Nouember is here and…..

N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 5

Volume 2, Issue 3

Quote of the month!

MONROE TEENS MONTHLY

...so is National Novel Writing Month!! Find out how to write the perfect opening

to your future best selling novel!

...so are this year’s most anticipated video

games!!

THIS ISSUE!

Oh the Video Games!!

2

PERFECT OPENER

4

Book Review 6

Games & Programs

6

Filling America's appetite for turkeys is a tall task. Last year there were 254 mil-lion turkeys raised in the United States, which is up 2 percent from the previ-ous year (http://

www.livescience.com/41506-

surprising-thanksgiving-

facts.html ).

Q: Why can’t you take

a turkey to church?

A: Because they use

such FOWL language!

Read more at: http://

www.greatcleanjokes.

com/jokes/holiday-

jokes/thanksgiving-

jokes-holiday-jokes/

Let us take a moment to give thanks, BECAUSE OUR FAVORITE

VIDEO GAMES ARE HERE THIS NOVEMEBER!!! That’s

right! I said it. November seems to be the go-to month for all the

highly anticipated video games known to man, EVER! And while

this is suppose to be a monthly to rave about books, and learning,

and knowledge, it is also a place to unapologetically geek out with

no shame what-so-ever. So here you are: the biggest video game re-

leases for the Fall of 2015!! Enjoy!!

Call of Duty: Black Ops III: Release Date: November 6, 2015 Developer: Treyarch/Activision Platforms: PC, PS4, XBOX One Summary: Call of Duty: Black Ops III takes place in a dystopian

future, set in 2060, where science and technology has radically

changed the human species, with society violently protesting

and attempting to halt further progress. Military technology has

progressed to the point where robotics play a main role, and

supersoliders have been developed. Humans are coming to the point where they

are more machine than flesh and Blood and there are many speculations about

some type of takeover by Robots. „How far can we push technology before it

starts pushing back‟ was a line that caught attention in the new „Ember‟ trailer.

The game will follow a team of black ops soldiers, like previous installments in the

Black Ops series, with supersoldier capabilities (gamerant.com/tag/call-of-duty-

black-ops-3/).”

Fallout 4: Release Date: November 10, 2015 Developer: Bethesda Game Studios Platforms: PC, PS4, XBOX One Summary: Fallout 4 takes place approximately 200 years after

a war over resources that ended in a nuclear holocaust in

2077- roughly the same time as the events of Fallout 3. The

setting is a post-apocalyptic retro-future, covering a region

that includes Boston, Massachusetts and other parts of New

England known as the Commonwealth. Unlike previous titles,

Fallout 4‟s story begins on the day the bombs dropped: October 23, 2077. The

player‟s character takes shelter in Vault 111 with their family, just to mysteriously

awaken 200 years later unaged and as the vault‟s sole survivor (gamerant.com/

tag/fallou-4/).

”

GIVE THANKS!!

FOR VIDEO GAMES!!

M O N R O E T E E N S M O N T H L Y

Page 2

JOKE OF THE MONTH:

Fun fact of the month

Literary Device of the month

Ode – an

elaborately formal lyric poem, often in

the form of a lengthy ceremonious address to a person or abstract entity, always serious and

elevated in tone (The Concise Oxford Dictionary of

Literary Terms). However, recently, Odes are no longer just for serious

matters.

Contradistionction [kon-truh-di-stingk-shuhn] (n.) distinction by opposition or con-trast: plants and ani-mals in contradistinc-tion to humans.

Page 3

Word of the month

Dithyramb [dith-uh-ram, -ramb] (n.) Any wildly enthusiastic speech or writing.

Rise of the Tomb Raider: Release Date: November 10, 2015 Developer: Crystal Dynamics Platforms: PC/XBOX One/PlayStation 4 Summary: Rise of the Tomb Raider will in-clude some new and old mechanics, including a crafting system, dynamic weather, and a day-night cycle. These mechanics will all work in tandem, meaning that certain resources can only be harvested at certain times and in cer-tain weather – for a more interesting and in-volving farming experience. There will be also more diversity in combat, as players can now take more approaches to fighting – either by using new options for stealth and sneak attacks or by using the envi-ronment to avoid combat. Once again, Lara will be able to craft new weapons or make weapon improvements using farmed resources. Like previous games in the series, Rise of the Tomb Raider will be a seamless blend of

fantasy and history, as Lara Croft explores the world in search of the truth behind myths.

With an organization called Trinity on her tail, Lara has to find secrets and expose the

truth before it falls into the wrong hands (gamerant.com/tag/rise-of-the-tomb-raider/).

Star Wars: Battlefront: Release Date: November 17, 2015 Developer: DICE/Electronic Arts Gaming Platforms: PC, PS4, XBOX One Summary: Wage epic multiplayer battles on Hoth, Endor, Tatooine, and the previously unexplored planet, Sullust. Fire blasters, drive speedbikes, snowspeeders, and com-mand AT-ATs. Fight for the fate of the galaxy. See unprecedented access to original Star Wars props and locations. Photo realistic visuals and authentic sound design from the talented team at DICE. Prepare to be transported to a galaxy far, far away. Play as Iconic Star Wars characters. Fight as the galaxy‟s

most memorable heroes and villains, like Darth Vader and Boba Fett. Interact with some of the most beloved characters from the original trilogy. Become the hero or villain of the battle Engage in epic Star Wars dog fights; Pilot X-wing, TIE fighters, the Millennium Falcon and more of your favoritevehicles in exhilarating aerial combat. Find out which squadrons will rule the skies. For Jedi and Padawans alike seamlessly swap between 1st person and 3rd person

perspectives. Partner up with a friend in online multiplayer, share unlocks and

have each other‟s back on the battlefront. Fight for the Empire or the Rebellion

offline, solo or with a friend, in carefully crafted missions (starwars.ea.com/

starwars/battlefront).

Need For Speed Rivals: Release date: November 15, 2015 Developer: EA Gaming platform: XBOX , PSN Summary: “Welcome to Redview County, where a street-

racing between cops and racers never stops as both sides

compete in an all-out war featuring the fastest cars, mods and

technology in a stunning open-world environment. Play as ei-

ther a cop or a racer, where each side of the law has its own

set of high stakes challenges, rewards and consequences.

Risk everything in the ultimate high stakes rivalry (needforspeed.com/rivals).”

NOVEMBER is National Novel Writing Month OR NaNoWriMo!! While every November, I normally provide specific information from nanaowrimo.org, I decided this year I‟d go a different route and provide guidance from another popular writing website, Lit Reactor. So without further ado, excerpts from What Every Novel Opening Must Do: Myths v Reality: The day is short, the slush is deep, and if your manuscript doesn‟t have what it takes to hook a reader from the very first, page, agents and editors will waste no time in kicking it to the curb. There is no lack of books on the subject of openings, and in my experience as an editor, many of them offer solid advice; But a lot of that advice is contradictory – and some of it is just plain wrong. Myth #1: You have to start your triggering event [on the opening page]. Reality #1: Sometimes the triggering event is too soon – or too late Consider the popular Young Adult book The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: First, the Colors. Then the humans. That’s usually how I see things. Or at least, how I try. Here is a small fact: You are going to die. What follows is a highly digressive aside from a sort of grim reaper character who‟s obsessed with colors; the book‟s short first chapter is no more than an in-troduction of this person, their POV and voice. It‟s not until the end of it that we receive even a hint of what this story may actually be about, much less a trigger-ing event. But we need this time to get grounded in the world of the story, and that‟s what I mean about how sometimes, the triggering event is too late in the storyline for you to start with it. Conversely, the triggering event may be too soon in the storyline to start with if you‟re writing a fast-paced thriller. In that

case, rather than starting with the murder or crime – the triggering event – you may want to start with a car chase al-

ready in progress and then fill us in on the details of the triggering event after the fact.

Myth #2: You must start in scene Reality #2: Sometimes summary can be just as strong as scene, if not stronger. There‟s no doubt that opening in scene is a powerful way to draw the reader in. But anyone who tells you that opening with summary cannot be just as strong has never truly appreciated the power of the storyteller‟s voice. Consider, for ex-ample the opening of Phillip Pullman‟s The Tiger in the Well: One sunny morning in the autumn of 1881, Sally Lockhart stood in the garden and watched her little daughter play, and thought that things were good. She was wrong, but she wouldn’t know how or why she was wrong for twenty minutes yet. The man who would show her was still finding his way to the house. For the moment she was happy, which was delightful, and she knew she was, which was rare; she was usually too busy to notice. She was happy, for one thing, about her home. It was a large place in Twickenham called Orchard House… Sure, it‟s a self-consciously (and appropriately) Victorian opening, with that omniscient narrator‟s voice so distinctly sep-

arate from that of the protagonist. And sure, being the author of The Golden Compass and a laundry list of other great

books imparts credibility to virtually anything Pullman might try. But it‟s also a novel opening that works, in terms of draw-

ing the reader in, and it‟s nearly all summary – for the first three pages.

Myth vs. Reality: What Every Novel Opening Must Do! Column by Susan Defreitas (originally found on LitReactor.com/columns/what-every-successful-novel-opening-must-do)

Page 4

Myth #3: You have to know your ‘story problem’ and ‘protagonist problem’ before you start Reality #3: Pantser write great openings Many writers have the misconception that you need to have your plot arc and your character arc well thought out prior to starting your novel. This is not the case. In fact famous author George R. R. Martin is well known for NOT having either of these things developed upon starting his work. Over the years, writers who outline their novels before they start writing have come to be known as planners, and those who don‟t as pantsers. George R.R. Martin, author of the Song of Ice and Fire series, prefers “architects vs. gardeners,” and he identifies as the latter – someone who digs a hole and plants the seed of a character in it with no more than a broad outline in mind for where he things the story might go. Clearly, Martin does not know both his story problem and each character‟s deep inner problem before he starts ….and yet, he seems to have no problem in getting readers past the first page. For example, Martin actually began writing A Game of Thrones with a simple mental image: a dead wolf and her living pups found by a noble family that bears the animal as its crest, one pup for each of the children of the house of Winter-fell…. From this image we follow these children over the course of their lives and that the fate of Winterfell will be at stake. Martin would have been a fool to throw such an image back in favor of something that better solves X for Y. Myth #4: You can’t open with dialogue Reality #4: If you can overcome the risks, you can open with dialogue Opening with dialogue is fraught with risk. Your reader has no idea who these people are, why they‟re talking to each other, or what in the hell is going on, which is why authors generally avoid such openings. Consider this opening from Michael Faber‟s The Book of Strange New Things: ‘I was going to say something,’ he said ‘So say it,’ she said. …We may not know anything about the character speaking but we don‟t need to – it‟s sort of an archetypal man-woman relationship exchange, and the way the author presents it here, stripped of character names, works to underscore that as a deliberate stylistic effect. Who is the author of this odd, daring opening? And where is he going with this archetypal couple and their problem? It‟s risky, but again, in this case, for this book, it works. Myth #5: There are many things you have to do to hook the reader on the very first page Reality #5: There are only two things you have to do to hook your reader on the very first page First, it must not bomb the basics. Secondly, it must engage your reader‟s curiosity. By not bombing the basics, I mean grammar, spelling and clarity at the level of the line. Also, letting us know whose story this is and where we are and what‟s happening. And by engaging the readers‟ curiosity, I mean catching [their] attention in a way that causes [them] to start making predictions, even if it‟s on a completely subconscious basis. This is something you‟ll see at work in every opening included this [article] (and in every novel opening in your local bookstore). Zusak‟s opening from the POV of a nonhuman entity makes us want to know more about this character. Pull-man‟s opening with the danger to Sally Lockhart gets us to read through three solid pages of backstory because we know some-thing terrible is going to happen in just twenty minutes‟ time. Those two novels that take such risks in opening with dialogue overcome those risks because …we want to know more! As soon as [the reader] starts wondering (and predicting) what will happen next, that pleasurable chemical causes [them] to an-ticipate the satisfaction that will come from being proven right (or even wrong, provided that your answer is clever enough). Most importantly, [they] will read on. And the good news here is that there are as many different ways

to engage a reader‟s curiosity as there are authors….However

you choose to approach it on you‟ve engaged your reader‟s curi-

osity, you‟ll get [them] to turn those all-important first pages.

Page 5

Games Book Review:

Monroe Teens Monthly

The Free Public Library of Monroe

Township

713 Marsha Ave, Williamstown,

NJ 08094

856-629-1212 ext 208

Mon-Thurs 11a-9p Friday 12p-5p

Saturday 10a-3p

4.5 Stars on Goodreads

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of internation-

al trade where anything can be had for

the right price—and no one knows that

better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brek-

ker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly

heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But

he can't pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz's crew is

the only thing that might stand between the world and destruc-

tion—if they don't kill each other first (Goodreads.com).

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

11/7 FREE SAT PREP 10:30a-2p

11/10 WRITER’S GROUP 6p-8p

11/17 BOOK JEWLERY BOX CRAFT 6p-8p

11/21 PATHFINDER GAME Day 12p-2p

11/24 YUGIOH TOURNAMENT DAY 6p-8p

TEEN PROGRAMS: NOVEMBER