Reading challenges 2019 - part 3

I am participating in GoodReads' 2019 Reading Challenge, and they have these challenges within the challenge.

I'm doing the Listopia challenge

1. Best Steampunk books
Soulless by Gail Carriger
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
Perdido Street Station by China Miéville
The Time Machine by H.G.Wells

2. Best Talking-Animal Books
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Stuart Little by E.B.White
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Bunnicula by James and Deborah Howe
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

3. Top 100 Middle School Must-Reads
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Outsiders by S.E.Hinton
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

4. 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D.Salinger
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

5. Favorite Magical Realism Novels
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Another challenge posted there is the Read and Go Challenge
Here's the 2018 challenge and here's the 2019

The idea with this is to not just read, but read, be inspired and go out and do something.
Like, read a novel set in the woods and then go to the woods.
Read a novel involving a creative outlet, and then go and try your hands on that
Read a novel featuring food and try that food. Try the recipes.
And so on and so forth.

A novel set in the woods
The Word for World Is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin

A novel involving a creative outlet
The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos
(Oscar Hijuelos was not a musician, but he was always interested in music and played several instruments, guitar the best.)

A novel featuring food you have not tried
Recipes for Love and Murder by Sally Andrew

A novel involving a train ride
Steam by Terry Pratchett

A graphic novel
The Rabbi's Cat by Joann Sfar

A novel involving ghosts
The Doll in the Garden by Mary Downing Hahn

A novel featuring a zoo, animal shelter, or sanctuary
Monster Mission by Eva Ibbotson

A novel set on a bus
Tuntematon Selja by Rauha S. Virtanen

A novel where a main character seeks self-improvement

A novel featuring a bike ride

A novel set in or involving something industrial (factory, etc.)

A novel involving a plane ride

A novel set in a snow land

A novel set in a country other than your own

A novel featuring a garden

A novel set in a museum

A novel set in a hotel

A novel featuring an instrument you wish you could play

A novel involving an escape

A novel set underground or underwater

A novel involving a road trip

A novel depicting a sci-fi technology that now exists

A novel set in a city within 100 miles of your own
Jungfrustenen by Michael Mortimer

Bonus category: A novel set in your home town.
Borgmästaren by Tina Westerlund

----------------------2019----------------------

January: What’s on Your Bucket List?
February: Under the Bigtop (A day at the Circus)
March: Let’s Dance
April: Go Fly a Kite
May: It’s Like Riding a Bike
June: Go Take a Hike
July: Bullseye! Hit that Target
August: Totally Starstruck
September: Get Back in the Saddle
October: It Must Be Magic
November: Life is a Work of Art
December: Let the Music Play

then there's the color challenge

1. Read a book with "White" or any shade of white on the cover (ivory, cream, bone, etc...).
2. Read a book with "Pink" or any shade of pink on the cover (rose, magenta, salmon, etc...).
3. Read a book with "Red" or any shade of red on the cover (maroon, brick, scarlet, etc...).
4. Read a book with "Orange" or any shade of orange on the cover (apricot, ginger, carrot, etc...).
5. Read a book with "Yellow" or any shade of yellow on the cover (blond, chartreuse, canary, etc...).
6. Read a book with "Green" or any shade of green on the cover (sage, lime, jade, etc...).
7. Read a book with "Light Blue" or any shade of light blue on the cover (teal, sky, cerulean, etc...).
8. Read a book with "Dark Blue" or any shade of dark blue on the cover (indigo, denim, navy, etc...).
9. Read a book with "Purple" or any shade of purple on the cover (lavender, plum, orchid, etc...).
10. Read a book with "Brown" or any shade of brown on the cover (tan, mahogany, coffee, etc...).
11. Read a book with "Black" or any shade of black on the cover (grey, slate, coal, etc...).
12. Read a book with a Metallic color on the cover (gold, silver, bronze, etc...).
13. Read a book with at least 5 colors on the cover.
14. Read a book with a geometric pattern on the cover (rainbows, stripes, polka dots, floral pattern, mosaic, etc...).
15. Read a book with an ugly (to you) cover.
16. Read a book with two or more color words in the title (yellow gold, black & white, etc...)
17. Read a book with the word “Color” in the title.
18. Read a book with a word describing a color in the title (rainbow, stripes, polka dots, shiny, mosaic, etc...)

There's also the Color Coded Reading Challenge

1. A book with "Blue" or any shade of Blue (Turquoise, Aquamarine, Navy, etc.) in the title/on the cover.
2. A book with "Red" or any shade of Red (Scarlet, Crimson, Burgundy, etc.) in the title/on the cover.
3. A book with "Yellow" or any shade of Yellow (Gold, Lemon, Maize, etc.) in the title/on the cover.
4. A book with "Green" or any shade of Green (Emerald, Lime, Jade, etc.) in the title/on the cover.
5. A book with  "Brown" or any shade of Brown (Tan, Beige, Sand, etc.) in the title/on the cover.
6. A book with "Black" or any shade of Black (Jet, Ebony, Charcoal, etc.) in the title/on the cover.
7. A book with "White" or any shade of White (Ivory, Eggshell, Cream, etc.) in the title/on the cover.
8. A book with any other color in the title/on the cover (Purple, Orange, Silver, Magenta, Pink, etc.).
9. A book with a word that implies color in the title/on the cover (Rainbow, Polka-dot, Plaid, Shadow, Paint, Ink, etc.).

Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge 2019
a book you've been meaning to read
a book about a topic that fascinates you
a book in the backlist of a favorite author
a book recommended by someone with great taste
three books by the same author
a book you chose for the cover
a book by an author who is new to you
a book in translation
a book outside your genre comfort zone
a book published before you were born

Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge 2018
a classic you've been meaning to read
a book recommended by someone with great taste
a book in translation
a book nominated for an award in 2018
a book of poetry, a play, or an essay collection
a book you can read in a day
a book that's more than 500 pages
a book by a favorite author
a book recommended by a librarian or indie bookseller
a banned book
a memoir, biography, or book of creative nonfiction
a book by an author of a different race, ethnicity, or religion than your own

Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge 2017
a book you chose for the cover
a book with a reputation for being up-put-down-able
a book set somewhere you've never been but would like to visit
a book you've already read
a juicy memoir
a book about books or reading
a book in a genre you usually avoid
a book you don't want to admit you're dying to read
a book in the backlist of a new favorite author
a book recommended by someone with great taste
a book you were excited to buy or borrow but haven't read yet
a book about a topic or subject you already love


The 2018 personal growth reading challenge

A book about…
A subject related to your past
A subject related to your future
Achieving your goals
Money
Love and relationships
Families and childhood
Physical health
Spirituality
Personality
Mental health
A skill you’d like to learn
A subject or current event that piques your interest
A book specifically written for your gender
Spirituality
Career
Emotional intelligence
Psychology
Productivity
The mind-body connection
Minimalism/lifestyle design
Self-care
Journaling
Mindfulness
Creativity
Philosophy
A problem or challenge you’d like to solve/improve

The 26-book 2017 reading challenge

A book you read in school
A book from your childhood
A book published over 100 years ago
A book published in the last year
A non-fiction book
A book written by a male author
A book written by a female author
A book by someone who isn’t a writer
A book that became/is becoming a film
A book published in the 20th Century
A book set in your hometown/region
A book with someone’s name in the title
A book with a number in the title
A book with a character with your first name
A book someone else recommended to you
A book with over 500 pages
A book you can finish in a day
A previously banned book
A book with a one-word title
A book translated from another language
A book that will improve a specific area of your life
A memoir or journal
A book written by someone younger than you
A book set somewhere you’ll be visiting this year
An award-winning book
A self-published book

Reading challenges 2019 - Diversity

2017 YA Diversity Reading Challenge

1. A book written by or about a person of Hispanic origin.
I think Isabel Allende passes... I need to read her The Eagle and The Jaguar series

2. A book in which a character suffers from Mental Illness.
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
I don't know if it really fits the category, but someone with mental illness said it does, so I'll accept it. I find it interesting and want to read it.

3. A book with an LGBTQIA main character.
Clariel, Garth Nix
Peter Darling by Austin Chant

4. A book written by an author of colour.
Les arbres en parlent encore by Calixthe Beyala

5. A book with a person of colour on the cover.
Kindred by Octavia Butler

6. A book in which the main character or Secondary Character has a Disability.
Emma and I by Sheila Hocken

7. A book written by or about someone on the Autism Spectrum.
Stieg Larsson's Millennium series

8. A Contemporary book with a person of colour on the cover.
Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros

9. A Graphic novel featuring protagonists of colour.
The Rabbi's Cat by Joan Sfar

10. A Romance novel with main character of colour.
Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope

11. A Science fiction or fantasy with female main character of colour.
Cindy Pon; Silver Phoenix

12. A Memoir or biography by or about a diverse author.
Becoming by Michelle Obama

2018 Diversity Reading Challenge

1. A book written by or about a person of Hispanic origin
2. A book in which a character suffers from mental illness
3. A book written by or about someone on the spectrum

4. A book with an African-American young woman as a main character
Sula by Toni Morrison

5. A book containing an Asian main character

6. A book with an illustrator of color
March Forward, Girl: From Young Warrior to Little Rock Nine  by Melba Pattillo Beals

7. A book with an LGBT main character
8. A graphic novel

9. A book with a Muslim main character
Does My Head Look Big In This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah

10. A book written by or for African American young men
It's hard to find a book that's not depressive, and I don't want to read depressive books. :-(

11. A book in which the author or main character has a physical disability

12. A book about children during the Holocaust
Frankly, I don't want to read about children during the Holocaust.

2019 Diversity Reading Challenge

JANUARY – diverse folktales/culture/mythology; or diverse retelling; or non-western setting
FEBRUARY – poc: Black/African American
MARCH – #ownvoices; or gender: female authors in male-dominated genres/non-fiction
APRIL – poc: West Asian/South Asian (From Turkey to India)
MAY – poc: East Asian/Southeast Asian/Pacific Islander
JUNE – LGBT+ pride summer: sexuality and gender identity
JULY – LGBT+ pride summer: sexuality and gender identity
AUGUST – mental health/addiction
SEPTEMBER – poc: hispanic/latinx
OCTOBER – physical/sensory/cognitive/intellectual/developmental disabilities
NOVEMBER – poc: Native American
DECEMBER – religious minorities

Rebel Women Lit Diversity Reading Challenge
I really like this challenge, but it's a bit too challenging for me. I can't find many of these books. :-(

Light Reader's Plan

A novel with an LGBTQIA+ main character
For Today I Am a Boy by Kim Fu

A book written by an author who is Indigenous, Native American, or First Nation
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

A book that deals with gentrification
Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older
Pride by Ibi Zoboi

A book with a neurodiverse main character of colour (own voices)
A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert

A chick-lit featuring persons of colour (own voices)
The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

A memoir written by a woman of colour
Becoming by Michelle Obama

A debut novel written by a person of colour
The Girl King, by Mimi Yu

A book with an elderly main character
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

A book inspired by traditional African beliefs
Pride by Ibi Zoboi

A recent poetry collection written by a woman of colour
Fuchsia by Mahtem Shiferraw

A book set in a Caribbean country (own voices)
Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord

A book under 200 pages by a person of colour
Sula by Toni Morrison (Actually, it has 208 pages. Close enough)

Avid Reader's Plan addition

A book with a hijabi main character (own voices)
Does My Head Look Big In This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah

A speculative fiction written by a Caribbean author
Crystal Rain by Tobias S. Buckell

A book written by a woman of colour about feminism
Les arbres en parlent encore by Calixthe Beyala

A book from Rebel Women Lit's 2017 Reading List
Nnedi Okorafor; Akata Witch

A book about an arranged marriage
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

* A book with a main character who has a physical disability (own voices)

A book that makes visible the experience of Latinxdad folks
Pride by Ibi Zoboi

* A book that takes place in North-East Asia (own voices)
(Mongolia, China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan)

* A book written by a trans or non-binary author of colour

* A book with a fat main character (own voices)

An anthology written or edited by a woman of colour
New Suns By Nisi Shawl

A book with a cover that screams #BlackGirlMagic
Shadowshaper by Daniel José Older

The Committed Reader's Plan addition

* A satirical book written by a person of colour

* A non-fiction book about a topic that interests you

* A dystopian written by a woman of colour

* A book written by a person of colour about a memory alternating, mind alternating or virtual reality
sci-fi/fantasy experience

A New York Times Bestseller written by a person of colour
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

* A horror written by a person of colour

* A translated work written by a person of colour

* A poetry collection written or edited by an LGBTQIA+ person of colour

* A mystery/thriller written by a woman of colour

A book which explores poverty and wealth distribution among people of colour
Pride by Ibi Zoboi

* A Lambda Literary Award winning novel

A book from Well-Read Black Girl's 2017 reading list
L.Penelope; Song of Blood and Stone

* A graphic novel featuring a person of colour

A fairy tale or classical retelling written by a person of colour
Tahereh Mafi;  Furthermore

A book with an asexual main character (own voices)
Keeper of the Dawn by Dianna Gunn

A book that takes place in South-East Asia (own voices)
(Indochina, East Indies, Nusantara)
Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai

A book featuring people of colour in STEM
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

A book, written by a black woman, that has a colour in the title
Fuchsia by Mahtem Shiferraw

* A book with a developing country, city, or town in the title

* A book written by a POC, that takes place within a 24 hour period

* A book with black artists, dancers or musicians (own voices)

* A book with an intersex main character

A book with persons of colour who are siblings
Pride by Ibi Zoboi

A book written by a person of colour that was mentioned or seen on a TV show
Michelle Obama: Becoming
(I think Nnedi Okoraforäs Binti was seen read by someone in some TV show, too.)

A book inspired by Caribbean folklore (own voices)
Falling in Love with Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson

A YA written by a Korean or Korean-American woman
Prophecy by Ellen Oh

A book set in a non-English speaking Caribbean country (own voices)
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

A book with a practicing Muslim, Jewish or Hindu (ie non-Christian) main character (own voices)
Does My Head Look Big In This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah

The Obsessive Reader's Plan addition

A book, written by a person of colour, set in a country you've always wanted to visit
The Book of Salt by Monique Truong
Ladivine by Marie NDiaye
Black Girl in Paris by Shay Youngblood

A book that challenges rape culture
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

A trilogy written by a person of colour
N.K. Jemisin Inheritance trilogy

A book released by a publishing house that is owned or managed by a woman
Run Alice, Run by Lynn Michell

A Shakespeare retelling written by a POC
Dream of Perpetual Motion by Dexter Palmer

A book written by a POC and published during the year you were born
Maya Angelou - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

A classic novel written by a person of colour
Anything by Alexandre Dumas

A superhero comic or graphic novel with a female lead
Nofret by Sussi Bech - I don't know if it's a superhero graphic novel, but it's a graphic novel - or a comic book - with a female lead.

A book written by a famous black woman whose work you haven't read before
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

A book about an immigrant or refugee
Possessing the Secret of Joy by Alice Walker

A romance novel written by a woman of colour
Song of Blood & Stone by L. Penelope

A book about a character whose sexuality is outed without permission
“Speak No Evil” by Uzodinma Iweala

If you find it hard to read, here's the categories:
Romance with a trans MC
non-binary MC (own voices)
Science Fiction Fantasy with disabled MC
Practicing Jewish MC
Indian MC (own voices)
Displaced MC
MC with an underrepresented body
Neuro-diverse MC (own voices)
Retelling with a LGBTQIA+ MC
Bisexual MC (own voices)
MC with an invisible disability
MC with anaphylactic allergy
MC of color in SFF
Own Voices Latinx MC
Free Choice
Non-Western (real world) setting
Own Voices
MC with Chronic Pain
West Asian setting (Turkey, Arabian peninsula, Levant, Mesopotamia, Caucasus)
Arab MC (own voices)
MC with wheelchair
Book by author of color
Biracial MC (own voices)
Pansexual MC (own voices)
Black MC (own voices)
MC on the ACE spectrum (asexual)
LGBTQIA+ MC of color
Visually impaired MC
book set in Central America
Contemporary world, arranged marriage
indigenous MC (own voices)
diverse non-fiction
POC on the cover
deaf/Deaf/hoh (hard of hearing) MC
Immigrant or refugee MC
Hijabi MC (own voices)

Some books that might fit some of the categories:

Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany
Not Your Sidekick by C.B.Lee
Life, Animated by Ron Suskind
Unbowed by Wangari Maathai
Enchantress of Numbers by Jennifer Chiaverini
Patricia Bell-Scott; The Firebrand and the First Lady
Labyrinth Lost  by Zoraida Cordova
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
Of Sound Mind by Jean Ferris

Reading challenges 2019

I want to read 150 books this year. I know, I'm 2 weeks late, but - I think it'll go. After all, there is no definition of what makes a book ;-) I can read a children's book in a day, or a graphic novel.

I have collected different reading challenges all over the internet. I am a sucker for challenges :-D

1) POPsugar reading challenge

Regular
1. A book becoming a movie in 2019
Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

2. A book that makes you nostalgic
C.S.Lewis, the horse and his boy

3. A book written by a musician (fiction or nonfiction)
Life by Keith Richards (I have started reading it already, and I like it.)

4. A book you think should be turned into a movie
Haven't decided this yet

5. A book with at least one million ratings on Goodreads
I suppose it's high time to read the Hunger Games...

6. A book with a plant in the title or on the cover
The Golden Tulip by Rosalind Laker
Another book I have already started to read. A friend of mine was reading it, and I started reading it when I was waiting for her... That was some 30 years ago...

7. A reread of a favorite book
Patricia Wrede, Dealing with Dragons

8. A book about a hobby
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier  or Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

9. A book you meant to read in 2018
Oh... there's so many of these. I'm sure I'll find something from my TBR list.

10. A book with POP, SUGAR, or CHALLENGE in the title
The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

11. A book with an item of clothing or accessory on the cover
The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss

Yes, the robe or cape or what ever it is

12. A book inspired by myth/legend/folklore
The Simoqin Prophecies by Samit Basu

13. A book published posthumously
The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
Another book I have already started reading... also some 30 years ago :-D

14. A book you see someone reading on TV or in a movie
Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis De Bernières (Notting Hill)

15. A retelling of a classic
Carole Nelson Douglas: Irene Adler series *

16. A book with a question in the title
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
This is one of my guilty secrets. I think of myself as a scifi reader and I have never read this one...*blush*

17. A book set on college or university campus
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

18. A book about someone with a superpower
---?

19. A book told from multiple POVs
Possession by A.S. Byatt

20. A book set in space
C.S.Lewis; space trilogy

21. A book by two female authors
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Potato Peel Pie recipe from Random House

22. A book with SALTY, SWEET, BITTER, or SPICY in the title
Spicy Little Curses by Laini Taylor or The Secret of A Spicy Jalapeno by Charlie Courtland

23. A book set in Scandinavia
Michael Mortimer; Jungfrustenen or Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
Both on my TBR list... I have started both. *blush*

24. A book that takes place in a single day
Twice Round the Clock : Twenty Four Hours in Victorian London by George Augustus Sala

25. A debut novel
Recipes for Love and Murder by Sally Andrew

26. A book that's published in 2019
Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos
It's TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH 2019, Les fiancés de l'hiver was published 2013
I should read it in French, but... hmm... it wasn't published 2019 in French.

27. A book featuring an extinct or imaginary creature
His Majesty's Dragon series by Naomi Novik. I bought the first for my husband some time ago, and he liked it and bought the rest, and I haven't STILL read it. *blush*

28. A book recommended by a celebrity you admire
The Golden Notebook, Doris Lessing / The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston
the celebrity is Barack Obama. He has recommended a LOT of books, and I'm sure everyone finds something interesting there. Now, not everyone admires him.

29. A book with LOVE in the title
Of Love and Other Demons by Gabriel García Márquez

30. A book featuring an amateur detective
Carole Nelson Douglas: Irene Adler series *

31. A book about a family
Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann
I might as well read it in German

32. A book author from Asia, Africa, or South America
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

33. A book with a zodiac sign or astrology term in title
Under Capricorn by Helen Simpson

34. A book that includes a wedding
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell  or Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

35. A book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter
Rick Riordan Kane Chronicles
Another book series we have and I haven't read... The thing is that I lead my husband to Rick Riordan, through Percy Jackson. I read those books first and recommended them to my boys, and he went on reading all Rick Riordan he could get his hands on :-D

36. A ghost story
The Doll in the Garden by Mary Downing Hahn (It reminds me of Maria Gripe's Agnes Cecilia)

37. A book with a two-word title
---?

38. A novel based on a true story
Nicola Griffith - Hild
though I might choose something else from my library

39. A book revolving around a puzzle or game
The Flanders Panel by Arturo Pérez-Reverte  or Fire by Katherine Neville
Both revolve around chess.
I have wanted to read the Flanders Panel since I saw the movie, and Fire has been on my TBR since it was published. I love Eight, the first book in the series.

40. Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading challenge
A book that came out the year you were born; Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin

Advanced
41. A "cli-fi" (climate fiction) book
The MaddAddam trilogy by Margaret Atwood (or at least Oryx and Crake)

42. A "choose-your-own-adventure" book
NO, NAY, NEVER! I hate these books!

43. An "own voices" book
I would have wanted a book written by the Sami people.

44. Read a book during the season it is set in
---? I'm saving this for the future Christmas reading challenges

45. A LitRPG book
Vasily Mahanenko - Survival Quest

46. A book with no chapters / unusual chapter headings / unconventionally numbered chapters
Brandon Sanderson: Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians

47.- 48. Two books that share the same title
The Night Watch, by Terry Pratchett and by Sergei Lukyanenko

49. A book that has inspired a common phrase or idiom
Stephen King - Christine (piehole)

50. A book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage, or convent
The Crowfield Curse by Pat Walsh


If I manage to read all these books, I will have read 1/3 of my 150 books goal
More, if I find the first book of a series interesting enough to read the whole series. There's a couple of series on this list. 

Pulp

I just learned yesterday that it's fan fiction. I mean, it's not inspired by the original work, it's pure fan fiction, published almost exactly as she wrote it to a fan fiction site. The names have been changed, that's all.

Now... there's nothing wrong with fan fiction, I mean, you get into habit of writing when you write fan fiction, or anything, but... it's still... someone else created the characters, someone else built the world... fan fiction... it's fun and all that, but it's still... a copy. There are rules and traditions within fan fiction that doesn't make it good literature.

But - I am jealous. I am jealous of these people writing crappy books and getting their fan fiction on crappy books published as "real books", and I am envious of their success. The older I get and the less successful my life seems to be, the more jealous I get.

I know I should think about such things like that this author is older than I am. She was 45 when she became a fan, started writing half a year later and three years later the book was published. And 10 years later she's a millionaire thanks to fan fiction. And it's not well written, it's not well edited, the message isn't worthy... there really is no other merit to the story than that it's entertaining.

Pulp fiction.

I really need to get over my ideals.
People want stories. People want pulp fiction. People want paperbacks. People want to be entertained.
Of course people also want good literature, but... I have stories. I have a hoard of amazing characters. I just need to get over my damned perfectionism and put this on paper, and try to publish it, and if it never gets published, that's OK, too.

How to write a horror story: 6 terrific tips

repost from

Somewhat abridged, so go and read the original article. It's much better there... ;-)


The best horror stories share at least five elements in common:

• They explore ‘malevolent’ or ‘wicked’ characters, deeds or phenomena.
• They arouse feelings of fear, shock or disgust as well as the sense of the uncanny – things are not what they seem. There is a heightened sense of the unknown and/or mysterious.
• They are intense. Horror books convey intense emotion, mood, tone and environments. Together, these produce the sense that everything is charged with ominous possibility.
• They contain scary and/or shocking and scintillating plot twists and story reveals.
• They immerse readers in the macabre. Horror tends to deal with morbid situations, from repetitive cycles of violence to death-related uncanny scenarios.

1: Use strong, pervasive tone

How you describe settings, character movement and actions creates an overarching tone. In horror writing, a dark or frightening tone is often pronounced.

2: Read widely in your genre

As you read authors in your genre, make notes on what aspects of your genre the author excels in. Is it great, spooky settings? Copy out your favourite quotes that create an eerie sense of place and re-read when trying to make your own settings more vivid. Actively learning from great authors will improve your mastery of the horror genre.

3: Give wicked characters credible motivations

4: Use the core elements of tragedy

"Horror is best when it’s about tragedy in its truest and most theatrical form: tragedy is born through character flaws, through bad choices, through grave missteps."
Chuck Wendig

The horror genre uses the core elements of tragedy so nakedly that some of these have become clichés. ‘Don’t go in that house, idiot,’ you might shout at the screen while watching American Horror Story, because the character is oblivious to personal danger.

In horror stories, we get scared because, as readers, we see the signs foolhardy characters don’t.

At its heart, tragedy teaches some important lessons, for example:

•     The destructive, rippling cause and effect acts of cruelty can set in motion (the frightening way the title character of Stephen King’s novel Carrie unleashes her powers due to bottling sustained psychological abuse is a good example)
•     The value of seeing situations and scenarios from multiple perspectives (e.g. You could tell yourself, ‘That house is abandoned because the property market fell’. But also: ‘That house is abandoned because something terrible happened there (and keeps happening there) and people are afraid of it.’)
•     The lesson that bravery means making a choice in full awareness of danger, whereas making choices in blissful unawareness of their potential consequences leaves people vulnerable

To write a credible horror novel, in other words, show that the horror-filled situation is dependent on a network of character choices, past or present.

5: Tap into common human fears to frighten

6: Learn the difference between terror and horror

To learn how to write horror novels, it’s useful to understand the difference between horror and terror.

‘Terror’ describes a state of feeling. Oxford Dictionaries simply define it as ‘extreme fear’. To ‘terrorise’, means to use extreme fear to intimidate others.
'Horror', however, also suggests elements of disgust and surprise or shock. Thus the word ‘horror’ describes not only extreme fear but also revulsion and a sense of surprise and the unexpected.

"I’ll try to terrify you first, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll horrify you, and if I can’t make it there, I’ll try to gross you out. I’m not proud."
Stephen King

Some interesting podcasts

myths and legends

12 storytelling podcasts

the brothers grimm lunchbreak

the StoryNory

PodCastle

More about character quirks

I think I spoke earlier about a list where the author had named things like "disability" and "pacifism" as character flaws.
It turns out that is a "character flaw" list for live role play players. Like Dungeons and Dragons. In that world both pacifism and disability can be seen as "flaws". But the one who posted the list forgot to mention this origin of the list, and suggested it for fiction authors...

Now, there's this e-book of 1001 character quirks to make your characters rounded and "real".
I think "SlyShy" says it all in her (or his?) review of the idea. (Now, that's just based on the information given on the advertisement page about the e-book, so we could be very unfair and wrong. Could.)

Here's some of the suggestions:
100 free character quirk ideas

I'm sorry to see this blog isn't flying. "1003 character quirks". I think he (she?) had a good idea there. Because "character quirks" are free and easily available. Plenty of material and apparently interested public.

Here's some thoughts by Audrey Kalman.

" the reasons behind the characters’ appeal and endurance “may lie in a deep psychological or mythic resonance, the artistry of their presentation, or the special circumstances of time and society that brought them into being and sustain their popularity.”"

 But - lists...

list of character quirks
50 random character quirks
100 Character Quirks You Can Steal from Me
quintessence of quirks (for roleplayers)

Writeworld's page on quirks

Yeah... For some reason I'm thinking about fanfiction and Marysues... I mean... none of that is really interesting. I don't care if someone bites their nails... unless the author makes me interested in it, like Terry Pratchett. And it doesn't really say anything about the character.

Use character quirks to grab the readers' attention

Oh... 

Closer quirks