Jennavier Recommends: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

 Let’s just start this out by saying I’m not a diehard Neil Gaiman fan. The only thing that I’ve read of his was Good Omens, and that’s because I’m a crazy fangirl of Terry Pratchett, his co-writer. But you can't be a fantasy nerd and not hear about Neil Gaiman, especially over the last few years. So when his new book came out I'd heard the buzz and was mildly interested. Then I read the review by his wife/girlfriend/significant other and It. Was. Gorgeous. (If you want read it click here fair warning there pg-13 language going on). So at that moment I knew I had to read this book.

Because this is me and I'm poor that didn't mean I instantly got in my car/got online and ordered it. Oh no, I went to the library and reserved it. Because that's how I roll. And then I waited five million years for a copy. When it got to me it was not what I was expecting.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a really really tiny book. It's not even two hundred pages. Normally that is not long enough for me to really enjoy. I like meat to a story. So I figured it would take me an hour and then I could say I'd read it. Turns out it took multiple hours and when I try to say I read it I gush instead.

I had a slightly sketchy childhood. There were many good things and few terrible things. Plenty of books try to take me back there and I hate it every time. Yet Gaiman does goes there and he took me with him. The world of a wide eyed child is created that holds the uncomfortable truths of adults. It enabled me to see myself a little more clearly, to understand some of the decisions that I had made that led me to where I am today. To me that is a beautiful thing.

  

On top of that the book is just good. The story is interesting, the characters and the problems feel real, and I finished it out with a real sense of satisfaction. Am I going to reread it? Maybe, maybe not. But reading it the once made me like everything about reading that much better.

Writing Accountability

I’ve been trying to keep better track of my writing. I started this last summer in the hope of optimizing my time. If I’m going to spend four hours on this I’d like them to be four hours well spent. First off came an insanely detailed spreadsheet a la Rachel Aarons 2k to 10k . It’s really helped her but ended up being a little too much for me. Maybe someday when I’m slightly more organized.

So that went out the window. Next came Victoria Schwab’s calendar trick.  Her concept in a nutshell is that she puts a sticker on a calendar for every 1000 words she wrote a day. Special events, like finishing a book, have special stickers. That was instantly useful considering I began it a few weeks before Nano when writing a strict amount of words was crucial. 1000 words seemed too low to me so in November I set the sticker threshold at 2250 words, since that was how much I needed to do per day and still have days off when I needed them.  Then I encountered a truly tragic problem. My stickers are simply too big to put multiple stickers on a day. My sticker collection was created by well meaning aunts and uncles back in my pre-pubescent years so they lean towards large and technicolored. Yes, I am the girl who carted around a sticker collection for 20+ years because someday I might want them. My first few months featured Lisa Frank animals. Luckily they’d all run out by the time I took a picture. 

So now I’m doing something a little different. As you can see from the picture below I set goals for each day. I usually do this a week in advance so I have a variety of days to work on. This is important because I like to skip between types of writing to stay fresh. And yes, I have become a little addicted to the idea of putting up stickers. I haven’t noticed a huge increase in productivity, sadly. Happily, I’m now less likely to beat myself up for what I haven’t accomplished since I’ve set specific goals for each day and a way of proving that I’ve accomplished them. I’m sure things will change and there will be a whole new blog post for it!

Differences Between Teen Me and Adult Me

Some of the many changes that have come with adulthood, in no particular order. 

The Sniff Test:

Teen Me- If it looks weird I’m not eating it.

Adult Me-*sniff* still smells good. I don’t have to cook tonight.

Reading:

Teen Me: Oh my gosh this book is so good!  I can’t go to sleep until I finish it.

Adult Me: Book, you’d better have a good jumping off point because I don’t want to see the other side of 2 in the morning again in this lifetime. *

                                         

Snow:

Teen Me: SKIING!!!!
Adult Me: oh great, I get to drive with idiots today.

Clothes Shopping:

Teen Me: Let me get all my friends and search the entire mall for the perfect outfit.

Adult Me: Does it fit? Is it cheap? Great. Let’s get the thing and get of here before I lose anymore self-esteem.

*I have quit series’ where the books keep me up too late. Very few things are worth risking sleep for and there is a huge difference between an addictive book and a good book. Those two can go together, but don’t always.