing on social media are only very small snapshots of people’s lives, and may not be the whole truth. After all, a filter can hide a multitude of sins.)

But sometimes we want to be the ones posting our adventures to the ‘gram… but people are busy and don’t always have the time. And, there are many people who do not feel comfortable going solo.

The solution: ‘Rent a Friend’ for any occasion! Wedding plus one? Sorted. Vacation buddy? Done. Theatre, movie, or dinner companion? Bingo. Don’t want to go to a concert alone? You’re covered.

How would it work? Well:

  1. It would be app based, with people signing up on the understanding that they would be renting someone’s time, or being paid for their own.
  2. People would choose their preferences—i.e. what occasions they’re willing to be a companion for – concerts, shows, dinner etc. Geographical preferences would also be available, as well as linking to social media accounts to find people nearby/shared acquaintances with friends…
  3. The person who is looking for a companion would upload their ‘upcoming event’ and others would swipe ‘yes’ if they would be willing to attend. The uploader would then be able to look through the responses and choose their friend.
  4. Once matched with a friend, the two people – the uploader and the responder – would be able to converse with one another, finding out a little bit more (interests, background etc.).
  5. Once the event is over, the uploader would have the option to confirm that the responder attended the event with them. The responder would then get paid.

And that would be it!

Of course, there are some drawbacks. The idea of paying someone for their friendship is probably not appealing to many people. But, then again, would the security of knowing you have someone to do things with be worth overlooking that? After all, if you knew you were getting paid to go to an event, would you cancel?

Writing

NaNoWriMo 2023

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Well, it’s official. I did not manage to complete NaNoWriMo this year, for the second year in a row.

Back in January, I did set myself the goal of writing a whole novel… which I did do, just not in the month of November. In fact, I’ve been working on it for the better part of a year and a half, and it’s almost finished, with just some tiny edits needed.

My second aim was then to have the final draft of the novel finished by November, which also didn’t happen. Work and other commitments got in the way, and it was just one of those things that never materialised. But that’s okay. It happens.

When it comes to something like NaNoWriMo, I think it’s very easy to use the term ‘failed’, as I originally included in the opening pargraph of this post, instead of the world ‘complete.’ But is it true? Have you actually failed simply because you haven’t completed something during a specific amount of time?

Well, firstly, it depends on the context. If in the context of an school test or exam that is being marked by somebody and awarded a grade, then yes, this is a very likely scenario.

But when it comes to challenges like NaNoWriMo and examining failure or success in terms of creativity and art… I think it depends how you define both of those things.

For me, I don’t believe the term ‘failing’ or ‘failure’ should be used when it comes to writing. So you haven’t written a specific word count during the time specific, or you’ve spent more time thinking than putting pen to paper. Both are important parts of the creative process, and feeling like there is some standard or goal that you have to acheive during a certain timeframe can really hinder the process of producing good, interesting, and exciting work. Of course, there are deadlines in the publishing industry which you have to meet… but when it comes to the starting-out writers, the finding-their-voices writers, or the ones who simply write for fun… failure should not exist.

If you’re writing in your spare time, you’re succeeding. If you’re writing full time, you’re succeeding. If you’ve only written ten words instead of ten thousand, you’re still succeeding. If you’ve gone back to the drawing board because something isn’t working in your narrative, you’re succeeding. If you’ve had to start the whole process over again because you hate what you’ve written, you’re succeeding. Every little step you take towards the end goal – of a finished product that you can be proud of, show off to the world, and tell people that you created that – is a step towards success.

As I said, it has taken me a year and a half to write the first draft of my book. I’m not a full time writer. I spend most of my time writing after work, or on the weekends, and sometimes in my lunch break at work if the inspiration strikes. But, I do not force it. I do not force myself to write something just because I feel like I have to get to a certain point in a specific number of days. My creativity doesn’t work like that, and if I try and write when I’m not excited about it, or I don’t have the ideas there and ready to go, then I know that what I am going to produce will not be an example of my best work.

That being said, if you know me, you’ll know that I am a perfectionist. You’ll also know that I can be pretty hard on myself when it comes to my own work. There are days when I’ll designate three hours for writing, but will instead spend those three staring at my screen, doodling in my notebook or watching TikToks that have no productive or inspirational value to my work. And it’s easy for me to penalise myself for this – to tell myself off for not getting anything done. But I’ve learnt that you have to learn to be okay with this, because it’s going to happen whether you like it or not. Some days you’re going to end up writing like your life depends on it because the ideas are so good, and you know exactly what you want to say. Other days, you’ll spend most of your time avoiding the task at hand and produce little to nothing of use to yourself.

As I sit here and write this, I’m tempted to make statements like ‘I’ll try harder next year,’ or ‘next year I will complete NaNoWriMo’… but I’m not going to do that. If I have an idea and end up writing it during the month of November, great. If I don’t… then who the hell cares!

I don’t know if I can speak for everybody, but I can certainly speak for myself when I say that I write for no other reason other than I love it. I’m not writing with the intention of making it to the top of the New York Times Bestseller list. I’m not writing with the intention of becoming a millionaire. I’m writing because I have something I want to say, a story I want to tell, and I want to tell it my way.

So the next time you feel like you’ve failed NaNoWriMo or another similiar challenge, try and remind yourself, that ultimately it doesn’t matter. Creativity is a process, not a deadline. You’ll create your best work when you feel inspired and free. And, on the days when it feels like a chore, sit back and remind yourself the very reason why you started creating art in the first place.

General Writing, Music, Writing

My Writing Playlists

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Imagine – you’re sitting on your sofa watching your favourite television show. Something really intense has happened. Maybe it’s good. Maybe it’s bad. But, as the episode is drawing to a close and your favourite characters are making emotional, thought-provoking speeches, you hear the familiar sounds of the piano as a beautiful, intense ballad begins to play. You reach for a tissue as a tear slips down your cheek…

If you’ve ever seen Grey’s Anatomy or nearly any other TV drama or film in existence then you’ll know what I’m talking about.

You know the feeling… the feeling when you hear a particular song on your Spotify, in a shop, or even on another show, and you know exactly where it would fit. Whether it’s in a hook-up scene, a breakup, or a goodbye scene… you just know.

Often when I’m writing, I have those exact moments. I’m sure we all do it. We see our stories like a movie in our head, and we know exactly what songs would play in the background of each scene.

Though, I know when it comes to film writers are not the sole decision-makers on what music appears where, I do feel that it helps us to write those scenes; and we are as emotionally attached to our own characters as we are to those that others have created that we have watched week after week for years.

That is why I decided to create ‘Ultimate Writing Playlists’, so if I am stuck, or there is a particular feeling that I want to evoke during a scene but I just can’t get it right, then I can press play or shuffle and hope that inspiration will strike! It has become an extremely useful tool, and just allows me to visualise the scene more clearly while letting the ideas flow.

If you haven’t got writing playlists of your own, then I highly recommend doing so. Of course, you don’t have to have separate playlists for different moods – you could have all of your ‘writing’ songs in one playlist, but I prefer having everything separately because I hate having to scroll through a long list to find the particular song with the specific vibe that I am after. I also find it far more organised, and I can see exactly what songs I have and the recommendations that Spotify gives are more tailored and accurate than if all the songs from all the playlists were just bundled together.

‘Okay,’ you’re thinking, ‘but where do I begin?’

Well, my friends… allow me to introduce you to my six writing playlists. Whether you want to follow them and use them for your writing, or simply find inspiration to create your own lists, I have linked all of them below for you to scroll through and listen to your heart’s content – each with a brief description above, noting the kind of songs in each and the sort of scenes I imagine them in.

Playlists:

Intros: Songs that I envision in opening scenes to a film/show that set the tone for the show – e.g, when the camera pans over the city. These could also serve as transition songs between scenes.


Badass Moments: When the character is about to be/being a badass. Goes hand in hand with some badass dialogue.

Powerful: Coupled with Badass Moments, but are a little less ‘badassy’ in their vibe and instead a little more ‘I’m strong and powerful’

Hot & Steamy: I think this is self-explanatory…

Emotional: The songs for the deep conversations, where the character loses somebody they love, where they’re reunited with someone for the first time in decades, where they’re contemplating their futures, someone proposes and scenes end on a happy note… a.k.a all the ballads, and songs that will make you cry both tears of sadness and tears of joy. (Could also title this: every single song that would work in Grey’s Anatomy.)

Miscellanous: Songs that don’t have any definitive category – they could fit in multiple places but I’m not yet sure which exact playlist to designate them to.

I hope that you find these helpful – I know I do. And of course, if you end up making your own writing playlists or there are songs you’ve heard that you think I might like to add to these, then please drop me a comment as you can never have too much inspiration to draw from!

Writing, Writing Guides

Writing: Some Questions To Consider

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I know that for most of us,  writing can often feel like a chore. It can feel like we have to have to sit down and write something otherwise we cannot call ourselves writers. Or, we think that we have somehow failed if we write nothing at all, or have not achieved the amount we had wished to write in a given period of time.

But, as most writers know, and I’m sure you are aware if you’re reading this, that sometimes we just lack inspiration. The metaphorical land where all of our inspiration lives has run out of food and water and is just sitting barren in our minds.

Or perhaps, we have inspiration for something – an idea for a script or a book that we desperately want and feel the need to write, but we have no direction as to where it is going to go, or how we are physically going to craft it into something readable.

If you are sitting there reading this, and you’re struggling with one or all of these problems, fear not. I have gathered together the following questions, to hopefully ignite the spark of inspiration once again, to turn those writing dreams into realities.

(These questions should be used as a foundation to build the world that you’re trying to create, and understand what it is that you’re hoping to achieve by writing a particular piece.)

All ideas are only as good as the characters that drive them, and all good ideas need to be dramatic. 

  • What is the story?
  • What is the central dramatic action in your idea?
  • Do you have a compelling enough journey for the audience and character to go on?
  • If it’s a series or a serial, do you have enough story/stories to keep it going over a number of episodes or weeks?

Creating a coherent world is crucial. 

  • What are the rules of your story universe?
  • What do and don’t we need to know/see?

Less is often more. The writer needs to know all the rules and background, but the audience only needs enough to stay hooked without being confused. 

  • What kind of story is it?
  • Are you using a recognisable genre, such as thriller or romantic comedy?
  • If you are inspired or influenced by an archetypal story of old, what is it that’s different about your idea?

You need to bring fresh perspectives to familiar tales, worlds, subjects and genres.

  • What is the tone and feel of the story?
  • Are they consistent and coherent? There is nothing more frustrating than a slasher movie that suddenly turns into a rom-com or vice versa.

Sometimes clashing genres can work if they’re handled intelligently.

And the emotional response you are trying to aim for is just as important. 

  • What physical reaction are you looking for? Something so poignant it makes the audience cry? Something funny it makes their sides hurt from laughing too much?

You need to know why this idea now is important. 

  • Is it something that keeps you up at night and has really got under your skin?
  • What is it about?
  • What is the theme?
  • What are you trying to explore?
  • What are you hoping to communicate?

Don’t write anything you don’t care about just to be expedient, because it will only ever be competent at best. 

  • Is it an idea that will strike a real chord with an audience?
  • Who do you think will want to see it?

If you have a burning desire to write, then it’s more likely to grab our attention. 

I hope that these questions have proved useful to you, and have allowed you to break through the brick wall that some call writer’s block. And I can’t wait to read your masterpiece!