Things have settled down considerably in my life.  I am getting used to a house with only two roommates.  There are only a couple weeks left in the semester for them.  I have about a month of possible subbing until the district is out.  I can feel summer hiding around the corner.  And it sounds like we are going to be able to start it off with a kick-ass party.  I feel like I can let out a sigh of relief after hold my breath for far too long.

One of the reasons I like writing quickly is that the tone of a story unintentionally changes when your life changes considerably.  So, as my life changes, I find myself grateful.  I am at the exact middle of my novel.  I knew I wanted this to be the point in the story that everything shifts gears.  Today, I completed the first part of the story.  I wrote a miniature outline for the second half.  It’s going to be a different style and probably more difficult and technical to write.  I almost feel lucky that this is coinciding with a major change in my life.

In honor of my favorite genre, I present you with two influences from the realm of dystopian novels.

The Hunger Game Series by Suzanne Collins
I first read this book in the Fall of 2011.  I heard a few people say it was amazing and realized it was going to be turned into a movie.  I ended up picking it for a new book club.  I didn’t even realize it was dystopian until I started reading it.  I was utterly blown away.  Collins created a beautiful character in Katniss and found a way to end a series that even the like of J.K. Rowling couldn’t achieve.

The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld
Another young adult title, but incredible nonetheless. So many dystopain novels are built on the idea that our current world will fail, but the people of the future will still have access to our technology.  The mixture is frightening yet incredible to read.  No one does this better than Scott Westerfeld.  The world he creates (read all four) is unlike anything I have every encountered.