Cigarettes

So, remember this post about how I finally worked up the courage to throw out a book series I had been clinging to?

Well, I went book shopping tonight (Spring Semester has finally ended, and I have one more day left before I start Summer Semester) so I decided to go buy a book I wanted (released this last Tuesday).

While browsing through the YA section, I saw the young adult series my old favorite author wrote. Granted, I have seen them many times before, even picked one up and looked at it. This series is a break off of the series I so enjoyed (and threw out) and is targeted for young adults (so less stuff would be in them). I flipped randomly through the book and stopped to read.

Now, I should clarify, the whole reason part of me still wants to read her books isn't so much to read the story again, but more to analyze her craft. On the back of this YA book, it mentions how in the last two years, she has been on the #1 New York Times Bestseller list 15 times!!! That's a LOT for one author in two years (and the funny thing is, I stopped reading her stuff a little more than 3 years ago). Now that I am doing my own writing, I reflect on those feelings I had when I read her books, especially how the characters truly came alive (I still remember most of their stories and can name several facts about them! Even after 3 years!) and I also reflect on how her craft truly works, because she's such a popular writer. I want to learn her secret--how does she create such real, breathing characters that have stayed with me all this time? How does she create these epic stories that people obviously cannot get enough of?

Therefore, I read a few pages in the middle of this YA book I picked up. Three things were very clear:

1) The author is very honest or blunt in her writing. It feels as though you are literally listening to someone tell you their own story, portraying their own emotions through their tone. The books are written in third person, but you still get an extremely personally look into the lives of these characters just by getting to know them. Within the first few sentences, I already had a grasp on the main character's mentality (even if I didn't know who he was). The writing is very honest.

2) The author uses dialogue. This type of dialogue truly shows the characters for who they are by the way their interact with each other. The important thing here is that the author is showing not telling us what the character is like. This is something I continue to struggle with and I need to desperately work on my dialogue. The author was able to show us that one character is sarcastic, but not cruel, and does indeed have a good sense of humor--all through only using dialogue.

3) And the last thing that was obvious from what little I read out of the book: I miss reading the series.

I know, I know. I do realize the choice I made nearly a year ago was the right choice, but a part of me truly does still miss it. I especially miss the author's ability to tell such an engaging story, one that you truly lose yourself in.

For me, looking at the YA book is a temptation. Part of me says, "Oh, it's YA, so it's not as bad. Go on and buy it! You can learn so much from her writing!" But the other, more logical part says, "No, if I give in on this, what's to stop me from giving in to re-reading the other series? You know you're going to want to re-read it, as this YA series is a prequel for it and therefore has all the characters you loved."

Sigh.

In that blog post, I compared seeing the author's new books being released to cigarettes for a smoker who was trying to quit. Such a temptation, yet I never gave in. This YA series--if the original is like cigarettes--this series is like Nicorette gum; it isn't as bad as smoking cigarettes, but it still has the same addictive attributes.

Therefore, I cannot give in to my craving, no matter how much I justify it. If I give in to the gum, what's to stop me from using the cigarettes as well?

On a brighter note, I did purchase the third (and final) book in the series I'm currently reading, and I also purchased another book on writing. I look forward to reading both of these.

And hopefully my mind will get off of these "cigarettes".