Dear God

If today I lose hope God, please remind me that your plans are better than my dreams.
Thanks.

Allegiant by Veronica Roth

**I wrote this in a way to avoid spoilers so if it's confusing...I'm sorry.

When someone decides to write a series there is something they want to leave you with. They are sending out an invite to all those around them who wish to enter into the world they've carried around in their head for goodness knows how long. You open the book and as you read you immerse yourself in it, in the world, in the characters, in the fantasy that maybe you could one day live a story as exciting as this.

Allegiant was the final instalment to the series Divergent starting in April of 2011. It follows Tris and Four (Tobias) finding out what's outside the walls of the city they've know and grown up it. Is it any better outside their city or are all the problems they face exactly the same just with different names?
Set in Chicago in the future where some people are "Pure" and others "Damaged" but a sickness that can only be fixed over generations.

Veronica Roth shows brilliant character development and rhythm to her writing. I applaud her innovation in story telling and her courage to finish the book the way she did. I however, did not enjoy the last book. Had this been the first in the series I wouldn't have finished it for lack of questions propelling myself forward. The first few chapters answered all my questions and the only reason I kept going was to see what the other 400 pages were written about for I couldn't quite comprehend what on earth she was going to create.

What makes a good book or a good movie is when the creator leaves you asking questions, wanting desperately to be a part of the world they are seeing. They want you to walk away with the characters, the questions burning in your head to the point it's a number one conversation topic. One of the best examples I can think of is the movie "Inception". When you left that theatre there was not a person who wasn't talking about or thinking about whether or not it was a dream. It made people go back and watch again to see the hints the producer left behind to make you even more crazy about the answer.
I finished Allegiant with no more thoughts and no more questions. I left the Divergent series, sadly, not needing to read them again because partly I wondered if I cared. Woah. Bit statement. I cannot believe I'm saying this but it's the truth. How can you put so much effort and heart into a story then only to get it ripped away from you. I read books now to see how authors conclude, how the develop and how I can learn from their mistakes and where they succeeded. And while you, as the author, may feel the need to set the end of the book in a shocking way that most authors wont do, you're also disappointing the reader who wanted so badly to be a part of the world, to be like that character, to hope for something better than the life they are living. I felt hopelessness at the end of a book and I wish it didn't have to be.

All in all, I was disappointed. I understand why Veronica did what she did and with the views she has on Harry Potter also why she did it. Was it the best idea? No. I think it could have been spectacular instead it finished sadly, just like the ending of The Hunger Games.  

Storytelling for beginners.

A great short video for people who are writing.

Having fun?

Why is it that when I organise to write, 70% of the time I wonder why I am doing it? Either my mind decides to shut down, go on strike and refuses to give up the information or.... well, I enjoy it and write for a bit, 30% of the time.
So tonight, as I was chatting to God, figuring out whether or not I was exercising for myself or for others, I remembered the promise God gave me (and the day I told God) that it was going to be an adventure with Him. That fun was what we were going to have. So I realised that something must be wrong if I'm not enjoying writing.
So I asked myself, why am I writing?
To inspire and influence children.
Awesome answer right?
Wrong.
Well...sort of wrong, I mean it's a pretty good answer.
Back to the point though...
I should be writing for myself. I should be writing to get to know God better. This is what it is all about. It's actually meant to be fun, to be an adventure, so when it isn't there is something wrong. I was trying to hard to write to please everyone I forgot about writing to please myself. I should want to know what's happening, want to know how it ends, but instead I'm wondering if I'm getting the message across. Whoops. How do I want to story to end? Exactly how I want the story to end.

Don't loose weight for anyone other than yourself. Don't write for someone other than yourself, it wont be fun and pretty soon it'll turn into a job you hate.