In Which I Abuse The Italics Feature

Today, it was very hard to concentrate on anything.

In fact, I think this is the only homework that I've completed today.

...hmm.

Anyway, this week I started reading Hate List by Jennifer Brown. (Readers of this blog won't know this, but I just wasted about ten minutes looking up the author's name. Yeah, I've been distracted today.) This book is terrifying. It's about this girl who fills up a notebook with people and things she hates, and one day, her boyfriend opens fire in the school cafeteria, picking targets from the people mentioned in the notebook.

Told you it was terrifying.

It's a really awful idea to think about, especially since her boyfriend isn't a clear-cut "bad guy". You almost want to root for him. It's well written though. The author takes a horrifying concept that we don't like to think about and makes us think about it. It's an emotional roller coaster, so be forewarned.

I have also been reading Harry Potter. But that's not that surprising, because I'm always reading Harry Potter. Now, don't look at me like that. I'm not one of those types. It's familiar, and I can get absorbed in the Potter universe easily, which is nice after a long day.

And so, here is my selection of writing from the week, because I feel like this just about sums up what I've been going through today:

"Today I don't feel like writing my superhero story.
Because I'm watching Harry Potter.
With Alison.
This is exciting.
But I need to write at least one page.
Every day.
So here I go.
Writing every day.
One page.
It's hard to write when there's Harry Potter going on.
And it's hard to do homework when you could be reading Harry Potter."

So, what I've learned from reading and writing this week:

Don't be afraid to be bold and make your readers uncomfortable.

But don't forget to let them be comfortable every once in a while.