I started a new novel. Um, yay me? I don't know. I think maybe the problem with the one I gave up was that I really loved the premise (and still do) but elements of it were too much like the novel I'm curently querying, and besides that it didn't have too much of an arc. This one I'm writing now basically defies the whole "write what you know" wisdom, but I'm hoping it'll work out. I think it will. (Cue the Little Engine That Could, "I think I can, I think I can.")
In other news, a while back my sister came in my room and pulled out all the books that she'd read so she could look at the way tall stack and be proud of herself. So now I have a bunch of books that aren't in my bookcase and it is driving me crazy. I don't mind so much that the rest of my room isn't exactly ***-n-span, as long as the books are nice and tidy. I am obsessive about my books. I am very envious of that one part in Beauty and the Beast, where Belle walks into the library and there's books EVERYWHERE. It is amazing.
In a related story, I finally saw Enchanted, and people were not joking when they said it was an awesome movie. I loved it, which is a lot to say considering my history with fairy tales is not exactly a lovey one. I mean, I like most of them perfectly fine. But not great or anything. The only fairy tale I really love love love and always have is Beauty and the Beast. I can't really take Cinderella, and Snow White is good but kind of eh. I don't know. I like the movies but I usually don't like the characters, if that makes any sense.
I mean seriously, couldn't Cinderella have found a different way to get out from under the thumb of her evil stepmother besides marrying this guy she didn't even know and inheriting this big huge castle and everything? Trust me, she would not know how to be a princess or a queen or whatever it was she turned into.
And Snow White? Eating food given to her by a scary-looking stranger? When she lives out in the middle of nowhere? How stupid can you be!? What she should have done was locked the doors and maybe called on her woodland friends to protect her from the creepy lady outside.
Okay, and let's move onto Ariel. She basically made a pact with the devil of the sea, which makes her even dumber than Snow White. I won't even get into what happens to her in the non-Disney versions (I love the Disney versions, actually), but trust me, it does NOT work out so well for her.
But actually I like Jasmine. Her and Belle are totally awesome.
(Ya, I know I forgot that Sleeping Beauty chick but I'm really not sure... have I ever seen that whole movie? All her role seemed to be was sleeping anyways so nothing exciting there.)
So this is why I don't read many fairy tales. I actually am reading Gail Carson Levine's Fairest though - I like her books. I'm weird in that I'll love some fairy-tale-ish books or stories and hate others. It's odd.