Divergent Pronunciations

I also posted this on my tumblr, but I thought I'd put it here too, to cover all the bases. I’m only going to list the ones people have asked about— hopefully I didn’t miss any!

Characters
 Tris: TRIH-ss (As opposed to “treece” or “tryce,” both of which I’ve heard.)
Tobias: Tuh-BYE-us
Uriah: Yer-EYE-uh
Jeanine: Juh-NEEN

Factions
Divergent: Die-ver-jen-t
Abnegation: Ab-neg-ay-shun
Amity: Am-it-ee
Candor: Can-der
Dauntless: Dawn-t-less
And the big one:
Erudite: Air-yoo-dyte

There you have it.

Detergent, AKA Book 3

note: just to clarify, "detergent" is in fact a joke title. There's been some confusion.

Now that many of you are finished with Insurgent, I am often asked when book 3 will be coming out. We still don't have an official month and day, but I do have more information-- book 3 is scheduled to release next fall, Fall 2013.

I know that's over a year away, and that seems like forever. The reason it's so distant is pretty simple: I need more time to write and edit and polish it, so that when you get it, it's the best book 3 I could possibly make it. The last thing I want is to feel like the last book in the trilogy needed just a little more time, and I'm sure you feel the same way, even if internally you are saying "OMG WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO US, CRUEL AUTHOR?!"

Rest assured, internally I am saying "OMG why can't I stop time temporarily so that I can work while nothing changes around me?! And while I'm bemoaning the lack of impossible things in my life, why can't I teleport to Iceland and/or take some magical potion that keeps me from needing to sleep?!" Alas, I have neither time stopping devices nor sleep eliminating potions, and I just have to put my head down and work.

In the meantime, I will try to devise ways to make the wait seem shorter for you. Even if it involves more bathtubs full of mini marshmallows!

-V

P.S. No, I still don't have a title to share with you guys. In my mind it is still Detergent.

#1s. (WHAT?!)

When you are secretly Abnegation (which I am beginning to figure out that I am), it can be difficult to publicly celebrate when good things happen because you're like "OMG, am I talking about this too much? Am I making other people uncomfortable? Do they think I'm a pompous jackass?" etc. For this reason I usually choose to celebrate privately, via happy dance in my apartment or delicious dessert or something. But this is a public event, made possible by readers and booksellers and librarians and teachers and family and friends, plus my agent and the fabulous people at HarperCollins, so I think it really requires public celebration.

This week, INSURGENT hit the New York Times bestseller list at #1!

And at the same time, but on a different list (the paperback list), DIVERGENT held strong at #1!

Okay, that doesn't make as much sense, but I LOVE IT ANYWAY. (link)

In case I don't say it enough (and how could I, really?): THANK YOU to everyone who worked on the book, and to everyone who read it (or is reading it) or told someone about it or possibly foisted it upon friends against their will. You are fantastic.

And now to put on gray and put my hair up. (Or not.)

WHERE IS THE CAKE?!

Author out.

"But I Read Divergent a YEAR Ago!": Your Guide to Remembering Stuff Before You Read Insurgent

I made an "artistic decision" in Insurgent not to do a lot of recapping (that device used in sequels to remind readers of what happened in the first book). Recapping is not a bad thing-- it is very useful, and often necessary--but I felt that it would bog down Tris's narrative and would sound unnatural in her voice.

As with any "artistic decision," there will be consequences, which is that not everyone has a superhuman memory and/or the time to reread Divergent before reading Insurgent. Early readers of Insurgent have understandably had some trouble recalling all the necessary information to really be situated in the world of Insurgent. In order to help with this horrible thing I have done to you, I wrote this GIANT post to remind you of all the characters in Divergent, how you know them, and what happened at the end of Divergent.  

WARNING: THIS POST IS ALMOST ENTIRELY COMPRISED OF...

DIVERGENT SPOILERS! 

If you read it, it will spoil everything. EVERYTHING. About Divergent. You have been warned.

Now click this, and we can get started: 

NAMES TO KNOW:

Tris, Caleb, Natalie, Andrew: the family Prior. Youngest child, oldest child, mother, father, respectively.

Christina, Will, Al: Tris's faction transfer friends from initiation. Christina and Will were dating. Al took his own life after a series of distressing events during initiation (one of which was attacking Tris). They were former Candor, former Erudite, and former Candor, respectively.

Uriah, Lynn, Marlene: Tris's Dauntless-born friends from initiation. Lynn isn't really a friend-- her first act in Divergent is stomping on Tris's toes before ziplining. The others we first met before capture the flag.

Tobias: Four's real name, which he kept hidden because it connects him to his father, Marcus, an Abnegation leader.

Peter, Molly, Drew: Tris's faction transfer enemies from initiation. Drew and Peter orchestrated an attack against her, with Al. Peter also attacked another initiate, Edward.

Edward, Myra: other faction transfer initiates. Edward lost his eye when Peter attacked him and had to leave Dauntless initiation; Myra left with him (she was his girlfriend).

Jeanine: Erudite faction representative who spread false news reports about Abnegation prior to the attack. Orchestrated the attack against Abnegation. She also seems to be the one responsible for getting rid of the Divergent, and the one who developed the simulations, including but not limited to the aptitude test simulation.

Marcus: an Abnegation leader accused by Erudite of "cruelty" toward his son, an allegation later proved to be correct by Four's fear landscape. He is one of the more influential Abnegation leaders.

Tori: Dauntless member, works in the tattoo parlor, volunteered to run the aptitude test simulation and disguised Tris's Divergence. Her brother was Divergent and mysteriously died during initiation. She is seeking to avenge his death.

Zeke, Shauna: Four's friends from his own initiation. Zeke is Uriah's older brother.

Max: one of the Dauntless leaders, invited Tobias to be one, too, but when Tobias refused, he appointed Eric.

Eric: the youngest Dauntless leader ever appointed, former Erudite. Tris discovers that he is working with Jeanine to find and eliminate the Divergent.

Susan, Robert: Tris's Abnegation neighbors, their father was an Abnegation leader, Susan chose Abnegation and Robert chose Amity at the Choosing Ceremony.

LEADING UP TO THE END:

Tris and Tobias discover that Erudite is planning to wage war against Abnegation, the faction in control of government. (Erudite believes in a democracy rather than an oligarchy.)

Tris figures out that the so-called "tracking serum" Eric injected her with after her fear landscape test is actually a simulation serum, administered to all of Dauntless to make them into an obedient army for the Erudite. She tries to tell Tobias, but isn't able to before the simulation kicks in. She marches with a bunch of simulation-controlled Dauntless to the train, which carries them to the Abnegation sector.

Once there, Tris shoots Eric in the leg to prevent him from killing Tobias. She and Tobias are then discovered to be Divergent, because they are awake during the simulation. They are taken to Jeanine, who puts Tobias under a different kind of simulation (one that makes his friends look like enemies and his enemies look like friends, etc.), and sends Tris off to be executed.

Tris's mother rescues her, and together they run to a safehouse where Tris's father, Caleb, and some of the Abnegation are staying. On the way, Tris's mother sacrifices herself so that Tris can escape. Tris runs into Will, her friend from initiation, who is now under the simulation, and is about to shoot her. In her panic, she shoots him instead, and somehow makes it to the safehouse.

Tris, her father, Caleb, and Marcus (Tobias's father) then plan to infiltrate the Dauntless compound to stop the simulation. On the way, they run into Peter. Tris and Peter have a tense exchange in which Tris shoots him in the arm. Peter tells them where the simulation is being controlled from in exchange for coming with them when they leave.

Tris and her father leave Caleb, Peter, and Marcus downstairs as they go upstairs to stop the simulation. Guards find them right when they are exiting the elevator, and Tris's father lures them away, sacrificing his life in the process. Tris then encounters simulation-controlled Tobias, who is running the attack simulation from the Dauntless control room. They fight. Echoing a scene in her fear landscape, she hands over the gun as if to let him kill her, because she can't kill him. Somehow this jerks him out of the simulation, and together they stop the attack simulation, freeing the Dauntless from Erudite control.

Tris and Tobias run from the Dauntless compound with Caleb, Marcus, and Peter, the data from the attack simulation in hand. They go to the Amity compound, where they can be (relatively) safe.


WHERE THEY ARE AT THE END OF DIVERGENT, ACCORDING TO TRIS:

Tris, Tobias, Caleb, Peter, and Marcus are...on a train toward the Amity compound. Peter has an untreated bullet wound. Tris has the hard drive with the attack simulation data on it.

Susan and a bunch of other Abnegation refugees are...already at the Amity compound.

Most of the Abnegation leaders, Tris's parents, and Will are...dead.

Drew, Molly, Edward, and Myra are...factionless.

Tori, Christina, Zeke, Shauna, Uriah, Lynn, and Marlene were...presumably under the attack simulation, with the other Dauntless. She doesn't know how the Dauntless reacted after the attack simulation ended.

Jeanine, Eric, Max, and the other Erudite are...regrouping.

Divergent Paperback Out Tomorrow!

Guess what? The Divergent paperback comes out tomorrow! And I made a video about it:

If you can't watch the video for some reason, what I basically said is:

A. I'm excited!
B. There are two editions: the regular one (identifiable by its orange Goodreads sticker, woohoo!) and the Barnes and Noble exclusive edition (identifiable by its gold sticker).
C. Both editions contain a bunch of cool stuff, including but not limited to a Q&A with me, my Divergent playlist, some quotes that inspired Divergent, a discussion guide, the faction manifestos (which you can also find on the Divergent facebook page), and an excerpt of Insurgent. This excerpt is a little bit longer than the one that was on EW.com a few days ago.
D. The B&N exclusive edition also contains, in addition to those things, an excerpt from the faction history textbook that Tris mentions a few times in the story. It was really fun to write!
E. So, whether you want to just go to a bookstore and have a peek, or recommend it to a friend, or even nab one for yourself, it is out tomorrow! Yay!
F. Did I mention I'm excited?

Have a good day, everyone.

Divergent Fansites!

Several wonderful people have started Divergent fansites. I am so impressed by how thorough and well-organized and well-designed they all are! I thought I would link them in a blog post so everyone can check them out:

(Also, to the fansite people, thank you for being patient with me about this-- I've been saying I would do it for awhile! You are all awesome. And I scoured my e-mails for all the links and twitter handles, but if you have a fansite, or something to add, please e-mail me at veronicarothbooks[at]gmail[dot]com! I'd love to hear from you.)

Divergent Lexicon

http://www.divergentlexicon.com

Twitter: @divergentlxicon

Divergent Examiner

http://www.examiner.com/divergent-in-national/amanda-bell

Twitter: @DivergentExamnr

Divergent Fans

www.divergentfans.com

Twitter: @Divergent_Fans

https://www.facebook.com/DivergentFans

https://www.facebook.com/DivergentBooks

The Divergent Trilogy

http://thedivergenttrilogy.com

Twitter: @5factions

Divergent Nation

www.divergentnation.com

Twitter: @DivergentNation

Divergentish

http://www.divergentish.com/

Twitter: @Divergentish

Divergent Series

http://divergentseries.net

Twitter: @DivergentTris

The Factionless

http://thefactionless.com/

Twitter: @thefactionless

Thank you all. It means a lot to me that you put in all the work to get those going.

How Much It Changed

SPOILER ALERT: This post will contain a lot of Divergent spoilers, so if you haven't read the book and want to keep yourself spoiler-free, close the blog.

The Twitterverse throws a lot of questions my way, and the most surprising one (surprising because of how often it's asked, not because of what it is) is: how much did Divergent change between the first draft and the published book?

This question is often asked by aspiring authors, and I never know quite what they want to hear. Do they want to hear that it didn't change at all, because that means their manuscript might not change that much? Will they think I don't deserve the book deal if they find out it changed a lot? Or do they want to hear that it changed a lot, because that means their manuscript might get snatched up by a publisher just because it has potential, regardless of whether it's perfect or not? The lesson in this is really: don't compare yourself to other people. Every manuscript and every writer is different. But just because it might interest you, I'll tell you about Divergent.

The First Draft

The rough draft of Divergent was about 56,000 words long. For those of you who don't speak word count, 56,000 words is a little less than 200 pages (at an average of 300 words per page, given the font size/spacing I usually use). It followed this outline:

-Tris takes her aptitude test and gets an inconclusive result
-Tris chooses Dauntless, Caleb chooses Abnegation
-(One-paragraph summary of the physical aspect of Dauntless training)
-Tris undergoes several simulations and bonds with Christina, Al, and Will, and somewhere in there, Tris gets attacked
-Tris and Four find out that Erudite's planning an attack
-The attack simulation happens, with Tris and Four immune
-Tris and Tobias storm Dauntless headquarters and shut down the simulation

So, essentially, the book was the same (with the big exception of Caleb), except smaller. Certain sections just didn't exist, including the first phase of Dauntless training, the Ferris wheel scene, Visiting Day, the visit to the fence, the visit to Caleb at Erudite headquarters, and the zipline scene. Certain characters also didn't exist, such as Uriah, Lynn, and Marlene.

The first draft, after some basic copy-edits, was pretty clean. I had received feedback from my critique partners as well as my agent on my previous manuscript that I applied to this one--such as removing things like "she reached out and picked up" and replacing it with "she picked up." (How did I not think of that myself? I still don't know. But thank goodness for critiquers.) Also, I used to work as a proofreader, so I had a pretty good knowledge of grammar and punctuation rules and I applied them as best I could. The only reason I mention this is that I believe (with no research to back it up) that it will help you a lot in your agent search if your manuscript is clean. If a manuscript has bad grammar and punctuation, it won't matter how brilliant the ideas or characters are, because agents won't be able to get through it. Just a side note.

The Second Draft

It's a bit of an oversimplification to say "the second draft," because the book actually went through several rounds of revision before I arrived at what I would call the second draft. One of them was with my current agent, after signing with her. Throughout this process, I added about 30,000 words, so the second draft was about 85,000 words long, or a little less than 300 pages in Word.

I didn't take anything out. My agent thought that what was there was good, but it was all so sparse that it wasn't living up to its potential. I needed to reveal more about Erudite, so I reconstructed Caleb, giving him Erudite leanings and having him choose Erudite instead of Abnegation. The side effect of this was that it added depth to the Prior family dynamic (yay!). I added Visiting Day (to flesh out the Divergent plotline better), the visit to the fence (for world-building/faction-building), and the entire first phase of Dauntless training (faction-building and atmosphere-building, as well as certain character arcs). I also changed the ending, because I'd never been happy with it.


The Last Draft

After the book deal, I went through a few rounds of revision with my editor. I added another 20,000 words, so the final draft clocks in at about 105,000 words, or 400 pages in Word. A lot of the changes were subtle-- I described more Chicago landmarks, I changed some of the friendship dynamics slightly. Many of the bigger changes came from a single question: if Dauntless is so awful and brutal, why on earth would Tris stay in it? Isn't she brave enough to defect and be factionless, if the Dauntless environment is that bad?

That was where the ziplining scene and the ferris wheel scene came from, as well as all the interactions with Uriah, Lynn, and Marlene. I needed to show that just like every other faction, Dauntless was a mixture of good and bad, and had veered from its original intentions-- but its original intentions were still there, in certain members and activities.

Again, I didn't cut anything, really. There was a lot of tweaking-- a few details in a few places can go a long way! For me, looking at the final draft is like looking at a skeleton with a body built around it. I can still see the bones from the first draft, but now they are stronger because they have flesh surrounding them.

So, that was my Divergent editing journey!

New UK Cover! And General Thoughts on Covers

HarperCollins UK designed a new Divergent cover!

For those of you wondering why there's a new cover, this is the B format paperback edition, to be published in February 2012. This is the equivalent of when books are published first in hardcover and then in paperback in the States-- sometimes covers change between hardcover and paperback here (or rather, there, because I'm in Romania), and sometimes covers change between trade paperback and B format paperback in the UK.

There are a lot of reasons this happens. As far as I know, it's to make a book more appealing to readers who haven't picked it up yet. For example, you might have been one of the people who saw the first cover in a bookstore and went all grabbyhands on it. The person browsing books next to you might have looked right past it, but she might go all grabbyhands on the new one.

I think of covers and flap copy (the book summary on the inside flap or the back cover) as either windows or walls. A cover that is a window allows you to "see inside" the book before you ever open it-- it gives you a sense of the tone of the book, and what the story might be like. A cover that is a wall prevents you from seeing the book as it is, and keeps you from picking it up, or from seeing it as it really is inside. Ideally, you want all your covers to be windows, right? But the problem is, this is a highly subjective thing. A cover might be a window to one reader and a wall to another. So a cover re-design helps to resolve that problem.

So, yes: Divergent is a book that is accurately represented by a bold fiery symbol and a skyline and a gathering storm. But it is also about a girl who is somewhat isolated, in character if not literally, who marks herself with the figurative representation of one of her worst fears (the birds). This design emphasizes something different about the story, which I loved seeing.

Other things I like: you can't see the girl's face, so you still get to imagine her, yet she looks sort of scrappy like Tris is. And the birds! Of course I love the birds. And the color is eye-catching.

So, UKers: I hope you like it!

The Real Book-to-Film Process + ComicCon Wonderland + Thoughtful Reflections = This Blog Post

Last week I had the great fortune of traveling to California, where the weather was far nicer than in Chicago, which had turned into an oven in my absence. While I was there I did many things, some of which were meeting the people currently involved in the process of turning Divergent into a movie.

First, I'm going to let you know how this process works, because I had no idea until I got involved in it, and I think there are many misconceptions-- understandable ones, but misconceptions nonetheless. So, here we go:

1. I don't choose the cast.

2. I don't choose the director.

3. I don't write the screenplay.

4. Actually, I don't control anything except who I sell the rights to, and that's already done.

I am in the fortunate position of being fairly well informed about what's going on with the movie. This is due partly to Pouya, "my film rep guy," as I call him, because he is involved on the production side. But unless you are an author who fights hard to get involved in the movie-making, your control over the process will be fairly limited.

And that's kind of how I wanted it. Why? Because I write books. I love writing books and I tend to get annoyed by things that interrupt me from writing books, like the need to sleep and shower and buy groceries. Don't get me wrong, I think movies are great. But unless some huge revelation happens wherein I consider a more varied career path, it's all books, all the time.

So while I do love to hear your casting thoughts, know that I participate in them in much the same way you do: musing and speculation.

And while I certainly understand the "please make sure the movie is like this or that" comments (because it's okay to get attached, and to want things to remain intact), know that I can't make sure the movie is like this or that. All I can do is, like you, place my trust in the people who are making it.

BUT if you read on, that might sound less scary to you. It certainly feels less scary to me.

Two days before my ComicCon adventure, I was fortunate enough to have breakfast with Doug Wick, who owns Red Wagon and has done many amazing, impressive things in the realm of film production, all of which made me a teensy bit afraid to meet him. However, Doug is the sort of person who makes you feel very much at ease. My fear was gone within three minutes of having breakfast, and then we just chatted for an hour or so, sometimes about the book and sometimes not. When we did talk about the book, Doug was very enthusiastic and specific about what he liked, which I always, always appreciate. Basically, I learned that Doug is like the Allstate Insurance of production company guys.

Basically, it was a fantastic experience.

Which leads me to part 2 of this little blog adventure: ComicCon.

ComicCon = Insanity.

My day began with a press conference and transitioned into several interviews, some of which were with some of the Divergent fansites! I haven't had much time to do interviews lately, so having them built into the time I had set aside for ComicCon was great. And I got to chat with some of the people who have been supporting Divergent! Sweet.

Then we got to wander the ComicCon floor. I saw so many things. I saw a man dressed in a very sophisticated Ghost Busters costume. I saw Harry Potter walking around with Bellatrix Lestrange (someone yelled, "Harry, watch out! Bellatrix is right behind you!" Oh, the nerdery. I love it). I found Waldo. I found him again. I saw too much of one girl's butt cheeks. I saw a bunch of Trekkies. And this was all in the half-hour that I was able to stand the huge, intense crowds inside that building. Then I had to leave, because I was feeling a little faint. I am just not built for being around that many people at once.

There was a signing (I met some of you there, I'm sure! Always great to sign books, especially at such a huge Nerdfest), and then, I met more people.

Such as: Gillian and Jeyun of Summit Entertainment. Gillian is the one actually handling all the Divergentness, so it was fun to talk to her about it, and hear her thoughts. And then, what I was most nervous about: meeting Evan Daugherty. Screenwriter.

(Ignore my red eye of doom.)

As his posture suggests, Evan is a chill dude. He also likes Divergent. Now, that may seem obvious to you (why would he want to write the screenplay if he didn't like Divergent?) but that's not necessarily obvious-- people do things for plenty of reasons, not all of them genuine affection. This very much reassured me.

Evan also told me that he has been to ComicCon before...as a fan. Several times. And we both love Star Wars. Should I bring out the Allstate picture again?

Also, for those of you who are still concerned, I am in touch with everyone I met, in case they have questions about Divergent. (Actually, I think I'm supposed to be drawing a map of Dauntless headquarters to make it easier to visualize.) So even though I say I'm not in control, I will be involved when people ask me to be involved, and in the way I like to be involved-- when it's very much about the book.

I was also fortunate enough to meet Erik Feig, president of acquisitions and production at Summit, who was enthusiastic and friendly and not at all a "Hollywood Dude" (I have this Hollywood Dude caricature in my head-- he's very slick and tan and not all that genuine. Total opposite of Erik Feig. Except Erik might have been tan-- it was too dark for me to tell conclusively. But, whatever. People are allowed to be tan).

I met a lot of other people, too, and I will probably kick myself for not telling you about all of them as time goes on. But let me just say that my day at ComicCon confirmed a few things for me:

I have tried hard from the beginning to find good people. I believe that good people, who work hard because they love something and not out of selfish ambition, are the best people to surround yourself with. That way, even if everything goes wrong, you feel satisfied, because you know that everyone failed doing what they love, and working as hard as they could. Luckily I found Joanna, my agent, and she connected me with other good people, including Pouya and Molly, my editor. And Pouya went out and found me some really solid individuals on the film side, as I have now confirmed myself. So often I find that people are not authentic. I am fortunate enough to have good radar for that. And even though I try not to discard people who are not authentic-- because everyone has a lot to learn, and is in a different stage of that learning-- I also know where to put my trust.

Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox, but my adventures at ComicCon made me feel good about where I had put my trust. Making movies is complicated, and I am a defensive pessimist by nature, so I'm not letting myself get too excited. But I believe things have gotten off to a good start.

Questions, Not Answers

On Saturday I was on a panel at the Printers Row Lit Fest in Chicago-- which I somehow managed to avoid hearing about until this year. How does such a travesty occur? I know not.

Anyway, the other panelists were Daniel Kraus, author of Rotters, about a pair of father and son grave robbers (which I have heard many good things about, and it is now sitting on my bookshelf, waiting for me) and Katie Crouch, author of The Magnolia League, which incorporates many hoodoo elements (it was so fascinating to hear her talk about it-- and now it's also sitting on my bookshelf, waiting for me). And then we had our fabulous moderator, James Kennedy, who wrote The Order of Odd-Fish, and just had a little girl named Ingrid, which is my sister's name.

Highlights: Daniel Kraus describing the concept of a "Rat King" to the audience while I convulsed in my chair. (Google if you dare.) Katie Crouch singing us a lullaby. James Kennedy asking a question and then shouting "KRAUS!", thereby startling us all. It was one of the best writing conversations I've had with multiple authors.

Anyway, I was asked a particularly good question, and I wanted to share the answer with you, in case you're interested. The question was this:

What is the one thing/the message you would like people to take away from your book?

I try to avoid preaching of any kind, and it's not just because teenagers can sniff out a message from a mile away; it's because I want to give people space to think and breathe while they read my book. I don't want to stifle anyone. That said, I do think every book says something other than what's on the pages, whether you intend for it to or not when you write it. So yes, there are some things I think my book says, because I have interpreted it as a reader, just as you will.

But I would much rather you come away with questions than answers. Questions about virtue, and what it is, and if it makes you worth something, and if being "good" is the most important thing, and if it's not, what is? Or: is the consistency of your character the best thing you have to offer the world? Can you can be defined, and should you even try? Or even: what should you look for in a friend, or a boyfriend, or a girlfriend?

I know books are a great escape, and my book, with all its action, may not give you a lot of quiet moments in which to think. But my favorite books made me think as much as they entertained me, and that's my hope for Divergent.

Amazon Q&A;

I have a Q&A up on Amazon, and I mention it mostly because I thought the questions were particularly interesting. I had a great time answering them. Here's my favorite:

Q: You’re a young author--is it your current adult perspective or not-so-recent teenage perspective that brought about the factions in the development of this story? Do you think that teens or adults are more likely to fit into categories in our current society?

Roth: Other aspects of my identity have more to do with the factions than my age. The faction system reflects my beliefs about human nature—that we can make even something as well-intentioned as virtue into an idol, or an evil thing. And that virtue as an end unto itself is worthless to us. I did spend a large portion of my adolescence trying to be as “good” as possible so that I could prove my worth to the people around me, to myself, to God, to everyone. It’s only now that I’m a little older that I realize I am unable to be truly “good” and that it’s my reasons for striving after virtue that need adjustment more than my behavior. In a sense, Divergent is me writing through that realization—everyone in Beatrice’s society believes that virtue is the end, the answer. I think that’s a little twisted.

I think we all secretly love and hate categories—love to get a firm hold on our identities, but hate to be confined—and I never loved and hated them more than when I was a teenager. That said: Though we hear a lot about high school cliques, I believe that adults categorize each other just as often, just in subtler ways. It is a dangerous tendency of ours. And it begins in adolescence.

So if you'd like to learn more about some of the details of Divergent (or, heck, about my life philosophy), check it out. Have a good weekend, everyone!

The First 100 Pages, and the DIVERGENT Dictionary

The first 100 pages of DIVERGENT are online!

You can read them HERE.

You know. If you want.

It occurred to me yesterday that now that summaries/reviews/snippets/ARCs are more readily available, and the release date is fast approaching, it might be a good idea to provide some necessary information. Such as: the faction names. What do they mean?

I have been asked in the past if I made the words up. I didn't, but I did intentionally choose unfamiliar words, for an assortment of reasons. One of them is that I wanted to slow down comprehension of what each faction stands for, so you learn as much by observing as by the name of the faction itself. Another is that the definitions of the more obscure words are more specific, in interesting ways. And a third is (since I'm being honest, here) that they sound cooler.

People have also asked me why the faction names are different parts of speech-- three nouns (Candor, Amity, Abnegation) and two adjectives (Dauntless, Erudite). (For the record, I love this kind of grammar consciousness.) I am aware of that, and it was something I thought about in revisions. The reason for the discrepancy is that each faction chose their own names independently, just as they wrote their own manifestos independently, and formed their own customs and rules independently (to a certain extent, anyway). Keeping that in mind, I tried to pick the words that made the most sense for each faction without considering the other factions too much.

And so, from Merriam Webster:

DAUNTLESS: fearless, undaunted.

Undaunted: courageously resolute, especially in the face of danger or difficulty; not discouraged.

It's those two definitions (fearless, and undaunted) that I found so fascinating. Being fearless and being undaunted are two different things. And the characters in DIVERGENT struggle with that distinction.

And from dictionary.com:

ABNEGATION: 1. to refuse or deny oneself (some rights, conveniences, etc.); reject; renounce.

2. to relinquish; give up

I like the verbs in that one: refuse, deny, reject, renounce--active forms of stripping things from your life. As opposed to relinquish, give up-- more passive.

ERUDITE: characterized by great knowledge; learned or scholarly

The word "erudite" focuses on knowledge rather than intelligence-- intelligence being something you're born with, and can't necessarily control, and knowledge being something that you acquire. I find that interesting, given what I know about Erudite.

CANDOR: 1. the state or quality of being frank, open, and sincere in speech or expression; candidness.

2. freedom from bias; fairness; impartiality.

That definition definitely helped me flesh out Candor more, particularly in the second book. The faction is not just trying to develop honesty-- they're also trying to develop impartiality.

AMITY: 1. friendship; peaceful harmony.

2. mutual understanding and a peaceful relationship, especially between nations; peace; accord.

3. cordiality

It's not just about banjos and apple-picking. It's about cultivating strong relationships and trying to understand each other. Oh, Amity.

Also, it's not a faction, but for fun:

DIVERGENT: 1. diverging; differing; deviating.

2. pertaining to or causing divergence.

3. (of a mathematical expression) having no finite limits

Diverge: 1. to move, lie, or extend in different directions from a common point; branch off.

2. to differ in opinion, character, form, etc.; deviate.

3. Mathematics . (of a sequence, series, etc.) to have no unique limit; to have infinity as a limit.

4. to turn aside or deviate, as from a path, practice, or plan.

And:

FACTION: 1. a group or clique within a larger group, party, government, organization, or the like.

2. party strife and intrigue; dissension.

I'm just going to leave that one alone.

In the Grand Tradition of This Blog: Marshmallows, Happy Dances, and NEWS

So, exciting news time.

(It’s been awhile since I’ve said that, hasn’t it?)

DIVERGENT film rights sold to Summit Entertainment!

(From here.)

Yes, Summit: of Twilight and The Hurt Locker fame.

And I’m crazy-excited! My experience with the people at Summit has been very positive so far—I think they have a great vision for the book, one that is close to my own. I also think they’re no strangers to taking risks, which is important to me. (coughDauntlesscough)

None of this would have happened if not for the amazing Pouya Shahbazian (“my film rep guy,” as I sometimes call him). He worked so hard to make this happen and I’m so appreciative—and so happy he’ll be involved with developing the film.

What This Does Not Mean: Instant movie! BAM! BRING ON THE ACTION FIGURES AND THE DIVERGENT THEMED HALLOWEEN CANDY!

What This Does Mean: Many wonderful people will be working hard to bring a movie to fruition. I will wait patiently and see what happens. (Okay, that’s a lie. I will wait impatiently and see what happens.)

I think this calls for a happy dance.

And some mini marshmallows.

ARC Giveaway!

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us here in the US. I, for one, am looking forward to the sweet potatoes, and the cranberry "sauce" that comes from a can. And I would describe that as jelly, not sauce.

Sometimes my family participates in that "go around the table and say what you're thankful for" thing, and I have a lot to be thankful for. One of those things is you guys-- who are excited about the book and make me feel like I'm not sending my blog posts into Nowhere and always show up to get excited about things like book-deal-getting and contract-signing and foreign-rights-selling and all that wonderful stuff. You guys mean a lot to me.

So, in order to express my gratitude: I'm giving away 3 ARCs.

!!!

And I rarely use exclamation points, so you know this is exciting when I whip out THREE of them! Look, another one! THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!

(I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU TO READ! AHHHH!)

Look, here they are!

And I am going to put little post-its in the ARCs of my favorite scenes and fun facts about the writing process and the songs that sometimes go with certain parts, because I always find that interesting and I suspect you might, too.

And all you have to do...is tell me you want one.

In the comments. Oh, and leave your e-mail address in the comments so I can contact you easily, please!

I will choose randomly.

This contest is open...to everyone.

Everywhere.

Even if you have no idea what this whole Thanksgiving thing involving cranberry jelly is all about, because you don't live around here.

It closes in a week, on December 1st. And if you don't get one, don't worry! I'm going to be doing a smattering of small giveaways throughout the next few months. YAY.

(Yes, that's me making a cheesy little heart with my hands. Shhh.)

DIVERGENT ARCs!

(Sorry about the glare in that video-- it wasn't quite that bad before I uploaded it! Must...use...better...camera...)

For those of you who can't watch that video because you're hard at work (or for those who prefer to read rather than watch):

I GOT ARCS!

Yesterday I had a little Twitter conversation with my editor, the fabulous Molly O'Neill that went something like this:

M: Are you at home?
Clueless V: Yep! Soon I'll have a new address to send you, too.
(Note: I am moving soon, so that's not quite as random as it sounds.)
M: Check your front porch!
V: ...Really?

And then I sprinted to the front door in a state of pajama-clad disarray, as evidenced by these four-minute-later reaction shots...

...in which I disregard the need for a hairbrush, real clothing, or any semblance of dignity. Yes, that is me about to kiss a book.

The lovely people over at HarperTeen tweeted a picture of the box of ARCs soon afterward. Look at THIS!



A few notes about the ARCs:

1. My book comes out in May, so the ARCs won't be distributed to reviewers and bloggers for awhile.
2. I'm sorry for the tease.
3. But I had to share the excitement.

This is what I keep thinking to myself: My NAME is on it! MY name. And it's like...a thing! That you can HOLD! In your HANDS!

Bet you didn't know I was so inarticulate while thinking to myself.

AHHH! I can't wait for everyone to read!

Divergent Video!

Huge thanks to the people at Harper for making it (and for making it so well)!

Also, I finally managed to create one of those pages on Facebook for myself, so if you feel compelled to "like" it (how weird is that system, by the way?), please do so! I promise I will update it with juicy news whenever juicy news occurs. Here it is.

Divergent Quotation Collection

I have a thing for quotations. And I don't mean cheesy motivational ones, the kind you find when you look up "determination quotes" in Google. I mean weird segments of poems I had to read for my classes, or powerful lines in books. When I notice them, I write them down or save them to a document on my computer, and often, those quotes help me figure out stories or characters or concepts that I want to incorporate into whatever I'm writing at the time.

I have more quotes for Divergent than I've had for most other projects, and I thought it might be interesting to share them with you. They won't mean as much to you as they do to me, obviously, because you haven't read the book yet, but they are cool nonetheless, I think.

So, some of my Divergent quotes:

"Well, let her know the stubbornest of wills
Are soonest bended, as the hardest iron,
O'er-heated in the fire to brittleness,
Flies soonest into fragments, shivered through."
--Antigone, Sophocles


That quote is spoken by Creon, about Antigone. What I like about it is: he's wrong. Antigone doesn't bend. She holds to what she wants, which is to give her brother an honorable burial, even at the expense of her life. Antigone is really a great character, I think. She defies her father and then doesn't deny it; she accepts the inevitable consequences of her actions. She is an example of a strong female character who is not physically threatening in any way (as in, she doesn't have warrior skills, or anything), which we sometimes don't see these days.

"My will is mine. I will not make it soft for you."
--Agamemnon, Aeschylus

I don't even remember what the context of that quote is, but I've always wanted to create the kind of character who could convincingly deliver that line.

(I read both of those plays for one class-- I'm not in the habit of studying this stuff on my own time, trust me.)

"But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another."
--Galatians 5:15

I've read that line many times in my life, but last year it hit me right between the eyes. Especially when you take it out of context, and I don't usually like to do that, with verses.

"Please, let me warn them--
Don't you come here.
Don't bring anyone here."
--Chasm by Flyleaf

I can't tell you how many times I listened to that song while I was writing. So many of the lyrics helped me figure things out, but that piece of them was particularly important. It's pretty simple, I know, but something about the desperation of that warning-- I wondered what could be happening to a person that they would need to speak those lines.

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
--Dune by Frank Herbert

That's what the Dauntless (you know, the brave faction) would recite daily, if they recited something.

(Oh, Dune.)

There you have it. Little pieces of my inspiration.

Does anyone else do this? Or have quotes they like? I'm a collector, you see, so I'd like to hear them. (And potentially add them to my giant list.)

DIVERGENT Cover and Summary

So. About this surprise.

I've talked a lot about writing DIVERGENT, and about writing generally, but I haven't discussed the book itself much. So the surprise is: that ends here. Now.

With the cover and the summary.

Ready? (Because I am!)

Here we go!

(Well hello there, gorgeous. Want to go out sometime? Like, say, May 2011?)

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris, and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together, they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes-fascinating, sometimes-exasperating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret: one she’s kept hidden from everyone, because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly-perfect society, she also learns that her secret might be what helps her save those she loves . . . or it might be what destroys her.


So, there you have it: DIVERGENT. In stores May 2011.

And when I saw the cover for the first time, I made this face:

("Oooooooh!")

And then I did this little chair dance:

(Yes, that's mid-fist-pump.)

And then I couldn't stop smiling:


I think every author is a little afraid of seeing his/her cover for the first time, because there's always the possibility that it doesn't meet their expectations, whatever those expectations are. What I wanted was for the cover to represent the book, not just technically, but in tone.

And I have to say: Barb, Amy, and Joel (the team responsible for that stunning design)-- you got it. You got it just right. I can't imagine anything better. So, if you're reading: thank you!

Life, my friends, is good.

(Can you guys believe my name is on a book cover right now? Because I certainly can't!)

(Why yes, that IS the Chicago skyline...with a marsh in front of it instead of a lake. Intriiiigued?)

Side Note: just so you know, that summary isn't the jacket copy (the text that will be on the actual book jacket). The jacket copy is really awesome but I can't very well post all the goodies at once, can I? Anyway: I will share that at a later date!

Signed. Sealed. Delivered.

Two nights ago I received one of those emails you never think you're going to get, also known as the email that contained my publishing contract.

And as I browsed the first three pages, one thing in particular stood out to me:

HarperCollins

bought

my book.

I know what you're thinking. "Duh, Veronica. They bought it in APRIL. You went to their HEADQUARTERS and ogled at their pretty board room. Get a grip."

But I am telling you that even after I got The Phone Calls and announced everything on Twitter and the blog and saw the PM announcement with my own two eyes; even after I jumped into a tub of marshmallows to celebrate; even after I shook hands with people I never thought I would meet; even after I did my best to wrap my entire body around the HarperCollins pillar; even after I talked covers and jacket flap copy and revised the crap out of my manuscript and it was sent to the copyeditor...it still didn't feel real.

And then it was on paper. In writing.

And I thought: "No, really. Really, actually, legitimately...published."

Here are some factoids about contracts:

1. They are long. Mine is 16 pages, single-spaced. And oh so pretty.

2. One copy is not enough. See also: my conversation with The Editor of Wonder yesterday.

Molly: "You only sign your first contract once."

Me: "True. Well, actually, you sign it four times."
3. Signing those four copies will probably make you smile like THIS:

4. You may be tempted to sleep with them under your pillow. But you should not. Because then they will get wrinkly. Also, what are you doing waiting an entire night to send them? FEDEX THEM BACK ALREADY.

5. They take a long time to compile. You may think that because you got your book deal last week, the contract should be coming your way any day now, but that is not the case. They take months to get together, and that's a good thing. That means that everyone is being careful about what the contract says. The crazy-awesomeness of mine only taking 3 months to assemble does not escape me. It is thanks to some pretty fantastic people doing some pretty fantastic things.

I think those are the only factoids I have to share. If I missed something, let me know.

Quick summary, though:

SIGNED.

(Also: did you see the Publisher's Weekly Spring Sneak Preview? Because DIVERGENT is in it! There, now I've freaked out on all social media platforms.)

A Day In the Land of Divergent

Prior to my fountain-jumping extravaganza last week, I went on an architectural boat tour of Chicago, the one Senior Week activity I actually attended. The problem with living near a place for your entire life is that you rarely look at it, particularly with the fresh eyes that you need as a writer, and that's a problem I intended to correct. Color me a tourist.

DIVERGENT is set in Chicago, for those of you who don't know. More accurately, it's set in a futuristic, warped version of Chicago, because we are dealing with a dystopian book, yes? You would think that I didn't have to do a lot of research because I live so close to the city, but you would be wrong. I looked up SO MANY MAPS. And SO MANY PICTURES. And SO. MANY. BUILDING HEIGHTS. And of course, I went on this boat tour.

Shall we have a look? (No, I don't know why I ask questions in blog posts as if I expect to hear an answer.)



This would be the north side skyline. That tall black tower is the Hancock Building, one of my favorites. You can't see it from that far away, but the base of the building is much wider than the top, so it kind of slopes upward-- very cool.



And most of the south side skyline. You can kind of see the Sears Tower in the mist on the far left side of that picture. The tall, foggy building in the center is Trump Tower, and the green-roofed building on the right is the end of Navy Pier.



Speaking of Navy Pier, that's the Ferris Wheel. I rode it once when I was young, but I think now I would pee my pants if I tried to go in it because it's so high up. Just so you know, my main character does not share my fear.



Trump Tower. I sort of like this building, even though part of me is wary of it because it's new.



The reflection of the Trump Tower in this other building that I forgot the name of.



Merchandise Mart! I am pretty sure our tour guide told us that in terms of square footage, this is the largest building in the country. Or one of the largest. Basically, it's freaking huge.



Ahh, the Sears Tower. Technically it's called the Willis Tower now, but no one I know calls it that. Not even the tour guide called it that. SEARS TOWER FOREVER.



This is my friend Mary Katherine in front of the lion statue in front of the Art Institute of Chicago. You may not have heard, but the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup this year, and we're all very excited about it. Hence the huge Blackhawks helmet on the lion's head.



And of course, me and my fountain-jumping accomplices in front of the GIANT FACE, also known as one of the two pillar-fountains in Millenium Park. (I feel like I should probably explain my shirt, while I'm at it. I went to Carleton College my freshman year, and then transferred to Northwestern. My friend Alice, who went to Saint Olaf, the college across town from Carleton, got me the "CARLETON SUCKS" tee shirt because she thought it was funny. I agreed. But I do not actually think that Carleton sucks. It's a great place. Just wasn't for me.)

So there you have it. A short tour through Chicago, and by proxy, through some of the scenes in DIVERGENT. You'll see which ones in Summer 2011. YESSSS.